Automotive Industry updates - 14th and 15th February 2015

• Auto major Mahindra and Mahindra has proposed to invest Rs 4,000 crore for setting up a large manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu which would roll out the company's future models, a top official said today."Our investment will be Rs 4,000 crore in two stages. It will be spread across seven years."In the first phase, we will set up the test track facility. Second will be an automotive plant," Executive Director of Automobile Division, Pawan Goenka told reporters here.(ETauto.com)

• Apple Inc has a secret lab working on the creation of an Apple-branded electric car, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.The project has designed a vehicle that looks like a minivan, the newspaper quoted one person as saying. It would take years to finish the project, and it is not certain if Apple will eventually build a car, the Journal said. (http://on.wsj.com/1zBD9sL)(financialexpress)

• The Cricket World Cup kicked off on February 14, 2015 and as the official partner for International Cricket Council (ICC), Hyundai Motor India handed over the ‘First Ball’ for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Hyundai holds the exclusive rights for the First Ball Handover before the opening match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. At the ceremony, the set of First Balls were handed over by Sanjay Gupta, Sr. General Manager & Group Head – Marketing, Hyundai Motor India to the Match Umpire Simon Fry at Hagley Oval, Christchurch.(rushlane.com)

• The company, which manufacturers he Mitsubishi range of automobiles, Hindustan Motor Finance Corp Ltd (HMFCL), has announced that it is ready to launch the Mitsubishi Attrage sedan in the country. The company, which has been struggling to keep a pace in the Indian market, will also look forward to launch the Mitsubishi Delica MPV that would be able to compete with the likes of Toyota Innova.The company has systematically withdrawn a number of models from the market like Outlander, Cedia as well as the Lancer, on grounds of poor demand; the Japanese brand has only Pajero Sport as the lone model in the market. The Chennai manufacturing facility of HMFCL is heavily underutilised due to this factor. Apart from the Pajero Sport, the plant also takes care for the assembly of Isuzu MU-7 SUV as well as D-Max pickup truck temporarily. However, once the Isuzu’s Sri City factory is ready, the production will be stopped. HMFCL will be on the lookout for new partners for balancing out the losses incurred due to almost no production.(cartradde.com)

• Your daily ride is likely to cheaper as Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari plans to scrap as many as 125 toll plazas throughout the country by the end of February 2015. Gadkari said that 74 such projects have already been identified 61 have already been shut down. However, to cope up with the financial losses that the government will incur after the closure of these toll plazas, the road ministry has proposed raising the cess on petrol and diesel. The news might not be as joyful for prospective car buyers as the road ministry has also proposed implementing an additional 2 percent surcharge on new vehicles.(rushlane.com)

• Tata Motors was rumored to bedeveloping an SUV based on the Land Rover Freelander 2 (L359). Now, there are reports that this new SUV will be based on the same platform as the new Discovery Sport (L550). The L550 platform is a heavily modified derivative of the L359.This new SUV from Tata (codename: Q501), will be a 5-seater and powered by Fiat's 2.0 litre MultiJet II diesel engine.(team-bhp)