United Auto Workers union bargaining officials are arriving in Detroit this week to begin discussing wage and benefit concessions they must make so General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC can keep their federal loans.

Sales of imported vehicles in Japan plunged to a 15-year low in 2008 as consumers shied away from pricey foreign cars amid a deepening global downturn, an industry group said Thursday.

Auto executives across the globe are increasingly pessimistic about their industry, and only a small number expect their companies' profits to rise in the next five years, according to an annual survey.

Auto executives across the globe are increasingly pessimistic about their industry, and only a small number expect their companies' profits to rise in the next five years, according to an annual survey.

Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday it will delay the start of production at its first plant in Argentina for more than six months in the automaker's latest step to cope with a plunge in sales amid a deepening global downturn.

Six countries reported a complete shutoff of Russian gas shipped via Ukraine on Tuesday, in a sharp escalation of a struggle over energy that threatens Europe as winter sets in.

Orders to American factories are expected to have fallen again in November as manufacturers struggle with a global recession that has cut demand both in the U.S. and overseas.

China is at risk from a wave a protests and riots in 2009 as rising unemployment stokes discontent while Asian automakers reel from the worst U.S. sales decline in more than 25 years.

Hyundai Motor has rolled out the first incentive program for U.S. consumers that would allow them to return vehicles if they lose their jobs.

Honda Motor Co. said Monday its December sales in the U.S. plunged 35 percent amid sharp year-over-year declines across its lineup.

Major automakers reported U.S. sales in December that plunged by more than a third, closing out the weakest year for the battered industry in over a decade and a half in its largest single market.

After a year in which U.S. auto sales tumbled 18 percent and GM had its worst year in nearly a half-century amid slack demand fueled by a terrible economic outlook and growing job worries, automakers are reluctant to predict when a recovery might occur.

Subaru said Monday its U.S. sales crept higher in 2008 on strong demand for Forester and Impreza models, making it the only automaker to post a year-over-year sales increase.

Japan auto executives gathered for an annual New Year's party Monday expressed hopes for a U.S. turnaround and a strengthening dollar to fix the faltering global market.

European stock markets were mixed Monday despite hefty gains earlier in Asia as traders took profits on gains built up over the Christmas and New Year's holidays.