Automotive Updates - 9th and 10th May 2015

• Indian Motorcycle, a subsidiary of American off-road vehicle manufacturer Polaris Industries, which opened a new dealership in Bangalore yesterday, is set up four more dealerships in India as part of its sales network expansion plans. Pankaj Dubey, MD, Polaris India, said the new dealerships will come up in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chennai. The first dealership was set up in NCR. The plan is to have a presence in 12 Indian cities in 2016. Inaugurating the new dealership in Bangalore, Scot Wine, chairman and CEO, Polaris Industries, said the company has several plans for India. “We will constantly add investment towards bringing more motorcycles in India, fostering greater accessibility for more customers in this market,” he added. - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/indian-motorcycle-add-outlets-mumbai-hyderabad-ahmedabad-chennai-8377#sthash.6jEXmhbJ.dpuf

• Royal Enfield, the two-wheeler division of Eicher Motors, is developing two new engine platforms on which multiple new products could be launched, a top company official said today. "We are developing two new engine platforms on which multiple products could be launched. The new products would be in the range of 250 cc and 750 cc and we expect to see products introductions starting next year," Eicher Motors Ltd Managing Director and CEO Siddhartha Lal said in a conference call.(ETauto.com)

• Maruti Suzuki has launched the Celerio ZXi AMT variant in India to commemorate the first anniversary of the launch of the popular B-segment hatchback. Priced at Rs 4.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), this new top-end variant comes equipped with the highly publicised AMT gearbox (automated manual transmission), a feature which had been missing in the standard ZXi trim since the car’s launch at the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo. (carwale)

• Shell India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell and major private crude product supplier, has launched V-Power, its premium performance petrol, in India. Launching V-Power in Bangalore on Thursday, Ravi Sundararajan, general manager, Shell Retail India, said the company plans to expand its retail outlet network in India. Currently the company operates 76 outlets across six states – Karnataka, Assam, Gujarat, Maharastra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. “We have a license to open around 2,000 outlets in India and we will take forward our expansion plans as fuel price is deregulated,” he said without disclosing in-depth details about the company’s expansion plans. - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/shell-launches-power-petrol-eyes-outlet-expansion-india-8375#sthash.eij234gp.dpuf

• Eicher Motors on Friday reported 38.5 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 216 crore for the first quarter quarter ended March 31 on robust sales during the period.The company had posted a net profit of Rs 156 crore during the same period of previous fiscal.(businesstoday)

• Declining sales volume growth has led India's largest motorcycle-manufacturer-Hero MotoCorp's stock to under-perform over the last three months. The company's sales volume growth turned negative in the second half of FY15 after the rural consumption dipped on account of the unseasonal rains.In order to be able to take a relook at the variable for the projected earnings for the company, the investors were hoping to seek clarity on two key issues from the quarterly results of the firm. (ETauto.com)

image from the hindu

• The government today invited Korean firms to set up manufacturing and R&D base in India, a move that will give boost to the Centre's 'Make In India' campaign. "The future for Korean companies is not in Korea. It is in India both for manufacturing for the domestic market and for exports," Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, (DIPP) Secretary Amitabh Kant said here at the event.Kant said that it is time for Hyundai Motor to set up a second plant in India."If you (Hyundai) don't set up your second plant now, you will regret it later," he said.(cartrade.com)

• Nunegundlapalle, Andhra Pradesh: Becoming the No.1 battery player across the Indian Ocean Rim countries is the future goal of Amara Raja Group, its chairman Ramachandra Naidu Galla said on Friday."Our target is Indian Ocean Rim, it is our ultimate target. We want to be the dominant player in the Indian Ocean Rim, supplying batteries for all the countries across the Indian Ocean," he said. (ETauto.com)