Declan Colley reports on Peugeot 208 taking the 2020 Car of the Year prize in Geneva, along with news updates on Skoda, Cupra, Audi and Renault

Nissan has given the starkest warning yet on the future of the Japanese group’s car factories in western Europe, with a plant in the UK threatened by Brexit and another in Spain suffering from a slump in demand.

Renault’s shares rose in Paris even as Moody’s cut its rating on the car maker’s debt to junk status, citing weaker profitability as the company restructures and grapples with falling demand.

Inside motor industry news, including the releases of Peugeot 2008, Renault Koleos, BMW mild hybrids and Audi eco plans

Isabel Conway travels the Route 66 of Europe —Portugal’s 739km Estrada Nacional — and discovers the country’s ancient towns and treasures

Europe emerged as a bright spot for the embattled global car industry after car sales jumped to a record in December, but it could be short-lived.

Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard is determined to get the carmaker’s alliance with Japan’s Nissan back on track next year, he said, adding other matters such as a potential tie-up with Fiat Chrysler were less of a priority.

Renault set a gloomy tone for the European car industry by slashing its outlook for revenue and profit, saying weakening economies are weighing on car sales and tougher rules on emissions have increased costs.

Audrey's been sorting out Cork people for ages.

A man has pleaded guilty to a string of offences including criminal damage to a garda station and dangerous driving in two high-speed pursuits across country roads where he drove as fast as 180km/h.

Nissan chief executive Hiroto Saikawa will step down because of a scandal involving inflated stock-linked bonuses, thus deepening the turmoil that has enveloped the Japanese carmaker since the arrest of former chairman Carlos Ghosn.

It seems incongruous in a business where pushing technological and engineering boundaries are a commonplace taken-for-granted thing, that certain cars can maintain their position at the head of the sales charts not so much for years, but for decades, without really being challenged even by a determined opposition.