Car and Van News

Mercedes-Benz has announced the pricing and specification of the latest E-Class Coupé and Cabriolet, on sale in time for summer.

Coupé prices start from £35,095, and the Cabriolet from £38,465.

Skoda will launch a refreshed version of its Superb large hatch and estate on 17th July, at prices starting from £18,555.

The new version includes revised visuals, an upgraded interior and significantly improved fuel economy and CO2 emissions.

Registrations of new cars surged by almost 15 per cent in April – the strongest climb in 14 months of solid growth.

The result, up 14.8 per cent to 163,357 units and the best April performance since 2008, brought the figures for the first four months of 2013 to 768,555 units – up 8.9 per cent.

A slight glimmer of hope has emerged in Europe’s depressed car market after sales in Germany rose slightly in April.

The figures, up by 3.8 per cent according to the country’s transport authority, reversed a steep slump of 17 per cent in March.

Peugeot believes that its 2008 has the right ingredients to become the best-selling B-segment crossover.

The brand believes the car can outsell Renault’s new Captur and take customers away from the segment-leading Nissan Juke.

Vauxhall is hoping to persuade more customers into its electric range-extender Ampera by paying for three years of running costs.

The package will offer three years or 60,000 miles free servicing and a £2,000 fuel contribution, enough to cover three years of both electric and petrol costs for an average Ampera driver.

Japan’s top four car manufacturers are to recall 3.4 million cars to fix a potential problem with their airbags.

The airbags, all supplied by parts manufacturer Takata Corporation, could potentially be too powerful, causing the inflator to break when the bag is activated.