Automobile

Maruti Suzuki India continued its hold on the country’s car market in 2014-15 with its models Alto, Swift, Dzire and WagonR retaining the top four positions.

According to a data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Maruti’s entry level small car Alto sold 2,64,492 units in 2014-15 as against 2,58,281 units in the previous fiscal, up 2.4 per cent, retaining its numero uno position for the tenth year in succession.

Likewise, Swift retained the second spot with 2,01,338 units in fiscal 2015 as compared to 1,98,571 units in the previous fiscal, up 1.4 per cent.

German auto major Volkswagen is planning to make India a low-cost manufacturing hub, catering to both the emerging as well as developed markets.

Also, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, the company will be investing Rs 1,500 crore for localisation and produce cost effective products, Volkswagen India chief representative Mahesh Kodumudi told PTI on the sidelines of the Hannover Fair.

Tata Motors Wednesday reported a growth rate of 9 per cent in global sales, including Jaguar Land Rover’s, at 1,03,952 units in March.

The company had sold 95,668 units in the same month last year.

In the passenger vehicles category, global sales last month stood at 65,466 units, up 16 per cent. It had sold 56,420 units in March 2014, the company said in a statement.

Sales of luxury brand Jaguar Land Rover rose by 16 per cent to 50,093 units during the month as compared to 43,311 units during the same month a year ago.

Yamaha Motor India Sales today launched its YZF-R1M superbike in the country priced at Rs 29.43 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The 998-cc model would be available only on order, the company said in a statement.

It also announced the launch of two colours, Deep purplish blue metallic C and Vivid Red Cocktail 1, for YZF-R1 model. Yamaha retails the YZF-R1 model in India at Rs 22.34 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

Bajaj Auto today expanded its Pulsar range of bikes in the country with the launch of two new models AS 150 and AS 200, priced at Rs 79,000 and Rs 91,550 (ex-showroom Delhi).

The company has launched the two models, AS 200 and AS 150, under the Pulsar Adventure Series.

While AS 200 comes at an introductory price of Rs 91,550, the AS 150 variant is priced at Rs 79,000.

Yamaha Motor India Sales on Monday launched its YZF-R1M superbike in the country priced at Rs 29.43 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The 998-cc model would be available only on order, the company said in a statement.

It also announced the launch of two colours, Deep purplish blue metallic C and Vivid Red Cocktail 1, for YZF-R1 model.

Yamaha retails the YZF-R1 model in India at Rs 22.34 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

German luxury car maker BMW’s Chinese unit will recall over 79,000 vehicles to address flawed engine wiring and electric fuel pumps, China’s quality watchdog said in two notices today.

About 53,317 BMW vehicles will be recalled for flawed engine wiring which may short out power supply and cause accidents, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said.

The recall starts next Monday, involving vehicles manufactured between October 1, 2011 and December 1, 2013.

US-based taxi-hailing app Uber today launched an aggregator service which will help commuters book auto-rickshaws for travelling in the national capital.

“Autos are the most ubiquitous transport in almost any city and Indians are used to having autos around. It simply makes more sense for the auto driver and commuter to connect via our platform and use the advantage of new technologies,” Uber’s Delhi GM Gagan Bhatia told PTI.

However, unlike its taxi-service, customers will have to pay the fare in cash for the auto-rickshaw service.

German Luxury car maker Audi Friday opened a technical service centre in India, its first such establishment in the country.

“The Audi Technical Service Centre in India will enable us to obtain deeper insight into usage patterns of our cars and other local peculiarities as well as customer preferences in India,” Audi AG Head of Technical Service (Entire Vehicle) Ulli Seyfferth said in a statement.

The learnings are equally important for the company to adapt products to suit the market requirements, he added.

The Canadian government has unloaded its multibillion-dollar stake in General Motors.

The finance department said late yesterday that it had sold nearly 73.4 million shares in an unregistered block trade to Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Taxpayers’ stake in the automaker was worth more than USD 2.69-billion, based on a USD 36.66 price at the close.

Stop worrying about rising petrol costs as researchers have now discovered a novel way to create hydrogen fuel using abundantly available corn stalks and husk.

The new method discovered by Virginia Tech scientists could help speed up the arrival of the hydrogen-powered vehicles as it produces emission-less hydrogen in an inexpensive way.

“This means, we have demonstrated the most important step toward a hydrogen economy, producing distributed and affordable green hydrogen from local biomass resources,” said lead researcher professor Percival Zhang.

Japanese automobile major Honda Cars India on Monday reported that its fourth generation Honda City has become the fastest mid-size sedan in India to achieve the 1 lakh sales mark in just 15 months.

According to the company, with a strong sales momentum throughout the year, Honda City registered 101,299 units of cumulative sales since its launch in January 2014.

“City brand has been the face of Honda in India, enjoying strong leadership and popularity in its segment ever since its launch,” said Jnaneswar Sen, senior vice president, marketing and sales, Honda Cars India.

Buoyed by highest ever sales in a fiscal, country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is confident of tightening its grip on the automobile market with continued focus on sales and service network expansion and new product introductions.

The company had posted total sales of 12,92,415 units in 2014-15, its highest annual sales beating previous best in 2010-11 when it had sold 12,71,005 units.

Its domestic sales of 11,70,702 units in 2014-15 was also its highest ever, better than its previous best of 11,32,700 units sold in 2010-11.

Automaker Ford India on Wednesdayreported 33.62 percent increase in total sales at 15,775 units in March.

It had sold 11,805 units in March 2014.

Ford India’s domestic sales were at 5,253 units last month, down 17.35 percent from 6,356 units a year ago, the company said in a statement.

It said exports during the month stood at 10,522 units as compared to 5,449 units in March 2014, up 93 percent.

Japanese car maker Nissan on Thursday reported 32.91 per cent decline in its India sales at 4,717 units in March.

It had sold 7,031 units in the year-ago period, Nissan Motor India said in a statement.

Nissan sells various models in the country, including hatchback Micra, sedan Sunny and premium SUV Terrano.

However, for the entire 2014-15 fiscal ended March 31, Nissan reported 24.21 per cent jump in sales at 47,474 units as against 38,220 units in FY 2013-14.

Honda Cars India on Wednesday reported 23.17 per cent jump in its domestic sales at 22,696 units in March, 2015.

The company had sold 18,426 units in March last year, Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) said in a statement.

Last month, the company sold 1,642 units of small car Brio, 8,128 units of compact sedan Amaze, 3,049 units of Mobilio and 9,777 units of the mid-sized sedan City.

Besides, the company sold 100 units of sports utility vehicle CRV.

In addition, the company exported a total of 691 units during the month.

Aerospace major Rolls-Royce will hire 500 engineers by 2017 for a new facility at Bengaluru, the company announced on Wednesday.

The work done at the facility will include aerospace engineering for customers in the region as well as support for Rolls-Royce’s regional supplier base. It will also include the development of new tools and technologies that make best use of the capabilities that exist in India, the company said.

Country’s largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Wednesday reported a marginal 1.6 per cent decline in its total sales for March at 1,11,555 units as against 1,13,350 units in the same month a year ago.

The company said its domestic sales increased by 1.4 per cent during the month to 1,03,719 units as against 1,02,269 units in March 2014.

Sales of mini segment cars, including, Alto and WagonR, rose marginally to 40,159 units as compared to 40,085 units in the year-ago month, MSI said in a statement.

German luxury carmaker Mercedes- Benz on Wednesday launched two models E-Class Cabriolet and CLS 250 CDI Coupe with diesel engine priced at Rs 78.50 lakh and Rs 76.50 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

“This is our second and third launch in this month. We are intensifying our product offensive in the Indian market by launching cars from our global portfolio which are relevant here,” Mercedes-Benz Managing Director & CEO Eberhard Kern told PTI.

The company said that it would launch 15 new models and add 15 more showrooms in 2015.

Two-wheeler major Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India on Friday said it will invest around Rs.5.8 billion on expanding the capacity of its Karnataka plant.

In a statement, the company said it would invest around Rs.5.8 billion at its Narsapura plant in Karnataka to increase the capacity to 2.4 million units before the end of 2016 from the current 1.8 million units.

Taking into account the company’s upcoming 1.2 million unit’s fourth plant at Gujarat, Honda Motorcycle’s total capacity would go up to 6.4 million units during 2016-17.

Fair trade regulator CCI has rejected charges that Suzuki Motorcycle India abused its dominant position in the market for manufacturing and sale of two-wheeler vehicles.

A complaint filed by an individual had alleged that Suzuki was imposing unfair and discriminatory conditions in the sale of its two-wheeler ACCESS 125cc.

In a recent order, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that “no prima facie case of contravention of the provisions of…The (Competition) Act is made out against the opposite party (Suzuki Motorcycle) in the instant matter.

Faced with a slowdown in the past couple of years, auto major Ford has adjusted its product launch strategy in India with only three new products lined up to hit the market in the next 18 months, two short of the earlier plan.

The company had in 2010 said it would launch eight new products in the country by the middle of the decade. Since making the announcement it has so far launched only three.

Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd (MTWL), a group venture owned by Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), today said it plans to increase the number of dealerships to 500 across the country in the next fiscal.

“Right now, we have 425 dealership network in the country. We want to take this number to 500 by the end of financial year 2015-16,” MTWL vice president (sales and customer care) Dharmendra Mishra told reporters here.

He was in the city for inauguration of the company’s new dealership outlet at Sanwer road here.

This is MTWL’s 21st dealership in the state.

PTI

German luxury carmaker Audi is set to announce a major investment for the Indian market in 3-4 months to expand business and double sales to 20,000 units by 2018.

“An internal discussion is going on to invest in India for the expansion of our capacities. The detailed announcement Will be made in the next three to four months,” Audi India Head Joe King told PTI here.

When asked about the quantum of investment, he refused to divulge, but said that “this is going to be a major investment by the company”.

Improvement in customer sentiment and new model launches will push up car sales growth to up to 7 percent in FY16 and further to 8-10 percent the year after, rating agency Icra said.

“We expect growth momentum in domestic passenger vehicle industry to accelerate with 5-7 percent in FY16 and 8-10 percent growth thereafter,” it said in a note.

The expansion will be largely driven by an improvement in customer sentiment, which is correcting on lower cost of ownership because of fuel price corrections, and also the new launches which are in the pipeline, it said.