According to transport department officials, the cab aggregators have to first register with the regional transport authority (RTA). Besides, the government should make provisions under the law before permitting operation of bike taxis. 
The bike taxis cannot run with white boards, which is unlawful. Operating a non-transport vehicle as commercial vehicle invites a penalty of Rs 5,000, officials added.
The transport department officials have seized a couple of bike taxis that were operating in the city despite terming it unlawful after the same was launched by Uber and Ola last week. The department has also urged the general public not to use these bike taxis, which can be booked through apps, till the aggregators register with the RTA. 
The motor vehicles department, which is currently silent on the issue, should come up with a set of rules to govern the bike taxis. Goa overcome this problem long ago and has allowed their operation.

Bike taxi services comes to a halt in Bengaluru 

BS-Motoring

Click on graphic

The game changers

The Geneva International Motor Show is open to the public through March 13, 2016

Bloomberg

Bookings for the new Renault Duster have started with the company accepting it on Renault Duster apps for Android smartphones or through a dealership.
The new Duster features the country’s first Easy-R AQMT, new waterfall LED tail lamps and crimson-black interiors. The new dual winged front grille lends a commanding road presence, which is complemented by the distinctive gun metal ?nish alloy wheels. 
The bold look is further enhanced by the new hawk eye cluster headlamps with ?re?y fog lamps, the signature waterfall LED tail lamps and kayak roof rails. 
The new model comes with India's first 6-speed Easy-R AMT which delivers a comfortable drive. The driver can change his preference and switch to manual transmission anytime on the drive.
Power and poise ?nd balance in the new Renault Duster. The 210 mm ground clearance, high approach and departure angles, and 4WD with incredible traction mode allows one to conquer any terrain with ease. The Eco mode option delivers up to 10% more fuel 

Bookings for new Renault Duster on Android smartphone app

Mahindra & Mahindra is organising a free, nationwide mega service camp ‘M-Plus’ for its range of personal vehicles. 
This customer-centric initiative will be organised between March 7 and 13 at over 450 Mahindra authorised service workshops across the country. The service camp will be extended to all Mahindra vehicles - Bolero, Scorpio, Thar, Xylo, Quanto, Verito, Verito Vibe, Logan, XUV500, TUV300, KUV100 and Rexton. 
At the M-Plus camps, customers can avail of an exhaustive 75-point comprehensive free vehicle check-up by experts and trained technicians from the company. In addition, each participating customer will also be eligible for attractive discounts on spare parts and labour charges during the camp and customers can also expect exciting gifts through lucky draw at the participating workshops.
Speaking about this service initiative, Veejay Ram Nakra, senior vice president, sales and customer care, automotive division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd said: “Being a ...

Mahindra announces week-long, nationwide mega service camp \'M-Plus\' 

Tata Motors will roll-out its fourth nationwide mega service camp for its passenger vehicle customers from March 8 to 14. This free comprehensive vehicle health check-up camp will be organised across all Tata Motors dealerships and authorised service centres (TASC’s) across India.
Celebrating International Women’s’ day, Tata Motors will also offer a special discount of 20% on the Road Side assistance (RSA) policy, to all women customers on March 8.
In continuation of its commitment to provide best-in-class services, Tata Motors has syndicated with multiple suppliers to offer discount up to 10% on oils and lubricants along with various value added services and genuine accessories. 
These will be accompanied with discounts of up to 20% on Tata Motors original parts and labour charges and other special offers such as a discount of Rs699 on Value Care (Gold AMC), and up to Rs1,000 off on new batteries. 
Customers will also be given attractive insurance renewal offers and discounts on RSA .

Tata Motors to roll out nationwide mega service camp from March 8

Honda Cars India announced an increase in the price of its various models – ranging from Rs4,000 to Rs79,000 – following the announcement of an infrastructure cess in the union budget presented to parliament on Monday.
The price hike is effective from March 1, coinciding with the levy of infrastructure cess. The price of Brio (ex-showroom Delhi price) has gone up from between Rs4,000 and Rs6,000, said the company on Friday.
The Jazz will be dearer by between Rs5,000 and Rs19,500, while the City will cost more by Rs24,600 and Rs38,100. The Mobilio will be more expensive by Rs21,800 and Rs37,700, while the CR-V will be costlier by Rs66,500 to Rs79,000.

Honda hikes prices ranging from Rs4,000 to Rs79,000

India’s largest luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz has announced an upward revision of the price of its entire model range effective from March 15. The price increase would be between 3% and 5% depending on the model.
The imposition of an ‘infrastructural cess’ as well as an additional ‘luxury tax’ announced in the Union Budget 2016, has negatively impacted the prices of the Mercedes-Benz model range. 
In addition, a weakening currency coupled with rising input costs has been exerting significant pressure to the bottom-line, said the company. The combination of all these factors led Mercedes-Benz India to upwardly revise the prices of the entire model range.
“Mercedes-Benz India has been in the forefront of providing luxury automotive experiences to the Indian customers with the latest products and technology, state-of-the-art retail infrastructure, significant investment in the production facility and offering unparalleled service and ownership experiences,” said  Roland Folger, managing 

Mercedes-Benz goes in for upward revision of prices

 Ford has decided to launch the next generation Endeavour on 20th January 2016 and they are taking this intermittent time to make sure that everybody knows this. Move around any city and you might come across huge hoardings with the giant SUV pasted on it. Visit Facebook and one might come across the Endeavour there as well. Since 2008, which is the last year of the old Endeavour’s glory as Toyota Fortuner came into the picture. This is the first time since its showdown with the Fortuner that it is regaining its lost popularity. Let’s see what sets the latest edition apart from the current SUV lineup present in India.ExteriorsNow every car in this segment has a substantial amount of size. The Trailblazer is the biggest and the Fortuner and the Pajero are of the same size. Likewise, Endeavour has a burly-don’t-mess-with-me appeal to it. In addition, it looks far more contemporary than the rest. The hexagonal chrome grill looks dominating on the front end, flanked by the understated ...

2016 Ford Endeavour: Back With A Bang!

February 24, 2016: A reduction in excise duty on cars and SUVs would boost sentiments in the Indian automobile sector, said Joe King, head, Audi India, in a suggestion to the government on the eve of the budget. 
King noted that the auto industry accounted for a significant share of India’s manufacturing GDP and was also one of the biggest job creators. The Audi executive also called for a simplification of the tax structure. At present, differential pricing and taxes across different states made the issue a very complicated one, he said. 
The introduction of the goods and service tax (GST) would go a long way in helping ease of doing business in the country, said King. “The government had presented a budget with focus on long-term growth in FY 2015-16 and we expect a similar budget this year which is pro-growth,” he added.  
The German luxury carmaker was looking forward to a revival in customer sentiment, which would lead to increased demand, he said. King also emphasised on the ...

Audi India chief calls for reduction in excise on cars, SUVs

Honda Cars India is recalling the previous generation of City, Jazz and Civic over defective driver side airbag inflators.
In all, the company will recall 57,676 cars as a part of the voluntary replacement of Honda's preventive global recall campaign concerning air bag inflators. 
Earlier this month, Honda had announced a recall of 2.2 million vehicles in the United States that had similar defects. According to the Japanese carmaker, the air bag inflators made by Takata can explode and hurl shrapnel into the passenger compartment.
In India, Honda has so far recalled 3.86 lakh units since 2012. Last year too, Honda had recalled 2.2 lakh units, which happened to be the company's single largest recall, which was also due to the airbag inflator defect.
Honda will replace the airbags free of cost at its dealerships and the company will contact customers directly. Customers can also check whether their car will be covered under this campaign by submitting their 17 character alpha-numeric ...

Honda recalls City, Jazz and Civic in India for airbag defect 

Maruti Suzuki has added a new variant of its Ciaz ZXi+ with the option of an automatic transmission.  The Ciax ZXi+ Automatic, in petrol variant, is priced at Rs 10.19 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) while the manual ZXi+ is priced at Rs 9.06 lakh. 
The automatic transmission for the Ciaz was limited to the VXi and Zxi models. Ciaz ZXi Automatic is the 15th variant of Maruti's sedan offerings, which is available in both diesel and petrol mills. Ciaz ZXi+ automatic transmission also claims fuel efficiency 19.12kmpl.
The new variant comes with all the features of the previous top-end model ZXi+. The automatic transmission is the same four-speed unit that was earlier available only on the VXi+ and ZXi variants. Mechanically unchanged, the sedan is powered by the 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol motor that churns out 91bhp and 13.26kgm of torque. 
While the Maruti Ciaz and Honda City offer automatic variants only on their petrol variants, the Hyundai Verna, Volkswagen Vento, and Skoda Rapid get ..

Maruti Ciaz ZXi+ automatic launched at Rs 10.19 lakh 

Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd (MFCWL), a leading multi-brand certified used car company, plans to expand its footprint across India, raising the number of dealerships from 705 to 1,000 in the next fiscal.
Set up in 2007, the used-car firm - part of the multi-billion-dollar automotive group, Mahindra - operates across 325 locations in the country including metros, mini-metros and smaller towns.
The company has been growing at a rapid pace with a CAGR of 35% by volume over the last five years. The cumulative retail footprint under Mahindra First Choice brand is in excess of 8.5 lakh sq feet.
MFCWL recently inaugurated its 705th dealership in Shimoga in Karnataka. The new outlet, Tristar India Trading and Services Pvt Ltd, is the company's first franchisee for multi-brand commercial vehicles.
According to Dr Nagendra Palle, managing director and CEO, MFCWL, this is  a new step for creating space in the used commercial vehicle segment along with used car ecosystem. "We are enhancing ...

Mahindra First Choice Wheels plans to raise dealerships from 705 to 1,000 by next fiscal

US-based motorcycle maker, UM Motorcycles,  is expected to launch in India two products that it recently displayed at EICMA 2015 in Italy - Renegade Commando and Renegade Sport S. The company is expected to launch the models on February 3.
The motorcycles will be powered by a 279cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, fuel injected engine. The vehicles will have a six-speed gear box, disc brakes for the front wheel and drum brakes for the rear wheel. The Renegade Commando is the base model offering in the Renegade range and the Sports S is expected to have a bolder design.

UM Motorcycles to launch Renegade Commando and Renegade Sport S in India

The odd-even scheme will be back in Delhi for a fortnight from April 15, the state’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Thursday.
The scheme, which was tried on a pilot basis in the first fortnight of the year, is being reintroduced for two weeks following a survey conducted by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in which more than 80 per cent said they wanted a return to the plan, pointed out Kejriwal.
Under the scheme, only cars with odd registration numbers will be allowed on roads on odd days and even-numbered vehicles on other days. The aim of the scheme is to reduce the high pollution levels in the national capital.
Kejriwal said women drivers and the nearly four million two-wheeler vehicles will be exempt from the scheme. According to him, the city’s public transport network would not be able to bear the burden of millions of additional commuters if two-wheelers were also to be part of the scheme.
The state government also announced other measures including shutting down ...

Odd-even scheme to be reintroduced for a fortnight from April 15 in Delhi

January 1, 2016: With the odd-even formula for cars kicking off in Delhi on Friday, most motorists were seen adhering to the new rules during the morning hours. 
The Delhi state government has imposed restrictions on private cars, ordering odd-numbered vehicles on odd days of the month and even-numbered cars on alternate days. The experiment is being tried for the first fortnight of January in a bid to combat atmospheric pollution. 
The new restrictions are in force between 8 am and 8 pm. Since Friday was a holiday for most private firms, schools and colleges, there wasn’t much chaos on Delhi’s roads. The full impact of the new rules would be felt on Monday, when hundreds of thousands of cars come out in full strength. 
“Delhi has done it,” tweeted chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. “Reports so far v encouraging. Delhiites! U give me hope that U are capable of achieving big challenges.” Kejriwal also tweeted saying he had opted for car-pooling, travelling to his office with two ...

New restrictions on cars come into force in Delhi 

 Mahindra has launched the much awaited micro SUV KUV100 in India. With an aim to target the young generation of the country, KUV100 is offered with some interesting features and specifications that weren’t seen before in any of the Mahindra cars. The car has been introduced in four variants K2, K4, K6 and K8 with a number of trim levels. The car comes powered with a new set of 1198cc mFalcon diesel and petrol engines with former making 77bhp while the latter generating 82bhp of power.Every new car launch comes with plenty of variants to choose from, and this becomes a tedious task for the buyers. If you are planning to buy KUV100 as your next car, then this article is meant for you. We have briefly divided the equipment list as per the variants, which would surely make your buying job simple. Before going through the variant list, it is to be noted that dual front airbags is offered as optional safety feature across the variants while ABS has been made standard. The variants with ...

Mahindra KUV100 Variants - Know Which One to Buy

What else do we expect from a hot hatch? It comes with a 1.8-liter turbocharged petrol motor in a 3-door layout and there will be an option of manual too!Volkswagen India for the first time has officially announced the arrival of hottest Polo ever, the Polo GTi. The German automaker will be unveiling the vehicle at the upcoming 2016 Delhi Auto Expo, while it will be launched reportedly later this year. The vehicle will be unveiled on the second media day at the Auto Expo, that is, February 4th, 2016. Speaking of the hot hatches, Fiat Indian launched the first ever serious contender in the form of Abarth Punto this year. It was locally manufactured and offers 145 horses! VW Polo GTi on the other hand, is most likely to come through a CBU (Completely Built Unit) route, instead of local assembly, at least initially!     Differentiating from the stock Polo and Polo GT, VW confirmed that the GTi will come in a three-door avatar in the country. It also comes with LED headlights along with ..

Official! Volkswagen India to Bring Polo GTi At Delhi Auto Expo

Clean Motion, CEO, Goran Folkesson and Anil Arora at the launch of 'Zbee' an electric vehicle for short distance transportation in New Delhi

Clean Motion India Pvt Ltd Country Head Anil Arora at the launch of Zbee electric vehicle

Indian automakers have slammed the government's decision to advance implementation of the Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) norms to April 2020, claiming it would increase the cost of cars.
R.C. Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki, cited an IIT Kanpur study, which claimed cars contributed a mere two per cent to overall pollution. "People should not be surprised when they don't see any perceptible change in air quality even after implementation of Bharat Stage VI norms," he said.
Bhargava also warned that the move to implement BS VI auto fuel emission norms in just four years would raise car prices by between Rs20,000 and Rs200,000. He said it would be a challenge for automakers to upgrade technologies to meet the BS VI norms, which would correspond to Euro norms.
The veteran auto industry executive wondered whether it was necessary to concentrate 90 per cent of our energy on a source that accounted for just two per cent of pollution. 
Union roads and highways minister Nitin Gadkari had announced .

Maruti chief says advancing date of implementing BS-VI norms to result in sharp hike in car prices

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