Automobile

Country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Tuesday said one of its best selling models Wagon R has crossed 15 lakh unit sales mark in domestic market.

The model, which was launched in 2000, has been amongst India’s top five best-selling brands, MSI said in a statement.

“With its space, features and comfort, Wagon R has been the choice of the ‘smart customer’ and consistently remained among India’s most loved car brands,” MSI Vice President (Marketing) Manohar Bhat said.

Revving up the throttle on its expansion plans following ‘huge’ demand, premium motorcycle manufacturer Royal Enfield is looking at ramping up production at its two facilities here besides setting up a third plant, a top official said.

The Eicher Motors’ company has been witnessing huge demand for its products soon after launch of various models, including the ‘Classic’ range. To augment the expansion plans, the firm recently acquired land near here to set up another facility.

Royal Enfield currently has two manufacturing facilities one each at Tiruvottiyur and Oragadam near here.

Auto maker Ford India is recalling 3,072 units of its mid-sized sedan Fiesta manufactured between October 2010 and December 2011 to replace a part used in starting of diesel engines.

“We have initiated a field service action to correct a product concern on 3,072 Ford Fiesta TDCi vehicles,” Ford India said in a statement.

The company said it was writing to customers and asking them to contact their local Ford dealer so that “a new design, waterproof Glow Plug Control Module can be installed free of charge”.

Maruti Suzuki India’s grip on the country’s car market tightened in October with six of its models, including the newly launched mid-sized sedan Ciaz, featuring in the top 10 selling brands in the month.

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers Association (SIAM) while entry level model Alto continues to lead the best selling model chart, Maruti’s compact sedan Dzire moved up to the second spot ahead of popular premium compact Swift, which has slipped to the fourth spot behind WagonR.

With an aim to treble its commercial vehicles exports by 2018-19, homegrown auto major Tata Motors is eyeing a major push in various markets, including Russia and the ASEAN regions

The company, which currently exports products to markets, including Middle East and Africa, plans to bolster despatches to existing and new markets to achieve the target.

“This fiscal we are going to export around 50,000 units. Going ahead, we have set a target to treble the number to 1.5 lakh units in the next 3-4 years, ” Tata Motors Executive Director, Commercial Vehicles, Ravi Pisharody told PTI.

Indian conglomerate Mahindra Group will now be able to sell its Australia-made airplanes in India, with the Civil Aviation Ministry approving its long-pending proposal after amending relevant rules.

“The aviation ministry has yesterday cleared a few norms for certification, which will finally allow us to sell our Australian planes in India,” Mahindra Group CMD Anand Mahindra said.

Japanese auto major Toyota said Tuesday that its “Mirai” hydrogen-powered vehicle will hit the Japanese market Dec 15, making it the world’s first seller of fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) for general consumers.

Mirai, which means “future” in English, will be sold at around 7,236,000 yen (about $62,000), Xinhua cited the automaker as saying, adding that it aims to sell about 400 units domestically by the end of 2015. It also plans to usher the green car into US and European markets next summer.

Adding a latest product to their kit, 4G Network EE recently launched its latest in-car WiFi entertainment hub called the Buzzard 2.

The device has been designed to enable five users in a car to access the Buzzard 2 at once. Equipped with a USB plug, a user would be able to surf the net while charging his/her phone simultaneously, the Daily Star reported.

Hinduja Group flagship firm Ashok Leyland today announced bagging of two large integrated transport projects in Tanzania and Zimbabwe worth a total of USD 79.2 million.

As part of the project, the company will supply trucks, buses, light commercial vehicles, spares and allied support services, includes training and developmental consultancy, Ashok Leyland said in a statement.

Besides, the company will also address a variety of mobility requirements in various tourism and economic development programmes, it added.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) is recalling 119 units of its sedan Camry, manufactured between March and July 2011 in Japan and sold in India, to rectify a defect in front suspension.

The move is part of a global recall of 1.7 lakh Camry models by Japanese parent Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s biggest car manufacturer.

“The recall campaign will cover a total of 119 units sold in India and manufactured in Japan between March 2011 and July 2011,” TKM said in a statement.

The recall has been announced due to a possible defect in the front suspension, it added.

Tata Motors is going all-out to please customers, right from buying experience to after sales service to enhance satisfaction, as it looks to overcome past issues and claw back to a dominant position in the domestic passenger vehicles market.

Buoyed by the response to its latest compact sedan Zest that managed to pip Honda’s Amaze in October sales, the company is also integrating its ‘quality process’ in the entire product planning system from early design stages right up to the final vehicle.

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra plans to launch three new vehicles, including two compact SUVs, next year as it looks to strengthen its position in the domestic market.

In the two-wheeler segment, the firm which is in the process of acquiring 51 percent stake in Peugeot Motocycles for 28 million euros, is eyeing various global markets besides India to launch the French firm’s products.

Japanese auto major Honda is likely to start the fresh roll out of its ‘discontinued’ hatchback vehicle Jazz in Indian market next year.

“Last year we announced that within this fiscal year we will come up with Mobilio and Jazz. But the great demand (for other models) is exceeding our expectations. So we started the second shift of our second plant,” Hironori Kanayama, President and CEO, Honda Cars India, told reporters here today.

Mahindra Racing Wednesday announced that they have formed a new technical base at Besozzo in Italy which will be the Moto3 team’s centre to assemble, test, manufacture, design, research and develop racing bikes.

The new headquarters is the latest addition to the company’s existing research facilities in India, Europe, United States and South Korea.

“The new base is a great development for Mahindra Racing. It is another demonstration of our continued commitment to our racing programme,” S.P. Shukla, chairman of Mahindra Racing said in a release.

(IANS)

Car sales in India fell 2.55 per cent in October as purchases remained subdued during the festival season, marking the second consecutive month of decline.

According to the data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), domestic car sales in October this year stood at 1,59,036 units as compared to 1,63,199 units in the same month of 2013.

Auto majors Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra today announced price increases in the range of 1-2 per cent citing higher input costs.

Mahindra & Mahindra raised prices by up to Rs 11,500 (ex-showroom) of passenger, commercial vehicles and tractors, while Tata Motors has hiked prices of its commercial vehicles in the range of 1-2 per cent.

Honda Cars India expects sales from the North-East to grow by about 50 per cent during 2014-15 on the back of strong demand for its petrol-driven vehicles in the region.

“The market in North-East holds a lot of potential for growth of Honda Cars. We are expecting about 50 per cent sales growth in this region during 2014-15,” Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales) Jnaneswar Sen told PTI.

The sales volume in North-East grew 38 per cent at 1,733 units in 2013-14 as compared to 1,258 units in the previous fiscal, he added.

Commercial vehicles maker Ashok Leyland Ltd has set in motion the process of selling two of its overseas companies -Albonair GmbH and Avia – as a part of its decision to exit non-core areas, said a senior company official here Friday.

He said the company has halted production of its multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) Stile in order to liquidate the existing inventory.

“We have decided to sell Albonair and Avia. We are interested in selling them to the right buyer,” Gopal Mahadevan, chief financial officer, told reporters.

In a setback to Nissan Motors, consumer safety testing body Global NCAP has asked the Japanese car maker to withdraw its compact car Datsun GO from the Indian market saying it was “sub-standard”.

Datsun GO, which was launched in the country last year, had failed crash test results recently conducted by the Global New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP). It had failed on critical safety count.

In a letter to Nissan Chairman and CEO, Global NCAP Chairman Max Mosley urged for an “urgent withdrawal of the Datsun Go from the Indian and related markets”.

India’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, plans to export its next generation small car Alto K10 to Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, a top official said here today.

“We intend to export the Alto K10 to Africa, Middle East and Latin America”, Amitava Roy, Vice President (Parts), told reporters soon after launching the model in Kerala.

Maruti sold 11 lakh cars in the country last year and was expecting a 10 percent growth this year, he said.

This is the first time in the country that at the entry level a car has been fitted with automatic gear shift.

Stating that car makers in India meet the country’s safety norms, auto industry body SIAM on Tuesday defended Maruti Suzuki and Nissan, which had failed crash tests conducted by Global NCAP on their Swift and Datsun GO models, respectively.

Lashing out at Global NCAP, an umbrella body of consumer car safety testing bodies, for “scaremongering”, SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur said: “Every country has its own safety requirements. Our cars are meeting safety norms set by the government.”

Two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp Tuesday said that its plans to enter the European markets by the end of 2015.

“Having already stamped our presence in Asia, Africa, Latin and Central America, we are now looking at stepping into the European markets by the end of 2015 with our hybrid scooter Leap making its debut here,” Pawan Munjal, vice chairman, chief executive and managing director, Hero MotoCorp said.

With an eye on reviving growth in its bread and butter mini car segment, the country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India will launch a new version of its Alto K10 on Monday.

After the Celerio, the Alto K10 will be the second model to be equipped with auto gear shift (AGS) feature.

While the petrol version delivers a mileage of 24.07 km per litre, the CNG variant will have a fuel economy of 32.26 km per kg.

It will have six different variants and the AGS option will be available only with the top end.

Two-wheeler giant Hero MotoCorp Sunday reported 8.05 percent decline in October sales at 5,75,056 units as against 6,25,420 units in the same month of 2013.

The company said in a statement here that it registered sales of over 1 million two-wheelers during the 37-day festive period beginning Sep 25, the “first day of Navratras” and which lasted till Oct 31.

“Record retail of over a million two-wheelers in just over a month is an unequivocal stamp of approval from customers,” it said.

Festival season failed to bring cheer to car makers, as major players including Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai and Mahindra failed to register significant sales growth during the month, which otherwise has been one of the best periods for vehicle sales in the country.

While Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai posted marginal rise in sales during October, others including utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra, Toyota Kirloskar and Ford registered decline in sales as compared to same period of previous year as sentiments remained subdued.