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France has provoked accusations of protectionism after carmaker Renault announced it would repatriate part of its production from Eastern Europe to France. Renault announced that Clio Campus cars currently made at the Novo mesto plant in Slovenia would be produced at the Flins plant, west of Paris from June, saying the switch would create 400 jobs. It came despite previous guarantees from France that it would not resort to protectionism to safeguard French jobs in the economic downturn. President Nicolas Sarkozy caused outrage in Eastern Europe last month by proposing to "re-localise" car plants run by French producers. He granted...

CASCAIS, Portugal (AFP) - The head of French automaker Renault, Carlos Ghosn, said Thursday that a country in the Gulf region is interested in his company's environmentally friendly electronic car project. "We are negotiating to launch an electric car with a Gulf state," Ghosn told a news conference here near Lisbon.

JERUSALEM — Israel, tiny and bereft of oil, has decided to embrace the electric car. On Monday, the Israeli government will announce its support for a broad effort to promote the use of electric cars, embracing a joint venture between an American-Israeli entrepreneur and Renault and its partner, Nissan Motor Company.

BANGALORE, India, Nov. 16 — India’s leading sport utility maker plans to sell its S.U.V.’s and pickup trucks in the United States through an American distributor, bringing Indian-made vehicles to the United States for the first time. “Half of the global sales in S.U.V.’s and pickups is in the United States and we want to capture at least a fraction of that to start with,” said Pawan Goenka, president of the automotive division of Mahindra & Mahindra, the Indian manufacturer. The United States is the “ultimate market,” he said in a telephone interview from Mumbai. Mahindra & Mahindra plans to...

PARIS, Oct 5, 2006 (AFP) - Shares of French automaker Renault gained ground here Thursday as investors reacted favorably to a breakdown in alliance talks with General Motors, which raised possibilities of a tie-up with Ford instead. Renault shares in early trading were up 1.85 percent at 90.90 euros on an overall market that was stronger by 0.74 percent. Discussions between the French-Japanese group Renault-Nissan and GM were called off on Wednesday in the face of disagreements on how the benefits of an alliance to the three groups would be distributed. "The breakdown in these negotiations appears as a setback...

US car firm General Motors has ended talks with car alliance Renault-Nissan to form a global partnership. GM wanted to receive compensation from Renault and Nissan - which are already partners - as part of the deal, but they were opposed to this. Renault and Nissan said they thought "compensation would be contrary to the spirit of any successful alliance". The three-way alliance was proposed in June by GM shareholder Kirk Kerkorian in an attempt to boost GM's position. Next steps GM justified its demand for payment on the grounds that it would have benefited less from the merger than...

PARIS, Sept 27, 2006 (AFP) - The chief executives of Renault-Nissan and General Motors met in Paris Wednesday and vowed to continue their talks on a three-way deal between the companies despite reports that the negotiations were in trouble. The groups will continue their feasibility study of a tie-up until mid-October as planned, Renault said in a statement after the meeting on the eve of the Paris Motor Show. "The teams are carrying out an objective and deep analysis of the potential synergies between the three companies, in particular how such an alliance could generate value for each company," said...

Two-second penalties for both Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher set up a thrilling qualifying session for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon. With the two key championship contenders eliminated before the top-ten shootout, the honours for pole position fell right at the very end to McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen, whose last-gasp lap of 1m 19.599s came just as Felipe Massa looked to have bagged the first Formula One pole of his career. Also, Hungarian Grand Prix stewards have cancelled American Scott Speed’s three fastest qualifying times as punishment for impeding another driver during Saturday’s session. The move means the Toro...

Kimi Raikkonen repeated his 2005 qualifying position for McLaren at Hockenheim on Saturday afternoon to beat Michael Schumacher. But with Felipe Massa third, Ferrari look very threatening despite too much oversteer in the final session, and everything will depend on fuel loads on Sunday.On paper, Ferrari look set for a strong run tomorrow, and as in Indianapolis, Fernando Alonso has a lot to do to safeguard his championship lead.

TEHRAN, July 25, 2006 (AFP) - Iran said Tuesday it has decided to block planned car imports by French car giant Renault, presenting fresh difficulties in the company's dealings with the Islamic republic. Renault had reportedly planned to import several thousand Megane saloon cars to supplement its local production of the lower-budget L-90, or Logan, model. But Iran's industry ministry said in a statement that "because of some ambiguities regarding after-sales service, imports of this car are halted as long as the problems are not resolved". The cars have been already been advertised in the national press and sources close...

Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of Renault and Nissan, said his companies would only open their alliance to US auto giant General Motors if they think the potential synergies justify the risk. The three companies have embarked on a 90 day review of the potential benefits of expanding the alliance to include the world's largest but struggling automaker. "If we come to a conclusion that the synergies are big enough to justify the efforts, then we can go to the second step" of deciding on a framework for an alliance, Ghosn told reporters here. But the talks will end if...

General Motors’ board of directors has voted to start exploratory discussions with Nissan and Renault on a potential business alliance — a plan first proposed one week ago by Kirk Kerkorian, GM’s largest shareholder. But would a deal with the automakers help boost GM’s flagging fortunes?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors announced Friday that it would hold "exploratory discussions" with Renault and Nissan regarding a potential combination of some sort of the three companies. The statement from GM (Charts) said the decision to start talks was a "recommendation by the company's senior management." But it is clear that the push came from Kirk Kerkorian, the company's largest shareholder, who a week ago wrote to GM to say that Nissan and Renault, which already have joint ownership positions in each other, was interested in buying "a significant minority interest" in GM.

DETROIT - Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian could seize control of General Motors Corp. easily with help from automakers Nissan and Renault. ADVERTISEMENT Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. owns 9.9 percent of GM's shares. If Renault SA of France and Nissan Motor Co. of Japan each buy stakes of up to 10 percent, they collectively would be the largest shareholder and could have their way with the icon of American industry, analysts said on Wednesday. With such control, the disgruntled Kerkorian could oust GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner and replace him with Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of both Renault and Nissan....

(CBS/AP) The board of Renault SA on Monday approved opening talks with General Motors Corp. over a possible new alliance with the French automaker and Nissan Motor Co. if the U.S. company wants the discussions, Renault said. "The Board of Directors approved the position proposed Carlos Ghosn: Exploratory discussions with General Motors concerning a potential alliance could start if General Motors Corp. makes the proposal," the brief Renault statement said. Ghosn is the CEO of both Renault and Nissan. Ghosn is considered the world's most successful auto executive, reports CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen. He runs Renault in France as...

DETROIT -- General Motors convened an emergency board meeting Friday to discuss a proposal by shareholder Kirk Kerkorian to form an alliance between GM and Renault-Nissan, say two sources close to the board. The hastily arranged meeting suggests that GM's board is treating Kerkorian's proposal with urgency. A GM spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. In a securities filing, Kerkorian says that the Renault-Nissan alliance is receptive to buying "a significant minority interest" in GM. The filing also says that Kerkorian's investment company, Tracinda Corp., of Beverly Hills, Calif., has discussed the matter with Carlos Ghosn, CEO of...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran will sign a contract with France's Renault by Friday to produce the no-frills Logan model in a deal Tehran hopes will revive moribund foreign investment, the industry minister said on Tuesday. A Renault spokesman in Tehran said an agreement had been reached and the deal should be signed in the next few days. Analysts reckon Renault's investment will be about $2 billion (1.1 billion pounds). Iran has been negotiating with Renault to get a 20 percent share of worldwide exports of the Logan (L90) cars built in Iranian plants. The industry and mines ministry suspended the...

Barcelona is a circuit that every Formula One team knows well as they complete thousands of kilometres there in testing throughout the season. The mix of high-speed corners, a very long straight and an abrasive track surface, makes the Circuit de Catalunya a uniquely ‘complete’ circuit. Finding the right set-up compromise is always a tricky business at the Spanish Grand Prix. World champion Fernando Alonso was the fastest race driver in Friday afternoon’s second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya. In front of a huge home crowd, the Spaniard finished third in his Renault, behind Honda’s and Red Bull’s...

PARIS - A motorist drove through a crowd of students protesting the government's new youth jobs law Friday near the Sorbonne University, injuring seven people. Furious demonstrators overturned the car and tried to kick its windows out, while police in riot gear and helmets worked to disperse the crowd. The incident came after high school students spent the afternoon disrupting traffic outside the Sorbonne by picnicking on a busy boulevard. They were heading away when a frustrated motorist tried to burst through the crowd.Several dozen youths turned the car over and unsuccessfully attempted to drag the driver out before police...

Ferrari's Michael Schumacher said that Ferrari was ready for the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday. Giancarlo Fisichella has pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix, with Jenson Button alongside him and the Williams of Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber behind them on the grid.