GUANGZHOU - The China-made Highlander SUV rolled off the production line on May 25 in the second plant of GAC-Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (GTMC), a joint venture between Toyota Motor Co. (TMC) and China's Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC).

French carmaker Renault is contemplating plans to assemble vehicles with Chinese manufacturer Great Wall Motors in North America's Venezuela starting next year, Romanian media

SHANGHAI - Shanghai, the city for World Expo 2010, will adopt the State IV (equivalent to Euro IV) emission standards from November this year on all new cars, buses and other vehicles used for public transportation, cleaning and mail services, according to a recent announcement from the municipal government.

SHANGHAI - Accountants from Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers made a conclusion in an assessment submitted to the Seoul Central District Court that SAIC did not steal technologies from its cash-strapped subsidiary Ssangyong, according to a report in

Thanks to tax cuts and a series of government incentives, China sold 1.1197 million automobiles in May, up 34 percent year-on-year, according to the statistics from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). This is also the third consecutive month for the sales exceeding one million units so far this year.

With a considerable amount of local subsidies provided to those who buy new energy cars, the usually expensive fuel efficient hybrids and electric automobiles will become affordable to average families in Chongqing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other places, according to a report in

LIVONIA, MI - Thanks to increased use of advanced high-strength steel, the average weight per vehicle worldwide declined by 163 pounds on 2009 models.

TROY, MI - All of supplier Behr Group's air conditioner and cooling system products can now be built in China, thanks to the three joint venture partners the German company maintains to serve the Chinese auto industry.

SHANGHAI - Beijing Automotive Industry (Holding) Corp. (BAIC), one of the largest regional automotive groups in China, showed up as a group exhibitor for the first time at Auto Shanghai 2009 and displayed a total of 14 production and concept vehicles from its subsidiaries. Company chairman Xu Heyi announced BAIC's goal of building it into a large automotive group with revenue of ¥100 billion ($14.7 million) to become one of the top 500 enterprises in the world.

- by William Diem, CBU/CAR Paris Correspondent

Isenbüttel, Germany - BYD Auto chairman Wang Chuanfu brought a team of engineers to Germany to visit Volkswagen AG's electric and hybrid development program, and he left with an agreement to work together with VW to explore the idea of Volkswagen using BYD's lithium-ion batteries.