Volkswagen AG’s luxury arm Audi AG said Thursday that its global sales worldwide increased 5.3 percent in October compared with last year.

A new compact car was introduced by Hyundai Motor Co. in India to boost sales in one of the fastest growing automobile markets.

Helmut Broeker will replace Mark Bishop as the managing director of Porsche China, the company said Tuesday. Broeker, 50, who is joining the company from BMW AG, has spent more than two decades in the automotive industry, working in Asia, Australia, the United States, Africa and the Caribbean.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) says Toyota's comments on the future of its Australian operations are a cause for concern.

Work at Toyota Motor Corp. on the next-generation gas-electric hybrid Prius, as well as on a breakthrough battery, goes at full speed. Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto denied there were any delays on the upgrade of the Prius.

Transmission engineers at General Motors Corp. have given new meaning to the term "overdrive." By using high-tech computerized tools, they launched nine new fuel-saving six-speed transmission models - the industry's largest lineup - in just four short years. Furthermore, their use of this technology has shaved as much as six months and $15 million from the typical transmission development process.

U.S. auto giant General Motors and Korean-Uzbek car manufacturer UzDaewooAvto have set up a joint venture to produce up to 250,000 Chevrolet cars a year in Uzbekistan, company officials said Monday.

Vehicle makers DaimlerChrysler AG and Fiat SpA said Tuesday they signed an agreement calling for strategic cooperation to provide the German-American automaker's truck group with engine and powertrain technology from Italy.