2001 Toyota Prius Battery Pack on 2040-parts.com

Record new car sales anticipated

RECORD new car sales are expected for 2013 after last month's figures showed another strong increase. A total of 157,314 new cars were registered in October - a 4% rise on October last year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. The October rise - the 20th successive monthly increase - took the year-so-far total to just over 1.95 million, a 10.2% rise on January-October last year.

Nissan e-NV200 electric van gets a headline starting price of £13,393

The Nissan e-NV200 electric van (pictured) – the start of an EV revolution for commercial vehicles? We’ve always been reluctant to see the electric car as a proper replacement for an ICE car, but an electric van for commercial deliveries in a reasonably confined area is a different animal altogether. So the arrival of the Nissan e-NV200 electric van is a big deal and could revolutionise how deliveries are made in our towns and cities, usefully shifting not just CO2, but NoX and particulates off to where the electricity is generated and making much less noise too.

Volkswagen to buy Italdesign-Giugiaro

Italdesign-Giugiaro S.p.A could soon become another group under the Volkswagen AG umbrella, according to Automotive News Europe. The industry publication cites two sources that claim the German company is set to buy a controlling stake in Italy's largest design and engineering firm, a deal which could be clinched as early as next week. Founded by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani in 1968, Italdesign-Giugiaro currently has 975 employees and 800 CAD workstations.