Automobile

Riding on new launches, Japanese auto major Honda is set for over 62 per cent growth in its sales in India this year at around 1.8 lakh units.

The company, which launched two models – mid-sized sedan City and multi purpose vehicle Mobilio during the year, had sold 1.11 lakh units in 2013.

“2014 was a very successful year for Honda as it continued its growth journey for the third consecutive year,” Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Jnaneswar Sen said in a statement.

Country’ largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India is set for a record sales in 2014 at over 11.48 lakh units driven by growth across segments but it expressed concerns that a hike in excise duty could hurt the overall auto industry.

The company is awaiting a clarity on the amendment to the Company’s Act before going ahead with the minority shareholders’ voting on its plans to let parent Suzuki Motor Corp own and invest at the upcoming Gujarat plant.

Taxis are convenient daily transportation for the citizens in Hong Kong.

About 18,000 taxis operating in the city are sedan type vehicles having limited trunk space.

This makes it difficult for wheelchair users.

Nissan Motor recently unveiled a new generation taxi for Hong Kong.

It offers an innovative functional cabin that unites comfort with hospitality.

Shiro Nagai, a senior manager (Communications) with Nissan Global Co., Ltd., said, “This NV200 will make an important contribution to Hong Kong society, and providing mobility to all people in Hong Kong.”

Passenger car market leader Maruti Suzuki said Wednesday it is expected to achieve its highest yearly sales during 2014.

According to the company, it is expected to clock over 11.48 lakh units sales during 2014. Latest sales figures show that the company has managed to sell 835,912 units during April-November from an off-take of 739,247 units, representing a growth of 13.1 percent.

“This (11.48 lakh units) is going to be our highest ever sales in a calendar year. Previous highest sales was in 2010 when we sold 10.60 lakh units,” said Maruti Suzuki chairman R.C. Bhargava.

Japanese auto giant Honda Cars India Ltd has approached the Gujarat government with a proposal to set up a car manufacturing plant near Vithalapur village in Ahmedabad district with an investment of over Rs 1,000 crore, a senior government official said Tuesday.

According to the official, who has requested anonymity, the proposal moved by the company is in final stage of consideration and may get approval of the state Cabinet soon.

US-based auto maker Ford will start automotive financing in India by first quarter of next year with its financing arm, Ford Credit India getting licence from the Reserve Bank to operate as a non-banking financial company.

“We are very pleased to be launching Ford Credit India early in 2015,” Ford Credit India Managing Director Mark Constable said in a statement.

The company said it plans to begin dealer wholesale inventory financing in the first quarter of 2015.

Consumer retail financing will follow later in the year 2015.

BMW has agreed to demands from the government to replace driver’s-side air bags across the entire US.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been pushing companies to recall older cars with air bag inflators made by Takata Corp. They can explode with too much force and spew shrapnel at drivers and passengers. At least five deaths have been blamed on Takata inflators.

The decision affects 140,000 BMW 3 Series cars made between January 2004 and August 2006. It says no problems with BMW vehicles have been reported.

By PTI | 21 Nov, 2014, 05.51AM IST

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Harsh Vardhan added the ministry would review the process of how to fasten the transfer of technology from different CSIR laboratories to the industry.Harsh Vardhan added the ministry would review the process of how to fasten the transfer of technology from different CSIR laboratories to the industry.
NEW DELHI: To cater to farmers with small land holdings, the government today launched ‘KrishiShakti’, a tractor developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Car maker Renault India plans to hike prices of its entire range of vehicles by up to 2.5 percent from next month to partially offset the impact of rising input costs.

The increase will be up to 2.5 cent and will be effective from January 1, 2015, the company said in a statement.

“So far we have absorbed the rising input costs, but a sustained challenging market environment has compelled us to increase our prices,” Renault India, Vice President, Sales and Marketing Rafael Treguer said.

Force Motors Limited (FML), formerly Bajaj Tempo is targeting a major chunk of inter-city transport vehicle requirements through its recently introduced indigenous fifteen-seater vehicle, a senior official said here.

“The company has launched a 15-seater and a 3050 vehicle (Traveller) which has a 13-seater and a nine-seater variant. Our 15-seater product completely aims at inter-city operations of the travel trade requirement,” said A K Verma, Regional Manager (Maharashtra and Goa), FML.

Bajaj Auto Friday has bagged an order for 1.25 lakh units of Discover-125M motorcycles from Sri Lankan government.

The company through its distributor David Pieris Motor Company in Sri Lanka had secured, after a detailed evaluation process by the Government of Sri Lanka, an order from them for supply of around 50,000 units of Discover-125M motorcycles.

The company has already supplied 48,000 units successfully against this order, Bajaj Auto Ltd said in a filing to the BSE.

China’s corruption watchdog Friday opened an investigation against an executive of the state-owned Dongfeng Motor Corporation (DMC).

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China said in a statement that Ren Yong, assistant general manager of Dongfeng, is suspected of “serious law and discipline violations”.

Ren is also vice president of Dongfeng Motor Corporation Limited, a joint venture between Dongfeng and Japanese carmaker Nissan.

Nissan formed a new joint venture with Dongfeng in September to produce Infiniti cars in China.

(IANS)

Boosted by a 39 percent rise in used car sales till the September quarter at 1,700 units and sensing a huge opportunity in this space, Mercedes-Benz India Thursday launched a separate brand to cash in on the pre-owned car market.

The country’s largest luxury carmaker will sell pre- owned cars under the brand, Mercedes-Benz Certified.

Till September 30, the company has sold 1,700 old cars in India, a 39 percent jump over the same period last year. It still has around 300 units on offer, said Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and Chief Executive Eberhard Kern.

Leading auto manufacturer Tata Motors is in the process of developing vehicles for the defence sector, which are capable of carrying weapons.

“We have successfully tested the vehicles meant for defence sector. We only need some time to complete more tests required for standard and quality,” said A B Lall, plant head of the Jamshedpur unit of Tata Motors.

“We are in the process of producing different variants of the vehicle, capable of carrying weapons and travelling in deserts,” he claimed.

Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan Wednesday announced that it will increase prices across its product range of vehicles between 2.5-3 percent from Jan 1, next year.

“We will increase prices due to rising input costs. Despite recent high inflation, the outlook for the Indian economy is positive,” said Arun Malhotra, managing director, Nissan Motor India.

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra may observe up to 7 days in a month as ‘No Production Days’ at some of its plants till March 2015.

“The company as part of its efforts to align its production with sales requirements, may observe on a need basis, 1 to 7 days in a month as ‘No Production Days’ at some of its automotive and/or tractor plants and /or Chakan plant of its wholly owned subsidiary Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers Ltd during the period up to March, 2015,” Mahindra & Mahindra said in a filing to BSE.

Car maker Ford India Tuesday announced recall of 20,752 units of its sports utility vehicle (SUV) EcoSport.

In a statement, Ford India said it will inspect EcoSport variants made at its plant here between January 2013-September 2014 for concerns of fuel and vapour line corrosion in the long-term.

“The safety of our customers is always top priority at Ford. For their peace of mind, we have initiated a Field Service Action to correct product concerns on 20,752 Ford EcoSport vehicles in India. This is a proactive, voluntary recall action to ensure customers’ safety and satisfaction.

Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest car maker, plans to hike prices of its models in the range of 2-4 percent from next month in order to partially offset the impact of rising input costs.

“We are planning to increase the prices in the range of 2-4 percent across our entire range of products from January. It was in October 2013 that we had taken our last price hike,” Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), Executive Director (Marketing and Sales) R S Kalsi told PTI.

The company had been absorbing the impact of higher input cost for quite some time now, he said.

Automobile major Hyundai Motor India Monday announced that it will be increasing prices across all its models from Rs.5,000-to-Rs.25,000 from January 2015.

“In these adverse market conditions, the price increase is necessitated on account of increase in input costs, high cost of imports due to higher rupee depreciation and high cost of sales,” said Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Hyundai Motor India.

Last week, General Motors and luxury automobile manufacturer BMW also announced price increases effective January.

–IANS

After launching ten products this year, Mercedes-Benz India today said it looked to end the year on a high and take the momentum to the next.

Eberhard Kern, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said, “Mercedes Benz India has successfully pursued its ‘year of excellence’ strategy in 2014.”

He was speaking after inaugurating its 14th outlet this year and the fourth in Tamil Nadu at Madurai along with Sharath Vijayaraghavan, Executive Director, Sundaram Motors.

PTI

Tata Motors on Friday reported 2.37 percent increase in global sales, including Jaguar Land Rover, at 83,906 units in November.

The company had sold 81,957 units in the same month last year.

In the passenger vehicles category, the global sales last month were at 53,673 units as against 50,703 units in November 2013, up 5.85 percent, Tata Motors said in a statement.

Sales of luxury brand Jaguar Land Rover increased by 3.4 percent to 41,318 units in November as compared to 39,956 units in the same month last year.

French automobile maker Renault will launch two new models next year, marking its entry into the volume and growth segments, a top company official said.

The company aims to move towards its target of having five percent share in the Indian market in next three years.

“Renault’s focus in 2015 will be on introducing two new products in very exciting segments-the MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) and the A-entry segment, which is the heart of the Indian automotive industry,” Sumit Sawhney, the country CEO and managing director of Renault Operations in India, told IANS.

US auto giant General Motors (GM) on Thursday announced $3.6 billion in investment to be made in Mexico BY 2018.

The funds will be mainly used for moderniSing and expanding the firm`s manufacturing plants in the cities of Toluca, Ramos Arizpe, Silao and San Luis Potosi.

At a ceremony at the Los Pinos presidential residence, the president of General Motors` affiliate in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, Ernesto M. Hernandez, said he was confident that “the necessary economic conditions exist for these investments to translate into the creation of up to 5,600 new jobs.”

German luxury car maker Audi plans to launch around 10 new models next year in India as it looks to further consolidate its position in the country.

The company, which today launched compact convertible Audi A3 Cabriolet in India priced at Rs
44.75 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), currently sells 17 models in the country.

“Next year we plan to launch around ten products in the Indian market. It is going to be an exciting and busy year for us,” Audi India Head Joe King said.

Tata Motors plans to almost double its dealer network in the country by 2020, targeting rural areas and cities alike, as the company looks to claw back to a dominant position in the Indian passenger car market.

The company, which currently has around 500 touch points across the country, aims to add equal number of dealerships to expand its presence.