Volvo confirms big production increase for V60 Plug-in Hybrid

Volvo has been building around 150 V60 Plug-ins a week at its facility in Torslanda – alongside the regular V60, V70, S80 and XC90 – but that is now set to be upped to 282 cars a week for the rest of 2013, with plans to build at least 10,000 in 2014. The fact is that the V60 is a very appealing estate car already, and bolting a plug-in hybrid setup has turned it in to a big hit in showrooms because the barking mad official economy and emissions system bestows the V60 plug-in with emissions of just 48g/km, making it a real no-brainer in countries where governments blindly tax cars based on their official emissions. That means countries like Holland, where Volvo has received more than 3,000 orders for the V60 Plug-in, and the UK are lapping up the hybrid offering from Volvo as a way to escape big taxes and still have a swift (0-62mph in 6.1 seconds), appealing and stylish car.

Saab gets small payment from Youngman after yesterday’s ‘misunderstanding’

Saab gets a small payment from Youngman What on earth are we going to do once the Saab Saga is resolved? The machinations and misunderstandings surrounding Victor Muller’s increasingly desperate quest to keep Saab alive has probably provided more stories than almost anything else this year. Yesterday’s Saab episode surrounded Pangda Chairman Pang Qinghua stating that the Saab deal was no longer valid since Saab went in to court protection in Sweden, raising the prospect of one of Saab’s creditors pushing the bankruptcy button rather swiftly.

More executive upheaval as GM changes CFO

Chris Liddell, the onetime executive hotshot hired from Microsoft and rumored to be a candidate for CEO, is leaving General Motors on April 1. The 52-year-old will be replaced by Dan Ammann, 38, who is GM’s treasurer. Liddell oversaw GM’s historic return to the stock market last year after its 2009 bankruptcy.