GENERAL MOTORS

General Motors should raise its share of the reorganization costs for its European arm Opel in order to get state aid from Germany, Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Monday, citing German government sources.

A German government advisory panel has raised doubts about whether General Motors' reorganization plan for European arm Opel deserves crucial state aid.

General Motors Co's growing output of vehicles capable of running on ethanol-gasoline blends won't help cut polluting emissions or U.S. dependence on foreign oil until a slim network of stations dispensing ethanol is greatly expanded, GM Vice Chairman Tom Stevens said.

Foreign automakers enjoying success in China may be gearing up to take on local players in the high-volume but competitive low-end market, following General Motors' recent roll-out of a model priced as low $8,300.

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

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.

Once Li Shufu, head of China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, closes the deal to buy Ford Motor's Volvo unit for up to $2 billion, the sedate, safety-conscious Swedish brand may be in the running to replace the Audi A6 as Chinese state officials' car of choice.

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.

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's massive recall and sales halt of its best-selling vehicles will overshadow an expected industry increase in U.S. auto sales for January over the deeply depressed month a year ago.

(Corrects to remove reference to specific percentage changes in paragraph 11)

Toyota Motor Corp's crippling sales shutdown of eight models due to a U.S. safety recall will continue until at least mid-February, sources briefed on the matter said on Friday.

Loss-making Swedish auto maker Saab will return to profit in the foreseeable future, the chief executive of its buyer Spyker Cars said, and the key will be to restore confidence in the distinctive and quirky brand.

General Motors Corp announced plans on Friday to spend 15 billion baht ($455 million) in Thailand over the next two years, reviving plans for a new diesel-engine plant and retooling existing production lines.

Ford Motor Co reported 2009 earnings of $2.7 billion on Thursday, its first full-year profit since 2005, and said it expects a 2010 profit amid market share gains and a slow U.S. auto sales recovery.

Dutch luxury sportscar maker Spyker may be the unlikely buyer of Saab but it is set to struggle with the real challenge: converting two loss-making companies into a profitable one.

Tiny Dutch auto group Spyker clinched a last-minute deal on Tuesday to buy Sweden's Saab from General Motors Co in an audacious attempt to turn around a money-losing brand that only days ago was headed for oblivion.

General Motors Co is close to announcing a deal to sell its Swedish unit Saab to Dutch sports car maker Spyker Cars NV, Bloomberg news service reported Tuesday, citing someone it said was familiar with negotiations.

Tiny Dutch sportscar maker Spyker clinched a last-minute deal on Tuesday to buy Sweden's Saab, in an audacious attempt to turn around a money-losing brand that only days ago was headed for oblivion.

Investment company Genii Capital has withdrawn from the bidding for General Motors' unit Saab, leaving Spyker Cars as the sole remaining bidder to rescue the ailing Swedish auto brand.

General Motors Co Chairman Ed Whitacre said on Monday he would stay on as chief executive indefinitely, ending an eight-week search for his successor in a move intended to bring stability to the automaker's turnaround plans.