Automotive Updates - 11th and 12th May 2015

• Royal Enfield, the two-wheeler division of Eicher Motors, has acquired UK-based Harris Performance Products Ltd for an undisclosed sum.Under the terms of the deal, Royal Enfield will acquire all assets, employees, trade names, technical know-how and intellectual property of Harris Performance Products Ltd, the company said in a statement without disclosing the deal value.(financial express)

• Sekisui DLJM Molding, a joint venture of Sekisui Chemical Co Ltd and Dipty Lal Judge Mal, has opened its third plant at the Yamaha Suppliers Park in Chennai on May 8. Sekisui DLJM, a prominent supplier to Yamaha in India, has invested Rs 300 crore in the new plant with total 9 injection molding machines installed. Yamaha will begin production at its new Chennai plant later this year, which is when Sekisui DLJM will expand the new plant with 11 more machines. Overall, the plant can take up to 35 injection molding machines.  - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/sekisui-dljm-plant-chennai-cater-yamaha-8387#sthash.G4EAzYhu.dpuf

• Two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto said on Monday it is looking at increasing its market share in the overall two-wheeler segment to nearly 23 per cent from its existing 17 per cent."We want to increase our total market share in the two-wheeler segment to 23 per cent", the company's president of motorcycle business, Eric Vas, told media persons in Kolkata.He said the projected growth depends a lot on the performance of the 100 cc bike category.(businesstoday)

• Just over a fortnight after it launched the new TT Coupé, Audi India has launched the facelifted RS7 Sportback priced at Rs 1.40 crore (ex-showroom Mumbai and Delhi). The car was unveiled today in Mumbai by Joe King, head, Audi India. The car gets styling changes to both the exterior and interior. The facelifted RS7 gets a restyled front bumper along with a restyled grille and reworked LED headlamps with darkened graphics. Audi also offers Matrix-LED headlamps as an add-on option for the model. At the back the car older tail-lamps are replaced by newer units with LED graphics while the alloy wheels are also new. - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/audi-india-launches-facelifted-rs-sportback-rs-140-crore-8382#sthash.N1WnQAWO.dpuf

• Two wheeler major Bajaj Auto is looking at expanding its Chakan plant capacity in Maharashtra as part of its plans to raise its market share to 23 per cent from the current 17 per cent. The company wants to increase total market share in the two-wheeler segment to 23 per cent, Bajaj president (motorcycle business) Eric Vas said on the sidelines of launch of new sports bike here today.He added, "We are close to capacity at Chakan plant, which is about 91,000 units per month. We have to increase the capacity for pulsar." However, he declined to give any further details of the proposed capacity expansion. The overall production capacity in its all three plants is 3.25 lakh units per month, out of which the company sold 1.46 lakh per month on an average for the year 2014-15.(cartrade)

• Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), the country's largest car company, today rolled out its 15 millionth car, becoming the only car manufacturer in India to do so. The 15 millionth car, a DZire VDi, rolled out from the Company's Manesar facility. The first car, a Maruti 800, had rolled out from the Gurgaon facility in December 1983. The Company has achieved this milestone in 31 years and 5 months. Dedicating the milestone to the Company's customers, partners and employees, Rajiv Gandhi, Executive Director, Production, MSIL said, "Maruti Suzuki's journey has been one of Kaizen and continuous improvement. Our people on the shop floor make enormous contribution so that we can offer more and better to our customers, and fulfil their needs and aspirations". (Etauto.com)               

• Japanese carmaker Toyota, has unveiled a new family of diesel engines at the Vienna Motor Symposium in Austria. Dubber "GD", this family of engines will be used to power its next-generation IMV platform-based vehicles including the Fortuner, Innova and Hilux. The GD engine replaces the KD series that powers the current vehicle line-up. There are two engines in the GD family. The first one is a 2.4-litre, unit with a variable geometry turbo, capable of putting out 160 BHP and 400 Nm of torque, while the second one is a 2.8-litre, power plant with a variable geometry turbo, developing 177 BHP and 450 Nm of torque. (teambhp)

•  Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, which has a stranglehold on the small-car market in India, is trying to shed the budget car maker tag by selling its more expensive models through a separate network as buyers, even first-timers, opt increasingly for larger cars.As part of efforts to boost its market share in the premium-car category, Maruti Suzuki in a meeting on Saturday decided to sell its cars through two separate marketing networks and also recast its top management, according to three people familiar with the development. All of them requested anonymity. A spokesperson for Maruti declined to comment on the story.(livemint)