Apr
16
2009
New Launches & Upcoming Cars in India

Nissan to launch 4-5 models in next 4 years

The Pioneer (Print Edition)

Japanese auto major, Nissan, has ambitious plans for the Indian market and targets to launch 4-5 models over the next four years with the first one slated to hit the market before summer 2010, a top company official said.
 
"We propose to launch four to five models over the next four-five years in the Indian market. Our first car is scheduled for launch by summer 2010," Nissan Motor India Managing Director and CEO, Mr Kiminobu Tokuyama said.
 
Nissan's vehicles will be manufactured from its Rs 4,500 crore Chennai facility, set up as a joint venture with Renault. Nissan has a capacity to manufacture two lakh units initially while Renault, another two lakh. The latter has, however, postponed its launch from this facility. “Our plans are on track and our first car will be the Micra hatchback. The Micra is known as March in Japan and the Indian version will be christened either Micra or March,” Mr Tokuyama said.
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Apr
16
2009
News & Events

Mahindra Sells 1,788 Xylo Units in 2 Weeks

Mumbai
Mahindra & Mahindra said it sold 1,788 units of the recently launched multi-purpose vehicle Mahindra Xylo in the first two weeks. The first vehicle delivered on January 16 following its launch three days prior to it. The company said bookings for the Xylo have crossed the 4,000-mark since launch. However, its total vehicle sales for January were 21 per cent down at 17,611
 
   
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Apr
16
2009
News & Events

Auto's Jan Sales in Top Gear Despite Discount Withdrawal

Big auto companies posted positive car sales in January, reviving hopes of an upturn in demand, as increased customer interest drove higher footfalls at car dealerships.


Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India achieved its highest-ever domestic and total sales in January this year. Maruti’s dispatches to domestic dealers increased 5.6% to 67,005 units during the month. Its last biggest dispatch of 65,216 cars took place way back in November 2007. Maruti posted retail sales of 76,700 vehicles in December, its highest ever, clearing the stocks piled up at dealerships.
Most car companies reported positive sales despite the withdrawal of price rebate schemes.


Utility vehicle company Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) made the most of new launches.


While its sales dropped to 17,320 vehicles in January this year from 20,884 vehicles in the same month last year, the decline was cushioned by the performance of recently launched multi-activity vehicle Xylo.


With sales of 1,788 vehicles within two weeks and bookings crossing the 4000-mark, M&M is ramping up its production. Including exports, M&M sold 17611 vehicles in January, down from 22309 units in the same month last year.


South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor India reported a 13.5% decline in domestic sales to 21,016 vehicles in January, against 24,301 vehicles for the same month last year. But its exports were up 21% to 16,200 vehicles, against 13,399 units in the year-ago period.
Tata Motors continued its negative run, with its passenger vehicle portfolio declining by 9% to 18,331 vehicles in January from 20,119 vehicles sold in January last year. However, on a month-on-month sequential basis, the sales increased 68% in January. 

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Apr
16
2009
News & Events

IFC to part-finance Volkswagen India project in Maharashtra

The Financial Express (Print Edition)
The World Bank arm, International finance Corporation (IFC), has proposed a variety of options to part fund Volkswagen India Private Ltd's euro 580-million investment plan at Chakan in Pune district of Maharashtra.


The total project cost, including the construction of the fully integrated green-field car manufacturing plant with an initial capacity of 110,000 units and investment in tooling for the company's suppliers, is estimated at around euro 580 million.


IFC's proposed investment comprises a loan of up to euro 60 million equivalent for IFC's own account, and a syndicated loan of up to euro 75 million.


IFC may consider an equity or quasi-equity component within the proposed euro 60 million for its own account. The company's proposal submitted on March 12 will be taken by the IFC board for its approval on April 15.


According to an IFC report, "In light of the on-going liquidity crisis and the specific challenges faced by the automotive industry, IFC's expected role in the project includes provision and mobilisation of long-term financing necessary to complete the project, which is not available under the current financial market conditions, as well as the provision of local currency financing through swap intermediation, which may not be available under the current market conditions. In addition, IFC will explore the possibility of provision of advisory services to further develop the VW AG's local supplier base."


Besides, the IFC report says the project will generate employment and provide training. The project will benefit the local population by generating significant new employment of about 2,500 direct jobs as well as around 10,000 indirect jobs through the value chain from suppliers to distributors and dealers.


The company was incorporated in 2007 and project implementation started in the same year.


The plant will be operational on March 31. The company will target the small to compact car segments of the Indian market and expects to create a cost-competitive base for large-scale market expansion, which is expected to be achieved through a high degree of localisation of the supplier base.


The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of VW AG, held directly and indirectly, though other wholly-owned subsidiary of VW AG.

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Apr
16
2009
News & Events

TATA's JLR to scout Indian companies for sourcing components

mint (Print Edition)
British auto manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), acquired by India’s Tata Motors Ltd plans to leverage its new parentage to source parts from Indian suppliers even as it struggles to cope with a sharp slump in demand for luxury cars and sport utility vehicles.
Tata Motors will share its vendor list with the loss-making British firm, executives of which will likely meet some of these suppliers over the next month, a person close to the development said, speaking on condition of anonymity.


A JLR team is expected to visit factories of suppliers over the next few weeks to initially conduct audits of the quality and production systems and processes. "Since the company is likely to eventually want to even develop a few components from India, given its reputation as a high quality, low-price destination for auto components, the JLR team will also inspect the vendors’ engineering and product development capabilities," this person added.


"Jaguar Land Rover is a subsidiary of Tata Motors. Should Jaguar Land Rover seek to expand its sourcing base from India, Tata Motors would provide it with necessary support," said Debasis Ray, head, corporate communications, Tata Motors, in an email. He added that JLR "has been historically sourcing some components from India."


As is the case with all global manufacturers, Jaguar Land Rover sources product from all over the world, including India, and are in constant discussion with all of those supplier partners. This process continues.


JLR’s move to source parts from India is an expected one. In an analyst presentation in June 2008, soon after the acquisition had been finalized for $2.3 billion, Tata Motors had listed long-term benefits from component sourcing and low-cost engineering and design services as one of the reasons for acquiring JLR.


Meanwhile, Tata Motors continues to try and raise funds to refinance the $2 billion portion of the bridge loan it took to fund the acquisition and which comes due 2 June. A 5 March report from Kotak Institutional Equities said "Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover have enough borrowing capacity to refinance most of its bridge loan."
    

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Apr
16
2009
News & Events

JLR workers keep their fingers crossed

Business Standard (Print Edition)
The Rs 2,500 crore infusion by the European Investment Bank may not be enough. The mood inside the Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) continues to remain somber despite the European Investment Bank (EIB) last week approving £340 million (Rs 2,500 crore) to support the company’s development of greener cars. This is understandable considering the company is constantly knocking at the doors of the UK government for money to run its business and not just for investing in cutting-edge technology.


Since the Tata Group took over the two iconic brands in March 2008 from Ford, it has reportedly pumped in several million pounds. But the company needs more. In short, the financial support from EIB will not help the car maker to manage its show and make sure 14,500 workers continue to remain employed.


Industry observers believe that saving JLR is crucial not just for these workers but also for the UK automotive industry as well as the UK government. David Bailey, Birmingham Business School professor and Chair of the Regional Studies Association, said: "JLR (at £400 million) invests half of all the R&D investments in the UK auto industry; now there is another £800 million it plans to invest in green technology. Apart from the 14,500 people in the company, 60,000 work for the suppliers. The company contributes £1.3 billion (to the government coffers) as value-added tax, national insurance and other taxes. It makes a lot of sense (to save the company)".


Despite the uncertainty that lingers, the 2,000 workers at Jaguar’s mother plant in Castle Bromwich can be seen going about their work at this 112-acre plant that dates back to World War II. This plant mass-produced the Spitfire and Avro Lancaster aircraft which contributed to the success of the allies.

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Apr
16
2009
News & Events

GMI's 2nd Bangalore showroom

The Hindu Business Line (Print Edition)

As part of its expansion drive, General Motors India opened its new showroom in Bangalore, taking the number of dealerships in Karnataka to nine. The State also has 10 service centres, while pan-India there are 175 sales points and 181 service outlets. Mr Karl Slym, Managing Director and President, General Motors in India, said, "This is our second showroom in Bangalore and is a positive sign of our rapidly-expanding base of loyal customers in this city and the State." The company is in the process of appointing more dealers and authorised service outlets in urban and semi-urban cities to widen its network.
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Apr
16
2009
News & Events

ABB to supply industrial robots to BMW

The Hindu ( Print Edition)

ABB has signed a five-year ‘frame agreement’ with the carmaker, BMW Group, to deliver 2,100 industrial robots, according to an ABB release. Deliveries of the robots are to commence in 2010 for BMW’s operations in Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. The robots will be applied in parts handling, gluing and spot welding on car-body assembly lines for BMW’s 1-series, 3-series, X5-series and Mini models.
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Apr
16
2009
News & Events

GM India spins off sales, marketing, distribution functions into separate entity

The Hindu Business Line (Print Edition)
General Motors has hived off its sales, marketing and distribution functions as a separate profit centre in India even as it expects slowdown in its sourcing of $1 billion worth of auto components from the country.


General Motors’ India President and Managing Director, Mr Karl Slym, told Business Line that half of the $1 billion worth of auto components have already been sourced from India but the rest of it will get delayed beyond the targeted 2010. “The timeline may get extended beyond 2010 but the value will remain the same,” Mr Slym said. This was because of the recession in the global auto industry, he said.


Good growth rate
Mr Slym said the Indian operations of the car maker will not be affected because of changes in the US operations of General Motors. “We don’t foresee any problems for the Indian operations because we are maintaining a good growth rate here,” he said.


In 2008, General Motors sold 65,702 car units, achieving a growth rate of 10 per cent over the previous year. It expects the same growth rate to be maintained during the current year too.

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Apr
16
2009
News & Events

M&M opts for Haridwar as second base for Bolero

The Hindu Business Line (Print Edition)

Buoyed by the success of the Bolero, Mahindra & Mahindra has begun using its new Haridwar plant in Uttarakhand as the second production base for this utility-vehicle along with Nashik.
 
“For the moment, there are only small numbers of the Bolero being generated at Haridwar which is useful from the viewpoint of servicing customers in the northern region,” top sources told Business Line.
 
The bulk of the production, they added, will continue at Nashik, which is also home to the Scorpio and Xylo. The Logan sedan, under the Mahindra-Renault umbrella, rolls out of another assembly line in this plant.
 
Star performer
The Bolero has been the star performer for M&M lately and accounted for annual sales of 56,000 units in 2008-09. Ancillary suppliers associated with the company say that it has the potential to sustain or even better these numbers this fiscal, which could then translate into monthly output of 5,000 vehicles.
 
The Nashik plant is gasping for capacity because the recently launched Xylo has had an overwhelming response from the market at a time when M&M had only earmarked 25,000 units annually. “The challenge is to meet delivery schedules, which means increasing capacity in the coming months,” sources said.
 
The rejuvenated, macho Scorpio has also been well received and is expected to do steady business of 3,000-and-odd units each month through the fiscal. In this backdrop, it only makes sense to use the Haridwar facility for the Bolero though the numbers are believed to be “quite modest” at around 1,000 units a month.
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Apr
16
2009
News & Events

Maruti to roll out BS4 compliant models in a phased manner

The Hindu Business Line (Print Edition)
Maruti Suzuki plans to roll out its Bharat Stage (BS 4) compliant models in a phased manner this year. The company said due to its vast product portfolio it may not be able to make all its models compliant at the same time.


“We have a staggered implementation plan. The deadline is April 1 for implementing the new emission norms. With the number of models we have, it may not be possible for us to launch all of them with Euro 4 norms at one time,” Mr I.V. Rao, Executive Officer, Research and Development, Maruti Suzuki, told Business Line.


He, however, did not reveal the production schedule of the new models. “We are still finalising it,” said Mr Rao. While the company did not specify the timeframe by when it could start rolling out models, Maruti indicated that the process of rolling out upgraded models could begin by June.


Maruti’s KB series engine plant, which has a capacity of 2.4 lakh units a year, will help to upgrade its models to the new emission norms. In its line-up, A-star is the only model that conforms to the new norms, apart from the to-be-launched compact car Ritz. Beginning next fiscal, 11 cities will adopt BS4 emission norms while the remaining cities will be upgraded to BS 3.


Ritz to sport new 1.2-litre K series engine
Maruti Suzuki said the Ritz will be fitted with a K series 1.2-litre petrol engine. The engine will meet the Bharat Stage 4 emission norms.
The company said that the 1197cc all aluminum engine, known as K12M, is the second in the K-series engines that are being produced at its Gurgaon plant. The first , K10B was fitted in A-star.


The Ritz, which is in advanced stage of preparation for a formal launch shortly, will be positioned in the upper end of the compact car segment.
    

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Apr
15
2009
New Launches & Upcoming Cars in India

Mercedes-Benz Launches its M-Class Model in Hyderabad

Hyderabad
PTI

Mercedes-Benz India on Monday launched its popular SUV the M-Class Model in the city. The new M-Class is available in two engine choices: the ML 320 CDI (featuring a high-torque diesel engine) and the ML 350 (powered by a high output gaso line engine).
Talking to media persons here Mr Suhas Kadlaskar, Director, Corporate Affairs of Mercedes-Benz India, said that "The new M-Class offers best of both the worlds the highest levels of luxury, comfort and on-road refinement combined with excellent off-road capabilities and best-in-class safety standards".
 
"We have maintained the same price for this product despite significant enhancements of equipment, features and performance, thus making the best value for money offering in this segment," he added. The new car ML 350 is priced at Rs 53.77 lakhs, ex-show room Mumbai and ML 320 CDI is priced at Rs 54 lakhs, ex-showroom Mumbai.
 
The New M-Class offers a high-level of on road refinement. It presents a state-of-the art 7-speed automatic transmission (7G-TRONIC), a height adjustable air suspension (AIRMATIC), an Exterior Sports Package featuring 19 inch alloy wheels, and available luxurious leather interior with burr walnut accents. The M-Class offers excellent off-road capabilities. It features the famous 4MATIC permanent all-wheel drive system with a start-off assist & a Downhill Speed Regulation (DSR), Mr Kadlaskar said.
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