Automotive Updates - 12th July 2014

• On the sidelines of the Tata Zest media drive program, Tata officials confirmed to Indian Autos Blog that the compact sedan will be launched in August.

• Mercedes-Benz India will launch the much-awaited compact sedan CLA on July 22. This is the third new generation car to be launched in India after the A Class hatch and B Class tourer. The three-pointed star will unveil the CLA 45 AMG, the premium-priced performance variant, before introducing out the regular compact sedan at a later date. 

• In May, BMW India launched the new BMW X5 in India. According to a report, BMW India will be launching the 5 seater X5 soon.  The X5 currently on sale in India features a 7 seat arrangement in 2+3+2 configuration. Akin to the 7 seater model, the 5 seater model will also be assembled at the Chennai plant.

• After tasting great success at the box office this year, actress Alia Bhatt has bagged another endorsement in her kitty.Alia has been signed as the brand ambassador for Hero Motocorp and will be starting off her association with the company with a new ad campaign for Pleasure, one of Hero's best selling scooter targeted at women. Alisa also shot for the ad campaign in Manali last week.

• German automaker, Volkswagen is gearing up to open a second regional Parts Distribution Centre (PDC) in India. This PDC will be located at Bangalore and is expected to be fully functional by the second quarter of 2015.

• Unveiled at the 2014 Auto Expo in February this year, Hero MotoCorp has silently launched the Passion Pro TR in India. Based on the Passion Pro 100 motorcycle, the Passion Pro TR is a rugged off-roadesque version that gets subtle additions making the bike well equipped to handle rough roads. Compared to the standard version, the Passion Pro TR sports a host of upgrades such as sturdier handlebars with cross brace, a headlight grille, knuckle guards, knee pads, on-off road tyres, bash plate to shield the engine and a higher front fender with tyre hugger.

• The road transport ministry has circulated a cabinet note with the proposal to take out battery-operated vehicles with engines of up to 650W from the ambit of Motor Vehicles Act, officials told TOI. The move comes barely days after the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre, asking if the law regulating motor vehicles was applicable to this mode of transport.Last month, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari had promised that the government would amend the Act so that livelihood of over one lakh e-rickshaw drivers is protected and police don't harass them.

• German car parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen's takeover offer for rival TRW looks unlikely to draw rival bids for the U.S. company but could trigger further deals down the line, bankers and analysts said on Friday.Privately held ZF, a powertrain and chassis specialist, said on Thursday that it was in early talks to buy TRW in a deal that would create one of the world's biggest component makers with combined revenue of $40 billion.

• Launching the A-Class luxury hatchback in India turned out to be one of the best decisions made by Mercedes-Benz. Not only is the hatchback a success internationally, the A-Class met with aggressive demand in India as well post launch in 2013. The demand has been so overwhelming that Mercedes is having a hard time keeping up with deliveries, due to the limited number of CKD kits allocated for India. Now, taking a page from Mercedes’ success story, German auto giant Volkswagen too is planning to launch the Golf premium hatchback in the country.

• The deal would expand ZF's mechanics-heavy portfolio to include airbags, collision sensors and other electronics with possible applications in self-driving cars - an area where investment is booming to reflect potentially high returns.

• Tata Nano AMT speculated to come in August 2014

•  image from wikipedia.com