Rome  - The Italian Tazzari group is planning a production version of the Tazzari Zero electric vehicle for all major European markets by the end of 2009, the company has announced.

Customers will find a car fitted with a 15kW asynchronous centrally mounted engine, driving the rear wheels with maximum torque of 150 Nm. The lightweight construction gives it a weight of only 542 kilogrammes, enabling acceleration from zero to 50 kilometres an hour in five seconds.

One full six-hour charge of the Li-ion Fe battery unit gives it a range of up to 140 kilometres. The top speed is listed at 90 km/h.

VE Commercial Vehicles, a joint venture between AB Volvo and Eicher Motor Ltd (EML), has been facing tough times in the last few months with industry-wide commercial vehicle sales plummeting.

With the aim to prevent inventory build-up in the midst of ongoing slowdown in the domestic market, Honda, the Japanese car major would continue to cut its India output by over 45 per cent for the next six months.

It was confirmed by the company that its planned release of hatchback Jazz in the Indian market is on schedule. The company is also thinking to increase the prices of its various models.

New York  - Ford Motor Company and union leaders reached an agreement Monday designed to lower health care costs in the ailing US car industry.

The deal would allow the carmaker to make contributions to the United Auto Workers (UAW) health care plan for retirees with up to 50 per cent stock instead of cash, a move the manufacturer said would help it meet its obligations. Ford owes 13.6 billion dollars to the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association, as the health care trust is known.