Volkswagen

Malaysian loss-making car-maker Proton Holdings expects to reverse a long and painful slide in its domestic market share with the launch of a new model from January.

European shares bounced back while the yen and government bonds erased gains in volatile trade on Friday after robust corporate results eased credit fears which have triggered sharp moves across financial markets.

Volkswagen will meet its 2008 pretax profit target of 5.1 billion euros ($7 billion) a year earlier than planned as cost cuts boost results, the group said on Friday, sending its shares sharply higher.

Europe's second biggest car maker, Peugeot Citroen, said its recovery had started, reporting an operating profit margin of 2.7 percent in the first half of 2007 up from 2.4 percent a year ago.

Volkswagen, the world's fourth-largest carmaker, is considering building a new North American factory if the dollar stays weak, Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said in an interview with German magazine Focus.

Volkswagen's Audi premium unit aims to raise sales in the United States to 200,000 vehicles by 2015 from last year's 90,000, Audi's sales and marketing boss told a German newspaper.

Germany's MAN AG is planning a more attractive bid to win over resistant shareholders of Swedish truckmaker Scania, the Wall Street Journal on Friday quoted MAN Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson as saying.

Volkswagen and its German workers union are set to resume critical talks over planned wage cuts on Friday

Volkswagen and its German workers union are set to resume critical talks over planned wage cuts on Friday, overshadowed by a threat from its influential works council chief to break off the talks if no immediate progress is made.

An executive at Scania , object of an unsolicited bid from Germany's MAN, has rejected market speculation that Scania may be too small to remain independent and successful over the long term.

Volkswagen of America Inc. is the greenest automaker according to a survey released on Monday, which ranked the Golf, Jetta and the new Beetle as the lowest emission-releasing vehicles.

Shares in Volkswagen fell more than 2 percent on Monday ahead of a vote by German metalworkers union IG Metall on whether to reopen its contract with Europe's biggest carmaker.

DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group has decided against a cooperation deal with German car maker Volkswagen to produce a new sub-compact car, a German magazine said on Saturday.

Volkswagen AG intends to keep driving profit growth beyond the record 5.1 billion euros ($6.6 billion) before tax it has targeted for 2008, management told analysts on Monday.

With soaring gas prices making alternative fuels more attractive, ethanol - a grain alcohol made from a variety of crops including corn, sugarcane, barley and wheat - has become a popular alternative.

Germany's major automakers reported mixed results in the sales of their cars in North America during May, with BWM and Volkswagen reporting solid gains while sales by Porsche dipped, the companies said Friday.