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Crunch watch October 09: the auto industry in crisis

Tuesday 20 October 2009• Honda's CEO said he would consider launching electric vehicles for sale in Europe, Japan and the USA in a possible change of strategy for the Japanese car manufacturer (Automotive News, subscription required)• Ford 59-plate car sales up by 22% in September ‘09 compared to the same month last year. Ford claims a 14.8% share of total new car sales for the same period (Ford)• Porsche, VW and Daimler all sent top executives to the Shanghai motor show in April, but chose to snub the Tokyo motor show this week. The news comes as China’s automotive market is set to become the world’s largest (Bloomberg)• Toyota enters the Korean car market, challenging the 72% market share owned by Hyundai Motor Co (Bloomberg)  Monday 19 October 2009 • The organisers of the Geneva motor show claim that 'all of the major manufacturers have already confirmed their participation' for the March 2010 event (Geneva Palexpo)• Jaguar is auctioning off the first XJ off the line to raise £1m for the NSPCC children's charity.

Government’s Cash For Potholes Plan Gets Underway

MORE than three million potholes will be filled in by March next year as part of the biggest investment in roads since the 1970s. The Government has set aside £168 million to mend the nation's broken roads, spread across 148 councils. Each council will get a share, but extra money will be given to those which demonstrate "best practice in highways maintenance", including bringing in specialist machinery or setting up dedicated repair teams.

Honda CR-V concept

This is the first image of the Honda CR-V concept, a vehicle that previews the fourth generation CR-V expected to be revealed at the LA auto show in November. The new CR-V's thinly veiled concept precursor highlights a new front face, sculpted bodysides and kick-up DLO shape that will appear on the production car. Inside, Honda claims the new CR-V will offer an ‘accommodating and spacious interior' with a ‘host of new possibilities'.