Volkswagen Touran

Volkswagen unveiled the new Touran at the Leipzig Motor Show last week. Though not an entirely new design, the revisions to the Touran were made to bring the car in line with other offerings in the Volkswagen stable - namely the Polo, Golf and the recently revealed Touareg SUV.

At the front, a new grille with horizontal lines sits atop a new front bumper, while revised taillights with LED bulbs join a new tailgate and bumper at the rear. Completing the revisions are a set of new alloy wheels and chrome-edged rubbing strips running down the side of the vehicle. The redesign is subtle, but sufficient to make the new model embody the classic, albeit conservative, design direction established by its recently refreshed siblings.

Inside, new trim finishes are joined by a three-spoke steering wheel ahead of a new set of dials featuring subtle white backlighting and a large electronic display to relay information on the vehicle's systems. A revised center console with chrome highlights houses new controls for the ventilation system. In keeping with the functionality of the MPV's ancestor, a total of 39 storage compartments can be found around the cabin.

Geely Englon TXN

Geely is poised to show 39 new vehicles at the forthcoming Auto China 2010 motor show in Beijing, among them will be this new TXN taxi. While most of the new cars on show won't be built around entirely new sheet metal - some will feature new powertrains, for example - the Englon TXN is indeed all-new.

Sitting in Geely's Englon range, a sub-brand initially created for the taxicab, the TXN is intended as a replacement for the aging TX4 built by British automaker LTI (as well as at Geely's Shanghai Maples factory). The new design features a pronounced front end with a large grille, employing elements of the current TX4's face, while the rear is strangely reminiscent of the previous generation Lancia Ypsilon and Mini Cooper, particularly the taillamps.

Other new Englon range vehicles on display at the show will include the SX6 SUV, GV5 and SV5 MPVs, SC5-RV and SC6 sedans, and the GX2 Cross minicar. See them all in our gallery below. We'll endeavor to bring you more details on these cars and others revealed at the Beijing show next week.

SAIC Leaf

The Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) will unveil this futuristic concept at next week's Beijing motor show. Called the Leaf, the new concept has no relation to Nissan's concept car shown in Tokyo last year. It is a much more fanciful two-seat concept car whose design is entirely open to the elements, and it also features a slew of environmentally-friendly technologies.

Incorporating both solar and wind harnessing addendums, the Leaf features innovative carbon capturing bodywork that can absorb CO2 and emit oxygen, as plants do during photosynthesis. The Chinese automaker claims that because of this feat, the car actually has negative emissions.

The Leaf sources power mainly through photovoltaic cells within its leaf-shaped roof (these position themselves toward the sun to garner the most energy) while mini turbines within the wheels use the passing wind to generate electricity and store it in its battery pack, supplementing power for the microbial fuel cell.

We'll bring you more details on the concept live from Auto China 2010 next week.

Great Wall C30

Great Wall Motors will launch its C30 sedan at Auto China 2010 in Beijing next week. The new car is claimed to be the Chinese automaker's global car and could potentially see export to the European and other worldwide markets.

Though information on the new car remains scarce, Great Wall is reportedly conducting tests to ensure it will perform well in the European NCAP. And though we have yet to see the new car in the metal, it would appear that the carmaker (China's largest SUV manufacturer) is focusing on building vehicles that will appeal to buyers outside of the domestic market. If they are to succeed, build quality and design will be major factors.

We'll bring you more information on the new car once we see it at Auto China 2010 next week.