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India Auto News DriveInside.com |
Auto News Highlights - Ratan Tata wins 'Business Process Innovation Award' from The Economist- Porsche Panamera to be launched in India on October 6, 2009 - JLR to close one plant in the UK; British MP upset over decision - Nissan's sports car Z370 to be launched in India in 2010 - Volkswagen Beetle to come to India as a CBU - Maruti SX4 to be relaunched with a more powerful engine - Hyundai India starts driving school for the economically backward |
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Ratan Tata wins 'Business Process Innovation Award' from The Economist Tata Motors Chairman, Mr Ratan Tata, has been named the winner of The Economist's eighth 'Business Process Innovation Award', for developing the Tata Nano. The Innovation Awards are given out by The Economist every year to honour individuals for implementing their innovative ideas. The magazine said in a statement that Mr Tata heads a company that has developed the world's lowest-cost car, and that is
changing the way Indian companies conduct business. It called the Nano 'an emblematic example of India's frugal engineering'. |
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Porsche Panamera to be launched in India on October 6, 2009 German luxury car maker Porsche will be launching its luxury sedan, the Panamera, in India on October 6, 2009. The car has a top speed of 303 km/hr and can accelerate to 100 km/hr in just 4.2 seconds. It is expected to be priced at approximately Rs 2 crore in India. Porsche's products are imported to India by Precision Cars India, which has already received 13 bookings for the Panamera. The company hopes to sell at least 50 units of the car in the current fiscal. |
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JLR to close one plant in the UK; British MP upset over decision Tata Motors-owned Jaguar-Land Rover(JLR) has announced that it will shut down one of its West Midlands plants in the UK. The decision is a part of the ailing luxury brands' strategy to become profitable again. JLR also plans to develop more products and infuse more funds to give a boost to its sales. A Labour Party MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, Mike O'Brien, said in response to the announcement that it would be 'bad judgement' on the firm's part to shut down a plant. He said that he wanted to meet JLR representatives and also Tata Motors Chairman, Mr Ratan Tata, to discuss their decision. |
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Nissan's sports car Z370 to be launched in India in 2010 Japanese car company Nissan Motor will be launching its sports car, the Z370, in India in January 2010. Mr G M Singh, Vice Chairman of Hover Automotive India (Nissan India's marketing partner) told media persons that though there isn't a huge market for sports cars in the country right now, it is expected to increase over a period of time. Nissan's small car, the Micra, will also be launched in 2010 with both diesel and petrol engine options. |
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Volkswagen Beetle to come to India as a CBU European auto major Volkswagen will soon be launching its iconic car, the Beetle, in India. Though the company did not give a time frame for the small car's launch, it did say that the car would be brought to India as a Completely Built Unit (CBU). Mr Neeraj Garg, who is a member of Volkswagen India's Board of Directors, told media persons that people know more about the Beetle than they do about Volkswagen and that the car could be used as a brand building tool by the company. It is expected to be priced at approximately Rs 15 lakh, and will compete with the Fiat 500. |
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Maruti SX4 to be relaunched with a more powerful engine Maruti Suzuki's mid-sized sedan, the SX4, will be relaunched within the next two weeks. The company has stopped manufacturing the car for the time being, and is upgrading it with a new 1.6 litre engine. The revamped SX4 will have a much better pick-up than its predecessor and will also be priced higher. The current top-end Zxi variant is priced at Rs 7.5 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Maruti Suzuki is bringing out the new version of the SX4 in the hope of reviving the car's sales. |
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Hyundai India starts driving school for the economically backward
Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) recently started a driving school for the underprivileged, as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. HMIL will invest a sum of Rs 12 lakh, annually, to train economically backward youths as drivers. The school has been set up within HMIL's factory premises in Chennai and will train four batches of drivers (or around 100 people) every year. Apart from giving driving lessons, Hyundai Driving School will also provide theory classes to ensure that trainees understand the dynamics of vehicles and how to optimise their performance. |
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NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES - Auto News Roundup, 24-September-2009 - Auto News Roundup, 22-September-2009 |
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