VOLKSWAGEN

MILAN - Fiat SpA's chief executive might swear that he is not trying to build an empire, but he is certainly looking for scale -- on the cheap.

The Emir of Qatar plans to buy a stake in Porsche, possibly shoring up the German sports-car maker's strained finances, a German magazine reported.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday its group-wide sales fell 27 percent to 1.767 million vehicles in the first quarter of 2009, keeping it ahead of Volkswagen AG as the world's top-selling carmaker.

Plunging profit at Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), slumping sales at PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA) and job cuts by Volvo (VOLVb.ST) on Wednesday highlighted the dire state of Europe's automotive industry.

Bernd Pischetsrieder, ex-CEO of Volkswagen, could be a suitable head of a new Opel company independent of troubled U.S. parent General Motors Corp, an Opel dealer group in Germany was quoted on Saturday as saying.

Volkswagen AG may have overtaken Toyota Motor Co to become the world's top-selling carmaker in the first quarter, thanks to government incentives that fueled demand in VW's major markets.

Volkswagen's global vehicle sales fell by 11.4 percent in the first quarter but its market share gains may have let it overtake Japan's Toyota Motor as the world's top-selling automaker.

Volkswagen may have become the world's top-selling automaker in the first quarter as government incentives have fueled demand in its major markets, overtaking industry giant Toyota.

Volkswagen AG may have passed Toyota Motor Corp as the world's top selling automaker in the first quarter, helped by robust demand in its main markets, while its Japanese rival suffered sharp declines, partial company data suggests.

Volkswagen AG may have passed Toyota Motor Corp as the world's top selling automaker in the first quarter, helped by robust demand in its main markets, while its Japanese rival suffered sharp declines, partial company data suggests.

The big four auto makers in Brazil joined forces with the Sugar Cane Industry Association (Unica) on Wednesday in a campaign aimed at expanding the use of cane-based ethanol in flex-fuel vehicles.

As automakers unveil smaller electric cars and hybrids at the New York International Auto Show this week, Volkswagen’s President and chief executive insists the industry not only should develop those vehicles, but also improve fuel-efficient gas and diesel models.

Volkswagen AG could launch the Up! mini-car in the United States, the German automaker's U.S. Chief Executive Stefan Jacoby said on Wednesday.

Volkswagen AG could launch the Up! mini-car in the United States, the German automaker's U.S. Chief Executive Stefan Jacoby said on Wednesday.

The economic crisis threatening to topple global automakers rocked two of Europe's biggest on Thursday as BMW posted a surprise fourth-quarter operating loss and Volkswagen warned of worse ahead.

Volkswagen of America Inc., one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker, said its February sales dropped 17.5 percent.

Volkswagen, Europe's biggest carmaker, will not renew the contracts of all its 16,500 temporary workers this year in response to the brutal knock-down effects of the economic downturn on the car industry, Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday a decision on state aid for Opel, a struggling unit of U.S. carmaker General Motors , depended on the firm's long-term outlook and on the readiness of banks to help.

For the world's carmakers the show must go on, and next week at the Geneva Motor Show the emphasis is expected to be put on showcasing green technologies and the industry's longer term prospects while individual companies worry over their very survival.

On Thursday, During the Dakar Rally’s 12th stage grueling event; Spain's two-time rally world champion Carlos Sainz crashed.

German Billionaire Adolf Merckle commits suicide, after being hit by a train, on Monday.