In the Energy White Paper published yesterday by DTI Secretary Alistair Darling MP, the Government welcomed the European Commission's intention to bring forward a legislative framework and supports a move to demanding mandatory fuel efficiency targets. Subject to understanding how the targets will be implemented and subsequent impact assessment, the Government is supportive of the Commission's proposals.

"However," its chapter on transport energy adds, "It is our view that the proposals should also set out a longer-term strategy for improving vehicle fuel efficiency." The Government announced in Budget 2007 that its longer-term objective is that average new car emissions be reduced to 100gCO2/km.

The White Paper says there is a lot of further work to be done before any final decisions are taken, including on the appropriate level of the fuel efficiency target and how that target should be implemented. Final decisions will be subject to full and open consultation with interested parties.

The Government believes it is essential that the legislative framework enshrines certain key principles:

- Clarity and accountability so all parties are clear what is required to ensure effective delivery and monitoring;

- Cost effectiveness of different regulatory approaches on fuel efficiency will have different costs and benefits. Greater flexibility will often ensure greater cost-effectiveness;

- Environmental effectiveness to ensure achievement of the stated environmental objectives;

- Comprehensive scope by applying the framework to all new vehicles sold in the EU regardless of place of manufacture, and also seeking toensure further progress in fuel efficiency across all market segments; and

- Proportionality via thorough impact assessment, with particular attention given to setting appropriate targets and timescales.

The White Paper says the Government is optimistic that a satisfactory framework will be delivered. Its analysis suggests that in the UK we could save 1.8-4.1MtC per year by 2020, depending on the extent of fuel efficiency improvements achieved: ¡°This has the potential to be one of the Government¡¯s biggest interventions to tackle transport emissions. We will therefore push for an ambitious and realistic long-term target that recognises the importance of tackling climate change and of giving industry a clear signal to develop and implement new technologies.¡±

(www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/closed/reducingnewcarco2emissions/)

To achieve the kind of fuel efficiency improvement outlined in the Energy White Paper published by the Government yesterday the Government acknowledged the need to provide the frameworks that support and stimulate private sector investment, as well as encouraging a successful entry to market of low carbon technologies. Accordingly, the DfT will contribute an additional ¡ê5 million per annum to the low carbon transport theme of the Energy Technologies Institute.

In conjunction with the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), the DfT and EPSRC will help finance and develop a new Low Carbon Vehicle Innovation Platform providing critical coordination and up to ¡ê30 million of support from 2008/09 for UK technology research aimed at accelerating the development of relevant technology. Assuming the Innovation Platform develops successfully the Government would envisage extending the programme to run over a number of years;

With initial funding of ¡ê20 million, the DfT will develop a new programme of public sector procurement to promote and support low carbon vehicle development, including small fleet demonstrations to provide early markets for new innovative lower carbon vehicle technologies; and, to ensure that Government leads by example it has set a fleet average car procurement target of 130gCO2/km by 2010/11 for new cars purchased by Government and used for administrative operations. We will keep the target under review and look to extend its scope following further analysis.

The the Government asked consultants E4tech to examine how the innovation system was functioning for some of the key transport carbon-reducing technologies, including more advanced versions of hybrids, including ¡°plug-in¡± hybrids, fully electric vehicles, second generation biofuels, and hydrogen fuelled vehicles, whether powered by an internal combustion engine or a fuel cell. The Government says its funding steps outlined above will help more of these options become commercially and technologically viable, but adds that the success of hydrogen or electricity-based technologies in delivering low carbon transport

will rely heavily on the UK's future elecricity generation mix,

- The 2007 Budget announced a review, to be led by Professor Julia King and Sir Nicholas Stern, to examine the vehicle and fuel technologies which over the next 25 years could help decarbonise road transport. This will identify options for moving towards the Government¡¯s longer-term objective to reduce average new car emissions to 100gCO2/km. The review will report its initial findings at the time of the 2007 Pre-Budget Report.

(This news item is abridged from the seventh chapter of the Energy White Paper on transport energy, which can be downloaded in full from www.gnn.gov.uk or www.gnn.gov.uk)

European Commission President Jos¨¦ Manuel Barroso has contributed a foreword to the latest annual report of the European Vehicle Manufacturers¡¯ Association, ACEA, which has been posted at www.acea.be/files/IndustryReport0708Keyfigures.pdf.

The report describes the european automobile industry as the backbone of the european economy, with the 13 major international players in the ACEA¡¯s membership comprising BMW, DAF, DaimlerChrysler, FIAT, Ford of Europe, General Motors Europe, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge, Porsche, PSA Peugeot Citro?n, Renault, Scania, Volkswagen and Volvo, these being expected to be joined soon by Toyota Motor Europe.

The report notes that more than 12 million EU families depend on automotive employment, with 2.3 million direct jobs and another 10 million in related sectors. The industry produces 18.6 million passenger cars, trucks and buses per year, representing 27% of worldwide vehicle manufacturing; one third of all passenger cars made in the world are manufactured in the EU, by an industry which annually invests €20 billion in R&D, representing 4% of industry turnover. The automotive industry is a leading EU exporter with a € 41.6 billion net trade contribution, while vehicle taxes deliver € 360 billion in government revenues yearly. Three and a half per cent of European GDP is contributed by the automotive sector.

The 75-page report covers in a section apiece the CARS 21 competiveness programme, road safety, air quality, taxation, transport policy, trade, regulations harmonisation, intellectual property, R&D, the automotive market and economy, and several pages of updated statistics.

At the PSA Peugeot Citro?n AGM yesterday in Paris, Chairman Christian Streiff presented the initial action plans developed by the company¡¯s ¡®CAP 2010¡¯ cross-functional working group over the past 100 days, and announced that they are now being implemented across the group. A wide range of measures to build sales and cut costs excludes compulsory redundancies, though PSA¡¯s French headcount is to be reduced by 4,800 people during this year via voluntary redundancies, as part of a targeted 30% overhead reduction by 2010.

Launched on February 6, the CAP 2010 programme was initiated by ten working groups involving several hundred executives, from all of the key business processes, who identified 150 projects to improve practices in every aspect of the organisation.

The four priorities announced last February have been translated into action plans to revitalise the group¡¯s growth and restore its competitiveness.

Product and service quality is to be upgraded to the standard of the best-ranked competitors. Among the action plans being implemented are a new design process; working with suppliers; sharing best practices between Peugeot and Citro?n; and reorganising and pooling customer service processes. The objective is to cut incident count and warranty costs in half by 2010.

Costs will be reduced across the organisation: Overheads will be cut by 30% by 2010. Within this context, the voluntary departure incentive programme will reduce headcount by 4,800 people in France in 2007.

Further procurement savings will be driven by stepping up global sourcing, re-launching technical savings in series production, and re-engineering vehicles, with the gains shared with suppliers. These programmes will improve purchasing productivity by 6% a year.

Supply chain costs will be driven down by streamlining and reorganising inbound and outbound logistics.

Six new vehicle projects will be added to PSA¡¯s product plan by 2010 by shortening the development cycle and by moving current development projects forward by three to six months. In addition, innovation programmes have been refocused on what customers want and are willing to pay for, as well as on environmental technologies.

A new marketing offensive will endeavour to recapture the market share lost in Europe, with particular focus on an action plan for Germany. Plans to drive faster expansion in China, Brazil, Argentina and other international markets are still being prepared by the newly formed teams in the corresponding business units, and will be presented in September.

To extend and support this action plan, Streiff said new management practices will be introduced to encourage initiative, team spirit and results-oriented performance in a more effective way.

- PSA Peugeot Citro?n shareholders yesterday approved a resolution allowing the company to issue warrants convertible into shares in the event of a takeover bid, becoming the latest French company this year to adopt such anti-takeover measures, The French paper La Tribune reported yesterday.

The listed, UK-based transmission developer Antonov plc has announced that durability testing of its two-speed supercharger is soon to be completed, that it had received a cash payment from the Chinese carmaker Geely for the licence to produce Antonov¡¯s six-speed automatic transmission, and that a new technical centre based in Warwick will support planned production programmes.

Antonov plc's programmes with Zhejiang Geely Automobile Gearbox Co ('Geely') and Emporio International Sarl ('Emporio') to commercialise the company's automotive technology are both described as progressing well, and have started to generate revenues.

Emporio has acquired the exclusive rights to distribute and commercialise Antonov¡¯s two-speed supercharger drive unit in the German market. Antonov expects to successfully complete durability testing in the near future, which will generate payments with Emporio having commenced active marketing of the product to key potential customers.

The six-speed automatic programme with Geely is running on time, and the release of production prototype drawings for manufacture is underway. The first cash payments due under the Agreement signed in January have been received. Geely have stated their commitment to the six-speed programme in their annual report, but have not yet announced their vehicle plans.

Following the success of the programme with Geely, Antonov is pleased to announce that it is in discussion with another automotive company for a second programme based around the company's six-speed automatic technology.

In addition to these commercial developments, internal reorganisation work is nearing completion, with recruitment underway for a new technical centre in Warwick, which will streamline the development and implementation of the Company's planned production programmes.

In December 2006, Antonov announced a distribution agreement with Emporio International Sarl, giving it the exclusive rights to distribute and commercialise the Company's AMM technology in the German market. The agreement covers the resale of the Company's two Speed Supercharger Drive system to tuning companies and the wider German automotive industry via Emporio's German Subsidiary GTI Green Tec International AG. In addition, Emporio will seek licensees for other AMM applications such as the 2 speed Front End Accessory Drive.

Honda will not expand the capacity of its Swindon plant until currency risk was eliminated, Honda president Takeo Fukui told the Financial Times in an interview published yesterday.

"We thought the UK was in Europe but its reluctance to join the euro is a big problem," he said, but added that Honda had no plans to write off its existing investment and shut the UK plant. However, he added that the intention is to bring Swindon to full capacity but with no plans to expand it. "We may change our minds if Britain were to join the euro," he told the paper.

Some of the European sales growth targeted by Honda can be supplied by a plant in Turkey, in which Honda is currently investing in expanding. Turkey is not in the Euro-zone or even in the EU, but offers low labour rates.

Honda increased the Swindon plant's capacity for the new new Honda Civic and CR-V last September, creating an extra 700 jobs. Output from the Swindon factory is set to increase to aaorund 250,000 units this year, representing a 30% increase over 2006 output.

(www.ft.com/companies/autos, 23 May)

The European Commission adopted three proposals yesterday aimed at modernising the rules governing the eligibility of people to become road hauliers, and access to the road transport market. The proposals provide for compulsory training for transport managers, an enforceable definition of cabotage which can be carried out within a EU Member State, and mechanisms for imposing sanctions across national borders. The proposed regulations aim to reduce distortions of competition and improve transport operators' compliance with the provisions of social legislation and road safety rules. According to the impact assessment, the administrative costs borne by companies and the authorities could be reduced by as much as €190 million per annum.

According to Jacques Barrot, the Commission Vice-President in charge of transport, "To enable the internal market to operate properly, our rules need to be clear, they must be uniform and they must be applied by all transport operators in all Member States". He went on to say that "these proposals will help the road transport industry to improve its efficiency and modernise its image. High-quality road transport services and well-trained professionals will have a favourable impact on their own safety and that of other road users, improve social wellbeing and economic performance, and also contribute to a reduction in fuel consumption and Co2 emissions for the good of society as a whole".

The legislative package, which will now be examined by the European Parliament and the Council, proposes seven main changes to harmonise the application of the rules, improve the effectiveness of checks and ensure fair competition:

1. Any company wishing to gain admission to the occupation of transport operator will in future have to employ a transport manager who can provide proof of professional competence (140 hours of training and an examination). If serious offences are committed under their responsibility, they will be disqualified and will no longer be able to work as a transport manager within the European Community for a period of two years.

2. Transport operators must not have been convicted of serious offences, as defined uniformly throughout the EU. They must be able to provide proof of their financial standing on the basis of financial indicators relating to their short-term solvency or on the basis of bank guarantees.

3. To ensure fair competition, companies must have an office and an operating centre, to eliminate the phenomenon of "letterbox companies".

4. To put an end to legal uncertainty, cabotage (freight transport within a Member State by a haulier established in another Member State) will be authorised if it follows on from an international transport operation. Cabotage must be limited to no more than three operations to be carried out within seven days. This can easily be checked on the basis of consignment documents.

5. The administrative procedures for authorising the creation of new regular coach services between Member States will be simplified. The model Community licence and model "driver attestation" will be standardised.

6. The national licensing authorities will have to ensure more efficient monitoring by setting up interoperable electronic registers throughout the EU by the end of 2010. They must withdraw the licences of transport operators convicted of serious offences. To this end, any serious offences detected will be mutually recognised between Member States.

7. Lastly, to ensure that drivers do not set themselves up as "false" (or bogus) self-employed drivers, they will no longer be able to call upon the services of a transport manager of a company for which they act as subcontractors. In addition, the Member States will be required to enforce the rules limiting working time strictly in order to make sure that they are not circumvented.

A report adopted at the same time as the three proposals for regulations concerns the application of the Working Time Directive to self-employed drivers. It calls upon Member States to apply the directive forcefully to bogus self-employed drivers. It draws attention to the drawbacks of an excessively wide extension of the directive to genuine self-employed drivers and confirms the need to amend the directive.

The Commission also adopted a report on the implementation of the directive on the roadworthiness testing of commercial vehicles. According to the report, despite great efforts by some Member States, there is still a lack of uniformity with regard to checks within the EU. The Commission will refer the matter to the appropriate committee to examine (in conjunction with the Member States) how the situation can be improved.

The EU has 850 000 road transport operators. It is estimated that road haulage will increase by 55% between 2000 and 2020 and by twice that figure for international transport.

(ec.europa.eu/transport/road/policy/index_en.htm)

With US regulators looking to revise fuel economy standards amid concerns for energy security and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, research published today by the Swiss bank UBS and the British auto-engineering consultancy Ricardo plc points to combined annual diesel and hybrid gasoline vehicle sales in the US of 2.7 million by 2012.

The Ricardo/UBS research report "Is Diesel set to boom in the US?" sets out the legislative and consumer drivers of engine technology for the North American automotive market over the coming decade, as well as the many candidate technologies available for future vehicle products.

Ricardo and UBS note that at present, hybrid gasoline technology appears to be the preferred route in the US, not least due to its attraction as a visible badge of green awareness amongst higher income purchasers. Many OEMs plan to launch hybrid products in the next few years, but the report highlights that this technology faces substantial manufacturing cost penalties which Ricardo believes, unlike Toyota, are unlikely to be eroded, even in mass production.

Diesel, says the research, has a clear cost advantage over hybrid, even when fitted with the type of complex exhaust after-treatment technologies necessary to meet future, more stringent emissions regulations.

Believing that the conditions may now be right for a big acceleration in diesel sales in the North American market, Ricardo forecasts that combined diesel and hybrid gasoline will represent 15% of the US light vehicle market by 2012, with sales of diesels outstripping gasoline hybrids by 1.5 million units versus 1.2 million. UBS highlights that European manufacturers and a number of global suppliers look set to benefit from the diesel trend.

"Is the Diesel set to boom in the US?" is published by UBS in association with Ricardo plc. Copies of the report may be downloaded from the Ricardo and UBS web sites, (www.ricardo.com, www.ubs.com)

A conference call with the report's authors will take place on Friday 25 May 2007 at 14.30 (London) and is open to the media and investors. The UK phone number given is +44 (0)20 7162 0125.

Remote Replay will be available for 7 days from 25 May 2007 on +44 (0)20 7031 4064 (Access Code: 752102).

A presentation of the report by Ricardo and UBS will also be held on 19 June 2007 at the UBS London presentation centre, 1 Finsbury Avenue, London, EC2M 2PP, UK.

Forty-five different vehicles and vehicle/trailer combinations used by the armed services have been assessed for compliance with the recently introduced Whole Body Vibration regulation, in the fastest ever programme of its type. Using new test procedures and technologies, Millbrook, which won the test contract following a competitive tender, says it was able to halve the time typically required for the test procedure.

¡°All employers must now ensure that their employees are not exposed to dangerous levels of noise and vibration at work,¡± explains Millbrook¡¯s vibration project manager Jim Clarke, ¡°This covers everyone from machine operators to truck drivers and engineers testing cars.¡±

Directive 2004/44/EC is unusual in that it requires compliance not during a pre-defined test procedure, but continuously in the workplace. To demonstrate compliance, Millbrook engineers started the programme by using their experience in real-world simulation to define a single, Battle Field Mission drive cycle that incorporates all the most challenging, vibration-inducing characteristics likely to be encountered during real service. The cycle covers all surface types that the vehicle is likely to traverse, including tarmac, gravel, sand and mud, plus a mix of high speed and low speed operation to provide noise and vibration inputs from the powertrain and the vehicles¡¯ aerodynamics.

Fast turnaround of each vehicle was achieved using production line-style test procedures and a range of new, compact test systems. Ten channels of data are collected: three vibration axes for the seat cushion, seat back and feet plus a head position noise signal.

The new test systems are also used for other projects, including analysis of NVH issues associated with suspension and brake performance, chassis behaviour, steering wheel vibration, exhaust noise and engine vibration.

Millbrook operates as an independent vehicle test and development centre with what it claims to be the most comprehensive range of tracks and laboratories available anywhere in Europe. Specialist sectors include whole-vehicle durability, safety, component and systems test, NVH, engine test, emissions and alternative fuels engineering.

Millbrook's test track this week hosted the SMMT's Driving Day for car journalists, followed by Motor Trader's Dealer Drive day today.

(www.millbrook.co.uk)

A new UK-based website, AutoCognition, has published owner and developer Michael Wynn-Williams¡¯ analysis of the role of the private equity firm Cerberus in acquiring a majority shareholding in Chrysler from its previous owners, DaimlerChrysler. The article, available on the AutoCognition website (www.autocognition.co.uk/), suggests that private equity, far from being a force to fear, may in fact be a source of long-term stability for Chrysler in its new-found position of independence.

The article suggests that Cerberus¡¯ ownership avoids the need ofr Chrysler to deliver short-term results and will provide Chrysler with the financial means to concentrate on its long-term industrial and marketing strategies. Since Daimler will retain a substantial holding in the company Chrysler will continue to benefit from access to some Mercedes-Benz technology. Wynn-Williams points out that technical progress and financial stability are the twin pillars supporting sustainable business growth for automotive manufacturers.

Interviewed by the Financial Times (of 23 May), however, Honda Motor president Takeo Fukui took a different view, suggesting that private equity¡¯s short-term targets were incompatible with the kind of sustainable growth achieved by Honda.

(www.autocognition.co.uk/)

- Having broken ground for a new axle plant under its new ownership last week, Chrysler Group hosted a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday at the site of the future Trenton Phoenix Engine Plant in Michigan. Scheduled to begin production in 2009, the $730 million investment will produce a new family of V6 engines, known in the Chrysler Group as "Phoenix" engines.

The Trenton Phoenix Engine Plant is part of the company's $3 billion ¡®Powertrain Offensive¡¯ announced in February, and will have an annual manufacturing capacity of 400,000 to 440,000 engines.

It will have a labour agreement that incorporates 'smart manufacturing' initiatives and flexible CNC-based machining, volume-bundled parts purchasing, volume-bundled capital investment and standardized tooling.

In the long term, the Phoenix family of V6 engines will reduce manufacturing complexity by paring Chrysler Group¡¯s four current V6 engine architectures to one.

Fiat has announced that it is investing €50 million this year in improving Fiat Auto, Alfa Romeo and Lancia dealer networks¡¯ customer care, with the objective of improving its customer satisfaction ratings following improvements in its vehicles¡¯ build quality.

It has also been reported ¨C though not by the company¡¯s own website - that Fiat's component subsidiary Magneti Marelli has bought back for €20m its aftermarket distribution busines, which it sold in 2001-2002, and intends to expand its aftermarket distribution network, and diversify its customer base beyond Fiat Auto, which accounts for 42% of sales, to 36% by 2010.

(www. orange.advfn.com, 24 May)

- Fiat is considering scrapping its Chinese joint venture with MG owner Nanjing Automobile Corp in favour of an alliance with another local carmaker, according to chief executive Sergio Marchionne, who has said that Nanjing Auto had been ¡°distracted¡± by its efforts to re-launch the MG brand. Nanjing this week secured a $260m loan for that purpose.

Mr Marchionne told the Financial Times: ¡°I remain committed to working out the matter with Nanjing Auto, but if we don¡¯t we¡¯ll have to find an alternative. We have a relationship with SAIC and one with Chery on engines that could become a car alliance.¡±

(www.ft.com/companies/autos, 23 May)

- As of June 1, 2007, ex Pininfarina Ricerca e Sviluppo S.p.A CEO Lorenzo Ramaciotti will take on responsibility for the styling of all the brands of Fiat Group Automobiles and for Maserati. He will directly report to Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive Officer of the Fiat Group.

- Fiat has bought back one million Fiat ordinary shares at the average price of €20.699 including fees. From the beginning of the buy-back programme announced in April the total number of shares purchased amounts to 8,426,000 for a total invested amount of €178.3 million.

(www.fiatgroup.com)

A magazine ad for the Lexus RX 400h car headed "HIGH PERFORMANCE. LOW EMISSIONS. ZERO GUILT" , accompanied by text stating "RX 400h. The world's first high performance hybrid SUV ... category-leading low CO2 emissions. A combination without equal. Or compromise". The text at the foot of the ad stated "... CO2 emissions 192g/km", attracted ten complaints from readers who believed the claims "LOW EMISSIONS" and "ZERO GUILT" misleadingly implied the car caused little or no harm to the environment and gave a misleading impression of the car's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in comparison with other vehicles. They argued that the "192g/km" emissions figure was high when compared to the emissions of all cars.

Lexus told the Advertising Standards Authority that they had sought approval from the CAP Copy Advice team before launching the ad and explained that, at 192g/km, the CO2 emissions of the RX 400h were very low compared to those of core competitors within its category. They submitted a chart, which compared the fuel emissions of the RX 400h with other vehicles they said were in the same class and showed that the emissions figure of 192g/km was the lowest of all those cars.

Lexus argued that the prominence of the illustration of the vehicle in the ad clarified the type of car the headline claims referred to and also the class of vehicle to which they applied. They believed readers of the ad would understand that the claims were made in relation to sports utility vehicles (SUV) only.

In its adjudication, the ASA acknowledged that, based on the evidence submitted, the CO2 emissions rate for the RX 400h was low compared to other cars in its class. It considered, however, that the headline claim "HIGH PERFORMANCE. LOW EMISSIONS. ZERO GUILT" implied the vehicle's emission rate was low regardless of category and readers were likely to understand from it that the car caused little or no harm to the environment, which was not the case, and had low emissions in comparison with all cars, which was also not the case.

Accordingly, the ad breached CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness), 19.1 (Other comparisons) and 49.1 (Environmental claims), and the ASA told Lexus not to imply in future that a car caused little or no harm to the environment and had low CO2 emissions in comparison with all cars if that was not the case.

(www.asa.org.uk)

A South African motoring website, Motoring.co.za, reports today that Elsa Du Toit, director of energy efficiency at the country¡¯s Department of Minerals and Energy, intends recommending to Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel that a levy of up to 33% be imposed on the purchase price of SUVs, in addition to a 100% levy on the annual licensing fee. She is also reported to commend a 20% levy on the price of large sports cars and a 40% levy on their annual licensing fee.

Ms Du Toit was speaking at a media and stakeholder briefing in Johannesburg on the contribution being made to energy savings by South Africa¡¯s Energy Plus initiative to assess how energy-efficient businesses run their operations. She said market forces alone are not enough to make people change their ways; despite oil price and interest rate increases, larger vehicles were still particularly popular, so incentives and penalties were needed.

The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) questioned her motivation, saying the treasury already had a draft environmental fiscal reform policy.

Naamsa executive director Nico Vermeulen said the treasury had consulted widely with stakeholders since publishing its draft policy in April 2006. The association stressed improvements in fuel efficiency or the adoption of renewable fuels should be driven by fuel price and related practical factors, rather than technology-prescriptive taxation, and noted thatSouth African vehicle licence fees were already based on vehicle mass, it said, which was an effective marker for fuel economy, and should not be changed in concept.

(www.motoring.co.za, 24 May)

- Insurance premiums for imported cars in South Africa could cost 50% more than the premium for a locally manufactured vehicle of similar value, largely because of the cost of vehicle parts, according to research by an insurer, Mutual & Federal (M&F). But Manny de Canha, the chief executive of Associated Motor Holdings (AMH), the country's biggest vehicle importer, said parts pricing surveys showed there was no truth in the claim, and noted that importers were gaining share in the South African vehicile market ¨C imports currently account for 40-45% of sales.

(www.busrep.co.za, 24 May)

The Californian start-up electric carmaker Tesla Motors, whose first roadster model is being built by Lotus Engineering, expects sales of $43 million over the next two years from a new Tesla Energy Group division it has established to sell lithium ion batteries for its own and slected other companies¡¯ electric vehicles. Tesla¡¯ s first OE customer will be Th!nk, the Norwegian battery-electric city car maker bought by Ford Motor Co. in 1999, then sold in 2003, and recently re-launched.

Tesla will launch its Lotus Elise-based roadster next year, and is building a New Mexico plant to make a future 4-seater EV itself.

The Dutch F1 constructor and sports car Spyker Cars NV reported yesterday that refinancing was in progress to fund a deferred payment for its 2006 F1 team acquisition and its growing working capital requirements. Spyker has retained Booz Allen & Hamilton to review its product offerings and draw up a future strategy document to support its borrowing requirements, which have yet to be determined. In the meantime, Spyker said its immediate liquidity was assured by an extended credit line from a bank, and a €7.5m loan from an existing shareholder.

Spyker confirmed a report in the Dutch paper de Telegraaf that it had pledged its intellectual property rights to the Friesland Bank as part of a financing arrangement entered into in September 2006. While Spyker said this was normal practice and did not affect its day-t-day operations, the news sent its shares falling sharply yesterday.

Spyker¡¯s CEO Victor Muller reportedly left the company, which specialises in low-volume, upmarket high performance cars, last week. The company¡¯s name re-launched a pre-war Dutch luxury car brand when it was established in 2000; Spyker recorded its first profit in 2006, making upmarket sports cars.

RMIF member bodyshops will be able to get access to motor trade-specific welding training that will enable them to work with the full range of newer alloys, including high tensile steel, with to a new member benefit being offered by the Retail Motor Industry Federation.

The RMIF's Bodyshop Services Division (BSD) is entering into an arrangement with The Welding Institute (TWI) that will enable RMIF member bodyshops to get special rates on training, membership, and technical advice. The package also includes a hotline to provide subscribers with technical support.

RMIF members will also be able to become full members of TWI at special rates if they wish.

The reported technical incompetence of many bodyshops to repair vehicles featuring high strength and ultra high strength steels has been the subject of a recent ¡®Boron Steel¡¯ public safety campaign.