Hanover - Giant German auto supplier Continental AG approved a takeover offer by smaller rival Schaeffler early Thursday morning after weeks of talks.

Bearings manufacturer Schaeffler agreed to increase its offer to 75 euros per share from 70.12 euros, the companies said. Continental chief executive Manfred Wennemer will step down by August 31.

Schaeffler will maintain only a minority share of tyre-maker Continental for four years.

The Continental board last month formally rejected Schaeffler's earlier 70.12 euros a share bid as too low.

A slump in the car industry combined with an 11-billion- euro acquisition last year had helped to drive down Continental's shares, leaving the group exposed to takeover.

General Motors had put up its brand Hummer for sale SUVs as it saw a sharp drop in the sales of these vehicles and it now plans to shift its focus from trucks and SUVs.

Meanwhile Mahindra and Mahindra’s Vice President, Anand Mahindra, scrapped all speculations about Mahindra and Mahindra acquiring the gas guzzling Hummer from General Motors.

The Company does not wish to tarnish its image by acquiring Hummer, which does not carry the eco-friendly image.

Due to the increase in input costs, Hero Honda, country’s largest two-wheeler maker has increased prices of its product across its various models up to Rs 1,500.

Anil Dua, Hero Honda Motors Senior Vice President (sales and marketing), informed, “A couple of weeks back; we have increased the price across various models in order to partially pass on the increase in input cost to the customers.”

Munich - The last of the current generation MINI convertibles has rolled off the production line at the Oxford plant in England with the white MINI Cooper S going to a fan in the United States, BMW, the owner of MINI, has announced.

Some 164,000 units of the car have been sold worldwide with most of the cars finding customers on the domestic market in Britain and Ireland followed by the United States, the car maker said.

Hamburg - Indian car maker Tata Motors, which is planning to produce the world's cheapest car selling at 1,700 euros (2,600 dollars), also has plans to produce an electric-drive version, according to a German press report.

The E-Nano would be built in cooperation with the Norwegian electric car specialist firm Miljoebil Grenland, the Hamburg-based Auto Bild newspaper said.

Stockholm - Saab is offering the all-wheel drive (XWD) system for the 2009 models of the 9-3 Sport Sedan and SportCombi range, the car maker has announced.

Originally developed for the harsh Swedish winter roads, the manufacturer says the system is also ideally suited for wet roads and tarmac covered by autumn leaves.

The XWD system distributes engine torque between the front and rear axles, to achieve optimum handling and grip in all driving conditions. On the open road, it helps the driver keep the car stable while cornering.

Unlike conventional all-wheel-drive systems, the XWD eliminates the need to detect wheel slip before rear drive is activated, the car maker says.