AUTO

Ford Motor Co (F.N) started production at its Romanian plant in the southwestern city of Craiova on Tuesday, seeking to sell its Transit Connect van in Romania and eastern European markets, officials said.

German renewable energy company LichtBlick on Wednesday said it has teamed up with carmaker Volkswagen to bring miniature power stations for home use to the market in the spring of 2010.

Germany's government would expect General Motors [GM.UL] to repay a 1.5 billion euro ($2.2 billion) state loan if the carmaker calls off the sale of its Opel unit following a board meeting on Wednesday, German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said.

Chinese automaker FAW is set to help finance luxury sportscar maker Koenigsegg's planned purchase of Saab Automobile GM.UL, a Swedish newspaper reported on Wednesday without disclosing its sources.

China's largest automaker SAIC Motor group (600104.SS) may take a passive stake in Saab Automobile [GM.UL] by teaming with luxury sportscar maker Koenigsegg, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday.

Cost cutting talks between Ford Motor Co (F.N) and the Canadian Auto Workers began on Tuesday, the union said, adding that a key condition to reaching a new agreement would be a commitment by Ford to maintain its current manufacturing presence in Canada.

General Motors Co GM.UL Chief Financial Officer Ray Young is expected to leave the automaker as part of a shake-up of its finance operations, the Detroit News reported on Wednesday.

China has eliminated additional charges on imported auto parts, starting Sept 1 this year, the top planning body said on Wednesday, ending a two-year dispute with the World Trade Organization.

The Obama administration should consider a trust for its stake in U.S. auto companies to ensure rigorous independent management and facilitate a way out for taxpayers, a government watchdog found on Wednesday.

State-run Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings will take a minority stake in Koenigsegg as part of the Swedish luxury carmaker's purchase of General Motors' Saab unit, in the latest push by a Chinese auto firm to secure a global footprint.

Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS), South Korea's top automaker, and its China partner will start building their third plant in China early next year as its sales in the fastest growing major auto market may soon outpace existing capacity, an company executive said on Wednesday.

China's Geely Automotive (0175.HK) said its parent company plans to bid for all of Ford Motor Co's (F.N) Volvo Car Corp, becoming the latest Chinese automaker to chase a foreign marque in a global industry shakeup.

Samoa is about to become the first nation in nearly 40 years to switch the side of the road that traffic drives on, and the reasons are primarily economic.

Alfa Romeo, the sporty saloon car maker owned by Fiat (FIA.MI), expects to sell up to 120,000 cars this year, up 11 percent from 2008, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

German carmaker BMW (BMWG.DE) said its sales fell 9.7 percent in August from the year-earlier period, to 91,790 units, and said it was

Mercedes parent Daimler (DAIGn.DE) has already completed its refinancing for 2009 and has started procuring cash for the coming year as well with a recent bond issue, the company's chief financial officer said in a report by German paper Boersen-Zeitung.

Car sales in India raced an annual 26 percent in August, rising for a seventh month, and demand is seen picking up in October when annual bonuses are paid in much of the country.

China's largest automaker SAIC Motor group (600104.SS) is considering taking a passive stake in Saab Automobile [GM.UL] by teaming with luxury sportscar maker Koenigsegg, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Japan's Suzuki Motor (7269.T) said it plans to invest about 20 billion yen ($215 million) to build a new car factory in India, aiming to upgrade its production facilities in the face of growing competition.

Luxury sportscar maker Koenigsegg has presented the Swedish government with a new plan for financing its purchase of Saab Automobile GM.UL, a government official said on Monday.

China's passenger cars sales in August rose 90.18 percent from a year earlier, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Tuesday, paving the way for record sales for the full year.

Higher car production propelled British factory output to its fastest monthly pace in 1-1/2 years in July, according to official data, fuelling expectations the economy has emerged from recession.

Japan's prime minister-elect said on Monday he will forge ahead with a tough 25 percent cut in emissions by 2020, despite growing opposition from industry which says the target will hurt the world's No. 2 economy.

Volkswagen Financial Services AG (VOWG.DE) announced plans on Monday to securitise auto leases in a benchmark-sized public deal that would reopen Europe's asset-backed securities (ABS) market after a year-long freeze.

The German government seemed to soften its stance on the possibility of U.S. carmaker General Motors GM.UL scrapping plans to sell Opel and keeping the European carmaker instead when GM's board meets this week.

Honda Motor Co will maintain the target for lease sales of its newest fuel-cell car after over a year since its launch despite the challenge of boosting productivity, the model's chief engineer said.

China's Commerce Ministry has not rejected heavy equipment maker Tengzhong's planned purchase of GM's GM.UL Hummer unit, but has asked for more information on the deal, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

New car sales in Britain rose for a second consecutive month in August, helped by the government's

Daimler's (DAIGn.DE) chief executive told German newspaper Bild that the auto maker would perform better in 2010 and was set to achieve significantly more than 4 billion euros ($5.71 billion) in savings in 2009.