Czech car production should rise in 2012 after increasing by 11.5 percent to a record 1.19 million units last year, the country's Automotive Industry Association said.

Volkswagen says it will begin advance sales of a five-door variant of its Up minicar in Germany on March 6, ahead of a rollout to dealers in May.

Robert Bosch, the world's largest car parts supplier, is confident it will grow globally in 2012 despite a worsening economic outlook, particularly in Europe.

General Motors Co., after a two-month federal safety investigation cleared its Chevrolet Volt plug-in vehicle of danger, is beginning a marketing effort to tout the car as safe and innovative.

Toyota Motor Corp. said on Thursday it aims to boost worldwide sales of its Lexus luxury brand by about a quarter to 500,000 to 510,000 vehicles this year, bringing them back to levels before the global financial crisis hammered demand.