Toyota plans RAV4 output in Russia after plant expansion

Toyota says it will invest around 18 billion yen (135 million euros) to expand its St. Petersburg plant in Russia before it begins assembly of the RAV4 compact SUV in 2016.

Fiat will produce 5 new namesake-brand models in next 2 years

Fiat plans to produce four new models of the 500 minicar family and one new version of its Panda minicar

GM plans to more closely intertwine Buick and Opel brands

GM is developing two modular vehicle families, Global Delta and Global Epsilon, that will help to more closely integrate global product development between Buick and Opel.

GM execs differ on the overlap of Chevrolet and Opel in Europe

GM says it is hatching a plan on how to best position Chevrolet and Opel/Vauxhall in Europe, but disagreement on branding still exists between the marque’s top managers.

Supplier IAC says size matters more than ever

Achieving scale is the only way to survive as a supplier in a fiercely competitive and globalized automotive market, a top executive at IAC Group said. “Size means you have global presence.

Schaeffler sells 4% of Continental to cut debt

German supplier Schaeffler has sold a 3.9 percent stake in fellow supplier Continental for about 950 million euros to cut debt.

Opel seeks subcompact SUV lead with Mokka

Opel/Vauxhall says it hopes its Mokka subcompact SUV will rise to the top of Europe’s fast-growing small SUV & crossover segment, but market watchers don’t see it climbing that high.

France will increase tax on high-emission cars, report says

France will raise the maximum tax levy on purchases of cars with high emissions to 8,000 euros from 6,000, a measure that could bring in 100 million euros ($133.53 million) in tax receipts next year, newspaper Les Echos reported.

The new measure is also expected to include a curb on subsidies for low-emission vehicles, the newspaper said in a report published on Tuesday, without citing its sources.

The two-pronged system was introduced in 2008 under former president Nicolas Sarkozy in a bid to promote the sale of vehicles with low emissions.

VW will invest $529 million in Audi, Golf production in Brazil

Volkswagen will invest $529 million in Brazil to begin local production of the VW Golf and restart local production by Audi, a spokesman for the state of Parana said.

PSA mulls capital tie-up with China’s Dongfeng, paper says

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen has mandated two banks to study a possible capital tie-up with its Chinese partner Dongfeng, a French newspaper reported.

VW group sales edge ahead of GM

Volkswagen Group says sales of its various brands in China rose nearly 18 percent in the first eight months to 2.05 million units, edging ahead of General Motors for bragging rights as China’s largest foreign automaker. For the period, GM reported sales of 2.03 million units.

Chrysler IPO to bring shareholder battle to a head

Chrysler plans to file documents this week that would allow its minority investor to sell shares in a stock market listing, bringing to a head a battle with majority owner Fiat which wants to take full control of the business.

S class and i8 were Frankfurt Web winners

The Mercedes-Benz S class and BMW’s i8 plug-in hybrid were the big Web winners from this year’s Frankfurt auto show, according to a study.

Marchionne 3.0 – the Alfa patriot

Sergio Marchionne’s mantras are like liquid, meaning they – like the Fiat-Chysler CEO – continually change as the global auto business evolves.

VW considers raising stake in China joint venture, report says

Volkswagen is considering increasing its stake in its joint venture with China’s FAW Group, VW CEO Martin Winterkorn told a German newspaper.

China renews subsidies for green vehicles

China has renewed sales subsidies for electric cars and plug-in hybrid vehicles for another three years, but contrary to some expectations did not include conventional hybrid vehicles. China’s central government announced Tuesday it will provide up to 60,000 yuan ($9,800) for the purchase of an EV and up to 35,000 yuan for a plug-in hybrid.

PSA reportedly considers stake sale to Dongfeng Motor in China

PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe’s second-biggest carmaker, is considering selling a stake to Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Corp. to raise cash for an expansion outside its home continent, two people familiar with the matter said. The talks are preliminary and nothing has been decided, said the people, who asked not to be identified.