AUTO

Toyota Motor Corp's safety recalls will hurt U.S. dealer sales in the first quarter but payments from Toyota for the repairs will offset any dealer losses over the rest of the year, two major U.S. auto dealership groups said on Thursday.

Volkswagen is recalling close to 200,000 units of its Novo Gol and Novo Voyage models built in Brazil for the local market, VW's third-largest, due to insufficient grease in rear wheel bearings in some cases.

Japan's Honda Motor Co's Indian car unit has revived plans for production at its second plant in India due to a surge in sales last year, a senior company official said.

Toyota is aiming its Canadian advertising dollars at reassuring existing customers worried by the company's recent safety woes, rather than winning new buyers, even though the move may hurt February sales numbers, a top Toyota Canada executive said on Thursday.

Shareholders in Spyker have approved the $74 million purchase of Swedish automaker Saab from General Motors, Chief Executive Victor Muller said on Friday.

Group 1 Automotive Inc posted a quarterly operating profit and its first increase in same-store sales in years, the U.S. auto dealership group said on Thursday.

A Republican lawmaker said on Wednesday he is inviting Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda to meet members of Congress the week of February 22, but the automaker said the executive's travel plans had not been determined yet.

Kazuo Akatsuka, 55, lives a life that is dominated, for better or worse, by his employer, Toyota Motor Corp, and right now it's got him a little worried.

Honda Motor Co said it would recall another 440,000 cars around the world for faulty airbags, as rival Toyota Motor Corp faced further probes over its largest-ever safety crisis.

Honda Motor said on Wednesday it aims to sell at least 632,200 vehicles in China this year, up 10 percent from 2009, though the pace of growth will likely slow compared with a surge last year due to government incentives.

Toyota Motor Corp was not accustomed to outsiders telling it what to do, let alone some obscure bureaucrat from the United States.

As the U.S. Congress gears up to delve into Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T) massive global vehicle recall, the question they face is whether the automaker and regulators misread or ignored rising consumer complaints.

A U.S. congressional committee postponed a hearing scheduled for Wednesday to examine recent vehicle recalls and how Toyota Motor Co and regulators responded to reports of safety problems with big-selling cars.

The U.S. government will continue its investigation into 2010 Prius hybrids over braking complaints even though Toyota Motor Corp has announced a recall of that model, the Transportation Department said on Tuesday.

Dutch sports car maker Spyker Cars on Monday said it has secured the financing to close its purchase of the Swedish auto brand Saab from General Motors, but still has not secured the funds for a required subsequent payment.

Toyota Motor Corp will suspend domestic production of its Sai and Lexus HS250h hybrids, which are to be recalled for faulty brakes, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday.

A consumer advocate set to testify this week in a congressional probe of safety issues at Toyota Motor Corp said on Sunday the automaker had skirted a full investigation of unintended acceleration in its vehicles and faced a risk of growing recalls.

Toyota Motor Corp is preparing a recall of its new Prius hybrid car in Japan as early as Tuesday, followed by similar steps in the United States, Europe and other markets, a source familiar with its plans said.

Electric cars must be backed by smart power networks if they are to help the world's climate problems, environmentalists warned on Monday as European ministers prepared to debate a strategy for the sector.

Toyota Motor Corp is seeking to recall its third-generation Prius hybrid cars in Japan to fix a software glitch related to braking, a source with knowledge of its discussions with safety authorities said.

In the latest blow to Toyota Motor Corp, U.S. safety regulators opened a formal probe on Thursday into problems with the brakes of the Prius, the world's top-selling hybrid and a vehicle that has powered the automaker's reputation for fuel-efficiency.

U.S. safety regulators opened a formal investigation on Thursday into consumer complaints about braking on 2010 Toyota Motor Corp Prius hybrids.

Toyota Motor Corp expects costs and lost sales from its massive safety recall to total $2 billion by the end of March, keeping it in the red for the year despite its strongest profit in six quarters.

Toyota Motor Corp expects costs and lost sales from its massive safety recall to total $2 billion by the end of March, keeping it in the red for the year despite its strongest profit in six quarters.

Market talk that Volkswagen could announce at an investor conference on Wednesday that it planned to take over MAN SE soon pushed shares in the German truckmaker up more than 4 percent.

Ford Motor Co posted a 24 percent increase in U.S. sales for January and outsold Toyota Motor Corp as the Japanese automaker was sent reeling by a massive recall of some of its top-selling vehicles.

Toyota Motor's unprecedented recall of millions of vehicles with accelerator problems is taking a toll on sales and may force the world's largest automaker to cut 2010 sales forecasts.

Spyker Cars has set Saab an ambitious 2012 profit target as it stressed development funding was secured despite needing more cash to fund its acquisition of the ailing Swedish auto brand.

Toyota Motor Corp faced scrutiny from Congress over its biggest ever safety recall as rival Honda Motor Co, tipped to gain from Toyota's woes, also said it would recall thousands of cars worldwide.