DETROIT, Jan 16 (Reuters) – General Motors Co will
invest $1.5 billion in its North American plants this year, a
senior executive said on Wednesday, adding the automaker’s
next-generation Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid could cost
thousands of dollars less per car to build.

The investment is part of the $8 billion the Detroit
automaker has said it will annually put into in its worldwide
operations.

DETROIT, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross
wants International Automotive Components, the auto supplier he
controls, to go public to get access to cheaper capital, but he
added he was in no rush for an initial public offering.

Ross, speaking ahead of a speech at the Automotive News
World Congress in Detroit, said the investment banks will tell
him when the markets desire an IPO by Southfield, Michigan-based
IAC.

DETROIT, Jan 15 (Reuters) – General Motors Co vowed
to stick with a gradual approach to Opel restructuring despite
mounting skepticism about its chances and signs of French
pressure for a more transformative tie-up with PSA Peugeot
Citroen.

A day after GM was forced to deny reports it was preparing
to offload its European division to Peugeot, the U.S. automaker
sought to change the subject by wheeling out more vehicles at
the Detroit auto show.

DETROIT, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Cadillac may double its product
lineup over the next four years as part of General Motors Co’s
strategy to turn the U.S. luxury brand into a global
power, starting late this year with the ELR plug-in hybrid, the
upscale sibling of the Chevrolet Volt.

Cadillac is firming up plans to expand its family of cars
and crossovers to as many as 10 models by 2016, including
potentially a flagship sedan, a small crossover and a small car
to take on BMW’s 1-Series, according to two people
familiar with the company’s discussions with suppliers.

PARIS/DETROIT, Jan 11 (Reuters) – The U.S. car market’s
rebound may be slowing – but it still looks like the best bet to
many of the global industry’s top brass as they converge on
Detroit for the 2013 auto show.

With Europe in a protracted meltdown and some emerging
markets flagging, the United States will increase its share of
world auto sales this year even as its economy cools, analysts
and executives predicted ahead of Monday’s media opening.

DETROIT (Reuters) – European auto sales will weaken further this year and Germany may be slipping into recession, General Motors Co’s (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) top executive said, making the U.S. automaker’s task of turning around its money-losing Opel unit in that region more difficult.

However, GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson said on Wednesday the company was cutting losses at Germany-based Opel as it aims to achieve its previously stated target of returning the unit to profits by mid-decade. GM previously said it expected a 2012 operating loss in Europe of as much as $1.8 billion (1.1 billion pounds).

DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) aims to achieve an investment grade credit rating this year, the company’s top executive said, adding that he wants to see all five of the automaker’s business units post profits or break-even by mid-decade.

Chief Executive Dan Akerson said on Wednesday that he wants GM’s margins to be among the industry’s best by roughly 2015, when GM has said it expects to break-even in Europe.

DETROIT, Jan 3 (Reuters) – U.S. auto sales rose 9 percent in
December, led by foreign manufacturers, capping off the best
year for the industry since before the recession.

The year’s sales were driven by a slowly recovering economy,
more available credit and the need for consumers and businesses
to replace aging cars and trucks.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Elio Motors has agreed to purchase a former General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) assembly plant near Shreveport, Louisiana and will use it to build three-wheeled vehicles that it says will get more than 80 miles on a gallon of gasoline, the company said on Thursday.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed in a joint press release from Elio and Racer Trust, which owns properties GM disposed of in its bankruptcy. The deal is expected to close in the spring.

By Ben Klayman

(Reuters) – Subaru is recalling as many as 634,000 vehicles in the United States for potential lighting problems that could lead to smoke or fire, according to U.S. safety regulators.

The recall by Subaru, owned by Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, potentially affects some Forester vehicles from model years 2009 through 2012, all Legacy and Outback vehicles from model years 2010 and 2011, and some Tribeca vehicles from model years 2006 through 2012, according to documents filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.