Elon Musk led Tesla Motors has showcased its new battery-powered sport-utility vehicle, which is expected to go on sale next year.

The new SUV with gull-wing doors, Model X is claimed to be faster than Porsche AG's 911 sports car and has more space than Audi AG's Q7 SUV. The model will be launched in the market following the debut of the company's Model S sedan.

An auto industry body has warned that the annual car sales might record a drop for the first time in ten years in the fiscal year till March 2012 as the figure had last recorded a decrease in 2002.

Vishnu Mathur, director general of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said that the auto industry in the country is very much affected by the level of interest rates and the central bank is unlikely to bring them down soon.

Beijing, Feb 8 - That's a scratch that will cost her dear, and she feared much more. But a woman in China is "relieved" she would have to pay only 188,000 yuan ($29,800) for a tiny-winy scratch her car caused to a Rolls-Royce.

The woman surnamed Zhu hit the luxury sedan with her Honda Accord in Zhejiang province Jan 31, the Shanghai Daily reported citing a media report.

Chennai, Feb 7 - An entirely new team of office bearers of the United Union of Hyundai Employees (UUHE) will hold wage negotiations at the country's second largest car manufacturing company Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), which has been embroiled in labour tensions for several years, said a top union official.

South Korean manufacturer Ssangyong Motors, a unit of Mahindra & Mahindra, might be ready to shift its manufacturing facility to India in order to benefit from the lower costs.

Ssangyong might invest upto $ 1.2 billion over the next three to five years in the country to set up a manufacturing facility to produce and export compact and sub-compact SUVs to the global market.

Choi Jong-sik, Ssangyong's Vice-President for sales said, "The investment of over $1.2 billion will help the company in rolling out four new products and their variants."

Bhopal, Feb 5 - Car manufacturers are setting their eyes on smaller Indian cities and towns as markets boom for their products, particularly sale of luxury vehicles.

And one such city is the Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal where an Auto Expo is going on. At least 14 major manufacturers, including Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, BMW, Jaguar, Renault, and Mahindra and Mahindra, are participating in the four-day trade fair.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), which represents the interest of the Indian auto industry, has urged the central government to exclude the industry from the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union.

SIAM has said that the country is not likely to gain anything from the FTA with the European Union.

French automaker, Renault is planning to release a new passenger car in the Indian market priced at around Rs 4 lakh. Marc Nassif, managing director, Renault India said, "We have projects for below Rs. 4 lakh car. We will share details about that soon. It's not a project for India only, it's a global project of Renault."

Nassif said that about 50 percent of Indian passenger cars cost between Rs. 2 lakh and Rs 4 lakh and the company is aiming to enter the segment and attract customers in indian to the brand.

India’s leading automaker, Maruti Suzuki India has launched a new compact version its popular Swift Dzire sedan in Delhi. The company said that the model would have an introductory price between Rs. 4.79 lakh and Rs. 7.09 lakh.

Shinzo Nakanishi, the company's MD and CEO revealed the new shiny model and said that the prices are introductory and are likely to be increased later.

Chicago, Feb 2 - US auto sales for the Big Three American automakers were mixed in January as General Motors (GM) sales dropped 6 percent since January last year while Chrysler posted a strong gain of 44 percent over the same period and Ford increased 7 percent.

Chrysler's year-over-year increase of 44 percent marked its best January in four years, and its eighth-consecutive month of sales gains of at least 20 percent, reported Xinhua.

TVS Motor Company has said that its total sales increased by 5 per cent in the month of January 2012 to the level of 173,514 units compared to 165,152 units in January 2011.

The cumulative sales for the period April 2011 to January 2012 increased by 10 per cent to 1,843,554 units compared to 1,678,048 units n the same previous of previous year. The sales increased by 6 per cent to 171,112 units in January 2012 compared to 161,725 units in January 2011.

New Delhi, Feb 1 - Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki Wednesday reported a modest 5.2 percent increase in January sales at 115,433 vehicles, with domestic sales still continuing to be sluggish.

The company had sold 109,743 units in January 2011.

Successive interest rate hikes and rising petrol prices have dented interest of car buyers since some time now. Also, the inability of Maruti to meet increased demand for diesel vehicles has led to the company registering lower sales.

Chennai, Feb 1 - Two- and three-wheeler maker TVS Motor Company Ltd closed last month with a five percent sales growth compared to January 2011.

Announcing the monthly sales figures Wednesday, the company said it had sold 173,514 untis (171,112 two-wheelers and 2,402 three-wheelers) last month, up from 165,152 units (two-wheelers 161,725 and three-wheelers 3,427) sold in January 2011.

Within the two-wheeler segment, TVS Motor's sales of motorcycles last month was lower by 2,113 units as compared to 67,721 units sold in January 2011.

Beijing, Jan 30 : China's largest electric vehicle (EV) charging and battery swapping station has been put into operation in Beijing, Xinhua reported quoting sources in the city's power supply authorities.

Located in the eastern Beijing's Chaoyang district, the Gaoantun charging station can charge up to eight vehicles simultaneously and it takes only four to six minutes to swap a battery of an EV.

Mexico City, Jan 27 : Nissan Motor Co. announced plans to invest $2 billion in building a third manufacturing facility in Mexico.The new plant in the central state of Aguascalientes will generate 3,000 jobs and spur the creation of around 9,000 other positions, Nissan's vice chairman of operations in the Americas, Bill Krueger, said.

The Centre for Science and Environment has recommended imposition of an additional duty of up to Rs 162,000 on big diesel cars in the country in order to avoid the misuse of diesel subsidies bourn by the government.

South Korea’s largest automaker, Hyundai Motor Co. has reported a 38 percent increase in profits in the quarter till December 2011.

The net income for the company rose to 2 trillion won in the quarter compared to 1.45 trillion won in the same period previous year, the company said in a filing to the regulators. Revenue of the Seol based company increased 11 percent to 20.5 trillion won.

North American International Auto Show in Detroit has recorded a higher attendance than the previous version of the show, according to the organizers.

Event spokesman Joe Rohatynski said that a total of 770,932 people were at the auto show, the charity preview and industry preview. The increased participation is an indication of a renewed optimism in the auto sector in the country.

Auto sector major, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL) has reported a fall of 63.6 per cent in net profit in the quarter till December 2011.

Maruti Suzuki’s profit as high interest rates and increasing fuel costs affected the demand for cars in the country. The company, in which 54.2 per cent is held by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp, recorded a fall of 28 per cent in the December quarter because of a fall in small sales and labour unrest faced by the company.

Italian auto major, FIAT is planning to boost its presence in the Indian market with the launch of new Chrysler models as well as some models from premium Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands.

FIAT had acquired a majority stake in US automaker, Chrysler about three years ago and will now launch modes under the brand in India to attract more customers. Chrysler officials recently traveled to India to prepare for the launch of SUV, Jeep Grand Cherokee in the country.