Car makers in Italy face cuts

ROME // Claudio Scajola, the Italian industry minister, has announced that the government will phase out state incentives to help the nation's car manufacturers and stimulate car sales in 2010. "For the auto industry, we will focus on promoting innovation and research," Scajola says. Last year, the Italian government offered ?1,500 (Dh7,590) to consumers who traded in old cars for new, more fuel-efficient models. Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive officer of Fiat, says that without such incentives, European car plants may have to close down.