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The Tatas on Wednesday countered in the Supreme Court, the accusation of mismanagement of Tata Sons and said that even according to the claim of Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) group, valuation of their 18.37 per cent stake in the company rose from 58,000 crore in 2016 to ₹ 1.75 lakh crore in 2020. The Tata firms told the top court that unless the losses were so enormous and there was a lack of probity which left no other option but to remove the majority shareholders of the company, the NCLAT could not have reached the conclusion including that of restoring Cyrus Mistry as executive chairman. A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian was told by senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the Tatas that in the cross appeal which they have filed in the top court, SP Group has claimed their value of shares as ₹ 1.5 lakh crore. He said that according to an application filed by them (Mistry side) in which they have sought 18 per cent in all downstream Tata

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) today released the Monthly Vehicle Registration Data for the month of November ’20. Commenting on how November’20 performed, FADA President, Mr. Vinkesh Gulati said, “Automobile Industry has seen one of the best recovery rates since unlocking began as November continues to see positive momentum by growing 29.32%on MoM basis. On YoY basis,the negative slide continues with degrowth of -19.29%.The 42-days festive period saw good traction in the current pandemic hit world as overall degrowth of -4.74% was much less than expectation. While registrations during Navratri were tepid, people came out in good numbers to purchase their dream vehicles during the Dhanteras –Diwali period.Tractor segment continued to gallop ahead. The fear of pandemic leading tosafer means of travelfor the entire family saw good sales in Passenger vehicles as it grew in double digits at 13.6%. New launches and specially compact SUV’scontinued to show good dema

Launches XP100 –India’s first 100 Octane petrol – World’s best premium grade petrol for high-end bikes &cars In a move that can be a potential game-changer in the petroleum fuel retail market in India, IndianOil has launched world-class premium grade Petrol (100Octane) in the country today. Branded as XP100 , the premium grade petrol was launched across ten cities by Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, in the virtual presence of Mr. Tarun Kapoor, Secretary, MoP&NG; Mr. Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman,Dr. SSV Ramakumar, Director (R&D); IndianOil, Mr. Gurmeet Singh, Director (Marketing), IndianOil, and other senior officials. Complimenting IndianOil on this suave market move, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, said, “With this fuel, India has joined the league of select countries worldwide where petrol with 100 or higher Octane number is sold. Launch of world-class products such as XP100 prove tha

Bhopal  :  In line with its commitment to offer innovative products to customers, IndianOil has introduced  SERVO Pride NXT series of lubricants – a range of premium BS-VI diesel engine oils for next- gen mobility. SERVO Pride NXT lubricants meet the highest specifications – API CK4 – for diesel engines and are also compatible with earlier diesel engine versions. These oils have been specially formulated at IndianOil’s state-of-the-art R&D Centre for superior engine performance, providing fuel economy benefits up to 2% in long haul applications. The SERVO Pride NXT series of lubricants is being offered in three variants, viz. SERVO Pride NXT 10W30, SERVO Pride NXT 10W40 and SERVO Pride NXT 15W40. Mr. Subimal Mondal, Executive Director(Lubes), IndianOil, said, “ SERVO Pride NXT range of lubricants has been specially-formulated for trucks. They are compliant with BS-VI emission norms and are environment friendly. This offering to our customers is in line with IndianOil’s philosophy a

American cult-bike maker Harley-Davidson on Saturday said it is working with its new partner Hero MotoCorp to “ensure a smooth transition” for its customers in India, including after-sale services and warranty. Last month, Harley-Davidson and Hero MotoCorp announced their partnership for the Indian market. They have inked a distribution agreement, under which Hero MotoCorp will sell and service Harley-Davidson motorcycles. It will also sell parts and accessories and general merchandise riding gear and apparel through a network of brand-exclusive Harley-Davidson dealers and Hero’s existing dealership network in India. Harley-Davidson Managing Director (Asia Emerging Markets and India) Sajeev Rajasekharan said in a statement, “As we change our business model in India, we are pleased to be continuing our journey in the country together with Hero MotoCorp. We are working closely with Hero to ensure a smooth transition for our riders.” He further said the company is providing its riders wit

Retail car sales in India fell by 8.8 per cent in October and motorbikes by 26.8 per cent from a year ago, with purchasing slow to recover from the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, data released by automobile dealers on Monday showed. The sales numbers, based on vehicles registered in the country, were higher than September as more people visited car showrooms, but the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) warned that momentum is slow. New cars fared better than older models, entry-level motorcycles saw poor demand and discounts offered by automakers in October 2019 were higher – all of which affected sales this year, FADA President Vinkesh Gulati said in a statement. Sales last year were also higher because the festive season ended in October, whereas this year it includes November, he added. Automakers typically stock up dealerships ahead of major festivals that begin in September and run until October or November, during which Indians make large purchases.

Dutch students have created a fully functioning electric car made entirely out of waste, including plastics fished out of the sea, recycled PET bottles and household garbage. The bright yellow, sporty two-seater which the students named ‘Luca’, can reach a top speed of 90 kilometres per hour and has a reach of 220 kilometres when fully charged, the Technical University of Eindhoven said. “This car is really special, because it’s made all out of waste”, project manager Lisa van Etten told Reuters. “Our chassis is made out of flax and recycled PET bottles. For the interior we also used unsorted household waste.”

BMW has pulled the wraps off the new iX all-electric SUV, it’s new flagship offering that comes with a completely new platform, design language and connected tech. The all-new offering is about the same size as the BMW X5 in length, while the height is about the same as the X6. The wheel size is identical to the X7. The design language is new as well with the Bavarian auto giant slapping that giant kidney grille on its top-of-the-line electric offering. If you thought the new M4 was a bit ostentatious, please let us know what you think about this. The 2021 BMW iX is based on the brand’s new architecture that uses an aluminium spaceframe and innovative carbon cage for high torsional stiffness while minimising weight. It’s been specifically developed for battery electric vehicles. The company says that the design language on the SUV is minimalist and brings a future-oriented design with a more sustainable vehicle concept. The design also favours form and the Shy Tech principle shapes the

Government has invited global firms to invest in its strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs) as the nation’s energy consumption growth would be fastest among large economies in coming decades, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told a conference on Monday. India’s share in global energy consumption is set to rise from 7 per cent to 12 per cent in 2050, Mr Pradhan told the ADIPEC conference. The nation, the world’s third-biggest oil consumer and importer, earlier this year filled its three SPRs in southern India with 5.33 million tonnes of oil when prices were low. To attract private investment in its SPRs, government recently allowed Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) to re-export some of its oil stored in Mangalore SPR, mirroring a model adopted by South Korea and Japan. The country is building two more commercial-cum-strategic petroleum storages with capacity of 6.5 million tonnes. “I invite global energy players to come and invest in this project,” he said, adding India’s fuel demand has al

Suzuki Motor Corp on Thursday forecast operating profit to fall by a quarter to 160 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in the year to March as sales, including in its key Indian market, shrink amid the coronavirus pandemic. That prediction was more than an average estimate for 124.3 billion yen compiled from 14 analysts polled by Refinitiv. Suzuki’s Indian car sales in the first half of the year fell 36 per cent to 432,000 vehicles, and dipped in other markets, including Japan, Indonesia, and Europe as people stay away from dealerships. “We don’t know what will happen with the coronavirus in India or what measures the government will implement, so that makes the market difficult to predict,” Suzuki’s president, Toshihiro Suzuki said in a conference call. India accounts for just over half of Suzuki’s global car sales. Through its majority stake in Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the company accounts for roughly one in every two cars sold in the country. Last business year, Maruti Suzuki paid Suzuki 38

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that the company is ready to unveil the new redesigned Cybertruck in “a”month or so”. Musk had revealed that he had conducted a design review of the CyberTruck with Franz von Holzhausen, the design chief for Tesla and had indicated a bunch of enhancements for the design of the electric pickup a year ago. The car has already garnered half a million reservations since its unveil in 2019. Musk has indicated in the past that there will be an adaptive air suspension but he dropped the idea of a smaller truck after the design review in May. Musk has also indicated that the centre line more level and he’s indicated lowering the window sill height.  One should not expect a massive change to the design of the car but it looks like a more elongated version on the basis of Pablo Cubarle, a freelance editor, who has released a updated render of the Cybertruck with these modifications. 

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Monday reported a 1 per cent rise in domestic sales to 18,622 units last month, compared to 18,460 units in the corresponding period last year. The improvement in sales numbers comes at a time when the government is gradually easing the restrictions imposed to control the spread of coronavirus and ahead of the festival season. Mahindra & Mahindra shares gained nearly 1 per cent to ₹ 599.50 apiece on the BSE during the session. “For Mahindra, the festive season has started on a positive note with deliveries and bookings being higher than last year,” said Veejay Nakra, chief executive officer-automotive division, M&M. M&M reported a 3 per cent rise in overall auto sales, including passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and exports, at 44,359 units in October 2020, compared to 51,896 units in October 2019. Sales of utility vehicles grew by 3 per cent to 18,317 vehicles in October 2020, as against 17,785 vehicles in the same month last year

Bharat Petroleum Corp has put on hold its plans to expand its Bina refinery and install a secondary unit at its Mumbai refinery to boost efficiency pending privatisation of the company, its head of finance N. Vijayagopal said. The government wants to sell its 53.29 per cent stake in BPCL, the country’s second-largest state-run refiner, to raise funds to rein in a ballooning fiscal deficit. “It is for the new owner to decide whether they want and have the flexibility to add refining capacity,” Mr Vijaagopal told an analyst conference. BPCL wanted to install a residue fluid catalytic cracker at the Mumbai refinery and connect the plant with a new site where it wanted to build an ethylene cracker.

The new-generation Mahindra Thar has been off to a flying start and that was expected. The euphoria around the new version was always high and it has only gone higher with each day as bookings have crossed the 15,000 mark. Much like the predecessor, the new Thar also allows you to personalise in many ways that only adds to the charm of the SUV. Mahindra also offers a range of accessories and kits to bring a different look for each customer. However, if you want something a lot more customised to your liking, DC2, formerly known as DC Design, has revealed the new Dress Kit for the 2020 Mahindra Thar The new Mahindra Thar Dress Kit is a custom body-kit for the SUV that can be bolted over the stock version. This includes newly designed front with a familiar seven-slat grille that sits close to the older model, while the bumper has been completely redesigned and sits higher as well. The lights are slimmer than the stock version and also get projector lens units. Do notice the bulge on the

Hyundai has revealed its latest high-performance model, the all-new i20 N, a racetrack capable hot hatch inspired by the i20 WRC rally car. The latest model joins the i30 N and i30 Fastback N among Hyundai’s high-performance line-up in Europe to satisfy performance-oriented enthusiasts. The all-new i20 N has its roots in motorsport. It is inspired by the i20 Coupe WRC, a rally car based on a highly modified version of the road-going Hyundai i20, and thus has the same weight as the minimum weight required in FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). It is inspired by the i20 Coupe WRC, a rally car based on a highly modified version of the road-going Hyundai i20  Thomas Schemera, Executive Vice President and Head of Product Division at Hyundai Motor Company, said, “Our high-performance N brand has been hugely successful since we launched the i30 N in 2017. This time, we decided to develop a model inspired by our i20 Coupe WRC, which last year led us to success in the World Rally Championship.

Bajaj Auto on Thursday reported a net profit of ₹ 1,193.97 crore in the July-September period, marking a decline of 21.62 per cent compared to the corresponding period a year ago. In a regulatory filing, Pune-based automaker said its total income stood at Rs 7,441.66 crore in the second quarter of current financial year, as against ₹ 7,499.21 crore in the year-ago period. Shares in Bajaj Auto recovered initial losses after declining as much as 1.30 per cent to ₹ 2,977 apiece on the BSE after the announcement.  At 2:02 pm, the Bajaj Auto stock traded 0.17 per cent higher at ₹ 3,021.40 apiece on the bourse, outperforming the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex index which was down 0.27 per cent. 

Daimler’s Chief Executive said China will remain Mercedes-Benz’s biggest growth market in the next decade and the German carmaker will adjust production locations to capture shifts in demand as global trade tensions continue to rise. The remarks by Ola Kaellenius come against a backdrop of increasingly strained relations between the United States, China and Europe after almost a decade of growth that has helped Mercedes to emerge as the world’s biggest-selling luxury car brand. “The situation has become much rougher, with a tendency toward rougher talks, right up to and including trade conflicts,” Kaellenius told the Frankfurt-based ICFW Journalists association late on Monday. “We need to look at our production footprint and where it makes sense, shift our production,” he said during the video call meeting. “Last year we sold around 700,000 passenger cars in China. The next biggest market is the U.S. with between 320,000 and 330,000 cars.”

The Maharashtra government has requested general managers of Central and Western Railway to allow all women to travel on local trains in the Mumbai region from Saturday. A senior railway official said the proposal has been forwarded to the Railway Board. Currently only restricted categories of persons, including essential services staff, are allowed to travel by local trains in view of the coronavirus pandemic. In letters sent to both the zonal railways on Thursday, state Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation secretary Kishor Raje Nimbalkar said the train services should be made available to women passengers from 11 am to 3 pm and from 7 pm onwards till the end of the services for the day. QR code passes — currently given to those who are entitled to travel — should not be required for women for traveling during these time slots, he said. The frequency of trains should also be increased, the letter said. Railway authorities in Mumbai said the proposal has been forwarded to the

The Railway Ministry has approved Alstom-built 12,000-horsepower (HP) electric locomotives to run freight trains at a maximum speed of 120 kmph, a statement from the French company said on Wednesday. Earlier in the year, the railways had inducted WAG 12B electric locomotives, the most powerful ones to run on Indian tracks, according to the company. These locomotives have clocked over 1 million kilometres, providing a significant fillip to the country’s freight logistics sector. “In line with India’s push towards self-reliance, we have successfully leveraged our local engineering and manufacturing capabilities. Alstom is also committed to support IR in reducing its carbon footprint and adopt cleaner technologies in its quest to transform into the world”s largest Green Railway network,” Alain Spohr, managing director of Alstom India and South Asia, said. “Equipped with insulated gate bipolar transistors-based propulsion technology, it would lead to considerable savings in energy consumpt

Customers of the Mahindra Bolero Pick-up range will now get free, corona insurance with a cover of ₹ 1 lakh, this festive season. As part of its Mega Festive offer, the company has announced that it will offer a free floater health insurance that will cover the customer, his/her spouse and up to two of the customer’s children. The free health insurance can be used in case of hospitalisation or home quarantine by the driver and his/ her family members who test positive for Covid-19. Mahindra has tied up with Oriental Insurance Company to provide the Corona Insurance policy. Talking about the special offer, Satinder Singh Bajwa, Senior Vice President, Sales and Customer Care, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra, said “The pick-up customer is one whose job involves travel, providing essential services, where they can’t avoid interacting with people around the clock. As market leaders in the Pick-up segment, we would like to salute these ‘Warriors on Wheels’, partnering them on th