Automotive Updates - 20th July 2014

• The Indian auto components industry has come of age. This was clearly reflected in the fact that the industry recorded a 16.7pc growth at Rs 61,487 crore (US $ 10.2 billion) for the year 2013-14 as compared to Rs 52,690 crore (US $ 9.7 billion) in 2012-13.  Europe accounted for 38 pc of exports followed by Asia at 25 pc, North America at 21 pc. Exports to Europe increased by 14.5 pc over the previous fiscal, while exports to Latin America and Asia registered a growth of 16.5 pc and 5.4 pc respectively. The key export items included engine parts, transmission parts, brake system and components, body parts, exhaust systems, turbochargers etc. (motown.com)

• Japan will offer at least 2 million yen ($19,700) in subsidies for fuel-cell vehicles, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said according to media, as the government and Japanese carmakers including Toyota Motor Corp join forces to speed up the introduction the vehicles.(ETAUTO.com)

• German luxury car maker Audi is betting big on its upcoming sedan A3 to stretch its leadership in the Indian market and has started local production of the model from VW group firm Skoda's Aurangabad plant. Read more (economictimes.indiatimes.com) 

• Federal-Mogul Holdings Corporation has announced the next step in its ongoing strategy to drive the global growth of its premium products and leading brands, and the company’s Vehicle Components Division has been renamed Federal-Mogul Motorparts with immediate effect. (www.motorindiaonline.in)

• Bhutan has lifted a ban on import of vehicles imposed a year ago, with dealers saying that most clients were interested in India made vehicles.The department of trade officially lifted the ban Saturday, Kuensel reported."Now that the new taxation is in place, the ban will be lifted with immediate effect," Bhutan's Economic Affairs Minister Norbu Wangchuk said. (ETAUTO.com)

• Tech Mahindra will collaborate with WSU and its National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), the largest academic aviation R&D institution in US, on multiple areas of engineering including composites, advanced materials and structural testing, it said in a statement. http://post.jagran.com/tech-mahindra-partners-wsu-for-aerospace-engineering-automotive-testing-1405591590

• The Indian automaker TATA will be initiating the Tata Motors Service Application (TMSA) which replaces the idea of physically filling up every service detail on the paper job card with an Android tablet at the time of service. Basically, customers who walk in to service their vehicles or need to get repairs done will no longer have to go through the tedious process of filling up the job card. Instead, a service advisor will use the VTAB Android device to create a digital job card, thereby reducing the time period very effectively.Read more at http://www.motorbeam.com/cars/tata-motors/tata-to-improve-customer-experience-with-new-vtab-app/#8AjhmPCfF3tmcFJR.99

• Bajaj Finance has decided to walk out of the construction equipment (CE) financing business due to muted profitability prospects, a top official has said."We have been very cautious about the business for over 18 months. Now, we have decided to exit it fully, looking at it from the profitability perspective," the Pune- headquartered company's chief executive Rajeev Jain told PTI. (ETAUTO.com)

•  image from www.executivechase.in

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