AUTO

General Motors Co will provide cash advances to dealers to cover

General Motors Co GM.UL has dropped plans for a new Buick sport utility vehicle due to lack of consumer interest, Vice Chairman Tom Stephens said on Wednesday, only two weeks after the new model was announced.

Expectations for 700 million euros ($990 million) of annual savings from Volkswagen AG's (VOWG.DE) planned merger with Porsche SE (PSHG_p.DE) were

U.S. electric car start-up Tesla Motors Inc said on Tuesday that it is opening a new manufacturing facility that will produce powertrain components for its vehicles.

General Motors Co said on Tuesday it is increasing production in North America for the second half of 2009 after a surge in sales ignited by the U.S. government's

The credit crunch may have dented some motorists' dreams of owning a Ferrari but the rental market for luxury cars in many countries, including Australia, is gathering speed as the rest of the auto industry splutters.

General Motors GM.UL board of directors will discuss on Friday the sale of its European business Opel, for which both Magna (MGa.TO) and RHJ (RHJI.BR) are in the hunt, several sources close to the deal said.

Toyota Motor Corp will buy hybrid-car batteries from Sanyo Electric Co, a source familiar with the matter said, as the automaker struggles to meet growing demand for the fuel-sipping vehicles due to a shortage of battery supply.

General Motors Co [GM.UL] is stepping up production at car plants in Michigan and Ohio, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Sweden's Koenigsegg and U.S.-based General Motors said on Tuesday they had inked a deal for the niche sports car maker to buy loss-making Saab Automobile.

Chrysler Group is planning to produce Fiat SpA's (FIA.MI) Fiat 500 subcompact at a Chrysler plant in Mexico, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), Europe's biggest carmaker, gave a wary outlook for world automotive markets on Monday even while reporting a third consecutive month of sales growth in July.

As American consumers abandon gas-guzzling SUVs for greener alternatives, they also face a new kind of sticker shock -- confusing claims about the energy efficiency of electric cars heading for showrooms.

German carmakers Porsche (PSHG_p.DE) and Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) might merge in 2010 already instead of 2011 as currently planned, German newspaper Die Welt reported, citing VW's finance chief.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Monday it has no plans to build a hybrid car at its Valenciennes factory in northern France, denying a report in La Tribune.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Thursday it will increase production over the rest of the year after a surge in sales triggered by the U.S. government's

Creditors of Chrysler have won approval from a federal bankruptcy court to sue Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) and pursue a claim that its 2007 sale of Chrysler stripped the U.S. automaker of its most valuable assets.

Volkswagen (VW) (VOWG.DE) and Porsche (PSHG_p.DE) have broadly agreed on details for a deal to combine two of Europe's most storied automakers, two VW supervisory board members told Reuters on Wednesday.

General Motors Co GM.UL plans to increase its advertising budget for the rest of 2009 and 2010 to challenge consumer perceptions on quality and fuel economy that the automaker believes are out of line with improvements in its vehicle line-up.

Red hot auto sales under the U.S. government's

The Chevrolet Volt -- the electric vehicle General Motors Co [GM.UL] is counting on to recharge its image with consumers -- is on track to hit an unprecedented fuel economy rating of 230 miles per gallon in city driving, the automaker said on Tuesday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that she was ready to intervene personally to support auto parts group Magna's bid for carmaker Opel.

General Motors Co and eBay Inc are launching a test program in California that will allow consumers to negotiate with dealers and buy new vehicles online, the companies said on Monday.

Despite government rebates for hybrids offered to consumers in U.S. and Canada, the programs are failing to produce environmental benefits, yet the programs continue to cost consumers.

Can fast cars, glamorous locations and superstar acts establish a global live-music TV franchise? Universal Music Group International and Formula One Administration are banking on it as they prepare to launch their F1 Rocks concert series this fall.

Japan's Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) plans to raise its global output target for the year to March 2010 by three percent to 6.5 million units, the Yomiuri newspaper said, in the latest sign of a nascent recovery in auto demand.

The ethanol industry called for requirements that all vehicles sold in the United States accept the renewable gasoline substitute as part of a push to slow global warming and provide jobs at home.

As makers from Tesla to Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) jockey to dominate the next generation electric-powered cars, a fight on which companies will control the lucrative market to fuel them is just getting started.

General Motors has made little progress in resolving the key issues holding up a sale of its Opel operations to a consortium led by Magna, the U.S. carmaker's chief negotiator on the deal said on Thursday.