Automotive Updates - 29th October 2014

• After demonizing industry by her fierce resistance to land acquisition, first as an opposition leader and then as West Bengal’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee is bending over backward to woo investors back to the state, and her first target appears to be the Tata group. On Tuesday, Partha Chatterjee, West Bengal’s education minister and a spokesperson for the ruling Trinamool Congress party said Tata Motors Ltd was welcome to return to its abandoned Singur factory, signalling the state government’s willingness to resolve its spat with the car maker through discussions.(livemint.com)

• Two-wheeler makerHero Electric today launched two models of e-cycles under Avior range, priced at between Rs 18,990 and Rs 19,290 (ex-showroom Delhi). The e-cycles that aim to tap corporate professionals in metro cities will also be available in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. (ETauto.com)

• Audi Q7 3.0 TDI has become the victim of brake system flaw, 382 units out of 5,000 Q7 SUVs sold in India are recalled for vacuum brake line replacement. This is a part of global recall of 70,000 Audi cars including the models A4, A5, A6, A7, Q5 and Q7.(rushlane.com)

• To facilitate seamless movement of tourist buses across Indian States, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) introduced a system for an All-India permit (AIP) or national permit for long distance tourist buses playing across the country, according to  the ministry website. As per the new plan, once the AIP is collected the central government will distribute the same to various States and Union Territories (UTs). The government will charge annual fees from tourist operators based on the type and size of the buses.(autocarpro.in)

• Indian Autos Blog learns that the new Maruti Alto K10 will launch in the first week of November. Dealers of Maruti-Suzuki have already started accepting orders for the premium entry car for a sum of INR 10,000.(indianautoblogs.com)

• Maruti turns to railway network to finish its back orders and deliver products on time to its customer who tend to run away after seeing long waiting periods. In a different approach this time, Maruti has started shipping its car via the railway network instead of the usual road network. This move is because the competition is getting stiffer and waiting time means other manufacturers take the advantage who have vehicles ready to deliver off the shelf or have less waiting period for their cars. Most back orders as we know are for their most popular hatchback Swift and Alto that are segment leading products since the moment they were introduced in the market years ago.(motorbeam.com)

• Union minister Kalraj Mishra gave small and micro enterprises a reason to breathe easy at the time of economic gloom. The macro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) minister on Tuesday hinted at amendments in exemption of excise duty on goods manufactured by the units.Mishra said the government is considering making amendments as rising prices of raw materials are taking a toll on the profitability of small-scale units and "they are losing out to the growing influence of Chinese products" in Indian market. (ETauto.com)

• A report on the Times of India states that Hyundai has received over 40,000 bookings for the Elite i20 in a short span of two months. Bookings for the Elite started on August 1, and the car was launched on August 11. Hyundai announced that it had received 15,300 bookings and 79,200 enquiries within 20 days of the launch. (indianautoblogs.com)

• Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) announced the opening of its 800th HEAD viz. Honda Exclusive Authorized Dealer with the inauguration of its new 4S (Sales/ Service/ Spares/ Safety) facility in the state of Karnataka.With 3170 dealers already in place across India, HMSI becomes the second largest 2 wheeler dealer network in the country.With the expansion of sales capacity, Honda continued its spree of spreading wings in India and reaching out to customers through expanded network in an aggressive manner.(motoroids.com)