The one-hectare trial by Crown Research Institute Scion has been set back by a year after devastating raid.

Dean Sheed joins the Audi New Zealand brand as general manager.

In a further sign China is to become a major force in car manufacturing, Beijing Automotive is being tipped as the purchaser of General Motors’ Saab subsidiary in Sweden.

Reports in the US say a tentative deal is close for Beijing Auto to acquire Saab’s intellectual property for two sedans and equipment to produce those cars. This will enable Beijing Auto, one of China's main state-owned auto makers, to integrate the Saab technology into its own vehicles.

Like a row of skittles, General Motors’ selloff plans keep falling over.

The latest deal to collapse is the sale its Swedish unit, Saab, which was to have been bought by boutique Scandanavian sports car maker Koenigsegg Group.

But Koenigsegg has now pulled the plug on the deal. Owner Christian von Koenigsegg said the financing was available but that the complexity of the deal made it impossible to conclude it in the time needed to turn Saab around.

Poultry producer Inghams Enterprises has received a slap on the wrist from the Commerce Commission for advertising its products were genetic modification (GM) free when in fact its birds were fed modified soy.

The commission completed its investigation into allegations made in consumer and trade magazines and on TV between January 2008 and June 2009, that claimed  Inghams was marketing its chicken products as GM free when its birds were eating feed mixed with 13% GM soy.