Daimler-Benz AG announced Friday that Wolfgang Bernhard, chief of the company’s van unit, will be the company’s management board member in charge of production and procurement at Mercedes-Benz Cars.

Bernhard replaces Chief Operating Officer Rainer Schmueckle, who was not given new duties. Daimler says it is holding “discussions” with Schmueckle, and Germany’s Manager Magazin says Schmueckle will leave the company.

Daimler says its management board will be expanded to accommodate Bernhard. Industry analysts speculate that Bernhard, 49, eventually could succeed Dieter Zetsche as Daimler’s CEO.

Schmueckle helped manage the turnaround of Daimler unit Freightliner Corp., but he triggered a dispute with Daimler’s union last year when he decided to move some production of the next-generation C-Class midsize sedan from the Sindelfingen plant in Germany to Alabama in 2014.

Bernhard has close ties to Zetsche. When Zetsche was named CEO of Chrysler in 2000, he brought Bernhard with him to run Chrysler’s purchasing operation.

In 2004, Bernhard was the leading candidate to run the Mercedes-Benz brand, but Daimler’s unions opposed the move, and then-Chairman Juergen Schrempp blocked his appointment. Bernhard subsequently joined Volkswagen AG and was put in charge of the Volkswagen brand. In 2007, he left VW in a management shakeup by VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech.

Bernhard rejoined Daimler last April when the company put him in charge of the Mercedes-Benz van unit. He will continue to manage the van operation as part of his new job.

January car sales in western Europe grew 15% over a weak year-ago period to 1 million units, as strong sales in France, Italy and the U.K. compensated for a downturn in Germany, says J.D. Power and Associates.

January registrations in France and Italy grew by nearly 15% to 171,000 and 30% to 206,000 units, respectively, compared to January 2009. Registrations in both countries benefited from a spurt of transactions in late December, as customers rushed to take advantage of scrappage incentives. Similar programs boosted year-over-year sales 18% to 70,000 units in Spain and nearly 30% to 145,000 units in the U.K.

Car sales in Germany fell 4% to 181,000 units, but deep discounts by automakers prevented a sales collapse. Germany’s Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK) projects 2010 sales of 2.8 million units, down from 3.8 million units in 2009.

As scrappage incentives in western Europe’s markets wane or end this year, J.D. Power forecasts 2010 sales in the region will decline 9% to 12.4 million units.

Renault SA will unveil the new Megane Coupe Cabriolet—featuring a retractable two-piece glass roof—at next month’s Geneva auto show. The car goes on sale this spring. Autocar estimates the base price at €22,900.

Megane Couple Cabriolet has an all-glass retractable roof.

Renault says the cabriolet’s 0.47-square-meter glass roof, which extends from the windshield to the rear deck, is the largest in its segment.

The Megane CC also will feature a dual-clutch 6-speed transmission, which Renault says will reduce carbon dioxide emissions as much as 17%. The new transmission is available with Renault’s 1.6-liter, 110-hp diesel engine. Optional powerplants include 130- and 160-hp diesels and 110-, 130- and 140-hp gasoline engines.

Fiat SpA told labor leaders on Friday it will offer early retirements to half the workers at its Termini Imerese assembly plant in Sicily, which it plans to close in 2011. Fiat, its unions and the government are scheduled to meet again on 5 March.

The company, which pledged last month to boost production by 50% in Italy, also says it is trying to reduce excess capacity in Italy. The Italian government has linked the renewal of its scrappage incentive to keeping the Sicilian plant open. But last week CEO Sergio Marchionne said Fiat could “manage” without new incentives.

One possible compromise: Fiat says it is willing transfer Panda production from Poland to its plant in Pomigliano. Citing an unnamed source, Reuters reports that the government may renew its scrappage incentive in exchange for that transfer.

Termini Imerese, Fiat’s smallest plant in Italy, employs about 1,700 full-time employees. Fiat has said it loses €1,000 on every vehicle produced there. The company’s plans to close the factory have touched off a furor in Italy. Last week Pope Benedict XVI called on Fiat to keep the plant open.

The Italian government is reviewing seven proposals to use the Sicilian facility for other purposes, including an electric vehicle venture involving India’s Reva Electric Car Co. and Italian private equity firm Cape-Natixis.

Four unions representing workers at Ford Motor Co.’s Volvo Cars say they will approve the unit’s sale to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. only if the Chinese company signs a binding agreement to fund Volvo’s operations and guarantee an independent management.

Geely says Volvo’s management independence is “enshrined” in the purchase agreement. But the unions complain that Geely remains vague about how it will finance the deal, reportedly worth about €1.5 billion. They fear the Chinese company might move Volvo production to China, where labor costs are lower, and shrink the company’s European operations.

Ford and Geely hope to complete negotiations by the Chinese Lunar New Year on 14 February. According to Bloomberg News, Ford will contribute between €146 million and €219 million from the proceeds of the sale to Volvo’s worker pension fund. Ford originally bought Volvo in 1999 for €4.7 billion.

Toyota Motor Corp. will launch a worldwide recall of its Prius hybrid-powered hatchback to fix a braking system software problem that can cause a brief lapse in braking power, according to several media reports. They say Toyota will announce its plan this week.

The reports say the recall could cover 60 countries, including a combined 270,000 Prius cars in the U.S. and Japan. Some say the recall also will include about 28,000 Toyota Sai and Lexus HS250h hybrid models, both of which were introduced last year and use the same braking system.
The new recall would be in addition to more than 8 million Toyota models involved in two other campaigns to fix defective floor mats and accelerator pedal systems that can prevent or delay the pedal’s return to the idle position.

Separately, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said on Friday that he will head a new quality team that will look for ways to improve the quality of all major company operations. He also said the company would work with outside experts to launch new quality procedures.

AB Volvo says it lost 14.7 billion kronor (€1.4 billion) last year, reversing a net profit of 10 billion kronor (€982 million) in 2008. Revenue plunged 28% to 218 billion kronor (€21.4 billion).

The Swedish truckmaker says its annual operating loss was 17 billion kronor (€1.7 billion) compared to an operating profit of nearly 16 billion kronor (€1.6 billion) in 2008.

Volvo’s fourth-quarter loss widened to 2 billion kronor (€196 million) from 1.3 billion (€128 million) in 2008, as revenue fell 23% to 59.8 billion kronor (nearly €5.9 billion). The company’s operating losses for the quarter more than doubled to 2.3 billion kronor (€226 million). Fourth-quarter results included writeoffs for layoffs, inventory write-downs and restructuring charges.

Volvo says it reduced inventories by 25% in the fourth quarter and posted year-over-year sales gains in Europe and South America. The company expects both markets to “gradually improve” this year.

Volvo predicts industrywide sales of heavy trucks will grow 10% to 180,000 units in Europe and 20%-30% to 115,000 units in North America this year.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. says an equity swap with PSA Peugeot Citroen “may come naturally” as the two companies expand their joint ventures.

MMC President Osamu Masuko tells Bloomberg News that PSA as a “good partner” and notes the two companies have succeeded in three joint ventures already. In December the companies said they were holding talks about new joint vehicle development programs and that PSA might take an equity stake in the Japanese company.

But Masuko strongly denies media reports that the partners have discussed PSA buying a controlling stake in MMC. “We have never talked about the specific stake, Masuko insists. He adds that MMC could use PSA’s help in developing hybrids and diesels to help it meet European emission standards.

OAO AvtoVAZ says the company will report a net loss for 2009 that is greater than the 24.7-billion-ruble (€594 million) loss it posted under International Financial Reporting Standards for 2008.

President Igor Komarov says AvtoVAZ will generate zero operating profit this year but post positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. He also says AvtoVAZ will reduce its workforce by 5,000 to 72,000 by the end of March. The company says its employment level was at about 102,000 last summer.

AvtoVAZ, which is 25% owned by Renault SA, declared in January it would boost output by 50% to 446,000 vehicles this year. Komarov said the company aims to sell about 400,000 Lada cars in Russia and export about 50,000 vehicles. Last year AvtoVAZ’s sales in Russia plunged 44% to 349,500 units, according to Russia’s Association of European Businesses.

BMW Group reports it sold 11,900 BMWs and Minis in China last month, up 122% from January 2009. It was the first time the company sold more than 10,000 units there in a single month.

BMW says China is now its largest national market for the company’s flagship 7 Series sedan. Last month demand for the model doubled to 1,700 units in China.

The group, which sold 91,000 BMW and Mini brand cars in China last year, predicts its full-year sales will grow by double digits in 2010. To meet future demand, the company and partner Brilliance China Automotive Holding Ltd. are each investing about €267 million to quadruple annual capacity to 200,000 units by 2012.

The program includes expanding output at the venture’s existing plant in Shenyang to 100,000 units from 41,000 and opening a second plant with capacity of 100,000 units. The new factory will assemble a long-wheelbase version of the 5 Series designed for Chinese luxury car buyers, who typically are chauffeur-driven.

China is BMW’s hottest market, but the company notes that demand for its vehicles is strong in other Asian markets too. Last year, group sales in the region grew nearly 11% to 183,000. Asia now generates 14% of BMW Group’s retail sales. North America accounts for 21%, and Europe generates 59%.