When designing the new Toyota Rav 4, the engineers set themselves a number of challenges. Targets they knew they would have to meet in an increasingly competitive SUV market.

Figures released by SIMI (Society of the Irish Motor Industry) show that as of the end of April, there have been 4959 reclaims made under the government scrappage scheme. These statistics were compiled by Revenue.

SIMI has today released their annual figures detailing, amongst other things, the most popular new cars of 2009. The list makes for interesting reading as Ireland’s most popular brands continued to fight it out for first.

Automaker Toyota yesterday said global sales surged 26.3% year-on-year in March, despite millions of safety recalls worldwide.

The Toyota group, which includes brands Daihatsu and Hino trucks, sold 876126 vehicles in March, up from 693759 a year earlier, spokesperson Paul Nolasco said.

German luxury car maker BMW said Monday that global car sales in March rose 12.1% on the year to 141,701 vehicles, driven by soaring demand in emerging markets, and it expects second-quarter sales to come in above last year’s level as well.