News In Brief

Cost of MG Rover inquiry hits £12m
THREE years after its collapse, MG Rover is still losing money. Latest Government figures show the Companies Act investigation into the British firm’s demise has cost £12.2million to date. The report was initially expected to take 18 months, but there’s still no deadline for its conclusion.

Cee’d production passes 200,000
KIA has revealed that production of the five-door and SW versions of the Cee’d, plus the Pro_cee’d three-door, has topped 200,000 – only 18 months after the first car rolled off the line at Zilina in Slovakia. The news comes as a fleet of 265 Kias heads for the Euro 2008 football championship in Switzerland and Austria. As official car manufacturer, the firm will transport VIPs during the three-week tournament.

VW deal sparks batteries boom
VOLKSWAGEN has signed a deal with Sanyo to produce the next generation of lithium-ion batteries. The hi-tech storage packs will be used on the car firm’s forthcoming hybrids – due by 2010 – despite battery life issues on lithium-ion cells. Sanyo plans to build 15,000 to 20,000 units a year by 2015.

Risk spelled out to drink-drivers
DRINK-driving can cause lasting damage to your life. That’s the message behind a £1.6million THINK! campaign. It emphasises that a drink-driving conviction stays on your licence for a massive 11 years – but in that time, your heart will beat 400 million times, you’ll drink the equivalent of 36 bathtubs full of water and climb enough stairs to scale Everest twice.

Watchdog KO for Qashqai ad gripe
NISSAN has dismissed complaints about an advertisement for its Qashqai. The newspaper ad claimed the family car was the “safest ever tested for adults by Euro NCAP” – when it got the highest score in only one of three categories: adult occupant safety. Bosses have since explained it didn’t top the list in pedestrian safety or child occupant tests, and the Advertising Standards Agency has backed the maker.