Automotive Updates - 22nd April 2015

• Swedish commercial vehicles major Volvo plans to invest around Rs 500-700 crore in India in next five years to expand business activities in the country."Our capital expenditure is always spread over a period of 3-4 years. So, we have already invested close to Rs 1,000 crore over the last one decade. There is a plan to invest Rs 500-700 crore in the next five years," Kamal Bali, Volvo India Managing Director told PTI on the sidelines of Hero Mindmine Summit.(businesstoday)

• Mahindra & Mahindra has inaugurated an extension to its Zaheerabad automotive manufacturing facility in Telangana in which it has invested Rs 250 crore. In a statement, the company said that the extended facility, which was opened today by Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, will manufacture the P601 small commercial vehicle slated for launch in the first half of 2015. With the extended facility, production capacity at M&M’s Zaheerabad unit will stand augmented to 92,000 vehicles per annum  while overall capacity will be 140,000 vehicles per annum - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/mahindra-mahindra-expands-zaheerabad-plant-roll-cv-8258#sthash.I0uDjc1N.dpuf

• Oerlikon on Wednesday inaugurated its third Drive Systems Segment's plant at Sanand, Gujarat."With this new capacity we will continue our journey in India and upgrade our capabilities in high-tech driven products strongly supporting our customers in developing new innovative solutions for the domestic as well as international markets", said Dr. Bernd Matthes, CEO of Oerlikon's Drive Systems Segment on its 10th global production facility.Oerlikon's Drive Systems Segment has been present in India since 1999 and has production facilities of both its brands Oerlikon Graziano and Oerlikon Fairfield at Greater Noida and Belgaum respectively.(ETauto.com)

•  Pininfarina SpA jumped 11% in Milan trading as the chairman of the designer of Ferrari SpA cars said he welcomed Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd’s interest in buying the Italian company.“We are pleased” that India’s largest maker of sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) has shown interest, said chairman Paolo Pininfarina in Milan on Wednesday. “I can’t confirm nor can I exclude” that a deal will be signed before Pininfarina holds its annual general meeting on 29 April, he said.(livemint)

• After Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Chandigarh, Jaipur also got its auto rickshaw mobile app ChalogeKya developed by city-based young entrepreneur Apoorv Sharma.With ChalogeKya application, passengers with smartphones can locate and call the closest auto rickshaw for pick-up. The application is free for passengers. (ETauto.com)

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