Mahindra TUV300, the popular subcompact SUV from the home-grown utility vehicle manufacturer will now be available in a new Bronze Green colour option. Launched to celebrate our 70th Independence Day, the new colour scheme will be available across variants in made-to-order basis.

If you remember, when Mahindra launched the sub-4 metre SUV last year in September, the carmaker largely emphasised on the TUV300's battle tank inspired design concept. It was a key selling point for Mahindra and this new colour option goes really well with that theme. In fact, the new Bronze Green colour scheme to an extent even matches the military green colour used by the Indian Army.

During the time of its launch, Mahindra TV300 was available in a similar green colour option, christened Combat Green, which was also available on the made-to-order basis. These special colours are available as an optional extra from Mahindra's in-house customisation division. Now the carmaker hasn't mentioned anything about the additional premium this special colour option will command but it might vary depending on the dealerships.

Mahindra TUV300 - Verve Blue

Apart from this new special colour, the Mahindra TUV300 continues to come in the standard colour scheme as well, which includes - Dynamo Red, Bold Black, Molten Orange, Majestic Silver, Verve Blue, and Glacier White. In terms of features, nothing has changed as the car continues to come with offerings like - driver infotainment system, piano black console, volume and telephony controls on the steering wheel and more. The cabin also remains unchanged and gets the same standard Beige-Brown dual tone colour scheme.

Under the hood, Mahindra offers the TUV300 with two engine option - mHawk80 and mHawk100. Both the versions use the same 1.5-litre motor but in different states of tune. The mHawk80 churns out 84bhp in the manual variants and 81bhp in the AMT variant with the peak torque remaining the same at 230Nm. As for the more powerful mHawk100, it churns out a satisfying 100bhp and develops a peak torque of 240Nm, while mated to either a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed AMT gearbox.

DELHI: Home to half of the  world's 20 most polluted cities India is working to introduce real driving emission (RDE) tests for a more accurate emission profile of new vehicles under on-road conditions. New models of vehicles currently go through mandatory laboratory tests, but global analysis has shown that vehicles produced inline with existing standards generate substantially higher emissions on-road than in laboratory conditions, particularly in case of emissions of diesel vehicles.  Real driving emission tests, which will make Indian emission inspection standards among the most stringent in the world, are intended to keep in check vehicular  pollution levels and plug gaps to prevent defaults as seen in the diesel gate scandal involving German automajor Volkswagen.  "In  Europe, real driving tests are being brought in to evaluate NOX emissions. In India, particulate matter emissions are more of a concern. While details are being worked out regarding parameters of these inspections, RDE will come into force from 2020 for purposes of data collection, and permissible limits to determine emission performance of vehicles will become applicable 2024 onwards."  Procedure for off-cycle emissions are being worked out by the ministry of road transport; highways (MoRTH) and the ministry of heavy industries. A senior executive from a leading Japanese auto maker confirmed the development.  To prevent manipulations, while a vehicle is being driven on-road, new rules will specify in measurable parameters the characteristics of the test trips which would include  speed range, elevation gain among other factors. Guidelines will also be laid down to improve supervision of emission control strategy of vehicles to prevent use of defeat devices as seen in case of the diesel-gate scandal involving Volkswagen. The car maker last year admitted to the fitment of 11 million diesel engines worldwide with software which helped in manipulating emission tests.  The roads ministry is also framing norms for in-compliance tests for in-use vehicles of all makes and engine types to further check vulnerability of the country to Volkswagen-like frauds. Currently, India defines regulatory standards (Bharat Stage emission rules) for new vehicles and not in-use ones.  We recommend this video by Venturist VENTURIST MEDIA INC. In-service compliance tests will be conducted randomly on vehicles on the roads to see if they are conforming to Bharat Stage emission standards 2020 onwards.  "Variations are expected in emission levels of vehicles tested from factory floor and those tested onroad. There are no clear norms defining permissible on-road emission levels, which would allow us to know if these variations are nominal or of alarming proportions.  We are working on refining this architecture," said a senior government official.  There can be penalties involved if significant variations are found after factoringin at what stage of its lifecycle the vehicle is and to what extent it has been maintained.  Volkswagen had initiated a recall of 3.23 lakh vehicles in India in December last year after a government-ordered probe showed 5-6 times more emissions from some of the group's diesel-run vehicles, compared with what the company had reported based on trials carried out in laboratory conditions. The company had, however, at the time said its vehicles conformed to BS standards.  Real driving emission tests will become applicable to new models in Europe from September 2017, and for new vehicles from September 2019. Conformity factor of up to 2.1 will be allowed for exceeding NOx emissions limit in the continent.

IWATA: Japanese two wheeler manufacturer Yamaha Motor has launched the new Janus 125cc scooter in Vietnam, and it will be available for sales from mid-August 2016. Aimed at female riders, the Janus is the third model for the Vietnamese market to feature the "BLUE CORE"engine, following on from the Nozza Grande in 2014, and the ACRUZO in 2015.

The Janus is a volume-price segment scooter developed for female riders in their twenties. Main features include - Front/Rear 14-inch wheels, the "BLUE CORE" engine, a 97kg chassis weight, and a 14L storage space underneath the seat with capacity enough for two half helmets and rain wear.

In addition to the standard version Janus, the Janus Deluxe and Janus Premium models all feature the fuel-saving Stop & Start System that automatically stops the engine when the bike is stationary at traffic lights etc. Furthermore, the Janus Premium features the Smart Key system as standard equipment.

The Vietnamese motorcycle market recorded a total demand of approximately 2.85 million units in 2015 (Yamaha Motor survey), of which scooters comprised approximately 40 percent. The Janus is Yamaha Motor's first model to be launched in the volume-priced category following the premium-priced Nozza Grande, and the medium-priced ACRUZO.

Yamaha Motor aims to expand its sales in the Vietnamese market by providing a line-up covering all categories including the high, medium, and volume price ranges. Manufacturing will be carried out by Vietnamese Group company, Yamaha Motor Vietnam.

Source : Yamaha Motor launches Janus scooter in Vietnam

With almost all luxury carmakers present in India, the absence of Lexus has been a talking point for a while now. With numerous rumours over the years, nothing turned into reality but all of that is set to change as Toyota has reportedly decided to launch its luxury brand Lexus in India, sometime in early 2017. Along with a reported entry of Lexus in India, we also have an official statement from Toyota Kirloskar Motor, which doesn't accept but doesn't deny the arrival of Lexus either. A company sp

okesperson said, "It is true that we are studying introducing Lexus to India. However, we would like to refrain from commenting on details such as timing, models etc., as it relates to future product plan."

It's not the first time that Toyota has made a decision to launch Lexus in India. Back in 2013, there was news of Lexus coming to India as an imports operation but an unfavourable import duty rate of 100%, meant that car imported by Lexus wouldn't be price-competitive since its German rivals already had assembly operations here.

Fast forward to today and the import duty hasn't been cut but hybrid/electric vehicles attract significantly lesser import duties. Lexus is looking to take advantage of this relaxation through a strong portfolio of hybrid vehicles. In addition, the recently announced FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles) will incentivise hybrid vehicles up a maximum of Rs 1.38 lakh, bringing down the selling-price further. As a result of these policies, Lexus should be able to price its vehicles close to its German rivals, while being able to claim higher fuel-efficiency and lower emissions. In addition, these hybrid vehicles from Lexus would also be exempt from the NGT's (National Green Tribunal) ongoing crackdown on diesel vehicles, especially those equipped with an engine larger than 2,000 cc.

Autocar India has claimed in its report that Lexus will first launch its LX 570 SUV, which is based on the Land Cruiser SUV. This would be followed by a lineup of 

1. hybrid models including http://www.duangwatch.net/s and sedans. The performance of Lexus should be interesting to watch unfold as it would also indicate how well luxury-segment customers are willing to accept hybrids and a shift of engineering focus from performance and comfort to efficiency.www.sitewatches.com

The KTM brand is emerging as a serious contender to the Harley Davidson motorcycles in the global market. The brand is jointly owned by Bajaj Auto and KTM AG of Austria. The gap between KTM and Harley Davidson bikes in the global markets is not so wide as it existed earlier, said Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj.

Bajaj said KTM is now at the number two slot. In 2015, KTM sold 1.81 lakh bikes while Harley Davidson sales were at 2.66 lakh. “Ten years ago, KTM sold 65,000 units. This year, KTM will have sales in excess of 200,000 units and further reduce the gap with Harley Davidson,” Bajaj said. Every third KTM sold across the world in the US, Japan, France, Australia and Brazil is made by Bajaj Auto, he added.

The KTM is a niche super-sports bike and Bajaj says it has an 80% share of this market in India. A lot of this growth for KTM this year onwards will come from their joint foray into the emerging markets in the south. Bajaj and KTM have decided to go together in the ASEAN markets and will expand the KTM brand into the emerging markets, Bajaj said.

They have been working on this for the last one year and are deciding on which product to take to this market, he added. Bajaj Auto and KTM entered an agreement in March this year to establish the KTM brand in Indonesia, the largest market in Southeast Asia.

Bajaj Auto holds 48% stake in KTM AG of Australia through Bajaj Auto International Holdings, a 100% subsidiary based in the Netherlands. The company has invested R1,219 crore and KTM has a market cap of R10,020 crore. Bajaj is planning a blitzkrieg of KTM products this year, including bringing the Husky brand to India. Last year, Bajaj Auto manufactured 69,532 units of the KTM Duke at its Chakan plant. Of this, 30,362 units were sold in the domestic market through the Pro-Biking network, while 38,926 units were exported to KTM and KTM distributors. In 2015, KTM motorcycle sales grew 32%.