Automotive updates- 06/05/2014

• Tata Motors on Tuesday launched the all-new utility vehicle 'Movus' in the country, with price starting at Rs 6.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Powered by 2.2 Litre Varicor engine, the vehicle is engineered to deliver optimal performance in both city and highway conditions, Tata Motors said in a statement. 

• Mahindra & Mahindra today launched a new variant of SsangYong's sports utility vehicle Rexton in the country, priced at Rs 19.96 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). 

• Suzuki Motorcycles India, which first displayed its Let’s 110cc scooter in late January in Mumbai and then at the Auto Expo in February has formally launched the product in Chennai. The Let’s will compete in the very competitive 110cc segment that is now dominated by the Honda Activa. The Let’s is Suzuki’s first entry-level scooter offering and will cost Rs 46,925, ex-showroom, Chennai.

• Popular car models Maruti Swift, Swift Dzire and Honda Amaze declined for the first time in years in April. While companies attributed the fall in wholesale front to inventory correction and seasonality, analysts pointed to increasing competition from the likes of Hyundai Xcent and Grand 

• Hyundai Motor India has launched a one-litre Eon that will be sold along with the current 800cc Eon variant. The one-litre Eon will be available in the Magna+ variant and will retail at an ex-showroom, New Delhi of Rs 383,100.

• TVS confirmed that the company will be launching the Scooty Zest scooter in June this year, followed by the Victor motorcycle in the next quarter (July-September) and the new Apache set to release in the last quarter of 2014.

• Even as the Indian passenger vehicle market is going through a rough ride, the 4.7-billion euros European auto component maker Brose Ltd is diverting funds to Asian markets, including India, to explore their potential.Brose, one of the global leaders in windows regulator, door-and-latch modules, expects the Indian market to grow in double digits, and has recently doubled the capacity of its Pune plant.

• Nissan today inaugurated a new after-sales Parts Distribution Centre (PDC) in India. The new PDC facility is situated at Indospace SKCL Industrial Park in Sriperumbudur Taluk near Chennai and is built over an extensive 4.8 lakh sq. feet (45,000 sq.metre) area. It features a daily outbound volume of 2800 lines per day compared to the previous facility's 700 lines and has an increased dispatch rate of 90%, making it capable of dispatching parts the same day to different parts of India. 

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