Shares in PSA Peugeot Citroen, the No 2 car maker in Europe, surged yesterday on news that it was discussing an alliance with General Motors of the US, which could include the two companies taking stakes in each other.

Shares in PSA Peugeot Citroen, the second largest car maker in Europe, surged yesterday on news that it was discussing an alliance with General Motors (GM) of the US, which could see the two companies take stakes in each other.

Toyota clung on to pole position in the global car industry in 2010, despite mass recalls which damaged the Japanese giant's reputation for quality in the all-important US market.

The future of Vauxhall's Luton van factory will finally be decided within the next eight weeks, according to the company's European boss.

Nick Reilly, head of General Motors' Opel Vauxhall operation was named Manager of the Year at this year's annual automotive industry conference held by the leading Spanish business school IESE. He was appointed to his present post last year to lead a restructuring of GM's European activities after the US group cancelled plans to sell Opel and Vauxhall to Magna.

Disappointing results from General Motors' European operations, which include the UK car maker Vauxhall, took the shine off the company's latest quarterly results, released yesterday ahead of its planned stock market flotation next week.

Vauxhall is preparing to carry out the UK's longest run by an electric vehicle next week.

Workers at Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port and Luton plants have agreed to a two-year pay freeze, as part of the German car maker's Europe-wide agreement to slash its labour costs by more than €1bn over the next five years.

The inquest will take place today into the deaths of four people killed when their car ploughed into a tree on their way home from a night out.

Production of cars has restarted at Saab's Trolhättan plant in Sweden after an interruption of seven weeks, during which the future of the company was settled with a sale by GM to Spyker Cars NV.