Olivier Francois is new CEO of Chrysler brand, Fred Diaz Jr. chief of Dodge Ram truck group and Ralph Giles takes over Dodge cars.

Daimler (DAI) has sold 40% of its stake in Tesla Motors Inc to Aabar investments, a group owned by the Abu Dhabi government.

The slowing down market and global economic conditions have forced China's Chery Automobile to postpone its proposed car joint venture project with Italy's Fiat SpA.

Brawn GP will step into Honda's shoes to take over the ex-Honda F1 team. Honda had announced their intention to quit Formula One in the 2009 season, and the team's future was in doubt till now.

The Royal Bank of Scotland RBS will not renew its contract with the F1 team Williams.

The Dutch finance services entity ING declared their cost reduction programmes and said that they will not renew their three-year contract with the Renault F1 team.

The slowdown in demand for vehicles has come as blow to auto major Chrysler, with the automaker deciding to shut four plants temporarily. The shutting down of the four facilities in the US would begin on Monday.

This is no beauty we are talking about - but at least, the recently unveiled Metro Taxi has put some thought into what Americans would like in a metro taxi cab.

Australia will have to wait for more time to see the right hand drive version of Cadillac as the company has decided to put off the launch date indefinitely. The reason being said is that the Australian automotive market has been sucked int the ongoing global financial crisis.

Germany’s roads are seeing an overdose of the Audi A4. The country has reportedly seen as many as 98,714 A4 models from the Audi stables drive out to customers’ homes in year 2008.

Slowdown in sales has forced motorcycle giant Harley-Davidson to do away with as many as 1,100 jobs over two years. Troubled times have made the company even to close down some of its facilities while consolidating the remaining ones.

Move over GM , Toyota is on top. The Japanese automajor has become the world's largest carmaker. The feat breaks General Motors unbeaten record of 77 years.

Kickstarting a technology alliance, computer maker Lenovo has joined hands with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to forge a partnership ahead of the 2009 Formula 1 season.

Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp has seen a loss in 2008, ending a 71-year long streak of operating profits. The last time Toyota posted an operating loss was in the year ended March 1938.

Recession or not, utility vehicle major Mahindra and Mahindra is adamant on making its foray into the US market. The company has said that plans for the US market are on track as scheduled.

In a spectacular deal that would showcase an Indian brand on the Ferrari, the Tatas have been chosen as the new sponsor of Ferrari's 2009 Formula 1 racing cars.

The continuing economic slowdown that has hit the automobile industry hard has forced Honda Motor to brace for the challenges ahead in a more fighting way. The car maker feels that conditions will get even worse next year.

In its bid to make a positive impact on the area of diesel hybrid technology, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Robert Bosch have come to an agreement to kick start a strategic partnership.

Malaysia is Mitubishi’s next big stop. Automotive giant Mitsubishi Motors Corporation has inked a contract with Malaysia's major automobile manufacturer Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd (PONSB) to build a new Proton hatchback car.

South Korea automotive major Hyundai has decided to go for a cut in output at all its plants at various international locations.

General Motors has kicked off the European leg of its test programme for fuel cell vehicles. Dubbed as a real-world road test, the programme will run under the umbrella of the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), a German Federal Department for Transport, Building and Urban Development funded project focused on proving the day-to-day suitability of hydrogen as a fuel for road transport.

Korean auto major Hyundai Motor is seeing an unprecedented acceptance towards its Accent model in the US car market. Dubbed by the company as the most dependable and affordable sub-compact car, the 2009 Hyundai Accent model is available in the US has a starting price of US$9,970.

Bringing a premature end to one of the most hyped endorsement deals, General Motors and golfer Tiger Woods have decided to part ways. The end of the deal has come about a year before the actual termination of the contract period.

Mahindra and Mahindra is looking at making a splash in China by lining up exports to the communist nation. The company which is fast readying its fuel-efficient SUV models in the United States, will see China as one of the most potential markets overseas.

Mercedes Benz will construct a small car plant in Hungary by 2012.

Japanese automotive giant Toyota is likely to make its Prius hybrid model  part of a separate brand. The company is has confirmed it is considering a new Prius brand. Smaller and larger hybrid cars may be built under the new Prius sub-brand.

Speculations over Chrysler stake sale by Daimler were put to rest with the German auto giant confirming that it is in talks with Cerberus to sell its 19.9 per cent stake in its former partner.

Yet another Chinese car maker will see global attention focused on it during the run up to year 2009 as it lines up a new brand of car. FAW Haima Automobile Co is expected to unveil its new own-brand car in the A0 segment next year thereby launching itself into the big league.

Freightliner will reveal its new PH37ACmi PowerHaul diesel locomotives at the world's largest rail exhibition, Innotrans 2008, held in Berlin.

Despite the decline in sales of luxury automobile models in the US, Hyundai expects annual sales of 50,000 units of the Hyundai Genesis, 20000 units of the Hyundai Genesis sedan and 30000 units of the Hyundai Genesis coupe version.