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Dec 20, 2005

AUTOS WORLD NEWS

* Battle lines drawn at VW as investors vie for control

Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Christine Tierney -Dec 20, 2005:

On this side of the Atlantic, the directors of some large and ailing automakers are coming under fire for their passivity, but across the pond, the leading players at Germany's Volkswagen AG are donning battle gear... The conflict ahead will not only determine Volkswagen's survival as a major global automaker but also has profound implications for corporate governance in Germany...

* Toyota could overtake GM as top automaker in 2006

NAGOYA, Japan - AP, by YURI KAGEYAMA -Dec 20, 2005: Toyota Motor Corp., which is threatening to overtake General Motors Corp. as the world's biggest automaker, is planning to produce 9.06 million vehicles in 2006, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday... Although GM does not give full year production targets, that will put it neck and neck against the U.S. rival and possibly allow Toyota to take the lead...

* Delphi kills offer that riled the UAW
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Brett Clanton -20 Dec 2005: Delphi, with GM's help, will craft a new wage and benefit proposal for the UAW... The UAW must approve the deal... Under Delphi's latest bankruptcy schedule, the union has until Feb 17 to accept any pay and benefit concessions... Bankrupt auto supplier Delphi Corp. on Monday withdrew a contentious proposal to slash the wages of its 33,000 U.S. hourly workers, expressing hope it will reach a "consensual agreement" with its labor unions and former parent General Motors Corp. about how to restructure the company...

* Despite dropping market share, Big Three show slight improvement after a dismal November.
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Josee Valcourt -Dec 20, 2005: According to a survey by the Power Information Network, an affiliate of J.D. Power and Associates, Detroit automakers continued to lose retail market share to foreign rivals in early December but showed modest signs of improvement compared with their dismal performance in November...


* GM, UAW health deal is close to approval
DETROIT,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by David Shepardson -Dec 20, 2005: A federal judge is expected to grant preliminary approval Thursday to a landmark deal struck by General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers union to reduce the company's health care costs by $1 billion a year...

* Fitch downgrades Ford debt to junk status
Detroit,Mich,USA -Associated Press -Dec 20, 2005: Fitch Ratings cut Ford Motor Co.'s debt to junk status Monday because of U.S. market share losses and concerns about the company's reliance on slow-selling sport-utility vehicles...

* Hybrid cars race ahead in 2005

NEW YORK,NY,USA -Channel NewsAsia/AFP -20 Dec 2005: Helped by sky-high fuel prices and celebrity endorsement, US sales of hybrid cars more than doubled in 2005, but Japanese rather than home-grown auto makers are cashing in on the boom... Sales of hybrids and clean diesel autos are on course to take 11 percent of total US sales by 2012, from 4.8 percent this year, according to JD Power-LMC Automotive Forecasting Services...

* Ford to Build New Flexible Fuel Engine Plant
Manila, Philippines -The Auto Channel -Dec 20, 2005: Ford Motor Company announced company plans to invest P1.1 billion (US$20 million) to build a Flexible Fuel engine plant in the Philippines... Ford's Flexible Fuel engines are designed to operate on either conventional gasoline or a combination of gasoline and bio-ethanol fuels. The investment translates to production of 100,000 engines over the next five years valued at about US$100 million. Start-up activities will be undertaken in the first quarter next year, with full production to begin before the end of 2006...

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