TOKYO, May 23- Nissan Motor Co Ltd will recall about 841,000 vehicles worldwide including the Micra compact car, also known as the March, as a result of a steering wheel glitch, Japan's No.2 automaker said on Thursday.
DETROIT-- General Motors Co. says the Spark EV subcompact will be among the lowest-priced electric cars in the U.S. The electric Spark will have a starting price of $27,495 when it goes on sale next month in California and Oregon. Nissan also offers a $199- per-month lease for three years with $1,999 down.
DETROIT, May 23- The Chevrolet Spark all-electric subcompact car will cost U.S. buyers as much as 38 percent less than what it takes to buy its larger sibling, the hybrid Volt, General Motors Co said on Thursday.
*Ford to end Australia production in Oct 2016. Ford Australia will close its engine plant in Geelong and its vehicle assembly plant in Broadmeadows, both in Victoria state, with the loss of 1,200 jobs, Ford Australia Chief Executive Bob Graziano said on Thursday, the latest election-year blow to the struggling Labor government.
*Ford to end Australia production by 2016- reports. CANBERRA, May 23- Ford Motor Co is set to announce it is closing its two Australian auto plants and will cease production in the country by 2016 as it struggles with sliding sales, high costs and a strong Australian dollar, local media reported on Thursday.
May 22- General Motors Co is recalling worldwide more than 27,000 Cadillac crossover vehicles whose wheels could fall off due to potentially loose wheel nuts. GM said on Wednesday it knows of no crashes or injuries due to the issue and that no wheels have separated from the sport utility vehicles built on car-based platforms.
DETROIT, May 22- Electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc on Wednesday said it has paid off its U.S. Department of Energy loan, using money raised last week in a stock and notes offering.
DETROIT, May 22- China's largest auto parts maker and a boutique car company led by former General Motors Co executive Bob Lutz have offered $20 million to buy "green" carmaker Fisker Automotive, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn.-- Automotive supplier Van-Rob will expand its plant in Tennessee's Coffee County, adding 104 jobs. Company and state officials said Wednesday the company is spending $16.8 million to increase manufacturing in Manchester. Van-Rob, Inc. _ based in Aurora, Canada _ is a division of KIRCHHOFF Automotive.
DETROIT, May 22- Ford Motor Co is adding a week of production at most of its North American factories this year to build an additional 40,000 vehicles and help sustain its gains in U.S. market share. Ford's U.S. rivals, General Motors Co and Chrysler Group LLC, are also limiting downtime this year.
The answer, in the luxury carmaker's German showrooms, is more than it takes to shift an Audi- just part of the cost gap Daimler wants to close with its premium rivals. Among the top three, Mercedes depends on its unprofitable company-owned dealerships for a bigger share of domestic sales than either Volkswagen's Audi or BMW, which rely more on franchises.
HONG KONG, May 22- China shares were headed for a sixth-straight daily gain on Wednesday, with most automakers strong after the official China Securities Journal cited an industrial association as saying that May car sales could stay strong.
DETROIT, May 21- A boutique carmaker led by former General Motors Co executive Bob Lutz and China's largest auto parts supplier made an offer this month to buy cash-strapped "green" car company Fisker Automotive, people familiar with the matter said. VL Automotive and China's Wanxiang Group are looking to gain control of Fisker through a prepackaged bankruptcy.
Among the stock activity stories for Tuesday, May 21, from AP Business News:. _ Shares of Tesla Motors Inc. fell, a brief decline amid huge gains this month after the electric car maker posted its first quarterly profit.