Auto News 5

Suzuki has followed Honda by pulling out of motorsport activities. Full story...

In a ceremony at the Royal Automobile Club UK-based writer and just-auto columnist Karl Ludvigsen has picked up three awards from the UK's Guild of Motoring Writers. Full story...

Bulgaria is the latest nation to express a desire to host Formula One. Full story...

Toyota is expected to drastically prune its sales forecast for next year by at least 1m units and detail cost cuts next week. Full story...

Aston Martin's relatively new owner is considering selling a 10-20 percent stake in the British sports car maker, according to European press reports. Full story...

Ford of Europe's November sales fell nearly a quarter despite a successful launch of its latest Fiesta small car. Strong sales performances in Germany and the UK helped Ford to improve its monthly market share by 0.5 percentage points to 8. Full story...

ECM (Electric Corner Modules) or In-Wheel Motors technology is more of a revolution rather than an evolution technology. ECM can be a combination of wheel, tyres, motors, brake, steering, suspension, and cooling system. Implementation of ECM eliminates the need of components such as engine, transmission, differentials, cardan shaft. The other advantages include weight reduction by 10%-25% depending on ECM type and fuel savings of 20%-30% Full story...

Volkswagen group's global sales fell 16.5 percent to 447,000 vehicles in November. Full story...

Toyota plans to produce 30% fewer vehicles in December because of declining sales, but won't cut its INR32 billion investment plan for the country. Full story...

The UK government is mulling making financial aid available to the UK auto industry. Full story...

Mercedes-Benz will preview three fuel-saving technologies in a concept for its new entry-premium model range at the Detroit auto show in January. The Concept BlueZero will be shown as a pure electric car, a plug-in hybrid and as a fuel cell model. Full story...

Volkswagen has announced that it will sell its Brazilian heavy truck business to MAN. Full story...

The Pontiac brand next decade may be trimmed to one nameplate--or it could have as many as three. Full story...

Although Pontiac plans to trim nameplates in the next three years to possibly one vehicle, the front-wheel-drive 2010 G3 subcompact will arrive on schedule next spring. Full story...

China's Great Wall Motor says it plans to build between 30,000 and 50,000 vehicles a year in eastern Europe. The carmaker initially plans to build its Hover SUV and pickups in Bulgaria for the local market starting in 2010. Full story...

The Bush White House is to keep the troubled Detroit-based automakers waiting a while longer to hear if the administration will provide bailout loans after a Democrat sponsored Congressional bill failed to pass Republicans in the Senate last week. Full story...

Kia has said it is further cutting back work hours at its main domestic plant because of falling sales amid the global recession, the Yonhap news agency has reported. Full story...

French President Nicolas Sarkozy meets senior automobile industry executives on Monday to discuss aid plans for a sector that is slashing jobs in response to a dramatic fall in sales. Full story...

UK car retailer Inchcape warned on its 2009 profit and said sales would slow at a greater rate than previously expected, underlining the severity of the downturn in the global automotive retail market. Full story...

BYD says that its F3DM model - China's 'first mass-produced hybrid electric car' - has been launched onto the Chinese market. Full story...