Pune-based tier supplier, Ganage Group of Industries, have launched Rojee Tasha Technologies Pvt Ltd (RTTEC) with a view to impart training with their domain expertise and create a talent pool of engineering professionals in the city. Speaking on the occasion, Tushar Ganage, director of Ganage Group and Yashodhan Shukla, director of RTTEC said that an Rs 40 crore investment has been made for setting up a sophisticated modern tool room and state of the art design center. “We are looking forward an investment for another Rs 60 crore for betterment/upgradation”. 

Ganage added, “Such an initiative has been unveiled specifically with Pune's automotive profile shifting into top gear as global auto majors like General Motors, Volkswagen are in the process of putting up their shop in Pune’s vicinity, in addition to already existing manufacturers like DaimlerChrysler and JVs like Tata-Fiat, Force Motor-MAN”. RTTEC’s objective is to offer CAD/CAM/CAE training to individuals and corporates, and training in legacy data conversion modeling, assembly, detailing and data migration. The centre will also offer design support in product design, tool design and reverse engineering apart from CAE and simulation; stress, thermal and mould flow. 

The RTTEC initiative from Ganage Group comes from the fact that the group is aware of the pitfalls of implementing the new CAD/CAM/CAE tools to improvise the productivity and has therefore taken initiative to impart training with their domain expertise to create a talent pool. Ganage Group of Industries is in the forefront of Auto Component Tier one suppliers & has increased the turnover by fore fold to Rs 400 crores within the last couple of years. This has been possible mainly due to effective use of CAD/CAM/CAE tools to improvise the productivity.

In a recent development, leading car maker, Maruti Udyog is opting for a change of name to Maruti Suzuki India Limited. The Board of Directors of the company approved a proposal to change the company’s name and is subject to approval by shareholders. The new name will thus come into effect only after it is approved by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting and thereafter by the Registrar of Companies. 

In the new name, “Maruti” continues to have a predominant position. “Maruti” is one of the strongest corporate brand names in the country, in terms of awareness, recall, trust and customer care. A generation of Indians has grown up with this brand name. “Suzuki” in the corporate name imparts an international dimension. Besides being the parent company, Suzuki Motor Corporation is a leading player in the global automobile market. The leader in Japan’s minicar market for over three decades, it has recently positioned itself as a complete car maker with the success of its globally strategic models like Swift, SX4 and Grand Vitara. 

This international dimension in the Company’s name will help Maruti as it expands its role in global markets. The Company is to launch a model for export to Europe in the next couple of years, while building on its recent success in Afro-Asian markets. Maruti is also developing capabilities to become Suzuki’s Research & Development hub for Asia, outside Japan.

Commercial Vehicle major, Ashok Leyland and German auto tier supplier Siemens VDO Automotive AG have entered into an agreement for a joint venture to design, develop and adapt infotronics products and services for the transportation sector. The agreement, which was signed recently by R Seshasayee, managing director, Ashok Leyland and Christoph Maximilian Eisenhardt, CEO, Global Commercial Vehicles Business, Siemens VDO, Germany, is a 50:50 joint venture and recognises the increasing content of IT, electronics and communications in vehicles The joint venture will develop electronic components and software such as instrument cluster applications, cockpit electronics and various control units for both commercial vehicles and passenger cars. 

The joint venture company is expected to cater to the requirements of Ashok Leyland vehicles even as it actively pursues opportunities with other vehicle manufacturers in India and abroad. The JV is seen as a step next as both the partners have been working together as consortium members in the Chennai Metropolitan Bus Terminus project to provide state-of-the-art Telematics solutions for the Tamil Nadu State Transport Undertaking. This project is expected to be launched later this year on a pilot basis at the Koyembedu Bus Terminus and the technology product and services developed have the potential to become the standard platform for all State Transport Undertakings in the country. This Joint Venture Company will accelerate the development of next generation Telematics solutions for introduction into the market. 

Speaking on the occasion, Seshasayee said, ““We believe that through innovation it is possible to design and develop new products to address emerging opportunities in developed and developing markets each of which having its particular need. Our customer insight, engineering capabilities and competitiveness together with the technology strengths of a global leader such as Siemens VDO will be a unique combination that will fuel the growth of this JV in what is undeniably the emerging big opportunity in the Transportation sector.” Eisenhardt added, “It is our common aim to focus our joint venture's development activities on the special requirements of the market”.

Continental has acquired the automotive products business concentrated in the Siemens VDO Automotive AG for Euro 11.4 billion from Siemens AG. The purchase price includes future tax benefits for Continental which have been determined at approximately one billion Euro and which do not result in any loss of revenue for the tax authorities. The supervisory boards of Siemens AG and of Continental AG approved the transaction in Munich and Hanover recently. The execution of the acquisition is contingent on the approval of the appropriate antitrust authorities. 

On the basis of 2006, Continental and Siemens VDO realize aggregate annual sales of around 25 billion euros with a workforce of close to 140,000. Thus, Continental advances to a position of one of the top five worldwide in the automotive supply industry. While Continental anticipates a net synergy potential in the order of at least Euro 170 million a year as of 2010, assuming no delays in antitrust clearance, closing of the transaction should occur towards the end of the fourth quarter. Integration will be concluded by the end of 2009. Continental has secured a financing package that is targeted at meeting its goal of attaining a continued solid credit rating of BBB or Baa2. Continental is currently rated BBB+ and Baa1. Neither the sale of the ContiTech-division nor of any of the tyre divisions is planned.

Post announcing that Porsche automobiles would comply with the strict EU5 emission standards starting as early as next year the German sports car maker presented the hybrid version of Cayenne recently. While the EU5 emissions will be applicable from September 2009, Porsche has within the last ten years invested a three-digit million euro amount in the optimisation and ongoing development of drivetrain technology. On average, the car manufacturer succeeded in the last 15 years in reducing CO2 emissions by 1.5 percent each year. Industry sources say that for the Cayenne, Porsche opted for a parallel full hybrid. The reason for this decision, add sources, is that this ensures a compatibility of hybrid components with the existing platform of the SUV. The company is able to minimise the risk of having to make restrictions, involving, for example, smaller luggage compartment capacity or all-wheel-drive technology. It is also possible to save more fuel than with other hybrid concepts and even when driving overland and on the Autobahn. 

Yet another reason is that this concept is a better match for the company, since compared to the existing Cayenne it means further improvement in acceleration and engine flexibility. Most of all, claim sources, the interaction between the three main components - the combustion engine, the electric motor, and the battery - is coordinated by the "Hybrid Manager", which receives all information relevant to driving requirements and the energy balance, controlling both the electric motor and the combustion engine for optimum fuel economy. In the process the battery is never discharged below a certain level nor is it charged and subsequently discharged too often in an exaggerated cycle. The computer of the car has to define 20,000 data parameters for the Hybrid Manager compared to conventional engine management system that requires 6,000 data parameters. 

While the battery is said to be located in the trough housing of the spare wheel, developing a output of 38kW the battery saves the energy generated while driving by the recuperative brake system and the load point on the combustion engine shifted to an appropriate position for optimum fuel economy. Also, the energy obtained in this way can then be used to drive entirely on electric power without the combustion engine or to support the combustion engine for greater power and performance on the road. The Nickel-Metal-Hydrid-Battery (NiMH-Battery) is said to measure 347 x 633 x 291 millimetres and is made up of 240 cells generating the power required of 288 volts. Parallel to the NiMH-Battery-pack, Porsche engineers and partners currently are developing a Lithium-Ion battery. Interesting as it sounds, the hybrid technology is expected to find a place with the four-seater Panamera Gran Turismo.

Mercedes-Benz is said to be preparing to display new frugal drivetrain concepts at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, the latest being a new ‘DiesOtto’ engine that will be revealed for the first time. The new DiesOtto engine features engine concepts that characterize both diesel and petrol motors, and promises to be as clean as petrol engines but as efficient as diesels. 

The technology, according to industry sources, is similar to Volkswagen’s recently announced Gasoline Compression Ignition system, which works by using spark plugs during start-up and hard acceleration, while relying on sparkless compression ignition, like a diesel, during low load situations. The Mercedes technology is claimed to be more sophisticated than VW’s as it does not require a special synthetic fuel that’s still in development, the way the VW technology does. The Mercedes engines will run on regular petrol.

After Toyota led sales in the first quarter of this year, GM has taken the lead back from Toyota as the world's top carmaker after selling 2.41 million vehicles from April to June 2007 according to industry sources. While Toyota expects to sell 9.34 million units in 2007, compared with GM is forecasts of 9.2 million, the Japanese giant has been boosting sales in the US. Sources claim that GM’s good performance was largely supported by markets outside of US and especially Asia

The Auto Cluster Development and Research Institute (ACDRI), a joint venture of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MCCIA) and the Ministry of Commerce, was inaugurated in Pune by the Union commerce minister Kamal Nath along with Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on July 21, 2007. The project, worth Rs 127 crore, has been set up over 27 acres of land in Chinchwad. Its aim is to provide a link between Indian manufacturers and global clients. ACDRI will work as a nodal agency for standardisation of equipment and spare parts required for the auto industry. It will also help automobile manufacturers to study and improve the presently available technology. 

The ACDRI will also extend technical support to small and middle scale industries in and around Pune. The government plans to set up four such centres across the country out of which this is the first such venture. Speaking on the occasion, Pawar announced that the funds required to set up an international exhibition centre (IEC) near Pune for the manufacturing industry would be provided through the India Trade Promotion Organisation (IPTO). Kamal Nath, in response to Pawar's statement, said, "Pune is developing as the country's predominant industrial hub. Not just information technology but also the automobile and manufacturing sectors are on the growth path. Countries like Indonesia, Malyasia and Thailand are also competing with India. An international exhibition centre is therefore necessary to market Indian products."