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Belgian unions are currently blockading the gates of Ford's Genk site as it has emerged only one topic - 'European crisis' - will be on the agenda of tomorrow's (24 October) emergency meeting.

Timing for the start-up of European production on the next generation Ford Mondeo is a 'critical variable' in the company's decision-making over its European capacity footprint, according to an analyst at LMC Automotive.

News 23 Oct, 2012

The Skoda Superb line-up has been expanded with the addition of a rugged, four-wheel-drive model

Pictures 23 Oct, 2012

News 24 Oct, 2012

We reveal the scale of underinvestment in roads, as £33bn revenue is gained but only £9bn spent

Industriall European Trade Union (IETU) says the emergency meeting called by Ford with its unions at 09:00 (CET) in Belgium tomorrow (24 October) could escalate into a wider Continent labour issue.

Following Maruti Suzuki's 50% hike in pay for its Gurgaon factory workers, Hyundai Motor, India's number two car maker, has agreed a 45% increase over three years for its plant staff.

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus is recalling around 58,000 of its Canter light-duty trucks and Rosa small buses globally because of a faulty fuel filter tube.

BMW has, at long last, confirmed it will build a EUR200m (US$261m) car assembly plant in Brazil, scheduled to start production in 2014.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR ROGER HART: After one of the more hectic Mondays shipping the magazine (something like 40 pages were shipped to the printer) it was terrific to walk out to the parking garage and slip behind the wheel of a supercar.

Volkswagen has revealed its intention to join the burgeoning small SUV/crossover ranks with the Taigun concept unveiled at the Sao Paulo motor show in Brazil.

Faurecia, the French supplier controlled by PSA, cut its 2012 earnings outlook, saying it expects a sharp sales decline in Europe in the fourth quarter as a result of slowing automobile production.

France wants PSA/Peugeot-Citroen to appoint government and worker representatives to its board in return for a lending bailout, industry minister Arnaud Montebourg said.

With European car sales likely to slip to their lowest level since 1995 as austerity measures reduce consumers' buying power, volume brands are offering average discounts of 20 percent in key European markets to try and sell their new cars.

Faurecia plays an important role in Volkswagen's 100kg weight reduction for the seventh-generation Golf compared with the previous generation of the car.

BMW will invest $261 million in a Brazil factory to boost sales in the fast-growing market and to counter Audi.

Royal Bank of Canada has agreed to buy the Canadian auto finance and deposit arm of Ally Financial in a $4.1 billion deal to expand its vehicle-lending business at a time when loan growth overall is slowing in the country.

From GMM

Sebastian Vettel may be on form and at the wheel of the fastest car, but the 2012 championship is not settled yet.

That is the warning of F1 legend Niki Lauda, despite German Vettel recently managing to track down Fernando Alonso's big championship lead to now top the championship with just four races to go in the currently dominant Red Bull.

"At the moment everything is going in Vettel's favour, but it would be premature to celebrate the world championship yet," triple world champion Lauda told Osterreich newspaper.

"Not long ago Alonso looked like the safe world champion, but he was shot down twice. It shows how fast things can turn around. So Vettel needs to be careful," he added.

Sebastian Vettel, winner in Singapore. (Photo: WRi2)

Romain Grosjean, the French driver for Lotus, thinks Vettel is the favourite now.

"I've always said this season that Fernando Alonso is the favourite," he is quoted by RMC, "but you have to change your tune now because Sebastian Vettel has taken a step ahead of everyone.

"They (Red Bull) are almost unbeatable in the race -- very fast," added Grosjean. "It will be difficult to beat them before the end of the season."

From GMM

Vitaly Petrov will almost certainly contest Russia's inaugural grand prix at Sochi in 2014, his manager Oksana Kosachenko has revealed.

But whether the 28-year-old will still be on the grid next season is a different matter, with Rusnovosti reporting that staying at Caterham in 2013 appears "unlikely" for Petrov.

Kosachenko said she is examining two options.

"We are working hard, there are some plans and a particular programme we have," she said. "We have almost absolute certainty that Petrov will start in Sochi in 2014."

The future track of Sochi, Russia.

She admitted the main glitch for 2013 is related to sponsorship.

"The issue of transition to another team is rather painful," said Kosachenko.

"At the moment, I have offers from two teams on my hands, but they require some solutions to be made and details settled. Not in the sense (of) whether there will be sponsors or not -- because they are difficult, but not impossible, to find. The question is if those sponsors who are willing to support Vitaly will be able to coordinate with those that are already with the team," she added.

Vitaly Petrov debuted for Renault in 2010 and 2011, switching to Caterham this year to replace Jarno Trulli.

From GMM

Ferrari have admitted they are concerned crucial upgrades to the F2012 car will not work as expected.

Team boss Stefano Domenicali has said the Italian squad needs to find at least 2 tenths of a second to boost Fernando Alonso's chances of competing for the title against Red Bull's on-form new championship leader Sebastian Vettel.

With tester Davide Rigon at the wheel, Ferrari - with its 2012 car featuring a number of upgrades - reportedly ran a "secret" straightline aerodynamic test at the Idiada facility in Spain last Thursday.

Rear wing of the F2012. (Photo: Ferrari)

Alonso's teammate Felipe Massa admitted the team has had problems this year with the correlation of the data produced by its Maranello wind tunnel, which will be closed for a time during the winter for repairs.

"We are working on a lot of things in the development of the car," the Brazilian is quoted by Totalrace. "(But) we have had some problems with parts we have brought to the last few races not working when we go onto the track."

Totalrace said Ferrari is already working and checking data in Toyota's state of the art Cologne wind tunnel.

Stefano Domenicali, however, said he does not want the news to be interpreted as an "excuse" for Ferrari's recent development problems.

"That's part of the development process we are doing to improve the team, but I don't want to hear that it's an excuse for this championship. We need to keep pushing to make sure Fernando has the best car for the end of the season," he added.