THIS IS A SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN FROM: _______________________________________________________________ AutoNewsFast(TM) The Special Email News Bulletin Service of the CENTRAL EUROPE AUTOMOTIVE REPORT-CEAR.COM(TM) The Source For Automotive Information On Central Europe(TM) On The Web at http://www.cear.com (TM) or Email: cetmpr@ibm.net _______________________________________________________________ NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT By opening this file or attachment you are agreeing to be bound by the terms in this paragraph. The entire contents of AutoNewsFast(TM) in print, and all electronic file formats are copyrighted 1998 by Central European Trade & Marketing, L.L.C. with all rights reserved. Reproduction, Electronic or Print Forwarding in any format, or use in any form, without permission is prohibited. ***Begin Bulletin*** FEDERAL-MOGUL BUYS POLISH BEARINGS MAKER Federal-Mogul Corporation announced on March 11 that it has purchased approximately 95% of the common stock of Polish automotive supplier Bimet S.A. Bimet, located in Gdansk, Poland, manufactures engine bearings, bushings and related products. The terms of the sale were not disclosed. ``We are driven to be a competitive player in the global powertrain products market and the addition of the Gdansk team provides us with a low cost, high quality production environment,'' said Alan Johnson, executive vice president, Powertrain Systems. Bimet was privatized in 1994 and has about 600 employees. In 1997, the company had sales of approximately $12 million. VOLKSWAGEN BRATISLAVA TO PRODUCE VW POLO IN NEW PRODUCTION HALL Volkswagen Bratislava will start manufacturing the VW Polo model as soon as it is technically possible. The precondition for the start of production is completion of a new production hall, which is scheduled to occur before the end of 1998. According Volkswagen Bratislava, 300 units of the Polo will be produced daily, with the possibility of increasing this amount. The factory will also continue with production of the new VW Golf. NEW CAR SALES IN SLOVENIA UP DURING FIRST TWO MONTHS OF '98 New car sales in Slovenia rose over 9% during the first two months of 1998, with sales totaling 9,502 units. Renault was the best selling brand with 1,775 units sold and a market share of 18.68%. At this time in 1997, Renault's market share stood at 21.27%. The company is facing strong competition from other makes, including Volkswagen, Daewoo, and Citroen. Daewoo, the third best selling make behind Volkswagen, sold 937 units during the first two months and saw its market share jump from 2.65% to 9.86%. Citroen's market share also rose strongly from 4.08% a year ago to 7.66%. The fifth best selling make Fiat watched its market share drop from 11.66% to 7.42%. For more on these and other stories, see the next issue of the CENTRAL EUROPE AUTOMOTIVE REPORT-CEAR.COM(TM). ****End Bulletin**** ************************************************************************** AutoNewsFast(TM) Special News Bulletin Service is delivered weekly and is a service of the CENTRAL EUROPE AUTOMOTIVE REPORT-CEAR.COM(TM). You may be receiving this service on a free trial basis. Contact for details, order information, and sample issues of the CENTRAL EUROPE AUTOMOTIVE REPORT(TM). ***** Remove From List If at any time you would like your address removed from this list, simply reply with "Remove" and you will be removed. Please be sure to reply from the address this message was mailed to. IMPORTANT: If your mail is forwarded from another address, please include the specific address that we mailed to in your reply. We apologize for any inconvenience.