Automotive Updates - 29th August 2014

• After three years of extensive deliberations on the contentious VAT refund incentive issue, the Maharashtra state government and automakers from the state have reached an agreement, thus paving the way for a slew of fresh MoUs worth over Rs 11,510 crore. (economicstimes.com)

• After imposing a penalty of Rs 2,545 crore on 14 carmakers for unfair trade practices, the CCI on Friday said it wanted to ensure that spare parts maintenance market gets less expensive for consumers.The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday penalised the auto makers for unfair business ways in the spare parts and after services market.(businesstoday.in)

image from livemint.com

• Maruti will have two compact SUVs in its portfolio come 2016, with the first one set to launch early next year in the form of the SX4 S-Cross. The S-Cross, though a compact SUV, measures more than 4 meters in length and hence will rival the likes of the Duster and Terrano, the company’s Chairman, R C Bhargava, said. Further, the chairman revealed that both SUVs will be available with petrol, diesel and CNG configurations to extend their market reach.(indianautoblogs.com)

• While BMW Group India will launch four new models – M3, M4 Coupe, M5 sedan and i8 hybrid – during the rest of 2014, its premium lifestyle brand Mini will also see the addition of a new model by the year-end, according to company president Philipp von Sahr. At present the Mini brand is available as the Mini hatchback, Mini convertible and Mini Countryman models in India and has a limited number of four dealerships in large cities. (Autocarpro.in)

• A report on The Hindu states that the used car market in India is expected to grow up to 2.5 times the size of the new car market owing to acceptance of used cars, increasing aspirations and expansions of organized used car sales outlets.( indianautoblogs.com)

• After starting a completely new segment of premium, retro-styled scooters in India with the Vespa range, Piaggio is now planning to introduce more modern technologies on the existing models. According to sources, working closely with Piaggio India, the company will be upgrading the current carburettor-equipped Vespa scooters with more advanced fuel injected ones.(Etauto.com)

• Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India is looking at nearly doubling the number of models to 25, including entry into SUV and LCV segments, as it aims a sales target of 3 million cars annually. The company will launch within a few months an SUV to compete with Renault’s Duster, which will be followed by a compact SUV in 2016 to take on segment leader Ford EcoSport, as part of a strategy to be present in newer segments of the passenger vehicle market.(livemint.com)

• The Hyundai Elite i20 whose bookings opened on August 1, ahead of its launch on 11th, has garnered over 12,000 orders in the first 15 days of the price announcement. As of 12th August, the new hatchback clocked 4,600 bookings. ( indianautoblogs.com)

• Suzuki has released an official image of its upcoming crossover and has named it Vitara. The crossover might be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October, 2014. The production model of the Vitara is based on the iV-4 concept first shown at the Frankfurt motor show in 2013.(carwale.com)

• The recently launched Honda Mobilio resulted in the production of Honda City sedan moving out of Greater Noida to the company plant in Rajasthan. This shift of the City has affected production and has in turn caused changes in supplies to the market resulting in longer waiting periods.(rushlane.com)