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Users of Google Maps app for Android will be able to access both Uber and Ola taxi-hailing services, the company announced on Wednesday.
“If you’re looking for a cab service in major cities in India, you’ll be able to choose from Uber or Ola cab services,” said Google. “If you have a provider’s app installed, you’ll be able to see fare estimates and pick up times and if a car is available near you. Uber users will be able to choose from uberGO and uberX services, while Ola customers can choose from Ola Mini, Ola Micro and Ola Sedan options.”
Once a user selects a service on Google Maps, it will take him directly to the Uber or Ola app for a ride request with one tap. “Having all your commuting options in one place makes it easier to make quick comparisons about the best route and get an estimated fare,” said the statement from Google. “When it makes sense, we’ll also show cab availability when viewing the map in walking or transit directions.”

Google Maps app to feature Uber, Ola services

BS-Motoring

Royal Enfield launched the much-awaited Himalayan adventurer tourer on Wednesday. The bike is priced at Rs.1.55 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai).
While the Himalayan will not be sold in Delhi as is not BS-IV compliant, the bike will be available in other parts of the National Capital Region and priced at Rs.1.79 lakh (on road).
The BS-IV compliant bike will be launched in April 2017. According to Siddhartha Lal, managing director and CEO, Eicher Motors – which owns the Royal Enfield brand - the company has created a new segment of adventure tourer in India.  
Lal said the company plans to export some of the bikes to southeast Asia and Latin America. It has also generated some interest in the US and Europe. Royal Enfield is strengthening its international presence in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and southeast Asia. 
The company hopes to produce 9 lakh motorcycles by the end of next year from its two manufacturing facilities. A third one is coming up in Tamil Nadu.
The company is also ...

Royal Enfield launches the Himalayan at Rs.1.55 lakh

Mahindra Reva plans to launch its e20 electric car in the UK next month, a senior executive told a London newspaper.
“We want to take electric cars out of the elitist market and make it more of a run-of-the-mill thing,” Arvind Mathew, CEO, Mahindra Reva, was quoted by the Evening Standard newspaper. “Our product is really designed for city commuting, not for long distance driving.”
According to Mathew, Mahindra’s foray into the UK was “purely electric.” “So it’s a big deal for us because as a brand we don’t exist. From the Mahindra group perspective, this is a huge deal.”
The company will be launching the e20 in London next month at just under £13,000 (about Rs.12.33 lakh), said the paper. London has been chosen as the global launching pad for Mahindra’s electric car business.
“That is good news for ecologically-minded drivers priced out of the current range of electric vehicles launched by the likes of Tesla and BMW,” noted the report. “Electric vehicle drivers can park for free in ..

Mahindra Reva to launch e20 electric cars in the UK next month

TVS Motors has joined hands with Snapdeal to sell its motorcycles and scooters online. Customers will be able to select any one of the nine two-wheeler models online, choose the colour and the dealership on the Snapdeal Motors platform and order for the vehicles.
“We are excited to partner with Snapdeal to expand our reach with online channel for our two-wheelers," said J S Srinivasan, vice-president, sales and services, TVS Motor Company. "With Snapdeal's extensive reach and a robust technology platform, we see immense value in our partnership.”
Tony Navin, senior vice-president, partnerships and strategic initiatives, Snapdeal, pointed out that it was the first online marketplace in India to introduce the automobiles category. “We have built a dedicated motors platform to provide an intuitive and seamless buying experience,” he said.
The Snapdeal Motors platform was launched last November. It currently offers bikes and scooters from Hero Electric, Hero MotorCorp, Suzuki Motorcycles .

TVS Motorcycles joins hands with Snapdeal for online sales

In a bid to promote safe driving in India, tyre major Goodyear, in association with the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE), had initiated a unique road safety programme, 'Safer Roads, Safer You.'
The initiative was aimed at offering complimentary training to select taxi drivers in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai.
The focus of this initiative was to train 2,400 drivers in Delhi and Mumbai till March. A one-day workshop was conducted for groups of 20 taxi drivers to create awareness and cover critical aspects such as defensive driving, passenger comfort and safety, vehicle maintenance, personal management and incident management. 
The participating drivers were also given an incentive of Rs. 500 along with a complimentary accidental death insurance policy of Rs.2 lakh, and a certificate on successful completion of the workshop.
“With Safer Roads, Safer You, we hope to create a culture of safe driving and passenger care in the taxi service industry to help increase ridership of the public ..

Goodyear India and IRTE launch road safety programme

TVS Motor Company launched TVS Victor in Hyderabad on Tuesday. The motorcycle will be positioned in the executive segment and features broader space on the seat, better performance, and powerful headlights.
In its new avatar, it comes with an advanced, 3-valve Ecothrust engine tuned to deliver a combination of power and fuel economy. The electric start fires up the 4-speed power train at 8000 revolutions per minute, J S Srinivasan, vice-president, sales & service, TVS Motor Company said at the launch.
Designed for comfort, safety and handling on a single cradle tubular frame, it delivered a mileage of 76 km a litre of petrol under test conditions. The TVS Victor will be available with Disc and Drum options and comes in six colours including red, black red, black silver, grey, silver and blue and is priced at Rs. 53,900 ex-showroom (in Andhra Pradesh and Telengana) and the drum option at Rs. 51,900.
“We are constantly evolving our products to offer technologically superior and ...

TVS Victor launched in new avatar in Hyderabad

French tyre manufacturer Michelin has entered into a partnership with online marketplace Snapdeal to sell passenger car tyres online. 
Customers in India can place orders for Michelin Tyres from an authorised dealer and request for fitment at a time and place as per their convenience. 
On the Michelin brand page on Snapdeal, the tyre selector will help customers find the best fit tyre for a vehicle. Once the tyre choice is confirmed, the customer can select the closest Michelin authorised dealer for the purchase fitment appointment. Further, the tyre major will also be offering several exclusive discounts and offers like same day free fitment, alignment and balancing.
"Snapdeal with its large subscriber base and pan-India reach has been an obvious choice,” said Mohan Kumar, Michelin India commercial director. “We believe this new channel will augment our existing distribution and enable our dealers with a parallel sales pipeline. For consumers, this would mean a quality guarantee on ..

Michelin ties up with Snapdeal to sell products online

Hyundai Motors is ramping up production of its popular SUV Creta by 30 per cent to reduce the waiting period. The Creta is now its most popular car in India, with bookings having crossed the 1-lakh mark, less than eight months after its launch.
The company has already delivered 56,000 SUVs since its launch in July. “To reduce the waiting period, we are increasing production by 30% to 13,000 units of which 10,000 will be allocated for the domestic market,” Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) managing director & CEO YK Koo, managing director and CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, said on Tuesday. 
The South Korean automaker has received more than five lakh inquiries for the SUV. “We thank our customers for the tremendous response with the record fastest one lakh bookings in eight months,” said Koo. 
The SUV has also had a good response in other parts of the world including the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. “Like in the domestic market, Creta has generated great response in global ...

Hyundai Motors to ramp up Creta production by 30 per cent

Royal Enfield will be unveiling its much-awaited adventure motorcycle, the Himalayan, on Wednesday. It will also be disclosing its price range at the launch. Estimates are that the bike will be priced between Rs.1.65 lakh and Rs.1.85 lakh.
The Himalayan comes with a new 411 cc, overhead camshaft, air-cooled, single-cylinder engine, tuned to produce 24.5 bhp of power at 6500 rpm and 32 Nm of torque at 4500 rpm. The engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox.
The new bike has a 300mm front brake and 240mm rear disc brake to offer stable deceleration to its riders. It features a 15-litre fuel tank, 21-inch front and 17-inch rear tyre. It has a ground clearance of 220 mm.
The bike is the first India-made adventure tourer. It was unveiled at the Auto Expo and deliveries are expected immediately after the launch.

Royal Enfield to launch The Himalayan on Wednesday

Suzuki Motorcycle India launched its all-new Access 125 in New Delhi on Tuesday. The Access is a popular scooter which has already sold more than two million units in India. 
The new Access 125 sports a state of the art engine, inheriting the latest technology developed by Suzuki from its MotoGP racing experience and advanced analysis techniques. As a result, the scooter boasts of top class fuel efficiency and powerful acceleration.
The new model has a rigid yet lightweight frame which improves mileage, straight line stability and cornering performance. This is further enhanced by a larger 12 inch front tyre and fine-tuned suspension, to improve road holding performance over rough and uneven roads. Coupled with the optimised CVT settings, the new Access gives a smooth, easy ride on the bumpiest city roads.
“The new Suzuki Access 125 is our flagship scooter,” said Kenji Hirozawa,vice-president, sales and marketing, Suzuki Motorcycle. “Equipped with our SEP technology, it combines the ..

Suzuki launches new Access 125 scooter

Tata Motors has launched a ‘Geared for Great’ challenge, an ultimate endurance run, which will put its new generation vehicles including the Zest, the Bolt and the soon-to-be-launched Tiago to test.
The vehicles will undergo a rigorous challenge at the Vehicle Research & Development Establishment in Ahmednagar. The endurance challenge, being conducted under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, the sanctioning body for the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile – the international motorsport body), has been designed and developed in partnership with Zeegnition as an independent auto expert testing the cars, backed by the Indian Oil Corporation of India and JK Tyres.
The Geared for Great Challenge will witness the petrol variants of the Zest and the Bolt, along with petrol and diesel variants of the Tiago tested for high-speed as well as fuel economy. Over 60 professional drivers and auto experts will be participating in this mega event to push these ...

Tata Motors launches \'Geared for Great\' challenge

Renault, which recently launched its compact SUV, the new Renault Duster in the Indian market, has also launched the “Renault Duster App” on the Google play store.  
The app helps customers to connect with their car for various adventure trails, while one can also book the Renault Duster through the app. 
Priced at Rs. 8.46 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), the new car features 32 new design and mechanical upgrades as compared to the previous generation model. 
The new Renault Duster App brings in a lot of features to help connect customers with their Renault Duster. 
Know the car feature provides specific information about the vehicle. One can get detailed information by navigating through the various features available on the new Renault Duster. Prospective customers can check out the complete specifications of the car across variants while one can choose the different colour shades of the car and also select the kind of terrain which helps in giving a proper perspective of the car. One can 

Renault launches new Duster App in India

Taxi aggregator Uber has suspended its bike-taxi pilot in India within 10 days of its launch after the Karnataka government said the app-based taxi-hailing company had not obtained the permission of local authorities to run the service in Bengaluru.
With Uber failing to heed to the ban on bike-taxis, more than 80-odd two-wheelers operated by private individuals on its platform, were seized by the Bengaluru traffic police since its launch. 
The transport department came cracking down on bike-taxis as there was no provision for two-wheeler taxis in the Motor Vehicles Act. The Karnataka government, however, said that once cab aggregators get the necessary approvals, it will consider offering them licences on a case-by-case basis.
Following the success of its first bike-taxi service in Bangkok, which was launched a week ahead of introducing it in Bengaluru, Uber was hopeful of the service becoming a hit in the Karnataka capital.
Ola, which began the pilot for its bike-taxi service in ...

Uber suspends bike taxi pilot in India 

Ranchi will soon join the list of cities in India that have battery operated rickshaws plying on its roads. Around 135 hand-pulled rickshaws in Ranchi will be upgraded to battery-powered vehicles or electric rickshaws (e-rickshaws).
The Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) had invited applications from rickshaw pullers who were keen to switch to e-rickshaws under the Jharkhand Rikshaw Chaalak Garima Yojna (e-rickshaw).
Under the scheme, the state government will provide e-rickshaws to the selected rickshaw pullers at a subsidised rate. While the government supports with 75% of the e-rickshaw cost, the remaining amount will have to be borne by the rickshaw puller.
The rickshaw pullers are being selected on the basis of four criteria – they have to be residents of Jharkhand, they should have operated a rickshaw in Ranchi for at least three years, they should be at least 21 years old and they should have a valid driving license.
The selected rickshaw pullers will undergo a test on ...

Ranchi to introduce 135 e-rickshaws 

Car exports from India fell by 3.71 per cent during April-February of the current fiscal to 4.84 lakh units as compared to the same period in the previous fiscal, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
The decline was mainly because of changes in technical regulations in Algeria and high taxes in Sri Lanka. Hyundai Motors, the country’s largest exporter, shipped 1.35 lakh units in the April-February period, a more than 25 per cent decline over the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.
Maruti Suzuki exported 1.04 lakh units, slightly more than in the previous fiscal. Other major exporters included Nissan (1.01 lakh cars as against 1.08 lakh units in the corresponding period) and Volkswagen (68,224 units, as against 60,706 units).
But in terms of overall exports of passenger vehicles – including cars, utility vehicles and vans – total shipments were up by 3.14 per cent to 5.91 lakh units.

India\'s car exports decline by 3.71 per cent in April-February period

There were a total of 42,049 fatal road accidents on national highways and expressways in India in 2014, slightly more than the 39,829 fatalities reported in 2013.
Pon Radhakrishnan, the minister of state for road transport and highways, told the Rajya Sabha on Monday that 2014 saw a total of 1,37,903 road accidents on national highways (including expressways), as against 1,36,786 in 2013. 
According to him, the government has taken a number of steps to prevent road accidents. It has approved a National Road Safety Policy, which outlines various policy measures such as promoting awareness, establishing road safety information data base, encouraging safer road infrastructure including application of intelligent transport, enforcement of safety laws etc.
The government has also constituted the National Road Safety Council as the apex body to take policy decisions in matters of road safety. The ministry has asked all states to set up Road Safety Councils and District Road Safety ...

Over 42,000 fatalities on national highways and expressways in 2014: government

Harley-Davidson has increased the price of select models sold in India by Rs30,000 to offset exchange rate fluctuations, according to a news agency report.
The new prices are effective from April 1 and will impact models including Street 750, the Sportster and Softail ranges. The Street 750 is currently priced from Rs4.52 lakh, while the price of various models in the Sportster family ranges from Rs7.37 lakh to Rs9.21 lakh. Softail range models are priced from Rs15.15 lakh to Rs16.6 lakh.
According to a company spokesperson, the prices have been hiked because of the fall in the value of the rupee vis a vis the US dollar. The American company has a manufacturing-cum-assembly facility in Bawal in Haryana.
Harley-Davidson also exports its models assembled in India to different parts of the world. According to Vikram Pawah, managing director, Harley-Davidson India, the company has sold over 12,000 bikes since it began operations in the country in 2010.
“We promote brotherhood and are not .

Harley-Davidson hikes select model prices by Rs30,000

Buoyed by the positive response of its Avenger range of cruiser motorcycles, Bajaj Auto is working on larger capacity variant of the new Avenger with 375 cc.
The motorcycle, which is likely to be called Avenger 400, will rival the likes of the Royal Enfield offerings. 
Launched in October 2015, the Avenger range, consisting of the Avenger Street 150, Street 220 and Cruise 220, saw a huge jump in sales from a monthly average of 3,000 units to close to 31,000 units in February 2016.
According to sources, the bigger-capacity Avenger is expected to get a single-cylinder 375cc engine, which could be the reworked version of the KTM Duke 390s engine that develops 42bhp at 9,000rpm and 35Nm of torque at 7,000rpm, mated to a six-speed gearbox. 
This is the same engine that is expected to power the upcoming Pulsar CS400. Hence, the new model of the Avenger may get the name Avenger 400. The launch of both motorcycles is expected in mid-2016.
The Avenger-range bikes are known for their touring ...

Bajaj Auto to launch 375cc Avenger soon 

Hyundai Motor India has launched the 21st edition of the nationwide ‘Free Car Care Clinic’ customer connect at its service outlets across the country. The camp, which began on March 12, will go on till March 16. 
The Free Car Care Clinic will offer a free comprehensive 90-point check-up with a thorough examination of the engine, transmission, electrical system, under-body, AC, exterior, etc. Customers can also avail attractive discounts on spare parts, labour charges, selected accessories, and other value added services. In addition, there are exciting discounts on extended warranty along with excellent offers on exchange of old cars.
To value the long term relationship with its customers, Hyundai is also offering additional discounts for the customers owning vehicles more than four years old. Shell Ltd, the prime sponsor for this event is also offering attractive schemes and gifts during the camp.
To reward their loyal customers attending the camp, the company is also offering ...

Hyundai launches Free Car Care Clinic at service outlets

Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) has rolled out a deluxe variant to its most affordable motorcycle, the CD 110 Dream Deluxe (DX).
The Honda CD 110 Dream Deluxe (DX) comes with a starting price-tag of Rs. 43,997 (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the base variant (kick-starter, drum brakes, alloy wheels).
The new deluxe variant of the existing air-cooled, single-cylinder, 110cc mass commuter motorcycle model CD 110 Dream gets a self-starter switch and exclusive new colour graphics (black with green stripes).
The new colour graphics - black with green stripe, introduced exclusively for the new deluxe variant- comes equipped with the same specifications as the CD 110 Dream. The new variant also gets Honda’s popular HET engine technology, which will be available in four colour options including the newly added colour graphics.
The CD 110 Dream offers a fuel efficiency of up to 74km per litre, and delivers a peak power output of 8.25bhp at 7500rpm. Features 

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter rolls out CD 110 Dream DX 

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