 |
 |
India Auto News DriveInside.com |
Auto News Highlights - Hyundai may replace Tucson with Santa Fe- Ford recalls 4.5 million vehicles in US - Tata Motors launches Indigo Manza - GM India to introduce 'Spark Electra' within an year - Nissan India to start trial production of compact car in November 2009 - SIAM projects double-digit growth for auto sector in FY 2009-10 - GM expected to sign Opel deal this week |
||||
 |
||||
Hyundai may replace Tucson with Santa Fe
Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) may phase out its only SUV in the country, the Hyundai Tucson. Faced with stiff competition from Ford's Endeavour, Toyota's Fortuner, Chevrolet's Captiva and Mitsubhishi's Pajero, the Tucson has been able to sell only 3 units in the past four months. HMIL may discontinue the model after the launch of the Hyundai Santa Fe next year. The company's Managing Director, Mr H S Lheem, said that HMIL would try to assemble the Santa Fe at its plant in Chennai in order to price it competitively. |
||||
Ford recalls 4.5 million vehicles in US Ford Motor has decided to recall 4.5 million of its vehicles in the US, following an 18-month federal investigation on vehicle-fire incidents caused by faulty switches. The company has taken the step after avoiding it for years, in spite of pressure from safety organizations. It now says that the switch may leak internally, overheat and even burn under certain conditions. The switch is used to de-activate a vehicle's cruise control. Customers will be notified of the recall starting from October 26, 2009. |
||||
Tata Motors launches Indigo Manza
Tata Motors launched a new version of its entry-level sedan, the Indigo, this week. The 'Indigo Manza' is priced between Rs 4.8 lakh and Rs 6.75 lakh and is available in both petrol and
diesel variants. Mr Rajiv Dube, the head of Tata Motors' passenger car division, told media persons that the Manza was the best car the company had made so far. It comes with a collapsible steering wheel column,
front airbags and anti-lock braking system (ABS). The car will be sold in the market along with its older versions - the Indigo CS, the Indigo XL and the Indigo Marina. |
||||
GM India to introduce 'Spark Electra' within an year
The electric version of the Chevrolet Spark, the Spark Electra, will be launched in India within the next twelve months. General Motors India had entered into a joint venture with Bangalore based Reva Electric Car Company (RECC) last month to develop green cars for the country. Mr P Balendran, the Vice President of GM India, told reporters that under the JV, RECC would provide the technology, while GM would engineer and manufacture the cars. |
||||
Nissan India to start trial production of compact car in November 2009 Nissan India will start the first trial production of its small car in November, 2009. Approximately 30 units of the car will be manufactured in its first trial production at Nissan's Chennai plant. A company spokesperson refused to divulge details of the production schedule, but said that the small car would be ready for launch by May 2010. The trial production of the power train and the trial run of the body shop had commenced in September. |
||||
SIAM projects double-digit growth for auto sector in FY 2009-10 The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has projected a double-digit growth for the auto sector in financial year 2009-2010. This comes close on the heels of auto companies revealing their sales figures for September 2009, which have gone up by 20.6 per cent compared to sales in September 2008. SIAM had earlier given a more conservative growth estimate of 4-5 per cent for the year. The Director General of SIAM, Mr Dilip Chenoy, told media persons that the main reasons for the increase in sales are the government's stimulus packages and low interest rates on car loans. |
||||
GM expected to sign Opel deal this week General Motors is expected to finalise its Opel deal this week. The company's Chief Executive Officer, Fritz Henderson, said that GM might sign a deal selling a majority stake in Opel to a Canadian-Russian consortium within a week. The Detroit-based auto major had decided last month that it would sell a 55 per cent stake in Opel to Canada's Magna and Russia's Sberbank. Fritz's statement came after Opel labour leader Klaus Franz said on Monday that the deal was likely to be signed this week. |
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES - Auto News Roundup, 13-October-2009 - Auto News Roundup, 08-October-2009 |
||||
|
Send questions, thoughts, concerns and criticism to: editor@driveinside.com How to Advertise About DriveInside.com Unsubscribe from this mailing list. |
||||
