Automotive Updates - 23rd July 2014

• Honda launches their much awaited 7 seater - Mobilio, in India (link to our official review).The Mobilio is launched with a 1.5L petrol and a 1.5L diesel engine with claimed mileage figures of 17.3 kmpl and 24.2 kmpl respectively.(teambhp.com)

• The BMW 7 Series Active Hybrid luxury sedan (in long wheelbase specification) is now on sale in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai at INR 1.35 crore (ex-showroom Pan-India). The limousine is the first hybrid offering in India by any in the German trio.(indianautoblog.com)

• Giving cosmetic changes to its bestseller in the executive commuter segment (125cc), the CB Shine, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has rolled out the 2014 edition of the model. The minor changes include new graphics and two new colour options – pearl amazing white and dual-tone red and black, in addition to the existing colour options of black, grey and red. According to the company, the cosmetically upgraded models will sell at the prevailing prices (across the CB Shine variants) without any additional costs. - (autocarpro.in)

• Renault is to supply Fiat with a light commercial vehicle based on a Renault platform, the French carmaker said in a statement on Tuesday.The Italian vehicle manufacturer will develop the styling, and the vans will be branded Fiat Professional, the statement said. It will be manufactured by Renault in France starting from the second quarter of 2016.(ETauto.com)

• While Honda was busy with the launch of its MPV Mobilio, the demand of Honda City surged to a new high. As per the latest information available, Honda City now attracts a waiting period of six to eight months (depending on the variant and city). Last month, Honda retailed more than 7700 units of City which is way more than its rivals Hyundai Verna, Fiat Linea and Skoda Rapid.(cardekho.com)

• The India unit of Honda Motor Co Ltd will account for 25 per cent of the Japanese carmaker's Asia Pacific sales target of 1.2 million units by March 2017, Managing Officer Yoshiyuki Matsumoto said on Wednesday. Honda plans to raise the number of dealers in India to 230 by March 2015 from 179 now, said Hironori Kanayama, president and chief executive officer, Honda Cars India Ltd. (ETauto.com)

• The Ford Fiesta was ranked as the UK’s best-selling vehicle ever. First launched in 1976, the car has registered a total sales of 4,115,000 units as of this month.(motoroid.com)

• After Mercedes-Benz, its close rival BMW is on a product offensive in India. While the German automaker already sells vehicles ranging from sedans to SUVs to coupes and convertibles in India, the company is aiming to improve its portfolio by launching even more products. BMW will be launching the M3, M4, M5, X3 and i8 .(motorbeam.com)

• Volkswagen's chief executive said on Wednesday that the multi-brand automotive group "urgently" needs higher profit to help fund future expansion."Over the short-term, we urgently need more efficiency and higher profit," CEO Martin Winterkorn told a staff gathering at VW's main factory in Wolfsburg, Germany. .(ETauto.com)

• The Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) is in talks with the government for a pilot project for electric two-wheelers in Goa. The project is expected to commence in a few months. Goa has been zeroed down upon as the first Indian state for the project as it will have the infrastructure in terms of centrally-funded battery-swapping station network. According to Sohinder Gill, director, SMEV and CEO, Hero Electric, the pilot project envisages providing 300-500 electric two-wheelers without the batteries. These two-wheelers will be powered by lithium ion batteries made available at 16 battery-swapping stations. –(autocarpro.in)

• Chrysler on Tuesday said it would recall up to 792,300 sport utility vehicles to fix an ignition-switch problem, the same part involved in the massive General Motors recall. (ETauto.com)

•  image from wikipedia and ford website