Brussels  - Environmental groups on Wednesday reacted with outrage to a French proposal weakening planned European Union laws on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) cars should be allowed to emit.

The French government, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, "is giving up any pretence of trying to limit the climate impact of cars," pressure group Greenpeace said in a statement.

The proposal, presented to diplomats on Tuesday, "totally ignores" a vote in the European Parliament and shows that France is "totally out of touch with the needs of citizens who are desperate to reduce their fuel bills," a spokesman for Brussels-based group Transport and Environment (T&E) told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Ashok Leyland, India’s commercial vehicle Industry has made announcement that the company has inked a joint venture (JV) pact with John Deere, for manufacturing and marketing of construction equipment. 

John Deere is world`s largest maker of equipment for agriculture and forestry and a major equipment dealer for construction and lawn and turf care.

The JV aims to start production by early 2010 and will first launch Backhoes and Four-wheel-drive Loaders. 

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), a wholly-owned arm of South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Company, has rolled out a new variant of its flagship brand Santro in the Indian market. 

The new LPG version named Santro Eco is equipped with 1.1 litre eRLX engine, which will provide its customers, a unique combination of reliable performance and excellent fuel efficiency both in the city and on highways.

The company claims that the new LPG model with 27.2 litre tank will cost Rs 21,500 higher than the existing petrol model with 35 litre tank.

Auto giant Bajaj Auto has recorded a growth of 6% (in total), in the two and three wheelers sales for the month ended September 30, 2008.

During the month, the company sold 217,365 units of Motorcycles as compared to 204,152 units during the corresponding period of the last year (Sep 2007). 

The company’s two wheelers sales for the month stood at 218,494 units in comparison to 206,208 units recorded in September 2007.

Crew, England - Bentley is presenting the Arnage Final Series to marking the tenth anniversary of the model, the 50th birthday of the company's V8 engine and 90 years of Bentley heritage at the Paris Motor Show.

The Bentley Arnage Final Series is an exclusive run of only 150 cars, the manufacture has announced.

Powered by the Arnage T V8 with an output of 507 hp, the Final Series is listed with a top speed of 288 km/h and acceleration from zero to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds.

Munich - BMW will make its new luxury 7-Series available in a hybrid drive version with a concept vehicle to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, the car maker has announced.

First versions of the 7-Series hybrid drive serial-production version will be presented in 2009, said a BMW spokesman.

The Concept 7 Series ActiveHybrid combines a 300 kW/407 hp combustion engine with a 15 kW electric motor that reduces fuel consumption by 15 per cent compared to a standard model, according to the car maker.