Auto News 5

The Italian car market is set to see a sharp slowdown in growth in the second quarter due because it has not renewed incentives on car sales, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) chief economist has said. Full story...

Kia Motors Corporation has announced its global sales figures for passenger cars (combined export sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants), recreational vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles for March 2010, recording a total of 177,351 units sold. This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 41.0%. Full story...

Rebounding fleet sales will soften the blow for the auto industry as the end of scrappage schemes causes a decline in private purchases across Europe, research firm Datamonitor has claimed. Full story...

New vehicle sales in the Philippines rose by close to 38% to 14,373 units in March, from 10,746 units a year earlier, according to data released by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (Campi). Full story...

Toyota Australia has finally confirmed that its upcoming Rukus 'urban utility vehicle' is essentially the same as the updated Scion xB launched recently at the New York motor show. The model is also sold - badged as a Toyota - in Japan. Full story...

Sales of passenger cars grew by almost two-thirds in China last month as buoyant consumer sentiment bolstered spending on big-ticket items in the world's third-largest economy. Full story...

VW facelifts its MPV to take on Meriva and C-MAX

Full story...

Indiaand#8217;s passenger car sales gained at the fastest pace in six years to a record. Fiat, which began selling the Grande Punto in June, more than tripled sales last year to 24,806. It was the fastest-growing carmaker in India. Full story...

Ford Motor Co. unveiled plans to build a small SUV in Brazil for global markets, boosting its investment plan in the country over the next five years by 500 million reais ($281.4 million). Full story...

Toyota Motor Corp. knew about flaws that could cause unintended acceleration more than 3 1/2 years before it recalled cars and trucks to fix the defects, according to company timelines. Full story...

Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International Inc. prevailed last month in its bid to buy the German roof division of Wilhelm Karmann GmbH. Full story...

Hong Kong-born Anthony Lo has moved from GM to become of exterior design at Renault. Lo was advanced design director for GM's Opel and Saab brands before taking the post at Renault. He started April 1. Full story...

The number of vehicles produced in Turkey last month soared 69 percent from the previous year, showing a strong rebound from the global crisis, data from the Automotive Industry Association showed on Thursday. Full story...

Siegfried Wolf, co-CEO of Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International Inc., has been named chairman of van and truck producer GAZ. Wolf, who will keep his job at Magna, joined the GAZ board of directors last year. Full story...

Ferrari released the first images of the 599 GTO, the company's fastest road car. The 599 GTO makes its public debut at the Beijing auto show that starts April 23. Full story...

The good news is that new-car sales in the western Europe's 17 keys markets increased 12.2 percent to 1.61 million units in March. Full story...

Volkswagen AG's merger with Porsche Automobil Holding SE still faces significant legal and tax risks, according to details from VW's prospectus for last month's capital increase. Full story...

According to drivers that are familiar with the Barber Motorsports Park, passing should not be as easy and frequent as it was in the two opening races of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar series season. Full story...

I'm on a roll. As far as I'm concerned anyways. And no, as you can tell by what I will be writing about, I'm not high-rollin' or pimping it out in performance or luxury cars. In fact, since the beginning of 2010, with the exception of the Mercedes S400, I've been testing out vehicles exclusively with hatches. And, believe it or not, I've got tonnes more coming my way in the near future. This is proof-positive that a hatchback is a very popular option in the 21st Century. Full story...

Last Friday I was shattered to read the article penned by my colleague Marc Bouchard. Apparently, Nissan is refusing to sell the Leaf in Canada if the federal government fails to offer any purchase credits. No subsidies, no Leaf. No two ways about it. Full story...