German chancellor Angela Merkel has said she saw "good prospects" for Opel's German plants after General Motors presented a restructuring plan for its European unit.

Export-dependent Japanese automakers - and other companies - have become alarmed at the yen's steep rise to a 14-year high against the US dollar, media reports said on Thursday.

The premier of the German state of Hesse that is home to carmaker Opel's headquarters in Ruesselsheim has warned General Motors that any plans to cut 2,500 jobs there were "completely unacceptable".

Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group is aiming to grow at twice the market rate next year in China.

General Motors hasn't exactly covered itself in glory with the example of brand management provided by its stewardship of Saab. That things have got to where they are now is a consequence of a failure to invest and a lack

Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia Motors have set their combined 2010 sales target at 5.39m vehicles, up 16 percent from estimated sales this year, Maeil Business Newspaper reported.

Magna International reportedly wants at least EUR400m (US$600m) in compensation from Porsche for cancelling an assembly contract, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

Next year is a big one for Britain's exotic sportscar maker Aston Martin, with new models, new engines and special editions but chairman David Richards is not expecting a return to the heady days of two years ago.

Toyota Motor plans to cut this year's winter bonuses for about 8,700 management-level employees by an average 20% compared with last year as the company suffers from poor earnings, company officials have said.

Daimler's major shareholder Aabar had received a credit for US$1.62bn to possibly raise its stake in the German carmaker, daily Financial Times Deutschland reported.

Honda Motor has decided against expanding its manufacturing capacity in Guangzhou, where it runs a joint venture with a local Chinese partner, a source close to the car maker told the Wall Street Journal.

A rescue deal for troubled Russian carmaker AvtoVAZ will be signed by its shareholders, including Renault, at a meeting in Paris on Friday to coincide with Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin's visit to the city.

Ford will increase production at its St Petersburg assembly plant in Russia to take advantage of an extended scrappage scheme the government plans to introduce next year.

Daimler's trucks business is not in a rush to excercise an option to raise its 10% stake in Russia's Kamaz to a 25% and one share blocking minority, its chief executive has said.

Fiat is launching a new 95hp version of its 1.3-litre 'Multijet II' Euro5-compliant diesel engine in the 500 model line, along with new rear suspension.

The Moscow Arbitration Court has again postponed hearings for two Alfa Bank lawsuits demanding repayment of over 1 billion rubles from two units of automobile maker GAZ Group.

British EV recharging infrastructure firm Elektromotive is to install networks of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across Belgium and Luxembourg.

General Motors Europe interim head Nick Reilly said late on Wednesday that "50 to 60%" of the company's planned 9,000 job cuts at European unit Opel/Vauxhall would occur in Germany. Meanwhile, the future of the Antwerp plant in Belgium is

Fashionable though it may be to ridicule decision-making at the "Old General Motors", the Corporation in fact was well able to act decisively-at least during its first sixty years, writes Karl Ludvigsen

Swedish media on Wednesday reported that Saab Automobile was close to bankruptcy, a day after luxury sportscar maker Koenigsegg abandoned its bid to buy the group from General Motors.