July 28, 2005

SHANGHAI, China - DaimlerChrysler AG has won Chinese government approval to make Mercedes-Benz sedans at a joint venture factory in Beijing, the company said Wednesday. The joint venture, Beijing-Benz DaimlerChrysler Automotive Ltd., began construction of the factory late last year and recently received a license from the Ministry of Commerce. It plans to roll out its first Mercedes-Benz sedans by the end of this year, said Trevor Hale, a spokesman for DaimlerChrysler in Beijing. The factory would have the capacity to make 25,000 units a year, though output would depend on market demand, Hale said.

China's auto sector profits drop 57%

SHANGHAI, China -- China's auto sector saw profits slide 57 percent in the first four months of the year, compared with a year earlier, due to sluggish sales and rising costs. Automakers reported a 74 percent plunge in profits in the first four months of the year, to $528 million, the state-run newspaper China Daily reported. Industry-wide profits, which include vehicles, engines, auto parts and motorcycles, totaled $1.5 billion, the report said.

Toyota constructs new Russia plant

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday broke ground on a new assembly plant in Russia, in a vote of confidence in the booming Russian consumer market despite investors' jitters over the Yukos case. President Vladimir Putin, who attended the ceremony marking the start of construction for the new plant just outside of Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, said he welcomed Toyota's first car-making enterprise in Russia. Officials said initial investment will total 4 billion rubles ($140 million) in the factory. which will produce about 50,000 Camrys and other models annually.

Hyundai may make trucks in China

Hyundai Motor Co., which last year scrapped plans to make trucks in Asia with DaimlerChrysler AG, said it's in talks with Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group Co. to set up a commercial vehicle venture in China. Guangzhou Auto, which already has car-making ventures with Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. in southern China, is one of three companies in talks with South Korea's largest automaker.

Kerkorian's share in General Motors set at 7.2 percent

Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian increased his share in General Motors Corp. to about 7.2 percent from 3.9 percent after completing the purchase of 18.4 million shares. The amount was less than announced on June 8 because some shares weren't delivered. The purchases by Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. raise his ownership from 22 million shares to about 40.5 million shares, about 437,726 shares, or 2.3 percent, fewer than in a preliminary report last week.