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Peugeot i0n electric car at 2009 Frankfurt motor show

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 08 September 2009 12:57 PSA is forging closer links with Mitsubishi; after the Outlander became the C-Crosser and 4007, now Peugeot has teamed up with the Japanese to launch the i0n – an electric car based on the electric Mitsubishi i-car. The zero-emissions Peugeot i0n (combines a zero with ions, geddit?) will go on sale at the end of 2010 and builds on the French company’s expertise with EVs stretching all the way back to 1995 when it launched the 106 Electric. It’ll go 80 miles on one charge of the lithium ion battery, making it ideal for urban commuting and short shuttles, says Peugeot.

Aston Martin make Nissan’s Andy Palmer their new CEO

Andy Palmer (pictured) is taking the reins at Aston Martin Lagonda Aston Martin has effectively been without a boss since Ulrich Bez stepped down from the role last year, but that changes with the announcement that Andrew Palmer – until now, Chief Planning Officer of Nissan – is to step in to the role. There’s no specific start date for Andy Palmer at Aston, but Nissan has announced that Philippe Klein will take up Palmer’s role at Nissan on 15 September, so it shouldn’t be long before Palmer holds the reins at Aston Martin. But what exactly has persuaded Andy Palmer to jump from a big corporate behemoth like Nissan to a struggling luxury car maker with owners who either want to tug the operating strings (the Kuwaitis) or are looking for a quick return (Investindustrial)?

Mercedes-Benz axes Maybach

High ranking Mercedes-Benz sources have confirmed to Autoweek that the underperforming Maybach brand will be officially killed off in 2013. The decision to disband Mercedes-Benz’s upper luxury marque comes after a decade of disappointing sales for the Maybach 57 and 62 and a recent decision from the German car maker’s chairman Dieter Zetsche not to push ahead with the development replacement models – the likes of which were tentatively due out in 2014 – owing to what one insider describes as a “positive move to focus greater attention on the Mercedes-Benz brand” . “We’ve come to the conclusion that it is better to cut our losses with Maybach than to continue into an uncertain future with a brand that has failed to live up to original sales expectations," the insider said.