Currently reading: Quick news: BMW creates new jobs, Renault Megane CC facelift

BMW announces it will create 1000 extra jobs at its UK manufacturing plants, while the Continental GT3 racer from Bentley gets its motorsport debut in Abu Dhabi

BMW is creating 1000 extra jobs across its four UK manufacturing sites. The firm's Mini plant in Oxford, which is already gearing up for production of the 2014 Mini Hatchback, will benefit from the majority of the new jobs, but other sites in Swindon and Birmingham as well as the Rolls-Royce plant in Goodwood will also open up new roles.

The facelifted Renault Megane CC will make its debut in January, and will go on sale in March. Like the recently-facelifted hatchback model, the Megane CC features Renault's new front-end family styling, as well as the company's R-link multimedia system as standard. UK pricing will be announced in the new year.

The Bentley Continental GT3 will make its race debut this week in Abu Dhabi. The GT3 is powered by a 600bhp twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine, and will race this week as part of testing for the 2014 Blancpain Endurance series. The car marks Bentley's first return to racing since its Speed 8 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2003.

Honda says its 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine has acheived an economy figure of 77.86mpg. The test was carried out in a Honda CR-V over more than 500 miles on UK roads. The engine has an official quoted figure of 62.8mpg, and used 29.75 litres of fuel during the test.

Half of all UK motorway service stations will have electric vehicle fast-charging points fitted by Christmas. Charging point provider Electrocity says it is aiming to equip 90 per cent of service stations with its free wind-powered charging points by Spring 2014. The company says that up to five new charging points are being installed every week.

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