Auto News 5

Figures issued by the SMMT show that new car sales fell in July by 3.5%, adding to concerns over the impact on vehicle sales of the UK's low rate of economic growth.

General Motors has announced second quarter net income up 89% year on year to US$2.5bn, or $1.54 per share, the restructured, post-bankruptcy automaker's sixth consecutive profitable quarter. Revenue increased $6.2bn to $39.4bn and adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were $3bn compared with $2bn in Q2 2010. There were no special items in either period. GM Europe returned to positive adjusted EBIT, too.

Mercedes will introduce smaller luxury cars in India to attract middle-class consumers and close BMW's widening lead in Asia's second-fastest growing major economy.

GM today posted a profit of $2.5 billion for the second quarter, led by strong results in North America. GM's net income for the April-through-June period nearly doubled from $1.3 billion in the year-earlier quarter.

Audi is fast emerging as the significant brand in the nascent Indian luxury car market. The German carmaker has adopted an aggressive strategy and is fast catching up with rivals like BMW and Mercedes Benz here.

General Motors posted a global profit of $2.5 billion for the second quarter, led by strong results in North America and a profit at Opel/Vauxhall.

No-one it seems wants to see Saab fail.

The New Zealand new vehicle market is showing signs of a rebound after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami with July registrations ahead of the same month in 2009 and 2010, a local auto trade association said.

Frankfurt's Prosecution Office is investigating a Continental employee for an alleged six corruption cases that could involve sums of around EUR70,000 (US$100,000).

Denim-clad California is one example of how new service will allow owners to tailor car

Ford says the traditional holiday shutdown period is the reason for large falls in production of some of its best selling and most profitable vehicles.

SAIC Motor Group said an asset-restructuring plan had been approved by all relevant government authorities, according to official news agency Xinhua.

Hyundai is aggressively targeting rivals such as Volkswagen, Opel and Ford with the stylish i40 in Europe's midsized segment, which is dominated by fleet sales. The automaker launched the i40 first as a station wagon in July.

Nissan Motor aims to triple sales in India to 40,000 vehicles by the end of this fiscal year, helped by the launch of its new mid-sized Sunny sedan.

Great Wall Motor has received an approval from China's securities regulator to launch Shanghai initial public offering worth about US$ 500m.

General Motors will make 10,000 of its Ampera plug-in hybrids available for sale in Europe next year.

A German manager for car-parts maker Continental, is under police investigation for alleged corruption in Frankfurt.

Brad Keselowski, who suffered a 100mph impact with a non-SAFER barrier at Road Atlanta on Wednesday, will miss the NASCAR Nationwide race at Iowa Speedway on Saturday.

Exactly 20 years ago today, one of the most revered 6-cylinder engines was offered for the first time. Known worldwide as the VR6, this spunky 6-pot was also the first of its kind from Volkswagen. In North America, it debuted in 1992.

Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli has called off American Ken Block's test in its 2009 Toyota test car.