Though Tata Motors authorities are eagerly awaiting to resume work on the project Nano, they still feel that the situation in Singur has not completely calmed down and it may be risky for them to return.. The information was disclosed by the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

On Wednesday during a press conference, he announced, “They are closely observing the situation and when they feel the situation is normal they will come back.”

On Tuesday, the CM, talks with its chairman Ratan Tata regarding the issue.

Frankfurt  - Stock in Volkswagen AG shot 27 per cent higher Thursday as a mystery buyer scooped up shares in Europe's biggest carmaker, which is at the centre of a battle for control.

The stock ended electronic trading in Frankfurt at 304.00 euros.

Luxury car maker Porsche declared this week that Volkswagen had effectively become its subsidiary. Porsche controls 35 per cent of VW. But the German state of Lower Saxony contends its 20-per-cent stake gives it veto rights to obstruct Porsche.

Dusseldorf  - Sales of Japanese-brand cars have slumped nearly 7 per cent this year, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) said on Thursday from its German office in Dusseldorf.

The manufacturers have been hit by both consumer worries and a decline in market share that reduced JAMA companies' stake to 10.9 per cent.

Sales in the eight months from January to August were just under 229,500, down 6.7 per cent from the corresponding months of 2007.

Amsterdam - Dutch nationals buying new cars are increasingly choosing diesel models, according to a report by the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) released on Wednesday.

The CBS said that in 2007, an unprecedented 30 per cent of new private cars were diesel cars.

Seventeen per cent of all Dutch cars run on diesel. This is below the European average of 50 per cent.

In the first six months of 2008, diesel sales in the Netherlands increased by 3.5 per cent compared with the same period in 2007.

By contrast, petrol sales decreased by 0.5 per cent.

Paris - Car makers are preparing to showcase their latest creations mirroring the trend toward funky city cars and fuel efficient compact SUVs at the Paris Motor Show this year.

With the legendary Citroen 2CV celebrating its 60th birthday this year, the French car maker is still holding back on presenting a reinvented "ugly duckling" but will unveil the C3 Pluriel in the twin-coloured look of the famous 2CV Charleston models of the 1980s.

Paris - Seat will launch two additions to the new Ibiza generation with the sporty Cupra and the low-emission Ibiza Ecomotive at the Paris Motor Show next month.

The Cupra comes with the Volkswagen 1.4 TSI engine and seven-speed DSG sequential-shift gearbox with paddel-shifts mounted to the steering wheel.

The Ibiza Ecomotive, available as a five-door and Sport Coupe version, is powered by an 80 hp 1.4-litre TDI engine with the car maker listing fuel consumption at just 3.8 litres per 100 kilometres and a carbon dioxide emission figure of 99 g/km.