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News watch March 2011: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour Thursday 31 March 2011• US President Barack Obama has strated all US government cars and trucks purchased from 2015 must be alternative-fuel vehicles (Automotive News)• Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has denied a report in Japan's Nikkei newspaper that he is leaning towards a formal merger of Nissan and Renault (Reuters)• Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne says that Chrysler's share IPO may now take place in 2012, depending on financial progress this year (Bloomberg)Wednesday 30 March 2011• Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called a report that the EV carmaker is a takeover target 'bad analysis' and remains confident the firm will stay independent (Bloomberg)• The BBC denies that it rigged a December 2008 Top Gear TV test of the Tesla Roadster, in response to being sued by the EV carmaker (BBC News)• First Group, the UK's largest public transport operator, has announced a £160m investment in new buses, ordering 955 new buses from UK manufacturers Wrightbus and Dennis over the next two years (BBC News)• Japanese production woes look set to continue into April. Toyota expects the majority of Toyota and Lexus production on 14 April (Automotive News)• Saab production has re-started again, following a half yesterday afternoon.

Audi Urban Concept

Audi has released additional photos and information on the Urban Concept, which is set to make its debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September. As we previously reported, the new car – touted by Audi as a 'new kind of concept car' that combines aspects of a racing car as well as a fun-to-drive urban vehicle – is a diminutive two-passenger vehicle powered by two e-tron electric motors. Measuring in at 3200mm long, 1700mm wide and 1200mm tall, the Urban Concept is expected to weigh less than 500kg, thanks largely to a cockpit made from CFRP.

Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 now on sale – UK prices and specs

Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 - now up for grabs in the UK We’re big fans of the Peugeot 3008, even if we’re not the biggest fans of hybrids. But, as hybrids go, the Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 does seem to offer the best of all worlds. Instead of being a hybrid car designed to polish the green halo of owners, the 3008 HYbrid is, first and foremost, perhaps the best of the mid-sized crossovers.