Increasing numbers of motorists are ditching petrol engines in favour of diesel, it has been suggested.

Carcraft says that, because the rate of VAT has reverted to 17.5 per cent, drivers are "feeling the pinch" even more than usual, causing them to look at how they can cut costs, with a switch in fuel touted as one of the most feasible options.

Mike Walsh, Carcraft’s sales director, said the cost of fuel is "definitely playing a part" in how people are deciding which vehicle to buy.

"With diesel models offering a much more economical performance, we’re finding more and more customers are making the switch from petrol," he commented.

According to the dealership, the Renault Megane Scenic 1.5 cCi is one of the most popular diesel models being sold, in addition to the Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 Dti and the Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi.

Last year, Carcraft warned customers looking at purchasing vehicles to be wary of ‘ghost cars’, with fraudsters advertising cars for sale that don’t actually exist.

The car industry in west Cumbria has welcomed the end of recession by revealing an upturn in trade.

Speaking to the Times & Star, Graham & Bowness car dealership manager John Wilson, whose business is based in Clay Flatts, said that things had been slow immediately after Christmas but that the last two weeks have been "really busy", with the company seeing "healthy profits".

"There are a lot of people still taking advantage of the scrappage scheme so future business is looking pretty healthy now," he commented.

Other dealerships in the region have been experiencing a similar upturn, with aftersales manager at Dobies in Lillyhall Mike Pollard telling the newspaper "a lot more people" had been looking at purchasing a new vehicle during the Christmas and New Year period.

The good news may not surprise Cumbria Chamber of Commerce chief executive Rob Johnston, who argues that the county exited the recession months ago.

Cumbria MEP Chris Davies said earlier this week that fuel efficiency will increase by as much as 20 per cent during the next six years thanks to the implantation of new EU law, Lakeland Today reports.

The north-east has a long-standing association with the car parts industry, but its relationship with motoring is about to be brought right up to date.

This is because 619 charging points will be installed throughout the region as it begins to embrace electric car technology, with 40 of these to be based in Newcastle, the Financial Times reports.

In a further boost, Nissan has confirmed that it will start building its Leaf vehicle at its Sunderland plant, the UK’s largest car manufacturing facility.

The only stumbling block, it has been suggested, is that electric cars will take time to become established in the European motoring market.

Al Bedwell of consultancy JD Power told the newspaper that electric vehicles will make up a maximum of five per cent of the continent’s market by 2017.

"The drawbacks and barriers to electric vehicles are still such that it will remain quite a limited market for years to come," he commented.

Nissan’s Sunderland plant recently produced its five millionth vehicle and has seen 11 new car launches since 1986.

Increasing numbers of Nissan car parts will be produced at the manufacturer’s plant after the company announced the launch of a temporary production shift.

In response to increased demand for the Qashqai model, Nissan is recruiting an additional 400 staff on fixed-term contracts to ensure that supply does not run out.

Trevor Mann, the company’s senior vice president for manufacturing in Europe, said that its Sunderland staff have been "working incredibly hard" but that additional staff are needed to guarantee vehicles are delivered "as quickly as possible".

"Qashqai continues to buck the trend of a generally depressed market, and we have now identified the need for an additional shift to cover a high volume request in the first half of the 2010 financial year," he commented.

Mr Mann went on to say that the new staff will help to "fill the delivery pipeline" to its dealer network on the continent.

Earlier this week, Nissan’s Sunderland plant was recognised as the largest car production facility in Britain for the 12th year in succession.

The City Car accolade has gone to the Fiat 500 for the second year in a row at the 2010 BusinessCar Awards.

Having been on sale in the UK for two years, the 500 has impressed drivers and industry experts and won the Car of the Year mantle in 2008 in addition to a number of consumer and trade prizes.

Fiat Group Automobiles UK director Andrew Humberstone said that securing another award is "always welcome".

"The Fiat 500 has continued to sell well to retail customers and has caught the imagination of large and small fleets too, so we are delighted to see further support from BusinessCar in this excellent category win," he commented.

BusinessCar editor Paul Barker said that Fiat appears to have secured the category "for the long term" after its second win on the bounce.

The 500 comes in three different trim levels – Pop, Sport and Lounge and is available with either a 1.2, 1.4 or 1.3-litre engine.

Earlier this month, Fiat launched a limited edition set of 500 pink 500s, with the models only available online.

Complaints over second-hand cars and car parts have once again topped the list of issues dealt with by the official consumer watchdog.

According to the latest data from Consumer Direct, around one in five people who purchased a used car from an independent trader over the course of 2009 experienced problems with it within a few weeks or months of the sale.

More specifically, problems with key car parts, such as brakes, engine or the clutch were seen to be the most frequently raised issues in 2010, far surpassing consumer complaints over faulty electrical goods or mobile phone service agreements.

With this now the fourth year in a row that gripes over second-hand cars have topped the list of sorts of complaints dealt with by Consumer Direct, the Retail Motor Industry has urged buyers to make sure they only deal with reputable dealers, and particularly with those that are members of a trade association.

The trade body’s Sue Robinson told the BBC, however, that a significant proportion of complaints are a result of a "breakdown in communication" between customers and traders.

Toyota is considering announcing a recall of thousands of cars sold in the UK as fault in its car parts was found in the United States.

Just this week the Japanese manufacturer confirmed that defective accelerator pads have been found in cars released onto the American market.

Specifically, the problem lies with the stickiness of the accelerator pedal, with drivers finding that their Toyota keeps on speeding up even when they have taken their foot off it.

And though the company has revealed that the problem has only been detected with the car parts from a specific US supplier, a spokesperson for the company has confirmed that it is looking into the possibility that vehicles released in Britain and Europe could be similarly afflicted.

"We are investigating whether this part is used on any of our range in the UK and Europe," he said.

"It may or it may not. We don’t yet know. We have not issued a recall notice."

This latest Toyota car parts worry comes just a few months after the company was forced to order a recall of around 4.2 million vehicles in the US.

The October recall came on the back of worries that pedals were getting lodged under floor mats, thereby placing drivers at risk.

The Nissan Leaf has seen off tough competition from a number of big-name models to be named the winner of the Green Car Journal’s Green Car Vision Award for 2010.

Aimed at recognising the potential of eco-friendly vehicles that are in the early stages of mass production, the award scheme shortlisted the Mercedes Benz F-Cell car and the Toyota Prius PHV hybrid for this year’s top prize.

However, it was Nissan that triumphed, with the judges praising the manufacturer’s plans to make Leaf more affordable than other green cars.

Announcing the news at the Washington Car Show, Green Car Journal editor and publisher Ron Coga said: "This coming electric model will provide the features, the styling, and the driving experience that will meet the needs of a sophisticated and demanding market, while producing zero localized emissions and requiring no petroleum fuels."

Nissan anticipates that the Leaf could enter full production by 2012, while last year’s winner, the Chevrolet Volt is set to enter mass production later this year.

Meanwhile, the Energy Saving Trust has called on car makers to start using a standard fuel economy labelling system on their websites so as to give consumers more information about the eco-friendliness of their models.

A car parts factory in Wales has secured a wave of new work thanks to the upturn in the motor industry.

Employees at ThyssenKrupp Tallent in Carmarthenshire had been warned that they may lose their jobs after a fall in orders, although the company later decided to close its Cambridgeshire facility instead, the BBC reports.

However, ThyssenKrupp Tallent warned that there was still "significant overcapacity" across its plants, although suggested that new jobs could be created in south Wales in the relatively near future.

"Whilst Llanelli’s long-term future sadly remains uncertain, employees are now aware that production will continue at the plant for at least another year," explained Sue Boulton, the company’s human resources manager, to the website.

She also said that it is unfeasible to transfer work away from Llanelli, with the plant’s long-term future to be decided after the Cambridgeshire work has been moved.

ThyssenKrupp Tallent supplies car parts to a number of manufacturers including BMW, Ford, Honda and Jaguar.

A North Yorkshire man may soon be looking at Peugeot car parts after his 206 ended up in the sea at South Bay in Scarborough.

Local council worker Mike Tinsley spotted the car heading towards the beach and said he was relieved that the driver was successfully rescued, the Scarborough Evening News reports.

A spokesman from North Yorkshire Police told the newspaper that they had been called to the scene on Monday (January 25th) evening, shortly after the car was spotted.

The vehicle’s 53-year-old driver was taken to Scarborough Hospital for treatment.

Peugeot is currently celebrating its 200th anniversary, and to mark the event has announced a "new styling direction".

The manufacturer is showing off a new corporate lion badge and is incorporating a new signature – Peugeot Motion & Emotion.

It hopes that the new look will be typified in the Peugeot SR1 concept car, which aims to reflect the "Peugeot style of tomorrow".