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India Auto News Tuesday, 03 August 2010 |
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National - Hero Honda net profit falls by 1.6 percent- Ashok Leyland buys 26 percent stake in UK-based Optare - Tyre companies mull another round of price hikes - Tata Motors to build HCV assembly plant in Myanmar - Maruti Suzuki to launch CNG variants of 5 models in August 2010 International - Toyota recalls 400,000 Avalons; 80,000 units of Lexus- Nissan Motor develops new technology to offset air-conditioners' drying effect |
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Hero Honda net profit falls by 1.6 percent
The country's number-one two-wheeler company, Hero Honda, registered a 1.6 percent fall in its net profit in the April-June quarter of 2010. This is for the first time in three years that the company has seen a decline in profits, even while its revenues grew by 12 percent. Hero Honda Motors Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Mr Ravi Sud, said that the decline was attributable to a series of hikes in commodity prices in the first half of the quarter. |
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Ashok Leyland buys 26 percent stake in UK-based Optare
Ashok Leyland Limited (ALL) has bought a 26 percent stake in the UK-based bus manufacturing company, Optare, for $7.5 million. The Indian CV maker will now have access to Optare's high-end technology, design and engineering capabilities. The two companies will jointly develop new products for both Indian and global markets. Ashok Leyland board member, Mr V Sumantran, said that the new pact would help the company widen its global presence. |
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Tyre companies mull another round of price hikes
Tyre-manufacturing companies in the country may hike prices for the fourth time this year as natural rubber costs continue to escalate. At present, most tyre makers are trying to absorb increasing raw material costs, but they may be forced to hike prices if the situation does not change. Apollo Tyres Chairman, Mr Onkar S Kanwar, told mediapersons that rubber prices had gone up by 150 percent in the past year, and that the tyre industry would not be able to bear the burden for long. |
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Tata Motors to build HCV assembly plant in Myanmar
Tata Motors will soon set up a Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) plant in Myanmar, in partnership with Myanmar Automobile & Diesel Industries Ltd (MADIL). The plant will have an initial production capacity of 1,000 units per year, which can later be scaled up to 5,000 units. Mr Debasis Ray, Tata Motors' Corporation Communications head, said that the company would assemble heavy trucks at the new plant, and that the vehicles would be marketed and sold by MADIL. |
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Maruti Suzuki to launch CNG variants of 5 models in August 2010
Maruti Suzuki India Limited
(MSIL) is planning to launch CNG variants of five of its models - the WagonR,
Alto, Estilo,
Eeco and the SX4
- in the second week of August 2010. In the April-June quarter this year, Maruti's market share in the passenger car segment fell from 55 percent to 47.59 percent owing to increased competition. MSIL General Manager, Mr Shashank Srivastava, told mediapersons that the company would be the first car-maker in the country to launch car variants with factory-fitted CNG kits. |
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Toyota recalls 400,000 Avalons; 80,000 units of Lexus
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has announced a global recall of 400,000 units of the Avalon and 80,000 units of the Lexus to correct a fault in the vehicles' steering. Over 400,000 of the affected vehicles are in the US, while the remaining units are spread across Europe, the Middle East, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, China and Japan. The company said that it had received three unconfirmed reports of accidents involving the Avalon, and none involving the Lexus. |
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Nissan Motor develops new technology to offset air-conditioners' drying effect
Japan-based Nissan Motor Company has developed a new technology that helps moisturize the skin of passenger-car occupants by dispensing vitamin C through the car's air filter. Nissan's climate system engineer, Yuzuri Yoshinami, said that the company already had a system to clean the air in its cars, and that it later thought of adding something to the air, as well. The idea of using vitamin C came as a result of customers complaining about the drying effect of air-conditioning on the skin. |
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NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES - Auto News Roundup, 27-July-2010 - Auto News Roundup, 22-July-2010 |
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