Automotive Updates - 13th August 2014

• Tata Motors on Wednesday said it has plans to export its new car ‘Zest´ to Asian and African markets. Zest, was launched in Kerala market on Wednesday with the base petrol variant starting at Rs.4.80 lakh and diesel at Rs.5.85 lakh (ex-showroom kochi), a day after the national launch in Mumbai. There are plans to export to Asian and African markets,“ but present focus would be on the domestic market, John O. Cooner, vehicle line director (passenger vehicles) at Tata Motors, told reporters here.(livemint.com)

• Around 300 contractual workers employed by Hero MotoCorp's spare parts wing in Sector 33 were allegedly evicted by the police in the wee hours of Tuesday as they sat protesting the firm's proposal to shift its contractual workforce from this facility to a new one in Neemrana, Rajasthan.(ETauto.com)

• Maruti Suzuki’s petrol K-series engine series has crossed the 25-lakh production milestone early in August. The landmark comes six years after the first K-series engine was manufactured in October 2008. The 500,000 engine mark came up on August 20, 2010; four years and 20 lakh units more later, the 25-lakh unit has been crossed. Powering some of the carmaker’s bestselling cars such as the Alto K10, Celerio, Wagon R, Swift, Dzire, Ertiga and the Ritz, the K-engine family represents an era of compact lightweight, fuel efficient and next-generation petrol engine technology in India. The K-series engines also powers the alternate fuel (CNG and LPG) vehicles offered by Maruti. .(autocarpro.in)

image from autocarpro.in

• Country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki has come up with special schemes to lure country's government employees. The move comes at a time when major car-makers in the country are affected with poor sales numbers. The special campaign is expected to usher in a strong lot of buyers to the country's most preferred carmaker.(cartrade.com)

• Royal Enfield will enter emerging markets in Latin America and South East Asia, says a report on Economic Times. This move comes close on the heels of the vintage bike maker setting foot in Colombia, and appointing a distributor over there.(motoroids.com)

image from thehindu.com

• Ahead of a market launch which is reported to take place next month, Maruti Suzuki have started production of the Maruti Ciaz sedan at their plant in Manesar, Haryana. As these images from Gaadiwaadi show, India’s largest car maker is believed to have made over 600 units of the sedan already.(indianautoblogs.com)

• An interactive session was held at Spark Minda, part of the Ashok Minda Group on August 11, for members of the ACMA - Young Business Leaders’ Forum (YBLF).   The aim of the forum is to groom young business leaders from the auto component industry through sharing of experiences for meeting challenges in establishing and running a successful family owned business with special focus on succession planning.(autocarpro.in)

• BMW will launch the 2015 facelift version of its premium luxury SUV - X3 on August 28, in India. This car has been selling in the Indian market since 2011 and this will be the second update to the X3, the first one being a major refresh in 2013. However, the X3 hasn't been able to gain popularity compared to its direct rival - the Audi Q5.(teambhp.com)

• Hero Electric, as the name suggests, is the electric wing of country's popular bike-maker Hero MotoCorp. Hero Electric has launched its very own high-speed electric scooter rechristened as 'Photon' for the Indian market. The company stated that, “the product earned exceptional response during test marketing in select markets and was on waiting.” Hero Electric Photon has been launched in country at an attractive price tag of about 54,110 (ex-showroom, Delhi). The electric scooter is launched in three interesting shades of Vanilla White, Vivid Burgundy and Velvet Black. For now, the scooter is available across 5 major cities in India. .(cartrade.com)