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Audi has officially confirmed plans to bring the A3 saloon to India by 2013. In an exclusive interview, Audi India’s boss, Michael Perschke said, “The next logical step after getting the Q3 to India in 2012 is to look at the A3.” The German carmaker’s aggressive approach off late towards the Indian market in terms of product launches and variants has been paying off, and Audi is looking to build on this. It will conduct product clinics for the A3 by end-2011 and if they confirm what Audi has in mind, the A3 is certainly on the cards, added Perschke. The concept A3, premiered at the Geneva Motor Show in March, is the smallest saloon in the Audi range. At 4440mm in length, it is 188mm shorter than the Jetta and 260mm shorter than the A4 saloon, which stretches to 4700mm. The upcoming production version of the new four-door is expected to retain the same dimensions. Styling cues have been borrowed from larger Audis — the prominent six-corner, single-frame grille, along with angular head...

For years America has been the last bastion for gas-guzzling big wheels. Now a new industry commitment on mileage could change all that, offering India's booming small car market access to the Mecca of Motown-USA .  The new CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) targets that White House and theDetroit biggies have finally agreed upon is 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.  For India, that means the final frontier for big cars and pick-ups will now be forced to go mini in search of mileage nirvana. That packs in huge opportunities not only for vehicle makers like Tata Motors with strong small car DNA but also component companies and even MNCs likeSuzuki that have honed their small car expertise in theIndia market.  SaysKumar Kandaswami, senior director , Deloitte: "( The new) CAFE standards would mean the cars in the US are likely to get smaller in the coming years. Given India is amongst the largest manufacturing bases for small cars, it could mean opportunity for ex...

 H ero Honda Motors on Friday said it has changed its name to Hero MotoCorp following the exit of its erstwhile Japanese promoter, Honda, from the company. The company is also in the process of introducing a new global brand identity in London next month. "Hero Honda Motors Ltd was on Friday formally renamed as Hero MotoCorp Ltd. In the run-up to the unveiling of its new global brand identity, the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer received the necessary statutory approval from the Registrar of Companies on Friday for the changeover to the new name," the company said. Earlier last month, the shareholders of the company had approved the changing of the name. In March this year, the company had hired global brand and innovation specialist Wolff Olins to create its new brand identity. A part of the Omnicom group, Wolff Olins was mandated to work on the new brand identity in its totality, including the brand architecture, name, logo and positioning. Lat...

 US auto giant Ford said on Thursday it would invest $1 billion to build a vehicle assembly and engine plant in India as it ramps up production to exploit the country's burgeoning car market. The new factory in Gujarat will employ around 5,000 workers and will be Ford's second in India,  Michael Boneham , Ford's president in India, told reporters in a conference call. Ford's existing manufacturing facility is located in Chennai. The Gujarat government will allocate 400 acres to  Ford Motors . The facility will come up near Tata Nano's mother plant in Sanand, located 40 kms from Ahmedabad. [Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com]

US carmaker Ford is likely to make an announcement on the setting up its secondcar manufacturing facility in Sanand taluka near here, official sources said on Tuesday.  Ford India's proposed site is likely to be next to Tata Nano's plant in Sanand. The company currently has a manufacturing facility at Chennai.  "Ford has been in discussion with the government to set up its second car manufacturing plant at an investment of nearly Rs 5,000 crore. It has decided on a 400 acres of land at Sanand for the facility," the state government officials told PTI.  The District Collector of Ahmedabad is in the process of earmarking 400 acres of land in Sanand, nearly 40 km from here, for Ford India, they said.  In reply to a query on announcement of manufacturing facility in Gujarat,Ford India in a statement said, "As part of our plan to introduce eight new products by the middle of the decade, Ford is expanding its capacities at its existing facility in Tamil Nadu as well a...

The country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday joined hands with International Management Institute (IMI) for a part-time diploma course for its executives.  According to a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two organisations, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) will sponsor executives every year for the part-time post-graduate diploma in management (PGDM)) programme at IMI, the car-maker said in a statement. Commenting on the development, MSI Managing Executive Officer (Administration) S Y Siddiqui said: "This association withIMI will help our executives to gain world class management education at IMI... I am sure that this will help develop future industry leaders within Maruti Suzuki."  The three-year programme at IMI has classes scheduled in the evenings on Friday and Saturday and during the day on Sunday, making it ideal for working executives in theNCR, the company said. [Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com]

Fiat India Automobiles Ltd launches ‘Diksha’, an effort to provide educational avenues and technical training for the youth of the country. Fiat India has joined hands with Donbosco Vyawasaik Prashikshan Kendra, Pune for this initiative. The primary objective is to offer respectable livelihood to orphans, disadvantaged and poor students who otherwise are deprived of good educational facilities.   This initiative will use the immense knowledge, concentration and training available with Fiat to offer best vocational training to the students interested in making a career in the manufacturing world. With such a refined style of vocational training the students would be skilled to work in the automobile industry.  The Program Diksha includes courses like: Multi Brand Basic Automobiles Awareness for 4 Wheelers: A short term programme of four months. There will be three batches in a year and each batch will have twenty five students. Centre of Excellence: A long term program...

Japanese car giant Toyota on Wednesday announced an investment of nearly Rs 1,650 crore to ramp up the production capacity of its Indian operations by one lakh units and for increasing localisation of components by 2014.  The company, which is present in India through a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group, will invest Rs 898 crore to expand the production capacity of the two plants by 2013. Another group firm will put in an additional Rs 750 crore to set up aluminum casting and machining lines by 2014.  "ToyotaKirloskar Motor (TKM) today announced a further increase of its production capacity to 3,10,000 units by 2013. The expansion will come with an investment of Rs 898 crore approximately and generation of new employment opportunities," the company said in a statement.  The production capacity at the first plant will be enhanced from 90,000 units to 1,00,000 units, while the output at the second plant will be increased to 2,10,000 units from 1,20,000 units...

US car maker General Motors today launched the diesel version of its small car 'Beat' in India with a starting price of Rs 4.29 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), thereby heating up the competition in the segment.  The 1.0 litre diesel engine, which has been developed specifically for India by GM's Technical Centre in Bangalore in collaboration with GM Powertrain Europe, is the company's smallest diesel engine globally.  The company also said it may consider launching a diesel version of its another small car 'Spark' that can be powered by the same engine but with some modifications.  "This is the smallest diesel engine-powered passenger car for GM globally. We do not have any plan to manufacture this engine anywhere in the world,"General Motors India President and Managing DirectorKarl Slym told reporters here.  GM India, at present, sells a 1.2-litre petrol version of the Beat in a price range of Rs 3.55 lakh-Rs 4.74 lakh. The LPG option comes for Rs 4.16 l...

Audi, the German luxury car manufacturer, has introduced the top version of its flagship model - the new Audi A8 L W12 quattro. Equipped with a powerful 6.3 FSI petrol engine, the newest variant of Audi’s flagship sets new standards of luxury, dynamism and efficiency, accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds to effortlessly reach its governed top speed of 250 km/h. The new Audi A8 L W12 will be priced at INR 12,656,000(ex showroom Maharashtra). “The new A8 L W12 with its supremely powerful presence and design clearly derived from the brand’s genes is a concentrated high-tech package that confirms the Audi claim to technical leadership – “Vorsprung durch Technik”. The addition of this powerful engine to the Audi A8 L range in India will further consolidate our position in the limousine segment. Having already recorded exceptional growth in 2011, I am confident that all new Audi A8 L W12 will raise the bar and set new standards for luxury and engineering performance in India”, sai...

Tata Motors (SA) (Proprietary) Ltd., Tata Motors' joint venture with Tata Africa Holding (Pty) Ltd., today formally opened its assembly plant in South Africa at Rosslyn, north of Pretoria, in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The establishment of the plant is a major step towards bolstering the operations and presence of the Tata Group in South Africa. Built over a period of 18 months, the plant is spread over an area of 34,500 sq. metres. In line with latest world-class manufacturing practices, the plant has been equipped with state-of-the-art equipment following lean manufacturing principles. It has built-in flexibilities to assemble large numbers and different variants in mixed mode production, to meet the requirements of the South African market. The entire capital outlay, encompassing civil and plant engineering work for the facility, has been sourced from and carried out by South African suppliers and companies. In addition, all major equipment, like heavy duty cran...

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) is all-set to launch the much-anticipated all-new Swift on August 17.   The company has also released a teaser website for its all-new Swift and has revealed  that all customers who have booked the Swift will now get the all-new model instead. However there will be an incremental cost over the outgoing model.   The all-new Swift looks quite similar in terms of styling to the outgoing model but is in fact built on an all-new platform, each body panel is new and the car is bigger than its predecessor in every dimension. The interior gets some styling cues from the larger Kizashi saloon, particularly in  its centre console. The new Swift, like the outgoing model, is expected to spawn a saloon variant as well.   Engine options are likely to be carried over from the outgoing model, however according to Maruti there will be VVT (Variable Valve Timing) on some models. The petrol will be powered by a 1.2-litre, 84bhp K-series motor while the d...

Ever dreamt of owning a Mercedes at half the cost. It is possible now with the German luxury carmaker offering 'individual lease' options to customers who can now get a new car on lease  instead of buying it with full payment.  Daimler, the parent of Mercedes Benz, began its financial services business in India on Tuesday and said that the bouquet of services this division will offer would include individual lease plans, something very popular in the West but rarely used in India in individual cases.  "Individual lease is a big draw in developed markets. In the US, 40% of individual sales is through the leasing route while only 15% through finance. We expect the trend to pick up in India as well and this country seems to be adequately placed for such an option," said Klaus Entenmann, global chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Financial Services AG, which annually does business to the tune of euro 64 billion.   Explaining the process of individual leas...

General Motors India would launch the diesel variant of its   Chevrolet Beat   in the Indian market on July 25, a top company official said here today.   "With fluctuation in fuel prices in India from time to time, the new diesel Beat, the prices of which will be announced at the launch will revolutionise the small car segment, with its engine capacity and fuel economy," Karl Slym President and Managing Director General Motors India told reporters here.   The company, which sold about 1.1 lakh cars last year in India, was doubling its growth rate in India as compared to industry average and expected to sell about 1.4 lakh vehicles in all variants this year,up by more than 30 per cent, he said.   Slym, here to launch a new dealership along with two attached workshops, said the outlet was 250th in India. With tremendous demand for its cars particularly in rural areas, the company would increase sales and service network to 300 locations by the end of this year, ...

Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover are planning to jointly develop engines and further strengthen synergies between the two companies. A statement, confirming the integration, has been made by Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Motors. The joint development program will see manufacturing facilities being set up both in India and the UK. Tata Motors is also considering options for assembly and localisation of select products in China, which has become an important market for the company. Both, Tata Motors in India and JLR in the UK, have extensive product development plans for cars, off-road vehicles and commercial vehicles, powered by regular and alternative fuels, as also electric and hybrid vehicles, to meet future fuel efficiency and low emission requirements. Developing engines in-house and an engine sharing programme will improve the economies of scale. The jointly developed engines will be used for high-end Tata products and newly developed smaller entry-level JLR products. The new rang...

Mercedes Benz will reportedly unveil its compact cars in the Indian market by the end of 2012.  Reports quoted Mercedes Benz India MD and CEO Peter Honegg as saying that, "Initially, cars with Left Hand Drive option, manufactured at our facilities in Germany and Hungary, will be introduced in Europe later this year. We plan to bring them to India by 2012-13 as Completely Knocked Down (CKD) units," adding that the facility to manufacture the compact class is not currently available at the Chakan facility near Pune.  "Last year we sold 5,800 cars. This year we expect to cros 7,000 units. During January-June (2011) we sold 3,800 units," he was further quoted as saying.  Reports stated that the company has invested  Rs.  400 crore to ramp up the paint shop at their Chakan plant, which has a capacity of 20,000 units. [Source:indiainfoline.com]

German car-maker Audi, has reportedly introduced its RS5 Sports Coupe in Hyderabad today. According to reports, the sports car with a high revving 4.2 FSI V8 with 450 hp is said to be priced at  Rs.  77.35 lakh (ex-showroom).  Reports quoted, Michael Perschke, Head, Audi India, as saying that, “Audi RS5 is equipped with a powerful V8 engine, a new permanent all-wheel drive system and a whole series of performance characteristics. The new RS5 will further help us consolidate our position in the sports car segment.” [Source:indiainfoline.com]

  LML plans to re-enter the booming motorcycle segment with its four-stroke 100cc and 125cc bikes that it had stopped manufacturing over five years ago when labour unrest led to a lockout at the factory. The company also plans to enter the gearless scooter market and launch products for both local and overseas markets. Apart from a 125cc gearless scooter, the company is also planning for an India-first 200cc geared scooter. Already launched in the export market, this 200cc scooter will be a lifestyle product for a niche market. Before its sabbatical in 2006, LML had a range of bikes from the Adreno FX 110cc to the Freedom, the latter with four variants from 110cc to 125cc. LML’s strategy for scooters is premised on different positioning as well as looks. It hopes to keep the pricing at a par with competing products. LML’s USP has been its multi-utility and metal-bodied geared scooters for niche buyers. Its plans are to expand its product range with a new 150cc Select 4, four-stro...

Toyota has launched a refreshed version of its Fortuner SUV at a ceremony in Bangkok. The refreshed SUV has been launched for the Thailand market and the same could make it to India in early 2012. The refreshed Fortuner has an all-new nose designed to appear wider and more aggressive. It has new headlamps that are slightly stretched, a restyled and sculpted bonnet with a larger scoop for the air-intake, a re-profiled bumper and a wider redesigned chrome grille that makes it resemble the Land Cruiser. The Fortuner gets new seats and darker wooden trim. Toyota hasn’t changed the SUV’s side profile but the rear now gets new clear-lens tail-lamps that have a different profile from the current ones. The roof-rack and scuff plate, as seen in the picture, however, are likely to be optional, which may or may not come with this updated version. The current Fortuner is powered by a 3.0-litre common-rail diesel motor that churns out a respectable 169bhp. This is the same motor that does duty in ...

Japanese auto major Toyota Motor Corporation plans to start producing its sedan Etios, which has been developed specifically for the Indian market, in Brazil by late 2012. In a filing to the US Securities Exchange Commission, Toyota Motor Corporation said: "In August 2010, Toyota decided to construct a vehicle plant in Sorocaba, Brazil. This plant is expected to produce the Etios small vehicle introduced in India with an annual production capacity of 70,000 units. The plant is expected to commence production in late 2012." The company that is present in India through a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group -- Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) had launched the Etios sedan in India last December. The car has been a success with robust demand. Last month TKM had also launched the hatchback version, the Liva. [Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com]

Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata today said the group's British firm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), is looking at increasing its assembly operations in India, besides planning to start assembling in China as well.   "Assembly operations in India have commenced for the Land Rover Freelander. Assembly of other Land Rover products are also under consideration," Tata told shareholders of   Tata Motors   in its Annual Report for 2010-11.   In May this year, JLR opened its first assembly plant in Pune to assemble sports utility vehicle Land Rover Freelander 2 from completely knocked down (CKD) kits shipped from the Halewood manufacturing unit in Liverpool, UK.   Commenting on the Chinese operations of JLR, Tata said: "The company is also considering various options for assembly and localisation of selected products in China, which has become an important market for the company."   He said both Tata Motors and JLR are coming up with a joint engine development programme w...