Automotive Updates - 30th and 31st August 2014

• Maruti Suzuki India  is confident of getting minority shareholders' nod to let parent Suzuki Motor Corp own and invest in its Gujarat facility and has no second option. "We are thinking of getting voting (done) in October... There is no plan B, I can't see why it should not happen," Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R C Bhargava told PTI in an interview. (economicstimes.com)

• Mahindra Group is breaking up its Moto GP team before competing in 2015 Moto3 season to pay more attention to supplying bikes to other teams. It is disheartening to learn that Mahindra Racing, India’s first FIM MotoGP team, will be disbanded. But on the bright side, Mahindra is moving forward as a race bike maker, with increasing rivals like San Carlo Team Italia, Team CIP and Ambrogio Racing riding its 250cc bikes on the track.(rushlane.com)

• The upcoming Maruti Y9T (codename), the company’s first attempt at the Light Commercial Vehicle segment, will have a payload capacity of 1 tonne, Mr. RC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL), told PTI.The payload capacity puts the Y9T head to head with the Tata Super Ace and right in between the Ace which has a payload capacity of up to 850 kg and the Ashok Leyland Dost which can (officially) carry up to 1.25 tonne.(indianautoblogs.com)

• Audi, the top-of-the-range car maker belonging to auto giant Volkswagen, said on Friday it is recalling 70,000 cars worldwide owing to potential problems with braking systems. An Audi spokesman told AFP that the recall affected the company’s A4, the A5, the A5 Cabrio, the A6, the A7 and the Q5 crossovers models (motoroids.com)

• Japanese bike maker Yamaha has been doing well in the Indian market in recent times, expanding its operations as each year progresses. Since the bike and scooter market has been expanding continuously in India, the Japanese firm has decided to do a little restructuring of its business formation. Yamaha Motor India Private Limited is going to be restarted and is going to function as the regional headquarters along with corporate control body in the sub continent.(cartrade.com)

• Hero MotoCorp no longer wishes to be reckoned just as a commuter motorcycle maker. The company has decided to go big and its target is not simple. Hero MotoCorp is on its way to more than world domination in two wheeler segment. The company has a combative ‘Vision 2020’ growth plan for India as well as rest of its markets around the world. By 2020, Hero MotoCorp intends to cross 100 million units in cumulative production and 12 million in annual motorcycle and scooter sales. This would be achieved by expanding and increasing its production and assembly facilities to 20+ across the globe. Hero plans to enter and conquer new markets and wants to establish grounds in more than 50 countries by 2020.(rushlane.com)               

• The Maruti Ciaz sedan is inching closer to its launch and the automaker has released the first print ad confirming this. The C-Segment sedan was already teased with a cat behind the steering last week. (indianautoblogs.com)

• In April this year, news surfaced that Mercedes-Benz was considering launching the V6 engined E-class in the Indian market. Now, months later, it has emerged that the German car maker will be launching the E350 CDI sedan in India on September 11. (motoroids.com)

• At the recent launch of BMW’s tweaked X3 SUV, the company proclaimed its plans to bring their performance oriented models to domestic market. Among the new vehicles slated to launch in India, M3 sedan, M4 coupe, M5 sedan and M6 Cope are included. From its M family, BMW will first bring M3 sedan and M4 coupe to domestic market. Both the vehicles are expected to be introduced by the end of this year. M3 sedan and M4 Coupe are largely same varying primarily in body style.(cartrade.com)

• The Yamaha Tricity has an additional wheel upfront to instill confidence amongst those who feel nervous on a bike. The wring-to-go scooter leans like a motorcycle, but thanks to two wheels leaning upfront, the chances of the rider ending up kissing the ground are lesser in comparison to a conventional two-wheeler. Taking that theory forward, or rather backwards, Yamaha has filed for patents for an electric two-wheeled scooter. Unlike the Yamaha Tricity which has two wheels at the front and a single wheel at the back, the patents are for a scooter with two rear wheels which will be driven individually by an electric hub motor. (motoroids.com)