Honda 90302-zv5-000 Nut (3/8-24 Unf) (honda Code 3706009). on 2040-parts.com

First zero-emission private hire fleet in London

You may not have heard of BYD, but it’s the world’s biggest rechargeable battery manufacturer. It also has the largest global market share for mobile phone chargers and keypads. Interesting stuff, but why is this is of interest to MSN Cars?

Hot seats: from design to delivery [sponsored]

As the user demands on car interiors are increasingly influenced by their growing design consciousness, so suppliers like Lear strive to bring better-engineered seating to satisfy. 2013 was another big year for Lear, as Jeanette Puig-Pey, its global fabric & leather design manager, enthuses: "At our ‘Design2Perform' event we celebrated the unveiling of our brand new collection, with special emphasis on color and texture and our TeXstyle Enhance product, perfect for customization. Laser etching is part of this offering, it is exclusive to Lear Corporation and can be used to add refined design elements to cloth and leather." A mix of fabric and leather in seating is not new but is often seen by the consumer as a cheaper alternative to full leather.

Ford Focus electric lights up 100 mpg-e

Some numbers are magical, and in the race to build the most fuel-efficient electric car, the figure that is rapidly coming to mean the most is 100. Triple digits, as in 100 mpg-e. Ford has fired the latest shot in this green-car war, claiming that the Focus electric will be the first five-passenger vehicle to break the 100-mpg-e barrier.