• Sales at TOYOTA, including its Hino Motors Ltd. and Daihatsu Motor Co. units, rose to 2.58 million units in the January-to-March period, outselling both Volkswagen and GM. Second place is too close to call as GM and VW said they sold about 2.4 million each, and the German company hasn’t disclosed numbers for its MAN and Scania heavy trucks. For President Akio Toyoda, last quarter capped what the company estimates to have been its most profitable fiscal year as Toyota projects a record 1.9 trillion yen profit ($18.5 billion), mainly because of the weaker yen. Still, the carmaker is facing a growing challenge from VW, which plans to sell as many vehicles as Toyota in 2014 by expanding in China and benefiting from a recovery in Europe.

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• SAMACO, Saudi Audi sole dealer, recently revealed its new Audi A8. The updated model offers excellent comfort, superb craftsmanship, strict lightweight construction and a broad portfolio of high-end technologies. The event was attended by Sheikh Mohamed Wajih Sharbatly, CEO of Samaco, and Wayne Banoob, managing director of Audi Saudi Arabia, in addition to a significant number of Audi clients and the press. In his speech at the event, Sheikh Mohamed Wajih Sharbatly stressed that Audi cars are characterized by elegance, high performance, innovative and advanced technologies, which enhanced their demand in the market and have had a clear impact in expanding Audi’s customer base. One of the latest innovations is the new Audi A8. He added: “This model has established a new level of luxury. We are proud to present a car that is top of its class in terms of style and luxury — both locally and globally.” To meet the growing demand, Wayne Banoob, said: “Samaco is developing and expanding in the kingdom, new service facilities are opened to cover more cities in the Kingdom and to help enhance the after sales services.” Fathy Allam, general manager of Audi at Samaco Automotive, said:” Audi have proven its importance as a first class car in terms of luxury and durability, and has acquired the Saudi consumer’s trust with the advanced technology offered and its capability to do all tasks with high performance. We have asked Audi to provide us with more A8 models so we could cover the Saudi Market needs.”

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• FIAT-CHRYSLER CEO Sergio Marchionne has decided to turn Alfa Romeo into a stand-alone company — like Maserati and Ferrari — as part of his latest plan to revive the struggling brand. Alfa currently is part of Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A., alongside the core Fiat marque, upscale Lancia brand, Fiat Professional commercial vans and the Abarth performance sub-brand. Sources said Marchionne will announce that Alfa’s new status when he unveils his new strategy for Fiat-Chrysler on May 6. Alfa will become a stand-alone legal entity within Fiat Chrysler with a publicly disclosed profit and loss statement.

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• MASERATI continues to make significant steps toward achieving the objectives of its growth plan. This was substantiated by its success in European markets during the first quarter of 2014. The UK in particular continues to be one of the leading markets in Europe, with a total of 187 registrations in the first quarter of the year, and an increase of 115 percent compared to the same period in 2013.

In general, all of the major European markets have thrived, reaching 1330 registrations in the first quarter of this year (data from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain and Switzerland) with an average increase of 464 percent compared to the same period last year.