Indian Automotive Sector

[Blackwater]

Range Rover gen-next: Sleeker, longer, lighter

New Delhi:
Tata Motors is gearing up for the global preview and unveiling of the next-generation Range Rover in London today, two weeks before the vehicle is launched at the Paris Motor Show on September 27. See pictures

The Range Rover will be the first SUV from Tata Motors' Jaguar Land Rover stable to use an all-aluminium monocoque body, making the vehicle lighter by as much as 420 kg compared to its predecessor.

A monococue body supports the vehicle's structural load, without just enveloping the structure, thus reducing the load of the internal frame that bears most of the weight.

Codenamed L405, the new Range Rover, especially the headlamps and the grille, bears a slight resemblance to the popular Evoque.

This fourth-generation vehicle, which was announced in August 2012, is marginally lengthier than the outgoing version and equipped with a new version of the Terrain Response feature, which can sense the terrain the vehicle is in and adjust its setting accordingly.

The new design's wheelbase has been stretched by 40mm. It also sits a little lower and has a slightly wider body compared with the outgoing version.

The five-door off-roader will be available in three engine variants—V8 petrol, V8 diesel and V6 diesel.

The Range Rover models accounted for nearly 14 per cent of Land Rover sales in fiscal 2012.




Range Rover gen-next: Sleeker, longer, lighter - NDTVProfit.com

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Complete video here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00j4c2s

 

[Blackwater]

Renault Scala launched for Rs. 6.99 lakh

New Delhi: Car maker Renault India today launched its sedan Scala in both petrol and diesel variants, priced between Rs. 6.99 lakh and Rs. 9.57 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). See images

"Scala will consolidate what Renault has brought to India. It will enter a very competitive segment. With the launch of this car, we are completing the first cycle of introducing five products in India," Renault India managing director Marc Nassif said.

The company has already launched small car Pulse, premium sedan Fluence and sports utility vehicles Koleos and Duster.

Scala is powered by 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines and has five-speed manual transmission. It has 80-85 per cent local content in parts.

Talking about the company's overall sales, Nassif said: "We expect this year to sell 30,000-35,000 units. In 2013, we will try to sell one lakh units."

The company will start export of Duster to the UK by the end of this year, he added.

When asked about new products at the lower end, Nassif said: "We have many, many things. We will definitely look at the segment below Pulse in future."

Renault India will, however, not launch any new car next year, but only refreshes and variants of the existing models will be introduced, he added.

The company is currently selling 600-1,000 units of Pulse every month.



Renault Scala launched for Rs 6.99 lakh - NDTVProfit.com

 

[Blackwater]

Looks like Renault has tie up with Nissan. This car looks like Nissan sunny

 

[Armand2REP]

Looks like Renault has tie up with Nissan. This car looks like Nissan sunny

Renault owns Nissan, so any similarities would not be surprising.

 

[Zebra]

Sales JV: Fiat's long and painful breakup with Tata Motors

by FP Editors Sep 20, 2012

The breaking up of the sales tie-up between Tata Motors and Fiat is proving to be long and painful.

After ending the distribution joint venture in May, the Italian auto major, which is finding it difficult to stand on its own here, is yet to come to terms with the separation as the company's sales decline fast.

According to a PTI report, Fait expects the separation of sales to be complete by March. It plans to have 80 dealers of its own and is in the process of hiring about 100 people for customer facing roles, the report said.

A story in The Times of India says Fiat has dumped many of the Tata Motors dealers as the Italian car major seeks to establish its own sales and distribution outlets across the country......

Sales JV: Fiat's long and painful breakup with Tata Motors | Firstpost

 

[Zebra]

Tata Motors receives an order of 1314 trucks from SVLL

By Team Overdrive, 21 Sep '12

Siddhivinayak Logistics Ltd. (SVLL) has placed an order of 1314 trucks with Tata Motors, the single largest order that the latter has received till date. The order includes the recently launched Tata LPT 3723 and Prima 4923 LX. SVLL has a fleet size of approximately 4000 commercial vehicles and they operate in many segments like machinery, steel, tractors and more.

Speaking on the occasion, Vinod Sahay, head – sales & marketing, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, Tata Motors said, "We are delighted that our association with SVLL continues unabated. We are honoured to receive this prestigious order and are committed to deliver these vehicles this fiscal year. We thank the company for their continued trust and patronage of our brand."

Tata Motors receives an order of 1314 trucks from SVLL - Overdrive

 

[Zebra]

Goodyear showcases self-inflating tyres for trucks

By Team Overdrive, 25 Sep '12

Commercial vehicle manufacturers rejoice! Goodyear has developed a self-inflating tyre for commercial vehicles. It has an air maintenance system, which when the pressure is low, directs the regulator to pump in air into the tube. While the tyre runs, the tube which runs along the length of it gets squeezed, forcing the air in through an inlet valve. Once it detects that the tyre has been inflated to the right pressure, the regulator switches off the pumping tube and the commercial vehicle can continue on its route.

A grant from the Luxembourg government for research and development will continue to help fund Goodyear's efforts in researching and developing the AMT system for consumer tyres.

Goodyear showcases self-inflating tyres for trucks - Overdrive

 

[Sridhar]

Daimler India launches first set of BharatBenz trucks
Rajesh Kurup
Share · Comment · print · T+
Bharat Benz trucks at the new production plant of Daimler at Oragadam near Chennai.
Business Line Bharat Benz trucks at the new production plant of Daimler at Oragadam near Chennai.
Mumbai, Sept 26:

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt Ltd, Daimler AG's Indian subsidiary, today launched its first set of trucks under the BharatBenz brand in the country.

The three heavy duty BharatBenz Trucks — 2523R and 3123R for the haulage segment and 2523C for the construction segment — would be commercially available its 28 dealer networks.

The three heavy duty trucks are first among the range of 17 models that will be launched over the next 17 months. Eight of them were presented to the market in a large-scale customer event in March this year.

The heavy duty trucks, based on the Mercedes-Benz Axor platform, have been localised to suit the needs of Indian customers. They feature a six-cylinder engine with 230 HP (170 KW) in all three variants.

"These dealerships will also provide tailor-made financial services and packages — ensuring comprehensive attention to our customers — all under one roof. Letter of Intents have already been issued for setting up these facilities in over 100 locations in the country, covering prominent trucking routes and hubs," V.R.V. Sriprasad, Vice-President, Marketing, Sales & After-sales, Daimler India, said.

BharatBenz has also tied up with four Indian financial institutions – HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Sundaram Finance and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, who will offer tailored financing solutions for customers.
Business Line : Companies News : Daimler India launches first set of BharatBenz trucks

 

[Blackwater]

New Delhi: Nissan India has launched its all-new 2012 seven-seater Multi-utility vehicle, the Evalia on Tuesday.

The new product is priced between Rs 8.49 lakh and Rs 9.99 lakh (ex- showroom Delhi). The Evalia, which is the joint venture of Japanese car maker Nissan and Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland, was unveiled at 11th Auto Expo in Delhi.

 

[Zebra]

A nice article for the Bharat Benz trucks by the Economic Times....... a four page article though.

Can BharatBenz topple Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors in the truck market? - The Economic Times

 

[cloud_9]

Utility vehicles boost Maruti sales in the face of a slowing market

Aided by a 17-times jump in sales of its utility vehicles, mainly the recently launched Ertiga, car market leader Maruti Suzuki reported a 13 per cent increase in domestic sales in September 2012 over the same month last year. Domestic sales accounted for 88,801 units. Maruti sold 7,224 units of UVs (Gypsy, Grand Vitara and Ertiga) against 412 in September 2011. The Ertiga was launched last April.

The company's exports were, however, down 23 per cent to 5,187 units. Total sales grew nearly 10 per cent to 93,988 units in September 2012 over the year-ago period.

This comes on the backdrop of a 35 per cent fall in domestic sales in August 2012, due to a labour unrest at its Manesar plant.

In general, September was a tough month for the automobile industry because of the fuel price hike, high interest rates and inflation.

Hyundai Motor India's domestic sales fell 14 per cent to 30,851 units in September. Exports grew nearly four per cent to 22,707 units.

Tata Motors' passenger vehicle sales were down 18 per cent, at 21,652 units in September. The company sold 5,491 units of the Nano, an 87 per cent increase over sales in September 2011.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor sold 12,115 units in September, a drop of 5 per cent compared with 12,807 units in the corresponding month last year. Bucking the general trend, its models such as Innova and Fortuner registered a 23 per cent and 21 per cent growth, respectively, during the month. Etios series fell by 25 per cent at 4,440 units compared with 5,926 units in the same period last year.

Ford India's domestic sales dropped marginally to 7,794 units in September this year compared with 7,801 cars sold last year. Nissan India sold 3,574 cars in September.

TWO-WHEELERS

TVS Motor Company registered a 22 per cent drop in total sales to 170,097 units.The company attributed last year's higher sales to the early onset of the festival season, which falls in November this year.

The company's three-wheeler segment, however, registered a record growth of 36 per cent to 5,005 units in September against 3,679 units in September last.

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

Tata Motors registered a five per cent growth in domestic CV sales, to 48,680 units.

Eicher trucks and buses recorded 31.9 per cent lower sales in September against the year-ago period. The biggest drop for it came in the commercial vehicle segment, which saw a fall of 27 per cent from 4,152 units in September last to 3,026 units. Other categories such as domestic bus segment grew 11.3 per cent.

 

[Zebra]

Maruti opens pre-launch bookings for the new Alto 800

2 Oct, 2012, 09.42AM IST, Chanchal Pal Chauhan,ET Bureau

Maruti opens pre-launch bookings for the new Alto 800 - The Economic Times

 

[Zebra]

Sonalika in talks for buyouts in Europe

The acquisition, expected to be completed in the next two months

Swaraj Baggonkar / Mumbai Oct 09, 2012, 00:06 IST

The Delhi-based Sonalika group, with interests in tractors, agricultural equipment and engines, is in advanced talks with some European tractor-making companies, for a full acquisition of one of these businesses.

The acquisition, expected to be completed in the next two months, is to be routed through the group's flagship company, International Tractors (ITL). It is India's fourth-largest tractor manufacturer, with a share of nearly 10 per cent, after Mahindra & Mahindra, TAFE and Escorts.

L D Mittal, chairman of ITL, said, "There are several tractor-making companies that are priced attractively in Europe. A presence in Europe will provide us with a major advantage. Our negotiations are on and we hope to make an announcement before December."

On Monday, the group also announced the sale of a 12.5 per cent stake in ITL for $100 million (Rs 520 crore) to the US-based The Blackstone Group, a private equity giant. The transaction has, thus, valued the unlisted Indian company at $800 mn (Rs 4,160 crore).

The company intends to use these funds for expansion in India and abroad, including India-based export to the US. From 68 countries presently, the company wants to have a presence in 100 countries by the end of this year.

"Many small-sized tractor companies in Europe are facing losses due to a slump in sales. We are looking at a deal size of around Rs 100 crore. We are already in advanced stages of negotiations with some of them," added Mittal.

The company is also hoping to start exports of its high-powered tractor range to the US by the next quarter. Officials are already engaged in dialogue with a few US-based importers and say they hope to finalise a deal in the next few weeks. M&M is already present in the US and assembles its range locally.

ITL will start direct exports to the US from India to begin with and could later look at local assembly if sales gather momentum. The company has developed a new 125-Hp tractor, also the most powerful in its range, specially for the US market.

"We have got EPA (the US Environmental Protection Agency) approval for our engines. We wish to be present in each of the states of the US. The US will be a big market for us, with sales of around 4,000-5,000 units per annum, about one-fourth of our total exports," said Mittal.

ITL's exports grew by 31 per cent to 6,000 units last year, as compared to the year before. This year, it hopes to export 9,000 units of the tractors. In the domestic market, ITL saw sales of 48,000 units last year, a growth of 20 per cent. The target this year is 60,000 units.

"The domestic tractor market is not growing much but, fortunately, demand for Sonalika's tractors are beating the trend. We opened new markets in the south this year, where we were not present, so this has brought additional volumes. We are increasing our dealer count to 800 in the next one year from 600 dealers now," added Mittal.

Sonalika in talks for buyouts in Europe

 

[Zebra]

Blackstone invests $100 mn in International Tractors Ltd

8 Oct, 2012, 01.44PM IST, Lijee Philip,ET Bureau

MUMBAI: The Blackstone Group today announced that its affiliate Blackstone Capital Partners (Singapore) has signed an agreement to acquire 12.5% of International Tractors Limited (ITL) in a structured transaction for up to USD 100 million (Rs 520 crores). The flagship company of the Sonalika Group, ITL is a leading manufacturer of tractors under the brand name 'Sonalika'......

full story: Blackstone invests $100 mn in International Tractors Ltd - The Economic Times

 

[afako]

Exclusive! Tata developing mini-Aria - Overdrive Magazine

 

[cloud_9]

Eicher Motors, Volvo AB to invest $331 mn in India joint venture

NEW DELHI: Eicher Motors and Volvo AB will invest 18 billion rupees ($331 million) over the next two years in their Indian joint venture, Eicher's head said on Wednesday, and begin exports of engines to Volvo's European operations next year.

The Eicher-Volvo JV will roll out a new range of trucks and buses built in India using Volvo technology by the end of 2013, and look to export these vehicles to Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia within two to three years, Eicher's managing director said.

"It's very important for Volvo. Volvo wants to develop Eicher because it doesn't have a brand like this in its entire portfolio which it can take to other emerging markets," Siddhartha Lal told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on the outskirts of New Delhi.

The joint venture is spending more than 4 billion rupees on a factory to build 80,000 engines a year, which will be operational by mid-2013 and supply both Eicher in India and also Volvo's bus and truck manufacturing plants in Europe.

The Swedish truckmaker said last month that its plants in Europe were operating at less than full capacity, and that it saw no truck market growth in Eruopean or U.S. markets next year.

Eicher and Volvo have already invested 7 billion rupees in the 50-50 joint venture, which was formed in 2008.

"We believe there's an enormous potential to transform commercial vehicles in India," said Lal. "As a result we've been investing tremendously in the company."

 

[Shaitan]

Mahindra Marksman in Chile



Mahindra Emirates Vehicle Armouring LLC - Corporate Video

 

[cloud_9]

Renault India commences first shipment of Duster to UK​

CHENNAI: Renault India has commenced its first shipment of sports utility vehicle Duster from Chennai to the UK, joining a host of auto majors in the country to do so.

A subsidiary of Renault S A S, France, Renault India shipped 350 units of Duster to the UK and Ireland from nearby Ennore Port, making it the company's first foray into right-hand drive markets across the globe, the company said.

Renault in association with Japanese auto-major Nissan has jointly set up a manufacturing facility at Oragadam near Chennai at an investment of Rs 4,500 crore, it said.

The plant is Renault's only manufacturing facility globally to produce the Right-hand drive version of the 'Duster', which will be sold in the domestic market as well as overseas.

Renault India has a capacity to produce four lakh units at the facility.

The export consignment to the UK and Ireland markets would be 4x2 and 4x4 variants and have undergone modifications to meet individual market regulations, the compaby said.

"We will continue to focus on meeting domestic demand in India, while also exploring new opportunities in exports and in making India the global hub for right-hand drive vehicles", Renault India Managing Director Marc Nassif said.

Noting that India is set to become one of the top 10 markets for the company by 2013, he said Renault has been registering rapid growth with launch of five models and 75 dealerships being set up in less than 18 months.

He said the company also planned to increase the dealership base to 100 by end of this financial year.

Renault launched "Duster" in the domestic market in July and till November 2012, the company has sold 19,000 units in the domestic market, he said.

 

[Daredevil]

JLR launches fourth-generation Range Rover at Rs 1.72 crore

Tata group-owned Jaguar Land Rover today launched the fourth-generation Range Rover in India. See pictures

The vehicle, which will be imported as a completely built-up unit, will be available in two variants—a 4.4-litre TD V8 diesel that will cost Rs. 1.72 crore, and a 5-litre V8 supercharged petrol that will cost Rs. 1.8 crore.

The petrol engine produces 503 bhp of power and a maximum torque of 625Nm, while the diesel engine churns out 335 bhp at 700Nm of torque.

For the first time, the Range Rover uses an all-aluminium monocoque frame which reduces weight by 420 kg. It is 27 mm longer than its predecessor, and yet stays overall shorter than rivals like the Audi Q7 or Mercedes-Benz GL.

A monocoque body supports the vehicle's structural load, without just enveloping the structure, thus reducing the load of the internal frame that bears most of the weight.

The Range Rover was first unveiled in London in September, and the market launch happened in Paris later the same month.

The fourth-generation Range Rover is among the last vehicles launched by the Tata group before chairman Ratan Tata steps down in December.

JLR launches fourth-generation Range Rover at Rs 1.72 crore - NDTVProfit.com