Automotive Updates - 23rd April 2015

• Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has denied a report that it plans to increase its stake in South Korean automakerSsangyong Motor Co Ltd.CNBC-TV18 had on Wednesday said the Indian auto major is planning to raise its stake in the company to around 90 per cent to 95 per cent by year-end, without citing where it obtained the information. Putting speculations to rest, a spokesman for Ssangyong Motor on Friday said the Anand Mahindra-led company has denied the report. An official for M&M was not available to comment when contacted by Reuters.(businesstoday)

• India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki on Thursday said it will continue with its rural expansion plans despite a prediction of below par monsoon this year.It said however that weak monsoons have always remained a concern for the overall economy as well as the company. “Our programme of extending sales in these (rural) areas, by building more outlets continues. It is certainly not impacted by a report about the monsoon having the probability of being below par. We don’t change our plans on these reports,” Maruti Suzuki chairman R.C. Bhargava told reporters on the sidelines of Hero Mindmine Summit here.(livemint)

• Even as its yet to be launched quadricycle that will compete with autorickshaws, faces a slew of legal challenges in India, Bajaj Auto, after a three-year wait has decided to shift focus to export the four-wheeler passenger vehicle to traditional export strongholds such as Sri Lanka,Egypt and Nigeria.In an interview, Rajiv Bajaj, managing director, Bajaj Auto, said he was extremely keen to launch the product first in India, hoping that the category will get an approval soon, however, the uncertainty over how long the legal cases take to conclude in India, has forced the company to change plans.(ETauto.com)

• Localization of auto components of country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki might not be more than 95 per cent as certain highly sophisticated parts were required to be sourced from overseas suppliers, an official of the company said."Any model which the company has launched in India has 95 per cent localization. Some components which are highly sophisticated need to be sourced from outside since there is no production base here", R S Kalsi, Executive Director (sales and marketing) of Maruti Suzuki, said.(cartrade)

• Auto component-maker JBM Group today announced its entry into the solar energy sector with plans to invest Rs 1,600 crore in the next three years.The group plans to invest Rs 1,600 crore over three years and have a combined capacity of 300 MW under the newly formed entity JBM Solar (P) Ltd, the company said in a statement.JBM Solar plans to be an independent power producer (IPP) with focus on both, ground mounted and solar rooftop projects, it added. (ETauto.com)

• Bajaj Auto’s wait to launch its RE60 quadricycle in the domestic market has just got longer. First displayed at the 2012 Auto Expo, the quadricycle got stuck in a rut following the filing of petitions that challenged the amendment to the Motor Vehicle Act under which the quadricycle category itself was created. The crucial hearings in the Supreme Court have now been re-scheduled to mid-July. The case was slated to come up for hearing yesterday but has now been pushed ahead to be heard only after the Court’s summer vacation. - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/supreme-court-hearing-quadricycle-deferred-mid-july-8269#sthash.03lVyBRR.dpuf