Automotive Updates - 9th July 2015

• Domestic passenger car sales rose 1.53 per cent to 1,62,677 units in June from 1,60,232 units in the year-ago month.Motorcycle sales last month rose marginally to 8,77,696 units from 8,77,289 units a year earlier, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers(SIAM).Total two-wheeler sales in June rose 3.55 per cent to 13,07,710 units."Sales of commercial vehicles rose marginally to 51,446 units in June", SIAM said.

• Scania Commercial Vehicles India (SCVI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sweden-based commercial vehicle major Scania, is expanding its dealership network in India. According to Anders Grundströmer, managing director, Scania India and senior vice-president, Scania Group, the company will expand its sales and service network in all parts of the country. “Currently we have nine dealerships spread across nine states including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat and NCR. We are planning to have 50 dealerships across the country by 2020,” he told Autocar Professional on the sidelines of inaugurating its first dealership – Transpro Motors, in Karnataka on Wednesday. - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/scania-bus-truck-dealerships-india-8824#sthash.W6x4DfAU.dpuf

• Increasing the local content in cars and improving the quality of its supply chain will be a priority for Honda Motor Co in India, the new chief executive of the Japanese carmaker’s local unit told Reuters on Wednesday.The carmaker will work to reduce costs by using more local components and it will focus on improving the quality of logistics, manufacturing and dealerships before launching new models, according to Katsushi Inoue, CEO, Honda Cars India Ltd.(financial express)

• Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has said that it will bring the Abarth 595 to India on August 4. Abarth 595 is a spruced up version of the Fiat 500. The car was showcased at the Auto Expo last year.The first car to be launched under the Abarth brand in India, the car is equipped with a 1.4 litre turbocharged, 4-cylinder petrol which can be tuned to produce either 137ps or 163ps. The customer can choose which state-of-tune he wants in their car.(Etauto.com)

• Globally, the Jazz has sold 5.5 million units since 2001, of which only 23,000 units of the second-generation model were sold in India between June 2009 and February 2013. Honda did not launch the first generation model in India. “We understand that ‘Make in India’ is an important policy and we will produce in India and export to other countries. This is already underway but we will increase it along with the export of components,” says Inoue. The company has announced plans to increase exports of both vehicles and components from India. At present, Honda Cars India exports its cars mainly to South Africa and Nepal but going forward is looking to grow its presence further in the neighbouring markets. While the current focus for the Jazz is mainly the domestic market, HCIL is studying other markets as well but has not frozen on them yet. - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/honda-cars-india-explores-markets-exports-8818#sthash.M0g8OjPy.dpuf

•  TVS Motor is all set to launch its new Victor two-wheelers in September. According to sources in the automobile industry, it will be kitted out with a nine horsepower 110 cc 3 valve engine which promises "best in class mileage".The company would kick off production in August 2015, said sources.Victor was first launched in 2001 and was a best-selling motorcycle. In its new avatar, the Victor will attack the segment that is currently ruled by the likes of Hero Moto Splendor which clocks over 2 million units in sales every year. (Etauto.com)

• The recalls at Honda Motor Co. over defective Takata air bags have grown by another 4.5 million vehicles, raising the tally at the Japanese automaker to 24.5 million.Tokyo-based Honda said on Thursday the latest recall affects 1.63 million vehicles in Japan, but none in North America.It declined to give a regional breakdown until regulators in affected nations were notified.The recall spans 17 models, including the Fit subcompact, Stream minivan and CR-V sport utility vehicle.(Financial express)