Automotive Updates - 23rd September 2014

• The Delhi High Court today dismissed Haryana's plea challenging its order restraining the state from prosecuting car maker Maruti for not having prior environment clearance (EC) for its unit in Rohtak. While rejecting the plea of Haryana State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw observed that the matter was being pursued "to satisfy the ego of some officers" and hoped it will not be pressed further.(economicstimes.com)

• In a bid to expand its global footprint, Magna International Inc, the leading global automotive supplier with 317 manufacturing operations and 83 product development, engineering and sales centres in 29 countries, has announced the establishment of two new manufacturing facilities in Sanand Gujarat.  Of the two new plants, one is expected to manufacture complete seating systems for an upcoming model. This 215,000-square- -foot plant is expected to employ around 200 people and will begin volume production next year. Sources tell us this will be done for Ford India for the carmaker’s future offerings for India as well as international markets.(Autocarpeo.in)

• Mahindra has updated  the Xylo MPV and has revised the prices of only the BS4 variants. The changes are both external as well as internal. On the mechanical front, it is believed that the suspension has been updated.(carwale.com)

• Group companies of Japanese multinational, Honda Motor Company, in India (Honda Cars India, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, Honda Siel Power Products, Honda R&D (India) and Honda Motor India), have announced a contribution of Rs 3 crore towards the relief and recovery efforts in Jammu & Kashmir. The contribution is aimed at providing relief and rehabilitation for affected people and reconstruction of areas devastated by the floods and landslides that hit the state this month. (autocarpro.in)

•  Toyota has been working on a new mid-sized sedan for India that shall compete against Honda's popular City sedan in India. The project is kept under wraps for now and reportedly the new vehicle is expected to be launched in the market by 2016. Spokesperson from Indian partners Toyota Kirloskar said, “the company "would like to refrain from commenting on any future products or plans.”(cartrade.com)

•  In the 271st Council Meeting held immediately after the 50th AGM held here yesterday, K V S Prakash Rao was unanimously elected as the President of Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) for the year 2014-15.(ETauto.com)

• Mercedes Benz India has announced launch of their new GLA Class on September 30, 2014 which will be immediately followed by an AMG variant sometime in October. GLA Class will not be offered in four wheel drive while a 4MATIC system will be available on the AMG variant.(rushlane.com)

• Hot hatch lovers have the option to buy a different kind of firecracker this festive season, as the new 2014 Volkswagen Polo GT TDI and TSI have been launched by the German car manufacturer. The new Polo GT TDI gets a 1.5 litre TDI motor this time, instead of the 1.6 litre mill which propelled the outgoing fast hatch. It still makes an identical 105PS of power and 250Nm of torque though. The new Polo GT TSI, with its four-cylinder 1.2-litre TSI turbocharged petrol engine packs a 105PS punch, which is backed up by 175Nm of torque and it essentially is the same car, except for a few styling updates.(motoroids.com)

• Just a day after announcing its plans for festive season, country’s leading car manufacturing company MSIL has launched the limited edition of its hatchback Wagon R in Indian car market named as Wagon R Krest. As reported earlier yesterday the car maker had announced to launch limited editions of Swift and Swift Dzire as Silver Plus and Regalia during the upcoming festive season.(carkhabri.in)

• Launched in India two months ago, Honda’s first MPV for Indian market, Mobilio has garnered an overwhelming response from customers. In its short stint in domestic market so far, the vehicle has roped in 20,000 bookings till date. Rivalling primarily Maruti Ertiga in its segment, Mobilio in its first month outnumbered the former. With as many as 5530 units sold in August, Mobilio accounted for almost one third of HCIL’s sales last month in domestic market. (cartrade.com)

•  United States-based automotive component supplier, Magna International has signed a 50/50 joint venture agreement with Tata AutoComp Systems. This joint venture, which will be set up in Pune, will provide seating systems to future Tata Marcopolo products and other Tata commercial vehicles. Magna International is a leading global automotive supplier with 317 manufacturing operations and 83 product development, engineering and sales centres in 29 countries. (autocarpro.in)

• Delphi Automotive PLC has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Antaya Technologies Corp. enhancing the company's portfolio in the rapidly growing automotive electrical connectors business.Antaya manufactures on-glass connectors for the automotive glass industry in North America, with a growing customer base in China and Europe. Antaya also supplies lead-free connectors, another area of growth, as global automakers seek more lead-free content in their vehicles.(ETauto.com)