Volkswagen pledged it would not turn its back on indebted ally Porsche SE, even as it warned that there were sizeable obstacles to a merger deal. In the meantime, Volkswagen quashed speculation that it could expand its motorsport activities to include NASCAR and Formula One. There has been speculation for months over whether VW would enter NASCAR with a factory team to bolster its appeal in the US market.

As a brand, Volkswagen is most present in motorsport through its participation in the annual Dakar rally now held in South America, where VW's factory driver Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar won this year with his Racing Touareg. – Photos by Reuters