Automotive Updates - 5th August 2014

• Italian carmaker, Fiat has launched the Punto Evo in India at prices starting from of Rs. 4.55 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi). The Punto Evo replaces the Punto hatchback in the market.(teambhp.com)

• According to a newspaper report, Mahindra & Mahindra and Peugeot are looking to enter into a strategic alliance which could see both the brands benefiting from several synergies.According to top industry sources, a high level management team from Mahindra has already visited Peugeot’s head quarters in Paris to hold talks regarding the alliance. While Mahindra has not issued a statement in this regard, Peugeot stated that the Indian market remains to be in its focus but no discussions are underway for a rapid return to the sub-continent.( indianautosblog.com)

• Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL) does not want its customers to wait for long durations to receive their vehicles. So, the company has decided to shift the entire production of the new City to its Tapukara plant Rajasthan. Honda has decided that there will be no production of the Honda City in the month of August 2014. The production of Honda City will resume in first week of September 2014.(motoroid.com)

• Country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp on Tuesday reported 2.58 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 562.76 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2014.The company had posted a net profit of Rs 548.58 crore during the same period of previous fiscal.(businesstoday.in)

• Hall Visteon Climate Control Corp (HVCC), a full-line automotive supplier of climate systems and components and a 70-percent owned subsidiary of Visteon Corporation, has completed the acquisition of the automotive thermal and emissions product line of Cooper-Standard Automotive Inc, a subsidiary of Cooper-Standard Holdings, in a cash transaction valued at $46 million (Rs 280 crore). The acquisition plan was first announced on June 30. (autocarpro.in)

• Few months after the launch of refreshed Linea, Fiat has now brought in the facelifted Punto a.k.a Punto Evo in India today. While talking to Cardekho, the Italian automaker revealed that over the last seven months, the company has sold about 7,000 units of Punto and Linea in combined. Therefore, concluding the tally to an average sale of about 1,000 a month.“We have a lot of expectations from Punto Evo, and hope for a major sales boost in the near future, and right now, we are retailing about 1000 cars in a month,” the official said. (Cardekho.com)

• Pawan Munjal, currently managing director and CEO of Hero MotoCorp, has been elevated to a newly-created position of vice-chairman of the company. With the board of directors of the country’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer giving its approval at its meeting in New Delhi today, he will now hold the position of vice-chairman and managing director. (autocarpro.in)

•  Hindustan Motors today posted a net profit of Rs 12.44 crore for the quarter ended March 31. The company had posted a net loss of Rs 1.16 crore for the same period of previous fiscal.(ETauto.com)

• Renault Duster 4×4 gets a festive launch in October 2014. The new Duster 4×4 will be launched in only one variant and will come in with an all wheel drive system similar to that used by Nissan on their SUVs. This model is already on sale in International markets badged as a Dacia. (www.rushlane.com)

• Ultra-luxury auto maker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is working to develop a new model, which is expected to hit the market by mid-2016. The new car would further build on the success of company's existing product portfolio including Phantom, Ghost and Wraith. (economicstimes.com)

•  Subaru of America said it is recalling about 5,000 older model cars with passenger-side air bag inflators made by Takata Corp that may rupture and break into metal fragments that could harm passengers, the automaker and US safety regulators said on Tuesday. .(ETauto.com)

•  images from topgear.com and rediff.com