New Maruti Suzuki Ciaz retail will be through NEXA dealerships

According to reports, the upcoming facelift of the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz that will be launched in March 2017 is going to be retailed through NEXA dealerships. The new Ciaz will feature design upgrades and the mechanical bitsof the car will stay the same.

The current Ciaz is offered with a 1.3-litre diesel engine that puts out at 89bhp and 200Nm of torque. A petrol variant is also available which has a 1.4-litre engine, that churns out 91bhp and 130Nm of torque. Both the engines are mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox, while the petrol variant is also offered with a 4-speed auto.

The SHVS tech that is present on the diesel variant of the Ciaz is expected to carry through to the new model. Although, Maruti could offer the petrol variant also with a SHVS system in the new car.

Maruti Suzuki is going to be launching two more NEXA cars in the coming months, namely the Baleno RS and the Ignis.

Kwid is the result of an International design competition

Kwid had to be stylish, roomy and offer great fuel economy. The endeavour was to make our customer's life easier with a robust, innovatively designed car.

Its body and chassis were tested in Japan, body equipment was evaluated in Korea and endurance tests were carried out in France, while India was the backdrop for the overall assembly testing.

Indian suppliers contributed 98 per cent and high localisation helped us offer extremely low cost of ownership - 17 per cent lesser than competition.

Kwid was the result of an international design competition, aimed at creating an A-segment car for international markets. The Renault India design centre worked on the project with an SUV theme since its conceptualisation.

Our designers spent considerable time in India to deeply understand the market, customers and create a mixture of traditional techniques and culture, clubbed with modern technology.

It borrows the Duster DNA with simple lines, wheels stretching at the outer edges of the body, high ground clearance, wing extenders and versatility in use.

Dio visual upgrades

Dio is the original 'moto-scooter' designed for the trend-setting youth which merges the aggressive looks of motorcycle with convenience of scooter.

Celebrating Dio's entry into the exclusive million Customers club, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt Ltd (HMSI) announced the introduction of refreshing new Matt Axis Grey colour of Dio with a premium 3D emblem.

Noteworthy that Dio is not only delighting young customers of India, but also enjoys global acceptance.Dio is today the No.1 export model of Honda 2Wheelers India; and is exported to Latin America (Colombia), South America (Mexico) and neighboring nations (Sri Lanka and Nepal) with an aggressive plan for future.

The new Matt Axis grey colour with value addition of the premium 3D emblem without any additional cost makes it a compelling proposition to own one."

Providing an irresistible package of style and substance, the latest style upgrade comes at no additional cost.

The Dio is powered by the Honda's engine technology - Honda Eco Technology (resulting in superior mileage). Besides the new Matte Axis Grey colour, the Dio is also available in 4 existing exotic colours - Jazzy Blue Metallic, Candy Palm Green, Sports Red and Black.

Ford to close all operations in Japan and Indonesia

Ford Motor Co said from this year it will close all operations in Japan and Indonesia as it sees "no reasonable path to profitability" in the two countries.

Ford will exit all areas of business, including shuttering dealerships and stopping sales and imports of Ford and Lincoln vehicles, according to an email from Asia Pacific President Dave Schoch to all employees in the region. Product development carried out in Japan will be shifted elsewhere.

"Unfortunately, this also means that our team members based in Japan and Indonesia will no longer work for Ford Japan or Ford Indonesia following the closures," Schoch wrote. A Ford spokeswoman earlier confirmed that an email regarding the decision was sent to employees.

The automaker employs 292 workers in Japan, while it has a staff of 35 in Indonesia and 44 dealerships there, according to Shanghai-based Ford spokeswoman Karen Hampton.

Samsung launches J3 for bike riders in India

Samsung India Electronics announced the launch of the Samsung Galaxy J3 featuring the S bike mode, an industry-first dedicated feature for two-wheeler riders that is designed to enable responsible and tension free riding.

Once activated at the beginning of a ride, any caller trying to reach the Samsung Galaxy J3 user will be notified through an automated answering machine that the user is riding and cannot take calls so that the ride remains uninterrupted.

S bike mode was developed and built into the Galaxy J3 following extensive market research aimed to create innovations that are really meaningful and useful to people.

All the user needs to do is to switch on the S bike mode of Galaxy J3 before setting off on the ride, and the smart phone will automatically inform the caller that the user is currently riding a bike and is unable to take the call. The caller may choose to press 1 to express urgency to talk with the biker for which the biker will have to bring his bike to a halt in order to take the call.

"Samsung is constantly in the pursuit of meaningful innovations that make people's lives better. S bike mode is a result of that vision.

Android Auto comes to India

Android Auto, an infotainment platform that allows you to connect your Android smartphone to your car, has been launched in India. Developed by Google, Android Auto was introduced in 18 new countries of which India is one. This takes the total tally of countries where Android Auto has already been launched to 29.

Android Auto was launched alongside an update to the platform. The new update features an improved connection reliability between your smartphone and the car and an extensive  ability to browse the music on your phone.

Now that Android Auto is present in the country, it will be interesting to watch what carmakers go for it. Indian manufacturers like Mahindra & Mahindra already have plans to start incorporating Android Auto in their premium products like the XUV500. The Scorpio could also be part of M&M's plan to incorporate Android Auto in their cars.

With Android Auto present in 29 countries, car manufacturers will also become more receptive to bringing out cars fitted with Android Auto and its competitor, the Apple CarPlay.

Renault-Nissan to increase production at Chennai plant to meet increasing demands

Renault-Nissan alliance on Tuesday announced that they would hike the output of its Chennai plant by introducing a third shift to meet current demands and also prepare for their upcoming cars in the country.

"From this week, the plant will operate a new night shift on one of its two production lines, which will effectively increase overall annual capacity," Renault Nissan Automotive India Private Ltd (RNAIPL) said in a statement.

Currently, the Chennai plant has a capacity to about 4.8 lakh units per year at full and it will also continue to produce the export demand around the world like Nissan Sunny and Nissan Micra.

The company feels this will help to produce more vehicles so as to meet the growing demand for their recently launched Renault Kwid and also in order to prepare for Datsun's upcoming model in the next few months.

Till date a total of 12 all-new Nissan, Renault and Datsun models have been introduced to its two production lines catering for both domestic and international markets.

The facility crossed the one million unit production milestone in January this year with over 6 lakh units exported to 106 countries.