BMW India launched its limited edition Gran Turismo for the Indian market priced at Rs 63 lakh (ex-showroom Bangalore). The limited edition of the Gran Turismo comes with a 3.01 litres diesel engine and only 100 units of the car will be available. It will be brought as a completely built unit from the company’s plants overseas.
Asked about the probable date for the debut of BMW X1, they said it would be made at the Chennai plant, the existing capacity of which was 3000 units in a single shift. “We …

Maruti Suzuki usually deliver all the tax relaxation benefits to its customers, but this time it has decided to offset input costs rise. “For Swift, there is a cost increase owing to the new petrol engine. Add to it the increase in commodity prices,” the company spokesman said. New petrol variant attracts 8 percent (nearly Rs 40,000) excise duty benefit due to its smaller 1.2L petrol engine.
On the other hand, industry experts say that Maruti has kept the cost steady at this point of time as it expects strong competition …

Honda Siel Cars India said that India will not be a part of the global vehicle recall, announced by its parent Honda, following reports of defects in some of its models.
“There won’t be any impact on the recall in India because the Jazz that is being sold in India is a second generation vehicle, which is not a part of the global recall,” a Honda Siel official said.
The official said the Jazz that is being recalled globally is the previous generation model.
The company had launched the premium hatchback Jazz in …

Fiat will halt car production at all its Italian plants for two weeks starting at the end of February. This shocking decision is due to the sharp drop in orders in the Italian market.

Fiat’s six Italian plants will be closed during the last week of February and the first week of March, the Financial Times reported, with approximately 30,000 workers to be affected by the decision.

Some 30,000 workers will be temporarily laid off from Feb. 22 to March 7 after orders this month “sharply declined,” reaching a lower level than January last year, Fiat said.

Toyota said it is recalling 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. to fix accelerator pedals that can become stuck, the latest in a string of quality problems that have bedeviled the Japanese automaker.

The latest move comes just months after Toyota Motor Corp. recalled 4.2 million vehicles over concerns that accelerator pedals could become lodged under floor mats, causing sudden acceleration. That problem was blamed for several crashes, including an accident involving a Lexus that accelerated to more than 120 mph before crashing in San Diego, killing four people.

Maruti Suzuki is planning to invest more that 17 billion rupees to make 250,000 more cars each year. It intends to ramp up its manufacturing capacity at its Manesar plant to 1.3 million units in next two years.
The car maker announced that there is an over three-fold increase in its quarterly net profit. The net profit is at Rs.687.53 Crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal ending December 31, 2009, against the same quarter of previous fiscal year, while its net sales went up by over 62 per …

Skoda Auto is expected to change the market positioning of its Fabia by rolling out cheaper variants ahead of the launch of Volkswagen Polo hatchback.

The Czech car brand is expected to cut Fabia’s price by reducing some features in April when it will come out with a new Bharat Stage IV compliant engine.

“We are internally discussing the issue, to find a positioning and react to the Polo. We will consider and maybe launch the Fabia as a base model,” said Reinhard Fleger, member of the board, Skoda Auto.