- Maruti Suzuki declared lockout at the Manesar facility on Saturday and is now taking steps to get things in place as soon as possible. It is still going to be a while before the facility is operational again, as the company looks to hire permanent staff in place of contract labour. The police crackdown has continued and a union official has been arrested along with five more workers.
- There are also rumours that Maruti Suzuki will reschedule the launch of the new small car, Alto 800, which was due to replace the M800 and the 800cc Alto by Diwali. This is not surprising, as the car maker will now have to use to operational facilities to keep production on track and limit the waiting period for its existing models.
- Toyota India has confirmed that their new engine plant near Bangalore will be operational next month. The facility will have capacity to produce 1 lakh engines and 2.4 lakh transmission units per annum.
- Honda will launch the Brio hatchback in Indonesia in the next couple of months. The car looks exactly same as the one sold in India; however, there is one major difference. Honda will be offering a 1.3-litre petrol variant producing 99bhp and 126Nm of torque, mated to automatic CVT transmission.
- Our friends in Chennai, IndianAutosBlog, have yet again caught the Ford EcoSport doing rounds near its facility. The interesting bit is, this mule had the dual clutch powershift AT gearbox, currently avaibale with the 2011 Fiesta.
- IAB has also spotted the Nissan Evalia without camouflage. The new MUV which was unveiled at the 2012 Auto Expo is expected to be launched in September-October and will compete with the Toyota Innova and Mahindra Xylo.
- Fernando Alonso took his third victory of the 2012 Formula 1 season yesterday, at the Hockenheim circuit, in Germany. Jenson Button finished second followed by Kimi Raikkonen in third, as 20 second penalty to Vettle in the post-race meeting, forced the defending champion down to fifth from second.
- We already know about Renault plans to export the Duster to the right-hand-drive UK market with Dacia badging, by end of this year. Apart from brand name, the compact SUV will get 4WD model and additional safety features as per European standards. There are now reports that the same model will also be launched in South Africa soon; however, it will be marketed under Renault’s name.
The CarWale Daily Fuel is your quick daily dose of automotive news from India and around the world. If you want to know whatever's in the news but want it short and sweet, here's your solution.