Indian Automotive Sector

[Pintu]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5huWB2KBNmUXeMT_xi9BK5NhZVrQw

India's Maruti Suzuki hits a million cars a year

(AFP) – 2 hours ago

NEW DELHI — Japanese-controlled Maruti Suzuki, India's biggest passenger car company, said Tuesday it had joined the global club of carmakers producing at least one million vehicles a year.

General Motors, Volkswagen, Toyota, Ford and Honda are among the vehicle companies in the select group.

Maruti is the "first Indian automobile company to join the million club," the company said in a statement.

Former prime minister Indira Gandhi set up the car company in a joint venture with Suzuki nearly three decades ago to "serve the ordinary people of India".

Last year, Maruti's sales outstripped Suzuki's performance in Japan and the company is credited with revolutionising transport in India by making affordable cars for a burgeoning middle class.

Maruti, which sells about one in two cars in the country, produced its first car -- the hatchback Maruti 800 -- in 1983.

In its first full financial year of commercial operations production reached a little over 22,000 cars.

Maruti announced the landmark as company officials laid the foundation stone for its plant expansion at Manesar near New Delhi, which will see the facility producing 550,000 units a year from 300,000 over the next two years.

India is now Asia's third-largest car market, outpaced only by China and Japan, and is one of the few countries where automobile sales are rapidly increasing.

 

[ajtr]

Birthday gift goes up in flames

When the software company employee took delivery of Tata's dream car Nano last Sunday from its showroom at Prabhadevi near Mumbai's landmark Siddhi Vinayak temple, he had no inkling of how nightmarish the drive back home to Mulund would be.
"I was at the steering with a driver from the showroom sitting next to me, while my wife Nutan and son Vedant were on the rear seat when the AC suddenly stopped working. Though it restarted on its own soon after, my wife felt the stench of something burning when we reached Mulund-Airoli bridge," Sawant told reporters.

Soon they saw smoke coming out from the rear of the car where its engine is located and immediately stopped it on the eastern expressway, hardly five minutes drive from his Mulund home.

"Alarmed, all of us got out of the car and I had barely managed to pull out the documents from the glove box when the vehicle was up in flames. Thankfully, none of us was brought to any harm," said Sawant, who turned 37 two days later.

Now a livid Sawant wants a detailed analysis of what went wrong and criminal action against those responsible for what could have led to a tragedy for him and his family.
Sawant, however, is undecided about taking the Tatas or the dealer to court. "I am in touch with Kirit Somaiya (former MP and BJP national secretary) on the issue, but we have not yet decided what to do. But certainly we want criminal action against whoever is responsible, the company or the dealer," he said.

He is also angry over the Tatas "thinking their responsibility is over" after sending a two-line letter regretting the inconvenience caused and offering to compensate him by either giving a new car or refunding the entire 2.9 lakh Sawant shelled out for it.
"They are treating it like a small incident. It was the first car in my family and I felt so happy driving it home. It was all so psychologically disturbing and traumatic. Who will compensate us for that?" he said.

Meanwhile, Tata Motors has described it as a "one-off incident" and clarified that there was no manufacturing or design lacunae in the Nano.

"We are trying to ascertain what happened--it is just a stray, one-off incident. The proof of this is that there are close to 30,000 Nanos on Indian roads presently," a Tata Motors spokesman told reporters.Sunday's incident follows a few others of smoke emanating from Nano cars last year in New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Lucknow, a few months after its launch early last year.The Tata Motors spokesperson attributed it to a faulty switch which was rectified.

"We have attended to that problem. We proactively checked all cars out at that point of time," he said, denying any connection between those incidents and the Sunday's one in Mumbai. He said despite the company's offer to return Sawant his money or give him another car, "he has not yet got back to us".

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...eye-joint-development/articleshow/5951223.cms

VW, Maruti eye joint development
Pankaj Doval, TNN, May 20, 2010, 01.23am IST

NEW DELHI: German car major Volkswagen is in advanced stages of negotiations with Maruti Suzuki for joint engagements on a number of areas, which are still evolving, and these talks would be formalised in a few months. Joerg Mueller, chief representative of the VW group in India, told TOI that the companies were trying to thrash out areas where partnerships and joint strategies could be worked out for the Indian market. The seriousness of the talks is evident considering that a number of VW officials have already visited the factories of Maruti in Haryana.

"Yes, I can confirm that representatives from VW's international office as well as Indian operations have visited Maruti's facilities," he said, though promptly adding that "it is normal for people to visit each other considering our global partnership". Maruti officials are also believed to have visited the premises of VW India, though a company spokesperson declined comments.

The talks of engagement between VW and Maruti come months after the German car company bought a near 20% stake in Maruti's Japanese parent Suzuki. Experts and market analysts had at that time believed that VW's interest in Suzuki came precisely due to its stronghold on the Indian market through Maruti.
VW, though a formidable car player in almost all major markets including China, has been a late entrant in the fast-growing Indian car market where it currently has a negligible presence. And though the company recently launched its Polo hatchback in the Indian mass-market segment, it still has a long way to go to gain any sizeable scale in India. Here, joint strategies and engagements with Maruti — which is a leader in small cars and drives one of the best costs with parts suppliers — could be the game changer for the company as far as the Indian market is concerned.

"We have to know each other now and are in the stage of discussions. The idea is to look for projects that are right for both," Mueller said. Asked by when would the joint strategies be finalised, he said, "It is a matter of a few months."

It is believed that the two companies are looking at joint product development strategies. A crucial help for VW India could be Maruti's hand-holding in procurement of components from its the Indian car major's suppliers and also help in other back-end operations. On the other hand, the Indian carmaker could get access to diesel engine technology from VW. However, Mueller refused to confirm anything on the exact cooperation areas. "It has to be worked upon and I cannot give details at this moment," he said.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...India-hub-for-engines/articleshow/6039045.cms

Volvo to make India hub for engines
TNN, Jun 12, 2010, 12.37am IST

NEW DELHI: Swedish commercial vehicle giant Volvo on Friday said it will make India a hub for medium-duty engines for which the company will make new investments in its local joint venture with Eicher. VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), the joint venture between Eicher and Volvo, will see investments of Rs 288 crore to boost engine capacity at its Pithampur plant in Madhya Pradesh by 85000 engines a year. The current capacity at the plant is 40000 engines.

"This investment by VECV in its Pithampur plant gives the Volvo group a complete facility in India for manufacturing and assembling the new medium-duty engine which will be introduced in the Volvo groups trucks and buses worldwide over the next few years. Additionally, these engines will also be used for Eicher's range of heavy-duty commercial vehicles," Par Ostberg, president (trucks Asia) for Volvo group and chairman of VECV, said.

VECV MD & CEO Siddhartha Lal said the decision will catapult the company into one of the largest commercial vehicle engine manufacturers in India and will give it the capability well beyond any of its competitors.

"The new capacity will come onstream in the second half of 2012, initially to serve Volvo group's and Eicher's local requirements and later for exports," Lal said.

Lal said the fresh investments would be over and above the Rs 500 crore investment that VECV had announced in January to expand production capacity and develop new engine technology over the next three years.

The plant will do the final assembly of 55000 Euro 3 and Euro 4 engines from 2012 and will start shipping a year later 30000 base engines to Volvo's plant in France for final assembly of Euro 5 and Euro 6 engines. "Indian market is extremely important and in a few years will become one of the most important countries in terms of turnover and profitablity for us," Ostberg added.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...e-focus-on-2-wheelers/articleshow/6044901.cms

Suzuki to increase focus on 2-wheelers
Pankaj Doval, TNN, Jun 14, 2010, 03.22am IST

NEW DELHI: Suzuki is working on an aggressive strategy for beefing up its two-wheeler operations in India and will increase investments by nearly 50% and double production capacity and product portfolio over the next 18 months.

It has decided to enter the highly-competitive 100cc bike market, currently dominated by companies like Hero Honda and Bajaj, while also bringing in new imports like GSX-R1000 and Suzuki Bandit 1250cc.

Suzuki — a leader in the car market through Maruti — is trying to have a strong grip on the highly-competitive segment with fresh plans, industry sources said. In contrast to an impressive 50%-plus share in the car market, the company is a small player in two-wheelers with just 2% share. Post its split with the TVS group in 2001, the company has been making attempts to add weight to its two-wheeler business and the fresh investments are aimed towards this end.

Suzuki plans to invest Rs 200 crore, over Rs 400-450 crore already infused in the two-wheeler business. Volumes for the company, though minuscule, have been rising steadily and grew 45% last fiscal at 1.88 lakh units. The sources said the company expects the momentum in demand to continue with sales likely to cross 3 lakh units this fiscal, riding on fresh products that it will introduce in the coming months. Suzuki plans to double its production capacity to 5 lakh units over the next 18 months.

Suzuki currently has a small portfolio, comprising two motorcycles (125cc Zeus and 150cc GS150R) and a 125cc scooter Access. While the Zeus is on its way out due to the new emission norms, the company plans to get in a new 125cc bike around October. It plans to add a total of three new products in the next 18 months. However, scooters — that account for 80% volumes for the company — are expected to continue to lend weight to the company's volumes.

While Suzuki manufactures volume models locally, it also plans to add to the kitty of imports. Currently, the company imports the legendary Hayabusa sports bike and the cruiser Intruder, both costing over Rs 10 lakh. Suzuki now plans to import the GSX-R1000 (around Rs 10 lakh) and the Suzuki Bandit 1250cc (sub Rs 10 lakh) to India.

 

[Pintu]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...n-rising-input-prices/articleshow/6178380.cms

Nano to cost 4% more on rising input prices
17 Jul 2010, 0156 hrs IST,ET Bureau

MUMBAI: Tata Motors on Friday said it has increased the price of Nano up to 4% due to rising input costs, but will retain the rate promised to the first one lakh customers of the low-cost car.

The entry-level price of a Nano is Rs 1.23 lakh while a deluxe variant costs Rs 1.72 lakh.

Tata Motors has handed over nearly 45,000 Nanos since it started delivery last July. It plans to deliver cars to the remaining one lakh customers, who were selected through a lottery last year from 2.06 lakh bookings before December.

The Mumbai-based company said it has begun intimating the price rise to customers who did not make the cut, but held on to bookings.

"Despite a steep increase in input prices, the Tata Nanos are being priced only 3-4% higher, depending on the model, than the price announced at launch," the company said in a statement.

With the price rise, which it called 'fairly nominal', Tata Motors joins a handful of carmakers such as Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor that have raised prices nearly four times in a year to offset galloping input costs.

The company also announced it would reward customers for bearing with the company through a delay in delivery due to capacity constraints.

"As a gesture of goodwill, the company has announced a choice of one-year free annual maintenance contract, or free accessories worth Rs 4,000, or an extended warranty," the statement added.

Tata Motors has been steadily increasing the Nano's production after its Sanand plant began running since June. The plant can produce 2.5 lakh units a year. "This is the final step before the company opens up sales of the Tata Nano," it added.

Tata Motors is also looking at overseas markets such as Asia and Africa to market the Nano, once capacity starts building at Sanand. It has started work on the car's marketing in the US, executives said.

 

[Pintu]

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/maruti-to-launch-5-cng-cars-inday-next-month/103445/on

Maruti to launch 5 CNG cars in a day next month
Press Trust of India / New Delhi July 30, 2010, 20:01 IST

In an unprecedented move to defend market share, the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) will launch five cars in CNG version in a single day in the second week of next month.

The company, whose market share has come down below 50 per cent in the quarter ended June for the first time in its history, will unleash factory-fitted CNG options of its best selling Alto, compact cars Estilo and WagonR, multi-purpose vehicle Eeco and mid-sized sedan SX4.

"The CNG models will be very important in our portfolio. We are the first company to come out with factory-fitted CNG cars and we will have the first mover's advantage in the market," MSI Chief General Manager (Marketing) Shashank Srivastava told reporters here.

In the April-June quarter, MSI's market share fell to 47.59 per cent from earlier over 55 per cent in the 15 lakh units per year domestic car segment. It had sold 2,06,377 units during the quarter in a total market of 4,33,641 units.

The company has decided to launch all the five versions on a single day in the second week of August because there is no particular segment for CNG cars unlike other models, which can be specified into different strata, Srivastava said.

"It is the launch of a technology, not the cars. It is the concept of factory-fitted CNG models," he added.

Besides, MSI will launch a two new versions of its small car Alto on August 4 with a 1.0 litre K-series engine.

The Alto is the best selling car model in India averaging over 20,000 units per month. The company has sold nearly 14 lakh units since its launch in September 2000.

"We are expecting about 25 per cent increase in Alto's sales after the launch of the new variant -- AltoK10," Srivastava said, adding the first time buyers are gradually going for more sophisticated and feature-oriented models.

In April, MSI had introduced BS IV compliant Alto on the existing 800cc F Series engine and this model will continue.

When asked about the possible price of the new Alto, he said: "There is a huge gap between the top model of existing Alto and the base version of Estilo. The base variant of AltoK10 may be priced between this range."

The existing Alto is priced between Rs 2.29 lakh and Rs 2.81 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), while the Estilo starts at Rs 3.20 lakh and goes up to Rs 4.10 lakh.

AltoK10 will have a mileage of 20.2 kilometer per litre as per Automotive Research Association of India standards.

The company currently offers retro-fitted CNG versions in Alto. Besides, it also offers dual fuel mode in M800 and Omni, which are available in LPG-cum-petrol variants also. Earlier WagonR was also coming with a LPG variant, but MSI stopped producing it after launching the new WagonR.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...s-out-new-1000cc-Alto/articleshow/6258848.cms

Maruti rolls out new 1000cc Alto
Aug 5, 2010, 01.22am IST

NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki on Wednesday drove in a new, powerful version of its Alto model, priced between Rs 3.03 and Rs 3.16 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The Alto-K10, that sports the company's 1000cc K-Series engine, comes with an improved suspension, gear transmission and brake system.

The Alto is the country's biggest-selling model and accounts for over 20,000 units monthly. "We expect brand Alto to achieve even higher numbers after the launch of this new variant," Maruti MD S Nakanishi said.

K-series is the new generation petrol engine from Maruti and the 1000cc engine is already strapped on the WagonR, Estilo and A-Star compacts. The 1200cc version of the K-Series engine comes on the Ritz and Swift hatchback and Swift Dzire sedan.

"There are a growing number of first-time buyers who seek more power, performance in car, without having to stretch to buy a higher segment car," Nakanishi said.

 

[Pintu]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...work-at-Phaltan-plant/articleshow/6263970.cms

Cummins to resume work at Phaltan plant
6 Aug 2010, 0540 hrs IST,Gouri Agtey Athale,ET Bureau

PUNE: Cummins India will resume work on its megasite, a greenfield manufacturing site at Phaltan, about 150 km from Pune, following improved market conditions.

Cummins India, which had announced the setting up of the megasite over two years ago, had mothballed the plant for the past 18 months or so, thanks to the global slowdown, which impacted all the sectors the engine maker operates in. Now with an improved and growing market, the engine maker has declared it will invest `120 crore at the site.

According to its annual report, Cummins will start operations at this site later this year, during the third quarter. The two activities it will start off with are a high horse power rebuild facility and a parts distribution centre. Here, the company will rebuild engines up to 900 units annually. These high horse power engines will be from K19 to QSK60 series.

 

[Pintu]

Tata starts open sales of Nano in Maharashtra, UP, WB, Karnataka - The Times of India

Tata starts open sales of Nano in Maharashtra, UP, WB, Karnataka
PTI, Oct 5, 2010, 03.23pm IST

NEW DELHI: Tata Motors on Tuesday said it has started open sales of its small car, Nano, in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

In a statement the company said customers in these states that have not booked a Nano so far can now purchase the Nano directly from showrooms.

"Customers will be able to take a closer look at and test drive the Tata Nano across all Tata Motors dealerships and special Nano access points," it said.

Tata Motors had started open sales of the Nano in Kerala from August.

Tata Motors has tied up with 25 banks to offer loans for purchasing the Tata Nano at attractive rates of interest and more such arrangements are being put in place, it said.

Last year, it had selected 1.55 lakh customers for delivering the car in two phases. It is in the process of delivering the car to the first one lakh customers, which will be completed by the end of this year.

In July, the company had increased the price of the Nano by 3-4%, which translated into a hike of Rs 3,700 to Rs 6,894 for different variants, based on ex-showroom, Delhi, prices.

The first one lakh customers were, however, price-protected and will get their cars at the announced price of Rs 1.23 lakh-Rs 1.72 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Tata Motors had launched the Nano, touted as the world's cheapest car, in 2009. It produces the car from Sanand, in Gujarat, and the facility has installed capacity for production of 2.5 lakh units annually.

The car was originally planned to be produced at Singur, in West Bengal, but the firm had to shift the location following political opposition.

 

[nitesh]

Jaguar Land Rover launches armoured vehicles priced at Rs 4.75 crore

 

[RPK]

http://sify.com/finance/ford-to-export-to-48-countries-from-india-news-equity-kliaP0ehegd.html

Ford to export to 48 countries from India

The US-car manufacturer Ford is planning to export cars to 48 countries from Tamil Nadu. The company which started its export of its Figo, in July, said that by the end of this year it will export 8,000 Figos to South Africa, the first export destination for the company from Chennai.

Speaking to reporters at the concluding event of Ford Figo Discover Smart Drive campaign celebration Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India said the company has started exporting Figo to South Africa in July and between April and October 2010 the company exported 4,100 cars to South Africa and by December-end the figure will touch 8,000".

The company has been exporting 1.41 petrol and diesel variants of the Made-in-India Figo to South Africa. "Figo has been among the top five selling cars in South Africa now and we got an overwhelming response," said Boneham.

Nigel Wark, executive director - marketing, sales and service, Ford India added that from October 30, the company has started exporting Figo to Nepal, which will be second the international market, which will be catered by Maraimallai Nagar facility, on the outskirts of Chennai.

In addition to these two markets, the company is looking at 48 countries in 2011, said Boneham. These markets includes North Africa, Mexico, South America, Arab Emirates and West Asia.

Ford’s model Figo has crossed the 50,000 mark, registering a sale of 52,644 units since its launch in India. In October, Ford recorded its second highest domestic sales of 9,026 units, a 161 per cent year-on-year increase compared to the same month in 2009. From January to October 2010, the company has sold 72,078 units compared to 25,386 units in 2009, an increase of 183 per cent.

"Figo is the second fastest car model in India to cross the 50,000 sales mark,’’ said Boneham. He added that now the challenge will be to stretch the manufacturing facility at Maraimallainagar and also the supplier capacity.

 

[Pintu]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ll-car-launch-in-july/articleshow/7404420.cms

1 Feb, 2011, 03.52PM IST,PTI
Hindustan Motors gearing up for small car launch in July

KOLKATA: Crisis-ridden auto-maker Hindustan Motors Limited, a C K Birla group company, is gearing up for the launch of a small car, possibly in July.

"The prototypes of the variants of the small car would be showcased to dealers for their feedback during the first week of the month," a Hindustan Motors source close to the development told PTI.

The source said the new car will be manufactured on the Ambassador platform, but will be smaller in length.

The new car will be introduced in both hatchback and sedan variants, he said.

This would mark HM's first foray into the hatchback segment.

The new cars will be manufactured at HM's plant at Uttarpara, in West Bengal.

The name of the car is yet to be decided, the source said.

The source said the new car will be cheaper than the Ambassador because of its smaller length, which will attract less excise duty.

He said there was enough unutilised capacity at the 45,000 units per annum Uttarpara plant to manufacture the new product there.

"We are selling around 700-800 units of Ambassador cars each month at the moment," he said.

Asked about plans to develop surplus land at Uttarpara for alternative purposes, he said the project was stalled at the moment.

The government had earlier allowed HM to put 314 acres of land at the Uttarpara project site to alternative use. Based on the approval, HM had entered into a joint venture with the Sriram group for developing an IT park, auto ancillaries cluster and township at Uttarapara.

"We hope the work would start shortly," he said. The source also said that Hindustan Motors will not go to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction for restructuring, though it had earlier passed an enabling resolution to this effect.

"Going by the present trends, HM will be able to make a turnaround in three years' time," he said.

 

[Pintu]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ors-unveils-new-manza/articleshow/7437681.cms

6 Feb, 2011, 07.30PM IST,IANS
Tata Motors unveils new Manza

MUMBAI: The latest version of Tata Motors' sedan Manza, equipped with a range of new features, hit the roads Sunday, an official said.

Competitively priced, Tata Manza would cost from Rs.5.14 lakh for the Safire petrol range and from Rs.5.91 lakh for the Quadrajet diesel range (both prices ex-showroom, Delhi). It would be available at Tata Motors dealers all over the country from Monday, he said.

Equipped with a 90PS Safire petrol and Quadrajet diesel engines, the Tata Manza purrs power with top of the line safety and security features.

The top end variant of the new series, Tata Manza Elan , comes with a host of premium features like dual tone alloy wheels, burgundy and beige interiors, chrome garnished bottom weather strip, fog lamps and an all new premium and exclusive Tyrian wine colour, the official said.

Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues of Rs.92,519 crore ($20 billion) in 2009-10.

With over 5.9 million Tata vehicles plying in India, Tata Motors is the country's market leader in commercial vehicles and among the top three in passenger vehicles, which includes the low price Tata Nano.

 

[Daredevil]

Tata Pixel - new concept car

Tata Pixel showcased at Geneva Motor Show

Chennai, March 1, (IANS):
Indian automobile giant Tata Motors Tuesday showcased the Pixel - its new city car for the European market based on the its compact model Nano - at the 81st Geneva Motor Show, a statement said.
Tata Pixel is just over three metres in length and is the most package efficient four-seater in the world, the company said in its statement issued in Geneva.

It can comfortably accommodate four adults unlike a typical city car which is either a two-seater or can accommodate two adults and two children only, the statement added.

Managing director and group chief executive officer of Tata Motors Carl-Peter Forster said:
"Tata Motors holds true to its belief that there is an opportunity in Europe for a city car, which is optimal in space, manoeuverability and environment-friendliness. The Tata Pixel is a reflection of Tata Motors' idea of what such a car should be."

The 1.2 litre three-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine is placed at the rear. The $20 billion-turnover company is also displaying the Tata Indica Vista Electric Vehicle at the show's Green Pavillion.

The company's displays also include the Tata Aria, the first Indian four-wheel drive crossover, the Tata Indigo Manza, among India's best selling sedans scheduled for launch this year in select countries, and the Tata Indica Vista.

The Indica Vista has already been introduced in Poland and Italy, and is scheduled to be launched in Spain.

 

[Daredevil]

 

[Oracle]

Looks are really cool for a small car. Nano is plain ugly when it comes to looks.

 

[Daredevil]

In fact, this is a nano derivative targeted at Europeans.

 

[p2prada]

It looks like a Bunny with it's doors open.

It's a concept car, so I don't think it will hit production.

 

[shuvo@y2k10]

it is a super cool car and the model is super hot