VENTURE CAPITAL POST

In the heart of western Europe, the Belgian-Dutch-German rust belt has been dealt another blow. Two car plants closed this month as companies sought cheaper labor elsewhere, the final chapter of a manufacturing boom that began when coal mines fuelling Europe's industrialization shut in the 1960s.

The U.S. Treasury Department will sell its remaining 54.9 million shares of Ally Financial Inc (ALLY.N) acquired under the government's bailout of the auto lender, Ally said on Thursday.

Japan's auto recall enforcement division, whose 16 members work from a cramped office on the eighth floor of the transport ministry building in Tokyo, only found out about safety issues with Takata Corp air bags in late-2008 - more than three years after the company says it first learned of problems.

Chrysler Group will begin replacing potentially defective air bag inflators made by Takata Corp in more than 371,000 U.S. vehicles in early December, according to documents filed by the automaker with U.S. safety regulators.

Automakers in Brazil are facing the sharpest slowdown since 1999 and it could be a year or more before things turn the corner.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed a bill on Tuesday that will keep electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) from selling its cars directly to consumers in the state, home to the biggest U.S. automakers.

China said on Thursday it would punish carmakers by restricting their production and publicly naming them if they fail to meet fuel consumption requirements on passenger vehicles set for 2015.

General Motors Co's (GM.N) global sales rose 2 percent in the third quarter, driven by strong demand in the two largest auto markets in the world, China and the United States.

General Motors Co (GM.N) on Thursday said it is recalling 117,651 newer vehicles in North America because a possible manufacturing defect could cause an electrical short and increase the risk of a crash.

As it strives to energize its Cadillac brand that once led the U.S. luxury auto market, General Motors Co said on Friday it will begin production of a new "top-end, high-technology car" by the end of 2015.

U.S. car manufacturer General Motors Co is recalling hundreds of thousands of cars over a defect in the parking brake that could cause a fire, a letter by the top U.S. auto safety regulator showed.

Lear Corp, a maker of auto seats and electrical power systems, said it would buy automotive leather supplier Eagle Ottawa LLC for $850 million to strengthen its core seating business and boost its luxury seats portfolio.

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.

Boston, Massachusetts-based event management startup Attendware will be rebranding itself as Attend.com as it expands the scope of its solution to online management and analytics for business and university events.

China-based automotive glass supplier Fuyao Glass Industry Co will pour in a $200-million investment to build a manufacturing facility at the former assembly plant of General Motors (GM) in Ohio, US.