DETROIT — Consumers took advantage of stable gas prices and bought more trucks and sport utility vehicles, which helped push up the sales of new automobiles in the United States to an eight-month high in October. Automakers said Tuesday that the annual selling rate for the month was slightly above 13.2 million vehicles, the best … Read More »

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s former auto czar says General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC are far ahead of what he expected when the government restructured them in 2009. Steve Rattner served as the administration’s top auto official for six months in 2009. A paperback version of his 2010 book, “Overhaul: An Insider’s Account … Read More »

Fiat SpA targets a merger with Chrysler Group LLC within the next three years as the American carmaker becomes the profit driver of its Italian parent. “There’s no single doubt that at some point of time between now and the conclusion of the 2014 plan, we need to find a corporate convergence between Fiat and … Read More »

Ford Motor Co.’s strong third-quarter earnings of $1.65 billion met some resistance Wednesday from an investment community wanting assurances the fourth quarter won’t disappoint. That is what happened a year ago: High expectations for the automaker with a history of outperforming expectations led to fourth-quarter results lower than Wall Street anticipated. The subsequent fall from … Read More »

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest maker of automobiles, reported third-quarter profit rose 21 percent, helped by sales of Sonata sedans and Tucson sport- utility vehicles. Net income climbed to 1.92 trillion won ($1.7 billion) in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with 1.59 trillion won a year earlier, the Seoul-based company said in … Read More »

Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest automaker, said third-quarter operating profit surged 46 percent on demand for Audi and VW brand sport-utility vehicles. Operating profit advanced to 2.89 billion euros ($4.05 billion) from 1.99 billion euros a year earlier, the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said today. Profit beat the 2.61 billion- euro average estimate of 15 analysts surveyed … Read More »