The Indian unit of automotive giant, Ford Motors is planning a innovative strategy to reduce the cost of ownership of its vehicle in the Indian Market by using Child Parts.

Child parts are much smaller parts of components of an assembly that would enhance reparability of its models. The company has been able to reduce costs by replacing just the Child Parts in any case of breakdown instead of replacing the entire assembly in the vehicle. Replacing smaller parts allows customers to incur much lesser costs on repairs.

Indian automotive giant, Tata Motors has announced the launch of tis Tata Indica Vista D90 model in the Nepalese market.

The model, which is a very successful model in the Indian market, was launched on May 20, 2013 in Kathmandu by Gurinder Singh, Country Manager for the Nepal and Bhutan Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors.

Indian two wheeler giants, Bajaj Auto has planning a host of new launches in the Indian two wheeler industry during the coming 12 months to take on rivals like Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India.

Bajaj recently lost its number two position in the Indian market to Honda and thus the company is aiming to launch 2 new Pulsar, and 6 new Discover variants during the next 12 months to increase the competition and regain their No 2 position in the country. The company is planning to expand its presence both in the Indian market as well as in foreign markets with the 8 new models planned.

Czech Republic’s Skoda Auto, a part of the Volkswagen group, has indicated that it might be planning to stop the production of its Fabia model at its plants in India.

“Skoda is in the process of strengthening its model range and as a part of this process, Skoda is contemplating a pause in production of the Fabia in India,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

Bangalore, May 18  Renowned automobile designer Dilip Chhabaria Saturday unveiled his design studio here to showcase his award-winning and innovative designs.

"It's a defining moment to have a design studio in Bangalore where the demand for luxury cars is growing. We will also set up a design school soon to train auto designers," Chhabaria said on the occasion at the studio, a joint venture with Emvee DreamzDrive.

As an authority in automotive design, DC Design showroom is displaying Avanti, the first Indian super car model to be launched this year, Renault Duster and Hyundai i20 models for the first time.

India's leading carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has asked the government of India to work to exclude the auto sector in the country from the preview of the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and European Union (EU).

Skoda Auto, a part of the Volkswagen group, might be planning to stop the production of its Fabia compact car in India as the company was reportedly making a loss on selling the model in the country.

India's second biggest two-wheeler manufacturer, Bajaj Auto has said that it has recorded a fall of 0.77 per cent in net profit for the quarter till March 2013.

The company recorded a net profit of Rs. 766 crore for the quarter form January to March, 2013 compared to Rs. 772 crore recorded in the same quarter of the previous year. The fall in net profit was recorded after four quarters and was mainly due to weak demand for vehicles in the country as well as increased contribution of other income.

According to reports, Tesla Motors (TSLA) has emerged as the leading seller of rechargeable vehicles in the North American market ahead of General Motors' plug-in Volt and Nissan's battery-powered Leaf.

New Delhi, May 16 : German automobile major Mercedes-Benz Thursday launched an all-new luxury SUV (Sports Utility Vehicles) at Rs. 77.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Unveiled by Tennis star Boris Becker, the GL class car named 'Launch Edition' has at present only 100 units to buyers in the form of CBUs (Completely Built Units) and boasts of features like AMG body kit, heated leather seats and temperature-controlled cup holders.

New Delhi, May 16 : Two- and three-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto Thursday reported a marginal increase of one percent in net profit for 2012-13.

The net profit stood at Rs. 3,044 crore from Rs. 3,004 crore in the fiscal year 2012-13.

The company reported a three percent growth in turnover for the period under review at Rs. 20,793 crore from Rs. 20,137 crore in the first quarter of last fiscal.

The company's total sales in 2012-13 declined by three percent at 4,237,162 units from 4,349,560 the 2011-12.

Eicher Motors recorded a fall of 10.6 per cent in its net profit to Rs. 97.94 crore during the first quarter of the year from January to March, 2013.

The company said that its net sales recorded a growth of 3.2 per cent to Rs. 1708.60 crore during the first quarter compared to the same quarter of the previous year. The company announced the results for the quarter after market hours on Monday, 13 May 2013. It said that total sales fell 12.3 per cent to 12,529 units during the quarter.

New Delhi, May 14 : Two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp Tuesday launched products in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

The company has partnered with the Indy Motos Group of Guatemala as the authorised distributor in the three Central American countries, Hero MotoCorp said in a release here.

Showcasing the products in Guatemala City, Hero MotoCorp said the launch indicated the significant role that markets in Central America and Latin America would play in the company's global expansion plans.

New Delhi, May 14 : Taking note of India's rising obsession with SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles), Mercedes-Benz Tuesday hinted at launching a new entry-level SUV to compete with the likes of BMW X1, Audi Q3 and the soon-to-be-launched Volvo V40 Cross Country.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of 'Silver Arrows', Noida's first Mercedes-Benz dealership, Eberhard H. Kern, managing director and chief executive of Mercedes-Benz India, said the recently unveiled GLA (entry-level SUV) concept could make it to India.

Ashok Leyland, India's second largest CV manufacturer, has announced its decision to revamp its organisational structure classified into three different units, viz. truck, bus and power solutions.

Vinod K Dasari, managing director of Ashok Leyland, said that the decision to classify the company into three divisions had been taken in a bid to improve customer experience and shareholder value.

Dasari also announced that each of the three planned divisions would have an independent head, but wouldn't be a separate strategic business division.

Mazda Motor Indonesia has announced the launch of a Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) called, Mazda VX-1 in the Indonesian market.

The Mazda VX-1 MPV, which is a rebadged and restyled version of the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, will come in two variants, the R Grade & V Grade in the country. The model will be available in 6 stylish color choices including pearl white, metallic silky silver, metallic graphite gray pearl, black pearl metallic cool, dusky brown and radiant red metallic pearl.

Italian automaker, Lamborghini has said that it will soon begin production of its new Urus Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).

Lamborghini had showcased the model in the previous year and the company has now approved it for production as it marks 50th anniversary during the 'Grand Giro'. Audi boss Rupert Stadler confirmed reports that the first SUV from Lamborghini will go into production and will be based on the same platform as Audi Q7 and the Porsche Cayenne.

Ashok Leyland, a leading commercial vehicle maker in India, has recorded a fall of 42 per cent in net profits to Rs. 150.03 crore during the first quarter of the year.

The company had recorded a net profit of Rs. 258.73 crore during the same period of the previous year. The total revenues were recorded at Rs. 3,728 crore and the total sales stood at 23,602 units during the January to March, 2013 period. Experts have said that the company faced lower earnings due to low operating margins, low utilization levels and high discounts in the country.

According to the latest figures released, the total car sales fell for the sixth month in a row in the month of April as customers faced increasing fuel prices and high cost of financing.

The numbers released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed that the car sales fell 10.43 per cent during the fairst month of the current financial year 2013-2014 compared to the same month of the previous year. The overall data also showed that overall passenger vehicles fell 8.21 per cent during the month. The industry body said that this might be the longest fall in car sales in the country.

Chennai, May 10 : Production of cars at the Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd (RNAIPL) will not be impacted due to the fire that gutted down the warehouse belonging to Yusen Logistics (India) Ltd, a senior official of Nissan Motor India Friday said.

Renault Nissan Automotive is a vehicle manufacturing joint venture between French group Renault and Japanese Nissan Motor Company. The 400,000 units per annum car plant, located at Oragadam near here, rolls out Nissan and Renault badged cars.