Mini rejects the idea of British design studio (UK)

Mini executive, Gert Hildebrand has rejected the idea of opening a design studio in the UK. Hilderbrand said a UK Mini design studio "wouldn't happen" as it would be too far away from Mini's engineering team.

BMW built a Mini design studio in 2001 at its Munich headquarters, close to their engineering department. Many have asked Mini to expand its design team into Britain to help offer a more traditional perspective on Mini design, but Hilderbrand - a fan of classic Minis and British culture in general – has dashed hopes of such a facility being created.

"We won’t move away from Munich as we need to be close to engineering," he said, "and there's no engineering capability in England. I love England but it's not going to happen."

Van Hooydonk also dismissed suggestions that the scooters could be a Mini too far. "I had an original Mini and know what the brand is about," he said. "This is not what Mini has done before but it is still a Mini for the urban environment. It's fun and emotional."

Via Autocar

2011 Nissan Micra platform to underpin sedan and sub-compact MPV

New information has surfaced of the forthcoming sub-compact saloon and MPV that will underline the all-new Micra/March small-car platform.

The ‘V’ platform – short for versatile – it intended to adapt the structure for different body styles. The ‘V’ platform will ultimately generate production of a million vehicles annually, Nissan envisage.

The first vehicle to be conceived is a 4dr supermini saloon which will be launched in 2011. The car will primarily be designed for the Asian market (Japan, India, Thailand, Pakistan, South Korea, China etc). The car may arrive in Europe, particularly Eastern Europe (Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Romania etc) where supermini sedans are big business. UK sales are a possibility, despite the limited appeal of small, three-box models but Irish sales are likely.

These spy shots show a prototype covered in tape but by the look of things, the Micra sedan will look just as conservative as its hatchback counterpart. This website claims the Micra saloon will be powered by engines larger than 1.5 litres, which is incorrect since the 'V' platform can only support engine sizes of 1.2 litres and less.

A replacement for the Note supermini MPV will certainly arrive in UK dealerships. Insider claim it will be slightly shorter than the current model but will provide similar interior space, an advantage of the V platform’s improved space efficiency which part-stems from a more compactly packaged fuel tank and a pedal-box located closer to the car’s nose.

Audi could sell 10,000 more cars (UK)

Audi UK is claiming it could sell 10,000 more cars this year if factory shortages in mainland Europe didn’t hold back supply. Audi UK has many more customers than production slots allocated for four key models; A3 hatch, Q5 compact SUV, Q7 large SUV and the A8.

“We’re having a great year, but forecast that we could sell up to 7,000 and 10,000 more cars this year if we had the supply,” says a spokesman for the company.

The A8 is being affected by strong early demand from China. The A8 has been planned with a pre-arranged production level and suppliers, mainly of interior parts, can only perform orders tied to that level of output.

With a inadequate production level, China is taking in a larger than predicted share of the output and a unplanned effect will delay the launch of the long-wheelbase A8 in the UK.

Usually Audi UK can fill slots in its demand by taking on factory build-slots that other countries don’t need. “But that’s not happening this year. All the countries are selling well and there’s no sign of extra capacity being freed-up for the UK,” says the spokesman.

To the end of August, Audi has registered 65,850 cars, a 15% increase over 2009.