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

Monday, March 5

GM’S eco-pair the Vauxhall Ampera and the Chevy Volt have been named as Car of the Year 2012. They beat VW’s Up and the Ford Focus to the top spot. Read more

THE number of mobile unique users on Autotrader.co.uk was up 150 per cent in January compared to the same month last year. Read more

KIA opened a dedicated training centre in Ruddington near Nottingham. It’s the first Kia dedicated centre in the UK to provide both technical and non-technical training courses.

BCA’s latest Pulse report shows that average used car values increased in February, climbing 3.7 per cent month-on-month. Read more

Tuesday, March 6

PRICES for Renault’s all-electric Zoe will start at £13,650 – after the Plug-in Car Grant; batteries not included. It’ll also be the first EV to be able to travel more than 130 miles.

NEW car registrations fell 2.5 per cent in February, reports the latest figures released from the SMMT. Read more

NISSAN will be building its new Note replacement at Sunderland, and creates 2,000 jobs across the automotive sector in the process.

MERCEDES-BENZ has revealed its year to date figure of 9182 vehicles is a rise of 17.2 per cent, compared with the first two months of 2011.

Wednesday, March 7

MITSUBISHI’S MD Lance Bradley has told Car Dealer about his decision to sell the Colt Car Retail Group to VT Holdings. Read more

SUZUKI has opened its new National Apprentice Training Centre based in Armthorpe, near Doncaster. Read more

KIA has surpassed more than 1 million visits to kia.co.uk in February alone, a record breaking number since the website was re-launched in 2009.

ROLLS-ROYCE has given its Phantom range a make-over. Called Series II, the car receives subtle modifications and upgrades.

Thursday, March 8

THE next MX-5 may ditch its iconic rear-wheel-drive layout, Mazda Europe’s CEO tells Car Dealer. Read more

BMW Group has reported its best-ever February sales result with 127,634 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce cars delivered worldwide. Read more

HPI has found 73 per cent of independent dealers blame the economic downturn for the lack of motor retail finance available to them.

RAWLINSON has become Mitsubishi UK’s newest dealer by officially opening their doors in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Read more

Friday, March 9

PEUGEOT’S director general tells Car Dealer that customers should not expect the new 208 GTI to be like the 205 GTI. Read more