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South Korean two-wheeler maker S&T Motors today launched its two Hyosung branded premium bikes in India, priced between Rs 4.75 lakh and Rs 5.69 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The company has joined hands with Pune-based Garware Motors to set up an assembly line at Wai in Maharashtra and is looking to form a joint venture with the domestic firm to bring in its entire range of products in the next 3-5 years. "India is really moving in the right direction and so we are here. It is the right time and right place for us," S&T Motors President and CEO Taekwon Kim told reporters here. The company will assemble the two Hyosung products at the newly built assembly facility, set up by Garware Motors, and will sell these as completely knocked down units, he added. S&T Motors today introduced its sports bike GT650R, powered by a 650cc engine, in two options for Rs 4.75 lakhand Rs 4.90 lakh. It has also rolled out a 700cc cruise bike – ST7 -- for Rs 5.69 lakh. This, however, ...

Italian two-wheeler and small commercial vehicles maker Piaggio & Company is looking at two versions of its concept car codenamed NT3, a three-seater car developed for markets like India and Vietnam along with other regions of South East Asia. The company is looking at an upper-end model that will cater to personal mobility, while it will also have an offerings for application movement. The NT3 is expected to see an official launch by the end of 2012, according to sources. Another two-wheeler maker, Bajaj Auto, is also looking at entering into the small car space around 2012. It recently said that its four-wheeler paltform will draw synergy from three-wheelers. Talking to FE, Ravi Chopra, chairman and managing director, Piaggio Vehicles, said, “The demand for small cars will be large in the densely populated countries and cities. These cars will also will be able to travel to places where the road infrastructre is not the best.” He added that the application movement version...

Renault-Nissan Automotive India Private Ltd (RNAIPL) today appointed Kou Kimura as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director for its Chennai manufacturing facility with effect from April 1. Kimura was promoted to CEO & MD from his previous position of SVP-Plant Operations of Chennai facility, which he held since 2008. Kimura replaces Akira Sakurai who successfully steered Renault-Nissan Automotive India, operations in the initial phase of production, the company said in a statement. After two years as Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of RNAIPL, Sakurai has now been appointed as SVP, Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering division at the Corporate Headquarters in Japan. However, Marc Nassif, Managing Director & Country General Manager for Renault in India, continues in his role as Deputy CEO of RNAIPL, it said. Kimura is a Graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Touhoku University in Japan. [Source: PTI ]

General Motors (GM) has officially announced that production of the Chevrolet Beat’s 1.0 litre diesel engine will commence June 2011 onwards at its Talegaon plant. The company will launch the Beat diesel in the second-half of 2011. The small 1.0 litre diesel engine which could be marketed as ‘XSDE (Xtra Smart Diesel Engine) is produced by a multinational team led by GM’s Torino Engineering Centre and supported by GM India’s R&D engineers. The new 1.0 litre diesel engine boasts of an iron block, aluminium DOHC cylinder head, lifetime maintenance-free timing chain, centrifugal blow-by separator filter (for lower oil consumption), low-noise timing gears, a balancer shaft for state-of-the-art NVH (noise-vibration-harshness) and a precisely sized waste-gated turbocharger.  The engine will produce a maximum torque of 140 Nm at 1,750 rpm and close to 100 Nm of the total torque will be available at as low as 1,250 rpm which will make the Beat diesel, easy to drive, in the slow-moving ...

Maruti Suzuki Alto, the highest volume car in the Indian market, has become the biggest selling car in the world in year 2010. The Maruti Alto left behind the likes of Volkswagen Golf and Fiat Uno in a number of world markets. Incidentally, this is the first time in the history of Indian automobile industry when a car that is best selling in the Indian market has surfaced as a global best seller. The overall sales of Alto increased by 25 percent during this year as compare to the sales in the preceding calendar year. The launch of a new peppier version of Alto, the Alto K10, kept the sales momentum alive for the car throughout the year. As per a recent statement given by Mr. IV Rao, managing executive officer (engineering), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., “The K10 has been very well received and has been responsible for the growth that we witnessed last year. We are confident it will do even better this year.” The Maruti Alto has been one of the most successful cars in the Indian market sin...

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) today launched its 15 HP tractor -- Yuvraj 215 -- in Pune, priced at Rs 1,81,000.  "With the launch of Yuvraj tractor in Maharashtra, we expect to see a change in the dynamics of the agriculture community. Yuvraj enables the small farmer to own a tractor and benefit from mechanisation, thus helping him boost his productivity," M&M General Manager Special Projects( Farm Equipment Sector) Sudhir Shah said in a statement.  "The tractor has been well received in Gujarat and we are sure we will get the same response from farmers in Maharashtra," he said.  Yuvraj 215 promises a top speed of 25.6 kmph and haulage capacity of 1.5-tonne. The tractor is being manufactured at the company's Rajkot facility with a production capacity of 16,000 tractors per annum.  "The Yuvraj is a key part of M&M's vision to go beyond retailing tractors and focus on creation of farm tech prosperity," M&M Senior Vice-President, Mark...

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is in talks with Japanese major Mitsubishi for a global strategic alliance to source farm equipment products including tractors as it looks to expand presence in major markets across the globe.  India's largest tractor producer plans to form joint product development teams with Mitsubishi, seeking to transform the sourcing arrangements for the US and Indian markets into a global strategic alliance. Under the planned alliance, M&M will source farm equipment products from Mitsubishi and sell them under its brand name in growing international markets.  "We are trying to cement a global relationship, identifying the right markets and products. We are looking at different possibilities and joint product development teams are being identified," said Pravin Shah, chief executive-international operations-automotive and farm equipment sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra.  Joint teams will look at developing products that suit the local market pr...