Automotive update - 9th June 2015

• Henkel Adhesive Technologies India has announced an investment of about 30 million euros (approximately Rs 230 crore) to set up the country’s largest adhesives plant in Kurkumbh, 50km from Pune. The new plant is expected to start production by early 2017.The groundbreaking ceremony of the plant is scheduled to be held on June 11, 2015, which will be presided over by Devendra Fadnavis, the chief minister of Maharashtra, along with Jeremy Hunter, president of Henkel Group India. The plant will cater to various end user segments including automotive, metal and industrial. Henkel Adhesive Technologies India already caters to Maruti Suzuki India and Mahindra & Mahindra among Indian vehicle OEMs.(autocarpro)

• South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group, squeezed by slowing sales, plans to cut domestic operating expenses, with the savings depending on its sales performance in the third and fourth quarters, a spokesman said on Tuesday.Hyundai Motor Co and its sister company, Kia Motors Corp, saw their global annual sales drop 6 percent and 5 percent, respectively, in May. Hyundai Motor shares are down about 20 percent in 2015, making them the worst performer among major global automakers.(financial express)

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's 'Make in India' programme is likely to get a boost from US automobile major Ford Motor Company as it looks to export India-manufactured SUV EcoSport to the US markets.The popular SUV is likely to be exported back to the Ford's home market around October 2017, a report in the Economic Times said. This will be the first time any US car maker will be exporting India-made automobiles back to its home market. Ford has already kicked in the process of getting approvals to export 90,000 units of EcoSport to US, which is more than the numbers it sells in India.(business today)

• Hyundai Motor India Ltd today unveiled the design renderings of upcoming new Global SUV - Hyundai Creta. The SUV will be competing with the likes of Renault Duster and Ford EcoSport. It is expected to be launched on July 21 in India. (Etauto.com)

• In an attempt to curb excess pollution, safer driving and ease the process of vigilance checks, the state of Maharashtra has set-up an automatic inspection center in Nashik's Regional Transport Office (RTO). The center would be fully operational from 11th June onwards and would be inaugurated in the presence of Nitin Gadkari, Union road transport minister.(cartrade)

• With abundant supplies of clean electricity from hydropower, this tiny Himalayan kingdom has set itself an ambitious goal: to become a world leader in the use of electric vehicles.Last year, Bhutan's prime minister introduced the country's first two electric car models, the Nissan LEAF and Mahindra Reva , and suspended import taxes in an effort to win buyers."Electricity is like oil for us and is the most abundant resource," said Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay. "My target for Bhutan is a 70 percent reduction in fossil fuel imports by 2020."(Etauto.com)