A round-up of today's other Motor stories in brief...
New car hire excess policy for drivers
For those tired of paying exorbitant excess charges on their rental cars for the most minor amount of damage, help is at hand. Axa has introduced a new car hire excess policy that covers your excess while hiring a car abroad.
For between €55 and €85 - depending on the level of cover you require - Axa will insure you for an excess charge up to €5,000.
That's compared to between €15 and €30 a day you have to pay to some rental companies to reduce the excess on your rental car.
Kia's crossover Soul for Paris
Kia has released details of its new Soul urban crossover vehicle which is due to go on sale in Europe next February with right-hand drive models going into production from March onwards.
It will be powered by a range of engines already featured in the Cee'd line-up, including a 125bhp diesel unit. The Soul will make its world premiere on the Kia stand at the Paris International Motorshow in October.
Car sales slump across Europe
It's not just the Irish new car market that is taking a beating these days.
While Irish sales recorded a fall of 16.7 per cent for the year to the end of August, new car sales in Spain, France and Italy are also falling in a further sign that European consumers are putting off purchases of big-ticket goods.
Spanish car sales fell by 41.3 per cent in August, their sharpest decline this year. Data from Anfac, the industry group showed a drop in showroom traffic across regions, attesting to the depth and breadth of Spain's housing-led slowdown cutting through the economy.
In Italy, car sales fell by more than 26 per cent last month. However, analysts said the year-on-year drop was accentuated by unusually strong sales a year ago, as drivers took advantage of tax breaks on lower-emission cars.
Car sales in France were down by 7.1 per cent year on year last month, according to CCFA, the industry group.
JD Power and CSM Worldwide, a rival forecaster, expect Spanish car sales to end the year down by about 25 per cent.
Italy's car market is expected to end the year down about 15 per cent, and forecasters predict the slump in many big European markets to last into 2009. "It's going to take a while for consumers to be motivated to purchase vehicles," said Walt Madeira, head of the European sales forecast at CSM.
Protesters agree to talks at car factory
Protesters holding up work at an Indian factory building. Tata Motors' Nano car agreed to talks over land seizures, a protest leader said yesterday,
raising hope the world's cheapest car will roll out on time.
The protests have slowed work at the factory for months, threatening to derail Tata Motors' plans to
launch the €1,600 car in October to coincide with the Indian festive season.
Such has been the acrimony that Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata said he was prepared to move the plant from Singur despite having invested €240 million in the project.The trouble began after the government took over 1,000 acres (400 hectares) of farmland for the factory.
CORRECTION: In last week's story entitled VRT on imports inflated, it stated that in 2007, 98,353 cars were imported. The correct figure was 89,353.