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Mangalore is one of the fastest growing non-metro cities in South India and will play an important role in BMW's market offensive in India, according to Philipp von Sahr who heads the group's Indian unit.

VW Group said its global vehicle sales rose 11.7 percent in November as strong demand in the United States and China helped offset a weak European market.

Build Your Dreams (BYD), the Chinese carmaker backed by billionaire US investor Warren Buffett, has signed an agreement with energy giant Bulmineral to build an electric bus and car factory in Bulgaria, according to official Chinese news agency Xinhua.

Renault's disposal of its entire 6.5% stake in truckmaker Volvo AB yesterday (13 December) for US$1.9bn, will lead to around 45% of the proceeds being used by the automaker to 'reinforce' its domestic position, claims the French government, which owns 15% of the manufacturer.

Volkswagen Group has passed the 8m sales mark for the first time in the January to November period, delivering 8.29m vehicles worldwide, a rise of 10.4% year on year.

Fiat rebutted a report that it was set to raise money to finance its purchase of a further stake in Chrysler, saying it had no need for extra funds.

Fiat fully intends to acquire the 41.5 percent of Chrysler Group shares that it does not now own, but wrangling over the price could continue for a while, Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said today.

Fiat is in talks with four banks about a 1-2 billion euro ($1.3-$2.6 billion) capital increase to help fund the purchase of the 41.5 percent stake in Chrysler Fiat does not already own, an Italian newspaper reported.

Indonesia's largest tyre manufacturer, Gajah Tunggal, announced a US$500m bond issue to fund the buy-back of existing bonds worth $400m, issued in 2005, which mature in July 2014.

European car sales fell 10 percent to 965,918 units in November, bringing registrations this year to a 19-year low, as austerity-hit buyers stayed out of showrooms.

European car sales fell 10 percent to 965,918 units in November, bringing registrations this year to a 19-year low, as austerity-hit buyers stayed out of showrooms.

European car sales fell 10 percent to 965,918 units in November, bringing registrations this year to a 19-year low, as austerity-hit buyers stayed out of showrooms.

Volvo has negotiated a $1.2 billion loan from the China Development Bank to repay existing debt and hopes for more to help finance the investment it needs to double vehicle sales.

The Dacia Sandero hatchback is expected to quickly become the best-selling model for Renault's budget brand, overtaking the Duster small SUV.

Mercedes expects to lose its lead in the U.S. luxury market to German rival BMW, which is expected to be aggressive in its incentive strategy this month.

From press release

TheSwiss Kessel Racing team, runner-up in the inaugural Gulf 12 Hours, leads the race at the halfway stage of the second event with a 90-minute break before the second half runs into the evening under floodlights at the Yas Marina Circuit ay Abu Dhabi.

The format means that the mid-race break, during which teams can work on their cars, effectively acts as a Safety Car, wiping out the deficit between those cars on the same racing lap.

Photo: Gulf 12 Hours

Four cars remain on the lead lap (155) after six hours of racing. Behind the Kessel Ferrari 458 of Austrian Philipp Peter, Italian Daniel Zampieri and Poland's Michael Broniszewski, some 37s adrift, is the lead AF Corse Ferrari of Gianmaria Bruni, Toni Vilander and Gaetano Ardagna.

AF Corse will be pushing hard for a second successive victory in Abu Dhabi, having beaten Kessel by just 2.6s after half a day's racing in the inaugural race.

The other cars on the lead lap are also Ferrari 458s, led by the first AF Waltrip entry driven by Pierre Kaffer, Alex Popow and Ryan Dalziel, which finished the first segment of the race just 6s down on the lead AF Corse car.

It was ahead until the final moments of the stint, when Alex Popow was caught by surprise lapping the Black Falcon Mercedes SLS and made contact with the German entry, which in turn caused him to be lightly rear-ended by the closing Vilander, who was able to take advantage as Popow sorted out the moment.

The second AF Corse 458 is also still very much in the equation, driven by former Peugeot works Le Mans drivers Stephane Sarrazin and Nicolas Minassian, with Enzo Potolicchio.

Dutchman Jeroen Bleekemolen did all he could to make up for the lost time of a 60s stop-and-go penalty when the Autorlando Porsche narrowly exceeded the maximum 75-minute stint length at the start of the race, without which the 997 would still be on the lead lap.

From ROC

Team India's Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok are celebrating Friday night after they took victory in the inaugural ROC Asia competition, the first night of action of the 2012 Race Of Champions weekend.

Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan celebrate their victory. (Photo: ROC)

On a hot evening at Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium, Karthikeyan and Chandhok joined forces for Team India as both made their ROC debuts. The Indian duo topped the group stage with four wins out of six to go into the final as favourites.

There they faced Toyota Team Gazoo Japan, who were represented by Kazuya Ohshima and Takuto Iguchi, who were both class winners in this year's Nürburgring 24-Hour race. In the end the Indian duo prevailed, both winning their heats to take the title.

The performance earns Team India a place in tomorrow's ROC Nations Cup along with Team Thailand, who qualify as host nation.

Australian race car driver, Will Power of the Penske Racing team, set the fastest time of both days at IndyCar testing at Sebring, Florida.

Power, driving a Chevrolet-powered Dallara DW12 of Penske, lapped the 1.6-mile road course in 52.84s in the last test session of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar season.

Will Power, Penske Racing. (Photo: LAT for IndyCar)

There was a huge surprise as rookie Tristan Vautier claimed the second-fastest time from the two days while driving for Schmidt Hamilton.

The former Star Mazda champion, and reigning Firestone Indy Lights serie's champion stunned the teams in attendance by running just .01 off Power, setting a fast time of 52.85s. Vautier was driving the HP car normally driven by his fellow countryman, Simon Pagenaud.

Canadian Alex Tagliani was third quickest, in the DW12 of team Barracuda Racing, with a time of 52.91s.

Alex Tagliani, Barracuda Racing. (Photo: LAT for IndyCar)

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing's Josef Newgarden turned a 52.93s to be fourth, while Dale Coyne Racing's veteran, Justin Wilson and Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon clocked identical 52.94-second laps to share positions 5 and 6.

Swiss driver, Simona de Silversto, enjoyed every minute of her test with KV Racing, alongside her new teammate, Tony Kanaan. De Silvestro ran strongly, setting the 8th fastest time, overall.

Another rookie had a chance to shine in Florida: Derek Daly's son, Conor Daly, also got his first taste of IndyCar power on Thursday, setting the fifth-fastest lap before lunch.

Helio Castroneves, Will Power and Tony Kanaan. (Photo: LAT for IndyCar)

The American hoped to maintain his morning pace in the afternoon, but with the team electing to stay on used tires, his time fell to P12 as numerous teams went faster on fresh rubber.

IZOD IndyCar serie's test session* at Sebring:

1: Will Power, 52.84 seconds
2: Tristan Vautier, 52.85
3: Alex Tagliani, 52.91
4: Josef Newgarden, 52.93
5: Justin Wilson, 52.94
6: Scott Dixon, 52.94
7: Helio Castroneves, 53.00
8: Simona de Silvestro, 53.01
9: Oriol Servia, 53.02
10: JR Hildebrand, 53.04
11: Tony Kanaan, 53.13
12: Conor Daly, 53.29
13: Charlie Kimball, 53.31
14: James Hinchcliffe, 53.34
15: Graham Rahal, 53.48

*Unofficial timing

Sahara Force India, Vijay Mallya's Formula 1 team, took 7th place in this year's Constructor's championship with 109 points. Can the Indian team improve in 2013?

It's a really difficult question to answer. Billionnaire Mallya confirmed in November that his team would invest several million dollars in new technology for the next season of the World Championship. Will that be enough? Will that produce a faster car?

Drivers, Nico Hulkenberg and Paul Di Resta, drove very well all year long and made relatively few mistakes. Both finished fourth once, but is the Force India car strong enough to win a race? Probably not, unless under very special circumstances such as what happned in the rain in Brazil when Hulkenberg led the race for quite a while.

Photo: Sahara Force India

Nico Hulkenberg
11th in the Driver's Championship with 63 points
Best place in qualifications: 4th (once, Germany)
Best race result: 4th (once, Belgium)
Retired twice

Paul Di Resta
14th in the Driver's Championship with 46 points
Best place in qualifications: 4th (once, Singapore)
Best race result: 4th (once, Singapore)
Retired once

The Mercedes-powered VJM06 proved to be a reliable race car, if not super fast. In fact, the Force India looked to be more performant in race trim than in qualifying. That probably has to do with the behaviour of the tricky Pirelli tires.

There was also some financial issues to solve a few month ago when the High Court of Hyderabad issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya in a case of cheques bouncing filed by the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.

Photo: Sahara Force India

Back on the track, Scot Paul Di Resta was pushed hard by Hulkenberg, with both men extracting maximum from midfield machinery. Di Resta will continue with Force India next year, despite suffering a wretched end to the season. He scored just two points in the final six races this year, and knows he has to do better next year if we wants to move to a bigger team.

His teammate, Nico Hulkenberg, was relieved to be back on the front line with Force India after a year on the bench, and impresses with a fifth-place finish in Valencia and fourth at Spa. Hulkenberg led brilliantly in the wet at the final round in Brazil before dropping back to fifth after tangling with Lewis Hamilton of McLaren who signed for Sauber for 2013.

From GMM

Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez has admitted his might not be an easy transition to Formula 1 in 2013.

The 21-year-old rookie is replacing his Mexican countryman Sergio Perez at Telmex-backed Sauber next year.

In 2012, he finished the GP2 season in third place behind Davide Valsecchi and Luiz Razia.

"I am fully aware that F1 is not easy, because it's the highest level of motor sport," Gutierrez is quoted by Brazil's Totalrace.

Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber. (Photo: Sauber F1 Team)

"It's true that I have not been consistent in GP2, but I think this has been the most rewarding season on my career because it's the kind of experience that gives you a better perspective for the future.

"I will try to look for consistency in F1 and when I get it, I can start thinking about great results," he added.

"First, I have to go step by step, adapt, and for that the beginning of the season will be very important."

Gutierrez admits he cannot say for sure that he is ready for F1.

"It makes no sense to say I am 100 per cent ready because it's difficult to judge.

"But definitely I am doing my best and using all the time I have had on the track to improve my knowledge with the car, not only for the driving itself but also the feedback to give to the team.

"In F1, this is crucial," he concluded.