CHRYSLER

General Motors Co and Chrysler on Wednesday reported progress in their government-financed turnarounds, but the Obama administration still forecasts some loss on the taxpayer bailout of both companies.

Almost a year into its government-funded rescue, Chrysler remains a laggard in sales against the industry and analysts increasingly question if Fiat can change the game for its struggling U.S. partner.

Fiat SpA unveils its first strategic plan this week since teaming up with U.S. carmaker Chrysler and CEO Sergio Marchionne could outline a timeframe two years ahead for selling stakes in a combined company.

Ford Motor Co is open to partnerships in green car technology but will be cautious in committing to any alliance, Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said on Monday.

Peugeot is likely to be next in the sector to look at a merger, the head of Fiat, which has in the past been seen as a possible partner for the French carmaker, said on Monday.

U.S. auto sales jumped to a seven-month high in March led by a 41 percent surge at Toyota Motor Corp after the Japanese automaker offered the steepest discounts in its history to win back sales lost during its recent safety crisis.

U.S. auto sales jumped 24.3 percent in March, the strongest result in months, led by a rebound at recall-hit Toyota Motor Corp , which offered record incentives aimed at putting the crisis behind it.

Chrysler expects steady U.S. sales growth to start in June, the one-year anniversary of the automaker's emergence from bankruptcy, its U.S. sales chief said on Wednesday.

General Motors posted a 43 percent jump in U.S. sales for March from a year earlier in its continuing brands, the first of expected sharp gains by automakers driven by incentives and better weather.

Chrysler Group LLC is on track to break even on an operating basis in 2010 and is ahead of its turnaround targets, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Tuesday.

Chrysler Group LLC is on track to break even on an operating basis in 2010 and holds more than $5 billion in cash at the current time, said Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne on Tuesday.

Industrial group Fiat SpA aims to raise the number of job cuts in Italy to 5,000 and may spin off its car activities sooner than thought, an Italian newspaper said on Wednesday, sharply boosting its shares.

German car and truck maker Daimler AG was charged on Tuesday with violating U.S. bribery laws by showering foreign officials with millions of dollars and gifts of luxury cars to win business deals.

Chrysler Group LLC said on Monday it would introduce an all-electric Fiat 500 to the U.S. market in 2012 and drop plans to develop a hybrid 2011 Ram pickup truck.

Toyota Motor Corp slipped for the second consecutive year in an influential vehicle dependability study released on Thursday.

Jerry York, a long-time adviser to billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian and executive whose career spanned the auto and technology industries, has died, Apple Inc said on Thursday.

Toyota and its luxury Lexus brand slipped for the second consecutive year in an influential vehicle dependability study released on Thursday.

Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne will look at spinning off its car business from the rest of the industrial group only when he has a firmer grip on U.S. maker Chrysler and can put the two together.

General Motors Co will pay back roughly $8 billion in debt to the United States and Canada before June and could go public in a way that would allow taxpayers to make a profit on the bailout, Chief Executive Ed Whitacre said on Wednesday.

Chrysler hired a Volkswagen executive to lead the reintroduction of its Fiat brand in North America -- a brand that represents the core of the automaker's efforts to bring out fuel-efficient small cars.

General Motors Co Vice Chairman Bob Lutz will retire from the automaker effective May 1, people briefed on the plans said on Wednesday.