Vienna - Austria's government and the country's automotive industry on Thursday agreed on measures to alleviate the effects of the crisis gripping the global car industry.

The measures include prolonging the time that short-time work is subsidised with public funds, as well as funding for innovative research, Chancellor Werner Faymann and Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Josef Proell said after the government's meeting with industry leaders.

London - Japanese carmaker Nissan Thursday announced major job cuts at a plant in north-east England which accounts for the bulk of British car exports.

Nissan said 1,200 jobs would go at its plant in Sunderland, near Newcastle, which employs around 5,000 workers and is one of the biggest employers in the region.

The Nissan plant is Britain's largest car exporter, selling 80 per cent of its cars abroad. It was opened to great fanfare during the rule of Conservative ex-prime minister Margaret Thatcher in 1986.

Vienna- Austria's automotive industry on Thursday called on the government to help alleviate the effects of the current crisis which has gripped the global car industry.

"The crisis has fully hit us. More than 7,500 are already working short time," said Dietmar Schaefer, head of the car component suppliers' goup within the Austrian chamber of commerce.

A meeting between the Austrian government and industry representatives got underway on Thursday to discuss measures such as prolonging the time that short-time work would be subsidised with public funds.

Tokyo - Sales of imported cars in Japan plunged to their lowest level in 15 years in 2008 amid oil price surges and the global financial turmoil, the Japan Automobile Importers Association said Thursday.

Sales fell 17.3 per cent to 219,231 units in 2008 compared to the year before. These figures include Japanese cars built overseas.

Sales of imported foreign cars declined 16.3 per cent to 193,902 units, and those of Japanese vehicles produced overseas tumbled 24.4 per cent to 25,329 units.

After a long wait, Mahindra and Mahindra along with BAE Systems has finally secured the approval from the Government of India's Foreign Investment Promotions Board, for the setup of Joint Venture (JV) in India, focused on land systems for the Indian market.

This is a key step in setting up the JV, and in accordance with current Foreign Direct Investment regulations, the equity split will be 74% with Mahindra & Mahindra and 26% BAE Systems.

Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), one of the leading PSU banks in India, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with India's leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. to publicize the loan scheme offered by Oriental Bank of Commerce.

As per MOU, the exclusive car dealers of Maruti Suzuki will publicize the loan scheme among the prospective car buyers and link them to the Bank for credit support for hassle-free process.