VW building 2 more China plants

Volkswagen will invest $2.7 billion to construct two more vehicle assembly plants in China, the carmaker said in a statement Tuesday.

The move is part of a wider plan by VW to invest 18.2 billion euros in China through 2018 to expand capacity and increase the number of models produced in the market, according to Bloomberg.

The automaker, which counts China as its largest market, said it plans to build the plants in the coastal cities of Qingdao and Tianjin.

"China has become our largest and most important market," VW CEO Martin Winterkorn said in the statement. "To satisfy the demands of our customers in the country, we are engaging in a further substantial expansion of our capacities in China together with our Chinese partner FAW Volkswagen."

Delta cutting back flights to Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela - Delta Air Lines drastically reduced service to Venezuela on Monday in a dispute with the government over revenue trapped in the South American country. The move left disgruntled fliers scrambling to rebook seats on one of the dwindling number of carriers with full service to the socialist country.

Delta is slashing service by 85 percent starting Aug. 1, replacing its daily roundtrip flight between Atlanta and Caracas with one roundtrip weekend flight, according to spokeswoman Sarah Lora.

Lora declined to say how much money Delta has stuck in Venezuela. Airlines have been unable to convert their Venezuelan earnings into dollars because of the government's hold on repatriation of airline revenue.

"Delta will remain in the market to serve valued customers, however, the debt created over the past several years due to currency issues made us take a business decision to minimize our risk." Lora said.

The International Air Transport Association says Venezuela has prevented the repatriation of $4 billion in airline money because of currency control problems.

American Airlines cut its service to Venezuela by 80 percent last week and now only flies in from Miami. Air Canada and Italy's Alitalia have suspended all flights to Caracas and other carriers have reduced service.