Automobile

Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it would set up its first manufacturing unit in Brazil with an investment of up to 240 million pounds by 2020.

A landmark agreement between the iconic British luxury carmaker and the Brazilian authorities will result in a plant-based in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It will initially employ 400 people and generate additional jobs in the supply chain, aimed at an annual production capacity of 24,000 vehicles.

Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have joined Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Honda, announcing a hike in prices of their cars from January.

Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest car manufacturer, sells a range of vehicles, from M800 to Grand Vitara, priced between Rs 2.13 lakh and to Rs 24.6 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

“Maruti Suzuki will increase prices from January 2014 as input costs have been going up and we cannot continue to absorb all of it. We will pass on some part of it to the customers,” Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) COO (Marketing and Sales) Mayank Pareek said.

German luxury car maker Mercedes Benz on Friday said it will hike prices of its products across models by up to 10 per cent in India from next month.

While the company did not specify the reason for the price increase, its rivals BMW and Audi have already said they would hike prices from January onwards owing to pressure on their business due to economic factors.

Mercedes Benz sells a range of luxury cars and sports utility vehicles in India, including compact cars A Class and B class, sedans C Class, E Class and S Class and sports car SLS AMG, priced between Rs 22 lakh and Rs 3 crore.

Homegrown auto firm Mahindra & Mahindra on Thursday said it would recall 900 units of a variant of its popular sports utility vehicle Scorpio, manufactured between October and November this year, to rectify faulty pressure valve.

“Mahindra will carry out preventive replacement of a pressure regulating valve in 900 units of only Scorpio’s Ex variant which were manufactured between October/November 2013,” the company said in a statement.

German luxury car maker Mercedes Benz today said it will hike prices of its products across models by up to 10 per cent in India from next month.

While the company did not specify the reason for the price increase, its rivals BMW and Audi have already said they would hike prices from January onwards owing to pressure on their business due to economic factors.

Mercedes Benz sells a range of luxury cars and sports utility vehicles in India, including compact cars A Class and B class, sedans C Class, E Class and S Class and sports car SLS AMG, priced between Rs 22 lakh and Rs 3 crore.

India Ratings has said stressed assets in the commercial vehicles (CV) loan books of lenders hit a new high of 3 per cent in September quarter due to the lingering slowdown.

The agency cautioned that the asset quality stress will continue at least for the next two quarters.

“Delinquencies of CV loans rose to 3 per cent in the September quarter from 2.4 per cent a year ago,” India Ratings said in a note.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s total sales went up by a little over 12 per cent in November at 12,748 units. The company had sold 11,357 units in the same month last year.

Domestic sales of the company dipped slightly to 10,208 units in November this year compared to 10,352 units in the same month last year.

“The market continues to be sluggish and market sentiments are not expected to improve in the coming months,” said company’s Deputy Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (Marketing and Commercial) Sandeep Singh.

General Motors India on Monday reported a 14.14 per cent decline in sales at 6,214 units in November 2013.

The company had sold 7,238 units in the same month of 2012, GM India said in a statement.

Last month’s sales included 2,151 units of Beat, 1,206 units of multi-purpose vehicle Enjoy and 1,347 units of Tavera, it added.

Commenting on sales performance, GM India Vice-President P Balendran said: “As expected, the market has gone down drastically after a small spike during the festive season.”

Country’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp on Monday reported a 5.61 per cent rise in total sales at 5,30,530 units for November this year.

In the same month last year, it had sold 5,02,305 units, Hero MotoCorp said in a statement.

Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) on Tuesday reported a decline of 14.69 per cent in motorcycle sales at 2,78,703 units in November 2013.

The company had sold 3,26,727 units in the corresponding month last year, Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) said in a statement.

BAL said exports were up 8 per cent during the month at 1,33,731 units compared to 1,24,115 units in November 2012.

In the commercial vehicles category, the company said its sales stood at 31,888 units as against 45,566 units in the same month last year, a decline of 30 per cent.

Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) is looking to hike prices of its entire product range in the country from the first week of January as it aims to partially offset the effects of adverse exchange rate and inflation.

“We are looking to hike prices from the beginning of January. The price hike will be across our entire model range comprising Amaze, Brio, CR-V and Accord,” said HCIL Senior Vice-President Jnaneshwar Sen.

When asked about the quantum of increase in prices, Sen said the company is “still working on the details”.