Automotive Updates - 16th June 2014

• French auto major Renault today launched a special edition of its mid-sized sedan Scala in India priced between at Rs 8.48 lakh and Rs 10.51 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). 

• Steel Strips Wheels Ltd (SSWL), the Punjab-based automotive steel wheel manufacturer, has bagged an export order for supply of 30,000 wheels to the Russian passenger car aftermarket. The company says it is exploring the potential of supplying its entire product portfolio.

• Hero MotoCorp, India's largest two-wheeler maker, is looking to start selling bikes in the US next year, hoping to create a niche market for its products.

• The company, which entered as many as 18 global markets in the past one-and-a-half years, is confident that its motorcycles will be accepted well in the US.

• Work on a grounds-up platform codenamed “Amber” to underpin three vehicles is in motion at GM’s garage, Economic Times has reported.The platform will spawn competitors to the Maruti Swift, Honda Amaze and the Ford EcoSport, in Brazil, Russia, India, Thailand and Mexico.

• ArcelorMittal inaugurated an $832 million steel plant -- Valin AreclorMittal Automotive (VAMA) Steel -- to produce high strength automotive steels that are currently imported into the local market.

• Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today met representatives of automobile industry body SIAM and discussed challenges faced by the sector that is reeling under a prolonged demand slump."Discussed issues facing automobile industry with representatives of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)," Sitharaman tweeted.

• Yamaha Motor Co has produced its three millionth automotive engine today. To mark this milestone, a ceremony was held at its Iwata Main Factory and attended by Takaaki Kimura, the senior managing executive officer and representative director, as well as around 200 representatives from the Automotive Business Unit and the Manufacturing Center. 

• Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher is reported to have come out of coma and been moved out of the French hospital where he was being treated.

• Suzuki India has slashed the price of the the Suzuki GW250 Inazuma by a whole INR 1 lakh, Overdrive reports. The new price stands at INR 2.1 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi) Suzuki has confirmed the price alignment after many prospects did not convert to customers because of the steep price.

• By 2025, more than 75 percent of all new pickup trucks produced in North America will be aluminium-bodied, according to a survey of automakers conducted by Ducker Worldwide, global consulting and research firm.