Automotive Updates - 30/04/2014

• Bajaj Auto, which is bracing itself for a worker strike scheduled to begin at its Chakan plant from May 15, has received support from around 200 villages in and around the Chakan region. In a statement issued yesterday, the company says that following a meeting with the management, the representatives of these villages have expressed a concern that labour strikes have an adverse impact on existing industries by reducing manufacturing volumes and also on new entrants who may hesitate to invest in the Chakan area in the near future.

• Czechoslovakia-based automobile major Skoda is looking to expand presence in India and exploring possibilities for setting up a manufacturing unit for Metro coaches in the country. The Czech Ambassador in India Miloslav Stasek said this at an interaction with engineering exporters' body EEPC India. 

• Nissan India will launch the refreshed Sunny sedan in early July, Indian Autos Blog was told by a source who is privy to the launch. The refreshed Sunny was showcased at the Auto Expo in February and carries many design and feature changes over the current model. 

• Mahindra Intertrade, part of the Mahindra Group, is readying itself to get publicly listed in the next three years by gaining scale through expansion of its automotive steel processing segment, its managing director Harsh Kumar told ET.

• Germany's Robert Bosch expects sales growth of between 3 and 5 percent this year, even as the automotive supplier shifts its focus toward Asian markets and developing internet-connected sensors.

• Motorists buying electric cars in the UK will be able to claim on the government's £5,000 (Rs 5.09 lakh) incentive until at least 2017. The extended scheme comes as part of a wider initiative for an extra £500 million (Rs 5,098 crore) worth of funding to encourage the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles.

• media reports claim that the German car VW maker has finalised the budget brand and its first product. The first model from the budget brand might make its appearance as early as 2016.

• Daimler's first-quarter operating profit more than doubled as surging sales of new cars and improving margins in its Mercedes-Benz luxury autos division extended its recent recovery.

• VW India to Launch Polo Facelift With New 1.5L Diesel Engine in July

Automotive Updates - 29/04/2014

• Force Motors will set up an engine manufacturing facility at Chengelpet, Tamil Nadu, the Pune-based company has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. This follows a meeting of its board of directors held on April 29 which approved plans for this facility subject to receiving all necessary approvals.

• The president of domestic business unit for Bajaj Motorcycles, K Srinivas after a 14-year stint with the company is leaving Bajaj Auto and is moving to a non-automotive company in Mumbai. His position will be taken by Eric Vas, who was the head of Bajaj Auto Finance. 

• German commercial vehicle maker Daimler AG has displaced Eicher Motors to become the third biggest truck manufacturer in India, less than two years after its debut in the country. 

• Ford India has launched the 2014 Ford Endeavour today. A mild facelift exercise, the vehicle was launched internationally first in South Africa in May 2013.

• After beating Maruti Suzuki to become India’s second biggest exporter of cars, Nissan is all set to launch three cars, in a bid to drive up its domestic sales. Nissan is going to revamp its product lineup by introducing the Sunny facelift, Datsun GO Plus and the Evalia facelift this year, to increase its sales volumes in the local market.

•  According to Zig Wheels, Bajaj Auto has stopped domestic sales of the Bajaj Discover 125 ST. The discontinuation of the 125 ST is attributed to poor sales performance, says the publication.

• TVS Motor Company today announced positive results for the financial year 2013-14.  TVS Motor Company reported revenue growth of 21% increasing from Rs. 1775 crores in the fourth quarter of the financial year ended March 2013 to Rs 2156 crores in the fourth quarter of the financial year ended March 2014.

• It is reported that waiting period of Maruti Celerio AMT has extended from six month to eight-nine months. This was also confirmed by Mr. R.C. Bhargava, Chairman, MSIL, who said that the buyers who booked Celerio at the time of its launch will have for next year to drive home their favorite hatchback. 

• SAIC Motor Corp Ltd , China's biggest automaker, plans to promote the head of its passenger car unit to become the firm's new president.

• BMW is recalling more than 156,000 cars and SUVs in the U.S. because the engines can lose power or stall.

• Mercedes is recalling 252,867 of its C-Class sedans in the United States because an electrical issue could cause the tail lights to dim or fail, according to documents filed with U.S. safety regulators.

• Tyre major Ceat today posted 3.86 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 62.42 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2014.The company had posted a net profit of Rs 64.93 crore for the same period of previous fiscal.

Image from Motoroid.com

Automotive Updates - 28/04/2014

•  In view of souring relation with workers, Bajaj Auto has shifted production of its highest selling Pulsar from Chankan plant in Pune to Aurangabad's Waluj plant.

"We used to produce 80,000 Pulsars a month at Chakan plant which has now been brought down to 45,000 Pulsars a month while remaining has been shifted to Waluj. Earlier we used to produce around 25 percent Pulsar at Waluj which has now gone up to 50 percent," Kailash Zanzari, Vice-President (Motorcycle Manufacturing) told ETAuto over phone.

• Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India launched the Honda Activa 125 in Mumbai today.

 

• Honda Cars India has started the trial production of its Mobilio multi-utility passenger vehicle (MPV) based on its successful Brio platform at its Greater Noida plant with plans to debut the car over the next two months. 

• Expanding its gamut of operations in the country, Brose India, the local arm of the German auto component supplier, the 4.8 billion euro Brose Group, has moved into a bigger facility in Pune, adding further production capacity and R&D capabilities such as new testing, validation and prototyping equipment for speedier product development processes.

• Suzuki Motor Corp’s investments in its proposed Gujarat subsidiary for manufacturing cars for MSIL will see an infusion of an additional Rs 3,000 crore equity. The earlier announcement by Suzuki Motor Corp involved funding the Gujarat plant with equity of Rs 3,000 crore, depreciation and mark-up on the price of the cars sold to MSIL. Following considerable discontent amongst minority investors on the mark-up pricing that would reduce the profits of the carmaker, the mark-up option has now been dropped.

• HMSI's CB Shine touches 30 lakh unit sales milestone

• Panasonic Corp forecast a third straight year of profit growth for the year to next March but at a much slower pace, counting on a re-orientation towards higher-margin industrial products such as car batteries to fuel growth.

• Maruti’s Upcoming 800cc Diesel Engine to be Turbocharged; Launch Around January 2015

Photo from financial express

Automotive Updates - 23/04/2014

• Production at Shriram Pistons & Rings’ (SPR) Alwar plant in Rajasthan has been hit due to a worker strike. It is understood that the workers at the plant are looking to form a union, a move which is being resisted by the company management.

• The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki has lost its position of the second-largest exporter to another Japanese player Nissan in FY14, even as its South Korean rival Hyundai retained its position as the top car exporter in the fiscal. Hyundai is also the second-largest domestic carmaker.

• Maruti Suzuki will launch its first-ever small commercial vehicle in January 2015, as opposed to the 2017 timeline initially proposed. A report on Mint says that the project has been advanced in order to catch the competition.

• Two wheeler major TVS Motor has rolled out the new Star City+ from its factory at Hosur in Tamil Nadu. The new bike would be formally launched nationwide in the first week of May, said sources in the industry.

• Tata Motors is set to introduce a new small hatchback by 2015 in the range of Rs 3-4 lakh. This new car will be the company's latest B segment offering that will compete with the present segment leaders Hyundai i10 and Maruti Suzuki Wagon R. The new car will be based on the 'X0' platform; it is the same platform which underpins the Indica eV2.

• India’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki has been working on developing an all-new 800cc diesel engine that will power the company’s first light commercial vehicle (codenamed Y9T) set to launch next year. The new diesel engine is vital for the company because the engine will find application not only on the Y9T LCV, but also a range of products in Maruti’s portfolio. Maruti Suzuki is also working to introduce the new engine in the Eeco van that will take on the diesel low-cost passenger carriers from Tata and Mahindra’s stable in the segment.

• The imported steel used in manufacturing  cars will be made locally available by Bellary based JSW steel.On Wednesday, the steel major formally announced the commissioning of its state-of-the-art Cold Roll Mill (CRM-2) plant to manufacture high-end products like automotive grade steel at its Vijayanagar plant in Toranagallu, about 350 km from Bangalore. This is the first such facility in the country to manufacture outer body panels for passenger cars.

• General Motors has announced the restructuring of its Global Vehicle Engineering module to improve cross-system integration, deliver more consistent performance across vehicle programs and address functional safety and compliance in its vehicles

• Johnson Controls Inc reported a 59 percent jump in quarterly profit, helped by higher sales in its automotive unit.

• French automaker Renault has frozen a project to make commercial vehicles with Russian company Zil because of the fall of the ruble, a Renault spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

• Top officials at Mahindra-owned Ssangyong Motor have revealed to a media gathering at the 2014 Beijing Auto Show this week that the Ssangyong X100, previewed by the Concept XLV, will be launched next year.

• Suzuki Motor Corporation’s subsidiary Pak Suzuki Motor Co has started production and sales of the Wagon R in Pakistan from April 20 .

Picture from Motobash.com

Automotive Updates - 22/04/2014

• Starting Tuesday, Toyota Kirloskar will do at its manufacturing plant near Bangalore what it does best - make cars. After more than two months of intermittent production - which included a go-slow drive by workers and a 5-day shutdown - the 4,500-strong union decided on Monday to resume work,.

• Tata Motors, the country's largest automobile company by revenue, has begun top-level management changes at its commercial vehicles units amid falling local sales.Alok Singh, who was with Tata Group company Jaguar and Land Rover, has been made the new plant head at the company's Pantnagar unit in Uttrakhand while Lucknow plant head Alok Saxena has been moved to Pune as vice-president, purchasing, under BB Parik, according to company executives.

• Ford Motor Co will soon name Chief Operating Officer Mark Fields as successor to Chief Executive Alan Mulally, a person familiar with the plans said on Monday. Mulally, the 68-year-old executive credited with reviving Ford's fortunes since taking its helm in 2006, will step down before the end of the year.

• Tata Motors is planning to build what it calls a ‘high-volume’ product on the X0 platform, which refers to the Indica platform. This new car would be manufactured in Tata Motors’ Sanand plant from 2015, where production of the Tata Nano is marching along at a terribly slow pace.

• Mahindra launched their ‘Goodbye Fuel, Hello Electric’ scheme for e2o electric car in Pune on the occasion of Earth Day. Mr. Chetan Maini, Chief Executive Officer, Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Pvt Ltd, launched the scheme a few hours back.

• Sonalika Group farm equipment maker International Tractors Ltd has joined hands with L&T Finance ( LTF) for tractor loan financing. 

• Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) has announced the departure of VRV Sriprasad as vice-president (Marketing, Sales and Aftersales) with effect from May 1, 2014. R Ramesh, who was earlier AVP (Aftersales) will take over as head (Aftersales & Exports) and V Sreeram, who was earlier AVP (Sales) will take over as head (Domestic Sales, Product Management & Network). Both functions will report to the MD and CEO of DICV.

• Suzuki Motorcycle India Ltd (SMIL) recently initiated Suzuki Lets bookings process at all its dealerships across the country. Suzuki Lets bookings are being registered for a sum of INR 1000.

• Hero MotoCorp Ltd (HMCL) today commenced its operations in Bangladesh through a Joint Venture (JV) with the Nitol Niloy Group. The historic Joint Venture was announced here today by Mr. Pawan Munjal, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, and Mr. Abdul Matlub Ahmad, Chairman, Nitol Niloy Group of Companies, in the presence of the Industry Minister of Bangladesh H.E. Mr. Amir Hossain Amu and the Acting High Commissioner of India in Dhaka, Mr. Sandeep Chakravorty, and Group Managing Director of Nitol Niloy Group, Mr. Abdul Musabbir Ahmad.

Image from Motoroid.com

Automotive Updates - 21/04/2014

• The Karnataka government has told Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) and the agitating workers union to end their standoff and restore normalcy in the car manufacturing plants in Bidadi industrial estate, near Banglaore. Out of TKM’s total workforce of 6,500 employees, around 4,200 workers are attached to the TKM Workers Union. Talking to Autocar Professional at around 1.00pm today, R Sathish, general secretary of TKMWU, said the government has issued an order prohibiting the lockout at both the car factories in Bidadi.

• Justifying all its demands, including allocation of CSR funds for the education of employees' children and construction of a museum in the memory of the company's founder, Bajaj Auto employees union today said the management was exhibiting a 'prejudiced' mindset.On Thursday, Bajaj Auto managing director Rajeev Bajaj said the management will not tolerate another agitation at the company's Chakan plant and termed the union's demands as "insane and preposterous".

• In line with its aggressive overseas market gameplan to have a footprint in 50 countries by the year 2020, Hero MotoCorp has launched operations in neighbouring Bangladesh through a joint venture with the local Nitol Niloy Group. It has also revealed plans to set up a 150,000 unit capacity manufacturing plant there, its first in a foreign country.

• Tractors have brought some cheer, as well as hope, to the nation's otherwise gloomy automotive industry. Tractor sales in India rose 20 per cent to an all-time high of 6,33,656 units in fiscal 2013-14, a year when passenger car sales slumped 6 per cent and commercial vehicles posted an even sharper drop. 

• Nissan Motor India has overtaken Maruti Suzuki to become the country's second largest car exporter with a 17 per cent increase in shipments in 2013-14. Hyundai Motor India continues to retain the top spot.

• Mr. S. Chandramohan, President & Group CFO, Tractor & Farm Equipment Ltd., has been elected Vice Chairman of the CII Chennai Zonal Council for 2014-15.

• Jaguar Land Rover, the UK's leading manufacturer of premium vehicles, has achieved a prestigious 2014 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade, reflecting sustained sales success driven by global exports to over 170 countries.

• For the second time in less than a year, Honda has beaten Hero’s dominance in two wheeler market. Hero has been the proud owner of the title for India’s best selling two wheeler for many years now. But, in FY 2013/14, this title has belonged to Honda, for two times.

• Hyundai's compact SUV- Hyundai ix25 finally sees the light of the day; Hyundai made the world debut of its compact SUV ix25 at the on going 2014 Auto China – 13th Beijing International AutomobileExhibition. The ix25 is India bound and is one of the highly anticipated product of Hyundai especially, for the developing markets like China and India. The compact SUV will hit the Chinese market in the second half of 2014 while it'll make way in the Indian market by the end of this year or by early 2015. When launched, the vehicle will compete against the Ford EcoSport, Renault Duster and Nissan Terrano.

Automotive Updates - 20/04/2014

• Reflecting the woes of the Indian automobile industry, the country's car exports remained flat at 5,50,466 units in 2013-14, during which domestic sales fell for the second consecutive year. Car exports stood at 5,47,222 units in 2012-13, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). 

• Suzuki China revealed the near production version of the Maruti Ciaz in the form of the Alivio Concept that made its debut at the 2014 Beijing Motor Show today. The Ciaz (pronounced as chii-aaz) was showcased in the form of the Authentics concept last year, while in India it was showcased as the Concept Ciaz earlier this year at the 2014 Auto Expo in Delhi.

• Bajaj Auto has emerged as the worst performer in two wheeler, followed by Suzuki Motorcycles and TVS in two-wheeler sales in the financial year 2014. The home grown company's sales dipped by 14 per cent at 20, 99230 units compared to 2463863 units in the previous fiscal year, according to the data released by Society of Indian Automobiles Manufacturers. 

• China is set to surpass the United States to become Volvo Car Group's biggest market in 2014 with sales of at least 80,000 cars in the world's largest auto market.

• General Motors, undeterred by slowing growth in China, announced plans to plow $12 billion into the country by 2017 and boost capacity 65 percent by 2020.

• Germany's BMW is getting closer to deciding whether it will build a new factory, its board member Ian Robertson said on Sunday, as the luxury carmaker expands capacity to meet demand in key markets."We are in the final stages of deciding where the plant will be," Robertson told reporters at the Auto China show in Beijing on Sunday.

• It is no secret anymore that TVS has signed a deal with BMW to make motorcycles for them. Although there are still secrets to the many unanswered questions from the media and the enthusiasts when asked to both parties. TVS signed an agreement saying that they will use technology to take the same bikes and put their badge on it too. Motorcycles will be from the sub-500cc segment, which is an extremely booming segment as we speak.

• GM has unveiled the all-new next generation Chevrolet Cruze at the 2014 Beijing Auto Show. Designed taking cues from the Chevrolet Tru concept showcased here two years ago, the model sports a “dual-mesh” grille and peeled headlamps.

Automotive Updates - 19/04/2014

•  Toyota India remains optimistic that its manufacturing facility nearBangalore could see normal productionresuming after the state government directed the workers to report back to work from Monday, failing which the company could employ new workmen.

• According to a report on the Economic Times, Mahindra Engineering Services (MES) has won the contract to re-engineer the Rapid facelift to suit Indian conditions. MES will execute the styling of the car, which will be provided by Skoda, and will make it suited for Indian roads, a person aware of the development told the newspaper.

• The international ‘Science Award for Electrochemistry’ from BASF and Volkswagen is set to be awarded for the third time. Outstanding scientists from all over the world are now able to submit applications online atwww.science-award.com. The website also explains the conditions of entry and the selection process. The closing date for entries is July 4, 2014.

• In November, last year, the ministry of heavy industries had announced its intentions to roll out subsidies for electric vehicles by April 2014. Now, according to a report in the Financial Express, this plan might soon materialise, with the Centre planning to dish out subsidies ranging from Rs 8,000 up to Rs 12 lakh, under the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan.

• Volkswagen will keep expanding Chinese operations and start selling battery-powered cars in the biggest auto market as the country rewards electric-vehicle buyers to tackle air pollution.

• For financial year 2013-14, Indian auto industry saw Maruti Suzuki Alto emerge as the best selling car with sales of over 2.58 lakhs. This was followed by three Maruti Suzuki products – Swift hatchback with 1.98 lakh sales, DZire sedan with 1.97 lakh sales, and Wagon R hatchback with 1.56 lakh sales. The top 5 list finished off with Mahindra Bolero on the last spot with 1.07 lakh sales.

• The so-called quadricycle spat between Bajaj Auto Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd seems set to revive with the latter getting ready to launch theMagic Iris, a three-seater auto-rickshaw replacement, albeit with four wheels, ahead of the former’s launch of the RE60, the country’s first quadricycle.

• Honda has no plans to supply any other team but McLaren when it returns to Formula One as an engine supplier next season, the Japanese carmaker said on Saturday.

Automotive Updates - 18/04/2014

• Undeterred by the management's veiled threat of acting tough, Bajaj Auto employees union today said it will go ahead with strike plans if its demands, including allocation of CSR funds for education of the children of employees, are not met.

• Isuzu Motors India has opened its first showroom in Tirupati, its second showroom in Andhra Pradesh and third this year. President and MD Takashi Kikuchi inaugurated the new dealership along with Shigeru Wakabayashi, deputy MD, Isuzu Motors India.

• After zeroing in on Cheyyar in Tamil Nadu for its newest manufacturing facility over 5 years ago, Mahindra and Mahindra have finally confirmed that the new plant will become operational from 2015-16.

• The government plans to impose an additional 30% environment compensation charge on diesel vehicles and is considering tightening the emission norms by mandating fuels compliant with Euro-IV norms by next year and Euro-V norms by 2016 while it is targeting Euro-VI norms by 2021.

• ELECTRIC/hybrid cars (XeVs) and two-wheelers could become attractive options for the Indian buyer, with the Centre planning to offer fairly large subsidies ranging from Rs 8,000 up to R12 lakh, reports Roudra Bhattacharya in New Delhi.

• Volvo has revealed its plans for the future with its SPA platform.A report on Autocar India suggests that Volvo has confirmed up to 9 models on the same SPA platform. The report also reveals that Volvo will build its future models on three distinct pillars.

• Audi A3 has been named the 2014 'World Car of the Year' after being voted by 69 jurors from 22 countries at the New York Motor Show.

• General Motors says it sold 2.42 million cars and trucks in the first three months of the year, keeping it slightly ahead of Volkswagen in the global sales race.

• Plaintiffs' lawyers are seeking to draw Continental Automotive Systems US, the maker of airbag systems in recalled General Motors Co vehicles, into litigation over an ignition-switch defect that has been linked to 13 deaths.

Automotive Updates - 17/04/2014

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• Mahindra & Mahindra has chosen the state of Tamil Nadu to set up a new manufacturing unit. An official statement regarding the same is expected to be made in June, after the general elections in the country are over.

• Rajiv Bajaj, MD of Bajaj Auto on Thursday termed the demands made by the workers' union in Chakan plant as 'entirely insane'.Vishwakalyan Kamgar Sanghtana, the workers' union came out with the circular earlier this week yet again raising the demand that all workmen at the company should be given an option to subscribe to Bajaj Auto's equity shares at a discounted rate of Rs 10 or else they threatened to stop work from the morning shift of 28th April 2014. The circular issued by the Union said that each workman should be allowed to purchase 500 shares.

• For the month of March 2014, Renault managed to ship off 4,494 units of the Duster and its sibling Nissan Terrano registered sales of 3,075 units. In stark contrast, Ford’s knight in shining armour, EcoSport sold just 3,904 units, less than Duster!

• Enthused with a 47% growth in sales in 2013-14, Mercedes Benz has now trained its guns on the high-performance and ultra-luxury AMG brand where it hopes to double volumes this year, while opening exclusive dealerships for the coveted brand. 

• Wheels India, a TVS Group company and one of the leading wheel rim suppliers in India, is expecting better growth for the commercial vehicle industry starting the second quarter of the fiscal. The company, which caters to nearly all the major OEMs in India, has seen a significant fall in demand due to the prolonged downturn, more in the CV sector.

• Audi India has announced an increase in prices of upto 3 percent. The increase in price is effective from May 1, 2014.

• Defiance Technologies, which provides design, engineering and emerging technology services and solutions to the automotive industry, has announced that it has re-appointed Subu D Subramanian as MD and CEO effective immediately. Subu had earlier been with Defiance from its inception in 2009 to September 2013.

• Berndt Buchmann has been appointed director, Group Service of Volkswagen Group Sales India, with effect from May 1, 2014. As the head of Group Aftersales, he will be responsible for parts operations and warehousing, technical service and warranty, training academy for sales and aftersales and vehicle logistics for Volkswagen Group Sales India. 

• Scientists have used a powdery nanomaterial to extend the lifespan of lithium-sulfur batteries which could increase the driving range of electric vehicles.

• After a nearly 20-year absence, Italian car maker Alfa Romeo is returning to the U.S. market.Alfa CEO Harald Wester said Wednesday the company plans to ship around 100 4C sports cars to the U.S. this June.

Automotive Update - 16/04/2014

Automotive Updates - 16/04/2014

• Tata MotorsBSE -0.28 % has shelved its plans to debut the much-awaited diesel option of its micro car Nano on shifting customer preference to petrol cars and the expensive technology associated with it, making it commercially unviable for the Indian market. 

• the renewed talks between Toyota Kirloskar Motor management and employees union to end the deadlock over labour issues at two plants near here have failed. "The renewed talks have failed, suspension of thirty labourers is the contentious issue," Additional Labour Commissioner J T Jinkalappa told PTI. 

• Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland today launched Partner, a light commercial vehicle (LCV), priced in the range of Rs 8.73-9.29 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

• Nissan has officially opened its US$ 1.5 billion (Rs 9,040 crore) industrial complex in Resende, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, marking one of the largest automotive investments by any manufacturer in the country. This investment is part of an effort to achieve a 5 percent market share by 2016 and to become the leading Japanese automotive brand in Brazil.

• Tata Motors confirmed to Indian Autos Blog that the Ace for Philippines shares the common engine block with the Nano, however certain aspects of the engine in the Ace have changed. Engineers have calibrated the Nano’s engine to suit a commercial vehicle platform for load carrying application.

• Corolla gets the status of world's best-selling vehicle model in 2013 with global registrations of 1,098,524 units. Now, the new Corolla would help the Indian arm of the company churn better business this year.

• Daimler is set to revive Maybach, a brand once coveted by oligarchs, rap stars and royals, to woo a growing class of ultra-wealthy clients in Asia and the United States, a person familiar with the company's plans said.

• Japanese small-car maker Suzuki Motor Corp said on Wednesday it will introduce an affordable, simplified gas-electric hybrid technology in its cars, joining rivals in the race for fuel efficiency.

Automotive updates - 15/04/2014

Toyota has decided that it would not try any more of its luck in the small car segment. They have decided not to develop anything below the Etios Liva (according to Livemint.com) and will concentrate their energies on their bigger cars, some of which are doing great!

Riding the diesel demand wave, Honda has managed to catapult itself to third place among the manufacturers in India. A report from the Financial Express says that on the back of the sales of the Amaze and the City, Honda has managed to sell 1.33 lakh units in the financial year 2013-2014 as compared to 71,182 units in the financial year 2012-2013.

Mercedes-Benz India today added a new product to its AMG high-performance range of models. The Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG went on sale in India today, and is priced at INR 1.66 crores (ex-Showroom, Mumbai).

 The Honda Mobilio became the second best selling car in Indonesia last month, overtaking its rival, the Suzuki Ertiga. Since its launch in Indonesia in January this year, P.T. Honda Prospect Motor have delivered 18,341 units of the MPV.

Riding on its new models such as compact sedan Xcent and sports utility vehicle Santa Fe, Hyundai Motor India expects to post better sales this year as the auto industry looks for a turnaround in fortune. "The good news is that industry is expected to grow in single digit in this calender year and the company would do better than the industry," Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Rakesh Srivastava told PTI. 

In a statistic that provides the state's overburdened roads with a breather, Goans have purchased fewer vehicles in the past year. The economic survey has recorded a 30% dip in automobile sales and registration, with just 50,689 vehicles purchased in 2013, the lowest in five years.

 German machinery company Voith will deliver gear units and components for 81 vehicles of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) by 2018 as per a contract with Korean Vehicle manufacturer Hyundai Rotem.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), the country’s second largest car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter today, unified its used-car business under the brand name “H-PROMISE” globally.

Automotive Update - 14/4/2014

Japanese car-makers Toyota has decided to focus on bigger cars rather than produce small cars for the Indian market. The revelation was made by Vikram Kirloskar, Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. Kirloskar stated, “Mass market segment is not for Toyota. I think Toyota’s game will be in bigger car segments such as Corolla's and Innova's segment. We have tried hard to break the cost-barrier in the small car segment but we have just not been able to do so.”

The recall of nearly 45,000 Innovas by Toyota on April 9 took the cumulative total of vehicles recalled in India under the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers' (SIAM) Voluntary Code on Vehicle Recall to over 500,000 vehicles. And with the latest recall of 103,311 Marutis (comprising 42,481 Dzires, 47,237 Swifts and 13,593 Ertigas

Freescale Semiconductor has introduced a triple-core, single-chip solution featuring more than 1.7x higher performance than any currently available automotive instrument cluster MCU. The company claimed that this solution helps eliminate the need for costly additional processors and memory chips. 

Despite competition hotting up in the recent past, Chennai-based tyre maker MRF believes that it will continue to lead the automotive aftermarket segment in India. The company, which sees about 80 percent of its revenue come from the aftermarket, currently has all its eight plants running at full capacity with 38,000-40,000 tonnes of tyres rolling out every month.

Mahindra is working on a new variant of Rexton which will be called as Rexton RX6.

Hyundai Xcent bagged over 11,000 bookings in just 30 days.

Mercedes Benz will launch new GL63 AMG in India at a grand event organized in Mumbai tomorrow. This would be the fifth vehicle from the AMG range making its way into the luxury car segment of the domestic market.

 Loss-making German automaker Opel, a unit of General Motors, could steer back to profit as early as next year, its chief said in an interview on Monday.

Automotive Update - 13/04/2014

India has become the fourth biggest market for Renault's compact sports utility vehicle Duster globally, with sales touching 85,974 units in the country, since the launch of the vehicle in 2012.

The United States has proposed eliminating over 30 years its tariffs on Japanese motor vehicles but Japan rejected the proposal because the time period is unusually long, Kyodo News reported on Saturday.

 German car producer BMW Group has recalled almost half a million cars with 6-cylinder engines, since realising that a screw in the engine compartment could possibly break and damage the engine in rare cases, a company official said Friday.

it has emerged that Honda India has created a page for the upcoming Mobilio MPV on its website, with this new page giving out details about the upcoming model. The page states that the Honda Mobilio launch in India will happen in a “few months from now”.

SKF is supplying Volkswagen with energy efficient bearings to the E-powertrain of their first full electric vehicle, the e-up!.  SKF is supplying customized tapered roller bearings and SKF eDrive Ball Bearings to the electric motor and gearbox of the e-up!, which was launched the Fall of 2013. 

 India became net steel exporter in 2013-14 after a gap of six years and is likely to maintain the momentum in 2014-15 as producers are looking to dock more overseas shipment to tide over subdued domestic consumption.

The Nissan Versa sedan (Sunny in India) is all set to get a facelift in the USA, which will make its launch at the upcoming New York International Auto Show on 16th April, 2014. The updated Sunny was also showcased at the 2014 Auto Expo in India earlier this year and the company has scheduled to launch the facelifted version by July this year in the country. 

Hyundai is planning to bring the mill which powers the European i10, a 1.0L three cylinder engine producing 65bhp power and 95Nm of torque in EON.

Jaguar Land Rover delivered a healthy sales performance during the first quarter of 2014, selling 124,776 vehicles, which is up by 8%. Much of this sales success is due to the good demand for the new and refreshed Jaguar and Land Rover line up which was enhanced during this period by Jaguar’s 15MY introductions, the sales debut of the Jaguar F-TYPE coupé and a strong performance from Range Rover Sport.

Automotive Update - 12/04/2014

•  The management-employees standoff over lockout at Toyota Kirloskar Motor's two plants at Bidadi near here is persisting as renewed talks between them failed to reach any consensus today. "Deliberations are still on. We have called a meeting again on Tuesday. Hopefully, we may reach some settlement that day," Additional Labour Commissioner J TJinkalappa told PTI. 

• Passenger vehicle sales in India slumped 6 per cent in 2013-14, marking the biggest rout in a decade. Although the government had announced a 4-6 per cent cut in excise duty in February, it failed to lift the mood in a market weighed down by rising costs and higher interest rates. The auto industry, however, pegged hopes on a new, stable government reviving demand.

• The Duster which is being sold in over 100 international markets under Dacia and Renault brands has crossed an important production milestone of one million. The affordable compact crossover SUV took four years to achieve this feat.

• CEAT Tyres launched their first ever luxury tyre, CZAR, in Mumbai, thus heralding their entry into the luxury tyre segment. Catering to the SUV Radial market, these tyres are claimed to be different from the rivals with great cornering stability and uniform wear while treading the road. The company also launched their Gripp LN Tires for the premium passenger car segment.

•  Happy Birth day to Honda's baby sedan – Honda Amaze. Honda had launched Amaze on April 11 exactly a year back. Its been a complete joy ride for the Japanese manufacturer, numerous milestone achieved with the Amaze in the entire last year. Thanks to the blistering success of Amaze and with new City in diesel coming to the party, Honda has raced close to the no 3 position in the Indian car maket after Maruti and Hyundai.

• World’s largest auto maker, Toyota has come up with a new set of petrol engines. These engines as the company says are more frugal than its current line-up of engines. Toyota’s new petrol engines comprise of a 1.0 litre, three cylinder engine and a 1.3 litre, four cylinder motor. Barring the current trend of bestowing turbocharging and direct injection technology in engines as done by other auto makers to compensate reduced engine capacity of stripped down motors, Toyota has stuck to its hybrid set up.

• Ster, the Polish manufacturer of high quality seats for inter-city coaches, buses, mini-buses and trams of the highest European standard, has come out with its latest innovation – the ultralight seat family for city buses. The new range of seats showcased at the Busworld show in Kortrijk last year comes with a host of advantages to customers, including significant fuel savings.

• After witnessing a dismal 2013-14 fiscal year, the Indian commercial vehicle industry is not exactly set for a recovery in the current fiscal, says independent rating agency ICRA.

• According to the agency, the degrowth for the 2014-15 fiscal year will rest at 6,36,000 units, marking a drop of 19.7 percent over the current fiscal. This, ICRA says, would be lower than the industry volume in 2010-11 – which was a successful year for the CV industry.

Automotive Updates - 11/04/2014

Car sales in India are expected to rise marginally this fiscal year after posting two straight years of decline, an industry body said on Friday."Not fancy growth but hopefully some moderate growth because there has been some improvement in GDP numbers in recent months," said Vikram Kirloskar, president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

The domestic commercial vehicles (CV) industry is likely to close 2014-2015 at 6,36,000 units, reflecting a 19.7% degrowth over the previous year says ICRA.

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) consolidated its position in the passenger vehicles segment by increasing its share to 42 percent in a declining market during 2013-14.

Its closest rival remained Hyundai Motors India Ltd with a 15.18 percent share, while Mahindra & Mahindra (10.15 percent) overtook Tata Motors (7.94 percent) to the third spot.

Fiat India has rolled out 300,000th vehicle from its manufacturing unit located in Ranjangaon, Pune. Fiat also supplies petrol and diesel engines to various auto makers in India including Maruti Suzuki India and Tata Motors. In 2013, Fiat touched the mark of manufacturing 5,00,000 powertrains from its manufacturing unit.

Dr Rai Singh Notay of specialist oil developer and producer Millers Oils has won an award for his experimental research into lubrication degradation. The product development engineer wrote his paper as part of a PhD and was awarded first prize for the ‘Communication in Engineering’ competition by the Yorkshire Automotive Division of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).

In one of the biggest vehicle recalls, Maruti Suzuki IndiaBSE -1.30 % is recalling 1,03,311 units of its popular models Ertiga, Swift and DZire manufactured between November 12, 2013 and February 4, 2014 to replace faulty fuel filler neck. 

Automotive Updates - 10/04/2014

Hoping for the domestic truck industry to consolidate in 2014, Daimler India Commercial Vehicle (DICV), Indian subsidiary of German commercial vehicle maker Daimler AG, today said it has drawn up plans to break-even by 2016.

according to latest news it is reported that these 1 lakh units will also include units of Ertiga and Swift hatchback also along with Swift Dzire as reported yesterday. Reports reveal that this recall will began from next week. According to a statement submitted by company to heavy industries and road transport ministries it will recall 1 lakh units of Swift, Swift Dzire and Ertiga produced during November 12, 2013 to February 4, 2014.

Tata Motors today launched an updated version of its crossover vehicle Aria, with price starting at Rs 9.95 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

SKF, the global supplier of global supplier of bearings, seals, mechatronics, lubrication systems, and services, has received Yamaha Motor Company’s Quality Gold Award for outstanding performance in 2013 for quality, delivery, service and supplier response management.

Tata Motors unveiled its Bolt hatchback and Zest compact sedan a few days prior to the Auto Expo 2014 held in February this year. A Tata official told the Economic Times newspaper that production of these cars will commence in June or July, while the market launches will take place during the festive season.

Around a month after laying the foundation stone for its bus plant, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) has crossed the sales threshold of 10,000 BharatBenz trucks since their market launch in September 2012.

 With the Maharashtra State Government recently announcing its plans to issue 81.450 replacement auto-rickshaw permits, Bajaj Auto expects 3 wheeler demand to rise.

Fiat India Automobiles Ltd (FIAL) has rolled out the 300,000th car and from its state-of-the-art Ranjangaon plant in Pune. FIAL is a joint venture between Fiat S.p.A and Tata Motors. FIAL also produces and supplies world class petrol and diesel engines to leading automobile companies in India like Maruti Suzuki and TATA Motors.

Automotive Update - 09/04/2014

v  Even as Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) battles labour issues at its Bidadi, Karnataka plant, the company has announced a recall of its Innova MPV to rectify a faulty cable mounted in the  steering wheel. The recall will cover 44,989 Innovas manufactured between February 2005 and December 2008.

v  Volkswagen Launches Vento Preferred Special Edition

v  Despite a slowdown in the Indian economy and sluggish growth rates in the UK, Indian companies based in Britain are blitzing ahead, growing at double and even triple-digit rates, finds a new report by Grant Thornton in collaboration with CII. Bharat Forge, which tops the league tables, grew at a rate of 465% in 2013. 

v  Fiat India will be opening 42 new dealerships across the country by the end of this year. In less than a year, the company has inaugurated 108 dealerships scattered in various cities of the country. With the launch these dealerships, the company will have 150 standalone showrooms in India.

v  General Motors has bagged an Innovation Partnership Award along with global component supplier BorgWarner for collaboration in a newly developed solenoid valve that is part of a stop/start system for a 2015 GM vehicle that will be announced later.

v  Italian sportscar manufacturer Ferrari has announced that its production bonus for employees for 2013 will amount to 4,096 euro (Rs 3.39 lakh), the highest ever awarded in the company’s history.

v  Philippines-based Pilipinas TAJ Autogroup, which is Tata’s distributor in that area, will have 10 models available by the end of this year. The distributor’s general manager, Nicandro Mariano, who is quoted by BWorld online, adds that two showrooms were up and running, while a further six to seven will be added by the end of this year.

v  Sweden's Volvo, the world's second biggest truck maker, has put a partnership with Russian battle-tank maker Uralvagonzavod on hold due to increasing tensions between Ukraine and Russia, the truck maker said on Wednesday.

Automotive Update - 08/04/2014

·         The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India is likely to recall about one lakh units of its compact sedan Dzire to replace a faulty fuel tank part. 

·         MRF has topped the J D Power Asia Pacific 2014 India Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Index (TCSI) Study. With a score of 850 points, the tyre maker has ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction for a fifth consecutive year.

·         According to a report on Autocar India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) will launch the Toyota Etios Cross on May 7. 

·         German automaker Volkswagen said sales at its core passenger-car brand rose 4.8 per cent in March to 557,800 vehicles as growing demand from Europe and Asia outweighed declines in the Americas.

·         Vehicle owners in India who have to replace their tires prefer to repurchase the same brand of tires that were factory-installed on the vehicle when it was new, according to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2014 India Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Index (TCSI) Study SM released today.

·         Hover Automotive India (HAI), Nissan Motor India’s former sales and distribution partner in the country, is winding up its operations, less than two months after the partnership was formally ended.

·         Ricardo, the multi-industry consultancy for engineering, technology, project innovation and strategy, and Italian design house EXNOVO have tied up to provide high quality engineering and design services to the world’s leading motorcycle and scooter manufacturers .

·         General Motors Co is expected to announce on Tuesday a $450 million investment plan in two of its Michigan plants to bolster its electric car research and production capabilities.

Automotive Update - 07/04/2014

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• The US$ 16.7 billion Mahindra Group has appointed Ruzbeh Irani as Chief Group Communications & Ethics Officer, from April 1 this year. Ruzbeh is also a member of the Mahindra Group Executive Board.
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• Honda Cars India is gearing up to produce two of its new offerings, the Mobilio and Jazz. A report on Autocar Professional says that production of the Mobilio will commence in June this year at Honda India’s Greater Noida plant. Production of the Jazz will commence at Honda’s Tapukara facility as early as July this year, according to Autocar.
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• Italian scooter maker Piaggio estimates a fall of around 8% in first-quarter net revenues at current exchange rates, as a weaker Indian rupee deepens a drop in sales on that market.
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• General Motors' European brand Opel plans to start selling an all-electric compact car no later than by 2017 as the automaker is striving to meet EU emission targets, Automobilwoche reported on Sunday.
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• Tata MotorsBSE -0.46 % is close to finalising a joint project with its British subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover to develop a premium sports utility vehicle that could be priced at Rs 20-25 lakh and pitted against the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour and Hyundai Santa Fe. 
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• Buoyed by the response to its cars, Fiat Group Automobiles India Private Ltd (FGAIPL), the fully owned subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, will be introducing four new models by December this year, 
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• Escorts, a Delhi-based industrial conglomerate, is planning to restructure its auto component business and is looking out for a strategic partner to expand operations.The Rs 4,000-crore Escorts Group, widely known as a tractor maker, is expecting the move to result in a strategic foray to high value-added products in the auto space.
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• Global chemical major BASF and Toda Kogyo Corp, one of the industry leaders in the development and manufacture of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, have announced that they will enter exclusive negotiations to form a joint venture for cathode active materials (CAM) based in Japan.
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• A report on Business Standard quotes a Gujarat government official who is said to be close to the development, saying that the Honda  has shown interest in a 250 acre land parcel in Vithalapur. The town of Vithalapur is about 67 km from Sanand and 32 km from Hansalpur, where Maruti Suzuki’s contentious plant is set to come up.