A round up of this week's other stories in brief
Mazda to unveil new mid-size SUV concept at Moscow motor show
Mazda will show an early concept version of its new compact SUV at August's Moscow International Automobile Salon. The new model will be introduced below the current CX-7 range.
While the size is similar to an upcoming production model, the styling is very much along Mazda's Nagare design theme.
The launch in Moscow is symbolic as Russia is set to become the biggest new car market in Europe next year, overtaking Germany.
MG brand to return to UK this summer
SAIC, China's top carmaker, plans to resume making MG sports cars in Britain in August, its president said yesterday.
SAIC will start selling the British-made MG TF sports cars in the Britain, via more than 40 dealers, at the end of August or in early September, Chen Hong said at a shareholders' meeting.
"We will do it step by step," Chen said. "We will start with Britain and will consider selling to other markets eventually."
SAIC, which also runs car ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen, is among a growing army of Chinese automakers aiming to make a global name.
It become the latest owner of MG Rover's 10,000-unit Longbridge plant in Birmingham after a merger with its much smaller peer Nanjing Automobile Group late last year.
The facility, acquired by Nanjing Auto in 2005, will serve as a platform for tapping the European market, company executives have said.
In an effort to revive the failed British car brand, SAIC will roll out more MG variants and new models in the coming years to attract buyers.
"Capacity is not an issue for us at the UK plant," said Chen. "What we need to do is to continue to develop new models while keeping the original flavour of the MG brand," he said.
'No doubt' about GM's all-electric Volt
General Motors is confident it will be able to deliver the all-electric Chevrolet Volt as planned and is close to naming a supplier for the vehicle's crucial battery, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said this week.
"I would say there's almost no reasonable doubt in our minds anymore that this is going to work," said Lutz, who heads vehicle development for GM.
GM is designing the Volt to run on battery power alone for 40 miles, but some industry rivals and even some of the automaker's executives have questioned whether next-generation lithium-ion batteries could be ready in time for production of the highly anticipated vehicle in 2010.
GM's Volt is on track to become the first mass- market rechargeable car, ahead of rivals like Toyota.