FRANKFURT – Global deliveries of Volkswagen AG’s core VW brand increased 10.4 percent to 1.23 million vehicles in the first quarter, a record for the automaker, the company said Wednesday. VW also reported record deliveries for the month of March, with sales of more than 468,000 cars, a year-on-year rise of 4.9 percent, reported Automotive … Read More »

Renault SA Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn will lose his second-in-command after Patrick Pelata resigned, bowing to pressure from the French government to take responsibility for a botched espionage probe. Pelata will stay on temporarily as chief operating officer before moving to a role within the carmaker’s alliance with Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., the Boulogne-Billancourt, … Read More »

Reynolds and Reynolds today launched Click-Chat-Buy, a new, live chat system that Reynolds developed to work in concert with car dealer Websites developed by Reynolds Web Solutions. This new solution enables dealership personnel to chat online in real time with consumers browsing the dealership’s Website. The new system will be offered as a no-charge upgrade … Read More »

After the March 11 disasters, highways were closed and many roads were severed by the impact of the earthquake. But the man who runs Honda Motor Co. needed to get to Honda plants at Tochigi, about 100 kilometers north of Tokyo, as quickly as possible — a 43-year-old male employee died when the wall of … Read More »

AMSTERDAM – the owner of Swedish car maker Saab Automobile, said Tuesday it has asked the Swedish National Debt Office to allow it to sell and lease back Saab properties to secure the funding it needs to resume production. Spyker reiterated in a statement that it is in talks with several parties to secure short- … Read More »

PARIS – The departure of Renault’s number two executive over a spying-turned-fraud debacle heaps pressure on Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn when the carmaker is trying to win investor support for its growth plans. Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pelata resigned on Monday, taking the flak for an embarrassing fiasco in which Renault fired three executives on … Read More »