Germany's new car market grew by 21 percent in September and orders fell a less-than-feared 12 percent even as a scrappage scheme for old autos ran out of money, the VDA vehicle manufacturers association said on Friday.

The head of Toyota Motor Corp on Friday called the current dollar-yen rate "very tough," saying the weak U.S. currency made it difficult to return to profit on an unconsolidated level.

U.S. auto sales tumbled by 23 percent in September as showrooms emptied after the government-funded boom from the "cash for clunkers" program, with General Motors Co and Chrysler hardest-hit.

Chrysler Group LLC still plans to shutter eight North American plants according to its initial schedule, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Thursday, as he dismissed recent reports that a Detroit-area plant would get a reprieve.

Talks between Canadian automotive group Magna , General Motors and workers at German carmaker Opel were adjourned with no result on Thursday and will resume soon, a spokesman for Opel said.

Sales at Daimler AG's premium division Mercedes-Benz turned the corner in September and came in at around last year's level, The Wall Street Journal quoted Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche as saying.

General Motors Co will close Saturn and wind down its dealership network after a deal to sell the faltering brand to Penske Automotive Group collapsed, the automaker said on Wednesday.

Fiat SpA will rush the first all-new Chrysler model to the U.S. market by the end of 2011 and create a new Ram brand for its truck line under a revival plan for Chrysler that will be shown to the U.S. government this week, people involved in the discussions said.

Congressional leaders on Wednesday pressed General Motors Co and Chrysler to resolve complaints about dealer franchise terminations the automakers pushed through during their brief bankruptcies.

Toyota Motor Corp said it will recall some 3.8 million vehicles in the United States because of the risk that a loose floormat could force down the accelerator, a problem suspected of causing crashes that have killed five people.