HERE ARE the most interesting and talked-about stories over the past five days, collated and summarised by us.

Monday, July 9

MERCEDES-BENZ published pictures of the CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake. When it arrives in November, it’ll sport a 5.5-litre bi-turbo V8 engine.

THE BMW GROUP has announced a further £250m investment in its UK manufacturing operations in Oxford, Swindon and Hams Hall by the end of 2015. Read more

LAND ROVER has launched the Defender XTech Special Edition. The car is only available in two colours and features a black roof and wheel arches and black chequer plate along the bumper and sills. Prices start from £27,995.

HODGSON Mitsubishi has relocated to a new state-of-the-art building in Gateshead, the Japanese car firm has announced. Read more

Tuesday, July 10

BENFIELD, the north east’s largest Motor Group, has been chosen by Maserati to operate its first official solus Maserati dealership in the UK. Read more

VOLKSWAGEN handed over 2.79m vehicles to customers worldwide in the first half of this year – up 10.2 per cent on the same period in 2011.

AVERAGE used LCV values in June fell to their lowest point since last August, auction firm BCA’s latest Commercial Pulse report shows.

KIA’S facility at Zilina, Slovakia, has set a new car production record during the first six months of 2012, building 149,000 vehicles – a 10 per cent year-on-year increase.

Wednesday, July 11

VAUXHALL has released its first official pictures of the Adam – the firm’s new premium three-door car. Like Citroen with its DS3, Vauxhall is keen to point out the Adam is not retro. Read more

SEAT has introduced the Mii Vibora Negra edition. Sporting a range of sporty black accessories, the Vibora Negra pack costs from £1,628.

CHEVROLET has recorded its best-ever volume and market share in Europe, the American brand has announced. Read more

MAZDA has given its classic MX-5 an upgrade. The revised car – which arrives later this year – boasts a face-lifted nose and ‘refined driving attributes.’

Thursday, July 12

CHEVROLET UK may need to ‘back off a little bit’ in its move into Ireland, the firm’s boss has told Car Dealer. A troubled Irish economy and superstitious buyers may alter the firm’s expectations in the country in 2013. Read more

ASTON Martin has revealed the V12 Vantage Roadster. Like the coupe before it, the car boasts a 6.0-litre V12 under its small but shapely body. Prices start from £150k.

FORD’S Dagenham factory has clocked up its 40 millionth engine – enough to stretch 20,000 miles, or four fifths of the way around the globe, when placed end to end. Read more

INTERNATIONAL sales for the Renault group have hit a record high, rising 14.3 per cent thanks to strong performances in Russia and Brazil. However, this growth was insufficient to offset the 14.9 per cent fall in European sales.

Friday, July 13

CHEVROLET UK has revealed it’s discontinued the Cruze four-door saloon. A slow-down in the four-door saloon segment’s popularity with UK buyers is the reason given. Read more

KIA Motors UK has opened an all-new training academy. It gives the next generation of Kia apprentices from across the UK the opportunity to become fully qualified at the facility in their chosen course.

MORE than £600m in finance was provided in May allowing businesses to purchase 42,000 new cars, new figures from the Finance & Leasing Association reveal.

SKODA has set a new sales record in the first half of 2012 as worldwide deliveries to customers increased by 8.4 per cent to more than 493,000 units from January through June.