New-car registrations in Europe rose 4 percent in April with mass-market automakers Renault, Ford, Opel and PSA showing stronger growth than premium brands.
Registrations in the EU and EFTA markets increased to 1.13 million vehicles from 1.08 million a year earlier, industry association ACEA said today in a statement. Four-month sales gained 7 percent to 4.48 million.
Audi presented the latest generation of its 3.0 TDI diesel engine at the 35th International Vienna Motor Symposium. The new 3.0-liter engine is designed to be utilized in both MQB (transverse) and MLB (longitudinal) architectures within the larger Volkswagen Group. (This could open up an interesting application in an MQB-based mid-size Volkswagen-brand SUV.)
Europe’s recovering car market should boost the 2014 outlook for the world’s biggest auto parts suppliers, but slow economic growth has caused component makers to refrain from raising their forecasts.
Engine downsizing is not a trend, but purely a way to offer more fuel efficient engines that also comply with tougher emission standards. All this is possible thanks to recent technologies with smaller turbo engines providing the power of a larger engine.
For the next-generation Leaf (photo current Leaf) electric vehicle, Nissan plans more mainstream styling and a new battery that greatly increases the car’s range. And Infiniti’s delayed electric car will debut with the improved battery by early 2017.
