In a revival sign for the country’s troubled automobile industry, nine leading carmakers’ combined sales in June was 18 per cent higher than those in the same month last year.

A new and stable government at the Centre seemed to have bolstered consumer sentiment, as buyers returned to showrooms — the nine passenger vehicle manufacturers that released their numbers on Tuesday sold a combined 204,287 units in the month, compared with 173,624 in June 2013.

Alan Mulally, the 68-year-old president and chief executive of US automobile giant Ford, on Thursday expressed confidence on the Indian automobile sector. He said as and when demand rose here, the company would bring its entire range of vehicles---from small cars to trucks to India.

Car makers have started hiring from Gujarat's industrial training institutes (ITIs) for their factories across the country.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd last year administered tests to 1,100 candidates at the Kubernagar ITI in northeast Ahmedabad. "Maruti Suzuki had recruited 40-45 candidates here for their Gurgaon plant. It has indicated it will test candidates again this month. Accordingly, we have prepared a list of around 1,000," said A J Pandey, placement coordinator for the Kubernagar ITI.

Car buyers are flocking again to showrooms, marking a steady increase in enquiry and booking levels in the past three weeks.

This reverses the weak consumer sentiment in the sector over the past 24 months. Dealers of cars and utility vehicles say buyers appear more confident in committing for a purchase than before the new government was formed at the Centre.

The new government seems to have spurred recovery in the automobile industry, with eight of the country's leading passenger vehicle makers on Monday reporting sales growth of 7.4 per cent in May.

These automobile manufacturers sold 190,193 vehicles in May, compared with 177,168 in the same month a year ago. According to data available with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), domestic passenger vehicle sales had in April declined 9.50 per cent to 188,541 on a year-on-year basis.

Washington: Ford Motor Co. recalled almost 700,000 Escape SUVs and C-MAX hybrid cars to fix a defect that could prevent air bags from deploying in a rollover crash.

The resolution involves reprogramming vehicle software, not a mechanical repair, Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford said in a statement on Friday. The action includes 627,275 Escapes and 65,192 C-MAXes from the 2013 and 2014 model years. It applies to vehicles sold in the US, Canada and Mexico.

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