TOI Auto Weekly: TOI Auto Weekly: Audi’s show-stopper RS 7 Sportback, Maruti’s massive recall – News Box 9

NEW DELHI: Performance cars to family mover, this week’s launches had inclusivity. In the red zone again, SIAM revealed the data of passenger vehicle sales in June. Maruti Suzuki and Toyota Kirloskar Motor recalled 1.41 lakh units of Baleno, WagonR and Glanza over faulty pumps. Read these and more in this edition of TOI Auto Weekly:
Hero and Honda share similar outlook: Despite healthy off-take in June on a sequential basis, two-wheeler major Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India is ‘cautiously optimistic’ about future sales prospects given the uncertainties over local lockdowns. “Even though our June sales performance from May has been encouraging, the company and the industry face severe challenges in terms of the new normal of Covid-19 and the impact that it has had on the economy as a whole,” Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Director, Sales and Marketing, HMSI said.
Echoing the sentiments, Hero MotoCorp noted the two-wheeler industry faces short-term challenges due to the COVID-19 situation but the overall India growth story remained intact. “The short-term business outlook remains uncertain due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the long-term story of India and that of the two-wheeler industry remains intact, strong and positive. There are ample growth opportunities in India, as well as in the global markets to grow company’s business to new heights, Chairman Pawan Munjal said.

VW Group booked: Two Indian subsidiaries of German carmaker Volkswagen group have been booked for allegedly selling seven Audi cars fitted with “cheat devices” able to deceive excessive pollution emission tests to a Noida businessman, police said. Following the lodging of an FIR, the company said its vehicles are compliant with applicable norms. The complaint says that the authorities in India observed that Audi cars emissions for nitrogen oxide were 5-8 times the permissible limits and after the National Green Tribunal imposed a penalty of Rs 500 crore on VW did the complainant realize that he had been duped of his hard earned money.

Digital launches in new normal: The week started with the launch of extended Hector family, followed by Hyundai Tucson and Honda City. Luxury carmakers Audi also drove in the performance icon RS 7 Sportback. However, the global premiere of Nissan Magnite SUV, a car tailor-made for India, was the showstopper. BMW India rode in the S 1000 XR – a motorcycle born off the amalgamation of GS and S 1000 RR genes.
IN PICS | AUDI RS 7 SPORTBACK
Maruti and Toyota’s recall: The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) announced it is recalling 1,34, 885 units of WagonR and Baleno to replace faulty fuel pumps. Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), which sources Baleno from MSI and sells it as Glanza, also said it is recalling around 6,500 units of the premium hatchback to fix the same problem.

The world’s second-largest carmaker freezes hiring: Volkswagen has stopped hiring new staff at its core brand until year-end, VW’s brand’s chief said. Despite a slight recovery in demand, car sales remain below levels seen before the coronavirus crisis, Ralf Brandstaetter said in an interview published in an internal VW newsletter. “We remain under substantial cost pressure. Deliveries and therefore revenue have dropped sharply. At the same time a large amount of costs remain. This is why we have decided not to add new people,” Brandstaetter said.
Auto sales down by 50%: Passenger vehicle sales in India declined by 49.59 per cent in June to 1,05,617 units as against 2,09,522 units in the same month last year as the sector looks to recover from the coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown. Auto industry body SIAM President Rajan Wadhera said he does not see any case for investment in the sector at present.