To invest Rs 300 cr in next 3 years

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) is looking at initial production volume of about 2 lakh units for its all-new 100cc bike, slated for launch early next year.

HMSI is the wholly-owned arm of Honda Motor Co in India and by entering the 100cc bike segment, it would come in direct competition with sister company Hero Honda Motors (HHML).

But Shinji Aoyama, the president and CEO at HMSI, said, "We are not looking at a volume product (by entering the 100cc space)….we will do about 2 lakh units a year initially. The Hero Honda 100cc bikes are a very good means of transportation and we do not need to interfere with that."

Saltillo, Mexico  - Daimler AG opened a new truck plant in the northern Mexican city of Saltillo on Friday, which will manufacture about 30,000 heavy-duty Freightliner trucks for the United States, Mexican and Canadian markets.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon attended the ceremony at Daimler Trucks North America's second plant in Mexico, which was built with an investment of 300 million dollars. The company said it expected the plant to generate 1,400 direct jobs and 200 indirect jobs, as well as an additional 1,100 jobs in the local autoparts industry.

Ruesselsheim, Germany  - German carmaker Opel has called for the company to break away from its ailing General Motors (GM) parent and forge a new motor vehicle group comprising the giant US auto group's European operations as part of a rescue plan unveiled Friday.

The move could bring to an end Opel's 80-year history as a part of GM's business empire, with Opel seeking 3.3 billion euros (4.3 billion dollars) in aid to underpin the formation of the European car group and help it through the current global car market crisis.

Ruesselsheim, Germany - The board of German carmaker Opel are meeting Friday to consider a rescue plan for the ailing General Motors (GM) offshoot.

This could lead to Opel breaking away from GM after 80 years as part of the US car giant's empire with the German Government saying Friday the battle for Opel and its European operations would be raised at a European Union (EU) leaders' summit set down for Sunday.

Hopes to sell 50-100 SUVs, priced at Rs 66-83 lakh

German carmaker BMW showed confidence in the Indian luxury car market by taking the wraps off the X6 on Thursday.

The sports utility vehicle, imported as completely built units (CBUs), come in two variants — the xDrive50i, with a sticker price of Rs 82.90 lakh and the xDrive30d, costing Rs 65.9 lakh.

New York  - US automotive giant General Motors Corp on Thursday reported a 30.9-billion-dollar loss in 2008, the second- biggest in its 100-year history.

The final year tally came after fourth-quarter losses of 9.6 billion dollars, a figure that underscores the dire situation the company finds itself in as it battles for survival.

The losses came as sales plunged by double-digit figures in the recession-hit US economy. For the full year, sales dropped 17 per cent to 149 billion dollars.