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Mahindra may launch a lower spec W4 variant for the XUV500 in a bid to increase sales of its flagship vehicle. The XUV500 since its launch in 2011 had been a big seller for the Indian SUV major and had been averaging between 3500 and 4500 units a month. However, for the first time in more than a year its sales dropped to 2253 units in April.

Chevrolet has signed an agreement with Nissan to sell rebadged version of the NV200 (Evalia) in the United States and Canada. The mini-Van with bow-tie will be built at the Nissan facility and retailed through GM’s dealer network starting 2014.

BMW has made subtle changes to the current generation M5 that is on sale since 2011. The first images of the cosmetic upgrade have surfaced on the internet courtesy BMW – the car maker accidentally uploaded on the configurator ahead of the schedule.

The upcoming Verito Vibe has been spied in a shade of Artic Blue during a commercial shoot in Bengaluru. This is the same shade that was unveiled for the XUV500 SUV around two months ago.  The Indian SUV major had confirmed that it will be launching the Vibe this month. It is their second vehicle in the sub four metre segment after the Quanto. 

The Jaguar F-Type Roadster has been spied during testing in Pune by the team at Indianautosblog. The spiritual successor to the legendary E-Type was unveiled during the 2012 Paris Motor Show last year and is expected to reach our shores by end of this year. Since the F-Type will be brought to the Indian market as a CBU, it is likely that this car is here for homologation process. 

Ashok Leyland will roll-out the new Stile on July 16. The seven-seater MUV is the first passenger vehicle from the company and is based on the Nissan Evalia (NV200) platform. The Stile is the second vehicle under Nissan-Ashok Leyland partnership; first was the Dost LCV.

The Volkswagen up! has been spied testing in Pune on Nagar Road  by one of our readers Dhananjay Mandhare. The VW up! is a compact hatchback designed for urban commuting in Europe. The hatchback is already on sale in many global markets and a localised version is expected to be rolled-out in India soon.

The Indian Army has decided to phase-out the Maruti-Gypsy starting 2017. The Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Safari are in contention to replace the vehicle under a project that is expected to cost more than Rs 3,000 crore.

Ford has announced via the EcoSport Facebook page that official bookings for the highly anticipated compact crossover will begin in June. This also means that the vehicle will most probably be launched by mid-June and deliveries starting in July. We have already driven compact SUV and pretty much know the variants, engine line up as well as all the features and are now just waiting for the price announcement.

Jaguar Land Rover has expanded its hot weather testing and engineering facility in the United Arab Emirate of Dubai. The Tata owned British automakers now has a network of five global test facilities: Nurburgring, Germany; Arjeplog, Sweden; Phoenix and International Falls, USA, and Dubai, UAE.