I lose sleep over competition, says Uber CEO.

Competition and the drive to serve customers better gives sleepless nights to Travis Kalanick, co-founder and chief of one of the world's most valuable start-ups, Uber.

The young billionaire is also impressed by the innovation and creativity coming from the Indian start-up ecosystem.

"I lose sleep because of competition but that sleep I lose is similar to what the Honourable Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) was talking about. That sleep I lose is about how to serve people and cities better. So I like that it is hard, I like the challenge and we feel pretty good about how we are doing so far," Kalanick told PTI on the sidelines of the 'Start Up India' event here.

India is one of the largest markets for Uber globally. Last year, the US-based firm had announced that it will invest USD 1 billion in the country to improve operations, expand into newer cities and develop new products.

Apple, Google making progress on car, says Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche

Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche told German weekly Welt am Sonntag that a recent trip to Silicon Valley revealed that Apple and Google have made more progress on automotive projects than he had assumed

Several carmakers and silicon valley companies are working on developing a self-driving car. Google tested its own prototype vehicle in 2012, to which Daimler's luxury brand Mercedes-Benz responded by developing an S-Class limousine which drove 103 kilometers without needing any driver input.

Rumors have swirled that rival Apple is also working on a car, although the company has never confirmed this.

"Our impression was that these companies can do more and know more than we had previously assumed. At the same time they have more respect for our achievements than we thought," Zetsche told the paper.

Zetsche and a handful of senior managers met with around 70 companies in Silicon Valley, the paper said, without naming them.

"There were concrete talks. I will not say anything about the content. It was not just about the fact that there is an innovative spirit in the Valley. We know that already. We wanted to see what drives it, and all the things that can be created from it," Zetsche told the paper, explaining that they had also looked at start-up firms.

Maruti Suzuki expecting 15 per cent of total sales to come from Nexa by 2020

Country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India is banking on its premium retail chain Nexa to account for 15 per cent of the total sales by 2020 when the company aims to sell 20 lakh units a year.

The car market leader plans to have around 400 Nexa dealerships in the next five years from 150 such outlets it expects to have by the end of this fiscal.

"By 2020, we plan to have around 400 Nexa outlets and by that time we expect these dealerships to account for 15 per cent of the total sales," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Executive Director (Marketing & Sales) R S Kalsi told reporters here.

The company currently has 100 outlets, which accounted for 10 per cent of the auto major's total sales in last six months, he added.

Going ahead, the firm expects Nexa outlets to account for 15 per cent of total sales, which is around 3 lakh unit sales by 2020.

MSI started Nexa outlets last year and currently sells two models -- premium crossover S-Cross and hatchback Baleno -- through these outlets.

The company aims to end the current fiscal with 150 such dealerships.

It is, however, understood that the company will sell its upcoming compact SUV Vitara Brezza from its traditional outlets and not from premium Nexa dealerships.

The company also plans to have around 2,500 traditional dealerships by 2020. It currently has around 1,700 such outlets

Zoomcar launches doorstep delivery services

Zoomcar, a self-drive car renting company, today launched doorstep services for its customers across in major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Besides, customers of Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and Chandigarh would also get a car for use delivered by company's officials and members of the corporate team, Zoomcar said in a statement.

With the launch of home delivery services, the customers can now get a car delivered and picked-up by Zoomcar executives at a location of their choice, be it office, home or any other place, it said.

The decision comes after the launch of Zoomcar services in Chandigarh last month.

Speaking on the occasion, Greg Moran, Co-founder and CEO, Zoomcar said, "We are constantly upgrading our services to enhance customer comfort and convenience and to leave them with a memorable experience of self-drive time and again."

The Bengaluru-headquartered company rents out cars for an hour, day, week, or month.

At present, its services are available in Delhi and NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Bengaluru,.

Its vehicle catalogue offers a wide and extensive variety of cars for self-driving in India, ranging from hatchbacks to SUVs to luxury sedans. The company's fleet is currently clocking over 2200 cars, it added.

Volkswagen CEO says 6.7 billion euro provisions enough to cover repairs

Volkswagen does not expect additional costs from fixing US cars capable of cheating diesel emissions tests, Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said on Monday.

"We have prepared 6.7 billion euros ($7.28 billion) for the repair process of all the cars globally. We suppose that that should be enough," Mueller said in an interview with Reuters TV at the Detroit auto show.

Mueller had said on Sunday that VW would propose to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a new catalytic converter system that VW says could be fitted to about 430,000 rigged US cars.

Uber marks one billionth ride

Since it was launched in 2010, the car service start up Uber has reached the one billionth ride.

Uber expands services to four more cities

According to TechCrunch, Uber confirmed that it has booked one billion rides since 2010. In order to celebrate its billionth ride, the company said the lucky rider has been gifted free Uber service for a year.

By end of 2014, the company confirmed that it was making a million trips a day in 66 countries.

Now book Uber cabs via Facebook Messenger

The service of American international transportation network company headquartered in San Francisco, California is available in 58 countries and 300 cities worldwide.