Over 1.46 lakh people were killed in road accidents in India in 2015 and more than 5 lakh were injured, according to the ‘Road accidents in India 2015’ report released by the government.
An analysis of road accident data reveals that 1,374 accidents and 400 deaths take place every day on Indian roads. This translates into 57 accidents and loss of 17 lives on an average every hour in the country. About 54.1 per cent of all persons killed in road accidents were in the 15 -34 age group in 2015.
The report, compiled by the transport research wing of the ministry of road transport and highways, the total number of road accidents increased by 2.5 per cent from 4.89 lakh in 2014 to 5.01 lakh in 2015. 
The total number of persons killed in road accidents increased by 4.6 per cent to 1.46 lakh. The severity of road accidents, measured in terms of number of persons killed per 100 accidents, increased from 28.5 in 2014 to 29.1 in 2015.
Thirteen states accounted for 86.7 per cent of all road ...

Over 1.46 lakh persons killed in road accidents in 2015

BS-Motoring

TVS Motor Company has launched TVS Jupiter's MillionR special edition, priced at Rs. 53,034 (ex-showroom Delhi).
The company has rolled out the special edition scooter to commemorate one million units of the Jupiter, ever since it was launched in September 2013. The new Jupiter MillionR will be around Rs. 2,000 more expensive than the normal Jupiter, which currently starts at Rs. 48,809 (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Today, there are over one million TVS Jupiters on Indian roads and this milestone has been achieved in a mere 30 months, informed the company on Thursday. 
The TVS Jupiter MillionR edition is equipped with 10 additional features. The scooter comes in a royal wine colour with beige inner panels and dual tone seats. It is equipped with a front disc brake and sports a MillionR edition badge on the front panel. There is a provision for mobile charger installation. Other features include the chrome mirrors, beige floor mat and MillionR key ring. 
Commenting on the TVS Jupiter MillionR .

TVS Motor launches special edition? Jupiter MillionR 

Skoda India, which launched the 2016 Skoda Superb in the country in February this year, will soon equip the sedan with Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC). 
The feature, which is already available on the global spec model, allows the driver to choose from three different driving modes: Comfort, Normal and Sport. The system adjusts the steering weight, gearshift reaction time, engine responsiveness and even stiffens or softens the suspension of the vehicle in order to suit the needs of the driver.
The Superb currently on offer in India does get similar driving modes, but it only adjusts the steering, engine and gearbox settings. Since the Indian-spec car has a different suspension setup as compared to the overseas models, Skoda had earlier avoided the extra cost of developing and tuning an adaptive control system for the 'rough road' suspension setup. But the automaker has now decided to equip the adaptive dampers on the Indian Superb, thus completing the DCC suite.
Two engine options are ...

2016 Skoda Superb to get Dynamic Chassis Control in India

British carmaker Jaguar has launched the petrol version of XE Prestige variant in India. Priced at Rs. 43.69 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai) the new variant will be placed between the XE Pure and XE Portfolio variants priced at Rs. 39.9 lakh and Rs. 47.99 lakh respectively (both ex-showroom, Mumbai).
The car is designed on a new platform based on aluminium intensive architecture using lightweight aluminium monocoque chassis that makes the car extremely light yet strong. As for styling the new Jaguar XE takes inspiration from its older siblings, Jaguar XJ and XF offering some sharp exterior features and fluid character lines.
There aren't too many major changes in the Prestige variant compared to the other two variant except for some new additions like rear parking camera, ORVMs with memory, ambient lighting, Taurus leather upholstery, sunroof, memory function for the driver seat, and a 380W Meridian sound system.
Rohit Suri, president, Jaguar Land Rover India Ltd (JLRIL), said: “The ...

Jaguar launches XE Prestige in India at Rs. 43.69 lakh

Tata Motors has launched its next-generation range of Ultra business utility vehicles in Kenya, addressing customer requirements in the light commercial vehicle segment.
The Tata Ultra is designed keeping in mind changing customer needs, for a commercial vehicle based on superior performance, with a comfortable world-class cabin, heavy-duty aggregates and multiple load-body configurations.
Be it for large captive users, transporters or owner-drivers, the Tata Ultra offers the lowest overall cost of ownership, safety and offers multiple features, setting new performance benchmarks in the light commercial vehicle segment in Kenya. The Tata Ultra can cater to payloads ranging 4 to 11 tonnes and engine capacities from 125 HP to 180 HP.
“At Tata Motors, the core philosophy behind the launch of every new commercial vehicle is an endeavour to contribute to modernise the market we cater to,” said Ravi Pisharody, Executive Director, Commercial Vehicles, Tata Motors. “The Tata Ultra launched ...

Tata Motors launches next-generate of Ultra business utility vehicles in Kenya

DSK Motowheels, in association with the legendary Italian superbike brand, Benelli, launched the TNT 600i with switchable ABS on Thursday. Already a hot favourite amongst superbike enthusiasts, this new safety feature is sure to offer hardcore riders the ultimate thrilling experience.
Offering pure style with rich Italian lineage, the TNT 600i showcases a powerful DOHC 600cc, in-line four cylinder engine that produces 85.07bhp @ 11500rpm. 
The TNT 600i is amongst the most sought-after, sturdy and roaring street fighters that has grabbed the attention of every mettlesome rider. More than 700 units of the DSK Benelli TNT 600i have been sold across India.
The DSK Benelli TNT 600i (ABS) is available at an attractive price point: Rs.5.73 lakh (ex-Showroom, Delhi). It is available across all 16 DSK Benelli showrooms in India: Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Goa, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Coimbatore, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Indore and Kolkata. 
DSK Motowheels, a part of 

DSK Motowheels launches Benelli TNT 600i with switchable ABS

Volkswagen is planning to voluntarily recall a huge number of vehicles sold by the company in India starting next month to fix the emission software. The company is awaiting approval from the regulator for starting the recall exercise.
Volkswagen has announced that it will recall 1.90 lakh diesel vehicles in India in order to fix the emission cheating device in its group’s vehicles, which include cars from Audi and Skoda brands too.
According to the company, since the vehicles were recalled in the US to fix the emission software, it decided to do the same in India too to stay updated with the changes made outside the country. 
Volkswagen also reiterated that the recall is purely voluntary in nature as the company did not face any charges regarding violating emission norms in India.
Once the company gets a nod from regulators, it will begin recalling cars from July in a phased manner, and the process will be spread over a period of 10 months. 
The company is yet to reveal more details .

Volkswagen to recall 1.9 lakh diesel cars in India to fix software 

After the successful kick-off of Land Rover Experience Tour in Kochi, followed by Bengaluru, the Land Rover will continue its adventurous journey in Hyderabad.
The event will let customers in Hyderabad get familiar with the Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque vehciles. The event will bring customers closer to real life adventure. This event will be held at Hotel Novotel, Hyderabad Airport, from June 10 to 12.
This one of its kind event will bring customers closer to real life adventure and offer them an experience they will love for life. The customers will get to explore some of the toughest off-road terrains with the most versatile and stylish Land Rover vehicles. 
Land Rover has been organising these events across the country since 2013. Continuing this spirit of adventure, this year over 130 customers from Kochi and around 220 from Bengaluru experienced the capability of Land Rover vehicles. Hyderabad will be the third city, to witness the Land Rover Experience tour.
Speaking ..

Land Rover announces off-road drive experience in Hyderabad from June 10 to 12

Utility vehicle sales jumped by a hefty 36 per cent in May over the same month last year, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). A total of 58,793 UVs were sold in the month. 
Passenger car sales dipped marginally by 0.86 per cent, with 158,996 cars being sold in May. There was a nearly 25 per cent growth in sales of scooters, which added up to nearly 455,000 units.
There was a nearly 10 per cent growth in sales of all categories of vehicles in May, adding up to 1.85 million units. Three-wheeler sales were up by 27.34 per cent (at 46,479 units), commercial vehicles grew by 17 per cent (at 57,000 units), two-wheelers by nearly 10 per cent (1.51 million units) and passenger vehicles by 6.26 per cent (231,640 units).
Exports of vehicles also slowed down in May, according to SIAM. Overall exports fell by nearly four per cent at about 300,000 units. The sharpest fall was in the export of three-wheelers, which plunged by almost 45 per cent to 21,000 ...

Auto industry sees sustained recovery in May: SIAM

Japanese automobile major Nissan will roll out X-Trail Hybrid, India's first fully hybrid sport utility vehicle, by the end of the current financial year.
X-Trail Hybrid, globally popular especially in the US, will be CBU (completely built unit) and will be imported from Japan, said Guillaume Sicard, president, Nissan India operations, while launching redi-GO, an entry-level car from Datsun.
"Over the next five to 10 years, Nissan will evolve into a global brand and in India you will see more and more international success from Nissan," he said.  
Powered by petrol and electric engines, the vehicle is currently undergoing testing in India. The hybrid SUV is expected to give a mileage of over 20 km per litre. Sicard declined to reveal the price of X-Trail, but said it would be significant. 
Nissan, a global leader in manufacturing electric cars, wants government to extend subsidy for electric cars, at least in the initial stage, in view of the high cost of battery. Sicard also ...

Nissan to rollout India\'s first hybrid SUV by fiscal-end

After the kickoff of the Land Rover Experience Tour in Kochi, followed by Bengaluru, Land Rover will continue its adventurous journey in Hyderabad.  In Hyderabad, Land Rover Experience event will familiarise customers with the unrivalled capability of Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque.

Land Rover Experience will commence in Hyderabad

MotorOctane

This World Environment Day, automobile giant General Motors will be organizing various activities related to environment safety and conservation with a pledge to spread awareness around environment protection, sustenance and eco-conscious growth. 

GM has collaborated with Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) to organize PUC drives across its dealerships PAN India.

Chevrolet to celebrate World Environment Day

The shared mobility solutions of Ola, the popular app for transportation, are making a significant contribution towards reducing vehicular pollution and addressing traffic congestion in cities across India, according to the company.
Ola Shuttle and Ola Share helped keep 26.74 lakh vehicles off the road in Delhi NCR, since their launch about six months ago, claims the company. Apart from lowering the number of cars hitting the road, Ola Share and Ola Shuttle also helped bring down CO2 emission levels by 52.71 lakh kg as well as saving 21.96 litres of fuel because of users opting for shared rides on the Ola platform across the city.
“Shared mobility is the future of transportation in India and Ola Share and Shuttle have enabled citizens to share their rides and pay only a fraction of the actual trip cost while contributing towards reduction in vehicular pollution and congestion in their city,” said Raghuvesh Sarup, Head of Categories & CMO at Ola. “Ola Share and Ola Shuttle have ...

Ola Share, Shuttle help reduce vehicular pollution in Delhi, NCR

India’s two-wheeler market presents an opportunity for Bosch, the leading global supplier of technology and services, to develop innovative solutions tailored to the needs of emerging markets, said a top executive.
“India is a key market for two-wheelers,” said Geoff Liersch, Head of Bosch Business Unit Two-Wheeler & Powersports. “Developments taking place here have the potential to influence other emerging markets, such as Indonesia and Thailand, where small two-wheelers also count as important means of transportation.”
Given the significance of the two-wheeler industry in the Indian automotive context, Bosch India aims to contribute more than one-third of Bosch’s global two-wheeler and powersports business. 
“It is a target we aim to realise by the end of the decade,” added Sandeep N, regional business head, Two-Wheeler & Powersports business. An estimation from Bosch’s accident research study suggests that every third accident involving a two-wheeler in India can be avoided ...

Bosch India to contribute more than a third of German group's two-wheeler, powersports business

The Road Transport and Highways ministry has taken many steps to facilitate safe, seamless and efficient transportation of people and goods by road, according to minister Nitin Gadkari. 
For instance, on the safety front engineering solutions are mandatorily being incorporated into road designs to make them safer, accident black spots are being rectified, safety standards are being set for automobiles, the issue of driving licenses is being computerised and training centres are being set up for drivers. 
A group of ministers is working to finalise ways and means to make road travel in the country safer, and will submit its report shortly, he added. To cut down delays due to stoppage, Electronic Toll Collection is being brought in soon and about 380 Toll Plazas have been equipped for this. 
Building roadside amenities, green highways, widening of National Highways, conversion of State Highways to National Highways and ensuring speedy construction are other steps that are being taken to 

Government takes steps to ensure safety, efficient transportation: Gadkari

When the Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Programme (BNVSAP) will come into effect from 2017, there will be a whole lot of changes to the safety standards of vehicles in the country. 
After the proposed new Road Safety Bill is passed, automakers may have to cough up a penalty of Rs. 100 crore if found in violation of the new norms. These proposed penal provisions are a part of recommendations made by a panel of state transport ministers headed by Rajasthan Transport Minister Yunoos Khan. 
The panel, set up by the Centre to frame stringent traffic and road safety rules, has suggested "stringent penalties to the extent of Rs. 100 crore for non-compliance of automobile regulations by automobile companies and power to order compulsory recall within stipulated time frame".
Additionally, the Road Safety Bill could impose a fine up to Rs. 5,000 on people using unauthorised accessories on their vehicles like fog lights, air pressure horns, additional lights and bull bars. Vehicle dealers, 

Automakers may face penalty of Rs. 100 crore for violation of safety rules 

Honda Car India has imported various components of an all-new vehicle from its upcoming product portfolio, according to a report on India’s import and export data.
Code-named as the Honda 2FM, the Jazz-based hatchback crossover will be officially called the Honda WR-V. The compact crossover will likely be showcased at the 2016 Sao Paulo Auto Show that will be held in Brazil in November.
While we have to wait for some time to see how the production-ready version may look like, Honda Car India has imported numerous components of the WR-V from March to May 2016. The import data from Zauba.com states that these components are a part of the 2FM project. This data suggests that the automaker is in the process of building the first prototype of the WR-V for research and development purposes. 
According to sources, the WR-V is expected to be available in India with both petrol and diesel versions. While petrol power should come from the familiar 1.5-litre i-VTEC unit good for 116 hp, diesel ..

Honda imports components for production of \'WR-V\' - a Jazz-based crossover prototype 

Mercedes-Benz India has imported the GLE 43 AMG coupe for homologation purposes, as per import data. The GLE 43 AMG is a re-badged version of the currently sold GLE 450 AMG coupe. 
Mercedes had launched the GLE 450 AMG coupe in January. The company recently imported a single unit of the AMG GLE 43 coupe for homologation purposes.
The GLE 450 was launched in India as a quietened down version of the all bonkers AMG GLE 63 Coupe. The GLE 450 is powered by a 3.0-litre bi-turbo V6 motor which churns out 362 HP of power and 520 Nm of torque which comes mated to a 9-speed auto box and Mercedes’ signature 4MATIC 4WD system.
The GLE 43 AMG is a re-branded version of the GLE 450 coupe currently sold in the Indian market. Mercedes has been re-branding all of its AMG models across the world with 43 and 63 numbers after their respective class names (C63, E63, CLS 63). This is being done to better separate the AMG cars from the normal ones.
Mercedes should release the re-badged versions soon, after 

Mercedes GLE 43 AMG Coupe imported for homologation 

Hyundai Motor India Ltd., the country’s largest exporter and the second largest car manufacturer, has expanded the scope of its agreement with 25 industrial training institutes (ITIs) in India.  
This is part of its contribution to the government’s Skill India Programme. The expansion its association with 25 ITIs comes after a successful completion of a pilot programme that Hyundai launched in 2012 across 5 locations. Almost 95% of trained graduates from Hyundai’s Skill Development Programme (2012-2015) were recruited by its dealerships in 2015.  
“Our alliance with ITI and vocational institutes is aimed at reducing the skill deficit in the Indian automobile industry’s shop floors,” said Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice-president, sales and marketing, Hyundai Motor India. “With this partnership, we are confident that Hyundai will be able to bridge the gap of skilled manpower availability and help the auto industry to achieve global competitiveness.” 
Under the scope of Hyundai’s Skill ..

Hyundai ties up with 25 ITIs to provide vocational training

Ensuring higher compensation in cases of hit-and-run and improving the mechanism for helping accident victims and trauma care facilities will figure among the topics at the group of transport ministers of state to be held next week. 
The GoM, set up by the central transport ministry, will be meeting in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh on June 12 and 13 to finalise its report. The ministers will also be considering implementation of e-tolling across the country on a common Rfid card. 
Other issues that they plan taking up include facilitating barrier free movement of freight, liberalising intra-city taxi permit system, review of taxies and other automobile aggregation policy, steps for promoting low cost last mile connectivity solutions and review of the contract carriage permit scheme. 
The ministers will also discuss strengthening of public transport systems, improving parking facilities for taxies and other public transport vehicles in cities and strengthening rural transportation. ..

State transport ministers to finalise changes to Motor Vehicle Act 

With increasing focus by the government on introducing advance emission norms and safety standards, the Indian automobile industry is likely to undergo significant technology upgradation over the next 4-5 years, says a research report.  
“From directly introducing Bharat Stage (BS-VI) emission standards by April 2020 to implementing advance safety norms in vehicles, the regulatory changes are also likely to present sizeable opportunity for select auto component segments besides altering the demand dynamics (i.e. Petrol-Diesel mix) and pushing vehicle prices upwards,” said a report by ICRA. 
According to the agency, new safety standards is likely to increase usage of airbags in Passenger Vehicles (PV) exponentially. Although the proposed safety standards don’t make airbags mandatory, in order to achieve adequate safety ratings for frontal collision, air bags would become a necessary fitment.  
“We believe this will also open up a sizeable market opportunity (Rs. 19-23 billion by FY ...

Demand for airbags will soar in India: research report 

Auto News: Find the latest auto mobile industry news, launches of car & bike news on Business Standard. Explore now for more auto news from India and around the world.

Page 298 - Auto