Automotive Updates - 22nd September 2015

• India’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd may just be approaching its toughest test after it separated from its erstwhile joint venture partner Honda Motor Co. five years ago.Starting 2016-17, the company plans to roll out new Splendor and Passion motorcycles with indigenously developed engines and platforms, two people familiar with the matter said.Mint learns that the company has developed three engines and platforms in 110-150cc range to use for some of its top-selling models such as Splendor, Passion and Glamour. The models currently use Honda engines.(livemint)

• A couple of days after its biggest client Volkswagen admitted to cheating on fuel emission tests in the US, shares of Motherson Sumi Systems tanked nearly 8% as concerns over the business of the auto component major getting affected caused a sell-off. Shares of the company ended down 7.74% today at 241.95 rupees on the National Stock Exchange. Even as Motherson has a limited exposure to Volkswagen in the USA, the group is a key customer in Europe and the company’s sales to VW contributed 44 percent of its consolidated revenue in FY15. - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/motherson-sumi-shares-fall-amidst-vw-emission-cheating-scandal-9345#sthash.4M7mS8gZ.dpuf

•  Amtek Auto has missed payments on the Rs 800 crore worth of bonds that matured on Monday, potentially exposing the Indian banking system to a near Rs 8,000 crore of loans which may have to be classified as bad loans if the company does not quickly make payments, said three persons familiar with the developments.The auto component maker which was to redeem the five-year bonds did not make the payments till the end of day, said those people who did not want to be identified.(Etauto)

• Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has set a target to achieve what they call as ‘Vision 2.0’. Basically, this aim of theirs is to achieve sales of two million units annually by the end of this decade.In order to achieve this target, the company plans to setup a new plant in Gujarat (image above), which is expected to start production by 2017, and launch 15 new cars. Apart from this, they will also increase their dealer network to more cities and villages.Considering that India’s majority of the population resides in its 6.5 lakh villages, the car maker has plans to expand their reach more in villages, than in the cities. Maruti first started focusing seriously on villages of India back in 2012-13. (rushlane)

• French carmaker Renault India is going to launch its much awaited entry level compact hatchback Kwid on September 24, the company said in a press statement.Bookings for the small car has already opened in select cities for an amount of Rs 25,000 - 45,000, depending on the location of the dealer.(Etauto)

• Bajaj Auto has announced that it will launch the RE60 in India on September 25, 2015.The RE60 is powered by a 216cc, single-cylinder, 4-stroke petrol engine. CNG and LPG versions have also been developed.The RE60 was revealed in January 2012. In 2013, The Government of India approved the new class of vehicles in the commercial space. However, due to various legal issues, Bajaj had not been able to launch the vehicle in the market.(teambhp)

• The Italian luxury carmaker finally makes a grand entry on Indian soil. Maserati announces the launch of of its first dealership outlet in India located on Mathura Road in New Delhi. The company has opened its new dealership in the country in partnership with AMP Supercars. Sometime soon, Maserati shall also consider opening its new dealership outlets in Bengaluru and Mumbai.(cartrade)