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VW offers up to €10,000 to ditch old diesels in Germany

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VOLKSWAGEN GROUP has announced it will offer as much as €10,000 to owners of older diesel to tempt them to trade them in for a new VW in their home market.

The aim of the new scheme is seen as VW Group enthusiastically backing the German government’s new drive to rid the country of ‘polluting’ diesels, Dieselgate – the irony.

The cynical among us can only see the pressures coming from Angela Merkel, on her campaign trail recently bashing the CEOs of the German auto industry from the revelations of the Dieselgate affair and the effects it has had on the German industrial reputation, a reputation that Germany has built its whole economy on.

The auto industry is the largest industrial sector in Germany, contributing about 2.7% to GPD. Some 20% of Germany's exports are from the auto industry. Domestic and export auto sales are in the region of €400billion a year employing over 800,000 people.

Who has who over a barrel is difficult to see on the face of it but the German car industry throughout its history has had strong political connections. We all know who commissioned the ‘Peoples Car’. In VW’s case today, the German state of Lower Saxony owns 20% of VW’s voting stock worth €7.7billion making it the second largest shareholder.

Two representatives on VW's supervisory board have regional political careers with little insight car-making industry. The German auto industry will be a political football in the upcoming German elections but could spell the end of political meddling in the industry for good.

Other German automakers have also offered the German government a new quick fix software update to cut NOx emissions in five million vehicles. The free fix, seen as an industry-wide attempt to avert an outright diesel ban, is claimed to reduce harmful smog-inducing NOx emissions by 25 to 35 per cent.

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Paralympic legend Jason Smyth visits St Brendan’s

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Paralympic legend Jason Smyth visits St Brendan’s


World renowned Paralympian and world record holder Jason Smyth paid a visit to St Brendan’s College on Wednesday afternoon as part of a high profile visit to Killarney.


The six time Paralympic gold medallist spoke to second year students from St Brendan’s College, alongside students from neighbouring schools St Brigid’s Presentation Secondary School and Killarney Community College.
The interactive talk and interview took place ahead of World Sight Day, with the legendary sprinter sharing his personal journey with Stargardt disease, a genetic eye condition that left him legally blind at eight years old.
The Derry native, who holds the world record as the fastest Paralympian on earth over 100 metres, offered inspiring insights into overcoming physical adversity and achieving success at the highest level of world sport.
The school visit formed the opening leg of his Killarney schedule before he took centre stage later on Wednesday evening at The Killarney Plaza Hotel & Spa.
Smyth headlined An Evening with Paralympian Jason Smyth, an event organised by the Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce as part of its winter schedule, sponsored by AIB.

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Deerpark Retail Park placed on market for fifteen million euro

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Deerpark Retail Park in Killarney has officially been placed on the market with a guide price in excess of 15.4 million euro, excluding VAT.

International real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed as the sole sales agent to handle the high-profile commercial property sale on behalf of its current owner, Investcorp.

Investcorp, a global investment management firm headquartered in Bahrain, had previously acquired the prominent shopping complex.


The sale represents one of the largest commercial property offerings to launch in County Kerry this year.

Located roughly 1.3 kilometres west of Killarney town centre, the scheme enjoys strong regional connectivity and sits adjacent to independently owned operations including a Tesco Extra store, a Tesco petrol filling station, JYSK, and Aldi.


Constructed in 2006, the development extends across approximately 10,482 square metres, or 112,835 square feet.

The scheme comprises a mix of modern retail warehouse units and a complementary neighbourhood centre, offering 13 individual units in total with Part Open and Part Bulky Use planning permission.

The units range in size from 94.6 square metres up to 1,994.9 square metres. Visitors have access to approximately 248 customer parking spaces across the commercial grounds.

The park is currently 100 per cent occupied by a strong line-up of established national and international brands.

Key retail tenants include Marks & Spencer, Boots, DID Electrical, Maxi Zoo, and Mountain Warehouse.

The neighbourhood centre element accommodates service and convenience operators such as Costa Coffee, Card Factory, and Salon B.

The first-floor accommodation is fully let to Peak Performance Academy, which provides additional rental diversification.

Additionally, the scheme benefits from an agreement with Tesla to operate eight electric vehicle charging bays within the customer car park.


Commercial figures show that the property generates a total current rental income of 1,326,458 euro per annum, with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 4.45 years to break options and 6.46 years to lease expiry.

Cushman & Wakefield noted that the quoted guide price of 15.4 million euro reflects a net initial yield of 7.83 per cent, assuming standard purchaser costs of 9.96 per cent.

The selling agents highlighted that the fully occupied asset offers investors an attractive income profile alongside scope for additional income generation through parking commercialisation.

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