Auto accessory maker Amtek Auto Ltd plans to acquire Frankfurt-based KSM Castings for about 250 million euros (around Rs 1700 crore).

Washington, July 2 : Japanese manufacturers of smart cars - hybrid vehicles about half the size of the regular saloons that need lesser space to park - have come up with a new concept to woo prospe

Seville, Spain - Mercedes Benz will in future equip all its petrol-driven models with direct fuel injection and turbo charger, the head of the car maker's environmental division Herbert Kohler ann

Lisbon - Volkswagen will launch its first electric car based on the "Up!" minicar concept in 2010, the company's CEO Martin Winterkorn announced recently.

Speaking at a function in Lisbon, Winterkorn said the company was planning a series of measures to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of its vehicles.

The new Golf would be available as a so-called mild-hybrid fitted with start-stop technology.

The next generation of the Touareg would also be built as a full hybrid version, enabling full electric driving over short distances.

A Jetta "plug-in-hybrid" was in the planning, with a loading of the battery possible by connecting the car to the electric grid.

Tokyo - Honda has started production of its FCX hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicle, hailing it as the start of "a new era of cleaner motoring."

A new fuel-cell vehicle assembly line has been established at the Honda Automobile New Model Centre near Tokyo, which includes processes unique to a fuel-cell vehicle, such as the installation of the fuel-cell stack and hydrogen tank, the company said.

The new plant enabled mass production of fuel cells, moving closer to the goal of more widespread use of fuel-cell vehicles, Honda said.

Lease sales of the FCX Clarity are scheduled to start in the United States in July and later this year in Japan.

Lucerne, Switzerland - The Swiss Mindset AG company has announced that it is planning to produce its super lightweight eco- car fitted with hybrid drive, two gull-wing doors and narrow 22-inch wheels by 2009.

Designed by Volkswagen's former design director, Murat Gunak, who was appointed Mindset CEO, the prototype features design aspects from the hatchback and coupe with a long bonnet and rectangular rear with glass roof.

The round headlights are similar to the sports car design of the 1950s and 1960s.

Mindset, a company set up by Spirt Avert AG, is engaged in the development of a so-called "alternative automobile concept" at a time of rising oil prices and widespread measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Europe.