Automotive Updates - 28th June 2014

•  India's automotive industry has lost about 25-30 lakh jobs in the last two years due to reduction in growth rate and slowdown in commercial vehicles, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Vice Chairman Vikram Kirloskar today said."...this industry currently employs or was employing about 29 million people beginning from the iron-ore mines to the dealerships and in the last two years with the kind of reduction in growth rate and slowing down of commercial vehicles etc, we have lost-we estimate at least 10 per cent of jobs across the industry," Kirloskar said.

• While acknowledging that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's pre-Budget 2014 decision to extend the excise duty cut on automobiles sector is a welcome step, Pawan Munjal, MD & CEO of Hero Motocorp said, "Excise duty cuts should have been extended till March 2016.""The need of the hour is a long-term, consistent excise policy," Munjal emphasised. "The auto sector still continues to be sluggish. Sub-normal monsoon is likely to dampen demand in rural areas," Munjal added.

• Hyundai Motor India Ltd today announced its exclusive scheme - 'Pride of India' designed for Central/State government employees. In this special initative, Government employees will be entitled to an additional benefit up to Rs. 30,000 depending upon various models. 

• General Motors (GM.N) chief executive Mary Barra said on Thursday more recalls are possible as the No. 1 U.S. automaker grapples with a series of safety problems that have prompted the recall of 20 million cars.Barra's comments in an interview with NBC came a day after GM issued its latest in a string of recalls, this one for 33,000 Chevrolet Cruze sedans with potentially defective air bags made by troubled Japanese supplier Takata Corp .

• Unable to make a big dent in the highly-competitive Indian car market, German car major Volkswagen is lining up a slew of budget cars to go head-on against market heavyweights like Maruti SuzukiBSE -1.52 %, Hyundai and Honda. In the works are a budget hatchback and an entry sedan apart from a mini SUV, group head Mahesh Kodumudi said. 

• Skoda India’s Managing Director, Mr. Sudhir Rao, said that his company is going to focus on the “value for luxury” segment rather than the volume segment, and that the immediate focus is on the Rapid’s segment and above. Mr. Rao said that the segment below the Rapid will be considered depending on “results on new strategies”, and if these results showed a profitable and sustainable model. However, the sub-Rapid segment would not be on Skoda India’s focus until end 2015.

• German carmaker, Volkswagen will launch the Polo facelift in India on July 15, 2014.The facelifted Polo gets changes to its exterior in line with the European Polo.

• Fiat Chrysler to enter India in 2015,the first two vehicles that will be launched in India will be the Cherokee and the Wrangler. They are expected to be niche vehicles and will be brought to the Indian market through the CBU route. However, it plans to localise assembly of the vehicles sometime in the future to keep the prices competitive.

• German industrial group Bosch will cut up to 400 jobs, or about a third of the workforce at a windscreen wiper factory in Tienen, Belgium, the company said on Thursday.

• May 2014 proved to be a blessing in disguise for Honda Motor Company as two of its Asian markets – Japan and India – posted record monthly production and domestic sales.

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