A round-up of today's other stories in brief
VW loans €27m
VOLKSWAGEN Bank has said that it currently has a 75 per cent acceptance rate for customer applications.
The finance arm of the car firm’s Irish operation has said that year to date in 2011 it has lent €27 million to finance new Volkswagen cars.
The firm has announced lending rates which begin at 3.9 per cent APR and they will also offer personal contract plans on a range of cars in 2012.
According to Adam Chamberlain, head of VW Ireland sales and marketing, current arrears among lenders are running at less than 1 per cent.
European Parliament drive against road deaths
A “VISION” of the future of private motoring in Europe, which involves a range of high-tech gadgets both in the car and on the roadside, was outlined at the European Parliament this week.
Among the recommendations in a report expected to be adopted by MEPs in a vote in Strasbourg today are city-wide speed limits of 30km/h; “alcolocks” which prevent a driver starting the car until he passes a breath test; an “eCall” system in which the car itself will call the emergency services in the event of an incident; and a range of satellite enhanced detectors identifying inappropriate speed and sleepiness of drivers.
Also included in the report is a recommendation to enhance the deployment of intelligent transport systems – overhead, roadside and radio messages advising drivers of a range of issues from weather conditions to travel times and crashes ahead.
The report urges the European Commission to ensure that road signs, highway codes and blood alcohol limits be harmonised throughout the EU by 2013.
MEPs said the least the Commission should do would be to draw up an action plan for 2011-2020 to cut the overall number of road accident deaths by half, deaths of children under 14 by 60 per cent, and serious injuries by 40 per cent.
About 35,000 people die in crashes in the EU each year, down more than one-third from 2001, and while the EU wants to halve this number by 2020, the author of this week’s report, German Christian Democrat MEP Dieter-Lebrecht Koch, is calling for “Vision zero, the prevention of all road deaths”.
While many of the report recommendations may seem like science fiction, they were well received by MEPs including Ireland West MEP Jim Higgins, who had called for their implementation without delay.
Chevrolet eyes up Europe
AS IT CELEBRATES its centenary next month, Chevrolet is determined to make a concerted effort in Europe. According to spokesman Tom Albright, the firm is preparing to offer its Volt electric range extender model to Europeans next year. The car is already on sale in the US and selling well. It’s effectively the same car that will be sold by Opel as the Ampera. Both brands are part of the General Motors family but Chevrolet was the first to market with the innovative model under the Volt name and is hoping to leverage its success in the US to build the Chevy brand name in western Europe. There is no confirmation of when the car might arrive in Ireland, where the Chevrolet brand has performed poorly to date.