Fiat Breaks Free from Tata's Network in India as the Two Companies Reshape their Local Joint Venture

For the past six years, Tata Motors has been managing the distribution and service responsibility of the Fiat branded products in India through joint Tata-Fiat dealerships, but the Italian automaker has now decided to go on its own and take over management control of its commercial and distribution activities in the country.

Established in 2006, the Fiat-Tata joint venture also includes manufacturing activities located in Ranjangaon, which produce Fiat and Tata cars as well as engines and transmissions for both the Indian and export markets and recently announced a contract to supply its Small Diesel Engine to Maruti Suzuki.

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Maruti Suzuki Transforms the Swift into the Ertiga MPV for the Indian Market

As India's best-selling brand with nearly 700,000 deliveries and over 40 percent of the market in 2011, Maruti Suzuki wants to cover all the important segments, including Multi-Purpose Vehicles or MPVs, which currently account for around 10 percent of the country's total car sales.

For this purpose and after adding a tiny boot to the Swift to create the Dezire sedan, Maruti Suzuki has now turned the hatchback model into an MPV and called it the new Ertiga.

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Saab Offers Evaluated by Administrators, All Bidders Want to Restart Production

Reports of Saab’s death may or may not have been greatly exaggerated. The saga has been dragging on for over a year and whilst the Swedish carmaker filed for bankruptcy last December, it’s far from over.

According to Automotive News, the deadline set by the administrators who handle Saab’s bankruptcy expired on Monday, April 9. Hans Bergqvist, one of the administrators who evaluated the offers, reportedly told the Swedish press that all bidders want to restart production – though, like the rest of his colleagues, he wouldn’t disclose their identity.

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Toyota Reveals New Strategy, will Roll Out Three Global FWD Platforms

It's time for a strategic change over at Toyota as the Japanese automaker today announced a new framework for vehicle development that will affect all brands within the group with the aim of lowering costs, reducing launch times as well as making its vehicles more appealing both in terms of styling and handling.

A core element of the firm's new strategy is the development of new global vehicle architectures that are to be shared across the world, a move that Toyota claims will ultimately help in the creation of better cars.

"Cooperation between planning and design divisions will result in a revised vehicle body structure with which new platforms will feature a lower center of gravity and bolder styling," said Toyota in a statement. "This will help to realize the development of cars with never-before-seen emotional designs and superb handling."

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