Carlos Ghosn

PARIS, Feb 1- Car sales extended their declines in France, Spain and Italy last month, data showed on Friday, leaving little hope of a European auto market rebound anytime soon. "The French passenger car market started 2013 on as weak a note as it exited 2012," analyst David Arnold at Credit Suisse said in a note.

*Program will be rolled out at US dealers next spring. DETROIT, Dec 28- Nissan Motor Co Ltd said it will offer to replace some poorly performing batteries on its Leaf electric car and improve warranty coverage for the battery systems for its almost 20,000 U.S. owners.

At the time, Toyota was struggling to rebuild its supply base after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami and the yen was climbing toward a post-war record high against the dollar.

*Renault developing $5,500 car for India. PARIS, Dec 16- Renault's move into low-cost cars, which has kept the French automaker afloat as mass-market peers drown in European losses, may soon help it sink competitors beyond the old continent.

*Renault-Nissan alliance to take direct control of AvtoVAZ. MOSCOW, Dec 12- Renault-Nissan finalised a long-awaited deal to take control of Lada-maker AvtoVAZ as it looks to snatch market share from rivals in Russia by taking the boxy cars upmarket for a rising middle class.

*Renault-Nissan alliance to take direct control of AvtoVAZ. MOSCOW, Dec 12- Renault-Nissan finalised a long-awaited deal to take control of Lada-maker AvtoVAZ as it looks to snatch market share from rivals in Russia by offering affordable modern vehicles to a rising middle class.

PARIS, Oct 12- French carmaker Renault, which brought scandal upon itself by falsely accusing executives of spying, had prepared draft statements in case they killed themselves, it emerged on Friday.

Marchionne, who also heads European automakers association ACEA, has repeatedly called for Europe- wide action on closing plants and cutting jobs, but has faced stiff opposition from rival carmakers that are also members of the industry group.

PARIS, Oct 5- French automaker Renault plans to build more than 70 percent of its Clio subcompacts in Turkey, union sources said, in a shift abroad that could inflame tensions with workers and the government, its biggest shareholder.