In a bid to save lives of road accident victims, the Tamil Nadu government plans an innovative initiative, operating motorcycle ambulances to reach victims within the ‘golden hour.’
The health department’s trauma care initiative will see paramedics head to the accident site on bikes carrying essential medicines. According to an official, these bike ambulances would be able to navigate through traffic snarls and reach the victim at the earliest.
Traditional ambulances take a long time to provide aid to victims as they find it difficult to manoeuvre through city traffic. But the bike-borne paramedics are expected to reach the victims, especially in congested areas.
The first phase of the initiative will be launched in Chennai next month, according to the department.

Tamil Nadu to launch bike ambulances to treat accident victims

BS-Motoring

As part of Tata Motors’ elaborate plans to engage with its customers, the Indian auto major organised a rally to celebrate the spirit of Zest. In all, 154 Zests, the compact sedan from Tata Motors’ stable, participated in the rally held in Pune.
In addition to highlighting the advantages of the car, the company and participants managed to create a new Asian record for being part of the largest convoy of a single branded vehicle.
In the rally held on January 17, the participants covered a distance of 21.19km driving in formations of three. The starting point of the rally was at Pan Card Club, Baner.
The rally was the latest in the series of events organised by Tata Motors to connect and listen to its customers, showcase its products and help change public perceptions with regards to its cars. Earlier, a Zest mileage run was organised across 19 cities of India with 665 vehicles participating.

A record for Zest

Isuzu Motor India is expected to start production at a new plant in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh from April. It has discontinued production at the Hindustan Motor plant in Thiruvallur in Chennai. 
The Japanese utility vehicle maker is expected to start with an installed capacity of 50,000 units at its Sri City plant. This would be expandable to 1.2 lakh units a year. The company has invested Rs3,000 crore on the facility.
Isuzu is also expected to unveil its seven-seater MU-X. The company said it would also showcase its pick-up truck, the D-Max along with a new offering, that industry experts believe will be the MU-X, at the Delhi Auto Expo in February.

Isuzu to switch production to Sri City plant from Chennai

Michelin, the world's tyre technology leader, is expected to launch the Michelin Pilot Road 4 and Pilot Power 3 in India, designed for high-performance motorcycles. 
The launch of the tyres, which can be used on motorcycles from companies like Kawasaki, Ducati, Aprilia, Benelli, Yamaha, Hyosung and Honda, is in response to high demand for performance motorcycles. Michelin said that according to industry analysts, the market for motorcycles of 500 cc and more will more than double over the next five years.
Michelin has also introduced the Michelin Latitude Sport 3 tyres in India. The launch helps the company to strengthen its product portfolio in India. The company said the Latitude Sport 3 (LS3) is the third generation of Latitude on-road SUV and CUV tyres in the Michelin line-up. 
The design of the new tyre conveys an image of power and control and is capable of supporting the vehicle weight and driver expectations with enhanced safety performance, while delivering outstanding grip ..

Michelin India may launch premium radial two-wheeler tyres in India

Motorcycle sales dipped sharply in December 2015, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam). Total sales of motorcycles fell to 724,807 units in December 2015, as against 770,519 in the same month in 2014.
But scooter and scooterette sales were up marginally; they rose from 374,601 in December 2014 to 386,305 units the following year. Hero MotoCorp, the largest two-wheeler manufacturer, saw a significant dip in sales of motorcycles. While December 2014 motorcycle sales added up to 432.123 units, the figure had come down to 393,495 units a year later.
Sale of scooters/scooterettes, however, were up – from 74,509 units in December 2014 to 82,517 units in December 2015.
Bajaj Auto reported a spurt in the sale of motorcycles, which went up from 106,919 (in December 2014) to 120,322 last month. 
But Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India saw a decline in the sale of both motorcycles (from 110,884 units in December 2014 to 92,280 units in December 2015) and scooters ...

Sharp fall in motorcycle sales in December

Maruti Suzuki today announced that their Alto 800 and Alto K10 is now available with optional drivers side Airbag. 

Speaking at the press release, Mr.

Alto now comes with optional Airbags

MotorOctane

Tata Safari Storme 400 Video

2015 was a significant year for Mercedes Benz India.  They took the title for the highest selling luxury brand in India for the first time since their launch.

And now it looks like they are not ready to stop.

Mercedes Benz to reveal their GLC and S Class Cabriolet at

FORD FUSION

VOLVO S90

Ford GT

LINCOLN CONTINENTAL

GMC ACADIA

Click on graphic

Honda Ridgeline

MERCEDES E-CLASS

LEXUS LC

The future is on display at the Detroit Auto Show -  or at least the very-near future

Detroit Auto Show: The most exciting rides

Business Standard

Mahindra KUV100 is powered by brand new three-cylinder petrol and diesel engines

Mahindra KUV100: Key specs of the 'Young SUV'

Agencies

Stephane Peterhansel took a commanding one hour lead after victory in the 10th stage of the Dakar Rally as dropouts and retirements mounted on Wednesday.
The Frenchman, who has won the Dakar 11 times across the bike and car categories, won the 278km stage from Belen to La Rioja by five minutes from fellow countryman and Team Peugeot Total team mate Cyril Despres.
He now leads the overall standings by an hour from reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah for Mini with the Toyota for Giniel De Villers.
It was a poor day for overnight leader and Peterhansel team mate Carlos Sainz, who saw his hopes of victory all but disappear with a puncture and gearbox failure.
With three stages remaining, Peterhansel is the red-hot favourite to take a 12th crown in the world's toughest rally raid event.
In the bikes, KTM's Stefan Svitko took a big chunk out of Toby Price's overall race lead with victory in Wednesday's stage.
The Slovakian won by almost three minutes from Argentina's Kevin Benavides with ...

Peterhansel takes commanding lead as Sainz challenge ends

After launching carpooling services in Bengaluru and Delhi, Uber plans to launch similar services in Kolkata. According to a spokesman of the American taxi-hailing aggregator, the aim of launching such services is to reduce pollution in Indian cities. 
Motorists can offer to share rides to people heading in the same direction and also save on costs. The company plans to develop an app featuring traffic conditions in different localities of Kolkata.
The eastern Indian metro has emerged as one of the fastest growing markets for Uber.
The company launched its uberPOOL services for the first time in September 2014 in San Francisco. It has since expanded the services to Paris, New York, Los Angeles and other international cities. Last September, it introduced uberPOOL in Bengaluru.

Uber launches carpooling in Kolkata

Husqvarna Motorcycles, a subsidiary of KTM, once owned by BMW and which traces its origins to 1689, is likely to develop and produce motorcycle parts at the Bajaj Auto facility in Chakan, Pune. 
The engine and components produced and developed in India are expected to be shipped and assembled at the KTM headquarters in Austria before they are sold globally. The dispatches to international markets are expected to start from 2017.
If the company is happy with the results and as production gains momentum, it will replicate the exercise in other emerging markets. Bajaj Auto's large production facilities will help to keep costs low.
Husqvarna began as a gun-maker in the eponymous town in Sweden in 1689. It began manufacturing bicycles in the late 19th century and started producing motorcycles in 1903.

Husqvarna likely to make motorcycles at Bajaj Auto\'s Chakan facility

Motorists may have to pay more for petrol and diesel following the government's move to switch over from Bharat Stage IV emission norms to BS-VI norms by 2020.
According to estimates by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), the country's largest refiner, the cost of production of petrol might go up by Rs1.4 a litre and of diesel by 63 paise.
The petroleum behemoth will have to spend Rs21,000 crore to upgrade its six refineries to ensure that the petrol and diesel produced by them are compatible with BS-VI norms. It includes Rs7,000 crore for upgrading fuel quality from the existing BS-III to BS-IV and another Rs14,000 crore for upgrading the quality to BS-VI.
Earlier this month, the Indian government decided to move over from BS-IV to BS-VI emission norms (corresponding to Euro-VI norms) by April 2020. Indian refiners, who currently supply BS-III compatible fuel in most parts of the country, and BS-IV compliant fuel in major cities, will find the task of switching over to BS-VI quite ...

Petrol, diesel to cost more after switch over to BS-VI norms in 2020

E-commerce major Amazon is experimenting delivering smaller packages to its customers in major Indian cities by its representatives on bicycles. The company has launched pilot programmes in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Amazon representatives usually deliver packages to its customers on bikes or even in light commercial vehicles. The company, which is also experimenting delivering stuff through unmanned aerial vehicles in the US, is opting for bicycles in select cities and for distances ranging from three to five km.
A company spokesman said the project was part of its move to reduce its carbon footprint and also to enable its delivery associates access congested localities in the cities.
Last week, the postal department in Gurgaon switched over from bicycles to e-bikes for its postmen delivering letters and packages in select localities.   

Amazon to deliver small packets on bicycles in select cities

Audi, which sold 11,192 car in India in 2015, which marked its eighth successive year of growth, received a huge response from customers in tier-II and tier-III cities for its Audi Mobile Terminal initiative.
"Audi has been the preferred choice of luxury mobility for car enthusiasts in India," said Joe King, head, Audi India. "2015 has seen another year of growth for us and we remained focused towards our aim to provide the best luxury car buying experience to our customers."
According to him, the Audi Mobile Terminal initiative brought the showroom right to the customer's doorstep in tier-II and tier-III cities, "where we received a huge and positive response from the customers who are significantly contributing to the transformation of the luxury landscape in India."
King said the company was committed towards bringing new products which are technologically advanced, smart, agile and comfortable. "We proved it by launching the all-new Audi TT Coupe, the new Audi A6 Matrix, the first 

Audi gets good customer response to its Audi Mobile Terminal initiative

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz, which had a hugely successful year in India in 2015, kicked off the New Year by launching the powerful new GLE 450 AMG coupe, priced at Rs86.4 lakh ex-showroom Mumbai.
Taking on rival BMW's X6, the GLE 450 AMG coupe is a sportier version of the Mercedes-Benz GLE, which replaced the M-class in India. The new model, which is imported into India as a completely built unit (CBU), was launched by Roland Folger, managing director and CEO, Mercedes Benz India in Mumbai.
"We are glad to kick-start 2016 by introducing a thrilling and powerful product from our global portfolio, the GLE 450 AMG Coupé," said Folger at the launch. "At Mercedes-Benz it is our constant endeavour to bring the best products for our discerning Indian customers."
The GLE 450 AMG Coupé is a valuable addition to its versatile SUV portfolio in India. "This one of a kind performance SUV is sure to delight customers with its raw power output level, exhaust system, a sleek design with ...

Mercedes-Benz India launches GLE 450 AMG coupe

Harley-Davidson updated line-up in India gets costlier

Harley Davidson Street 750  (Photo: Official website of Harley Davidson)

United States (US) cult bike maker Harley-Davidson, has introduced updated versions of its various models including Street 750 in India, which would now be priced at Rs 4.52 lakh compared with Rs 4.32 lakh earlier.

Press Trust of India

Hyundai Elantra 2017 Preview   India Exclusive

Mercedes-Benz, today announced its strongest sales year ever in its history in India.  By registering sales of 13,502 units in the January to December 2015 period, Mercedes-Benz also achieved its highest sales volumes in a single calendar year in India, since its inception.

2015 was Mercedes Benz s best sales year in India

The 2016 Mercedes-AMG S65 Cabriolet will be revealed at the Detriot Motor Show.  This four seater luxurious car is a lifestyle product with a heavily sporty undertone.



The S65 Cabriolet gets a twin-turbocharged 5.

2016 Mercedes AMG S65 Cabriolet debuts at Detroit

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 344 - Auto