HERO MOTOCORP REPORTS SALES OF 499,665 UNITS OF TWO-WHEELERS IN DECEMBER 2015

Hero MotoCorp Ltd. (HMCL) , the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, clocked 499,665 units of two-wheeler despatches in December 2015. The company had sold 526,097 units in December 2014.

 The calendar year 2015 marked several milestones in Hero MotoCorp’s journey towards being a global two-wheeler powerhouse.

Key Highlights 2015

Hero MotoCorp further extended its market leadership in overall two wheelers and motorcycles during the year.

Global Foray	-          Hero MotoCorp marked a historic milestone with the commencement of operations of its first overseas manufacturing facility at Villa Rica, Colombia
Consolidation of Leadership Team	-               Mr. Pawan Munjal        elevated as Chairman of Hero MotoCorp Ltd.
New facilities	-          Hero MotoCorp, in Joint Venture with Magneti Marelli (MM), commenced operations at its first autonomous ‘Production and Development Centre’ at Manesar, Haryana
Product launches	-                Hero MotoCorp launched two new scooters – the Maestro Edge & Duet – the first of its products developed by the in-house R&D team -             The company further strengthened its motorcycle portfolio with the launch of new Hero Xtreme Sports, Hero PassionPRO andHero SplendorPRO
Key Sales Performance	-             In October 2015, HMCL sold 639,802  units – all-time high despatch sales in a month -             Hero MotoCorp’s share in the domestic scooter market went up to 15%, up from 13% in September. -              Further consolidated its leadership by clocking 1 Million       units in retail sales during the 35 days’ festive period -            Hero HF Deluxe, the most popular commuter bike, became the third Hero product to join the million club by clocking 1 Million unit sales in FY’15. The hugely popular Splendor and Passion have been million plus brands for many years
Sports Initiatives	-           Became the title sponsor of ‘Hero Caribbean Premier League’T20 tournament -         Hero MotoCorp hosted the prestigious ‘Hero World Challenge’along with the Tiger Woods Foundation, held in the Bahamas in December 2015
New Brand Ambassadors	-            Hero MotoCorp roped the Southern superstar Allu Arjun as its first regional brand ambassador

 

Tata Motors sales for December 2015 at 39,973 units

Key Highlights:

• LCVs witnessed a growth of 11% in December 2015, bucking recent trends
• M&HCVs continued to grow by 2% in December 2015
• Company’s exports grew by 15% in December 2015    

Tata Motors continued to witness year-on-year growth in the M&HCV segment in December 2015, with a growth of 2%. Total sale of Tata Motors passenger and commercial vehicles (including exports) were at 39,973 vehicles, lower by 4%, over 41,734 vehicles, sold in December 2014. The domestic sale of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles for December 2015 were at 35,416 nos. lower by 6% over 37,776 vehicles sold in December 2014. 

Cumulative sales (including exports) for the fiscal at 364,946 nos., higher by 1% over 362,986 vehicles, sold last year.

Commercial Vehicles

In commercial vehicles, while M&HCV sales continued to grow at 12,673 nos., higher by 2%, over December 2014, the Light & Small Commercial Vehicle sales has witnessed growth at 14,674 nos., higher by 11% over December 2014, thus increasing the overall commercial vehicles sales for Tata Motors in the domestic market by 6%, at 27,347 nos., in December 2015, compared to 25,736 nos in December 2014. LCV growth has come after many months, and if sustained, could see return of growth in this segment, albeit on a low base. 

Cumulative sales of commercial vehicles in the domestic market for the fiscal are at 227,655 nos., lower by 3% over last year. Cumulative LCV sales are at 118,797 nos., a decline of 18% over last year, while M&HCV sales at 108,858 nos., were higher by 22%, over last year.  

Passenger Vehicles

In December 2015, Tata Motors passenger vehicles sales were at 8,069 nos., decline of 33%, compared to 12,040 nos. The wholesales of passenger cars in December 2015 were lower by 31% at 6,900 nos., compared to 9,956 nos., in December 2014 and the UV sales declined by 44% at 1,169 nos., in December 2015.  

Last year, in the anticipation of increase in excise, effective 1st of January 2015, the sales in December 2014 increased unusually. Hence, this year the sales have been impacted due to a high base effect. 

Cumulative sales of all passenger vehicles in the domestic market for the fiscal are 96,390 nos., higher by 5% over last year.

Exports

The company’s sales from exports were 4,557 nos., in December 2015, higher by 15% compared to 3,958 vehicles in December 2014. The cumulative sales from exports for the fiscal are at 40,901 nos., were higher by 12%, over 36,626 nos., sold last year. 

Indian Automobile Sales - December 2015

• Country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Friday reported a 8.5 per cent increase in total sales in December at 1,19,149 units as against 1,09,791 units in the same month in 2014.The company said its domestic sales increased 13.5 per cent during the month to 1,11,333 units as against 98,109 units in December 2014.

• Leading Indian automobile manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Friday reported a four percent rise in its vehicle sales in December 2015.The company sold 37,915 units overall in December 2015 against 36,328 units in December 2014, a rise of 1,587 units in the period under review."Inspite of a challenging external environment, we at Mahindra have closed December on a positive note," said Pravin Shah, president and chief executive (automotive), M&M in a statement.

• Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) has registered a 28.8 per cent increase in domestic sales last month at 41,861 units.But even while domestic sales grew by around 29 per cent, exports fell by 17 per cent to 22,274 units. Total sales went up by 8 per cent to 64,135 units during the month.

•  Ford India on Friday reported a 24.55 per cent decline in its total sales at 10,865 units in December.The company had sold 14,401 units in December 2014.

• VE Commercial Vehicles today reported 44.3 per cent increase in total sales in December at 5,068 units as against 3,512 in the same month of 2014.The company, a joint venture between Sweden's Volvo Group and Eicher Motors, said Eicher-branded trucks and buses recorded total sales of 4,951 units in December compared with 3,398 in the same month of 2014, up 45.7 per cent.

• Mahindra and Mahindra today reported a 3 per cent increase in its tractor sales at 12,868 units in December.The company had sold 12,474 units in the same month last year.

• Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Friday reported an 11 percent drop in its total car sales for December 2015.The company sold 10,442 units last month compared to 11,738 units sold in December 2014, a drop of 1,296 units on a month-on-month basis. In the same month, Toyota exported 441 units.

• Royal Enfield reported 41 per cent jump in its total motorcycles sales at 40,453 units during last month as against 28,634 units in December, 2014.Domestic sales of the Chennai-based two-wheeler maker stood at 40,037 units during the month as against 28,179 units in the same month of 2014, a jump of 42 per cent.Exports of Royal Enfield were at 416 units during the month as against 455 units in December 2014, down 9 per cent.

• Mahindra Two Wheelers (MTWL), part of the Mahindra Group, sold 12,112 units for December 2015. The company’s domestic sales during December 2015 stood at 10,488 units while exports stood at 1,624 units, the company said.

• The two-wheeler major, TVS Motor Company, on Saturday posted 4% growth in December sales at 2,02,086 units as compared to 1,94,481 units in December 2014.The company's total exports stood at 32,771 units in the month of December 2015 as against 32,969 units during same period a year ago. Two-wheeler exports grew by 5.5% with sales increasing from 24,556 units in December 2014 to 25,906 units December 2015.

•  Engineering and farm equipment major Escorts today reported 8.9 per cent decline in tractor sales in December 2015 to 2,751 units. It had sold 3,021 units in December 2014. Domestic sales during the month were down 5 per cent at 2,727 units compared with 2,871 units in December, 2014, the company said in a BSE filing. 

• Atul Auto gained 3% to Rs.564.50 after the company reported 8.01% growth in sales for the month of December 2015 at 4,005 units as compared to 3,708 units sold in December 2014.The company’s total sales from April to December this year rose by 6.49% and stood at 33,372 units as compared to 31,338 units in the same period last year.

• Hinduja Group flagship firm Ashok Leyland today reported a 31.4 per cent increase in total sales at 12,209 units in December 2015. The company had sold 9,290 units in the same month last year. 

• Hero Moto Corp reported a decline of five percent in sale for the last month of 2015, clocking sales of  499,665 units of two-wheeler while the company was able to sell 526,097 units in December 2014.

• Honda Cars India Ltd. (HCIL), leading manufacturer of premium cars in India, registered monthly domestic sales of 12,379 units in December 2015 against 14,428 units in the corresponding month in the year 2014.   The company registered a cumulative domestic sales of 1, 44,474 units in the period April-December 2015 against 1,31,133 units for the corresponding period of the year 2014 marking a growth of 10%.  HCIL also exported a total of 364 units during December 2015.

• The last quarter of 2015 has been quite successful for Renault in India. This can be attributed to the immensely successful, Renault Kwid. In December 2015 the French automaker registered a massive growth of 160%. It sold 10,292 units in December 2015 against 3,956 sold in December 2014. In the calendar year 2015

• Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) registered overall sales of 306,779 units for the month of December 2015, down from 3,48,737 units in December 2014. Out of the current numbers, scooter sales stood at 198,332 units while motorcycle sales stood at 92,380 units. Export sales came to 16.067 units for the same period. The market share claimed by Honda for December 2015 in the domestic market is 25%, while the domestic as well as export market combined market share stood 22%.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Sold 139, 815 Units in Calendar Year 2015 Registering a 5% Growth Over Total Sales in 2014

• Toyota Camry & Toyota Etios Series register a cumulative growth of 42% and 12% respectively in the year 2015 when compared to the same period last year
• Toyota Kirloskar Motor Sold 10, 442 Units in December 2015

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) sold a total of 139, 815 units in the calendar year 2015 thereby registering a cumulative growth of 5% when compared to the sales volume in the same period last year which was 132, 673 units.

TKM sold a total of 10, 883 units in December 2015. This includes 10, 442 units in the domestic market and 441 units in exports. The company had sold a total of 11, 738 units in the domestic market in December 2014. The monthly sales were considerably affected by factors like the ban on registration of diesel vehicles with engine capacity of more than 2000cc in Delhi & NCR where Toyota is significantly present. The monthly sales were also hit due to the floods in Chennai.

The Toyota Camry registered a cumulative growth of 42% in the year 2015 when compared to the same period last year. The new Toyota Camry launched in April 2015, constitutes 86% of the total Camry sales in 2015. Almost 90% of this sale can be attributed to Camry Hybrid alone.

The Toyota Etios series also clocked a cumulative growth of 12% in the year 2015 when compared to total sales of Etios series in 2014. The Etios Xclusive and the New Liva have been a huge hit amongst the masses which has also contributed to this growth.

Commenting on the sales, Mr. N Raja, Director and Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing said, "We have a seen a cumulative growth of 5% in  the calendar year 2015 when compared to the sales in the same period last year. The growth would have been higher if we didn’t have to face few challenges like the ban on registration of diesel vehicles in Delhi & NCR and the flood situation in Chennai".

Maruti Suzuki sales Jumps up to 8.5% in December 2015

Maruti Suzuki India Limited leader in passenger vehicles sold a total of 119,149 units in December 2015, a growth of 8.5 per cent. This includes 111,333 units in the domestic market and 7,816 units in exports.

The Company had sold a total of 109,791 units in December 2014.

The sales figures for December 2015 are given below:

Automotive Updates - 28th and 29th December 2015

• Some of the past presidents of automotive industry body SIAM have come together to consult with heads of other carmakers to figure out a way forward after the Supreme Court banned registration of all diesel SUVs and cars with engines above 2,000 cc in Delhi/NCR.According to industry sources, the informal group was to take inputs from the CEOs of the auto companies on how to deal with the issue. (ETauto)

• Hyundai India has been growing steadily since its inception in 1997 but the progress during the past few years had been faster than before. The extremely impressive success enjoyed by the Creta further boosted the South Korean automaker’s confidence in the market.The Hindu BusinessLine reports that Hyundai India is gearing up to launch at least one new or refurbished product every year till 2020. The company has reportedly earmarked an investment of INR 1,000 cr for every new product.(rushlane)

• Canadian auto components manufacturer – Magna International – plans to supply manual transmissions to Ford India for its Figo hatchback and Figo Aspire sedan models from its plant at the supplier park at Sanand. According to Jim Tobin, chief marketing officer and president of Magna Asia, the auto parts maker will supply transmissions to Ford India through the recently acquired German transmission maker Getrag Systems. Magna International acquired the transmission maker Getrag for a whopping $1.9 billion (Rs 1.2 lakh crore) and the latest acquisition will make Magna a major transmission competitor to ZF Friedrichshafen, Japan's Aisin and several other smaller transmission suppliers. - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/magna-int-supply-manual-transmissions-india-figo-aspire-sanand-9987#sthash.udxBj2kW.dpuf

• Japanese automobile manufacturer Suzuki Motor Corporation is going to reduce its domestic production output between January and March 2016, the company announced in a press statement. The move is due to ongoing sales decrease of mini vehicles and motorcycles. However, there will be no change in the number of production workforce in relation to this output reduction. (ETauto)

• Renault will showcase a more powerful 1.0-litre version of its small car the Kwid at the upcoming 2016 Auto Expo. The Renault Kwid with an AMT might also be shown at the show. The new 1.0-litre engine has been codenamed B4D and it will produce around 68bhp of power and close to 95Nm of peak torque. This new four-cylinder engine has been developed by Renault and Nissan, and shall also be seen on the Datsun Redi-Go.(cartrade)

• Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is planning to advance the introduction of its new-generation Swift Dzire sedan by almost a year as it seeks to protect its turf in the face of competition, said two people familiar with the company’s plans.The company is also planning to launch a Dzire Tour model, aimed at taxi operators, with a petrol engine. Maruti currently has only the diesel version of the Dzire Tour running in the cab market. The petrol model can be retrofitted with a CNG kit to meet the new norms in Delhi.(livemint)

• OK Play India, a plastics auto component company, has launched e-Raaja which is claimed to be the first designed, developed and manufactured e-rickshaw in the country. The ICAT-certified rickshaw, which has a plastic body, is priced at Rs 1.15 lakh to Rs 1.25 lakh (including taxes). The vehicle is designed to carry four passengers plus a driver. - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/ok-play-launches-india-rickshaw-9996#sthash.B13rIm1W.dpuf

•  French car maker Renault, which has seen strong response to its small car Kwid, is set to take the battle further on to market leader Maruti Suzuki's turf by taking the covers off the 1-litre and automated manual transmission (AMT) versions of the model at the auto show in February.Renault launched the Kwid just before the festival season with a 799cc engine at an aggressive price of Rs 2.57 to Rs 3.53 lakh, excluding insurance and local levies in Delhi, taking Maruti head on.(Etauto)

Automotive Updates - 21st and 22nd December 2015

• Tata Motors has entered the top-50 league of the world's biggest companies in terms of their R&D investments, topped by German automaker Volkswagen.On the annual Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard for 2015, prepared by European Commission, Volkswagen is followed by Samsung, Microsoft, Intel and Novartis in the top-five.(ETauto)

• Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors will jointly develop components and systems for electric and hybrid vehicles.The three auto majors have teamed up since the Government of India announced the launch of the FAME India scheme in April 2015. This incentive, which has been launched in metro cities, will be introduced in tier 2 and tier 3 cities along with smart cities in the coming year.(team-bhp)

• At a time when pollution in cities has become a hotly debated topic, prototype of India's first retrofitted electric bus was showcased on Monday here in the capital.The demonstration was attended by Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The bus is proposed to be used by Members of Parliament.This is the first time that a diesel bus has been converted into a battery operated electric bus. (ETauto)

• Scarred by a public relations thrashing over its "Dieselgate" scandal, Volkswagen is planning an image offensive, and its "Das Auto" global advertising slogan is an early casualty.Launched in 2007 under ousted boss Martin Winterkorn, the slogan has had the advantage of simplicity, merely meaning "The Car". However, the German carmaker's leaders, anxious to proclaim a reformed corporate culture, have criticised it as out of step with a company trying to show new-found humility.(businesstoday)

• Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles, a part of the $16.9 billion Mahindra Group, said it plans to launch products in Europe next year."Europe is a very interesting space for us, we are looking at launching our products sometime in calendar year 2016 in European market," Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Jagan Kurian told reporters here. (ETauto)

• Eicher Truck & Buses has expanded its product portfolio with the introduction of three new fully built reefer (refrigerated) trucks - Pro 1059XP, Pro 1110XP & Pro 6025. These products will help the company provide fully built, ready to use solutions for cold chain logistics.The trucks come with an ARAI-approved design in 14 ft, 20 ft and 24 ft options. They range from a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 7 tonnes to 25 tonnes. The refrigeration unit is claimed to have an operating temperature range of -25 C to +25 C under ambient conditions of +50 C.(team-bhp)

• KTM’s dirt bike subsidiary Husqvarna is gearing up to re-enter the on-road market after a long sabbatical. The range of small and medium displacement street bikes which were previewed by the Vitpilen and Svartpilen concepts are inching towards production and will share their platforms with comparable KTM siblings.Since Bajaj’s Chakan plant in Pune serves as a global production hub for the KTM Duke and RC range of (125, 200, 250 and 390) motorcycles, it’s logical to use the same facility to produce the new Husqvarna range. Talking to Economic Times, Stefan Pierer, CEO, KTM, revealed that engines and components for Husqvarna on-road motorcycles will be sourced from India and assembled in Austria for European and American markets.(rushlane)

Hyundai CRETA Wins Indian Car of the Year 2016 (ICOTY), Only Manufacturer to Win Three Successive ICOTY Awards

- Only Manufacturer to Win Three Successive ICOTY Awards –

- Achieves milestone as the only manufacturer to win 4 ICOTY’s in 9 years –

- A true expression of Hyundai Brand Acceptance Globally –

 Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the country’s second largest car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter has won the most coveted Indian Car of the Year 2016 (ICOTY) award for the CRETA. As the most loved and trusted car manufacturer in India, Hyundai Motor India wins 3 ICOTY’s successively for its products: CRETA, Elite i20 and Grand i10 as ICOTY 2016, 2015 and 2014 respectively.

Hyundai is a New Age brand and under the Modern Premium brand direction, CRETA has redefined the SUV segment. CRETA has received over 74,000 bookings and 400,000 enquiries and 16,271 orders globally. With emphasis on safety, bold design, dynamic performance and high quality makes the CRETA a ‘Perfect SUV’.

The ICOTY award is adjudged by a diverse group of 14 jurors of all the prominent automotive publications in the country: Yogendra Pratap (Auto Today), Rahul Ghosh (Auto Today), Dhruv Behl (Auto X), Ishan Raghava (Auto X), Rohin Nagrani (Motoring World), Aspi Bhathena (Car India), Aninda Sarda (Car India), Bertrand D'souza (Overdrive), Bob Rupani (Overdrive), Girish Karkera (BBC Top Gear), Sirish Chandran (Evo India), Ouseph Chacko (Evo India), Muralidhar Swaminathan (The Hindu Business Line) and Pablo Chaterji (Mans World). In all nine very prestigious publications were represented on the ICOTY 2016 Jury with Bob Rupani being the Chairman of the Jury.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Y K Koo, MD & CEO, HMIL said, “We are honoured to win the most prestigious automotive award – ‘Indian Car of the Year 2016’ for our make in India, made for the world product- the Perfect SUV- Hyundai CRETA. The CRETA is a true expression of ‘New Age’ Hyundai setting new benchmarks in the industry. Winning the third successive ICOTY award symbolizes the trust and faith of customers in the Hyundai brand. We thank all our customers, partners, media and jurors who have chosen CRETA as the Indian Car of the Year 2016 and made Hyundai the most loved and trusted car manufacturer. With innovation at its core, Hyundai is committed to make global quality products with cutting edge technologies and fortify the Hyundai brand, caring for our customers in India and global markets.”

Congratulating the winners, Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Limited said, “The automobile and auto-ancillary sector in India is growing at a fast pace. The consumer is ever-discerning and automakers seek to outperform each other. In such a competitive environment, JK Tyre and ICOTY & IMOTY Awards endeavour to recognise those who break the clutter with their innovation and deep understanding of the Indian consumer. Congratulations to Hyundai Creta for sailing through the rigorous judging process and emerging victorious.”

Congratulating the winning car CRETA, Mr. Bob Rupani, Founder Member ICOTY & Chairman of the Jury, Indian Car of the Year 2016 said, “The ICOTY has clearly become the most credible and coveted auto award in India and is known for its honest and non- partisan voting by highly experienced jury members. I congratulate Hyundai for winning this award for the third time in a row. Scoring a hat-trick at ICOTY is an admirable achievement and by no means an easy feat. It shows that Hyundai is consistently making award winning products of very high standards.”

The Hyundai CRETA launched in July as the Perfect SUV is a trendsetter in the Indian market. CRETA heralded a new chapter in Hyundai’s success story across the world showcasing HMIL’s success of ‘Make in India’ manufacturing initiative. Designed with profound confidence, grandeur and highest levels of refinement, CRETA is the most loved car of the year.

Photo Caption 1:
Mr. Bob Rupani, Founder Member ICOTY & Chairman of the Jury along with Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & MD, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd awarded the Hyundai CRETA, Indian Car of the Year 2016. The award received by Mr. Y K Koo, MD & CEO, HMIL and Mr. Rakesh Srivastava, Sr. VP, Sales & Marketing, HMIL

Photo Caption 2:
Mr. Y K Koo, MD & CEO, HMIL and Mr. Rakesh Srivastava, Sr. VP, Sales & Marketing, HMIL along with the jury members of Indian Car of the Year 2016

Mahindra revealed its much awaited compact SUV - KUV100

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M & M), India’s leading SUV manufacturer, today revealed its much awaited compact SUV codenamed S101, calling it the Mahindra KUV100 (pronounced as KUV ‘1 double Oh’). The company also unveiled an all new, world-class engine family named mFALCON, marking its entry into the ground up petrol space.

Conceptualized and developed with the aim of creating an entirely new category, the KUV100 is a compact SUV where ‘K’ stands for the ‘kool’ & trendy generation of youth, while UV represents an SUV. The numeric ‘100’ represents the pecking order of the series which comes in below TUV300 and XUV500. With its aggressive styling and dominating SUV stance, the KUV100 remains true to the tough and rugged Mahindra DNA.

Under the hood, the KUV100 will be powered by the world-class mFALCON, an all-new engine family with options of both petrol (mFALCON, G80) and diesel (mFALCON, D75). Named after a bird of prey, the mFALCON is a compact lightweight engine built to deliver peppy and high performance, much like its namesake. The 1.2L, 82 HP and dual VVT petrol engine and the 1.2L 77 HP turbo-charged diesel engine both deliver high, low-end torque for the perfect SUV performance and an enjoyable drive.

Speaking at the brand name and engine reveal event, Dr. Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, M & M Ltd. said “We are all set to create a new segment with the launch of the KUV100 which also marks our foray into ground up petrol engines. An ambitious project from the very start, the KUV100, is all set to carve its niche amongst first time car buyers with its unique propositions. I am confident that the KUV100, like its predecessors, will become an extremely popular brand and will be cited for taking Mahindra to a whole new orbit”.

Pravin Shah, President & Chief Executive, (Automotive), M & M Ltd. said, “With the evolving aspirations of today’s youth we needed a product that will effectively address their needs for an SUV lifestyle. Being a listening organization, we identified the need gaps among consumers and started planning for the product. Coming from our state of the art manufacturing plant at Chakan, the KUV100 is a no-compromise, next-generation compact SUV that will set the stage for the emergence of an all new category. While being a  market leader in the SUV segment, I am sure that with the addition of the KUV100 in our portfolio, we will effectively address the entire gamut of customer segments from entry level to high end SUV with our product portfolio”.  

Designed in-house and engineered at Mahindra’s world class research and development facility, the Mahindra Research Valley at Chennai, the KUV100’s sculpted body with its prominent hood and high beltline has the design of a trendy urban crossover and elements like the headlamp, styled like wrap round shades, give it a whole new dimension. Targeted at the youth and first time car buyers, the KUV100 is contemporary to the core and truly stylized with best in class technologies.  An indigenously developed monocoque SUV, the KUV100 will have many firsts to its credit including the first ground up petrol engine offering from Mahindra. In fact, all research & development activities for this compact SUV were aligned with global standards of quality, technology, testing norms, regulations and emissions from the very start.

The KUV100 will be available in 7 exciting colors of Fiery Orange, Flamboyant Red, Dazzling Silver, Aquamarine, Pearl White, Designer Grey and Midnight Black.

Automotive Updates - 16th and 17th December 2015

• Minority shareholders of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) have approved a move by the company to let its Japanese parent Suzuki Motor Corp. invest and own the upcoming plant in Gujarat. The shareholders approved the move with 89.75% through a postal ballot that took place from November 16 to December 15.“Out of the total votes cast by the minority shareholders, 89.75% voted in favour while 10.25% voted against the resolution,” MSIL chairman R C Bhargava told reporters here.(livemint)

• After auto giants like Ford, Maruti and Honda Cars, tyre-making companies are now looking at Gujarat for setting up their plants. Tyre major MRF has zeroed in on Gujarat for establishing its greenfield manufacturing plant.If everything falls in place, MRF will be the third Indian tyre company in the state after CEAT and Apollo Tyres.The company has already set the ball rolling for its new plant and it is in advance talks with the state government.(ETauto)

• Petronas Lubricants International (PLI) officially declared to set-up its state-of-the-art lubricant blending plant in Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) Patalganga (75 km from Mumbai). The company invested US$ 50 million (Rs 315 crore) in the plant, which is constructed on 25 acres of industrial land with an estimated production output of 110 million litres of lubricants. The plant is expected to commence operations by end-2017.  Amir Hamzah Azizan, PLI Group CEO, inaugurated the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new plant along with Giuseppe Pedretti, PLI regional head of Asia and MP Singh, Petronas Lubricants (India) (PLIPL) CEO. The ceremony was also attended by Giuseppe D’Árrigo, PLI regional head of Europe, members of the PLIPL board and senior dignitaries from PLIPL and MIDC. - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/petronas-lubricants-set-rs-315-crore-plant-near-mumbai-9911#sthash.VingLpAt.dpuf

• Mahindra is likely to call the S101 as the KUV100, as per a report. The new crossover from Mahindra and Mahindra will be manufactured in the company’s Chakan plant. The S101/KUV100 will be making its way into the Indian car market and will be powered by a 1.2-litre petrol and diesel engine options. Both these are new three-cylinder engines and the four-cylinder versions of these engines (both 1.6-litre) are powering the Ssangyong Tivoli. The KUV100 will even get an AMT, this will be developed by Magneti Mirelli and it won’t be using the AMT that the company is using on the TUV300.(cartrade)

• French automotive parts manufacturer Faurecia has signed Memorandum of Understanding for the sale of its automotive exteriors business worldwide to Compagnie Plastic Omnium, the company informed in a statement.The transaction is based on an Enterprise Value of 665 million euros ($732.4 million).The business that would be sold, is comprised of bumpers and front end modules, and employs 7,700 people in 22 sites. The composite business, the Faurecia plant for Smart in Hambach (France) and two joint ventures in Brazil and China are not included in the deal. (ETauto)

• The Hyundai Creta has obtained a 4 star rating in crash test conducted by the Latin New Car Assessment Programme. The car is built by Hyundai in India.The Creta scored 15.57 points out of a possible 17 in adult occupant safety and 29.87 out of a possible 49 in child occupant safety, which translates to 4 star and 3 stars respectively.(team-bhp)

• Jaguar Land Rover India (JLR India) has announced the launch of its new smartphone integration platform, InControl Apps, which has been developed in conjunction with Bosch. The InControl Apps platform transfers the interface from the phone to the in-car infotainment touch-screen, to allow users access to popular apps. Jaguar Land Rover and Bosch have worked closely with leading third party app developers, specifically in India, to enable access to an initial suite of Android and iOS compatible applications. The India-customised platform will allow access to popular apps in India like NDTV, Hungama, MapmyIndia and Zomato. - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/jlr-india-partners-bosch-introduce-smartphone-integration-platform-9922#sthash.JBzHfPMw.dpuf

• Honda Car India feels that the buying preference in the budget end of the domestic car market is steadily shifting towards bigger and better equipped cars. Such a change in trend puts Honda’s expertise in bigger cars in an advantageous position. Economic Times reports that Japanese automaker is studying the Indian market for an entry level hatchback.Such a model would slot below the neglected Brio but will be positioned above the likes of Maruti Alto, Renault Kwid and Hyundai Eon. More interestingly, if the company green lights the project, the small car will be specific to the Indian market and will be the first ever product to be developed by its local R&D division.(Rushlane)