With petrol prices hiked again today and fears remaining about price volatility of the deregulated fuel, auto manufacturers in the country are expecting a jump in demand for diesel-driven passenger vehicles.

Oil marketing companies, reeling under huge losses due to high crude price in the international market and the rupee depreciation, raised petrol prices today by Rs 7.50. But diesel prices, which are still regulated, were left untouched.

Japanese auto major Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt Ltd is planning to assemble mid-class luxury sedan Camry at its Bangalore factory from July and expects to roll it out in August.

Speaking to reporters after flagging off Etios exports to South Africa for the first time, Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director (marketing), said so far the Camry had been imported. “Toyota’s plan is to start assembling at its Bangalore facility from July and to launch in August. We are on schedule,” he said.

Tokyo: For a former James Bond car, it's a chance to live twice. Japanese engineers put a new spin on an old classic car for a recent auto show, remodelling a Toyota 2000GT with solar panels and hightech gadgets to make it 100% electric and solar-powered. Heralded as Japan's first sports car when it came out in 1967, the vehicle was used in the James Bond movie "You Only Live Twice" , released that same year, as a getaway car for the intrepid Bond, played by Sean Connery.

Music blared and white smoke swirled in the cavernous Tata Motors hall at the Delhi Auto Expo as an excited crowd milled near a stage displaying the company's new hybrid car.

Most, though, were craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the carmaker's new gas-guzzling Safari off-roader being launched on the other side of the hall. Few seemed to notice the sparkling green-technology vehicle behind them.

Toyota Motor Corp. rolled out its latest hybrid model Monday in Japan, looking to regain traction in sales hit by disasters this year in Japan and Thailand.

In what looks to be a promising start, the Japanese car maker said it had received orders for 60,000 Aqua hybrid cars ahead of its launch, five times the monthly sales target of 12,000 vehicles, Koei Saga, a Toyota managing officer, told reporters at a media briefing on the new hybrid.

Toyota said it would take about four months for customers to take possession of the cars after placing an order.

In the biggest-ever replacement exercise in Indian automobile history, Tata Motors has asked an estimated 140,000 Nano owners to bring back their cars for change of the starter motor free-of-cost.

Vehemently denying this was a recall, the company said it was changing the old starter motor with a new and 'better' one, an exercise that will reportedly cost the firm Rs 110 crore.

Toyota Motor Corp on Monday launched the world's most fuel-efficient hybrid car, as the company looks to fight off competition from pure electric vehicles.

The compact car, dubbed 'Aqua' in Japan and the 'Prius C' overseas, has a listed fuel efficiency of 35.4 km/litre (83.3 mpg), beating the current top Prius, which gets 32 km/litre.

Automakers Toyota and BMW on Thursday struck a partnership to share eco-friendly technologies, including in the joint development of lithium-ion batteries for next-generation electric cars, the companies said.

Under the deal, the German automaker will also provide diesel engines for Toyota as the Japanese auto giant looks to boost sales in Europe, where more than half of passenger cars are diesel powered.

Toyota has struggled to boost its European market share with its gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, despite its leading position in the low-emission technology.

Toyota and BMW have agreed to collaborate on research for cleaner, next-generation car batteries, underlining the growing push in the industry for green technology.

The agreement brings together Toyota Motor, Japan’s No. 1 carmaker and a leader in gas-electric hybrids, and BMW of Germany, a European maker that has a strong luxury brand image in both Japan and Europe.

Many carmakers offer attractive discounts, sales incentives to draw customers
KETAN THAKKAR & CHANCHAL PAL CHAUHAN
Asteep rise in fuel prices and high interest rates have dealt a blow to a spate of car launches in past six months with firms including Hyundai, Ford, Nissan and Renault failing to generate much customer enthusiasm. Many of these companies are now offering attractive discounts or other sales incentives to draw in customers.