Audi plans to auction Cosworth Technology, its specialist engine maker for about £50m. The automotive consultancy designs bespoke high performance engines for some of the world™s leading car marques. It employs around 1,000 people at plants in Northampton, Wellingborough and Worcester, as well as in its American base in Novi, Michigan.

Audi will set up its first Southeast Asian plant in coming months before regional tariffs are cut next year. Audi group marketing head Ralph Weyler declined to identify the plant's location but said a possible tie-up with dominant Malaysian carmaker Proton Holdings was "one alternative" among others. "The analysis (on the location) is more and more complete and the decision will be in the next month," said Weyler.

Autoliv, the world's biggest maker of car seat belts and air bags, will shift more production to Estonia, meaning the loss of 275 jobs in Sweden. The move will affect employees at its Vargarda plant in southwest Sweden and will run over the next two years. Jobs at the plant have already been cut from around 1,200 to 1,000 by natural wastage and using fewer temporary staff.

Bentley is to start production of its new luxury saloon at a Volkswagen plant in eastern Germany, after dropping plans for a night shift at its factory in Crewe. The four-door car, a larger version of its £110,000 Continental GT coupé, will be built in Dresden during peak demand to relieve pressure on the Crewe home base of the company, bought by VW six years ago.

BMW plans to create hundreds of jobs in Germany by the end. BMW reportedly expects profits and sales to rise by around 8% this year. The company says it will maintain the sales rise seen in the first 9 months. BMW brand sales increased 9% to 740,000 units to the end of September, while group sales gained 8% to more than 880,000 vehicles.

DaimlerChrysler expects to be the world's most profitable truckmaker in 2004. The business rebounded from losses to make a pre-tax profit of 855 million euros ($1.08 billion) in 2003. Cordes said last month that the trucks business continued to boom in the second half and forecast the division would generate sharply higher 2004 operating profit.

Delphi Corp, the world's largest maker of automotive parts, has received a $180 million contract from Renault to provide the electrical/electronic distribution system for a new small vehicle platform. With this program, Delphi has grown its new business with Renault in Europe to $790 million since 2001.

GM™s European division which includes the Opel, Saab and Vauxhall brands, will lose up to 10,000 jobs and may close one plant as early as 2009. GM says it wants a massive reduction in labour costs in Europe and that it will cut some jobs in Europe and close a plant there as part of a restructuring plan under development to try to return the region to profitability.

Hino Motors and Isuzu Motors have merged 3 companies to create J-Bus Ltd. a holding company to integrate Hino and Isuzu bus businesses. The full integration and commencement of operations under the umbrella of J-Bus took effect on October 1, 2004. There will be 2 manufacturing sites in Komatsu and Utsunomiya. J Bus will be owned 50/50 by Hino and Isuzu and employ 1,370 people.

Johnson Controls plans to invest up to $26 million to build a new technical center in Slovakia. The 4th largest U.S. auto parts producer, which is also considering Slovakia for a $30 million seat components factory, aims to start construction of the center in the western Slovakia town of Trencin. The new facility, which should serve the firm's global development network, is expected to expand gradually in the coming years if the automotive industry continues to grow.

Michelin has unveiled an airless tire to weather tough road conditions in fast-growing countries like China and India. Michelin said its "Airless Wheel" and "Tweel" tires were still at the concept stage but would hopefully hit the mass market in 10 years. The tires are non-pneumatic and made of elastic. That means they are better able to absorb shock, making for a smoother ride on uneven roads in less developed countries.

Navistar (International Truck and Engine Corporation) and Eaton Corp. have been selected to manufacture diesel-electric hybrid trucks for a US national pilot program. The pilot truck program will test a minimum of 20 factory-built International utility trucks featuring an integrated hybrid powertrain solution jointly developed by the two companies. The program was will be operated by WestStart, an advanced technology consortium of truck fleet users, truck makers, technology companies, and the US military.

Proton is in talks with Volkswagen about a potential partnership, which could boost the German auto giant's presence in the Southeast Asian market. VW officials confirmed talks were underway, but declined to provide details beyond ruling out a takeover of the state-owned Malaysian firm. Proton has sought a new partner since Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp. - deeply involved in the technological development of Proton since its founding in the mid-1980s - sold its 7.93 % stake.

PSA Peugeot Citroen has unveiled a $160 million design center in Velizy (France) that will unite the creative resources of its two brands under one roof. Europe's second-biggest carmaker has seen its western European market share suffer this year due to a drought of new models, while competitor Renault grabbed the limelight with its successful new Megane range.

Renault says that it is to embark on a recruitment drive that will see world-wide employment figures by the company rise by 10,000 in 2005. Renault says that half the jobs will be for workers, and half for technicians, engineers and managerial staff. It is estimated that a further 4,000 people will be taken on by Renault's dealers.

Saab Automobile may be helped by the Swedish government to save its last plant in Sweden and to win a fierce contest with Opel in Germany to produce new midsize cars for GM. While both the Swedish and German governments are prohibited by EU regulations from offering up subsidies, Sweden can invest more money in infrastructure, product research and development in order to convince GM to keep production in Trollhaettan.

Tata is in talks with a Chinese manufacturer about building a passenger car for China, the world's fastest growing vehicle market. Tata declined to name the prospective Chinese partner, but is hoping to build a small car for the Chinese market, perhaps a variant of its Indica model. In addition to China, Tata is targeting Europe, South Africa and southeast Asia with a mix of vehicles, including small passenger cars, pick-up trucks and heavy trucks.

Toyota says it has revised its 2004 sales forecast and now anticipates 900,000-unit deliveries this year vs. the 860,000 it had previously targeted. Toyota™s has had record-setting year-to-date sales in Europe. During January-August Toyota sold 628,664 vehicles, a 12% rise over like-2003 Toyota will support the new sales target with an increase in local production. The auto maker will have European annual capacity for 775,000 vehicles when its small-car joint-venture plant with PSA Peugeot Citroen in the Czech Republic comes online in 2005.

TVR, the British sports car company bought by Russian businessman Nikolai Smolenski in July, has plunged into the red after the collapse of an unnamed engine supplier left £3m-worth of cars unsold. TVR posted a pre-tax loss of £833,011 for 2003 and turnover fell by a fifth from £25.3m to £20m. Mr Smolenski said: "The reduced turnover was mainly due to a problem with a supplier of major engine components, who ultimately went into administration on September 5, 2003.

Volvo, the world's second-largest truck maker, may make an acquisition in Asia to boost market share as growth in its European and North American markets begins to slow, said a senior Volvo official. "A likely acquisition could happen of course in Asia because the Asian market needs to be more structured, and there are the opportunities and we have no problem with the competition authorities," said deputy CEO Lennart Jeansson. Volvo wants to expand its share of China's heavy truck market were it currently has 40 % of the imported heavy truck market.

Volvo Group has agreed to acquire the remaining 50% of the North American bus manufacturer Prevost Car Inc., containing the Prevost and Nova brands, as part of the restructuring of the bus manufacturer Henlys Group plc. The purchase price is USD 83 M and Prevost Car Inc. will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Volvo Bus Corporation. The agreement also involves converting part a loan of USD 240 M issued to Henlys into shares in a newly established US based company containing the US school bus manufacturer, Blue Bird.

On the lighter side .... some strange but true stories.

Motorists in Lyon, France have discovered that if they hit a parking meter in the right spot they can get free parking without having to put in any coins. Children are also doing it to collect the cute-looking tickets.

James Richard of Perth, Australiatried to fool police before taking a breath test. He sipped deodorant to try to hide the fact that he had been drinking alcohol. Unfortunately he didn™t realize that deodorant is 35% alcohol. He received a one year ban.

The mother of a 5 year old boy from St Louis, Missouri, has received a fine for ˜contributing to the delinquency of a minor™, after he crashed his uncle™s Cadillac.

A couple in Menz, Germany are offering their $25000 Porsche in return for their pet dog, who they say is worth more to them than the car.

A driver in Austria faces a $6000 fine after ramming a car he thought was being used by robbers a getaway car an Ohisdorf bank. Unfortunately for him the driver of the car had just stopped at the bank to get some cash.

A motorist in Bonn, Germany rescued a stray dog and put it in his car to take it to a home. He was then locked out of the car by the dog who pushed the door lock down as soon as the driver got out.

Drink-driver Thomas Roy, 43, fled a crash in Houston, Texas “ but left his artificial hand in the car. He was arrested and jailed for a month.

A funeral cortege in Bari, Italy was halted when a driverless car crashed into it. The owner had parked the car at the top of a hill to admire the view but forgot to apply the handbrake.

Police in Cadiz, Spain have been hunting for vandals responsible for damaging parked cars. They have now located the culprits “ peacocks from a nearby farm.

Police were called to a petrol station in Stavanger, Norway after drivers discovered that one ˜pay at the pump™ machine was not charging for petrol. An electronic fault was blamed.

Retired ice cream vendor, Robert Jones, 60, from Wexford, Eire has converted his old van into a camper, and is setting off on a 3 year tour of Europe.

A woman in San Diego, California faces a trial in court after locking her 7 year old son in her car boot so that she could celebrate her birthday.

A funeral in Germany had to be cancelled when customs officers refused to allow a hearse to cross the border from Holland “ because the body did not have a passport.

Michael Watts, 50, a fertility doctor in Los Angeles California has bought the number plate VIAGRA for his 180 mph Dodge Viper sports car.

A street lamp which crashed onto a parked car in Ostend, Belgium was found to have gone rusty after years of ˜attention™ from local dogs.