FRANKFURT (AFP) ― Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, said on Thursday it had received approval from Chinese authorities to increase its stake in MAN, the final hurdle in the takeover process. “The Chinese competition authorities have approved the increase of the stake of Volkswagen in MAN,” VW said in a statement.Approval by the Chinese competition authorities marked the completion of all regulatory clearances necessary for settlement and with it, VW had been able to take another “decisive s

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s largest maker of luxury vehicles, reported better-than- expected profit in the third quarter as demand for the X3 sport- utility vehicle offset lower 1-Series sales.Earnings before interest and taxes rose 44 percent to 1.72 billion euros ($2.35 billion) from 1.19 billion euros a year earlier, the Munich-based company said today. Profit beat the 1.58 billion-euro average estimate of 18 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Revenue climbed 3.8 percent to 16.5 bil

Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. posted U.S. sales declines for October, rather than the increases they had forecast, while Nissan Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. led gains among Asian carmakers amid improving demand.Deliveries fell 7.9 percent from a year earlier for Toyota, Asia’s biggest automaker, and 0.5 percent for Honda, as both of the Japanese companies did better than analysts had estimated. Sales rose 18 percent for Nissan, 23 percent for Hyundai and 21 percent for Kia Motors Cor

The Korean parliament’s ongoing dispute over the free trade agreement with the United States is dimming prospects for its early ratification. But global carmakers operating in the United States were already fixing plans to launch vehicles here for the tax advantages in the pact that will greatly impact the auto industries of the two countries.Toyota Motor Corp., among them, is the first to bring its made-in-America cars to Korea at a lower price in expectation of lower taxes. As all cars manufac

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s No. 2 automaker, signed an investment contract on Wednesday to build a new Chinese assembly plant in an effort to better meet demand growth in the world’s largest car market.The deal calls for the Kia plant, which will be the third in the country, to be built by the second half of 2014 and have an annual production capacity of 300,000 cars.This output will compliment the 430,000 cars that are currently being made by the carmaker’s two car assembly lines in Yanchen

OSTRAVA, Czech Republic ― It has been more than two years since Hyundai Motor established a large-scale manufacturing plant in the Czech Republic.Apart from the factory’s role as a logistics base for Hyundai’s automobile sales in Europe, an issue has emerged as to whether the Korean company has been gaining favorable image from Czech citizens and its government.Though the automaker’s factory is located in a small city of Nosovice, whose population stays only at about 1,000, it has been playing a

Korean carmakers seek sustainable growth rather than blind pursuit of market shareFRANKFURT, Germany ― Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors overtook Toyota Motor in their combined sales in the European market in 2010. The Korean carmakers’ aggressive sales marketing may catapult them to the level of Volkswagen and BMW in Europe. But the Hyundai Motor Group turned its eyes from market share to quality control. “Separately, Hyundai is expected to surpass the Japanese competitor in European m

Kim puts priority on communication, pride in staffMunich-based BMW Group regards Korea as one of the important markets for their global management despite its small portion in Korea of the automaker’s total sales worldwide.Apart from the boom in the import vehicle market in Korea, the automobile giant’s focus on Korea appears based on its strong confidence in its Korea branch CEO Kim Hyo-joon.Last year, personnel managers at the company’s German headquarters asked the 54-year-old Korean CEO to w