Automotive Updates - 26th and 27th September 2015

• Volkswagen Board has officially named 62 year old Matthias Mueller as the new CEO of Volkswagen Group. Mueller has been with the VW Group for his entire career, which started back in 1977 when he joined as an intern at Audi. In 2010, he was appointed as the CEO of Porsche AG, which is a subsidiary of VW Group, but also the owner of 50.7% stage in VW Group AG.After being appointed as the new CEO of Volkswagen Group, Matthias Mueller has said that his immediate job is to win back the trust of their customers. He adds that the company will do everything in its power to bounce back from the current situation. In the meantime, the company will help authorities investigate the scandal with utmost transparency.(rushlane)

• Piqued by the long wait for nod to its quadricycle, Bajaj Auto chief Rajiv Bajaj said on  Friday the "process just takes forever" in India and wondered whether the approval would come when his children join the business.The company has decided to start exporting the vehicle Qute, earlier known as RE60 , to 16 countries by the end of this month even as it awaits the Supreme Court verdict to introduce it in the domestic market.(businesstoday)

• Temporary workers at Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant on Saturday protested in front of factory demanding hike in wages, a day after the management signed a three-year settlement with permanent employees.According to sources, around 300 temporary workers, who came for the first shift in the morning, came out shouting slogans demanding wage hikes similar to those given to the permanent employees.(Etauto)

• Bajaj Auto has branded the RE60 quadricycle as "Qute". The company has also announced its plans to export the vehicle to 16 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. The company claims that it is the first Indian made quadricycle to meet European quadricycle norms and get the European WVTA (Whole Vehicle Type Approval) certification awarded by RDW Netherlands. (teambhp)

• US-based UM Motorcycles and its Indian partner Lohia Auto will launch first cruiser bike in the country in February during the Auto Expo in New Delhi. "The first cruiser product will be rolled out during the Auto Expo in February 2016," Lohia Auto Industries CEO Ayush Lohia told reporters here. UM Motorcycles and Lohia Auto had formed an equal stake joint venture (JV) in September last year for manufacturing new products including a range of motorcycles -- cruisers and bikes (300 to 500 cc) for the Indian market. (cartrade)

• Government regulators on both sides of the Atlantic vowed on Friday to toughen auto emissions tests in the wake of Volkswagen’s admission it cheated on diesel emissions, but some officials and environmentalists doubted the pledges would be easily achieved.The US environmental protection agency notified auto manufacturers in a letter that they could require additional tests for “any vehicle” to determine whether it meets emission standards under normal road conditions, not just at controlled testing facilities.(livemint)

•  Sonalika International Tractors, the third largest tractor manufacturer of India, today launched the new 55 HP range DI 750III tractor under HDM (Heavy Duty Mileage) series. The tractor was introduced that Punjab Agricultural University Mela (PAU Mela) The new DI 750III comes with a lift capacity of 2000kg and 4 cylinder 2000 RPM engine, the tractor is designed to operate heavier and bigger implements in all types of soil conditions. "Our new DI 750 III tractor will prove to be a great asset to farmers and other consumers, across the country. The product is designed in keeping with today's demand of rugged and unbreakable performance of the machine which can work for longer duration.Our Heavy Duty Mileage series tractor's reaffirms our commitment to continuously enhance our products to suit specific needs of our customers," said D L Rana, Director, Sales & Marketing, Sonalika International Tractors. (Etauto)