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Arctic Trucks Toyota Hilux conquers Iceland's volcano Iceland's Eyjafallajökull volcano has grounded thousands of flights around the world as it throws plumes of ash into the sky – and only one car has dared to enter the hot-zone. The Arctic Trucks Hilux has proven it is more than just a one-trick Top Gear pony, transporting a team of scientists to the heart of the volcano to set up vital monitoring equipment before the long-dormant mountain blew its top. This is also explains earlier reports that Top Gear was filming a new episode at the volcano, with the Icelandic scientists and their equipment mistaken for Clarkson, Hammond, May and the Top Gear film crew. Boasting a raft of mechanical enhancements and giant low pressure 38-inch tyres, the Arctic Trucks Hilux has now conquered the coldest and hottest environments on the planet. ©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved. . Hyundai i30 sells 500,000 units worldwide, Australian sales strong The multi-award winning Hyundai i30 range has passed cumulative global sales of 500,000 units as it continues to enjoy strong sales. “The i30 delivers an unbeatable package of class leading features, value and economy,” said Damien Meredith, Hyundai Motor Company Australia’s Sales Director. “The i30 range continues to win Australian fans, leading its segment for the first time in March.” Hyundai said the milestone is an epic achievement for the brand, and that if it were to park all the i30s sold nose-to-tail, they would cover the driving distance between Brisbane and Adelaide. Australian sales are also strong with the Hyundai i30 hatch and Hyundai i30cw wagon selling over 42,430 units since going on sale in here back in late 2007. ©2010 Car Advice | News . India's car sales up 25% this year, biggest gain since 2004 Indian car sales are at their highest point in six years with the fiscal year result, ending March 31, showing a 25 per cent increase over last year’s figures. According to data issued by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Indians purchased 1.53 million cars over the last fiscal year, up from 1.22 million units the year prior. Sugato Sen, a senior director at SIAM, says it’s the biggest percentage gain since a 29 per cent growth was recorded in the fiscal year ending March 2004. President of SIAM, Pawan Goenka, reiterated those findings, saying India’s car sales are likely to grow between 10 and 14 per cent in this financial year, and that all automobile sales in India – which include motorcycles, cars, buses and trucks – have risen by 26 per cent over the past year to 12.29 million units. “Typically, if we look at the auto industry in India over a 10-year period, we have grown 10 to 14 per cent,” said Mr Goenka. “Last year (ended March 31, 2010) was exceptionally high because of a poor performance in fiscal year 2008-09, when there was no growth. “Over the last two years, we have grown 10 to 14 per cent cumulatively. We would like to see a higher growth, but this is what we expect for fiscal year 2010-11 as well.” But industry experts warn the growth is likely to plateau towards the middle of this year as a series of stimulus steps implemented by India’s federal government are gradually withdrawn. This fact, coupled with the introduction of a new double digit excise tax (which was introduced on February 26), could see the boom times come to an abrupt end as dealerships face little option but to pass on the added tax to their customers. Also, with inflation hovering at 9.89 per cent in February, the highest in 16 months, fears of further rate hikes by the central bank are on the rise. India’s central bank increased its key interest rates last month, and is expected to announce a further raise by the end of April. Sanjay Doshi, a Mumbai-based analyst with Macquarie Research, said recently that volume growth is expected to slow this fiscal year “as various fiscal and monetary stimuli are gradually withdrawn and the pent-up demand effect wears off.” Strong sellers over the past financial year include Maruti Suzuki, India’s biggest car maker by sales volume, on 765,526 units (up 20 per cent) and Korean manufacturer Hyundai on 314,967 sales (up 29 per cent). Third place goes to local manufacturer Tata with 201,399 registered sales (up 26 per cent). .