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News watch June 2010: 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 Wednesday 30 June 2010• Tesla shares have rocketed 40% on their first day of trading; the company went public this week with the first IPO of an American car company since Ford in the 1950s (BBC News)• GM may sell off its interests in finance arm GMAC and parts supplier Delphi as it seeks to write down its debts (Financial Times)• A Federal judge has approved the $20m sale of a former GM plant in Wilmington to Fisker Automotive; Fisker hopes to build 100,000 cars a year once production hits a peak after launch in 2012. It is using a $529m government loan to fund its launch (Detroit News)Tuesday 29 June 2010• UK business secretary Vince Cable has warned that the car industry is no longer in an emergency – and cannot expect direct government support.

Audi A2 concept (2011) first official sketches

Audi's product planners must hate having weeks when they don't have new product to announce. Just imagine, sitting around, twiddling their thumbs. So we shouldn't be surprised that Audi today confirmed it would unveil an A2 concept at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show.

Dassault Systèmes and Riversimple partner for eCar Design Contest

Dassault Systèmes, in collaboration with Riversimple and the 40 Fires foundation, launched their eCar Design Contest recently, designed to encourage cooperation and the development of ideas on an open source platform. The companies had been in talks for some time regarding a joint project and this competition – a completely holistic, closed-loop approach to the building, sale and use of a car – is the result of their successful collaboration. Christopher Reitz, head designer at Riversimple, says, "The open source platform is a fantastic tool.