Automotive Updates - 27th and 28th September 2014

• American bike maker UM Motorcycles has agreed to form an equal joint venture with electric two-wheeler maker Lohia Auto to manufacture and market its products, starting with cruiser motorcycles."We have finalised our terms with the Indian company to start a joint facility and roll out the American bikes in the domestic market," Rajeev Mishra, director at UM Motorcycles India, told ET.He said a definitive agreement for the 50-50 venture with an initial investment of Rs 120 crore will be signed shorty. (ETauto.com)

• Mark Exhaust Systems Limited (MESL), a joint venture between Rattan Kapur & Associates and Maruti Suzuki India made two acquisitions in the past few months and looks at taking its Group turnover (Rattan Kapur & Associates) from Rs 1,400 crore in FY14 to Rs 2,000 crore by next fiscal year. The company, a couple of weeks ago, acquired 100% stake in Haryana-based BWI Shock Absorbers for $ 1.5 million. (economicstimes.com)

• Czech carmaker Skoda has been chalking out plans in recent times to gain a good amount of popularity in the local market. Recently, Skoda India has launched the new Rapid sedan with 1.5 Liter TDI engine and 7 speed DSG automatic transmissions. The new Rapid is available at a starting price tag of Rs. 7,22,230 (Ex-Showroom Delhi). As for colours, the new Rapid features options like Brilliant Silver, Candy White, Cappuccino Beige, Deep Black Pearl, Flash Red and the new Toffee Brown colour.(cartrade.com)

• Global commercial vehicle major Daimler is looking to replicate the success of its trucks business in India in the bus segment as well with its new bus plant in the country slated to be operational by second half of next year. "In the second half of next year, we will launch buses under the Mercedes Benz and Bharat Benz brands. Indian bus market is huge. (Bus operations) will be fully comparable to what we have achieved in trucks in India," Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) Managing Director and CEO Erich Nesselhauf said. (economicstimes.com)

• Mahindra will launch the Quanto with an automated manual transmission (AMT) by end of the financial year. The Indian carmaker expressed its intention of launching an AMT on the Quanto at the Auto Expo this year, and had also showcased the car. Mahindra referred to the technology as ‘autoSHIFT’.(indianautoblogs.com)

• Volkswagen AG is planning to deploy SEAT into India aiming at budget car segment dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai. If the plan works well on paper, SEAT could be introduced in the country by 2018. Right now SEAT is the only brand left to be established in India from Volkswagen AG’s stable.(rushlane.com)

• Ford has decided to phase out its best-seller Figo hatchback from India and will replace the model with a new-generation car — also to be badged as Figo — by late next year. The company will also phase out Classic' entry sedan to make way for the new mid-size car that was showcased at the Delhi Motor Show in February this year. (economicstimes.com)

• Maruti Suzuki has launched a limited edition of the Celerio hatchback called the VXi+. Based on the VXi variant, it features some cosmetic changes and additional accessories. Maruti claims that these changes cost Rs. 20,000, but will be available for customers at a reduced price of Rs. 13,990.(team-bhp.com)

• In its first month of launch, Honda Motor's Mobilio has captured the second spot in India's utility vehicles market, outselling Toyota Motor's Innova and Maruti Suzuki's Ertiga. Honda sold 5,539 units of the multi-purpose seven-seat vehicle in August, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. The data indicate the Mobilio eating into the market share of similarly sized Innova and Ertiga as well as Ford Motor's compact sportutility vehicle EcoSport. The Ford vehicle kept its fourth place intact as the Ertiga fell two places down to the fifth spot on the list led by Mahindra & Mahindra's Bolero, which still sees strong demand, especially from rural and semi-urban buyers, despite being in the market for many years. (economicstimes.com)

• Skoda has said that it has put its Indian investments on hold due to uncertainties with regard to policy framework. The Czech automaker in an interview with ET has said that it has put its small car project on hold and will invest on facilitating existing projects. Sudhir Rao, chairman and MD of Skoda Auto India, said that various issues like technology transfer agreement; fine by the CCI on several automakers as well as several other issues has prompted it to put its plan on hold. He added that they would reconsider the decision if the uncertainties with regard to policy is cleared. (carwale.com)