Bangkok  - Thailand's automobile exports during the first half of 2008 increased 26 per cent, earning the kingdom 174.8 billion baht (5.2 billion dollars), industry sources disclosed on Tuesday.

During the January to June period, Thailand exported 385,870 pickup trucks and passenger cars, a 26 per cent increase over the same period last year, said Surapong Paisithpatanapong, spokesman for the Auto Club of the Thai Federation of Industries.

Thailand's main export markets for vehicles include Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Middle East and Europe.

Tokyo - Japan's automakers posted declines in domestic sales and increases in exports in the first six months of 2008, attributing the falls to surging oil prices and stronger exports to rising demand in other Asian nations, mainly China.

Toyota Motor Corp and its subsidiaries, Daihatsu Motor Co and Hino Motors Ltd, saw a 1.7-per-cent drop in sales in Japan in the January-June period to 1.18 million units, compared with the same period last year.

The company's exports, however, grew 3.6 per cent to 1.47 million units.

Its global production rose 5.8 per cent to 4.98 million units.

London - India's Tata Motors group, which owns British luxury car maker Jaguar and Land Rover, has said it plans to revive the super-luxury Daimler brand to appeal to wealthy customers from Asia, Russia and the Middle East.

Ratan Tata, head of the Indian conglomerate, has told investors of his plan to resurrect the Daimler marque in direct competition with luxury brands Bentley and Rolls-Royce, Britain's Times newspaper reported Monday.

Tata had earmarked 1 billion pounds (2 billion dollars) to develop new models at its British-based manufacturers, the report said.

To strengthen its oldest popular model Maruti 800 (M800), India’s giant car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki is proposing to roll out ‘Maruti 800 Uniq’ in the Indian market.

The new Maruti 800 `Uniq` is an advanced version, which comes equipped with a range of new features including body graphics, all new beige upholstery, trendy door trims with fabric patch, smart lower console box, rear package tray, stylish dome decal to draw young consumers.

Berlin - German luxury carmaker Porsche, which holds almost a third of mass producer Volkswagen, is to publish figures for the financial year ending July 31 that will show profits higher than turnover, a news report said Saturday.

Der Spiegel news magazine said the unusual accounting situation would result from the revaluation of the 31-per-cent VW stake. Porsche would report profits of more than
11 billion euros (17 billion dollars) on turnover of just 8.6 billion euros.