"If you look at the Asian exports, there has been quite a big readjustment in the markets, " says Rajiv Biswas, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at IHS Global Insight.

BBC: Can Asian economies fuel Asia's growth?

"Several of Jaguar's rivals are already looking at various alternative powertrain technologies to use in the next generations of their high-performance vehicles, most notably Porsche's 918, Mercedes' SLS E-cell and BMW's i8, " observed IHS Global Insight analyst Ian Fletcher in a recent note.

BBC: Jaguar reveals 'E-type successor'

Tim Urquhart of IHS Global Insight, a research firm, reckons that purely battery-powered cars will command only about 0.6% of world sales in 2020, with plug-in hybrids accounting for a further 0.7%.

ECONOMIST: Renault's electric-car gamble

"The labour market data are disappointingly softer overall and fuel our suspicion that unemployment is likely to trend up gradually in 2011 in the face of below-trend growth and increasing job losses in the public sector, " said Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight.

BBC: UK unemployment total rises again