Next-generation mid-sized Volvo S60 has been unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show.

The Volvo S60, which is a replacement for the original S60 that was launched in 2000, has new steering column created from solid steel that provides more precise steering.

The new car is equipped with stiffer bushings than the S80. Its re-engineered front struts resist cornering forces in a better way.

Original S60, which hit the roads in 2000, had gained some attraction in the beginning but later on lost that attraction too.

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British defense firm BAE Systems PLC announced on Friday that it had sold half of its 20.5 per cent stake in Swedish defense group Saab to Investor AB in a deal worth 1.066 billion kronor (equivalent to £120 million).

The deal, which is a part of BAE's divestment process, will convert London-based BAE's voting A-shares into non-voting B-shares, while after the sale Investor AB's voting rights in Saab have increased to 39.5 per cent.

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New car sales in the UK jumped year-n-year 26.4 per cent in February owing to Government's car scrappage scheme, the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders said.

As many as 68,686 new cars were sold last month and car scrappage scheme accounted for around 20 per cent of the new car sales. It was the eighth consecutive month when new car sales surged in the UK.

Sales to private buyers jumped year-on-year around 70 per cent to 30,798 in February. Ford's two models viz. Fiesta and Focus were in great demand, with more than 3,000 of each were sold.

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Japanese engineering giant Mitsubishi has announced that it would invest 100 million pounds in UK's offshore wind turbine research, in a move that will provide work for 200 skilled people by 2014.

Under the plans, Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe will build a prototype turbine within three years, while full-scale production will be started after four years.

The establishment of the factory, which will build extra-large turbine for offshore use, will create as many as 1,500 jobs.

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After more than two years of turmoil, Wolseley shared the good news that it was achieving better than expected cost efficiencies.

The trading profits of the company are expected to be ahead of the consensus forecast of £326m, as the shares raised 12.5pc to £16.30.

As restructuring costs have grown unexceptionally, Wolseley's pre-exceptional profits have increased.

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Shares in Wolseley jumped on Tuesday after the British building materials firm announced that its profits for the fiscal year would be well ahead of market expectations of 326 million pounds.

Shares in Wolseley were trading at 1619 pence-a-share, up 170 pence or 11.7 per cent at 1000 GMT.

Wolseley, which operates in Europe and North America, said better-than-expected cost efficiencies would help it in beating analysts’ projections.

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Pendragon, the biggest car dealer in Britain, has said that sales of premium cars in the country are recovering, helped by government's "cash for bangers" scrappage scheme.

Pendragon, which sells new as well as second-hand luxury cars such as BMWs, Land Rovers, Jaguars, Audis and Maseratis through its Stratstone dealership, reported a pre-tax profit of £1.3 million for the period of 12 months to December 31 as compared with a loss of £194 million in the previous year.

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It has been reported that the shares of Wolseley had surged by more than 11 per cent which actually made this rise the biggest ever in FTSE 100 for the time being. It is an interesting fact that this leap is due to the profit warning which was quite a surprise and the most surprising thing was that it turned out to be positive instead of being negative.

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BMW, the German automobiles manufacturer, has reportedly offloaded a whopping 3 Billion Pounds ($4.6 Billion) worth of longevity risk of its UK pension scheme to Deutsche Bank, in a move which marks the largest ever longevity insurance transaction undertaken till date.

The deal was carried out by the German bank's insurance subsidiary Abbey Life, which was structured in association with Paternoste, the British specialist pension insurer, in which Deutsche is a shareholder, in order to cover the pension scheme liabilities related to about 60,000 pensioners.

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A research vehicle is set to enter the markets with an aim of green environment by Mercedes-Benz equipped with plug-in hybrid configuration and hydrogen fuel cell. This will be introduced at the Geneva Motor Show next month showcasing metal-sheet and new driver technologies.

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Car production in Britain climbed year-on-year 64.8 per cent in January, the biggest rise in more than 30 years.

Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders revealed that the production of commercial vehicles jumped 9.6 per cent in January as compared with the year ago period.

Last month, a total of 101,109 vehicles were produced in Britain. This was a sharp rise in production when compared with the year earlier period, when the industry was deeply entangled in recession.

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Bentley has strengthened their supercar range with the new, Bentley Supersports Convertible, the fastest four seater convertible supercar ever built.

The Continental Supersports Convertible is the company's fastest drop-top yet, with a 0-62mph time of 4.2 seconds, a 0-100mph time of 9.6 seconds and a top speed of 202mph.

Thanks to its 621bhp twin-turbocharged six-liter engine, the muscular Supersports Convertible is capable of running on both petrol and E85 bioethanol and any combination of the two.

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Honda has officially announced a new, limited-edition version of its popular Civic Type R. The launch of the new vehicle will coincide with the company's entry in the 2010 British Touring Car Championship.

The Civic Type R Mugen 200 boasts an exterior which is white, adorned with black mirrors, a look that will also be shared by the race team.

As has been suggested by the name, the special-edition car will be limited to a run of 200 vehicles.

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Pricing details of the fourth MINI model of BMW, the Countryman has been revealed.

Besides a wheel drive version called the ALL4, the MINI Cooper S Countryman and the MINI Cooper D Countryman are also available to the buyers who can choose between three petrol and two diesel engines.

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United States’ leading auto dealership group AutoNation Inc’s CEO Mike Jackson has said that Toyota Motor Co. could fix problems in less than 5 per cent of the millions of recalled vehicles in the country.

Mr. Jackson added that Toyota’s chief rivals such as Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are attracting more customers as recent recalls tarnished Toyota’s image.

Speaking on the topic, Mr. Jackson said, "This will be the moment for Ford and General Motors to stabilize their market share.”

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A recent survey conducted by Motor Codes reveals that more than 14 million motorists are unsatisfied with the standard of service they receive from their local garage.

The survey calculated that more than 45% of them believe they have been ripped off.

As a move to reduce the number of complaints about the shoddy repair works the car industry regulatory group, Motor Codes, has launched a national competition to find the best garages.

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On Wednesday, harsh comments shared by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sent shares of the already struggling Toyota Motor Corp. falling even more , after he advised owners of recalled automobiles to "stop driving" Toyota's cars. Later, however, the remark was characterized as a "misstatement".

By the time Wednesday afternoon rolled in, shares of Toyota managed to recover some ground, after plunging by a whopping 8% on the New York Stock Exchange, to trade at a 5% lower value of $74.30.

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Daimler AG made an announcement that the company is appointing Wolfgang Bernhard, head of its van operations, replacing Rainer Schmückle. He became a board member just under a year after his return.

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The British Government has extended the popular car scrappage scheme which compensates motorists for swapping an old car for a new more-efficient one.

The popular scheme has been extended by one month, from the end of February to the end of March.

Under the scheme, motorists are offered a discount of up to 2000 pounds on swapping a more than 10-year old car with a new model.

According to estimates, as many as 330,000 new cars have been purchased under the car scrappage scheme. The figure is expected to reach 400,000.

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Volvo's S80 and V70 DRIVe models have been further undergone a step to give class-leading CO2 emissions of under 120g/km.

The two new versions now both emit 119g/km of CO2, qualifying for the lowest 13% company car tax band. Previously, the DRIVe versions emitted 129g/km, putting them in the 18% banding.

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