Indian Auto Industry Update

21 March 2017

IndustrySC directs automakers to give details of unsold BS-III vehicles

Tata Motors plans to raise Rs 500 crore via NCDs

Interviews amp FeaturesamplsquoWord of mouth is critical for success in car marketamprsquo Mayank Pareek President Tata Motors

Shuttl bridging gap in public transport by allowing users to book a bus for daily commute at an affordable price

Hereamprsquos how much your next used motorcycle car or superbike could cost you

Tata Tigor Complete details revealed

Cars SUVs MUVsMaruti Suzuki releases Road Safety Index for 8 Indian cities

Tata Motors commences pre-bookings of Tata Tigor

2017 Jeep Compass to get GKN drivelines AWD Disconnect System

Toyota i-Road concept car promises quick and clean city commute

Maruti verdict amplsquodistressingamprsquo but cannot cow down unions says CITU

Luxury CarsCommercial Vehicles

Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt meets PM Modi

VECV launches AMT in heavy trucks buses

Construction amp Agri MachineryEscorts scrip races ahead on sales profit

23 WheelersSuzuki Motorcycle India aims to sell 500000 units in FYamprsquo18

Yamahas YZFampndashR3 Cygnus Ray-ZR receive India Design Mark certification

Promoter Bahadur Chand Investments to buy 897 stake in Hero MotoCorp

E-BikesComponents

CII elects JBM Groups Nishant Arya as Chairman of its Haryana Chapter

Wabco India demonstrates safety tech at Tata Motors T1 Prima Truck Racing

Allied IndustriesIndias rubber imports to increase Expert

Tyre stocks in focus Balkrishna Industries hits new high

Steelbird ties up with Bargy Design

Emissions EnvironmentFinance amp InsuranceOil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels

Overhang of global oil inventory to keep crude prices capped in near term

Efforts on to reduce crude oil imports Dharmendra Pradhan

Crude oil futures plunge to to Rs 3165 per barrel

News MagazinesKTM to launch fuel-injected two-strokes globally

Indiaamprsquos top two-wheeler makers complete BS-IV transition

Tata Tigor bookings open

Hero presents 50 scooters to Gurugram women police

2017 Force Gurkha launched at Rs 838 lakh

Honda WR-V vs rivals Specifications comparison

Suzuki launches BS IV-compliant Hayate EP and Letamprsquos

Next-gen Audi A6 A7 and A8 front fascia leaked

Updated 2017 TVS Apache RTR 200 4V launched

Nissan design chief Shiro Nakamura to retire

2017 KTM 390 Duke All you need to know

BMW G310 R India launch delayed

2017 BMW 5-series India review test drive

Maruti Vitara Brezza long term review second report

2017 Tata Tigor review test drive

International NewsGM tries a subscription plan for cadillacs - a Netfliz for cars at $1500 a month

Toyotas all-new Lexus RX to get aluminium from Arconic

Ford Focus Electric gets a new outrageous green colour for 2018 globally

Renault Kadjar gets a new petrol engine Limited edition Megane introduced globally

Volvos Filipa Hoppenbrouwers encourages women to work in production

French emissions probe clears Opel others accused of fraud

Austria joins up charging points to boost electric car usage

Porsche pockets a whopping $17250 profit on every car

EconomyRupee scales new 16-month high up 10 paise at 6536

Stocks down to a reality check Sensex gives up 130 pts

GST impact on inflation to be less than 20 bps Nomura

Credit slowdown seen in 90 sectors auto up by 3-4 RBI data

ClosingLast Financial Closing

Industry

SC directs automakers to give details of unsold BS-III vehicles The Economic Times (Web Edition)

New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday has asked all the automobile manufacturers to furnish details regarding unsold BharatStage-III (BS-III) vehicles

It further said that based on those figures it will decide whether to allow the automakers to sell those vehicles after March 31 2017or not

The Court has also directed Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) to provide details of number of BS-III compliantvehicles produced in the country from December 31 2015-till date

A bench headed by justice Madan B Lokur was hearing a plea filed by Bajaj Auto seeking to cease sales of BS-III vehicles fromApril 1 2017

Manufacturing of BS-III vehicles will not be possible from April 2017 However registration of such vehicles is possible Companieslike Bajaj Auto and Toyota Kirloskar Motor have already informed that they have stopped manufacturing of such vehicles and theirproduct portfolio is now entirely BS-IV compliant

Most recently two wheeler manufacturers like Honda Motorcycle amp Scooter India and Kawasaki India has started offering discountsof up to Rs 1 lakh on their BS-III compliant models

Industry body SIAM has apparently informed the pollution control board the 20000 passenger vehicles 75000 commercialvehicles 47000 three-wheelers and about 750000 two-wheelers (all of BS-III stage) would remain yet to be sold as of April 1httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysc-directs-automakers-to-give-details-of-unsold-bs-iii-vehicles57732151Supreme Court seeks details of unsold BS-III vehicles

The Statesman (Web Edition)httpwwwthestatesmancombusinesssc-directs-siam-to-give-details-of-unsold-bs-iii-vehicles-1490006319html BS-III vehicles SC seeks details from auto firms on unsold inventoryThe Indian Express (Web amp Print Edition)httpindianexpresscomarticlebusinessbs-iii-vehicles-sc-seeks-details-from-auto-firms-on-unsold-inventory-4578143 Anti-pollution body seeks ban on registration of BS-III emission vehiclesHindustan Times (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwhindustantimescomdelhianti-pollution-body-seeks-ban-on-registration-of-bs-iii-emission-vehiclesstory-LEg8cSpImP1dQhHVx0HhMOhtmlSC to car makers Give details of unsold BS-III vehiclesminthttpwwwlivemintcomPolitics48bnbP6KTDBiTNCtA8RvwLSC-to-car-makers-Give-details-of-unsold-BSIII-vehicleshtml

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Tata Motors plans to raise Rs 500 crore via NCDs PTISee this story in The Economic Times (Web Edition)

New Delhi Home-grown auto major Tata Motors on Monday said it would consider raising Rs 500 crore by issuing non-convertibledebentures (NCDs) and will hold a board meeting in this regard on March 24

The company is desirous of offering the seventh series of its rated listed unsecured redeemable NCDs aggregating to Rs 500crore and in this regard is holding a meeting of its duly constituted committee of the board on March 24 2017 Tata Motors said ina BSE filing

In February the company had stated that it planned to raise Rs 500 crore by offering the sixth series of NCDs The board hadapproved the proposal on March 2

Last year in July Tata Motors had announced it planned to raise Rs 3000 crore in 12 months through NCDs or rupee denominatednon-convertible foreign currency bonds on a private placement basis

The company had stated that it planned to use the fund for repayment of certain NCDsterm loans from banks and to finance part ofthe ongoing capital expenditure during the next 12 months as also for general corporate purposes

Shares of Tata Motors closed 007 per cent down at Rs 476 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financetata-motors-plans-to-raise-rs-500-crore-via-ncds57733707

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Interviews amp Features

acirceuro˜Word of mouth is critical for success in car marketacirceurotrade Mayank Pareek President Tata Motors S Ronender SinghThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)

Tata Motorsamprsquo President Mayank Pareek elaborates on the companyamprsquos expansion plans and new compact sedan Tigor

Tata Motors the countryamprsquos largest automobile company in terms of revenue has seen many ups and downs in its journey asa passenger car maker Itamprsquos products such as Indica and Indigo are mostly used for commercial purpose But this perceptionis changing The company has worked around a new design and architecture in the recent past and has launched products like theTiago Zest and Hexa which have many personal users and the numbers are growing It has lined up another model ampmdash Tigorampmdash a compact sedan based on the Tiago platform for launch on March 29 Unlike the regular three-box sedan with its bootlid the amplsquoStylebackamprsquo has a coupeacute-like profile and Tata Motors expects to reach out to young customers who are lookingto upgrade their hatchback The company has opened pre-bookings of Tigor from Monday at Rs5000 In an interview withBusinessLine Mayank Pareek President Passenger Vehicle Business Tata Motors shares features about the car as well as thecompanyamprsquos expansion plans Excerpts

You seem very confident about Tigor What was the response from consumers to your researchstudies about this car

Without customer feedback we wouldnamprsquot have come out with such a car The trick in this business is that you shouldanticipate the game and once you do that you can play the game We started conceptualising this car three years ago and our firstwords to designers was amplsquogive me a car which is built on same platform as Tiago but looks completely different and has aroad presence when you see it from 100 metresamprsquo And that worked This car is all about design and infotainment Ourconfidence is born out of that

What are your marketing plans for this product How does it fit into a segment

Itamprsquos a sedan with a styleback It is actually a sedan with a boot that is well designed and we will market it accordingly We gota lot of good responses at the Geneva Motor Show recently and it will be more exciting hereamphellipfashion never goes out of styleFor instance what we did with Hexa was different ampmdash we asked consumers to experience the drive ampmdash and test drive in

extreme conditions We did that in six cities Now we are doing this in 25 more cities as word of mouth spreads Our core whichwe are changing with Tigor is ampmdash huge experience for the consumer and focus on impact design ampmdashand a differentexperience for consumers at dealerships

One of our challenges was after-sales service We worked on that and decided that if complaints comes to the head office we willresolve those the same day Today decision-making of a car happens on dining tables and a lot of research is done online butsome consumers get more confused That is where word of mouth becomes a critical ingredient for success in this market That iswhy we made our after-sales stronger so that word of mouth is generated through workshops

How much would such experiences make your market share grow

The results are decent The market is likely to grow by 10 per cent and we will grow by 20 per cent plus this year Next year themarket is expected to grow by 10 per cent again As a company we are covering only around 59 per cent of the Indian market andwe are not present in some key segments Going forward we will fill these segments with our new product language and newproduct architecture The product language in terms of amplsquoimpactamprsquo design and architecture means less number ofplatforms in more products In future we will have only two platforms but many more products Our play will increase from 59 percent to near 100 per cent

Things have changed in the past few years from IndicaIndigo to Tiago Hexa and Tigor But whatamprsquos happening to the designlanguage of products like Nano and Safari Storme

In India a product life cycle is a bit longer than any of the markets in the world But similar things will happen herealsoamphellipproducts will come get matured will get a boost and then some will disappear Like what we did with Vista Manzawhich we discontinued Some products will get discontinued because of new regulations too As a company we will decide whetheritamprsquos good to put technologies in these old products or take out new products

So will you discontinue the Nano any time soon

Right now it is still our product Nano still serves a purpose in some markets such as Kerala in some pockets of Uttar Pradesh andNasik One of the reasons for lower sales was demonetisation over the past few months

How many products are you planning to launch by 2020

We are not in segments like compact SUV where we will be launching one during Diwali this year called Nexon We donamprsquothave a premium hatchback and we should be there We are not in mid-size sedan van segment and by 2020 we will be in morethan 90 per cent of the segments That also gives us the advantage of a growing market share as we are working towardsamplsquocustomers for lifeamprsquo and winning back consumers

How will you expand your reach

Thatamprsquos another big challenge and is important for a car company The network is critical as it is important to be near thecustomer We have around 720 sales networks right now and plan to reach around 1500 by 2020 But that will not be enough andwe will have to increase gradually We are in resurgence You can call it the resurgence of Tata Motors

What are your expansion plans for the Gujarat plant where Tiago and now Tigor are being manufactured

We have a capacity of around two lakh units and based on response to Tigor may run on full utilisation over the next 18 monthshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniesmayank-pareek-tata-motors-tigorarticle9593113ece

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Shuttl bridging gap in public transport by allowing users to book a bus for daily commute at an affordable price Sukhpreet SinghThe Financial Express (Web Edition)

Commuting without a personal vehicle has not been an experience without any hassles One has to shift from one mode ortransport to another in order to reach their respective destination While another portion in this sector can opt for cabs the solutionis not cost-effective The gap between cost convenience as well as a good experience is large and this is where Shuttl a mobileapp based service provider will eventually and is bridging the gap for an affordable cost-effective solution We got in touch withAmit Singh Co-founder of Shuttl to understand what his concept is how cost-effective it is and what does a user benefit from it

Express Drives How the concept of Shuttl conceived and how is it different from the current mobility solutions available inDelhiNCR

Amit Singh NCR or the National Capital Region is the only city in India which has a fully functional metro rail service spawnedacross the region It is catering to 25 million commuters everyday and a lot of money has been spent into creating a cost-effectivepublic transport However Delhi Metro cannot solve all the problems If there is a person who wants to reach office without usingthe metro what other alternative does heshe have in its affordability bracket The trickle effect is that the person would purchase acar That is also where our solution is also routed and the problem is that in this sector either one gets a pack of seats (like in cabs)or one can get a quarter of a seat (public transport) The latter is where one may get a seat may not get a seat for the completejourney This is where the problem area in the mobility solution industry occours and this is what Shuttl does for a consumer Thebasic premise of Shuttl is that if a consumer gets a guaranteed one seat or more if required then a lot of the problems for theconsumer are taken care of This assurance of a seat benefits the end-user in two ways One is the moment a seat is booked theconsumer can spend the travel time in a productive manner The second issue is that using a cab means not only hitting a persons

pocket but wasting resources as well as polluting the environment

Shuttl is a concept where a consumer can take one seat for their journey to work or home and they have to pay only for that seatunlike public transport where the assurance of getting space to sit is absent or hiring a cab where one has to pay more Ourservices are not just limited to offering a space but also other services where one can charge their phone or work on their laptop asthe bus is equipped with power sockets This results in savings of up to 70 percent from ones commute expense every month if thesame person is taking a cab to work everyday Once that starts to happen people essentially start to leave their cars at home andhave a more reasonable alternative to travel in In addition this frees up space on the roads and all the infrastructure that is neededsuch as flyovers underpasses etc it is not excessively required What we are trying to do is essentially change the face of thisindustry by saving money without compromising the quality of travel

If we consider this example in a scientific way buses are the most space-efficient mode of transport for any city A metro is a viableexample but isnt the mobility solution to the last mile

What are the acceptance levels you have seen with users availing this facility

Unlike a service that would fill in minor gaps in an industry Shuttl is a service which people were waiting for Something that isaffordable and yet provides a hassle-free commuting experience The challenge here is to let people know there is a service of suchtype The moment people get to know about the services facility and how one needs to install a mobile application which will give allthe details of booking a seat as well as availability of the next vehicle Once these teething problems are resolved people will preferShuttl over other modes of transport Two-thirds of our customers currently using Shuttl app come through word of mouth Themoment people opt for a pack of five trial rides the conversion is high and they keep coming back The barrier is essentially not inserving them but one is about making them aware and telling them how to use this facility Since it is a new concept it will take timefor people to start using it on a regular basis

In terms of getting to pick up point customers have faced a bit of a hassle in order to get to it If this is an Uber cab one can get intouch with the driver and give him cues In our case there is a learning curve of how much prior should one reach at the pick-uppoint which is a problem for initial few times

Once the user knows what is the pick-up point next time there wont be a problem as heshe would calculate the distance of thepick-up point and plan accordingly In our system the absence of a physical validation is a problem for a few as the only thing thatcan physically validate the presence of Shuttl is the bus These are product level challenges and we have been able to address tosuch problem areas in the last one year of our operations Once this is sorted easing out where it eases out the problem area it is awin-win situation for Shuttl and the end-user

Apart from the operational challenges have there been any infrastructural issues with regards to the buses in itself or the route orany of such problems

There are components to this part of the product One is the route design which is data driven which includes office locations trafficpatterns travel times etc and we keep superimposing more layers of data which makes Shuttl more relevant in the system Secondis a customer feedback where we keep asking existing user what new routes can be suggested and recommend it to their friendcircle All this data helps us in creating a rich base of commute patterns that enable us to design our routes

Thirdly these routes have to be designed in a way that they are part of the commute network so that the buses are better utilisedThen comes the buses which is the main physical asset we have in our system There are two parts to it as well where one part iswhere we try and absorb all the buses which are parked and not being used by a fleet owner and can be used in a respective routerather than not being utilised at all At one point that bus is being used for some Adhoc work but the rest of the day is when thisparticular vehicle is not being used at all This area is beneficial as one can directly tap intothe supply of such vehicles

The challenge with such buses is that if you want to offer the next level of consumer experience the assorted set of vehicles do notdo the job as well Just to give you an example in India buses are sold in a different manner than cars One would go to ashowroom and buy the full car of their choice unlike buses or even trucks In buses there are three components the chassis andpowertrain the bus building and then there are accessories around it Quite often what happens is that people do not install what isnot needed in a bus for example an air conditioner This means that the buses body would be designed in a way that it can haveproper ventilation But if the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) knows they are building an air-conditioned bus it will havefused windows Because this information is no available with the OEM at the point of manufacturing the initial bus body has slidingwindows

Whenever there are sliding windows they may be left open which would impact the cooling Changing to fused windows is anadditional cost however not a major one So the thought of an air-conditioned bus at the OEM level is missing

The assurance that we give is the availability of your time which a person can utilise more productively rather than hunting forspace Other additions like pneumatic doors enable the driver to operate as well as securely locking a door with ease and withoutthe need of a helper Even the validation of a passenger is happening through the app which nullifies the need of a conductor or ahelper So how the app works is once a passenger gets inside the bus the mobile app asks you to tap on a button Once tappedthere is a soundwave that is emitted which the drivers device receives The moment this happens there is a check against thepassengers name For each passenger the sound wave is different Which also authenticates to the driver that the passengerboarding the bus is the right customer It also nullifies the hassle of checking of a ticket or issue of it and it is a paperlesstechnology

Once we know how the bus is going to be used we can keep doing small innovations This is just the beginning and were testingthe waters and there is a lot more scope to bring in new technologies in this system

How do you see this concept grow in the next three to four yearsWe havent even scratched the surface but what we can say is that we have validated a concept at a scale However it is still at its

validation stage and we need to bring up the scale What we are offering is a utility packed with some experience and thealternatives currently present have a huge difference Once acceptance level for this new technology is enough growth wouldhappen by itself The challenge is to operate at a relatively large scale as a number of buses which would ply later on would requirea strong technological backend so that there is no lack of coordination between the user and the bus driver That is the backbonewe have built over the last few months and now we are getting into a position where we can leverage this opportunity As we keepgetting more routes more buses would also ply and keep getting more user on the mobile application It is essentially educating theconsumer and launching routes

In the education of users we need to do a better job than what we are doing but once that is done the opportunity is humungousThere are about 15 million to 20 million commuters traveling everyday and if we can tap a small portion of that from a pessimisticapproach we still will have good presence Take an example of China where they sell the same number of two-wheelers as we dohowever the Chinese market has 10 times more sales in the four-wheeler passenger vehicle segment a number of them beingluxury brands This indicates that India is a bus-oriented market more than a car market When there is enough awareness it will bea revolution for the bus market We just need to be ready when the time comes and provide adequate supply for the demand

The recent addition of 10 free rides for working women by the company has also encouraged in a move where they have ahassle-free and safe mode of transport between their office and home With women making up more than 35 of the user base andoften being the main link for the family and connection to the community there remains a great deal of work to be done to ensureequal rights in all aspects of life Making commute safe and reliable is our core belief and purpose Standing strong as the preferredchoice of a commute for people in Delhi NCR this offer is a testimonial to how Shuttl wants to revolutionize the way India commutesto workhttpwwwfinancialexpresscomautocar-newsshuttl-bridging-gap-in-public-transport-by-allowing-users-to-book-a-bus-for-daily-commute-at-an-affordable-price595540

Top

Hereacirceurotrades how much your next used motorcycle car or superbike could cost you The Financial Express (Web Edition)

The most common problem of a buyer in the used vehicle market is the uncertainty that revolves around the prices he can expectfor their vehicle or for a vehicle they intend to buy For buying a used vehicle consumers search for company or private multi-branddealerships or at various online portals to these days Such portals offer a wide range of vehicle choices and related information atthe click of a button Despite all this the Indian used vehicle market is largely unorganised and is controlled by small sellers anddealers who operate independently

Naturally the market rate of most vehicles is defined by these group of small operators which at times is more than usual for thebuyer and less than normal for the seller However with increasing popularity of internet among car buyers for gatheringinformation many companies have started offering an expected valuation for various vehicles In addition these companies alsofacilitate buying selling of vehicles through their digital portals making the process easier for the consumer Droom is one suchcompany and they recently released their online trend report which is the basis of the data used in this story

The figures suggest there is a decrease in prices of used bike segment in 2016 as compared to 2015 while in the used car segmentthere was a minor increase in prices in 2016 For luxury cars there is a significant reduction in prices in 2016 and there was ahealthy increase in the prices of super bike segment as well In the second hand scooter segment which is ruled Honda Activa andTVS Jupiter a minor decline in prices was witnessed in 2016 compared to 2015

According to report by Droom online Automobile Trend the average prices of the used vehicles for the year 2015 as compared to2016 are as follows

Bike 2015 2016Rs 43360 Rs 39752Car 2015 2016Rs 562119 Rs 576969Luxury Car 2015 2016Rs 2889702 Rs 2573584Super Bike 2015 2016Rs 449727 Rs 56633Scooter 2015 2016Rs 32879 Rs 32430httpwwwfinancialexpresscomautocar-newsheres-how-much-your-next-used-motorcycle-car-or-superbike-could-cost-you595458

Top

Tata Tigor Complete details revealed The Statesman (Web Edition)

New Delhi It seems that every carmaker enjoys revealing facts bit-by-bit about their highly-anticipated upcoming cars In February2017 Tata Motors revealed the sketches of the Tiago-based sedan and confirmed that it will be named Tata Tigor and notamplsquoKite 5amprsquo Earlier this month we reported that the home-grown automaker will launch the Tigor on March 29 2017 Wecontacted several dealers and discovered that they have already started accepting booking for the Tigor at a refundable amount ofRs11000 Tata Motors has yet to officially announce that

Now though Tata Tigor specifications have been uncovered without any further delay letamprsquos dive straight into them

validation stage and we need to bring up the scale What we are offering is a utility packed with some experience and thealternatives currently present have a huge difference Once acceptance level for this new technology is enough growth wouldhappen by itself The challenge is to operate at a relatively large scale as a number of buses which would ply later on would requirea strong technological backend so that there is no lack of coordination between the user and the bus driver That is the backbonewe have built over the last few months and now we are getting into a position where we can leverage this opportunity As we keepgetting more routes more buses would also ply and keep getting more user on the mobile application It is essentially educating theconsumer and launching routes

In the education of users we need to do a better job than what we are doing but once that is done the opportunity is humungousThere are about 15 million to 20 million commuters traveling everyday and if we can tap a small portion of that from a pessimisticapproach we still will have good presence Take an example of China where they sell the same number of two-wheelers as we dohowever the Chinese market has 10 times more sales in the four-wheeler passenger vehicle segment a number of them beingluxury brands This indicates that India is a bus-oriented market more than a car market When there is enough awareness it will bea revolution for the bus market We just need to be ready when the time comes and provide adequate supply for the demand

The recent addition of 10 free rides for working women by the company has also encouraged in a move where they have ahassle-free and safe mode of transport between their office and home With women making up more than 35 of the user base andoften being the main link for the family and connection to the community there remains a great deal of work to be done to ensureequal rights in all aspects of life Making commute safe and reliable is our core belief and purpose Standing strong as the preferredchoice of a commute for people in Delhi NCR this offer is a testimonial to how Shuttl wants to revolutionize the way India commutesto workhttpwwwfinancialexpresscomautocar-newsshuttl-bridging-gap-in-public-transport-by-allowing-users-to-book-a-bus-for-daily-commute-at-an-affordable-price595540

Top

Hereacirceurotrades how much your next used motorcycle car or superbike could cost you The Financial Express (Web Edition)

The most common problem of a buyer in the used vehicle market is the uncertainty that revolves around the prices he can expectfor their vehicle or for a vehicle they intend to buy For buying a used vehicle consumers search for company or private multi-branddealerships or at various online portals to these days Such portals offer a wide range of vehicle choices and related information atthe click of a button Despite all this the Indian used vehicle market is largely unorganised and is controlled by small sellers anddealers who operate independently

Naturally the market rate of most vehicles is defined by these group of small operators which at times is more than usual for thebuyer and less than normal for the seller However with increasing popularity of internet among car buyers for gatheringinformation many companies have started offering an expected valuation for various vehicles In addition these companies alsofacilitate buying selling of vehicles through their digital portals making the process easier for the consumer Droom is one suchcompany and they recently released their online trend report which is the basis of the data used in this story

The figures suggest there is a decrease in prices of used bike segment in 2016 as compared to 2015 while in the used car segmentthere was a minor increase in prices in 2016 For luxury cars there is a significant reduction in prices in 2016 and there was ahealthy increase in the prices of super bike segment as well In the second hand scooter segment which is ruled Honda Activa andTVS Jupiter a minor decline in prices was witnessed in 2016 compared to 2015

According to report by Droom online Automobile Trend the average prices of the used vehicles for the year 2015 as compared to2016 are as follows

Bike 2015 2016Rs 43360 Rs 39752Car 2015 2016Rs 562119 Rs 576969Luxury Car 2015 2016Rs 2889702 Rs 2573584Super Bike 2015 2016Rs 449727 Rs 56633Scooter 2015 2016Rs 32879 Rs 32430httpwwwfinancialexpresscomautocar-newsheres-how-much-your-next-used-motorcycle-car-or-superbike-could-cost-you595458

Top

Tata Tigor Complete details revealed The Statesman (Web Edition)

New Delhi It seems that every carmaker enjoys revealing facts bit-by-bit about their highly-anticipated upcoming cars In February2017 Tata Motors revealed the sketches of the Tiago-based sedan and confirmed that it will be named Tata Tigor and notamplsquoKite 5amprsquo Earlier this month we reported that the home-grown automaker will launch the Tigor on March 29 2017 Wecontacted several dealers and discovered that they have already started accepting booking for the Tigor at a refundable amount ofRs11000 Tata Motors has yet to officially announce that

Now though Tata Tigor specifications have been uncovered without any further delay letamprsquos dive straight into them

DimensionsIn terms of overall length the Tigor measures 3992mm which is 246mm longer than the hatchback it is based on Similarly it is30mm wider and 2mm taller than the Tiago Tata Motors has also stretched the wheelbase for the Tigor - from 2400mm to2450mm This is primarily to stabilize a longer body on the same chassis

Ground clearance and the fuel tank capacity remains the same at 170mm and 35 litres respectively Boot space in the Tigor (419litres) has increased by 177 litres over the Tiago Even after the extended body Tata Motors has managed to decrease the kerbweight of the petrol-powered car by 18kg However the diesel-powered Tigor is 50kg heavier than the diesel Tiago

While the wheel size for the diesel-powered Tigor remains the same as the Tiago (17565 R14) the petrol-powered Tigor gets17560 section tubeless tyres wrapped around 15-inch alloy wheels

Engine amp Transmission OptionsPowering the Tigor will be the same set of engines that are offered in the Tiago hatchback While the 12-litre 3-cylinder petrolengine produces 85PS of power and 114Nm of torque the 105-litre 3-pot diesel mill generates 70PS of power and 140Nm oftorque Transmission duties for the engines will be handled by a five-speed manual transmission

Tata Motors hasnamprsquot revealed any fuel-efficiency figures as of now but both the engines like in the Tiago will feature dualdrive modes (City and Eco) Tata Motors says the default City mode is tuned to deliver the best of both worlds - a peppy drivingexperience and good fuel efficiency On the other hand the Eco mode optimises engine performance to deliver the best possiblefuel efficiency

Looks amp FeaturesTata Tigor is the third car to carry Tata Motorsamprsquo Impact design language (after Tiago and Hexa) To make it distinguishablefrom Tiago the Tigor gets dual-tone front bumper companyamprsquos signature grille design with chrome garnishing which extendsall the way into crystal-like smoked projector headlamps At the rear the amplsquoStylebackamprsquo features LED taillights and LEDstop lamp strip above the rear windshield

The Tiago is by far the most feature-rich in its segment and with the Tigor Tata Motors had to raise the bar higher The feature listincludes the same 8-speaker Harman-engineered music system which debuted with the Tiago In the Tigor however it comespaired to a 5-inch touchscreen infotainment display This screen has video playback compatibility voice command recognition SMSreadout functionality and acts as a display for the reverse camera The Tigor also gets automatic climate control an additional 12Vcharging point for rear passengers and rear armrest with cupholders

The Tigor certainly looks like a head-turner and on paper at least equates to be nicely proportioned as well We are lookingforward to its official launch at the end of this month as for Tata Motors thereamprsquos just one unknown aspect left to unravel - thepricehttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesstata-tigor-complete-details-revealed-1490003481html

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Cars SUVs MUVs

Maruti Suzuki releases Road Safety Index for 8 Indian cities The Economic Times (Web Edition)

New Delhi Indias largest passenger car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki has released Road Safety Index for eight Indian cities -Ahmedabad Bengaluru Chennai Delhi Hyderabad Kolkata Mumbai and Pune

The objective of the report is to lay down parameters which can become guidelines for government institutions NGOs andcorporates to improve road safety in the cities covered in the study

RS Kalsi Executive Director Marketing amp Sales Maruti Suzuki said Road Safety is increasingly becoming a matter of nationalimportance As a leader in automobile industry Maruti Suzuki has been working on inculcating safe driving habits among peoplethrough our various driving training initiatives

Kalsi added This initiative of city-wise Road Safety Index further strengthens our mission for safer roads We are optimistic that theindex will serve as a reference point for the stakeholders to identify and work in a systematic manner to improve road safetyscenario in their respective citieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrymaruti-suzuki-releases-road-safety-index-for-8-indian-cities57736013Mumbai top for pedestrian rights Delhi best for connectivity Marutis road safety indexThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousmumbai-top-for-pedestrian-rights-delhi-best-for-connectivity-marutis-road-safety-indexarticleshow57738531cms

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Tata Motors commences pre-bookings of Tata Tigor The Economic Times (Web Edition)

Mumbai Tata Motors commenced pre-bookings for the Tata TIGOR The sub-4 meter sedan can now be booked across all Tata

Motors authorized dealership with a booking amount of Rs 5000 The company is targeting young and fast generation The carborrows its design elemets from Tata Tiago

Commenting on the occasion Mayank Pareek President Passenger Vehicle Business Unit Tata Motors said ampldquoDenoting theIMPACT design language best-in-class driving features and an advance infotainment system the Tata TIGOR Styleback is a clearand exciting harbinger of future vehicles from Tata Motors set to disrupt the passenger car market in India We have received anoverwhelming response for the TIGOR Styleback in its very first week of preview We hope our customers enjoy the experience ofour Stylebackamprdquo

Tata Tigor is third product embodying IMPACT Design philosophy after Tiago and HExa It gets three-dimensional headlamps with asmoked lens sporty black bezel sharp tail lamps and the prominent humanity line excites and accentuates the sportiness of theTigor

Tata Motors claims a legroom and 24 utility spaces to provide ample storage to carry oneamprsquos world along Furthermore theinterior architecture of the car gets a dual-tone cockpit knitted roof liner along with customizable air vents

The compact sedan will be available in both petrol and diesel variants - Revotron 12L (petrol engine) and Revotorq 105L (dieselengine) The Revotron 12L 3-cylinder petrol engine delivers an optimum power of 85ps and a maximum torque of 114Nm whereasthe Revotorq 105L diesel engine delivers optimum power of 70ps and a maximum torque of 140Nm Both engines are availablewith multi-drive modes ampndash Eco and Cityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstata-motors-commences-pre-bookings-of-tata-tigor57734727Tata Motors opens pre-bookings for TigorBusiness Standard (Web Edition)httpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlepti-storiestata-motors-opens-pre-bookings-for-tigor-117032000945_1htmlTata Motors opens pre-bookings for Tata Tigormint (Web Edition)httpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesmpQQ5HLML1mGKF71zzv5jNTata-Motors-opens-prebookings-for-Tata-TigorhtmlTata Tigor Complete details revealedThe Statesman (Web Edition)httpwwwthestatesmancombusinesstata-tigor-complete-details-revealed-1490003481html Will Tata Motors ride on Tigor bookingsThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsstock-marketswill-tata-motors-ride-on-tigor-bookingsarticle9593071ece

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2017 Jeep Compass to get GKN drivelines AWD Disconnect System Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)

New Delhi In Feb 2017 GKN drivelines Chinese partner SDS commenced production of its all-wheel drive (AWD) Disconnectsystem for small to medium size vehicles and now the GKN has bagged a new order from Fiat-Chryslers Jeep which will be usingthe same AWD disconnect system on its upcoming Jeep Compass SUV

Phil Swash CEO GKN Driveline in a media statement said ampldquoThe success of GKNamprsquos AWD Disconnect system forsmall to medium-sized vehicles demonstrates why automakers partner with GKN on driveline strategies for their global platformsConsumers want AWD more than ever ampndash and GKN is the only supplier with the capability to develop all the hardware andsoftware for the driveline to manage the vehicle integration and optimize the on- and off-road characteristicsamprdquo

The disconnect system was first used on the Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500X subcompact crossover SUVs and is manufactured atthe companys plants in North America Europe and China and supplies the system in India and South America The Jeep CompassSUV will be locally manufactured in India at Fiats ranjangaon facilty but it is yet to be revealed if the AWD system will be importedfrom China or will be locally sourced

GKN along with its Chinese partner SDS has helped companys like Jaguar Land Rover in localizing the production of Range RoverEvoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport

SDS added six new AWD assembly lines and a new hypoid gear production line across two of its facilities in Shanghai during thepast 18 months as well as testing and other equipment to support growing levels of business The investment significantlyexpanded the companyamprsquos AWD production capacity in China

Working principalGKNamprsquos Disconnect function enables vehicles to combine the enhanced traction dynamics and stability of all-wheel drive withimproved on-highway fuel efficiency The system reacts to driver inputs and road conditions to seamlessly switch betweentwo-wheel drive and all-wheel drive

During steady state cruising the clutch system disengages the rear section of the driveline eliminating rotating losses and improveshighway fuel economy by up to 4 ampndash compared to standard AWD If the driver or conditions require more traction thesystem reconnects within just 300 millisecondshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-components2017-jeep-compass-to-get-gkn-drivelines-awd-disconnect-system57727428

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Toyota i-Road concept car promises quick and clean city commute Shubhodeep ChakravartyThe Times of India (Web Edition)

As the world turns focus on clean energy electric cars are fast becoming the new rage Automakers are increasingly pushing thelimits to showcase existing and concepts which are either practical or funky Or both Toyota is no different and the makers of thePrius seem to be pushing forward its three-wheeled electric concept - the i-Road

At a glance the i-Road looks a like a mashup of an autorickshaw and a bike First revealed at the Geneva Motor Show two yearsago the tiny car has undergone several design and technical changes At under seven feet in length under five feet tall and at threefeet wide the i-Road hardly has much of a road presence However it more than makes up for it by being an extremely promisingprospect for city commute in the near future

The electric motor - powered by lithium-ion batteries - can help the car reach a top speed of 60 kmph It can travel 50 kilometers ata constant speed of 48kmph on a single charge Toyota also claims the i-Road combines the convenience of a two-wheeler with thestability and comfort of a car A romantic date Maybe not A full family outing then Definitely not A solo zip around the cityDefinitely

The drive may take some time getting used to The left and right front wheels move up and down independently synchronized inresponse to the drivers steering Once accustomed it can make for a pretty fun rideAnd clean too

The car has zero CO2 emission which makes it a great boon for the environment in a world where gas guzzlers still have lionsshare of the market Toyota will now showcase the car at the CeBit Computer Fair in Hanover which begins from Thursday Reportssuggest that while final testing is on in full scale commercial sale looms in the near futurehttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautocarstoyota-i-road-concept-car-promises-quick-and-clean-city-commutearticleshow57732802cms

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Maruti verdict acirceuro˜distressingacirceurotrade but cannot cow down unions says CITU The Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)

New Delhi Expressing ampldquodeep distressamprdquo at the life sentence to 13 workers and five-year jail to another four workers ofMaruti Suzuki in connection with the violence and fire in the Manesar plant in 2012 that led to the death of an HR executive theCentre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) said the trade union movement ampldquocannot be cowed downamphellipby the governmentemployer nexusamprdquo

ampldquoDespite no way being responsible for the incident the workers have been convicted on the basis of concocted evidencemanufactured by the state administration police and employer nexus in a shameless abuse of poweramprdquo K HemlathaPresident CITU said in a statement

Following the incident over 500 workers were thrown out of their jobs and over 200 workers were jailed for up to four-and-halfyears Hundred and seventeen were acquitted by the court after over four years

Flaying the Haryana state administrationamprsquos bid to ampldquocrush the trade union movement in the Gurgaon industrialareaamprdquo Hemlatha said unions were planning united actions in solidarity with the victimised workers including filing of appealagainst the court order

ampldquoOver one lakh workers in the area boycotted lunch on March 16 in spontaneous expression of protest The workers ofMaruti and its ancillariessubsidiaries in Gurgaon Manesar went on total strike for one-hour strike in the evening shift of March18amprdquo CITU said calling upon all its unions across States to come forward in solidarity with the Maruti workers struggle forjustice including the legal battlehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniesmaruti-verdict-distressing-but-cannot-cow-down-unions-cituarticle9592418ece

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Luxury Cars

Commercial Vehicles

Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt meets PM Modi PTISee this story in The Economic Times (Web Edition)

New Delhi Volvo Groups President and CEO Martin Lundstedt met Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it is eying long haul oftransportation segment in India

The meeting comes at a time when the Volvo Group which makes premium trucks for specialised sectors like mining buses and

construction equipment is eying long haul of transportation segment in India with GST rollout expected to spur growth in thissegment

Volvo Group has a joint venture with Eicher Motors in India -- VE Commercial Vehicles

Lundstedt is the latest automotive industry leader to meet Modi

Earlier this month Toyota President Akio Toyota and Suzuki Chairman O Suzuki had also met the prime minister

The two industry leaders were believe to have briefed Modi about the partnership being forged by the two companies at a globallevelhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryvolvo-ceo-martin-lundstedt-meets-pm-modi57740230

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VECV launches AMT in heavy trucks buses The Financial Express (Web amp Print Edition)

New Delhi In a step to increase the efficiency of its buses and trucks Eicher Volvo (VECV) has launched automatic manualtransmission in select range of buses and trucks As of now AMT technology was prevalent in the passenger vehicles To start withVECV will provide AMT for the high end Skyline bus range and the Pro 3000 series of trucks

According to Vinod Agarwal CEO and managing director VECV this will increase the fuel efficiency of the BS vehicles that will bemanufactured by the company along with the over all comfort of the passengersampldquoWith the launch of the AMT the driverswouldnamprsquot need the clutch pedal and the gear shift pedal Buses when it plies in the cities need a lot of gear shifting whichcreates a lot of inconvenience The introduction of AMT vehicles will be beneficial for the vehicles with the BS 4 engine since thosevehicles will be fitted with Electronic Engineamprdquo added Agarwalhttpwwwfinancialexpresscomindustryvecv-launches-amt-in-heavy-trucks-buses596229

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Construction amp Agri Machinery

Escorts scrip races ahead on sales profit Ajay ModiBusiness Standard

New Delhi Nikhil Nanda managing director of Escorts was pleasantly surprised early this month when an employee walked up tohim on the shop floor to talk about the performance of the companyamprsquos stock A series of block deals has taken the Escortsstock to a high of Rs 528 up four times from Rs 130 in March last year In the last one month the stock has rallied over 26 per cent

The Faridabad-headquartered company is on an upswing tractor sales have grown by 23 per cent in in 2016-17 higher than theindustryamprsquos 17 per cent and profit has surged over 54 per cent to Rs 101 crore in the previous three quarters Revenue is up19 per cent to Rs 3123 crore

Brokerages have revised their target price for Escorts and almost every analyst tracking the stock is issuing a ampldquoBuyamprdquo orampldquoHoldamprdquo call Tractor sales bring in 80 per cent of Escortsamprsquo revenue and the rest comes from constructionequipment and the railway division

ampldquoIt has been a positive year for the industry after a couple of stressful years We were aggressively planning our productportfolio and had optimised costs When the industry picked up there was a convergenceamprdquo Nanda told Business StandardCredit rating agencies like ICRA have upgraded Escorts The company has improved its debt-equity ratio

Yet Nanda is not satisfied ampldquoEscorts traditionally has been strong in the north and centre We want to be a pan-India playerWe are confident we will be able to make inroads in the south west and eastamprdquo he said In some pockets of south IndiaEscorts has managed to increase its market share into the double digits Escorts competes with Mahindra amp Mahindra Sonalikaand John Deere among others in the tractor business

Nanda said the market growth strategy was not about placing products and offering discounts Escorts develops tractors suitable forsoil requirements of a region Successful inroads in new markets could drive the companyamprsquos national market share above thecurrent 11 per cent ampldquoWe are at an inflection point and Escorts will get its rightful shareamprdquo added Nanda The companyis anticipating another strong demand season from June

Nanda said the company would focus on three verticals tractors construction equipment and railways The tractors and railwaydivisions are making money the construction segment accounting for 13 per cent of revenue is bleeding ampldquoThe constructiondivision was bleeding but we hope to break even at the EBIDTA level in the next quarter The worst is behind us We are coming outwith new products and the industry is looking upamprdquo Nanda addedhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompaniesescorts-ploughs-to-greater-horse-power-117032000859_1html

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23 Wheelers

Suzuki Motorcycle India aims to sell 500000 units in FYacirceurotrade18 Shobha MathurThe Economic Times

New Delhi The Indian arm of the Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer Suzuki Motorcycle is planning to sell 500000 units infinancial year 2017-18 up from 350000 unit sales in the current fiscal 2016-17

To propel growth the two-wheeler maker will be adding a slew of new models in both scooters and motorcycles According toSuresh Babu Head of marketing and product planning at Suzuki Motorcycle the focus will be on the premium segment that is in the125cc and 150cc

Suresh Babu told ETAuto that the companyamprsquos strategy would rest on making its dealer network more efficient introducingnew models and expanding its total touchpoints pan India

Currently the two-wheeler maker has 893 touchpoints including 449 dealerships About 100 dealerships will be added next fiscalAbout 80 percent are based in the urban areas where the companyamprsquos maximum models sell

At present the Suzuki Gixxer sells 7000-8000 units per month and competes with the likes of the Yamaha FZ Honda CB Hornetand Bajaj Pulsar In a market size of an annual 19 million units it has garnered a 3-4 percent market share

In anticipation of the upcoming regulations Suzuki Motorcycle is working on several new technologies for upcoming and existingmodels For instance the company is working on the anti-lock braking system and all its motorcycles in the 125cc and above rangewill be equipped with ABS before the April 2019 deadline

The Suzuki Gixxer motorcycle already has the fuel injection system and this technology will be used across the product range asper the emission norm requirements

All the companyamprsquos models have already been aligned with the new BS IV emission norms which come into force from 1 April2017 Babu says BS-VI is too far away and will take some time for the work to start But the Suzuki Eco Performance technology willsee further evolution for making the two-wheelers more fuel efficient

ExportsIt is gunning for a 15 percent increase in export of its two-wheelers to every market it currently supplies This will scale up the exportvolumes to 80000 units in 2017-18 Exports will touch 70000 units in FYamprsquo17 with the 154cc Gixxer leading the overseas anddomestic demand

The key export markets for Suzuki Motorcycle are LATAM where the Gixxer motorcycle forms the key products Africa where the112cc Hayate bike is exported but sporting a different specification Asian regions of Bangladesh Sri Lanka where the SuzukiGixxer is again the main productline besides Nepal where all the Suzuki models are exported The companyamprsquos aim is to focuson existing markets and strengthen their exports furtherhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclessuzuki-motorcycle-india-aims-to-sell-500000-units-in-fy1857729982

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Yamahas YZFacirceuroldquoR3 Cygnus Ray-ZR receive India Design Mark certification The Economic Times

New Delhi India Yamaha Motors sports bike YZF-R3 and scooter Cygnus Ray-ZR has received the India Design Mark certificationby the India Design Council informed the two wheeler manufacturer in a press statement This is the 6th consecutive year thatYamaha has received esteemed certification

Since 2012 Yamaha has received the I Mark certification for products like YZF-R15 version 20 (2012) Cygnus Ray (2013)Cygnus Ray Z (2014) Cygnus Alpha (2015) FZ-S FI version 20 (2015) Yamaha Fascino scooter and Saluto 125 bike (2016)

With all-new engine and chassis designs the Yamaha YZFampndashR3 is powered by 321 cc liquid-cooled 4-stroke in-line2-cylinder fuel-injected engine

Yamaha Cygnus Ray-ZR is powered by an air-cooled 4-stroke SOHC 2-valve 113cc ampldquoBLUE COREamprdquo engine with acontinuously variable transmission (CVT) unit It features a lightweight body (103 kg)

Roy Kurian Vice President Sales amp Marketing Yamaha Motor India Sales said ampldquoYamaha is postulated to come up withexciting products along with excellence in design style and comfort that revs heart The certification will induce trust among itscustomers and will also generate the desired brand worth in terms of winning new customers Customers accepted YZF-R3 andCygnus Ray ZR with incredible gusto and the certification by India Design Mark will further manifest its overall impressionamprdquo

India Design Council is an autonomous body of Government of India established under the aegis of Department of Industrial Policy

amp Promotion Ministry of Commerce amp Industryhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesyamahas-yzfr3-cygnus-ray-zr-receive-india-design-mark-certification57733217

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Promoter Bahadur Chand Investments to buy 897 stake in Hero MotoCorp The Economic Times

New Delhi Bahadur Chand Investments one of the promoters of Hero MotoCorp is going to acquire 897 percent stake of theIndian two wheeler manufacturer as informed in a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing The acquisition is likely to be happen on orafter March 24 2017 in one or multiple tranches

Up to 17910000 equity shares are going to be acquired 5970000 each from Pawan Munjal (Chairman Managing Director CEOof Hero MotoCorp) Renu Munjal (Managing Director of Hero FinCorp) and Suman Kant Munjal (Non-Executive Director of HeroMotoCorp) They are holding equity shares in representative capacity on behalf of Brijmohan Lall Om Prakash a partnership firm

The filing further said that the acquisition price would not be higher by more than 25 percent of Rs 3180 per equity share

This is an inter-se transfer between the promoters to rationalise the promoter-shareholding There will be no change in theaggregate promoter shareholding in Hero MotoCorp

Earlier on August 11 2016 Bahadur Chand Investments acquired 4880988 equity shares comprising 244 percent of HeroMotoCorphttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financepromoter-bahadur-chand-investments-to-buy-8-97-stake-in-hero-motocorp57729755

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E-Bikes

Components

CII elects JBM Groups Nishant Arya as Chairman of its Haryana Chapter The Economic Times

GURUGRAM Nishant Arya Executive Director of JBM Group has been elected as the Chairman Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) Haryana Chapter at the State Annual Session conducted on Monday Arya is the youngest to be appointed as Chairman in thehistory of CII top leadership team till date informed the Confederation

The first meeting of the newly elected Haryana State Council of CII for the year 2017-18 deliberated towards ampldquoRealizing Makein India by Building Competitivenessamprdquo

Arya had been the Vice Chairman for the Haryana State Chapter for the year 2016-17 He is currently also the Co-chairman ofACMAs STDC (Sustainable Technology Development Committee) India and is an Executive Council Member of CII SIAM andACMA ampndash Young Business Leaders Forum He is also on Board of various JBM Group companies and Chairman of TescoEurope

Arya is to be credited for the successful launch of the bus manufacturing division of JBM Group JBM claims it has introducedIndiaamprsquos first true low floor Citybus ampndash amplsquoCITYLIFEamprsquo The company has also recently unveiledamplsquoECOLIFEamprsquo ampndash Indiaamprsquos first 100 electric bushttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrycii-elects-jbm-groups-nishant-arya-as-chairman-of-its-haryana-chapter57733652

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Wabco India demonstrates safety tech at Tata Motors T1 Prima Truck Racing The Economic Times

New Delhi For the fourth consecutive year automotive components manufacturer Wabco India has demonstrated its advancedsafety and efficiency technologies at Tata Motors at the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship Season 4 held on March 19 2017 atthe Buddh International Circuit Greater Noida

Tata Motors equips both its Prima race trucks and production trucks with Wabcoamprsquos range of safety and efficiencytechnologies thereby helping to optimize the vehiclesamprsquo safety and stability performance in all operating environmentsinformed the automaker in a press statement

Each Tata Motors Prima race truck competing in Super Class Champion Class and PRO Class races carries WabcoamprsquosAnti-lock Braking System (ABS) high-performance air management system in addition to high-output modular compressor

technology advanced air actuation systems Integrated Pedal Unit (IPU) and other braking components

In addition Wabco furnishes Tata Motorsamprsquo new 1000 BHP Prima race truck with powerful single-piston Air Disc Brakes(ADBs) offering a major safety advantage of reduced stopping distance combined with balanced braking

ampldquoWe are honored to be a key technology partner to Tata Motors for its T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship which is Indiaspremier truck racing event This unique occasion provides us with an excellent platform to demonstrate the high performance ofWabcoamprsquos advanced safety technologies on the race track which represents the most extreme operating conditions for heavyduty trucksamprdquo said Jacques Esculier Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Wabco

ampldquoWe are excited for Wabco to join us again as the Official Braking Technology Partner for the T1 Prima Truck RacingChampionship Season 4 Tata Motors highly values Wabcoamprsquos ongoing commitment to strengthening the safety performanceof our Prima trucks on and off the race trackamprdquo said Ravi Pisharody Executive Director Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors

ampldquoWabco India is immensely proud of its partnership of more than 50 years with Tata Motors as a preferred supplier ofworld-class safety and efficiency technologies Being a partner to the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship is a natural progressionwhich takes our relationship to the next level said P Kaniappan Managing Director Wabco Indiahttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologywabco-india-demonstrates-safety-tech-at-tata-motors-t1-prima-truck-racing57730470

Top

Allied Industries

Indias rubber imports to increase Expert PTISee this story in The Economic Times

Singapore Indian tyre manufacturers are actively seeking supply of natural rubber from South-East Asian producers due toslowdown in domestic production and increase in demand industry officials said on Monday

Indias rubber industry is also expected to do hedging and risk management on Singapore Commodity Exchange (SICOM) pricesset by which are used as a benchmark for rubber export from South East Asia

More Indian tyre manufacturers and rubber consumers have been reaching out to South-East Asian rubber producers to securesupply said Tan Tee Yong Director for Rubber Commodities at Singapore Exchange (SGX) the parent group of SICOM

He noted that Indian rubber-linked companies have set up offices in the midst of Singapores global rubber trading hub led by majorproducers

The supply gap in natural rubber is expected to widen due to a slowdown in production in Kerala and there are limitedopportunities for further rubber plantation area expansion in that state said Lekshmi Nair Head of Economics and Statistics at theInternational Rubber Study Group (IRSG)

Noting the growth in demand driven by industrial developments she said The expected mature rubber area expansion in thenon-traditional rubber growing states in the North and North-East is not sufficient to meet the future domestic demandrequirements

The rubber industry in India will continue to rely increasingly on import especially on South-East Asian producers for the domesticdemand requirement said Nair

Indias dependence on rubber supplies from international market will grow further added Nair pointing out that India currentlyimports more than 50 per cent of its rubber requirement

For synthetic rubber the deficit is likely to remain despite increase in domestic production she said ahead of the World RubberSummit scheduled for March 22-23 in Singapore

With increasing import demand for natural rubber both Indian and International tyre companies are more likely to position in futurestrade as the supplydemand gap is expected to widen in the futurehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsraw-materialindias-rubber-imports-to-increase-expert57731448

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Tyre stocks in focus Balkrishna Industries hits new high Business Standard

Mumbai Shares of tyre companies were trading higher in the range of 1 to 3 on the bourses after media report suggests thatthe Commerce Ministry to meet on March 28 to discuss anti dumping duty

MRF Balkrishna Industries TVS Srichakra Ceat Apollo Tyres Goodyear India and JK Tyre amp Industries were up 1 to 3 ascompared to 047 decline in the SampP BSE Sensex at 1115 am

Among the individual stocks Balkrishna Industries hits a new high of Rs 1450 up 26 on BSE in intra-day trade

According to PTI reports taking forward the probe for possible imposition of anti dumping duty on imports of a certain kind of radialtyres the Commerce Ministry has called a meeting of the domestic players on March 28

In past one-week most of the tyre stocks outperformed the market by gaining up to 14 against 19 rise in the benchmark index

Phillip Capital in recent research report said that imports from China to India have reduced drastically Chinese manufactures arefocusing on the US market since the US Department of Commerce decided not impose antidumping duties on Chinese truck amp busradial (TBR) tyres

As the US is a highly profitable market Chinese manufacturers have shifted their focus to that country To add to theimportersamprsquo woes Chinese players have hiked prices by 1015 for the Indian market making imports less lucrative addedreporthttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlemarketstyre-stocks-in-focus-balkrishna-industries-hits-new-high-117032000212_1html

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Steelbird ties up with Bargy Design PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line

New Delhi Helmet manufacturer Steelbird Hi-Tech India will sell helmets designed by Italy-based helmet graphic designer BargyDesign

Both firms have entered into an exclusive tie-up as part of which the Italian firm will design Steelbirdamprsquos helmets sold in thecountry

Commenting on the development Steelbird Group Managing Director Rajeev Kapur said ampldquoWe plan on getting the entirerange of Bargy Design in India through our exclusive tie-up with themamprdquo

The upcoming models designed by Bargy Design will be launched in the market this month and target the premium segment

The helmets will have features including high-impact ABS material shell micro-metric buckle innovative ventilation system and willbe ISI certified

ampldquoWith our tie-up and the launch of the designer range our motive is to cover complete business pyramid that is masscustomer to premium customeramprdquo Shailendra Jain Global Group Head - Sales and Marketing Steelbird Hi-Tech India said

The cost of helmets bearing Bargy Designamprsquos graphic would start from Rs 2499 onwardshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniessteelbird-ties-up-with-bargy-designarticle9592710ece

Top

Emissions Environment

Finance amp Insurance

Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels

Overhang of global oil inventory to keep crude prices capped in near term Harshal BarotThe Economic Times

Oil prices were nearly unchanged last week as the Opec and IEA monthly reports gave mixed set of signals While the complianceto output cuts has been nearly 100 per cent from the Opec side relative non-compliance of Non-Opec coupled with steadilyclimbing US production is keeping prices under pressure

There is also disparity between official Opec supply data and secondary source data which makes it difficult to gauge the extent ofsupply cuts

US rig count has been increasing for nine consecutive weeks and latest forecasts show that US shale output will continue to inchhigher in April We believe that the overhang of inventories globally will keep prices under pressure in the near term

Evidently WTI prices remain below the psychological $50 mark as oversupply worries continue to dent sentiment

Opec producers have implemented 100 per cent of the agreed cuts as per latest data with Opec figures reflecting a cut higher thanexpected Opecamprsquos 11 members with supply targets cut output to 2968 million bpd in February 123000 bpd more thanrequired by targetProduction by all Opec members including cut-exempted Nigeria and Libya fell to 3195 million bpd Surprisingly Saudi Arabiaraised oil production to 1001 million bpd from 974 million bpd in Jan

It however clarified that that the excess production went into stockpiles and that it intends to stick to its deal While Saudiamprsquosoutput is still lower than its target a rebound in its production dented sentiment in the oil market

The IEA was slightly more bullish in its forecast as it projects the market to attain a deficit in H1 unlike Opec which expects that tohappen in the second half of this year Both however expect the Non-Opec output to rebound this year

Opec raised its 2017 Non-Opec oil supply growth forecast to 04 mbpd (prev forecast 024 mbpd rise) The IEA also expectsnon-Opec output to rise 04 mbpd to 581 mbpd in 2017

The non-Opec part of global supply is the bigger worry for the market at the moment Russia hasnamprsquot cut output as per theagreed terms with February production unchanged from January at 111 mbpd Overall non-Opec compliance has been also been aconcern with some estimates suggesting only ~64 per cent compliance so far

Meanwhile given that Libya and Nigeria are exempt from cuts a rebound in their production will increase Opec output even if othermembers stick to their quotas Brazilamprsquos oil exports also have been climbing with February exports at a record 163 mbpdBrazil is not a part of the non-Opec group that agreed to production cuts

The bigger headwind to prices is also the re-emergence of shale output US oil rig count has been increasing since June and is nowat its highest since September 2015 Weekly data from EIA shows that US oil production is ~91 million bpd and latest EIA forecastsshow that oil production could average 92 million bpd this year EIA forecasts show that US shale oil production is expected to riseagain in April by 109000 bpd to 496 million bpd suggesting that shale is surely making a comeback at this level of oil prices

On the inventory side it remains to be seen if reduced Opec supply leads to significant inventory drawdown in the coming monthsWe havenamprsquot seen any signs of a drawdown in global inventories so far this year and this is a big risk going forward too IEAdata showed that crude stocks in the OECD nations rose in January for the first time since July by 48 million barrels to 303 billionbarrels This is more than 300 million barrels above the five-year average

US oil stocks fell marginally last week after increasing for nine straight weeks but are still near a record high Crude oil inventorieshave risen by ~50 million barrels in the US so far this year Gasoline and Distillate stocks are also near the upper end of thefive-year range If market balancing indeed has to start we need to see a sustained drawdown in oil stockpiles Until then it will bedifficult for oil prices to break higher

Looking ahead given the excessive long positions in the market it was natural that some of those positions got liquidated in theabsence of positive triggers over the past several weeks The overhang of inventories globally will also keep prices capped in thenear term

The technical picture also looks weak and further downside cannot be ruled out On the MCX Crude oil (April) has stiff resistance in3270-3290 zone and short-term bias looks The downside is likely to extend towards 3100 levelshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsoil-and-lubesopinion-overhang-of-global-oil-inventory-to-keep-crude-prices-capped-in-near-term57736114

Top

Efforts on to reduce crude oil imports Dharmendra Pradhan PTISee this story in The Economic Times

New Delhi Steps are being taken to enhance oil and gas production to reduce crude oil imports which has accounted for 82 percent of the total domestic consumption this fiscal the government said on Monday

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the target is to reduce energy imports by 10 per cent by 2021-22

To reduce imports to meet the energy needs the government has taken several steps to enhance exploration and production of oiland gas in the country he told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour

In the current fiscal till January the share of imported crude on the basis of domestic consumption stood at 82 per cent Lastfinancial year the same was at 809 per cent as per figures provided by the Minister in a written reply

Over the last three financial years the amount of imported crude has been on the rise In 2013-14 it stood at 776 per cent and roseto 785 per cent in 2014-15

Most of crude oil production in the country is from ageing fields in the states of Andhra Pradesh Assam Arunachal PradeshGujarat Rajasthan Tamil Nadu and offshore areas he said

While noting that the highest number of oil wells are shut in Gujarat and Assam the Minister also said that oil companies areimplementing new technologies to enhance recovery from ageing fields

The oil companies have takenare taking several measures to revive the sick wells to increase oil production such as improved Oil

RecoveryEnhanced Oil Recovery schemes he said

Pradhan assured that there would be no conflict between oil and gas production and agriculture farming while responding to queriesabout environmental concerns related to a project in Tamil Naduhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsoil-and-lubesefforts-on-to-reduce-crude-oil-imports-dharmendra-pradhan57733531

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Crude oil futures plunge to to Rs 3165 per barrel PTISee this story in The Economic Times

New Delhi Crude oil futures fell 097 per cent to Rs 3165 per barrel today as speculators reduced positions amid a weak trend inglobal markets

At the Multi Commodity Exchange crude oil for delivery in March was trading down by Rs 31 or 097 per cent at Rs 3165 perbarrel in 3406 lots

Oil for April delivery also moved down Rs 26 or 080 per cent lower to Rs 3219 per barrel in 1229 lots

Traders said trading sentiment dampened at the futures trade after oil prices dropped in global markets

Meanwhile West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 35 cents to $4843 while Brent crude lost 24 cents to $5152 a barrelon the New York Mercantile Exchangehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-futures-plunge-to-to-rs-3165-per-barrelarticle9591899ece

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News Magazines

KTM to launch fuel-injected two-strokes globally Autocar India

KTM has just announced that it will launch two fuel-injected two-stroke motorcycles in May this year ampndash the 250 and the 300EXC TPI These two motorcycles are being touted as the worldamprsquos first serial production two-stroke bikes for the global marketwhich will be fuel-injected rather than carburetted These two off-road machines will be part of KTMamprsquos model-year 2018international line-up while the US and Canadian markets will get the 250 XC-W TPI These new bikes will hit the showrooms inEurope in June-July while North America will see the XC-W 250 by September-October 2017

The new bikes will feature KTMamprsquos new two-stroke fuel-injection system christened TPI (Transfer Port Injection) and thecompanyamprsquos research and development department in Mattighofen Austria believes it to be a revolutionary technology Nosolid details of this tech have been unveiled yet and weamprsquoll have to wait for the international launch scheduled for May 152017 for more information However this TPI technology is said to offer a significant reduction in fuel consumption along with nolonger having to pre-mix engine oil in fuel or fiddle around with jetting in the carburettor

KTM has been the dominant force in the world of off-road racing racking up 16 wins at the gruelling Dakar Rally and a massivenumber of championships and victories in supercross motocross and enduro racing Sporting the mantra ampldquoReady toRaceamprdquo KTM offers a host of two-stroke as well as four-stroke competition-ready motorcycles Speaking about these newbikes KTMamprsquos product marketing manager Joachim Sauer said ampldquoThis is an incredibly exciting development for KTMWe have been developing two-stroke fuel injection for some time and our goal was to create competitive motorcycles with all thebenefits of fuel injection while fitting into our Ready to Race mantra There has been extensive testing and considerations for ourRampD team to take into account during this process so we are very motivated by this next step and the world-first intechnologyamprdquo

At this point of course KTM has no plans to introduce any of its competition bikes in the Indian market But seeing how Kawasakihas recently launched a few of its motocross bikes in India weamprsquore really hoping it sparks other manufacturers including KTMin doing the same But off-road enthusiasts in India have at least one KTM to look forward to in the form of the 390 Adventurewhich should reach our shores by late 2017 or early 2018httpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsktm-to-launch-fuel-injected-two-strokes-globally-404478aspx

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Indiaacirceurotrades top two-wheeler makers complete BS-IV transition Autocar India

Suzuki Motorcycle India has joined the growing list of two-wheeler manufacturers converting their entire fleets to BS-IV Bajaj Autowas the first to manufacture only BS IV-compliant vehicles from as early as January 2017 followed by TVS Hero and Honda inMarch The deadline to convert all vehicles to BS-IV is April 1 2017 as set by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Some manufacturers have requested extensions of the deadline which have been called ampldquoillogicalamprdquo by Bajaj becausethis will give BS-III vehicles an unfair price advantage According to Rajiv Bajaj MD Bajaj Auto ampldquoBajaj Auto as a responsiblecorporate has complied with this directive and already commenced manufacturing of BS IV-compliant vehicles from October 2016Moreover with effect from January 2017 all products from all our three plants are BS-IV compliant We have thus ensured that allvehicles presented for registration April 1 onwards will be BS-IV compliant This has been possible because of meticulous planningfor dealer stocks and switching to production of BS IV-compliant vehicles well in advanceamprdquo

BS-IV compliance has added to the cost of vehicles which will inevitably be passed on to customers Most vehicles from SuzukiTVS Bajaj Yamaha Hero and Honda have already witnessed small price hikes and market analysts have even pointed at apotential spike in sales of BS III-compliant models as the deadline approaches

Manufacturers have been rolling out particular models that meet these norms over the last few months taking the opportunity tolaunch BS IV-compliant vehicles to introduce new features (such as charging sockets in the Honda Activa 4G and the TVS Wego)and new colour options possibly to offset the effect of the rise in prices

Royal Enfield still hasnamprsquot joined this club but has confirmed that its entire range will be BS IV-compliant by April 1

Scooter sales for February 2017 have witnessed a 37 percent year-on-year growth partly attributed to the rush to buy BS-IIIvehicles before the costs go up Motorcycle sales are still recovering from the impact of demonetisation year-on-year sales forFebruary 2017 were down 313 percenthttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia8217s-top-two-wheeler-makers-complete-bs-iv-transition-404476aspx

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Tata Tigor bookings open Autocar India

Tata is gearing up to introduce its next product in the Indian market the Tigor compact sedan and has just begun acceptingbookings with the booking amount set at Rs 5000 The Tigor shares most of its body parts and interior with the Tiago hatchback butalso gets additional features and a neatly integrated tail section The compact sedan will be launched in India on March 29 2017and based on the small hatchback the Tiago it is expected to offer good value

Heres a look at the specifications and equipment list of the upcoming compact sedanSpecificationsLength 3992mmWidth 1677mmHeight 1537mmWheelbase 2450mmGround clearance 170mmFuel Tank capacity 35 litresBoot size 419 litresSuspension (Front) McPherson Strut with coil spring(Rear) Twist-beam with dual-path strut

Brakes (Front) Disc(Rear) Drum

Petrol detailsType 1199cc three-cylinder petrolPower 85hp at 6000rpmTorque 114Nm at 3500rpmGearbox Five-speed manualKerb weight 1062kgTyre size 17560 R15

Diesel detailsType 1047cc three-cylinder dieselPower 70hp at 4000rpmTorque 140Nm at 1800-3000rpmGearbox Five-speed manualKerb weight 1130kgTyre size 17565 R14

Safety featuresABS with EBDDual front airbags

Infotainment systemThe Tigor will make use of a Harman infotainment system that comes with four speakers four tweeters AuxUSBBluetooth alongwith steering-mounted controls It also features an app-based navigation system for Android deviceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newstata-tigor-bookings-open-404447aspx

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Hero presents 50 scooters to Gurugram women police Autocar India

Following its efforts on International Womenamprsquos Day recently when Hero MotoCorp handed over 24 two-wheelers to theUttarakhand police for its first all-woman first responder system called ampldquoCheetahamprdquo the company has now presented 50scooters to Gurugram women police offers These scooters are part of the companyamprsquos Project Sakhi initiative aimed at thesafety and security of women across the state The vehicles come equipped with sirens traffic lights and PA systems The womenpolice force will use these scooters for patrolling

The handover ceremony was followed by a flag-off of a amplsquoCitizen Safety Bike Rallyamprsquo which saw participation of 100riders along with the 50 officers on their new Hero scooters Vijay Sethi head of CSR at Hero MotoCorp handed over the bikes tothe Commissioner of Police Gurugram Speaking at the event Sethi said ampldquoTwo key areas of focus for Hero have beenpromoting road safety and women empowerment We have a variety of programmes running at national and regional levels andsome of them are in association with the local police We already have a strong partnership with the Haryana police through variousinitiatives and Im confident that this new initiative will allow our joint efforts to bring about effective changesamprdquo

Heroamprsquos other efforts to help improve road safety across the country have included opening of Traffic Parksamprsquo atGurugram Delhi Rourkela Lucknow Hyderabad and Nagpur These parks are equipped with riding simulators and serve as avenue for road safety awareness programmes which are conducted for school and college students as well as other institutionshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newshero-presents-50-scooters-to-gurugram-women-police-404477aspx

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2017 Force Gurkha launched at Rs 838 lakh Autocar India

Force Motors has launched a new Gurkha which now conforms to BS-IV emission norms Available in three- and five-door bodystyles and two variants ampndash Xplorer and Xpedition ampndash the Gurkha features minor styling changes to the exterior along witha host of new mechanicals

In terms of styling the noticeable changes to the exterior are the new front and rear bumpers and a new grille up front The SUValso comes fitted with all-terrain tyres as standard The overall design though remains familiar to the previous model

Inside changes to the cabin include a new steering wheel design new gear lever and new air-con controls on the centre console

The Xplorer is available in both three- and five-door body styles while the Xpedition is available only as a five-door

The three-door model can be optioned as either a hard top or with a fabric soft top with a choice of seating configurations rangingfrom a four plus driver to a seven plus driver seating arrangement The five-door model on the other hand is available as a hardtop only in ether a six- or an eight-seat configuration excluding the driver

As per Force the 2017 Gurkha is based on a new ladder-frame chassis along with a new suspension setup At the front the SUVgets new independent struts with gas-charged shock absorbers and an anti-roll bar while at the rear it comes with a new multi-linksetup that also features gas-charged hydraulic shocks and an anti-roll bar

The Gurkha carries on with the 85hp 26-litre diesel engine with the unit now BS-IV compatible and paired with a new five-speedmanual gearbox sending power to either the rear or all-four wheels

Of the two variants offered the Xplorer is the serious off-roader and comes equipped with four-wheel drive with low range andlocking front and rear differentials The Xpedition on the other hand is rear wheel drive

The Gurkha Xpedition is priced at Rs 838 lakh while the Xplorer is priced at Rs 936 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-force-gurkha-launched-at-rs-838-lakh-404475aspx

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Honda WR-V vs rivals Specifications comparison Autocar India

Cross-hatches havenamprsquot really caught on in India but that has not stopped Honda from launching one The WR-V is based onthe Jazz but with a majorly reworked exterior and some technical changes as well Compared to the Jazz the nose is a bit moreupright there is added side cladding and the ground clearance is increased for an SUV appeal

It will compete with the likes of the Hyundai i20 Active and the Fiat Urban Cross Weamprsquove compiled a specification comparisonbelow to see where it stands with the rivals

DimensionsThe WR-V clearly enjoys a height advantage which will work in its favour when it comes to the SUV look However the i20 Active iswider and boasts the maximum wheelbase which might indicate that it is the roomiest of the lot However actual judgments oninterior space will have to wait until a back-to-back test In terms of wheel size all three cars get 16-inch alloy wheels though theUrban Cross has the widest tyres of the lot

Engine and TransmissionThe Honda WR-V gets the same engines as the Jazz Hondaamprsquos ubiquitous 12-litre iVTEC petrol and the 15-litre i-DTECdiesel The engines have not been tuned differently from the Jazz with the petrol still making 90hp and 110Nm and the dieselmaking 100hp and 200Nm The WR-V petrol is not the most powerful of the lot the honour going to the petrol Abarth-poweredUrban Cross However the T-Jet engine that powers the Urban Cross is turbocharged making that particular variant a pricyproposition In terms of diesels the WR-V does boast the most power but not the most torque

PriceThe WR-V it turns out is the most expensive car here and is available in only two variants Both petrol and diesel models of the i20Active come in three trims with the base and top-trim priced lower than the WR-V However the WR-V does offer more featuresthan its rivals for that extra money such as a sunroof and a cruise controlhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newshonda-wr-v-vs-rivals-specifications-comparison-404474aspx0

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Suzuki launches BS IV-compliant Hayate EP and Letacirceurotrades Autocar India

Suzuki has launched the BS-IV compliant versions of its Hayate EP motorcycle and the Letamprsquos scooter the last two vehicles inits India line-up that awaited this treatment With this the entire Suzuki range of two-wheelers is now BS-IV compliant The newcompliant Letamprsquos comes at a starting price of Rs 47272 whereas the BS-IV complaint Hayate EP starts at Rs 52754(ex-showroom Delhi)

This launch follows that of the Gixxer series of motorcycles and Access 125 scooter

The Hayate EP is a 110cc commuter motorcycle while the Letamprsquos is a 112cc scooter The launch of their BS-IV versions allowsSuzuki to join Bajaj TVS and Honda as manufacturers that have completed BS-IV fuel norms compliance for their entire range oftwo-wheelers before the April 1 2017 deadlinehttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newssuzuki-launches-bs-iv-compliant-hayate-ep-and-let8217s-404473aspx

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Next-gen Audi A6 A7 and A8 front fascia leaked Autocar India

Audi has been hard at work with the development of the all-new A6 A7 and A8 sedans with international debuts for the modelsexpected in the near future Now images detailing the front styling of the three Audis have been leaked online

All three cars get a family look up front following Audiamprsquos design language that was previewed by the Prologue concept TheA7 is the sharpest-looking of the trio with a sloping hood and multiple crease lines prominent single-frame grille and sleek angularheadlamps The new caramprsquos looks seem to closely follow the Prologue concept The new A6 and A8 on the other handfeature a more toned down styling though here too both models feature a prominent single-frame grille and angular headlamps

The new A8 is expected to make its international debut in July this year with the A6 and A7 set to follow All three models will beunderpinned by the VW Groupamprsquos MLB Evo platform and will feature the latest tech from the automaker

The A8 is expected to feature a new digital cockpit technology with much of the cars functions being handled via touch-operateddisplay on the dashboard The car will also feature full autonomous technology which will reportedly allow itself to drive at speedsup to 60kph without driver input A smartphone-based parking function will enable the driver to park the car from outside The sametech is expected to filter down to the A6 and A7 as well

The new Audis will feature a line-up of four- six- and eight-cylinder petrol and diesel engines along with electrified powertrains aswell The A8 is also likely to retain the option of a range-topping W12 petrol motorhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsnext-gen-audi-a6-a7-and-a8-front-fascia-leaked-404459aspx

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Updated 2017 TVS Apache RTR 200 4V launched Autocar India

With BS-IV norms kicking in soon manufacturers are releasing updated versions of their motorcycles to be in compliance with themTVS today released the Apache RTR 200 4V with updates that comply with the norms BS IV-compliant fuel will be available atpumps across the country from April 1 2017

The updates on the new TVS are restricted to engine tweaks and do not involve any cosmetic changes The 2017 Apache RTR 2004V also gets the AHO (Automatic Headlight On) feature which is part of the BS-IV checklist The headlight switch will now bemissing from the handlebar switchgear

The updated Apache RTR 200 4V has been launched at a price of Rs 97800 (ex-showroom Mumbai) For Rs 106000(ex-showroom) you get the stickier Pirelli Sport Demon tyres instead of the standard TVS Remora rubber

TVS has made no mention yet of when we can expect the top-spec ABS-equipped fuel-injected model to hit showrooms As ofnow it is only the carburetted version that is on sale With competition building from the likes of the re-introduced updated BajajNS200 and newly-launched Yamaha FZ25 it is crucial for TVS to launch the top-spec variant of the Apache RTR 200 4V to staycompetitivehttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsupdated-2017-tvs-apache-rtr-200-4v-launched-404469aspx

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Nissan design chief Shiro Nakamura to retire Autocar India

Nissans chief designer Shiro Nakamura will retire at the end of March after 17 years with the carmaker Nakamura has beenresponsible for the styling of some of the hugely significant cars for Nissan including the GT-R Juke Qashqai 350Z and Leaf

Alfonso Albaisa who is currently the head of design at Infiniti will replace Nakamura while ex-BMW chief designer Karim Habib willtake up Albaisaamprsquos vacated role

The 66-year old Nakamura was first brought to Nissan in 1999 by Carlos Ghosn and Nissan soon went on a remarkableturnaround which took it from the brink of bankruptcy to huge sales success with its Qashqai model leading the crossover boominternationally

Recently Nakamura has overseen everything from the super-budget Datsun brand to more experimental work with Nissansflagship Infiniti marque

Nakamuras replacement Albaisa joined Infiniti in 2013 and went on to help design the QX30 and QX50 as well as the Q80Inspiration concept car

Meanwhile Habib joins Nissan from BMW where Jozef KabaAringˆ is now chief designer A Canadian Habib joined the Germanmanufacturer in 2012 but stepped down earlier this year It was initially rumoured that he would move to Volkswagen but has nowjoined Infinitihttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsnissan-design-chief-shiro-nakamura-to-retire-404462aspx

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2017 KTM 390 Duke All you need to know Autocar India

The highly anticipated 2017 KTM 390 Duke has finally been launched in India and in many ways its a significant change from thelast-generation bike With deliveries for the first bikes just about kicking off we thought wed take a look at some of the mostinteresting aspects of the new bike

The motor isnamprsquot really newThe 373cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder motor that powers the new 2017 KTM 390 Duke hasnamprsquot changed from theprevious-gen bike in any significant way In fact the engine block (and pretty much everything in it) is absolutely identical whichmeans the bikeamprsquos peak power output of 435hp remains unchanged However thatamprsquos not the entire story A largerairbox to improve the engineamprsquos breathing has resulted in a 2Nm increase in torque taking peak twisting force up to 37NmThis increase in torque should help in offsetting the new bikeamprsquos nearly 10kg increase in dry weight

To make things more interesting the new bike also gets a ride-by-wire throttle This has helped in precise fuelling even with ashorter action throttle the motor is a lot smoother than before A lot of fans of the previous-generation 390 might not enjoy the morelinear power delivery as it lacks the drama of the older bike when you get hard on the gas But in the real world smoother is usuallyfaster so weamprsquoll have to let the lap times do the talking

The new engine also carries over the slipper clutch which was introduced during the previous-generation bikeamprsquos mid-lifeupgrade and which was just recently added to the RC390 However the 2017 390 Dukeamprsquos slipper clutch works even betterthan before and absolutely eliminates any rear wheel hop when rapidly downshifting at speed

Brakes are now significantly improvedOne big complaint that everyone had with the previous 390 Duke was the brakes There was adequate bite for the most part butfeel at the lever was sorely lacking and one needed to just grab a handful of the brake while putting full faith in the ABS and grippyMetzeler tyres In order to abate this KTM has gone with a larger 320mm front rotor for the new bike And while the radiallymounted caliper remains fairly unchanged it now sports sintered pads making a significant improvement in braking performance

That being said feel at the lever is still a bit on the vaguer side but the brakes do have much more bite now To top things off thealready highly capable Bosch ABS has seen an upgrade as well and now offers three modes ampndash Standard (where ABS workson both wheels) Off (where ABS is turned completely off) and Super Moto (where only rear ABS is turned off) The new Super Motomode should be a welcome addition for fans of ampldquobacking it inamprdquo into corners

The H-rated Metzelers are really goodA lot of spec sheet warriors will be up in arms regarding the switch from the W-rated Metzeler M5 Sportecs on the previous 390Duke to the H-rated ones on the 2017 model Now while the W-rated tyres are designed for much higher speeds as compared tothe H- rated ones (270kph for the W vs 210kph for the H) itamprsquos important to realise that the 390 Duke doesnamprsquot do

speeds in excess of 170-180kph So in terms of safety in a straight line the new tyres arenamprsquot a compromise as such

That being said there will be a very slight difference in cornering performance of the two tyres But in all honesty unlessyouamprsquore really pushing the bikeamprsquos (and your) limits on a race track this difference wonamprsquot be apparent The realbenefit of a switch to the H-rated tyres is significant cost savings Not only are replacement H-rated Metzeler tyres about 30-40percent cheaper to buy than the W-rated ones they last longer as well which means a significant lowering of running costs over thelife of the bike

Separate function forks are a boonEveryone made a big brouhaha about the new separate function WP front forks with their open cartridge technology on the 2017390 Duke But these are actually a really big deal With one side dedicated to compression damping and the other to rebounddamping the new front-end is much better able to deal with bumps and undulations on the tarmac This has also resulted in a betterfront-end feel when flicking the bike into corners

The new forks have about 8mm less travel but better-controlled damping offsets the reduced travel The forks themselvesarenamprsquot adjustable but they now come with a couple of notches at the top to aid in adjusting their mounting position in thetriple clamps This allows the forks to be mounted slightly higher or lower thereby affecting the front end geometry of the bike Thiswill allow riders to fine tune the way the bike turns into corners according to their riding style by making the bike either more stableor more flickable

Youamprsquore paying for a tonne of new equipmentWith an ex-showroom (Delhi) price tag of Rs 225 lakh this new 2017 390 Duke is almost half a lakh rupees more expensive thanthe outgoing model And there isnamprsquot really an increase in performance that justifies the significantly higher asking costHowever while the outright performance might be unaltered this new bike does offer quite a bit of new equipment that might justmake a strong case for the increased price

Apart from the improved brakes and suspension the bike now gets all-LED headlights These are a significant improvement overthe previous headlight in terms of illumination Plus a switch to LED technology will also allow for lower power consumption from thebattery as well as a lower failure rate compared to standard bulbs And we have to admit they look really cool as well

But best of all is the new TFT instrument display The monochromatic unit from the earlier bike has been replaced with a full-colourdisplay that not only shows all the relevant information such as speed distance fuel consumption when one opts for the KTMMyRide option It also pairs with smartphones via Bluetooth and can display received text messages incoming calls and even letsyou answer them using the mode navigation switches on the left handlebar Whats more is that it also allows control of musicplayback for paired phones It is literally the perfect companion for your smartphone when riding

The new frame is focused on improving ergonomicsWhile the major part of the trellis frame remains unchanged from the previous-generation model this bike gets a new subframethats bolted on as opposed to being welded So while the new frame hasnt affected the bikes geometry in any significant way ithas worked wonders for the ergonomics The redesigned subframe has made space for a larger riders seat which now also comeswith much better padding Even the pillion seat is now padded much better making this Duke much more comfortable than itspredecessor But comfort aside the foot pegs too have been moved slightly farther back and have been raised a bit allowing evenfor those with long legs to slot their knees under the new tank extensions The new riding position also makes for a gentlyleaned-forward posture thereby helping with better front-end feel and aiding aggressive ridinghttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-ktm-390-duke-all-you-need-to-know-404465aspx0

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BMW G310 R India launch delayed Autocar India

Motorcycling enthusiasts in India have been waiting for the launch of the BMW G310 R with bated breath since last year Revealedin 2015 the expected launch date for this baby BMW has slipped from mid to late 2016 and later to April 2017 However recentlysome information have come to light saying the G310 Ramprsquos launch will now happen later in the year

While it is true that BMW Motorrad will launch its operations in India in mid-April the Bavarian bike maker will initially bring its bigbike line-up to the market These will include the companyamprsquos adventure bikes from the R1200 range along with thesix-cylinder K1600 range and even the neo-retro R NineT range The bikes coming to India will also include the recently updated2017 S1000R and S1000RR which were shown off at EICMA 2016

BMW Motorrad has got showrooms in place for the launch next month but from what we understand it is in the process ofidentifying more showrooms across the country before it jumps in with the (comparatively) more mass market G310 R This 313ccsingle-cylinder bike which was developed in collaboration with TVS Motors has already gone into production at TVSamprsquosHosur plant and the ball is pretty much in BMW Motorrad Indiaamprsquos court regarding when exactly to go ahead with the launch

It wonamprsquot just be the G310 R thatamprsquoll be launched in India this year though The G310 GS an adventure touring versionof the R which was unveiled at EICMA 2016 as well will also hit the Indian shores in 2017 However its launch is expected to followthat of its naked sibling and we might get our hands on it near the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsbmw-g310-r-india-launch-delayed-404460aspx

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2017 BMW 5-series India review test drive

Autocar India

Dabolim Goa 1830hrs Runway 26 The pilot pushes the throttles wide open and the A320 gingerly begins its roll Twenty-fiveseconds and some serious amounts of thrust later the torpedo-shaped capsule raises its nose to the sky What makes thisdeparture truly stand out from the ordinary is that we are flying right into one of the most spectacular sunsets Iamprsquove seen in along time

But thereamprsquos also another reason why this flight is so unforgettable Thing is Iamprsquove just stepped out from behind thewheel of Mercedesamprsquo brand-spanking-new E-class after pedaling it around all day and then when I hop off the plane in DelhiIamprsquoll be getting straight into BMWamprsquos all-new 5-series Howamprsquos that for timing Now going from one drive to anotheris often par for the course drives of new cars often tend to get bunched up towards the end of the month with deadlines being whatthey are but driving two brand-new competitors one right after the other well thatamprsquos just never happened

Straight TalkThe next morning Delhi is cold and grey The temperature on the digital dash reads 8deg C and the mercury dips even further aswe head out of town Sunny Goa this isnamprsquot BMWamprsquos new 30-litre straight-six however is lapping it all up wolfing downall that cold dense air like a hungry beast I recently drove this car in Portugal but here on the highway the engine spinning at3000rpm the seamless manner in which it delivers its power ampndash in one thick wide stream ampndash is just so addictive I tuckin and go to full throttle every time I see a hint of an open stretch and the powerband is so wide and the response so linear it feelslike thereamprsquos a controlled explosion going on under the bonnet the wide rear wheels almost always fighting for traction Thenew 5 really does have the ability to pin you in the back and keep you there

The engine basically pulls all the way from 1600 to 5200rpm And like any well-tuned motor the faster you spin it the stronger itpulls no sudden explosion of torque here no sir This engine also has a near-4000rpm powerband and thatamprsquos as close asyou can get to a petrol today Yes select Sport hold on to a gear in manual and it will pull all the way to 5600rpm but after 5300progress slowly fades

The new B57 30 straight-six is also much more refined The mid-range is smooth like the engine is gargling rubber bullets insteadof ball bearings and at low RPMs itamprsquos much quieter too How has BMW achieved this increase in performance andrefinement Well for one it has upped injection pressure to a huge 2500 bar There are now six injections per stroke to helpsmoothen out combustion shock thereamprsquos a new twin-scroll turbocharger for better and faster responses and the engine alsogets an all-new lighter aluminium block the innards of which are sprayed with metal for better sound insulation

Still BMWamprsquos new straight-six isnamprsquot the epitome of refinement Other large-capacity diesels from the competition arequieter still and the B57 still has a bit of a grumble at low speeds and that typical BMW angry rattle when extended If this enginehas to be remembered for anything when the epitaph of the diesel is finally written it will have to be for the near petrol-like mannerin which it delivers the 265hp And 0-100kph in a claimed 57sec thatamprsquos serious performance Remember however that the530d will be the top-spec engine in the Indian 5-series line-up Lower in the range will be two four-cylinder options ampndash the190hp 520d diesel and the 252hp 530i petrol

Round And AboutThe area in which the new 5 has improved the most over its predecessor however has to be the handling Where the previous-gen5 had positively soggy dynamics and a vague uncommunicative steering the new G30 returns to form and how Sure the versionthatamprsquoll come to India wonamprsquot have the rear-wheel-steering system and ground clearance will be a bit more than theEuropean caramprsquos 144mm but this car still displays such an eagerness to take corners hard and fast you canamprsquot help butgive in

I luckily stumble upon the perfect road Private and cordoned off this piece of twisting and turning tarmac leads to an abandonedconstruction site The road is well-paved wide and has almost every type of corner The best bit almost no one uses it so we havethe playground to ourselves

Thereamprsquos no time for messing around I select amplsquoSportamprsquo and dive right in First impressions this 5 has lost a bit ofagility over the European spec car The loss of the rear-wheel steering means it doesnamprsquot rotate as easily and thereamprsquosa bit more roll too Still the driving experience it delivers is just spellbinding The brakes to begin with offer a tremendous amountof feel as I get into a corner This allows me to brake as late as I dare and thereamprsquos just so much grip and confidence comingup from the front wheels itamprsquos easy to keep pushing harder and harder What truly elevates the driving experience howeveris the balance Yes it rolls and eventually runs out of grip at the rear but the new 5 is always so poised and comfortable Iamprsquomforever looking to add more power as I exit corners And what also helps is that the smooth and lightning-quick eight-speed gearboxis always ready to play A few minutes of hard driving later I feel the car had shrunk around me no way does it feel close to 5m inlength with a wheelbase of 2975mm And the connection between the steering and the four wheels thereamprsquos a huge amountof that here too Whatamprsquos important to remember is that it is around 95kg lighter than the earlier car and thatamprsquos sure tohave an effect

What also works extremely effectively is BMWamprsquos new Adaptive mode Itamprsquos so good you donamprsquot really need tofiddle with the various modes any more The ride is soft and supple when you want it to be and then when you start tearing aroundthe car senses it and stiffens up the dampers Over some of the sharper bumps there is a bit of stiffness and the new 5 thumpsthrough at times even in amplsquoComfortamprsquo but BMW seem to have found such a sweet balance between ride and handling italmost feels like the ideal compromise

Insider infoWhile the new 5 is fabulous to drive a lot of owners will often occupy the rear seat and thatamprsquos what I evaluate nextThereamprsquos real leather here to begin with some of the finest and softest around and both the seat height and thigh support areextremely good The backrest is a touch vertical (the earlier 5 had the more reclined backrest from the China car) but is extremelysupportive And because the new 5 has an almost 3m-long wheelbase legroom is also more than sufficient thereamprsquos plenty ofspace for my knees and my feet too Problem is Iamprsquove only recently been in the back of the extended-wheelbase E-class andthatamprsquos spoiled me a bit legroom in the Merc is just miles better

The BMW gets its own back once you go up front The larger front seats are more supportive and comfortable their range ofadjustment is wider and finding the right driving position is so much easier Quality levels are a notch higher too I looked andlooked but there are no poorly built bits here everything is just built to a higher quality level and unlike the Mercamprsquos dash thebuild quality is more solid too there are no disagreeable squeaks even when you prod the dash or thump it lightly with your fistThe 5 is better equipped too The instrument panel is all digital the central screen is of a higher quality and resolution andfunctionality are so good it reminds you of a modern smartphone Even the touch functions work beautifully ampndash all you everneed to do is hit the amplsquobuttonamprsquo once BMWamprsquos iDrive system is even simpler to use now and passengers at theback get their own remote for the system too The new 5 even gets a few delight features from the 7 Gesture control works wellonce you get used to twirling your fingers in the air the blower control is also via a touch function and then thereamprsquos thesci-fi-like remote parking too Some of the buttons like the blower control however are a bit small and fiddly to use especially if thecar is on the move and I really did like the amplsquorockeramprsquo on the earlier car for selecting drive modes you could use itwithout looking down

BMW has also made a much needed modification to the boot especially for India The luggage compartment now comes with roomfor a space saver under the floor and thatamprsquos far better than having a spare sitting exposed and all strapped up in your bootSpace will be down on the otherwise generous 530 litres but having a tyre to fall back on makes a huge difference

In the BalanceThe new 5 is a massive leap forward in almost every area It drives like a proper BMW to begin with Performance is muscular ithandles with the fluency of a thoroughbred sports sedan and control and feedback are so good it constantly urges you to go fasterand faster And thatamprsquos a huge improvement over the earlier car which frankly drove like anything but a BMW The new 5has also taken massive step forward on the inside Quality levels are now easily best in class and it is lavishly kitted out often asgenerously as cars from a class above with some genuinely new bits of tech Even the rear seat experience is good

The new 5 however lacks the E-classamprsquo single-minded focus on the rear seat and simply doesnamprsquot have as muchlegroom What the new 5 delivers though is a more rounded package It successfully delivers the impression of being a barelyshrunken-down 7-series and thatamprsquos a huge accomplishment when you take a step back and look at just how far forward thenew car has come This brings us to the all-important question which is the better car ampndash the 5 or the E Well to know thatweamprsquoll have to get both cars on the road at the same time price sheet and option lists in hand And that can only happen oncethe new 5 is launched somewhere in June or July at an expected price of Rs 52-65 lakh The battle of the titans is coming uphttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-reviews2017-bmw-5-series-india-review-test-drive-4044790aspx

Top

Maruti Vitara Brezza long term review second report Autocar India

The Vitara Brezza has been holding its head high of late Due in part to the accolades heaped on it during our Car of the Yearawards where it took honours in three categories Our Brezza however has also been standing tall because of a substantialfeature upgrade done via Marutiamprsquos i-Create web pages

The experience with the Maruti Genuine Accessories site has been a bit of a mixed bag though

First the good bits The Brezza certainly looks a tad nicer on the outside The integrated amplsquobull baramprsquo-like garnish (Maruticalls it an extender) we added gives it a bit of an upmarket look and the rear skid plate works quite well too making our Brezzastand out nicely in a crowd A bit of subtle individuality always seems to work well

We added a lot more on the inside The enhancements to the audio system were expensive but clearly worth it We chose to godown the amp and speaker path ampndash itamprsquos what works best with modern integrated touchscreen units ampndash and theresult was greater depth and considerably more punch especially when high-quality audio files are played And thereamprsquos a bigjump in clarity at higher volumes too again due to the more effortless power delivered by the 50W x 4 amplsquoHertzamprsquo ampand the HCX 690 three-way speakers

The other new bits we added however didnamprsquot really work out as well The leather seats turned out to be just covers placedon top of the seats and these have turned Marutiamprsquos once fabulously comfortable seats into not-so-comfortable ones Like allseat covers the ones we got on our car add a thickish layer to both the seat and the seatback and that of course means you nowsit amplsquoonamprsquo the seat rather than amplsquoinamprsquo it However they look a lot better compared to the drab grey clothcovers This entire list of accessories amounted to Rs 43245 with taxes extra

Otherwise the Brezza is the same easy-to-drive mile muncher itamprsquos always been The ride is a bit stiff over rough patches anda bit more power from the engine would have been nice on the highway but I absolutely love how well-balanced and at ease it feelsin corners Combine that and its ability to run over rough patches without getting tossed around and you have an SUV thatamprsquoswell-suited to Indian roadshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-reviewsmaruti-vitara-brezza-long-term-review-second-report-404464aspx

Top

2017 Tata Tigor review test drive Autocar India

What is it

The Tigor (pronounced Tee-gor) is the compact sedan version of the well-received Tata Tiago hatchback Itamprsquos also the model

The BMW gets its own back once you go up front The larger front seats are more supportive and comfortable their range ofadjustment is wider and finding the right driving position is so much easier Quality levels are a notch higher too I looked andlooked but there are no poorly built bits here everything is just built to a higher quality level and unlike the Mercamprsquos dash thebuild quality is more solid too there are no disagreeable squeaks even when you prod the dash or thump it lightly with your fistThe 5 is better equipped too The instrument panel is all digital the central screen is of a higher quality and resolution andfunctionality are so good it reminds you of a modern smartphone Even the touch functions work beautifully ampndash all you everneed to do is hit the amplsquobuttonamprsquo once BMWamprsquos iDrive system is even simpler to use now and passengers at theback get their own remote for the system too The new 5 even gets a few delight features from the 7 Gesture control works wellonce you get used to twirling your fingers in the air the blower control is also via a touch function and then thereamprsquos thesci-fi-like remote parking too Some of the buttons like the blower control however are a bit small and fiddly to use especially if thecar is on the move and I really did like the amplsquorockeramprsquo on the earlier car for selecting drive modes you could use itwithout looking down

BMW has also made a much needed modification to the boot especially for India The luggage compartment now comes with roomfor a space saver under the floor and thatamprsquos far better than having a spare sitting exposed and all strapped up in your bootSpace will be down on the otherwise generous 530 litres but having a tyre to fall back on makes a huge difference

In the BalanceThe new 5 is a massive leap forward in almost every area It drives like a proper BMW to begin with Performance is muscular ithandles with the fluency of a thoroughbred sports sedan and control and feedback are so good it constantly urges you to go fasterand faster And thatamprsquos a huge improvement over the earlier car which frankly drove like anything but a BMW The new 5has also taken massive step forward on the inside Quality levels are now easily best in class and it is lavishly kitted out often asgenerously as cars from a class above with some genuinely new bits of tech Even the rear seat experience is good

The new 5 however lacks the E-classamprsquo single-minded focus on the rear seat and simply doesnamprsquot have as muchlegroom What the new 5 delivers though is a more rounded package It successfully delivers the impression of being a barelyshrunken-down 7-series and thatamprsquos a huge accomplishment when you take a step back and look at just how far forward thenew car has come This brings us to the all-important question which is the better car ampndash the 5 or the E Well to know thatweamprsquoll have to get both cars on the road at the same time price sheet and option lists in hand And that can only happen oncethe new 5 is launched somewhere in June or July at an expected price of Rs 52-65 lakh The battle of the titans is coming uphttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-reviews2017-bmw-5-series-india-review-test-drive-4044790aspx

Top

Maruti Vitara Brezza long term review second report Autocar India

The Vitara Brezza has been holding its head high of late Due in part to the accolades heaped on it during our Car of the Yearawards where it took honours in three categories Our Brezza however has also been standing tall because of a substantialfeature upgrade done via Marutiamprsquos i-Create web pages

The experience with the Maruti Genuine Accessories site has been a bit of a mixed bag though

First the good bits The Brezza certainly looks a tad nicer on the outside The integrated amplsquobull baramprsquo-like garnish (Maruticalls it an extender) we added gives it a bit of an upmarket look and the rear skid plate works quite well too making our Brezzastand out nicely in a crowd A bit of subtle individuality always seems to work well

We added a lot more on the inside The enhancements to the audio system were expensive but clearly worth it We chose to godown the amp and speaker path ampndash itamprsquos what works best with modern integrated touchscreen units ampndash and theresult was greater depth and considerably more punch especially when high-quality audio files are played And thereamprsquos a bigjump in clarity at higher volumes too again due to the more effortless power delivered by the 50W x 4 amplsquoHertzamprsquo ampand the HCX 690 three-way speakers

The other new bits we added however didnamprsquot really work out as well The leather seats turned out to be just covers placedon top of the seats and these have turned Marutiamprsquos once fabulously comfortable seats into not-so-comfortable ones Like allseat covers the ones we got on our car add a thickish layer to both the seat and the seatback and that of course means you nowsit amplsquoonamprsquo the seat rather than amplsquoinamprsquo it However they look a lot better compared to the drab grey clothcovers This entire list of accessories amounted to Rs 43245 with taxes extra

Otherwise the Brezza is the same easy-to-drive mile muncher itamprsquos always been The ride is a bit stiff over rough patches anda bit more power from the engine would have been nice on the highway but I absolutely love how well-balanced and at ease it feelsin corners Combine that and its ability to run over rough patches without getting tossed around and you have an SUV thatamprsquoswell-suited to Indian roadshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-reviewsmaruti-vitara-brezza-long-term-review-second-report-404464aspx

Top

2017 Tata Tigor review test drive Autocar India

What is it

The Tigor (pronounced Tee-gor) is the compact sedan version of the well-received Tata Tiago hatchback Itamprsquos also the model

that will become the mainstay of the carmakeramprsquos compact sedan range the capable but slow-selling Zest is set to berepositioned for the taxi market while the Indigo eCS that started the sub-four-metre sedan segment is headed for discontinuationHowever the Tigor enters the market at a time when the compact sedan segment as a whole isnamprsquot growing as fast as it oncedid Tata Motors though is confident buyers wonamprsquot see the Tigor as just any other compact sedan In fact Tatadoesnamprsquot even call it one A amplsquoStylebackamprsquo is what the marketers at Tata would like you to see the Tigor as

Whatamprsquos it like on the outside

Study photos of the Tigor and Tiagoamprsquos front ends and youamprsquoll find only a few subtle differences The Tigoramprsquosheadlights get a smoked-effect and also use projector lenses New chrome lining for the lower portion of the glasshouse adds a bitof richness to the Tigoramprsquos look However itamprsquos from the B-pillar onwards that the Tigor takes on a whole differentidentity The sedan sits on a 50mm longer wheelbase uses different rear doors and even has a unique window line with aSkoda-like upward kink at the rear quarter glass Visually though what really makes the Tigor stand out is the coupeacute-like manner theroof flows into the tail inspiration for the amplsquoStylebackamprsquo name The swooping roof and distinctive tail section make theTigor look far removed from all other compact sedans that are more often than not hatchbacks with a boot tacked on Certainangles arenamprsquot quite as flattering to the Tigoramprsquos derrieacutere (especially on the diesel version that gets only 14-inch rims)but on the whole the caramprsquos shape is attractive and sure to be a big draw

Styling at the rear is neat helped by the smart tail-lamps chunky bar of chrome above the number plate and a black plastic strip lowdown on the bumper to balance visual mass There are also some nifty details elsewhere on the body See the blacked-out lip(home to a strip of LEDs) above the rear windscreen Aside from being a design element in its own right itamprsquos also the endpoint for a neatly hidden hump in the roof thatamprsquos been incorporated to free up headroom in the rear section of the cabin Carehas been taken to ensure maximum boot space too How Tata has ditched the traditional gooseneck hinges for the boot openingand opted for a significantly more expensive multi-hinge and damper arrangement The setup is less intrusive and helps make themost of the luggage area which by the way is a sizeable 419 litres Another point to note is that only petrol Tigors will be availablewith the attractive amplsquodiamond cutamprsquo 15-inch alloy rims As mentioned diesel Tigors make use of smaller 14-inchers Tataengineers we spoke to told us the heavier diesel required the added cushioning of thicker sidewall tyres to keep ride comfort at thedesired level In all the Tigor weighs 50kg more than a comparable Tiago

Whatamprsquos it like on the inside

The Tigor shares its smart dashboard with the Tiago hatchback and the ambience in the cabin is rather nice Thereamprsquos a nicetextured finish to the dash top the chunky steering is great to hold the knitted roof lining looks premium and Tata has even putfabric inserts on the doors to add a bit of richness But fit and finish is still not quite at Hyundaiamprsquos benchmark levels yet Theplastics low down on the dash feel hard and scratchy and panel fit is inconsistent at places such as the glovebox

True to Tataamprsquos DNA the Tigoramprsquos cabin is spacious And comfort is good too The front seats are large and thoughcushioning is a touch soft they do offer good support Importantly frontal visibility is also really nice thanks in part to the dashbeing low set Rear seat passengers will also like the view out from the large rear windows Tata has lowered the position of theTigoramprsquos rear seat vis-agrave-vis the Tiago in the interest of freeing up headroom and even six-foot tall occupants will be able to situpright Clever scoops on the front seatbacks have also helped carve out a good deal of knee room for passengers here We didfind the rear backrest a tad too reclined but on the whole you sit quite comfortably in the back Interestingly the backrest extendsfrom door to door allowing the entire width of the cabin to be used Three adults can sit three abreast in more comfort than mostother compact sedans and whatamprsquos also nice is that there are sizeable fixed headrests for each of the rear passengers Youalso have the option to fold down the well-positioned rear centre armrest when the middle seat is not in use

Armrest aside the Tigor also gets auto climate control a reverse camera and a new touchscreen infotainment system over andabove whatamprsquos on offer in the Tiago The touchscreen is a development of the Harman-developed unit that youamprsquoll alsofind on other Tatas The screen isnamprsquot the most responsive to touch inputs (youamprsquoll find yourself relying on the controldial) and catches a lot of reflections but the infotainment system does score for functionality Tata has a suite of mobile apps thatyou can use with the system For instance the screen can display navigation maps and instructions from your phone app andthereamprsquos another app that allows each passenger in the car to add songs from their device (via mobile hotspot) to a playlist onthe phone paired with the audio player Worth a mention is the really impressive sound quality from the four-speaker four-tweetersetup We also found the infotainment system quite responsive to voice commands especially for radio audio and climate controlsettings

As for space for small items the Tigor offers plenty Each door gets a bottleholder thereamprsquos enough storage for mobile phonesand even two cupholders on the new rear armrest

Whatamprsquos it like to drive

Like the Tiago the Tigor will be offered with a 105-litre three-cylinder diesel engine and a 12-litre three-cylinder petrol engineBoth engines come mated to five-speed gearboxes albeit with shorter gearing to compensate for the 50kg weight increment overthe Tiago

The diesel engine makes 70hp of power and 140Nm of torque figures which are quite low by segment standards And the fact isthe diesel engine feels adequate but no more Performance in town is fair and youamprsquoll be able to keep up with traffic but whenyou want to overtake youamprsquoll miss that mid-range surge weamprsquove just come to expect from even small turbo-dieselsThere is a mild step up in power at 2000rpm but power delivery remains flat thereafter forcing you to downshift when you need toget a quick move on Out on the highway too you will often be left wanting for power The diesel engine is also on the noisier sideand sounds thrummy when extended For their part the gearbox is smooth in operation though not slick and the clutch isreasonably light too

For most urban buyers though the petrol Tigor would be the one of greater interest The petrol Tigor uses the same engine as theone on the Tiago but Tata has added a balancer shaft to cut vibrations here The inclusion of the balancer also requiredrecalibration of the ECU and the net effect is the engine feels far nicer than it does in the Tiago Vibrations are significantly reduced

and fueling seems cleaner too power delivery is noticeably smoother than the petrol Tiago Performance in town is decent withreasonable responses to throttle inputs Fairly smooth gearshifts and the light clutch also help the experience Still the 85hp enginedoes little to excite The build-up of power is flat throughout the rev range (it revs until 6500rpm) and it simply lacks zing And whenrevved hard the engine doesnamprsquot sound particularly nice either

Both Tigors offer drive modes with amplsquoCityamprsquo being the default setting and an amplsquoEcoamprsquo setting to enhance fueleconomy While we are yet to test the efficacy of the system we can tell you that the diesel Tigor feels a bit labored in Eco while thepetrol version remains usable in the efficiency mode Tata has not revealed fuel economy figures for the Tigor as yet

Irrespective of which version of the Tigor you drive you are sure to like the car for its ride and handling The steering for one iswell-weighted ampndash light at low speeds and heavier at high speeds ampndash and operates with a really nice smoothness Whengoing fast thereamprsquos a good connect with the car and though the Tigor rolls quite a bit in the bends you always feel well incontrol The Bridgestone tyres offer good grip in the corners as well as under hard braking Our top-spec test cars came withanti-lock brakes but itamprsquos not yet clear if ABS will be available on lower variants as well

Tataamprsquos newer models have scored well for ride comfort and the Tigor is no different Concentrate hard and youamprsquollnotice minute up and down movements But in general the suspension ably deals with the bumps and lumps with the chunky tyresfurther absorbing smaller imperfections well Whatamprsquos more the suspension goes about its business without much noiseadding to the Tigoramprsquos big-car feel

Should I buy one

Whatamprsquos clear is that the Tigor is not just a Tiago with a boot Itamprsquos got a different vibe and thatamprsquos all thanks to theway it looks It is an attractive car and has a certain visual appeal that the typical compact sedan doesnamprsquot have In a sensethe Tigor will attract buyers to whom design and style get priority over practicality Thatamprsquos not to say the Tigor isnamprsquotpractical Much to the contrary itamprsquos got a well thought-out cabin ample interior space and a large and useable boot At thesame time top-spec Tigoramprsquos also address modern day requirements for connectivity and features

Where the Tigor could have been better is under the bonnet Both the petrol and the diesel engine could have done with morepower In fact given the good ride and handling package the powertrain is the sole area where the Tigor feels a notch down to theexisting compact sedans But hereamprsquos the thing The Tigor will come in under the Tata Zest which by extension means it willbe priced significantly lower than compact sedans like the Maruti Swift Dzire Honda Amaze Hyundai Xcent Ford Figo Aspire andVolkswagen Ameo Tata is said to be looking at an aggressive price tag for the Tigor with prices likely to range from Rs 4 lakh(estimated ex-showroom Delhi) for the base petrol to Rs 65 lakh for the top-spec diesel And that means the Tigor could sit in asweet spot in the market with no direct rivals

The Tiago hatchback has already shown thereamprsquos a market for a well-priced Tata The Tigor has the potential to take things upa few notcheshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-reviews2017-tata-tigor-review-test-drive-4044670aspx

Top

International News

GM tries a subscription plan for cadillacs - a Netfliz for cars at $1500 a month Mike ColiasBusiness Standard

Ashley Sandall recently set aside the keys to her Porsche sport-utility vehicle for three months to try out a few Cadillacs When theCaddy she was driving proved too small for her weekend plans she ordered up a different model with her smartphone It wouldarrive the next day

Ms Sandall a 35-year-old fashion executive who lives in New York City used Cadillacamprsquos brawny Escalade SUV for trips tothe Hamptons and a football game in New Jersey ampldquoIt was great to have your pick of the vehicle best suited for whatyouamprsquore doingamprdquo she said

After participating free of charge in a three-month pilot of General Motors Coamprsquos new Book by Cadillac subscription plan MsSandall said she is considering becoming a full-time member when it is time for a new vehicle For $1500 a month the programcovers ownership costs and lets members trade in and out of Cadillacamprsquos 10 models up to 18 times a year

The effort is the latest experiment by a car company to test whether people are willing to treat personal transportation like a Netflixaccount where temporary on-demand access outweighs the benefits of ownership

GM has been among the industryamprsquos chief tinkerers with the ownership model anticipating that the century-old arrangement ofconsumers buying insuring and repairing their own vehicles eventually will lose favor In early 2016 it formed a car-sharingcompany called Maven and around the same time invested $500 million into ride-hailing service Lyft Inc Uber TechnologiesIncamprsquos main rival

GMamprsquos Book Cadillac service which started late last year is available only in metro New York City but likely will expand to LosAngeles and other major markets Cadillac marketing chief Uwe Ellinghaus said Subscribers pay month-to-month without along-term commitment

So far nearly 5000 people have registered on the planamprsquos website GM said but the company declined to disclose how many

and fueling seems cleaner too power delivery is noticeably smoother than the petrol Tiago Performance in town is decent withreasonable responses to throttle inputs Fairly smooth gearshifts and the light clutch also help the experience Still the 85hp enginedoes little to excite The build-up of power is flat throughout the rev range (it revs until 6500rpm) and it simply lacks zing And whenrevved hard the engine doesnamprsquot sound particularly nice either

Both Tigors offer drive modes with amplsquoCityamprsquo being the default setting and an amplsquoEcoamprsquo setting to enhance fueleconomy While we are yet to test the efficacy of the system we can tell you that the diesel Tigor feels a bit labored in Eco while thepetrol version remains usable in the efficiency mode Tata has not revealed fuel economy figures for the Tigor as yet

Irrespective of which version of the Tigor you drive you are sure to like the car for its ride and handling The steering for one iswell-weighted ampndash light at low speeds and heavier at high speeds ampndash and operates with a really nice smoothness Whengoing fast thereamprsquos a good connect with the car and though the Tigor rolls quite a bit in the bends you always feel well incontrol The Bridgestone tyres offer good grip in the corners as well as under hard braking Our top-spec test cars came withanti-lock brakes but itamprsquos not yet clear if ABS will be available on lower variants as well

Tataamprsquos newer models have scored well for ride comfort and the Tigor is no different Concentrate hard and youamprsquollnotice minute up and down movements But in general the suspension ably deals with the bumps and lumps with the chunky tyresfurther absorbing smaller imperfections well Whatamprsquos more the suspension goes about its business without much noiseadding to the Tigoramprsquos big-car feel

Should I buy one

Whatamprsquos clear is that the Tigor is not just a Tiago with a boot Itamprsquos got a different vibe and thatamprsquos all thanks to theway it looks It is an attractive car and has a certain visual appeal that the typical compact sedan doesnamprsquot have In a sensethe Tigor will attract buyers to whom design and style get priority over practicality Thatamprsquos not to say the Tigor isnamprsquotpractical Much to the contrary itamprsquos got a well thought-out cabin ample interior space and a large and useable boot At thesame time top-spec Tigoramprsquos also address modern day requirements for connectivity and features

Where the Tigor could have been better is under the bonnet Both the petrol and the diesel engine could have done with morepower In fact given the good ride and handling package the powertrain is the sole area where the Tigor feels a notch down to theexisting compact sedans But hereamprsquos the thing The Tigor will come in under the Tata Zest which by extension means it willbe priced significantly lower than compact sedans like the Maruti Swift Dzire Honda Amaze Hyundai Xcent Ford Figo Aspire andVolkswagen Ameo Tata is said to be looking at an aggressive price tag for the Tigor with prices likely to range from Rs 4 lakh(estimated ex-showroom Delhi) for the base petrol to Rs 65 lakh for the top-spec diesel And that means the Tigor could sit in asweet spot in the market with no direct rivals

The Tiago hatchback has already shown thereamprsquos a market for a well-priced Tata The Tigor has the potential to take things upa few notcheshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-reviews2017-tata-tigor-review-test-drive-4044670aspx

Top

International News

GM tries a subscription plan for cadillacs - a Netfliz for cars at $1500 a month Mike ColiasBusiness Standard

Ashley Sandall recently set aside the keys to her Porsche sport-utility vehicle for three months to try out a few Cadillacs When theCaddy she was driving proved too small for her weekend plans she ordered up a different model with her smartphone It wouldarrive the next day

Ms Sandall a 35-year-old fashion executive who lives in New York City used Cadillacamprsquos brawny Escalade SUV for trips tothe Hamptons and a football game in New Jersey ampldquoIt was great to have your pick of the vehicle best suited for whatyouamprsquore doingamprdquo she said

After participating free of charge in a three-month pilot of General Motors Coamprsquos new Book by Cadillac subscription plan MsSandall said she is considering becoming a full-time member when it is time for a new vehicle For $1500 a month the programcovers ownership costs and lets members trade in and out of Cadillacamprsquos 10 models up to 18 times a year

The effort is the latest experiment by a car company to test whether people are willing to treat personal transportation like a Netflixaccount where temporary on-demand access outweighs the benefits of ownership

GM has been among the industryamprsquos chief tinkerers with the ownership model anticipating that the century-old arrangement ofconsumers buying insuring and repairing their own vehicles eventually will lose favor In early 2016 it formed a car-sharingcompany called Maven and around the same time invested $500 million into ride-hailing service Lyft Inc Uber TechnologiesIncamprsquos main rival

GMamprsquos Book Cadillac service which started late last year is available only in metro New York City but likely will expand to LosAngeles and other major markets Cadillac marketing chief Uwe Ellinghaus said Subscribers pay month-to-month without along-term commitment

So far nearly 5000 people have registered on the planamprsquos website GM said but the company declined to disclose how many

are paying for the service and how many are using a free-trial offer

The concept of shared ownership of premium cars isnamprsquot new Startups are testing the model Atlanta-based ClutchTechnologies begun in 2014 works much like Cadillacamprsquos service but gives users access to multiple brands and models for$950 or $1400 a month And exotic-car clubs and small-fleet operators have long offered programs that allow people to swap inand out of high-end cars

GM believes its approach will differentiate its offering from car-sharing services such as Avis Budget Group Inc-owned Zipcar thatoperate like a commodity with usage allocated on an hourly basis GM is also trying to get on the radar with more luxury-orientedconsumers Mr Ellinghaus said Young and affluent buyers are prized by auto makers but those prospects often head to Germanbrands like Volkswagen AGamprsquos Audi or BMW AG

BMW considered a subscription service but ultimately decided against it because of potential logistical hurdles and doubts about thesize of the market said the car makeramprsquos North America chief executive Ludwig WillischampldquoIamprsquom not sure how big the demand really isamprdquo Mr Willisch said in a recent interview Instead BMW hasexpanded its ReachNow car-sharing service to several US cities allowing customers to book a car through an app and drop it offat any public parking space in the area

Hyundai Motor Corp is offering a subscription service for electric cars but only in California and for a vehicle class seen as niche

Karl Brauer a senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book said more auto makersampmdasheven lower-priced mainstreambrandsampmdashcould adopt GMamprsquos approach because it offers flexibility and eases some of the ampldquopain pointsamprdquo ofcar ownership He said it lets car companies in on a cash-flow-driven model normally reserved for service-based companies

ampldquoSubscriptions in general are a good business modelamprdquo he said

Still the proliferation of mobility offerings poses a longer-term threat to GM and other vehicle makers as more people find it easier togo without a car Barclays Capital analyst Brian Johnson has said US vehicle sales could decline by 40 over the next 25 yearsamid the spread of car sharing and self-driving vehicles And auto makers risk a backlash from their dealers as they roll outbusiness models that potentially cut them out of the process

GM is using Maven as an incubator for mobility offerings The car-sharing service operates thousands of vehiclesampmdashfromcheap sedans to sports cars to big SUVsampmdashfor 27000 members in 17 US cities This month it began a service similar toCadillacamprsquos Book that lets members in Los Angeles and San Francisco use the same car for a month including dedicatedparking spots around the city

GM wouldnamprsquot discuss Mavenamprsquos financial results Analysts believe it is unprofitable for now GM Chief Executive MaryBarra said earlier this month the company is ampldquolearning a great deal about developing transportation as a serviceamprdquo

Top

Toyotas all-new Lexus RX to get aluminium from Arconic The Economic Times

New York Global technology engineering and advanced manufacturing leader Arconic has announced a multi-year supply dealwith Toyota North America to supply aluminium for all-new Lexus RX The vehicle debuted last year and became Toyotaamprsquosfirst vehicle in North America to prominently feature aluminium exterior panels

ampldquoAutomakers worldwide are turning to aluminum for the stronger tougher higher performing vehicles that consumersdemandamprdquo said Mark Vrablec President of Arconicamprsquos Aerospace amp Automotive Products business

ampldquoMany bestselling vehicles in America have already converted to aluminium for improved performance including better fuelefficiency more towing and payload capacity and improved vehicle safety scores This trend will continue We are proud to expandour relationship with Toyotaamprdquo

This makes Arconic the sole aluminium sheet supplier to Toyota for the Lexus RX

The Arconic and Toyota deal draws on the strong automotive expertise and manufacturing capability of Arconicamprsquos GlobalRolled Products business Arconic will supply Toyota from its plants in Davenport Iowa and Danville Illinois

Arconic estimates that it will grow its automotive sheet revenue from $76 million in 2010 to $13 billion in 2018 and acrossArconicamprsquos full automotive portfolio 98 percent of Arconic revenues come from products where it is number one or numbertwo in its segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyotas-all-new-lexus-rx-to-get-aluminium-from-arconic57728906

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Ford Focus Electric gets a new outrageous green colour for 2018 globally The Economic Times (Web Edition)

Dearborn US based auto maker Ford has introduced a new Outrageous Green Metallic tinted color for the 2018 Ford FocusElectric

Ford claims thinking about the visual and tactile elements that will help to define the future vehicles Barb Whalen Ford color andmaterials design manager and her team tap into everyday experiences to predict future trends to deliver a vibrant and diverse palletfor customers

ampldquoDesigners are encouraged to experience a feeling bring it to the team then collectively brainstorm ways to bring it to lifethrough a paint color or material for Ford vehiclesamprdquo says Whalen ampldquoOutrageous Green Metallic is a unique shadesymbolizing modern renewal and a reconnection with nature then finished with a special tinted clear coat to give the color depthand vibrancyamprdquo

Challenged to think about the ampldquowhyamprdquo the Ford color and materials team works to answer why a particular color isimportant why now and why this color as opposed to another Many colors seen today were inspired from beautiful places innature with trends often predicted two to three years into the future

These trends can be influenced by everything from changing lifestyles psychological and societal emotions to consumer hobbiesand passionate interests Unusual sports gear ropes anodized finishes plastics gear and accent fabrics provide inspiration forFord vehicle exteriors and interiors says the media release issued by the company The social and political environment andconversations about material ethics (biomaterials) also influence forecasting trends and help to predict the color and materialchoices Ford makes for tomorrow

The 2017 Ford Focus Electric has an EPA-estimated driving range of 115 miles up from 76 miles on the 2016 model It has anEPA-estimated rating of 118 city96 hwy107 combined MPGe Actual mileage will vary MPGe is the EPA equivalent measure ofgasoline fuel efficiency for electric mode operation

Ford Focus Electric comes standard with all-new DC fast-charge capable of delivering 75 miles of range in 30 minutes when usinga charger capable of delivering 150 amps The 2017 Ford Focus Electric charge port is also capable of charging on 120-volt and240-volt

The caramprsquos battery has 335 kilowatt-hours of installed energy ampndash an increase of more than 40 percent compared to2016 with no increase in the size of the batteryhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsford-focus-electric-gets-a-new-outrageous-green-colour-for-2018-globally57734189

Top

Renault Kadjar gets a new petrol engine Limited edition Megane introduced globally The Economic Times

New Delhi French carmaker Renault has globally introduces a new engine on its Renault Kadjar and also introduced a limitededition of Megane to its existing line-up

The list of engine options available for the Renault Kadjar has been extended with the addition of the TCe 165 petrol engine whichdelivers 240Nm torque from 2000rpm and is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox it can be specified for the modelamprsquosINTENS and limited-edition BLACK EDITION versions The prices of the car in Europe starts at euro30400

Renaultamprsquos French sales network has taken advantage of its special promotional weekend on March 16-20 to introduce a newlimited-edition MEGANE namely the MEGANE LIMITED Based on the modelamprsquos ZEN equipment level it features exteriorstyling which includes extra-tinted rear windows 17-inch dark wheels and Etoileacute Black door mirror housings (irrespective of bodycolour) plus electrically-folding door mirrors and specific chrome LIMITED wing badge

Inside the equipment list includes R-Link navigation complete with seven-inch display and an electronic assist parking brake Thisattractive competitively-priced package costs just euro400 more than the basic ZEN version which equates to a saving to thecustomer of 45 percenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsrenault-kadjar-gets-a-new-petrol-engine-limited-edition-megane-introduced-globally57732134

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Volvos Filipa Hoppenbrouwers encourages women to work in production The Economic Times

New Delhi Swedish bus manufacturer Volvo production manager Filipa Hoppenbrouwers is trying to encourage more women towork in production management division by herself being the first woman to hold such a position within the Volvo Group in Brazil

As a production manager at Volvo Buses Filipa Hoppenbrouwers is responsible for a production site which includes just over 100people

ampldquoBasically I like everything about my job I like working with people and continuous improvement Every day is differentItamprsquos never boring and always challengingamprdquo she says

ampldquoTo encourage more women to work in production management I think one important factor is to show how plants havechanged Today itamprsquos a clean ergonomic environment and people are politeamprdquo she says

Filipa is Portuguese and she worked in Belgium and in Sweden at the Volvo Group before moving to Brazil

ampldquoI always try to demonstrate respect for others through my actions I also canamprsquot think of a single time in my career

when I didnamprsquot feel respected Diversity is important in a management setting People with different backgrounds bringdifferent opinions and perspectives

If you consider more points of view the outcome can only improve When it comes to my tips for someone taking on amanagement role I would say amplsquoFirst of all believe in yourselfamprsquo Thatamprsquos the first step to making everyone believein you as well added Hoppenbrouwershttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewscommercial-vehiclemhcvvolvos-filipa-hoppenbrouwers-encourages-women-to-work-in-production57728605

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French emissions probe clears Opel others accused of fraud APSee this story in The Economic Times

Paris French investigators say they have found evidence of possible emissions fraud in Fiat Renault Peugeot Citroen andVolkswagen cars sold in France but have found no proof of fraud in Opel vehicles

The Finance Ministry announced in a statement Monday that its consumer fraud agency has closed its investigation into Opelhaving found no facts constituting an infraction of fraud

The ministry said the agency DGCCRF has handed documents to French courts showing fraud in emissions controls concerningVolkswagen Renault Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot Citroen Now it is up to the French justice system to determine whether to sendthe companies to trial

The ministry said investigations into other carmakers are still under way prompted by the 2015 discovery that Volkswagen usedsoftware to cheat on US diesel emissions testshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfrench-emissions-probe-clears-opel-others-accused-of-fraud57731729

Top

Austria joins up charging points to boost electric car usage ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times

Vienna Austria is creating a nationwide network of charging stations for electric cars making it easier for drivers to charge up aspart of the countrys efforts to promote the vehicles to reduce CO2 emissions

From April 11 electricity suppliers will combine their charging stations into one network of 1300 public points throughout the Alpinerepublic Transport Minister Joerg Leichtfried said at a news conference on Monday

Majority state-owned hydropower producer Verbund working with Germanys Siemens is the countrys largest provider of chargingpoints with around 400

The move means drivers can sign up with any one of the 11 suppliers and use all the stations within the combined network ratherthan have separate contracts with each company

Austria has been supporting the use of electric cars with various initiatives over the last six years and saw a 130 percent jump innew registrations of electric cars last year the biggest increase within the European Union

Since the beginning of the month buyers in Austria can receive up to 4000 euros ($4300) in rebates to help offset the higher priceof an electric vehicle Neighbouring Germany introduced a comparable premium last year

The share of electric cars is three times higher in Austria than the EU average and four times as high as in Germany

As well as investing in electric cars auto manufacturers BMW Volkswagen Ford and Daimler are planning to build about 400next-generation charging stations in Europe that can reload an electric car in minutes instead of hours

Transport Minister Leichtfried said Austrias network will comprise 2000 stations by the end of the year rising to 5000 in 2020adding the network will be connected with others in Europe within months

The new network will not cover all charging stations available in Austria but Juergen Halasz the head of the federal electromobilityassociation said he expected others to join in the futurehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsaustria-joins-up-charging-points-to-boost-electric-car-usage57737618

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Porsche pockets a whopping $17250 profit on every car BloombergSee this story in The Financial Express

Porscheamprsquos profit machine already humming just shifted up The Volkswagen AG brand delivered 238000 of its sinuous

vehicles last year and posted an operating profit of 39 billion euros ($41 billion) up 14 percent from 2015 Put those numberstogether and itamprsquos on pace to net about $17250 a car up 9 percent In short every time Porsche sells a 911 sports car or oneof its Cayenne SUVs it could take the profit alone and go buy a brand new Chevy Cruze

Its Teutonic peers donamprsquot have nearly as much profit punch Daimler AG pocketed about $5000 a vehicle last year roughlythe same margin Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) has been managing Part of the money magic is simply price Porschedoesnamprsquot make cheap cars Even luxury players like Mercedes occasionally offer more pedestrian versions at narrowermargins to get aspiring buyers into the family And make no mistake Porsche customers are paying a premium for thebrandamprsquos reputation

Ferrari knows this game well Its operating profit equates to almost $90000 a vehicle But about 30 percent of Ferrariamprsquosbusiness comes from engines key chains amusement parks and other things that donamprsquot have wheels Whatamprsquos morethe company makes only about 8000 cars a year scrimping on supply to keep prices high

Porsche isnamprsquot that precious anymore In terms of product by now itamprsquos about one-tenth the size of BMW and in thepast three years has boosted its annual output by 47 percent That ramp-up comprises the companyamprsquos new 911 GT3 sportscar which commands $144000 and up Plus the companyamprsquos profit spike has coincided with the launch of its most affordablemodel Hitting dealerships in 2014 the Macan SUV now accounts for roughly 40 percent of Porsche salesThese days ampldquothe little tigeramprdquo as they call the Macan around the shop starts at a prosaic $47500 But few people whospring for a Porsche settle for basicampmdashitamprsquod be like going to a steakhouse and skipping the sides The add-on Macangoodies step up as quickly as paddle-shifts on the caramprsquos PDK transmission big 21-inch wheels ($5400) natural leather seatsin ampldquoespressoamprdquo ($4920) butt-warmers front and rear ($1060) running boards ($1250) sport tailpipes ($950)whitewashed oak trim ($1790) and naturally a custom paint color to match your loveramprsquos eyes ($6520) ampldquoWeamprsquoreconcentrating on delighted customersamprdquo Oliver Blume chairman of the Porsche executive board said in a statement

The whole process is customized and emotional the goal of any luxury brand these days People donamprsquot just want a fancyscarf or an opulent handbag anymore they want their fancy scarf their ostrich-skin purseampmdashbecause well these days theycan get it TAG Heuer pitches its new smart watch as available in 4000 configurations The price range is $1650 to $17000Itamprsquos do-it-yourself market segmentation

Porscheamprsquos revenue breaks down to almost $99000 per vehicle One of the few options thatamprsquos still free factory pickupIf youamprsquore just joining the club you might want to skip the espresso seats and buy a plane ticket insteadhttpwwwfinancialexpresscomindustryporsche-pockets-a-whopping-17250-profit-on-every-car595878

Top

Economy

Rupee scales new 16-month high up 10 paise at 6536 PTISee this story in The Economic Times

Mumbai The rupee regained its dominance after a brief consolidation phase and ended today at a fresh 16-month high of 6536against the American currency in the face of dollar unwinding from exporters and banks

Weak dollar overseas along with abundant capital inflows supplemented further strength to the local currency

Forex dealers pointed to the recent improvement in sentiment as the impetus for the renewed vigour

Massive capital inflows on hopes of more reform measures following BJPs strong showing in the recently held state electionsspurred the rupees biggest rally last week since early 2015

Robust domestic macro fundamentals including 7 per cent GDP growth and a rebound in industrial production along withlesser-than-anticipated hawkish monetary policy stance too reflected in the strong rallying momentum

The much-anticipated turnaround on the economic front has opened up a barrage of foreign capital fund flows into India

Foreign investors pumped in USD 34 billion in the capital markets so far this month while countrys foreign exchange reservesnudged up USD 986 million in the week ended March 10

Moreover there is also an expectation that the government will relax FDI policy norms in more sectors to attract more funds andgenerating jobs

Meanwhile The Union Cabinet today approved four legislations to implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) ahead of theirintroduction in Parliament this week to enable roll out of the tax reform from July 1

The local currency resumed higher at 6540 as compared to weekend close of 6546 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex)market

But it soon succumbed to fresh dollar pressure and retreated to touch a low of 6547 briefly in mid-morning deals

However overcoming the initial volatility the home unit staged a smart rebound to touch a high of 6530 before ending at 6536

showing a gain of 10 paise or 015 per cent

It had lost 5 paise to end at 6546 against the US currency on last Friday

The RBI meanwhile fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 653827 and for the euro at 703779

Globally the greenback continued its downward spiral across the board for the fourth day running against basket of currencies inknee-jerk reaction to a G20 summit outcome

The US dollar index which measures the greenbacks strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies was tradinglower at 10012 after breaching 100-mark once againhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryrupee-scales-new-16-month-high-up-10-paise-at-65-3657736250

Top

Stocks down to a reality check Sensex gives up 130 pts PTISee this story in The Economic Times

Mumbai Stocks were in exhale mode today as the Sensex lost over 130 points to reverse two days of climb and the Nifty got off therecord after an eventful last week amid mixed global indicators

The Nifty which had hit a life high of 916005 on Friday after scaling an intra-day record of 921840 could not hold up againstprofit-booking and closed down 3320 points or 036 per cent at 912685

The Sensex moved in a narrow band and closed at 2951874 down 13025 points or 044 per cent It shuttled between 2948240and 2969948

The Sensex had rallied 70276 points or 242 per cent to 2964899 last week after the BJPs humongous win in Uttar PradeshThe Nifty gained 22550 points or 252 per cent to finish at a new closing peak of 916005

Meanwhile the Cabinet today approved four supporting legislations to implement the goods and services tax (GST) ahead of theirintroduction in Parliament this week for rollout of the indirect tax reform from July 1

Market is under a breather post a rally led by state election results and supportive FII inflows IT stocks are the laggards today dueto the concern of a strong rupee which could impact their export revenue said Vinod Nair Head of Research Geojit FinancialServices

Approval of the Bills by Parliament and a separate one by all state Assemblies will complete the legislative process for rollout ofone-nation-one-tax regime by merging central taxes like excise duty and service tax and state levies like VAT The GST Council hasalready approved four-tier tax slabs of 5 12 18 and 28 per cent plus an additional cess on demerit goods like luxury cars aerateddrinks and tobacco products The work for fitting various goods and services in different slabs is slated to begin next month

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) carried on with their buying as they picked up shares worth a net Rs 153290 crore last Fridaywhile domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 71150 crore as per provisional data

Most Asian stocks ended higher while European shares were trading in the negative zone

In stock-specific action Idea Cellular tumbled 955 per cent to Rs 9760 after the company announced its merger with VodafoneIndia to create the countrys largest mobile player

Stocks of IT companies felt the heat as the rupee added to its gains which dragged down the Sensex The rupee ended on a highernote at 6536 against the dollar

The market is in an over-bought position and cautious participants preferred to lock in some gains

Among the 30-share Sensex components Axis Bank emerged as the top loser by logging a fall of 241 per cent followed by ICICIBank Other laggards were Infosys TCS Wipro RIL Tata Steel LampT Hind Unilever PowerGrid Maruti Suzuki and MampM

In contrast NTPC Coal India Bharti Airtel HDFC Bank Lupin HDFC Ltd ONGC GAIL and Asian Paints ended with gains whichcushioned the losses

The BSE IT index lost steam losing 136 per cent followed by technology oil and gas and bank indices

The broader markets stayed ahead of the Sensex The small cap index rose 030 per cent and mid-cap 017 per cent

Japanese exchanges were shut for a public holidayhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrystocks-down-to-a-reality-check-sensex-gives-up-130-pts57734528

Top

GST impact on inflation to be less than 20 bps Nomura PTI

See this story in The Economic Times

New Delhi The implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) is likely to be fiscally neutral and its impact on inflation isexpected to be less than 20 basis points says a Nomura report

According to the Japanese financial services major the GST council is making steady progress and is expected to be implementedin the July-September quarter this year

Though the impact of GST is likely to be minimal growth numbers are expected to get affected in the run up to its implementation

In the near term we expect the GST to be fiscally neutral the resulting inflation impact to be minimal at less than 20 basis pointsand the impact on growth to be marginally negative in the run up to its implementation Nomura said in a research note

Over time we expect the elimination of cascading taxes and its simplified tax structure to boost productivity lower costs aid in theformalisation of the economy and result in large revenue benefits for the government it added

The GST council has formally approved all five of the bills related to the implementation of the GST central GST (CGST) stateGST (SGST) integrated GST (IGST) union territories GST (UTGST) and the compensation law

Four of the five bills CGST IGST UTGST and the compensation law have got the Cabinet approval and are set to be introduced inthe Lower House in the ongoing budget session which ends on April 12

The SGST bill will be taken up by the respective state government through its cabinet and then to the respective state assembliesfor passagehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygst-impact-on-inflation-to-be-less-than-20-bps-nomura57733584

Top

Credit slowdown seen in 90 sectors auto up by 3-4 RBI data The Economic Times

Chennai Post-demonetisation commercial banks in India are lending less in January compared to last year with at least 34 of 37sectors showing a marked slowdown in credit

From mining to food processing textiles leather tobacco beverages chemicals rubber glass most categories saw a sharp declinein loans between 26-5

The only anamolies to the trend were loans given to the auto auto components sectors and wood products which saw a 3-4growth in loans this January compared to the same period last year

Credit slowdown could be the impact of demonetisation The decline happened right after - but that doesnt necessarily square upwith GDP and corporate growth numbers Corporates of course have been better managing their inventories - with consumerdemand slowing down -- they have kept a sharp tab on expenses and have ensured they did not borrow too muchpost-demonetisation There has also been a general demand in working capital said Abheek Barua chief economist HDFC Bank

Another phenomenon is that corporate bond issuance has gone up I think the lending that is happening on the term-loan side bybanks was substituted by corporate bond issuance We havent been able to fully understand the system-wide impact ofdemonetisation he added

Loans from mining and quarrying saw the biggest drop in terms of volume to Rs 2586 lakh crore from Rs 2724 lakh crore Anotherbig contributor to the credit dip was the slowdown in infrastructure lending to Rs 902 lakh crore from Rs 988 lakh crore

The food processing sector as a whole saw a 124 decline year-to-date for FY2017-17 with the steepest declines coming fromsugar (-266)

Rather than being sector-specific there has been a larger slowdown in credit because of macro-economic conditions It is a trendreflecting the overall slowdown in lending and it will take a few more quarters before credit growth takes off said ParthasarathiMukherjee MD Lakshmi Vilas Bank

Infrastructure lending was down by 65 with sharp declines in power (-84) and telecommunication (-103) However giventhe governments push for increasing Indias road network and highways lending for road projects saw a marginal growth of 15

Certain sectors like infrastructure are bound to take a bigger hit Being labour intensive there could have been a problem withpaying workers in cash Projects could have slowed down said Baruahttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrycredit-slowdown-seen-in-90-sectors-auto-up-by-3-4-rbi-data57737532

Top

Closing

Last Financial Closing

Sensex 2951874 (-13025)NSE 912685 (-3320)US$ spot Rs6536US$ Y1124700US$ 6 months RsYen Rs58Euro spot Rs7031

Gold (10gm) Rs28487Silver (1kg) Rs4086900

Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5132 (-042)

Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 20300Asahi Ind 1 21095Amara Raja B 1 87425Ashok Leyland 1 8925Bajaj Auto 10 292355Bharat Forge 2 103755Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2503300Escorts 10 52085Exide Ind 1 21855Force Motors 10 464440Gabriel India 1 11830Hero Motocor 2 334025Hind Motors 5 1005Hi-Tech Gear 10 29935Jay Bh Maruti 5 42200

Jamna Auto 5 21790JK Tyres amp Inds 10 13235Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 39005Kirloskar Br 2 23860LML Ltd 10 1340LampT 2 153765Lumax Ind 10 136360Lumax Tech 10 45015MampM 5 130020Maruti Suzuki 5 615890Motherson SS 1 37075Minda Inds 2 43555MRF 10 5601935Omax Auto 10 7850Rico Auto 1 5825Sona Koyo St 1 8175

SRF 10 161625Tata Motors 2 47600 TVS Motors 1 43945

Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5445Hindalco 1 19620Hind Zinc 2 31135JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 12845JSW Steel 1 19410

Jindal Saw 2 8560National Aluminium 5 7470SAIL 10 6380Tata Steel 10 49665Visa Steel 10 2155

Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23420Binani Industries 10 7075Birla Corp 10 70430India Cement 10 16180Prism Cement 10 9975JK Cement 10 89945Shree Cement 10 1603520

Top

NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd

DirectorSapna KulshresthaMobile 9810975257

Production-in-ChargeS K MandalPhone 011-22626650

Editing-in-ChargeGulab Singh YadavMobile 9999132357

Marketing-in-ChargeRashmi ThakurMobile 9958949710

Accounts-in-ChargeVimal ParasharMobile 9910631712

PLEASE NOTE

NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item

NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES

News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd

This update purports to be a compilation of the top stories for the day in the leading Indian and International dailies websites and other information sources and NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot and does not vouch for their authenticity NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot be held responsible for any loss(es) arising out of or incidental to theuse of this News Update Reproduction or redistribution without express permission of NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd is strictly prohibited and is a violation of the subscriptionagreement Such instances will result in immediate cancellation of subscription to the Service without any refund for the remaining period at the sole discretion of NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd

This email is a solicited newsletter We sent you this email because youyour employer organisation signed up for our daily industry updates If you do not wishto receive these email updates in future please contact us at vimalpnurcmedianextcom to unsubscribe

Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions

Jindal Saw 2 8560National Aluminium 5 7470SAIL 10 6380Tata Steel 10 49665Visa Steel 10 2155

Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23420Binani Industries 10 7075Birla Corp 10 70430India Cement 10 16180Prism Cement 10 9975JK Cement 10 89945Shree Cement 10 1603520

Top

NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd

DirectorSapna KulshresthaMobile 9810975257

Production-in-ChargeS K MandalPhone 011-22626650

Editing-in-ChargeGulab Singh YadavMobile 9999132357

Marketing-in-ChargeRashmi ThakurMobile 9958949710

Accounts-in-ChargeVimal ParasharMobile 9910631712

PLEASE NOTE

NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item

NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES

News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd

This update purports to be a compilation of the top stories for the day in the leading Indian and International dailies websites and other information sources and NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot and does not vouch for their authenticity NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot be held responsible for any loss(es) arising out of or incidental to theuse of this News Update Reproduction or redistribution without express permission of NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd is strictly prohibited and is a violation of the subscriptionagreement Such instances will result in immediate cancellation of subscription to the Service without any refund for the remaining period at the sole discretion of NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd

This email is a solicited newsletter We sent you this email because youyour employer organisation signed up for our daily industry updates If you do not wishto receive these email updates in future please contact us at vimalpnurcmedianextcom to unsubscribe

Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions