Fiat SpA, the Italian carmaker that owns 20 percent of Chrysler Group LLC, may boost the holding to more than 50 percent before an initial public offering by the U.S. automaker, the companies’ chief executive officer said. Continue reading Fiat may hike Chrysler stake to 51% before IPO, sees no merger

A man walks through a storage lot at the SAIC-GM Wuling-Automobile Co. factory in Liuzhou, China, in August 2009. Major mini-vehicle makers, such as Chongqing Changan Automobile and GM-SAIC-Wuling, may be affected by China’s latest move to end sales subsidies on certain models. Minivans and pickup trucks are popular in rural areas, analysts say. Photo credit: Bloomberg file photo Continue reading China to end subsidies to spur sales in rural, farm regions

NEW YORK — Former Obama administration auto industry czar Steven Rattner today agreed to pay $10 million to resolve two lawsuits by New York’s attorney general related to alleged kickbacks involving the state’s pension fund.

Rattner also agreed to be banned from appearing in any capacity before any public pension fund in New York for five years

“I am gratified that we have been able to reach an agreement in this case, as it resolves the last major action of our multi-year investigation,” Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said in an e-mailed statement today.

Rattner said in the same statement he was “pleased to have reached a settlement.”

“I apologize if during the course of this process there is anything I did that may have made reaching this agreement more difficult,” he said. Continue reading Rattner settles with New York attorney general, will pay $10 million