Ferrari to reveal hybrid 599 at Geneva show

Ferrari will introduce hybrid technology and the first model to get it will be the 599, chairman Luca di Montezemolo confirmed at the presentation of the race team's 2010 Formula One car.

No details of the new car were forthcoming, but Montezemolo said the prototype 599 hybrid will be officially unveiled at the Geneva auto show in March.

European patents revealed last year suggest that Ferrari was working on a four-wheel-drive hybrid drivetrain with electric motors powering the front wheels.

The Italian magazine Quattroruote has since reported that the new system will use lithium batteries and an electric motor to cut the fuel requirements of the 599's V12 by 35 percent.

Montezemolo said he was keen for Ferrari to lead F1 in the transfer of race technology to road cars.

Company sources said the Ferrari hybrid system is derived from the KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) used in 2009 F1 racing season.

Geely nears Volvo deal, plans China production

China's Zhejiang Geely Holdings will produce up to 300,000 Volvo cars a year at a new factory in Beijing as part of its plan to pull the Swedish brand out of the red by 2011, a source said on Tuesday.

Zhejiang Geely, parent of Hong Kong-listed Geely Automobile, aims to complete the purchase of Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo unit for up to $2 billion by May, according to the source and to a document submitted to regulators by Geely and seen by Reuters.

The addition of such capacity would nearly double Geely's current output, which reached 321,900 units in 2009 for the entire group, up 45 percent from a year earlier. Geely has set an ambitious annual sales target of 2 million cars by 2015.

Analysts said the 2011 break-even target could be a stretch for Geely, which has no experience running a foreign company.

"I think it's optimistic to break even next year as it needs to build a plant first and it might take time for Chinese buyers to accept a made-in-China Volvo," said John Zeng, an analyst with IHS Global Insight. "It will break even eventually but that's going to take time."

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd is China's largest private car maker. Its charismatic founder, Li Shu Fu, sometimes likened to Henry Ford, has shown global ambitions for Geely, which means "lucky" in Chinese.

Ford, the only major U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy last year, is selling its luxury Swedish brand to free up cash as it climbs out of the industry's worst ever downturn.

The deal would see Geely acquire Volvo for $1.5 billion to $2 billion, with an expected closing date in May after the signing of the initial agreement next month, according to a copy of the Geely document.

Geely said in December it was near such a deal, and later added it had strong support from the Chinese government for the purchase.

Geely will set up a separate company with registered capital of 8 billion yuan ($1.17 billion) to buy Volvo. Foreign strategic investors and the Hong Kong-listed Geely will hold a 51 percent stake of the company.

Geely shares were down 3.7 percent, amid a broader market sell-off and following a run-up that saw the shares more than double since mid-September on hopes for a Ford deal.

The purchase would be the biggest in a recent spate of similar acquisitions of distressed global assets by Chinese carmakers, which have thrived during the global downturn due to strong incentives for their industry under Beijing's 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus plan.

Under the deal, Geely will keep the brand and operations in Sweden, including Volvo's headquarters, production facility and research center, intact after the acquisition.

"(Geely) will keep the core value of Volvo as a luxury brand unchanged, while improving it with the development in emerging markets, and add more fashionable, dynamic and passionate international elements," said the document.

Volvo is expected to post earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $703 million in 2015, the document said.

A Geely representative declined to comment.

Among other deals involving Chinese vehicle makers, Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery is in the process of buying General Motors Co.'s Hummer brand, though that deal has yet to close and GM said earlier this month it is still awaiting approval by Chinese regulators.

Last month, Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC) sealed a deal to buy technology from GM's Saab unit for $200 million, saying it would use the technology to launch an aggressive campaign to develop its brand both at home and overseas.

The buying spree comes as China zoomed past the United States to become the world's largest auto market last year.

Vehicle sales in the country jumped 46 percent to a record 13.6 million units for the year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, well above the 10.4 million cars and light trucks sold in the battered U.S. market.

Analysts expect China's car sales to continue growing this year under renewed government incentives, though they expect the growth rate to slow to about 10 percent.

Jaguar Land Rover CEO leaves company

Jaguar Land Rover said CEO David Smith will leave the company.

The company said Ravi Kant, managing director of JLR owner Tata Motors, will assume Smith's responsibilities until a successor is announced.

Tata appointed Smith, 48, as JLR CEO in 2008 after the Indian conglomerate bought the British maker of sports cars and SUVs from Ford Motor Co.

"The company would like to thank David for his efforts in the role and for his service to Jaguar and Land Rover over many years," JLR said in a statement on Monday.

Smith, an Englishman, joined Ford in 1983 and served as a finance and strategy expert for Ford of Europe and its Premier Automotive Group during a long career with the U.S. automaker.

He was JLR's chief financial officer before Tata bought the carmaker and served as the company's acting CEO after death of then-CEO Geoff Polites in April 2008. Two months later Tata confirmed Smith's CEO role.

Last month, press reports in the UK and Germany said Carl-Peter Forster, who quit as head of General Motors Europe last November, will take over a senior position at JLR.

The Financial Times said Tata wants Forster to help JLR's plans to switch its product portfolio to low-emission vehicles. During his time with GM Europe Forster led a quality offensive at Opel and a move into low-emission and electric cars.

Forster gained experience with Land Rover during his time as head of production at BMW in the 1990s when BMW owned the British SUV brand, the Financial Times said.

The German weekly magazine Focus also said Forster will join Tata but said he would lead the introduction of the Nano minicar in Europe in 2011.

GM investing more in truck fuel economy, other improvements

General Motors Co. is beefing up spending on its next-generation light-duty, full-sized truck program to create more fuel-efficient, more attractive pickups.

The re-engineered and restyled light-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups are expected to debut around the 2013 model year. The pickup program had been put on hold prior to GM's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The trucks now will land in showrooms at about the same time as originally planned.

“Now we have more cash reserves to spend on product than we have had in decades,” said Scott Fosgard, a GM spokesman.

Fosgard declined to put a specific dollar figure on the added investment, saying only that it would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

“We are investing it in four brands, not eight,” he said. “We are investing it in 34 nameplates not 50. So we have enough money to do what we said we would do, and that is, we are going to build the world's best vehicles and we are going to play to win in every segment.”

Fuel economy boost

GM will use the additional funding to boost fuel economy. Specifically, it will reduce vehicle weight and make the pickups more aerodynamic, either through styling changes or features that reduce aerodynamic drag.

GM would not provide specifics, but one proposal that had been under consideration prior to the bankruptcy filing was electrically operated movable slots that would open or close the grille. A closed grille makes a vehicle more aerodynamic. The Cadillac Provoq crossover concept first featured movable grille louvers at the 2008 Detroit auto show.

Additionally, interior materials will be upgraded, and new undisclosed features will be added to the pickup line.

Unaffected by the plan are GM's next-generation heavy-duty pickups. The three-quarter ton 2011 Silverado 2500 and one-ton 3500 pickup will debut Feb. 10 at the Chicago Auto Show. The timetable for the debut of the Sierra heavy-duty pickups has not been announced.

Sales down

Last year, GM had combined light- and heavy-duty pickup sales of 470,906, a 33 percent decline from the previous year. Full-sized pickups accounted for 20.7 percent of GM's total vehicle volume in 2009, a drop of 32 percent from the previous year.

Last month, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said that the redesigned Malibu had been rescheduled for sale sometime in 2011 -- the same year as originally planned. Several months earlier, in August, GM executives said the car would debut in 2012.

"Once we got out of the bankruptcy and started having money available, we were able to pull a lot of our programs forward," back to the original timetable, Lutz said at a December Chevrolet press event. He said "a bunch" of vehicles were being pulled forward but gave no details.

GM criticized for winding down Saab despite bids to buy brand

General Motors Co. was criticized in Sweden after the U.S. automaker named a restructuring firm to run the winding-down of Saab even as it reviewed several bids which included an offer from Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

"It is irresponsible of GM to move at the same time in two different directions -- both toward a sale and a wind-down," IF Metall chairman Stefan Lofven said in a statement.

GM has been trying to sell Saab for more than a year and is preparing to shut the money-losing brand if it doesn't consider the bids for the the 60-year old company suitable.

In a statement on Friday, GM named consultancy AlixPartners -- already closely involved in GM's restructuring -- to run Saab's liquidation. GM said the process is expected to take several months.

GM also confirmed that it had received several offers for Saab and said it is evaluating the bids. This evaluation is not affected by the appointment of AlixPartners, GM said.

Saab an 'amazing brand'

Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker Cars NV made an improved bid for Saab, while Ecclestone joined forces with Luxembourg-based private investment company Genii Capital to pitch a rival proposal. A group of Swedish investors also scrambled to submit a bid.

Genii Capital, which recently invested in Renault's Formula One team, said it will "aggressively work towards a successful closing of the transaction with all the relevant stakeholders of the company."

Lars Carlstrom, a Swedish investor who is coordinating the Genii-Ecclestone bid, said the Formula One boss and his partners were keen on buying Saab mainly for the value of its brand.

"What Genii and Ecclestone have found is that Saab is an amazing brand, comparable to brands such as Porsche and BMW," he said. "They love brands and they really value Saab's brand ... They are really supportive and will definitely be able to bring Saab to new heights."

Ecclestone has $2.4 billion fortune

Ecclestone, 79, is one of the wealthiest figures in sport and was ranked 24th in Britain in the 2009 Sunday Times rich list with an estimated fortune of 1.5 billion pounds ($2.4 billion). He has been a leading player in Formula One since he bought the now-defunct Brabham team in 1972.

Spyker is hoping to gain Saab's technical resources and its distribution network, while bringing its entrepreneurial skills to the new group.

Swedish media reports on Friday named Jan Nygren, an ex executive of the aerospace arm of Saab and former senior official in the defense ministry, as the head of one group of Swedish investors submitting a last-minute bid.

Saab spokesman Eric Geers said any decision over its future and the latest round of bids was in the hands of General Motors. "We all hope these bids are strong enough for General Motors to consider them."

Google targeted in e-mail scam

Google's web-based e-mail system, Gmail, has been targeted as part of an "industry-wide phishing scheme".

The firm said that it had immediately safeguarded the affected accounts.

BBC News has seen two lists that detail more than 30,000 names and passwords from e-mail providers, including Yahoo and AOL, which were posted online.

The lists also include details of thousands of Microsoft Hotmail users. Google said fewer than 500 of its accounts had been affected by the scam.

However, the search giant revealed that it had discovered a third list, but would not say how many accounts it showed.

Phishing involves using fake websites to lure people into revealing data such as bank account details or login names.

"We recently became aware of an industry-wide phishing scheme through which hackers gained user credentials for web-based mail accounts including Gmail accounts," said a Google spokesperson.

"As soon as we learned of the attack, we forced password resets on the affected accounts. We will continue to force password resets on additional accounts when we become aware of them."

The firm stressed that the scam was "not a breach of Gmail security" but rather "a scam to get users to give away their personal information to hackers".

'Industry problem'

The phishing scam was originally thought to target just Hotmail users.

It was brought to light when 10,000 Hotmail addresses were posted online at Pastebin, a website commonly used by developers to share code.

The list was reported by technology blog Neowin.

However, a second list of 20,000 names has since emerged containing e-mail addresses and passwords from Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, Gmail and other service providers. A third list, which has not been seen by the BBC, was discovered by Google.

This should be a wake-up call to Google and Microsoft to educate their users Carole Theriault Security consultant Phishing attack targets Hotmail

Some of the accounts on the list of 20,000 names appear to be old, unused or fake. However, BBC News confirmed that many - including Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail addresses - were genuine.

Other addresses on the list include Comcast and Earthlink accounts.

It is not clear whether the new lists was part of the same phishing attack that collected the Hotmail addresses or a separate scam.

A spokesperson for Microsoft said phishing was an "industry-wide problem".

"Our guidance to customers is to exercise extreme caution when opening unsolicited attachments and links from both known and unknown sources, and that they install and regularly update their anti-virus software."

Both lists can still be accessed online.

A spokesperson for Yahoo urged consumers to "take measures to secure their accounts whenever possible, including changing their passwords".

Carole Theriault of security firm Sophos agreed.

"Getting access to one password can give someone access to lots of things," she said.

People should change their password on any other site where they use it, she added.

A recent report by the firm said that around 40% of people had the same password for every website they used.

"People need to see a difference between an online bank account and booking cinema tickets online," she told BBC News.

But, she said, blame did not rest with the users of the e-mail services, who likely clicked on a link in a scam message.

"Phishing attacks are very subtle these days," she said. "People do all kinds of tricky things."

Fake websites, which ask for a users login details, can be made to look like those of reputable companies.

"This should be a wake-up call to Google and Microsoft to educate their users," said Ms Theriault.

VW to buy 42% stake in Porsche sports car unit

WOLFSBURG/STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) -- Volkswagen AG agreed today to buy a 42 percent stake in the sports car unit of debt-ridden Porsche Automobil Holding SE in another step toward combining the two German carmakers into a European automotive giant.

VW will pay up to 3.3 billion euros ($4.7 billion) this year for the initial stake in the unit, Porsche AG, paving the way for the creation of an integrated automotive group by the end of 2011, VW and Porsche said in statements after board meetings. Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who is poised to run the combined entity and was named head of Porsche SE on Thursday, said the deal marked "a new era" for both companies. "Porsche is a real enrichment for our company's portfolio," he said. The combined company will have 10 brands, adding the Porsche marquee to a stable that already includes Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Skoda, Seat and Lamborghini. To finance the purchase, Volkswagen plans a capital increase of preference shares in the first half of 2010, VW said.

Piech's triumph Porsche's surrender comes at the end of a months-long power struggle that eventually led to the departure of Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking. It marks a triumph for Volkswagen CEO Winterkorn and VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech. Porsche had sought to seize control over Volkswagen -- already Europe's biggest carmaker -- as a way to gain access to key components and technologies it needs to meet stringent new pollution rules. That left it with just over half of VW votes. But Porsche's takeover attempt backfired after it took on more than 10 billion euros in debt, forcing it to seek help from Volkswagen. VW supplies components for about a third of all Porsche cars, including bodies of the four-door Cayenne and Panamera models. VW's powerful labor chief welcomed the agreement. "Today industrial history was made," Bernd Osterloh said. In a further step to alleviate Porsche SE's debt, Porsche's controlling families will sell their automobile trading business Porsche Holding, Europe's largest dealer group, to Volkswagen. The business, with an enterprise value of 3.55 billion euros, will be sold by 2011. Porsche also aims to raise capital by issuing new ordinary and preferred shares, probably in the first half of 2011.

Qatar stake The Porsche and Piech families will remain the largest shareholders in the company to arise from the combination of VW and Porsche SE, Winterkorn said. VW's home state of Lower Saxony, which owns a stake of 20 percent in Volkswagen, will retain the right to block important decisions and to nominate two members of the supervisory board. The completion of the sweeping deal depends on the approval of Porsche creditor banks and a final clarification of structural issues, Porsche said. The deal is set to make the Gulf state of Qatar the third-largest investor in the combined company, VW's CEO said, without specifying how large a stake the state will hold.

Volkswagen CEO Winterkorn to be Porsche SE boss, sources say

Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn is set to also become CEO of Porsche Automobil Holding SE, two people familiar with the matter said.

One source said that Winterkorn wants to "assume responsibility" at Porsche SE, which owns the Porsche sports car company and holds Porsche's 51 percent stake in VW.

The holding company was forced by debt troubles to abandon efforts to seize full control of Europe's biggest carmaker.

The supervisory boards of both German carmakers were poised to address the issue at separate meetings on Thursday, one of the sources said.

Volkswagen's supervisory board is also set to approve the purchase of a minority stake in family-owned Porsche SE's healthy sports car business, Porsche AG, as a first step in integrating the two German carmakers.

At Porsche SE, Winterkorn would succeed Wendelin Wiedeking, who was CEO of the holding company and Porsche AG but departed after losing a power struggle with VW.

Wiedeking's post as the head of Porsche AG was filled last month by Michael Macht.

Two VW supervisory board members told Reuters on Wednesday that Volkswagen and Porsche had broadly agreed on details for a deal to combine two of Europe's most storied automakers.

Volkswagen is set to buy a stake of up to 49 percent in Porsche AG in a first step toward creating an "integrated" automotive group by the end of 2011.

Analysts value Porsche's sports car business, which makes the famed 911 models, between 8 billion and 11 billion euros ($11.4 billion and $15.7 billion).

Porsche, VW May Be Dubbed 'Auto Union'

As Porsche and Volkswagen work out details of their eventual merger, Reuters reports the companies may resurrect the Auto Union name. The moniker was previously used in the 1930s for the company that evolved into Audi.

Porsche and Volkswagen continue to work on a deal.

Porsche and Volkswagenhave broadly agreed on sale terms, and the name Auto Union may be resurrected, Reutersreports.

The new entity could be led by Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, and Porsche would retain some independence — similar to Audi's setup within the Volkswagen Group. Porsche would be the 10th brand in the company.

VW would buy up to 49 percent of the Porsche sports-car business, the first step in an integration of the two companies that would be completed in 2011, according to Reuters.

Auto Union is a famous name that dates to the 1930s, and its cars were legendary racers. The company has since evolved into Audi.

The sale is a reversal after Porsche's attempts to take over its much larger rival, VW, failed.

Fiat approved to buy Bertone coachbuilding business

Fiat S.p.A.'s bid for Carrozzeria Bertone S.p.A. was approved by Italian Industry Minister Claudio Scajola Thursday.

Fiat will invest 150 million euros ($215.9 million) over three years in the struggling contract manufacturer that has produced models ranging from the Lamborghini Miura to the Volkswagen Polo during its 96 years in business.

The other bidders for the coachbuilder included Italian entrepreneurs Gianmario Rossignolo and Domenico Reviglio.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne says that the automaker is interested in Bertone's Turin plant for niche vehicle production.

Fiat declined to say which niche model or models it would make at Bertone's Turin factory. The only detail the company gave was that the vehicles would be sold in Europe and North America.

Fiat has a controlling stake in Chrysler Group and plans to relaunch the Fiat brand in the United States in early 2011. The U.S. relaunch of Fiat-owned subsidiary Alfa Romeo is planned for the end of 2011.

The Italian press has speculated that starting in the second half of 2011 Fiat could use the Bertone plant make everything from convertibles to large sedans.

Rossignolo planned to use the plant to produce up to 10,000 units a year of a luxury sedan and SUV.

Finally got it

The Bertone family lost control of the coachbuilding business when bankruptcy administrators took control in February 2008. The Bertone design business, which remains in the hands of the Bertone family, was not affected by the collapse of the contract manufacturing unit.

This was Fiat's second attempt this decade to take control of Bertone's coachbuilding business. In 2006, Fiat started negotiations to buy a controlling stake in the company. It planned to make a coupe cabriolet for the Lancia brand at the plant.

For undisclosed reasons, the talks between Fiat and Bertone collapsed in spring 2007. Shortly after that, Fiat scrapped plans to make the coupe cabriolet, which was known as the Fulvia.

Bertone, founded in November 1912, is Italy's oldest contract manufacturer. The company stopped volume production in December 2005.

Bertone still employs about 1,140 people, down from the 1,450-person work force it had at the end of 2007.