BRIEFING - ASIA AUTOMOTIVE - JULY 30, 2009

KOREA'S HYUNDAI MOBIS TO SUPPLY DAIMLER,VOLKSWAGEN WITH
CARPARTS

SEOUL - Hyundai Mobis Co. (KSE:012330), South Korea's top
auto parts maker, said Thursday it has begun supplying
Germany's Daimler AG and Volkswagen Group with car parts, in a
move aimed at increasing its presence among foreign car
makers.

Hyundai Mobis said it has agreed with Daimler to provide the
latter with car audio systems worth US$35 million and
intelligent battery sensors, used to measure the electrical
charge retrieved and stored in a vehicles battery, worth US$95
million.

DIARY - VIETNAM MOTOR SHOW TO TAKE PLACE IN NOVEMBER

HANOI - The fifth and the biggest automobile exhibition of
the year organised by the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers
Association (VAMA) will take place from November 20 to 24 at
the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre (SECC).

The Vietnam Motor Show 2009 will be held in the Saigon
Exhibition & Convention centre (SECC) at 799, Nguyen Van Linh
Parkway, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City.

AUDI VOLKSWAGEN KOREA RECALLING 96 VEHICLES FOR DEFECTS

SEOUL - Vehicle importer Audi Volkswagen Korea is recalling
96 of its Touareg sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) due to
manufacturing defects, the transportation ministry said
Thursday.

The defect could cause the spoiler attached to the back of
the SUVs to come loose, which can cause damage and hamper the
safe driving of trailing vehicles, the Ministry of Land,
Transport and Maritime Affairs said in an e-mailed statement.

SHARES OF AUSTRALIA'S ELDERS IN TRADING HALT PENDING
ANNOUNCEMENT

MELBOURNE - Australian agribusiness and automotive interiors
supplier Elders Ltd's (ASX:ELD) shares are in a trading halt
pending an announcement about a transaction.

"We request the suspension pending an announcement regarding
a significant transaction currently under negotiation, which we
anticipate will be issued by Friday July 31, 2009," Elders said
in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange on
Thursday.

3D CAR NAVIGATION SOFTWARE HITS MALAYSIA BY YEAR END

AYUTTHAYA - Malaysian-owned Aapico Hitech PCL, one of the
leading autoparts manufacturers in Thailand, is planning to
launch the first real 3D car navigation software in Malaysia
and Singapore by year-end.

Its president and chief executive officer, Yeap Swee Chuan,
said his IT experts were putting the final touches to the
Powermap X2 software, including images of prominent landmarks
in the two countries.

JAPAN CO KOITO TO RESUME PRODUCTION AT AUTOMOTIVE LAMP
FACTORY

TOKYO - Japanese company Koito Mfg. Co. (TSE:7276) said
Wednesday that its automobile lamp factory in Saga Prefecture
will restart operations August 3, with output to be boosted as
demand recovers further.

The factory, which came onstream this past September, has
remained idle since March in response to severe production cuts
by automakers since autumn. With plans to ramp up output
gradually, Koito intends to hire 50 or so temporary workers.
The factory is capable of producing enough lamps for 500, 000
cars a year.

JAPAN'S JTEKT ANNOUNCES PURCHASE OF TIMKEN'S NEEDLE BEARINGS
BIZ

TOKYO - Jtekt Corp. (TSE:6473) said Wednesday that it signed
an agreement the same day to buy U.S. firm Timken Co.'s needle
roller bearings business for roughly 29 billion yen (US$300
million).

The acquisition will be completed by year-end.

COST-CUTTING DRIVES JAPAN AUTO COS HONDA, NISSAN BACK TO
PROFIT

TOKYO - Drastic cost-cutting measures paid off for Honda
Motor Co. (TSE:7267) and Nissan Motor Co. (TSE:7201) in the
April-June quarter as the two Japanese automakers achieved
remarkable turnarounds by reporting operating profits.

Honda reported Wednesday that operating profit came to 25.1
billion yen (US$264.2 million) for the April-June quarter, an
upswing of 308.1 billion yen compared with the previous
three-month term. Efforts to slash costs shrank red ink at the
automaker's Japanese operations by more than 170 billion yen
and returned it to the black in Europe and the U.S.

JAPAN AUTOMAKER NISSAN TO RAISE OUTPUT CAPACITY AT CHINESE
JV

TOKYO - Japanese company Nissan Motor Co. (TSE:7201) said
Wednesday that it will expand production capacity for passenger
vehicles in China to 700,000 units a year from 460,000.

A production line capable of churning out 240,000 units a
year will be installed at the main plant of local joint venture
Dongfeng Motor Co. (HKSE:0489) This assembly line will be in a
new building to be built on land adjacent to the plant in
Guangzhou, with operations to begin in 2012. The move will cost
five billion yuan, or some 70 billion yen (US$736.75
million).

INDIA'S TATA MOTORS TIES UP WITH STATE BANK OF HYDERABAD

NEW DELHI - Indian auto maker Tata Motors (BSE:500570) on
Wednesday announced that it has entered into an understanding
with public sector lender State Bank of Hyderabad for financing
of Fiat cars available through the Tata-Fiat dealer network.

Under the agreement, customers can avail loans of up to 85
per cent of the "on-road price" for a tenure ranging up to 7
years at an interest of 10.25-10.75 per cent annually for Fiat
brands including Linea, Palio Stile and Grande Punto, Tata
Motors said in a statement.

JAGUAR LAND ROVER MULLS LIGHT WEIGHT ALUMINIUM BODIES TO CUT
COSTS

NEW DELHI - Tatas-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is mulling
over building all its future cars with light weight aluminium
bodies for reducing input costs as the two British marquees are
trying hard to come out of the more than Rs 17 billion
(US$352.3 million) loss in 2008-09.

The two iconic brands are also developing hybrid engines for
use in future models of JLR.

SSANGYONG'S LABOR, MANAGEMENT TO RESUME DIALOGUE THURSDAY

SEOUL - Ssangyong Motor's (KSE:003620) labor and management
agreed Wednesday to resume bilateral dialogue the next morning,
seeking to narrow their differences on ways to revive the
debt-stricken automaker through sweeping job cuts, company
officials said.

About 600 unionized workers have occupied a paint shop of
Ssangyong's sole factory in Pyeongtaek, about 70km south of
Seoul, for over two months to protest mass layoffs, paralyzing
production and thrusting hundreds of the automaker's
subcontractors into the risk of insolvency.

CHINA'S NEW VEHICLE TAX POLICY TO PROMOTE FUEL ECONOMY

BEIJING - China is expected to revise its tax policy on
automobile producers and levy a heavier tax on fuel-guzzling
vehicles.

The new policy is expected to be unveiled in October,
according to information from auto industry associations.

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