Brussels  - The European Union's executive body on Friday hosted high-level talks between representatives of General Motors (GM) and politicians from EU states where GM has subsidiaries, in a bid to defuse the growing crisis over GM's financial troubles.

"First of all, we expect an update from GM representatives on their current plans. Secondly, we want the chance to sit down and discuss the situation with the other (EU) countries involved," Germany's junior economics minister, Jochen Homann, told reporters as he arrived at the talks.

Tata Motors has announced that it has signed up a vehicle finance tie-up with State Bank of Travancore.

With this, India’s biggest automobile company aims to offer an added facility of car finance to its clientele.

The bank offers car loans up to 85% of invoice, for term ranging up to 7 years, at a very competitive rate of 10% up to May 15, 2010 for loans sanctioned on or before April 30, 2009.
 
The facility will be available at SBT divisions and 470 sales touch points of Tata Motors.

Barcelona  - The McLaren-Mercedes team of world champion Lewis Hamilton have a lot of work to do with less than three weeks to go until the start of the 2009 Formula One season, if this week's testing at Barcelona is any indication.

"We aren't yet where we want to be," admitted Mercedes motorsport director Norbert Haug to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"We are far too slow at the moment but are going to work hard to get back to the front."

Brussels - The European Investment Bank (EIB) on Thursday formally approved soft loans totalling 3 billion euros (3.84 billion dollars) to Europe's troubled car making industry.

This is the second instalment in a series of loans that are expected to total more than 7 billion euros by June, EIB officials said in a statement.

The money approved on Thursday will benefit a number of carmakers, including BMW, Daimler, Fiat, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Renault, Volvo Cars, Scania and Volvo Trucks.

London, Mar. 12: The British Government has offered a grant of up to 27 million pounds to TATA-owned Jaguar Land Rover for the production of a new ''green'' car.

According to a Sky News report, the company will make a decision later this year on whether to go ahead with the
400 million pound project at its factory at Halewood on Merseyside.

The car will be based on Land Rover''s LRX Concept vehicle.

Stockholm  - Saab, the loss-making Swedish subsidiary of US giant General Motors Corp, Thursday said it planned to shed 750 employees from its workforce of about 4,000 in Sweden.

Broadcaster TV4 said 650 of the affected employees were blue- collar workers.

The employees were informed about the plans Thursday.

Saab last month filed for bankruptcy protection while it attempts to reorganize its business. That move came after GM said it planned to shed the brand as part of its restructuring efforts.