BERLIN (DPA) ― Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, has brought plans for a fuel-thrifty car out of abeyance and will display an ultra-light hybrid car at the Qatar Motor Show at the end of this month, according to a German magazine.Volkswagen has spoken for years of making a car that can travel 100 kilometers on just 1 litre of fuel, but has never put one on sale. The magazine Wirtschaftswoche

TOKYO (DPA) ― Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans to launch eight models of electric cars and plug-in hybrids by the financial year that ends in March 2016, the Japanese carmaker said Thursday.The strategy includes the introduction of hybrid vehicles in the 2013-14 financial year, said Mitsubishi, which produces an electric hatchback but has yet to introduce hybrid models.It plans to also expand its lin

Chunwoo Motors, Toyota Korea’s Lexus dealer for the Yongsan area of Seoul, opened a Lexus showroom in Ilsan-gu, Goyang in Gyeonggi Province on Thursday.The company said that the new showroom will strengthen its sales network in northern Gyeonggi Province including Ilsan and Paju. The showroom is located on the ground floor of a three-story building that includes office space, and a service stall t

Hyundai Motors Co. will shuffle production of two models between its Czech factory and a plant operated in neighboring Slovakia by the carmaker’s affiliate, Kia Motors Corp.The factory near Zilina, Northern Slovakia, will take over production of Kia Venga compact cars, which are currently assembled in the Czech Republic, according to Dusan Dvorak, spokesman for the unit. Similarly, production of H

Renault Samsung Motors Co. will be operating vehicle checkup points at 14 rest stops on expressways from Feb. 1 to 6 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. for those traveling during the Seolnal, Lunar New Year, holiday.The checkup points offer general checkups free of charge, and replacements for various parts and components. Mechanics stationed at the checkup points will also provide tips on vehicle maintena

Automobile recalls in South Korea spiked in 2010 because of tighter safety-related regulatory control and monitoring, a government report showed Monday.   According to the report by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, 270,000 vehicles of 87 locally made and imported models were recalled last year, up 110,000 units from a year earlier.   The total number of vehicle models recalled

Volkswagen AG’s Audi unit defended its top spot in luxury-car sales in Europe last year while Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s main brand captured second place from Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz as demand for premium cars revived. New registrations for BMWs rose 6.5 percent last year to 609,196, the fastest pace among the three brands, exceeding Mercedes’s 586,146, while Audi stayed on top with sales of

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest seller of hybrid autos, is developing an alternative motor for future hybrid and electric cars that doesn’t need rare-earth minerals at risk of supply disruptions.Toyota engineers in Japan and the U.S. are working on a so- called induction motor that’s lighter and more efficient than the magnet-type motor now used in its Prius, said John Hanson, a company sp