Nissan Motor India Private Ltd (NMIPL) has announced the appointment of Kiminobu Tokuyama, currently Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Renault Japan as Managing Director (MD) & COO of NMIPL effective on January 1, 2009. Shohei Kimura, current MD of NMIPL is appointed to the position of CEO, effective from January 2009. 

Kimura will supervise the total Indian business including the Renault Nissan Automobile India project, which he is currently responsible for as MD. Tsukasa Daigoku, current corporate vice president of Nissan Prince Tokyo is appointed as COO of Renault Japan. NMIPL will play an important role in the company, not only for the domestic market but also as the export hub of vehicles and parts mainly for Europe.

Audi India has appointed Anil Reddi as head of sales. Part of the German automaker Volkswagen Group's ambitious plans for India, Reddi is expected to further accelerate the growth of Audi and keep the momentum. Reddi carries with him the experience of working with with Daimler AG (Germany) and Mercedes-Benz India, in sales, in addition to other assignments in different organizations. 

Audi India is structured in five main departments: Marketing (Head: Martin Birkner), Sales (Head: Anil Reddi), After Sales (Head: Martin Freudenhagen), Dealer Development (Head: Rishi Goel) and Press Communications (Head: Bettina Bernhardt) directly reporting to the Managing Director, Benoit Tiers. The entire organisation is expected to expand to 40 people by the year 2010, and mainly Indian professionals. 

With a consortium of locally assembled and (imported) completely built units comprising the A4, A6, Q7 and more, the company currently has dealerships at Ahmedabad, Delhi, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Chennai, Kochi and Kolkata.

The Fiat-Tata connection seems to be rubbing off on the Ferrari. The Ferrari Formula 1 car of the 2009 season could be sporting the Tata logo, courtesy the Tata group company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which inked a deal with Ferrari three years ago. The deal for the logo on the 2009 season Ferrari racing car is part of the agreement TCS has entered into with Ferrari for an enhanced technology and marketing partnership.

ContiTech AG has realigned its drive belt strategy for the Indian market. With immediate effect, the V-belt product line for industrial applications, previously known under the name Roulunds Rubber, will be marketed solely under the premium ContiTech brand. After buying Roulunds Rubber two years ago, ContiTech extended and optimized the product range. As part of the new development, the range of products is being expanded. ContiTech will thus offer rubber and polyurethane timing belts as well as V-ribbed belts in India for the first time. 

The ContiTech brand has stood for a wide-ranging, well-engineered and modern drive belt selection that measures up to customer demands and to the continually expanding scope of application in the industrial sector. The Indian market is one of ContiTech's core markets, and it is also equally interesting as a production location and sales market. The company anticipates high growth rates there, so it has intensified its commitment to the market in recent years and will continue to expand its activities there.

Leading US battery and advanced materials companies, with support from one of the country’s largest national laboratories, have formed the national alliance for advanced transportation battery cell manufacture. Known as Alliance, the venture will manufacture advanced lithium ion battery cells for transportation applications in the United States. The move comes at a time when the US Government is debating on the 14 billion auto industry bailout. The move also comes at a time when a strong demand for sustainable transport sans the use of fossil fuel is gathering pace. 

As part of these developments, Lithium ion batteries are anticipated to replace gasoline as the principal source of energy in future cars and military vehicles. United States automobile manufacturers and defence contractors are currently dependent upon foreign suppliers—increasingly concentrated in Asia—for lithium ion battery cells. 

The founding members of the alliance include 3M, ActaCell, All Cell Technologies, Altair Nanotechnologies, Dontech Global, EaglePicher Corporation, EnerSys, Envia Systems, FMC, MicroSun Technologies, Mobius Power, SiLyte, Superior Graphite, and Townsend Advanced Energy. Additional battery developers and materials suppliers are anticipated to join the Alliance.

Yamaha Motor Corporation has appointed Yukimine Tsuji as the new CEO and Managing Director of its Indian arm - India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd. (IYM). Yukimine Tsuji, currently the manufacturing head at IYM for more than a year, takes over from Tsutomu Mabuchi. The company has also appointed Koji Arai as director, sales and marketing. 

Takahiro Maeda, who was heading sales and marketing, has moved back to Japan after successfully completing a stint of three and half years. He is credited with launching two very successful bikes during his tenure. Mabuchi, who was appointed as the CEO in January 2008 will now look after an important assignment in Yamaha Motor Corporation, Japan.