Amidst the thousands of cars on display at the Geneva motor show there is one that stands out, if not for its looks than for its importance for the company that makes it. For the first time since 2003, BMW has redesigned its 5-series executive model range.

The single-model display at the Geneva motor show by electric motoring pioneer Tesla is swamped this year by a seemingly endless string of rival sportscar companies launching electric vehicles of their own.

High Performance Vehicles: Can green still be fast and fun? 22 April 2010, Prodrive, Warwickshire The Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) kindly offers MIA Members a special rate to attend this upcoming conference.

New car market climbed 26.4% in February to 68,686 units. Private buyers lead growth with business demand also strengthening. Scrappage scheme accounted for 19.6% of the February new car market. Government urged to defer new car VED rise and boost business confidence post-scrappage.

Lord Mandelson addressed the annual trade and industry dinner hosted by the Lord Mayor of the City of London at Mansion House on 1 March, highlighting government’s role in securing the UK’s economic growth. Describing the key factors to supporting the UK economy, the business secretary said, “Government needs to lend its energy to the stimulation of new innovation and enterprise from our world class research base and universities. We need to ensure that in a period of reduced funding our universities give increased priority to STEM subjects, and to commercialisation of research, and that our skills system provides advanced apprenticeships and technician training to serve the new industries of the future.

A survey of more than 500 firms by the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF) and BDO, the accountants, showed there has been better-than-expected improvement in output and orders during the past few months.

Toyota is braced for a huge drop in official sales figures as the beleaguered Japanese motor group insisted that it would not cut prices to lure back passengers put off by the manufacturer's multiple car recalls.

More than 30 world premieres will be unveiled during the first press day of this year's Geneva motor show. Small cars will dominate the show as even luxury brands like Audi, Lexus and Aston Martin try to meet growing demand for frugal, fuel efficient cars.

Jaguar Land Rover turned in a profit of £55m in the last three months of 2009 after a loss of £60m in the previous quarter.

An over-reliance on structured tests has left many teenagers "less able to use the English language" to accurately express their understanding of scientific concepts, it was claimed. A panel of experts also claimed that examination boards were fuelling the problem by selling their own textbooks to schools - helping pupils boost their scores rather than properly grasp difficult subjects.