MILAN, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - The Italian group Fiat said Wednesday it was in talks with the German automaker Daimler's Mercedes division on possible cooperation, but also with other groups.

'We have contacts with Mercedes, as with others,' Fiat chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said in a comment on a press report about possible joint efforts to produce cheaper entry-level Mercedes models.

'But it is still too early to talk of an alliance,' he said.

FRANKFURT, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - The German automaker Daimler is in talks with Fiat of Italy about possible joint efforts to produce cheaper entry-level Mercedes models, a report said on Wednesday.

Dieter Zetsche, the head of Mercedes' parent company Daimler, and Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne have discussed using the chassis of Fiat's Grande Punto and Bravo models to produce future ranges of the Mercedes A and B class, according to the report in Auto, Motor und Sport magazine.

PARIS, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - The Japanese group Sony is to cut the price in Europe of its new generation video game console PlayStation 3 (PS3) by 100 to 200 euros (141-282 dollars) in order to boost sales ahead of Christmas, a report said here Thursday.

A new model, equipped with a 40 gigaoctet hard drive, will go on sale in Europe at 399 euros, 200 euros less than the current sales price of Sony's more powerful, 60-gigaoctet device, which is already in stores, according to the newspaper Lesotho Echos.

FRANKFURT, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) - Eurocopter, the helicopter unit of EADS, is targeting wealthy private clients with aircraft designed by the French luxury goods company Hermes, a press report said Tuesday.

'We want to service every niche optimally and have pent-up demand in that customer segment,' Eurocopter vice president Philippe Harache told the German daily Handelsblatt.

Eurocopter's sales of helicopters used for business trips -- as opposed to military or rescue services -- have gained 30 percent a year for the past three years.

PARIS, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - France Telecommunication said on Thursday it had been picked by Apple to launch its iPhone handset in France.

France Telecommunication's chief executive Didier Lombard announced the deal with the US technology giant on the sidelines of a telecommunications conference in Hanoi.

The announcement, which had been widely predicted in the media, contrasted with high profile announcements by Apple of its choice earlier this week in Britain and Germany, attended by the US firm's chief Steve Jobs.

BERLIN, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - US technology giant Apple picked mobile phone operator T-Mobile on Wednesday to launch its iPhone handset in Germany, with deals in more countries expected as the group prepares for the European roll-out of its latest gadget.

Germany and Britain will simultaneously launch the touch-screen iPhone in Europe on November 9, offering Internet access, telephone service and iPod-like music as well as the ability to play videos.

Under an agreement announced on Tuesday, the phone is to be distributed in Britain by O2.

FRANKFURT, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - The world's biggest automakers, GM and Toyota, have taken different paths to building cleaner cars but agree there is no one route to lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

They also agree that making the technology affordable will be a challenge.

Toyota 'is five years in front of the rest of the world' in developing hybrid technolgy that combines electric and internal combustion engines, German auto analyst Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer told AFP Tuesday.

FRANKFURT, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - The four-wheel-drive CEO made by Chinese automaker Shuanghuan went on display Tuesday at the Frankfurt Motor Show despite a complaint by BMW that it is a copy of a BMW vehicle.

BMW denied claims by the company that imports the controversial cars, China Automobile Deutschland, that BMW would confiscate the vehciles on Wednesday.

'We are not planning anything tomorrow at 9:00 am,' said a BMW spokesman, although he refused to rule out further action.

'I can't say anything more for the moment.'

FRANKFURT, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - The four-wheel-drive CEO made by Chinese automaker Shuanghuan went on display Tuesday at Frankfurt Motor Show despite a complaint by BMW that it is a copy of one of its cars.

'I am absolutely not worried' about the cars being seized by officials, said Karl Schloessl, the head of the company that imports the cars, China Automobile Deutschland.

If the vehicles were seized 'that would be the best publicity for us because it would show the quality' of the vehicles, he told AFP at the show.

FRANKFURT, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - Toyota is confident of retaining its leading position in hybrid cars despite growing competition, the Japanese firm's chairman said Monday ahead of the International Motor Show (IAA) here.

If the number of hybrid cars grows it will be good for the environment, Katsuaki Watanabe told a press conference three days before the 62nd IAA opened to the public.

Competition in this field is good for everyone because progress made by one automaker benefits all, he stressed.

FRANKFURT, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - The four-wheel-drive CEO made by Chinese automaker Shuanghuan will be on display at the International Motor Show (IAA) despite a complaint by BMW that it is a copy of one of its cars, the head of China Automobile Deutschland said Monday.

'Of course we are coming to the IAA, there is no question of that for us,' chief executive Karl Schloessl told the WISO programme that is broadcast by ZDF television but was released in advance.

NEW YORK, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - Boeing Co. said Wednesday it was delaying the first test flight of its 787 Dreamliner by several weeks to complete final checks, but that the first deliveries were still planned for next May.

The US aircraft manufacturer had initially planned to mount a first flight of the Dreamliner, seen as the future profit driver for Boeing, in late September.

NEW YORK, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - The Boeing Co. said Wednesday it was delaying the first test flight of its 787 Dreamliner to between mid-November and mid-December saying it needed more time to complete final checks.

The US aircraft manufacturer had initially planned to mount a first flight of the Dreamliner in late September.

Boeing said it required more time to finish off the Dreamliner's assembly and to get key onboard computer equipment up and running.

WASHINGTON, Aug 10, 2007 (AFP) - The Boeing Co. denied Friday a newspaper report that it was delaying the first flight of its 787 Dreamliner, saying it would take to the skies as planned in late September.

'We're still targeting the end of September for the first flight,' Boeing spokeswoman Yvonne Leach told AFP, when questioned about The Seattle Post-Intelligencer report that the company had pushed it back to October, citing people familiar with the matter.

WASHINGTON, Aug 10, 2007 (AFP) - The Boeing Co. denied Friday a newspaper report that it was delaying the first flight of its 787 Dreamliner, saying it would take to the skies as planned in late September.

'We're still targeting the end of September for the first flight,' Boeing spokeswoman Yvonne Leach told AFP, when questioned about The Seattle Post-Intelligencer report that the company had pushed it back to October, citing people familiar with the matter.

PARIS, July 26, 2007 (AFP) - The third-generation EPR (European Pressurised water Reactor) nuclear reactor, for which the French company Areva is on the point of winning a major contract in China, was launched in 1992 and has already been sold in France and Finland.

Finland is scheduled to put an EPR into service in 2010-2011, while France, which produces 80 percent of its electricity with nuclear power, plans to start building such a plant at the end of the year at Flamanville near the English channel in northern France.

BEIJING, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - China has failed to respond adequately when asked to act on complaints from European nations about unsafe Chinese exports, the EU`s consumer watchdog chief said here Tuesday.

Under an accord that took effect in May last year, China agreed to provide reports every three months on the actions taken in response to complaints from the European Commission about problem Chinese goods.

But European Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva told reporters that China had only provided two such reports since then.