AUTO

Japan has sent a letter of concern to the United States on a bill recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, which contains a provision similar to

Representatives of the families that own Porsche (PSHG_p.DE) are set to take up seats on Volkswagen's (VOWG.DE) supervisory board vacated by former Porsche Chief Executive Wendelin Wiedeking and his finance chief Holger Haerter, sources close to Volkswagen said Friday.

Hyundai Motor Co is likely to struggle to replicate its record quarterly profit as the benefits from a weaker won and government stimulus fade but the popularity of its small, cheap vehicles will help it gain share in a weak global market.

Ford Motor Co posted a $2.3 billion quarterly net profit, mainly due to debt restructuring actions, with global markets still reeling from a recession that helped to push U.S. rivals General Motors and Chrysler into bankruptcy.

Sportscar maker Porsche conceded a months-long power struggle to mass-market rival Volkswagen by axing its CEO and said it would raise at least 5 billion euros ($7.1 billion) in equity as the two prepared for a merger.

Porsche's board of directors in an all-night meeting endorsed talks to sell a stake to the Gulf state of Qatar and to boost its finances with a capital hike of at least 5 billion euros.

The Beijing municipal government will fully support a bid by Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC) for Ford Motor's (F.N) Volvo car unit if the Chinese automaker fails in its current quest for General Motors' Opel, sources said on Wednesday.

General Motors [GM.UL] on Wednesday posted a 22 percent global sales drop from a year earlier for the first six months of 2009 amid the economic slowdown and the automaker's slide into bankruptcy.

Carmakers can continue to set up networks of selective and exclusive dealerships for another three years in line with antitrust exemptions for the sector, European Union antitrust regulators said on Wednesday.

Signs of life in the struggling auto sector helped boost Canadian retail sales by 1.2 percent in May from April, outstripping expectations and more than offsetting April's 0.6 percent decline.

Canada's Magna (MGa.TO) is still Germany's preferred bidder for carmaker Opel, a government spokesman said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with General Motors representatives to discuss the takeover offers.

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp is in talks with Fujian Motor Industry Group to replace it as the local partner in a commercial vehicle tie-up with Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) in southeast China, a source said on Tuesday.

Auto companies posted steep losses and poor outlooks for the industry on Tuesday, suggesting recovery is some way off despite improving economic data and a stock market rally toward nine-month highs.

Leading truckmaker Volvo (VOLVb.ST) and parts manufacturer Faurecia (EPED.PA) posted steep losses and warned of further pain across the auto sector in coming months, with no upturn likely before 2010.

As the auto industry race twists and turns over which metal to use in electric cars, the first lithium-powered sports car has hit the streets of Europe.

Chery Automobile Co, China's largest indigenous car maker, has resumed preparations for an A-share initial public offering as the country's securities regulator lifted its nearly 10-month ban on domestic IPOs due to a recovery in the country's stock market.

Any deal to sell Porsche SE's (PSHG_p.DE) sportscar business to Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) could be scuppered by potential tax liabilities, a German newspaper reported on Monday, knocking shares in the two German companies.

Political and economic logic are set to collide in the byzantine decision-making over the future of German carmaker Opel, the main European arm of fallen U.S. auto giant General Motors.

A Magna-led (MGa.TO) consortium of bidders for Opel will make a new offer for the German carmaker on Monday that includes a demand for rights to its intellectual property, a Russian newspaper reported.

Car manufacturer Nissan said on Monday it will invest almost $700 million in two plants to make batteries for electric cars in Britain and Portugal after securing financial support from their governments.

General Motors (GM) said on Monday that it had received three binding takeover offers for Opel that it would consider together with the European countries that would be affected by the deal.

Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS), South Korea's top automaker, will invest 130 million euros ($183.4 million) in its Czech unit over the next two years, a spokesman said on Friday.

Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) aims to develop its own hybrid technology for small and midsize cars and end its procurement of hybrid components from Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.

Rechargeable batteries could become the core technology for the auto industry if pure electric cars enter the mainstream -- a prospect that has carmakers racing to team up with battery makers.

A congressional committee approved a resolution on Friday seeking documents and other information from the Obama administration's autos task force regarding major decisions made on the restructuring of General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC.

General Motors GMGMQ.PK will have a hard time overcoming Germany's resistance to a financial investor if it wants to sell Opel to RHJ (RHJI.BR) in the hope that it could later buy its European carmaker back.

Toyota Motor Corp and Mazda Motor Corp are in talks over the possibility of Toyota supplying core components for hybrid vehicles to its smaller rival, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.BO), India's largest vehicles maker, said on Thursday it would deliver the Nano, the world's cheapest car, to its first customer on Friday.

Auto parts maker Delphi Corp (DPHIQ.PK) has reached an agreement with its bankruptcy financing lenders and former parent General Motors for a plan to emerge from court protection, The New York Times reported on Thursday.