Paul McVeigh

Germany was Europe's biggest market for sales of full-electric cars, followed by the UK.

Vingroup said Le Thi Thu Thuy will take over Michael Lohscheller's position of VinFast Global CEO. She will remain Vingroup vice chairwoman.

BMW's i Vision Circular concept's design is optimized to use materials that have already completed a product life cycle, CEO Oliver Zipse said.

Despite the overall fall in registrations, Tesla, Opel and Land Rover gained volume.

VW was the UK's top-selling brand, while the Tesla Model 3 was the best-selling car as EV sales soared.

The Sportage gets boomerang-shaped daytime running lamps that Kia calls "futuristic" and a dashboard designed to be used with the latest connectivity technologies.

The compact SUV will offer seating for up to seven people and is targeted at families who want a greener alternative to the GLB combustion engine model on which it's based.

The large crossover is tailored to Chinese customers "in terms of space, functionality, design and user experience," VW says.

The Taycan Cross Turismo offers more cargo space and headroom than the Taycan electric sedan. The quickest variant accelerates from 0-100 kph (62 mph) in 2.9 seconds.

The automaker will invest 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) into the factory, which will build a mass-market electric car based on a VW Group architecture.

The SMMT industry association downgraded its forecast for full-year sales by 100,000 units because of the latest lockdown measures to reduce fast-rising coronavirus infections.

Registrations in Germany declined amid COVID-19 and economic worries.

Tesla, which is building its first European plant near Berlin, said the fine is primarily related to administrative requirements.

The ZDK dealers association said the government's COVID-19 access restrictions do not pose a problem for the car trade.

VW's compact hatchback regained its place as Europe's best-selling car in July after it lost the crown in the previous two months to the Renault Clio.