Melbourne, April 18 - Audi A3 has been named the 2014 ' World Car of the Year' after being voted by 69 jurors from 22 countries at the New York Motor Show.

The Audi A3, which beat Mazda3 from Japan to win the title, was among five German cars that won in different categories making it Audi's second win in 10 years, News. co. au reported.

Audi's North America president Scott Keogh exclaimed that Audi A3 has only been on sale three weeks and already it's "off to a flying start" and Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi added that the major award win is an achievement for the whole company.

Mumbai, April 15 : German luxury automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz India Tuesday launched its luxury sports utility vehicle (SUV) GL 63 AMG in India priced at Rs. 1.66 crore (ex-showroom Mumbai).

"It is one of the most revolutionary products to come from Mercedes-Benz demonstrating the rich blend of sophistication with the latest design and technology," said Eberhard Kern, managing director and chief executive, Mercedes-Benz India.

New Delhi, April 14 : Automobile major Hyundai Motor India Monday reported it has received bookings for 11,000 units of its entry-level compact sedan 'Xcent’ within just 30 days of its launch in March 2014.

"We are committed and continuously working on the operational efficiencies to cater to the demand to reduce the waiting period," Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Hyundai Motor India said in a statement.

According to the company, over 100,000 enquiries have been received at its dealerships across metros as well as tier-I and II cities.

After suffering decline in sales for two years in a row, Indian car industry is expected to see a marginal increase in sales this fiscal on the back of improvement in the third largest Asian economy.

The industry is hopeful that improvement in economic activity over the recent months and potential economic rebound after the formation of new government will provide a boost to car sales this fiscal.

Munich, April 12 - German car producer BMW Group has recalled almost half a million cars with 6-cylinder engines, since realising that a screw in the engine compartment could possibly break and damage the engine in rare cases, a company official said Friday.

Around 489,000 cars with 6-cylinder engines that were manufactured between September 2009 and November 2011 are involved in the recall, Xinhua reported.

New Delhi, April 11 : Automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki said Friday it will recall 103,311 vehicles, including brands like DZire sedan, Swift hatchback and the Ertiga MUV to replace a faulty 'fuel filler neck' that may lead to leakage.

The company said that it will recall 42,481 units of DZire, 47,237 units of Swift and 13,593 units of Ertiga manufactured between November 12, 2013 and February 4, 2014.

Japan-based Toyota Motor Corp. has announced its plans to introduce a new series of fuel-efficient engines that will cut fuel costs for vehicle owners and help manufacturers meet tighter emissions regulations.

Toyota said it would introduce a total of 14 engine models in the new series fuel-efficient engines over the next couple of years.  The new series start off with 1.0 and 1.3 litre gasoline engines.

Stock in Tata Motors gained 0.64 per cent to Rs 433.50 a share in early morning trade on Friday on the Bombay Stock Exchange, after the company's UK-based luxury car arm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported strong Q1 sales.

JLR on Thursday announced that its sales jumped 8 per cent to 124,776 units in March quarter of 2014 over the same quarter of the previous year. JLR sales rose 3% to 55,183 units in March 2014 over March 2013.

In the month of March alone, JLR sales jumped 3 per cent year-on-year to 55,183 vehicles.

Mumbai, April 10 : Automobile major Tata Motors Thursday launched a new variant of crossover multi-utility vehicle Aria priced at Rs9.95 lakh.

"We at Tata Motors have imbibed an aggressive four-pronged customer-focused strategy in the all-new Aria, giving our ever-discerning customers a vehicle that is more powerful, more fun, more reliable and extremely safe," said Ankush Arora - senior vice president (commercial), passenger vehicle business unit, Tata Motors.

Chennai, April 10 : German automobile major Daimler AG's Indian subsidiary is looking at higher local content in its trucks to be more price competitive and hopes to achieve an operational break even in 2015-2016, a top company official said Thursday.

Currently the company sells Actros vehicles for the mining segment which has high level of import content, making it costly.

Scania Commercial Vehicles India Pvt. Ltd, which is the Indian unit of the leading Swedish truck and bus maker, has indicated that it is planning to double its production in the south Asian nation.

Anders Grundströmer, senior vice-president, Scania group, and managing director for the India operations said that the company is aiming to enter the country's city bus segment next month as well as the inter-city luxury bus market that offers a high volume demand in the market. The company is aiming directly compete with Volvo Buses India and Mercedes Benz in the premium buses category in the Indian market.

Bangalore, April 9 - Indo-Japanese joint venture Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) Wednesday said it is recalling 44,989 units of the multi-utility vehicle Innova manufactured between February 2005 and December 2008.

According to the company, the recall has been mandated due to an error discovered in the spiral cable mounted on the steering wheel.

U. S. traffic safety regulator has slapped General Motors (GM) with a fine of $7,000 per day, retroactive to April 3, for its failure to provide enough answers about its slow ignition switch recall.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had passed a special order last month, asking GM to answer 107 questions as well as furnish reams of documents by April 3 to support the ongoing investigation into the ignition-switch problem in GM cars.  But the auto giant failed to answer many of those questions.

New Delhi, April 3 : Luxury automobile manufacturer BMW Thursday launched its premium sports car M6 Gran Coupé priced at Rs. 1.75 crore (ex-showroom Delhi).

"With its dynamic expression and luxurious appearance, the all-new BMW M6 Gran Coupé is not just the most attractive coupé in its class, it also provides the best everyday usability," Philipp von Sahr, president, BMW Group India told reporters.

The four-door sports coupé is available at the company's dealerships and has been imported as a CBU (completely built-up) unit.

Workers of Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) went on an indefinite hunger strike outside the premises of the Bidadi-based manufacturing facilities on Wednesday and demanded the Karnataka government to take action against the company.

A group of workers led by Toyota Kirloskar Workers Union (TKWU) President Prasanna Kumar went on hunger strike yesterday after the company's management declined to unconditionally reinstate suspended workers.

Mumbai, April 2 : Two- and three-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto Wednesday reported a marginal increase of one percent in its sales for March at 304,330 units from 301,231 units in the corresponding period of last year.

Exports, however, grew by 17 percent at 118,183 units from 101,374 units shipped-out during the corresponding period of 2013.

Chennai, April 1 : Automobile manufacturer Hyundai Motor India Tuesday reported an 8.4 percent fall in its total sales for March at 51,708 units from 56,437 units in the corresponding month of last year.

In a statement, the company said its domestic sales during the month under review grew by 3.4 percent and stood at 35,003 units -- up from 33,858 units sold in March 2013.

Chennai, April 1 : Two- and three-wheeler maker TVS Motor Co Ltd closed last month with 17 percent increase in sales over previous year's corresponding period.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the company said it sold 196,826 units last month, up form 167,583 units sold in March 2013.

The company's total sales last month included 188,822 two-wheelers and 8,004 three-wheelers. In March 2013, TVS Motor sold 162,507 two-wheelers and 5,076 three-wheelers. (IANS)

New Delhi, April 1 : Automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki Tuesday reported a decline of 1.4 percent in its total sales for 2013-14 at 1,155,041 units from 1,171,434 units sold in the previous fiscal.

According to the company, domestic sales during the year ended March 31, 2014, marginally grew at 0.3 percent at 1,053,689 units from 1,051,046 units in 2012-13.

Exports during the period under review fell by 15.8 percent at 101,352 units from 120,388 units shipped out in 2012-13.

Hero MotoCorp's recently unveiled smart bike, the Splendor iSmart, boasts stop-&-start i3S technology that promises to cut costs for the owner by preventing wastage of fuel by shutting down the engine when idling.

The stop-&-start i3S technology is the most notable feature in the new Splendor bike. It prevents wastage of fuel by shutting down the engine during short halts at places such as a traffic signal. The engine re-starts when the clutch is pressed.