Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen said business remained tough after third-quarter earnings plunged on Thursday, while Japan's Mazda predicted a smaller full-year operating loss.
Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen said business remained hard after third-quarter earnings plunged on Thursday while Japan's Mazda predicted a smaller full-year operating loss.
Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn on Tuesday said the auto maker will decide within the next two weeks on whether it will buy insolvent assembly firm Karmann.
Volkswagen is offering to save Germany's Karmann from going bust, but the contract carmaker's owners are demanding more money than VW is willing to put up, weekly Spiegel reported, giving no details of its sources.
Independent German contract carmaker and convertible roof-top specialist Karmann is nearing liquidation as new orders remain out of sight and customers remain unwilling to pay their bills.
Volkswagen on Tuesday said it would pay 3.9 billion euros ($5.8 billion) to take a bigger than planned 49.9 percent stake in Porsche AG as a first step to a full merger with Porsche SE by 2011.
Volkswagen AG set out plans to raise as much as 10 billion euros ($14.9 billion) from shareholders, which analysts said would be enough to make fresh acquisitions as well as merge with Porsche.
European equities slipped from one-year highs on Friday as General Electric (GE.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) results disappointed and hurt momentum that was built after IBM (IBM.N) and Google (GOOG.O) earnings figures.
Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said on Thursday its car sales in China in September rose 45 percent from a year earlier to a record monthly high of about 72,000 vehicles as stimulus policies bolstered consumer confidence.
Volkswagen AG (VOWG.DE) said on Monday it expected its sales in mainland China and Hong Kong to grow more than 30 percent this year, after rising 37 percent in the first nine months thanks to government stimulus measures.
Norway's sovereign wealth fund, Europe's biggest equity investor, on Wednesday criticized German auto maker Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) for plans to take over some Porsche assets, which it called costly and unacceptable.
The booming Chinese auto market continues to be one of the few bright spots for German luxury carmakers, which have drawn few benefits from a flurry of subsidy programmes like the U.S. cash for clunkers scheme.
Czech car sales fell almost 14 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of the year, from a 12 percent fall in the first half, the country's Car Importers Association said on Tuesday.
New automobile sales in Brazil jumped 19.85 percent in September from August, the national dealers' association Fenabrave said on Thursday, as consumers raced to take advantage of an expiring tax break.
Volkswagen's (VOWG.DE) Czech unit, Skoda Auto, is considering halting production for two days in October after demand fell following the end of a scrappage subsidy in Germany, a spokesman said on Thursday.
Government funds propped up an ailing European auto industry in September, in contrast to an expected slump in sales in the United States after its cash for clunkers scheme ran out of money.
Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) and the IG Metall union have struck a wage deal for 95,000 staff in six western German plants that calls for a 4.2 percent pay rise plus one-off payments.
Volkswagen is setting up a joint venture with Varta Microbattery GmbH to develop more powerful batteries for use in electric cars, Europe's biggest carmaker said on Friday.
New Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) shareholder Qatar will start with only one seat on the carmaker's supervisory board, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) expects global car markets to stagnate next year, a top executive said on Wednesday, calling on staff to help the world's third-largest automaker catch the sector leaders.
German car maker Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) has revised guidance on its bond issue backed by auto leases, an official at one of the banks managing the sale said on Wednesday.
Canadian auto supplier Magna International (MGa.TO) said it plans to hold talks to appease Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), which has threatened to pull business from Magna if it goes through with an investment in Opel.
