New York - The US rating agency Moody's has lowered several of its credit ratings for the struggling US automaker Chrysler because of lagging demand for SUVs and pickup trucks in the US.

New York  - Automakers Chrysler LLC and Nissan Motor Co are in talks to significantly expand cooperation and jointly produce a mid-size car, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

According to people familiar with the talks, Japan's Nissan would build a mid-size sedan that US firm Chrysler would sell and market under its own name in the United States.

Tokyo - Toyota Motor Corp said Thursday its net profit in the April-June quarter fell 28.1 per cent from the same period a year before to 353.6 billion yen (3.25 billion dollars).

Japan's leading automaker saw its operating income drop 38.9 per cent to 412.5 billion yen mainly due to the yen's rise against the US dollar.

Sales also declined 4.7 per cent to 6.22 trillion yen, the company said.

Stockholm  - Saab Automobile posted a loss for 2007, but the group owned by US automotive giant General Motors reduced its losses compared to 2006, Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri reported Wednesday.

The Swedish-based carmaker sold some 125,000 cars in 2007, roughly 7,800 fewer cars than in 2006, the report said.

Saab Automobile's loss for 2007 was 2.2 billion kronor (360 million kronor) compared to a loss of 2.9 billion kronor in 2006, the daily reported, citing the group's annual report filed in Sweden.

Munich  - BMW is hoping to transfer hybrid technology from its Formula 1 cars to the M sport model range as part of a plan to make the cars more fuel efficient, according to BMW's head of technology research Albert Biermann.

The effectiveness of combining a combustion engine with an electric or hybrid drive was limited. In the long term, the company was looking at more technology transfer from the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) that will be used for the BMW-Sauber Formula 1 cars in the 2009 racing season, Biermann said.

Stockholm - Saab Automobile posted a loss for 2007, but the group owned by US automotive giant General Motors reduced its losses compared to 2006, Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri reported Wednesday.

The Swedish-based carmaker sold some 125,000 cars in 2007, roughly 7,800 fewer cars than in 2006, the report said.

Saab Automobile's loss for 2007 was 2.2 billion kronor (360 million kronor) compared to a loss of 2.9 billion kronor in 2006, the daily reported, citing the group's annual report filed in Sweden.