Fiat SpA , the Italian carmaker that helped Chrysler Group LLC emerge from bankruptcy, may wait to turn around the U.S. business before deciding on a share sale or spinoff for its automotive division.

Chrysler Group LLC said Wednesday that it has named a new executive to head the reintroduction of the Fiat brand to the North American market.

Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen AG says its 2009 net income declined 80 percent to euro960 million , confirming its preliminary estimate released in February.

Nick Tenant was running an auto detailing business in Detroit when the auto industry collapsed.

U.S. safety regulators and Toyota dispatched teams on Tuesday to inspect a Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway a day earlier, as the automaker struggled to reassure consumers shaken by its recall crisis.