VENTURE CAPITAL POST

German car parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen [ZFF.UL] has reached a deal to buy U.S.-based TRW Automotive Holdings Corp (TRW.N) for $13.5 billion including debt, creating a global automotive supply powerhouse with combined annual sales of more than $40 billion.

China's anti-monopoly regulator on Thursday announced its first-ever punishment of foreign carmakers for price-fixing, fining Volkswagen AG and Fiat's Chrysler a combined $46 million.

Premium car maker Audi expects to sell more than 1.7 million cars in 2014 even as sales momentum in some emerging markets slows, Chief Executive Rupert Stadler said.

Berlin-based PR executive Herbert Franz should be a soft target for German luxury automakers - his last car was a BMW (BMWG.DE) X3 - but he can't wait to leave them behind.

Auburn Hills, US-based powertrain supplier BorWarner bought Esslingen, Germany-based exhaust gas and thermostat producer Gustav Wahler GmbH & Co KG for an undisclosed sum to strengthen its position in the market.

Munich, Germany-based app crowdtesting startup Testbirds picked up €2.1 million in its Series A funding round led by Seventure Partners for its expansion across Europe.

Germany-based car maker Audi is investing in Paris, France-based bio gasoline startup Global Bioenergies, which makes cheap gasoline from sugar, as part of an effort to decrease greenhouse gas emissions amid stricter regulations.

German-based carmaker Volkswagen intends to introduce a mid-sized sports utility vehicle for its North American market in 2016 as part of its $7 billion investment program, Bloomberg reported.

Volkswagen AG's Audi division said today in a statement that it is aiming to challenge major automobile players in terms of global sales by pouring in €22 billion or $30.3 billion in auto model and technology development through 2018.

Al Nabooda Automobiles had set plans to expand its German car imports operations in Dubai and Sharjah.

Voklswagen named Ulrick Hackenberg as Audi's new head.