Korean car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Company said on Thursday that its net profit for the year 2009 rose by 104.5 per cent at 29.615 Trillion Won (Rs 1,18,950.16 Crore) from the previous year. The company, however, said its sales revenues fell 1.0 per cent to 31.859 trillion won (Rs 1,27,970.22 Crore) during last year.

Automobile major, Ford India, plans to launch more global products in the Indian market, a top company official said. “We are going to bring more global products into the Indian market. We will look at options for Indian customers’ needs out of our global stable,” Ford India’s Managing Director and President, Michael Boneham, told on Wednesday.

German luxury auto maker Audi is planning to beat rivals BMW and Mercedes to acquire the numero uno position in the Indian luxury car market in the next five years, tripling its sales in the country by then. “By 2015, we aim to become number 1 in India. We have told our team in India to work towards that aim.

Tata Motors’ parent Tata Sons and Citigroup’s Mauritius investment arm, which mainly operates through the PN route, were the top buyers in the 5.34% stake sold by Daimler in Tata Motors. Daimler in a media statement on Tuesday said that it is in an excellent position to capitalise on the growth potential of the Indian auto market.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL), the second largest car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter, in a bid to provide convenient finance options for its customers, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UCO Bank, one of the fastest growing nationalized banks in the country.

German carmaker Daimler is selling its entire stake in India’s Tata Motors for up to $429 million, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. Daimler was offering 25.6 million shares in India’s largest vehicle maker at 737.4 rupees to 761.3 rupees each, a discount of 4 percent to 7 percent below the stock’s Monday close of 796.75 rupees, sources said.

Mahindra and Mahindra, the maker of tractors and utility vehicles, whose foray into the car market in a joint venture with Renault has been marred by public spats over management control, has started calling back some of its top executives in the JV, a clear indication that the agreement with the French company could be nearing an end.

Ford Motors Co. had started working on the small car, Figo in 2007 and the global unveiling was done in September last year. Ford India launched the Figo today in both petrol and diesel versions. Currently small cars account for over 72 per cent of the 1.22 million units sold in India. The Figo is based on the 'B' platform of cars which is Ford's new generation platform for small to mid-size cars around the world.

Everybody is going green. Did you hear that? Everybody is going green at the Geneva auto show. In the past six or eight years, never has there been so much of a green talk. The 80th annual Geneva show has outdone all previous attempts. There are electric, hybrid and fuel cell cars like never before and everyone was exhibiting the green theme. Not just green, new technologies too were being showcased by many car makers. Let's see what Audi is doing.

India’s Karun Chandhok will partner Brazilian Bruno Senna, nephew of the late Ayrton, at Hispania for the 2010 Formula One season, the Spanish team announced on Thursday. The team director Colin Kolles confirmed that the driver’s team line-up was now complete with the Indian Karun Chandhok all set at the wheel of the car for their first ever season.

February was the best in the car industry. Buyers flocked into showrooms to get cars for themselves. The budget was to be announced in a short while and people feared the rise in prices. Everyone got their share of profit. Car buyers to the makers, everyone was delighted. The year began on a happy note. Here’s a note on the top 10 cars as of January 2010. Oh yes, when I say ‘top 10’, I mean the highest selling cars.