COMPANIES

Toyota Motor Corp plans to reduce its domestic vehicle production by about 20 percent from October as it expects a drop in demand after the Japanese government ends subsidies on purchasing so-called eco cars

U.S. mortgage applications jumped last week as demand for loans to purchase homes rose for the first time in five weeks, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Increased housing commitments swelled U.S. taxpayers' total support for the financial system by $700 billion in the past year to around $3.7 trillion, a government watchdog said on Wednesday.

More than 1,000 factory workers in eastern France agreed to a salary freeze and reduction in days owed as part of conditions imposed by General Motors Co GM.N to keep a car plant open.

A U.S. grand jury has ordered Toyota Motor Corp to turn over documents related to problems with rods that connect vehicle steering systems to their front wheels

Honda Motor Co plans to launch a plug-in hybrid and battery electric model in 2012 as part of its strategy to push to the front of a race by global automakers to develop more fuel-efficient cars.

Volkswagen plans to launch all-electric vehicles in 2013 and expects these zero-emission vehicles to account for 3 percent of its sales by 2018, Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn said on Monday.

Top Chinese automaker SAIC Motor Corp said on Tuesday it expected to post more than a 300 percent rise in first-half net profit.

Bank of America Corp modified U.S. mortgages at a slower rate in June under the government's primary program to stem foreclosures, due to changing program requirements, the company said on Tuesday.

Housing starts hit their lowest level in eight months in June, further evidence the economy lost momentum in the second quarter, but a rise in permits offered hope of a pick up in homebuilding.

Honda is also considering building hybrids in the United States

The Obama administration may have acted hastily in demanding that General Motors Co and Chrysler accelerate the closing of dealerships to ensure their viability

General Motor's mini-vehicle venture in southern China unveiled its first car brand on Sunday as it aims at the fast-growing moderately priced segment of the car market.

Toyota Motor Corp will restart exporting its Fortuna sport utility vehicles produced in Indonesia to the Middle East and the Phillippines after seeing a recovery in demand

Daimler's trucks boss Andreas Renschler said there are no plans to split the German company into a passenger car maker and a truck maker.

Home-builder sentiment fell more-than-expected in July to the lowest level in more than a year after a popular home-buyer tax credit expired in April, the National Association of Home Builders said on Monday.

Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc will launch an investment fund to buy up distressed real estate assets, including loan portfolios and land for development, the company said on Monday.

Tesla Motors Inc and Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday that they will together build and market an electric RAV4 sports utility vehicle by 2012.

Complaints to U.S. regulators of unintended acceleration in Toyota Motor Corp vehicles are down sharply as separate government and expert reviews of the matter move forward.

Daimler pledged to raise its 2010 earnings forecast later this month after unveiling a strong preliminary second-quarter figures driven by excellent results at its Mercedes-Benz luxury car brand.

U.S.-based automakers led by Ford Motor Co have surpassed foreign brands in vehicle appeal for the first time in 13 years.

Shares in South Korea's top carmaker Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) declined 4 percent on Friday, hit by mounting worries about potential labor disputes after wage talks with its domestic union collapsed.

Major automakers broadened their objections on Thursday to proposed U.S. auto safety legislation, including one provision they say could trigger more lawsuits.

Faced with a lose-lose proposition, Congress put off its decision on the fate of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, perhaps hoping the housing market recovers before losses get too big.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Wednesday it will extend warranties on about 235,500 RAV4 vehicles and address steering complaints on as many as 500,000 late model Matrix and Corollas in the United States.

Ford Motor Co has named Jim Farley its first head of global marketing, sales and services and appointed the head of Volvo to run its European operations when it completes the sale of the unit to China's Geely

A strike has broken out at a south China factory supplying parts for Japan's Honda Motor, the latest in a string of stoppages by Chinese workers demanding a bigger piece of the country's economic wealth.

Honda Motor Co, Japan's No.2 automaker, will drop plans to build a new minivehicle factory and focus on its green vehicles business

South Korea is ready to consider creative solutions to open its market to more U.S. beef and auto imports to help win U.S. approval of a bilateral free trade agreement