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| INDUSTRY INTERVIEWS/FEATURES Superhatches to scorch the roads Toyota's small car to be launched by end of 2010 Toyota to launch sedan from small car platform Toyota small car to roll out of Bangalore in 2011 'The new Toyota plant can produce any car': Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director (marketing), TKM GM plans to ride on Chevrolet brand GM bets big on mini-car for India VW appoints senior execs Leyland-John Deere venture to be delayed CONSTRUCTION & AGRI MACHINERY 2/3 WHEELERS | ALLIED INDUSTRIES Demand from auto, construction sector boosts steel consumption FINANCE & INSURANCE Oil prices above $68 in Asian trade INTERNATIONAL NEWS Judge lets Chrysler sever ties with 789 dealers Fiat commits to Chrysler deal despite court delay Porsche in exclusive talks with Qatar on stake BMW, Audi, Daimler: car sales down but not all bad Government to spend big to meet 9% growth: PM
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| INDUSTRY Go To Top Business Standard (Web & Print Edition) See similar story in: The Hindu Business Line (Web & Print Edition), The Statesman (Web Edition), The Telegraph (Web Edition) Mumbai: Leading automobile company, Tata Motors sold 11 million shares of Tata Steel to promoter company Tata Sons for Rs 456.78 crore. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/tata-motors-raises-rs-456cr-through-saleshares/64218/on http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/06/10/stories/2009061051851000.htm http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=12&theme=&usrsess=1&id=257448 http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090610/jsp/business/story_11088604.jsp | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| CARS, SUVs, MUVs Go To Top Hindustan Times (Web & Print Edition) New Delhi: Maruti Alto retained its top position amongst cars for the fifth straight year in 2008-09, but there have been widespread changes in the pecking order beneath it. Nine-year-old Altos contemporaries, Indica and Santro, suffered at the hands of its siblings Wagon R and Swift to relinquish the 2nd and 4th positions, respectively. Maruti now has five models in the top 10 and three in the top 5 best selling cars of 2008-09 in the domestic industry. The performance of the cars by and large mirrors that of the companies during the year. While the i10, which was launched late in 2007, has been a success and finds itself in the fifth position, has eaten into Santros marketshare which has for the first time in a decade slipped out of the top five. The two major gainers during the year remain the Swift, which is now selling more than some of its lower priced competitors, and the Dzire. The latter is now the undisputed leader in mid size sedans displacing the Honda City and has expanded its predecessor Esteems presence in the segment. Maruti, however, also figures prominently in the list of laggards with its Zen Estilo and the once hot selling SX4 losing their sheen during the year. Hondas Civic also lost its numero uno position in the executive A4 segment to arch rival Toyota Corolla. There are some surprises in the sports utility vehicle segment with the Endeavour and CR-V retaining their top two positions, while new entrant Chevrolet Captiva has captured the third spot ahead of Mitsubishi Pajero. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName= SUPERHATCHES TO SCORCH THE ROADS Chanchal Pal Chauhan The Economic Times (Web & Print Edition) New Delhi: Wednesday's launch of Honda Jazz in India will mark the start of a superhatch show on Indian roads, with at least four others set to take off this year. Fiats Grande Punto will hit the road next week, while Volkswagens Polo, Hyundais i30 and Renault Sandero are set to follow later in the year. Copyright 2008, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved" TOYOTA'S SMALL CAR TO BE LAUNCHED BY END OF 2010 PTI See this story in: The Economic Times (Web & Print Edition), Business Standard (Web & Print Edition), The Hindu Business Line (Web & Print Edition), The Hindu (Web & Print Edition), Hindustan Times (Web Edition), The Telegraph (Web Edition), Rediffmail (Web Edition), Yahoo India (Web Edition), mint (Web & Print Edition) Mumbai: Toyota Kirloskar Motor, on Tuesday said it will launch its small car by the end of 2010 by when its plant in Bangalore will be ready. "We will launch our small car by 2010-end. Our plant for the small car in Bangalore will be ready by that time," Toyota Kirloskar Motor's Deputy Managing Director, Sandeep Singh, told PTI here. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/toyota-to-launch-sedansmall-car-platform/360630/ http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/06/10/stories/2009061051580200.htm http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/10/stories/2009061055611300.htm http://www.hindustantimes.com/redir.aspx?ID=8519bad0-5cc2-456c-9f97-1b925e6ba8b9 http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090610/jsp/business/story_11089038.jsp http://business.rediff.com/report/2009/jun/10/the-beginning-of-a-new-auto-war.htm http://in.biz.yahoo.com/090609/50/batphn.html http://www.livemint.com/2009/06/09123434/Toyota8217s-second-Indian-p.html TOYOTA TO LAUNCH SEDAN FROM SMALL CAR PLATFORM Swaraj Baggonkar Business Standard (Web & Print Edition) Mumbai: Toyota Kirloskar Motors, the Indian subsidiary of the Japanese giant, Toyota Motor Corporation, will make multiple use of the new compact platform its parent company is developing for the launch of a small car in India later next year. Since the company is developing a completely new platform from scratch, it will use it to build a sedan, in addition to other models, which perhaps could be compact cars. Toyota is launching a compact car by the end of next year from its new production facility close to its existing plant in Bangalore, a senior company official said on the sidelines of the launch of the new Land Cruiser, a luxury sports utility vehicle. Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director (marketing), Toyota Kirloskar Motors, said We can make more than just the small car from that new platform. We will bring out a sedan based on that platform, apart from other options. Experts say the use of a common platform amongst cars brings down the cost of development of a new vehicle substantially. Toyota will be able to position the new sedan at an attractive price, lower than its current model, the Corolla Altis (priced at Rs 9.65 lakh, ex-showroom Mumbai, for base variant), experts said. The company wants localisation content of at least 70 per cent for the small car, which will be ramped up later. It also said that the decision of having an engine manufacturing plant in India is pending. Earlier there was a plan of sourcing the engines from outside India, but after putting up the second car plant with such a huge capacity, it does not make sense to not make the engines for the small car here. However, we are yet to take a final call on that, added Singh. The company has an installed capacity of about 100,000 units at the new plant, where Toyota has invested Rs 3,000 crore. However, the company recently informed that it has reduced its targeted capacity to 70,000 units, following the slump in the auto sector, without any reduction in capital expenditure. Hiroshi Nakagawa, managing director of TKM, said: All our global (new) projects were frozen due to the meltdown, except the Indian project. The Indian market is showing signs of recovery and we are expecting great potential from India. TKM was also forced to bring down its production levels by 20 per cent last year, to little more than 50,000 units from the 65,000 units at its current plant, to adjust to falling demand. The company sells four models in India - Innova, Corolla Altis, Camry and Prado. However, with demand slightly better than in earlier months, Toyota is raising monthly production from about 4,000 to 5,500 units. It has set itself a target of selling at least 50,000 units this year. Last year, the company sold 51,800 units. The Land Cruiser, launched in two versions, is the most expensive vehicle from the company, priced at Rs 81.64 lakh and Rs 83.10 lakh. The model will be brought to India in a completely built unit (CBU) and initially sold through only select outlets in the metros. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/toyota-to-launch-sedansmall-car-platform/360630/ TOYOTA SMALL CAR TO ROLL OUT OF BANGALORE IN 2011 Shweta Bhanot The Financial Express (Web & Print Edition) Mumbai: Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp is in the process of identifying vendors in India as it prepares to enter the mass market segment by early 2011 with its completely new small car platform. The company is looking at a localisation level of 70% at the start of production level in small car. Indicating that it will be importing the engine for the small car, Hiroshi Nakagawa, managing director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), said: "We are looking at sourcing as much as we can from India and are studying the possibility of setting up an engine facility at the second plant near Bangalore." Nakagawa was speaking on the sidelines of a function to launch the New Land Cruiser here. He said that the focus was to make a vehicle that competes with the Hyundais and Maruti Suzukis in the small car segment. The company was also exploring the possibility of setting up a research and developments (R&D) centre in India. The small car platform is a brand new platform, keeping in focus the Indian market. The R&D for the said platform has been done in Japan, while the manufacturing will be done in India. The platform is expected to roll out a Hatchback and a Sedan. The second plant in Bangalore will be the mother plant for the small car and the global launch of the small car will be done from here in early 2011, said Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director, marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motor. He said that the focus was on the Indian market while exports would follow later. The new plant near Bangalore was expected to be ready for production by end of this year and would have an initial capacity of 70,000 units per annum. An investment of around Rs 3,000 crore was being made in the second plant. "The second plant will focus only on the volume car segment (small car), while the current plant, with a capacity of 65,000 units per annum, will look at producing Corolla, Innova and Fortuner," said Singh. The company will be launching sports utility vehicle (SUV), Fortuner, in September this year. "The car will be assembled in India and will have localisation of 25% to start with," he added. The company is looking at selling 400 units of the Fortuner per month. The SUV will be priced at around Rs 20 lakh. On Tuesday, the company launched its flagship model, New Land Cruiser, in Mumbai at a starting price of Rs 81.64 lakh (ex-showroom Thane). "This launch helps us build our brand in the country," said Singh, adding that the car would be available in all major cities. Toyota sold 51,000 units in India last year and targets to maintain the numbers with sale of more than 50,000 units this year. "India is very small for Toyota as far as volumes are concerned at present. However, the future looks promising and the contribution of India to Toyota's global sales is expected to become significant," Nakagawa said. Bijoy Kumar Business Standard (Web & Print Edition) Mumbai: The Toyota affair was big for a recession-era car launch. Two huge halls were joined together at a suburban five-star hotel, a mock globe was hung at the middle with the slogan The pride of the world written across it. Huge projection screens dominated and the audio system could have made Bryan Adams happy. The worlds largest car-maker left no stone unturned as they launched the most expensive car in the world to wear a Toyota badge (mind you, we are not talking Lexus yet). Make no mistake, the launch of the Land Cruiser was magnificent. Toyota, perplexed by the successful run of mega-expensive Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) like the Audi Q7, BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne decided that it was time they unleashed their flagship (and not the city-centric Prado) Land Cruiser in India. So, they went for broke and launched the fully-laden versions with price tags on the wrong side of Rs 80 lakh. The all-new Toyota Land Cruiser, with a V8 diesel engine capable of pumping out 286 PS and stump-pulling torque of 65 kgm, is as state-of-the-art as it comes to off-roadability as well as on-road dynamics. A total of 10 air-bags will take care of life on board if the multi-terrain ABS and other active safety features dont. A 6 DVD, 14-speaker JBL system and a four-zone air-con with 28 (count them!) outlets ensure the prospective owners will not miss their home while tackling global warming in some remote part of mother earth. Show of strength? Wait till the Rs 20 lakh Fortuner and the small car come. Those who dared to miss the sumptuous lunch and travelled to the other end of the suburb witnessed the first public appearance of GM India after its parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in US. Karl Slym, president and managing director of GM India, waited patiently and moved from table to table for journalists to arrive from the Toyota launch. There were two screens (much smaller) all right and the music system was basic. The presentation consisted of Chevy advertisements in India and nothing more. The occasion? The Indian arm of what was not so long ago the largest car company in the world launched an LPG version of its successful small car the Spark. This is the first LPG car in India to roll out with sequential injection. Slym spoke of environment friendliness and alternative fuels and emphasised the three year/1,00,000 km warranty available even on the LPG model. And the price? Starts at Rs 3,50,000 cheaper than the LPG contenders from Suzuki and Hyundai, the marketing chief announced. And then we broke for lunch. Strange as it may seem, Toyota sold just about 51,000 units last year in India, while GM India managed slightly better with 61,000-odd cars. GM already has a second car plant in India, while Toyota is only busy building one. GM already has a Rs 20 lakh SUV in the Captiva and Toyota is yet to launch one. Old by design it may be, but the Chevy Tavera is giving a good run to the Toyota Innova in the people-mover segment. GM already sells two small cars in the UV-A and the Spark, while Toyota is yet to enter the segment. In short, the worlds largest car company still has some catching up to do. And GM is all ready to launch a new small car by the end of the year. The fight between Toyota and GM may be is over elsewhere but we may have just witnessed the beginning of a new war. A war that will be played in developing markets like India. 'THE NEW TOYOTA PLANT CAN PRODUCE ANY CAR': SANDEEP SINGH, DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR (MARKETING), TKM Neha Rishi Daily News & Analysis (Web Edition) Toyota Kirloskar Motors is set to strengthen its position in the premium sport utility vehicle market with the launch of the new Land Cruiser, even as it prepares to launch its 'strategic small car' in early 2011. The small car will be built on a completely new platform and rolled out from its new facility near Bangalore, which can also produce sedans and other cars, Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director (marketing), TKM told Neha Rishi of DNA Money. Excerpts from the interview: On models the new plant can produce On production capacity of the new plant being reduced to 70,000 units from 100,000 units earlier The second plant, when ready, will be a huge plant capacity wise, and we will, in future, produce many more cars from here. In future, ramping production from 70,000 to 100,000 will not be a problem at all. On pricing of the small car On powertrain facility for the small car On Yaris coming to India On Prius coming to India
On competition from Xylo
On Innova as a multi utility vehicle On the semi-rural and rural markets On the response of these markets to Corolla http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1263519 GM PLANS TO RIDE ON CHEVROLET BRAND The Financial Express (Web & Print Edition) Mumbai: With its parent making an honest attempt to emerge leaner and meaner from a bankruptcy, General Motors Indian arm is gearing up to provide a complete Chevrolet experience to Indian customers. The company plans to channelise its efforts around the Chevrolet brand as against initial plans to experiment with other flagship brands such as Cadillac or Opel, which is now essentially not anymore a part of GM of Europe. To reinforce its commitment to the Indian market, the company will continue to service Opel cars presently on the Indian roads, said Ankush Arora, vice-president, marketing and sales, General Motors India. There are around 45,000- 50,000 Opel cars running on Indian roads. The manufacturer had also initiated a nationwide campaign aimed at engaging dealerships and suppliers on the matter of its parent filing for bankruptcy, way ahead of the D-day. We were well prepared to handle the current situation and had briefed all our associates and stakeholders well in advance, said Karl Slym, president and managing director, General Motors India. He expects new launches and variants, increased localised content and production efficiencies at its new plant to drive growth for the Indian operations. He also reiterated that the Indian operations of old GM are insulated from the volatility in the US market. The company is looking at expanding its offerings across segments. It will be launching Chevrolet Cruze in September and the mini car early next year. The mini is expected to cost around Rs 4 lakh. On Tuesday, it launched company fitted LPG Spark at a price of Rs 3.69 lakh (ex-showroom Thane). The LPG kit is being imported from Italy. There will be a cost differential of Rs 21,000 for LPG. Talking about its used car business called Chevrolet Ok, Arora said, The business is doing well and we are getting around 120-150 cars for replacement every month. He added that a majority of the cars coming for replacement are Opel brand. There are more than three lakh GM cars on Indian roads. Currently, Chevrolet Ok is present at 13 GM dealers in the country and the company plans to expand this to35 dealerships by this year end. GM discontinued the Opel brand a few years ago, and currently sells only the Chevrolet brand which includes models like Tavera, Optra, Aveo, UV-A, Spark and Captiva in India. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/gm-plans-to-ride-on-chevrolet-brand/473920/ GM BETS BIG ON MINI-CAR FOR INDIA The Hindu Business Line (Web Edition) See similar story in: The Economic Times (Web Edition) Mumbai: General Motors India is betting big on its global mini-car that is scheduled to debut towards the end of this calendar. Mr Karl Slym, President & Managing Director, said at a press conference here on Tuesday that this was part of the companys efforts to focus on the Indian compact car segment which accounts for nearly 75 per cent of sales. Codenamed the M300, the mini-car will roll out of the companys new plant in Talegaon near Pune. It is important from GMIs point of view because it will be part of a full-fledged manufacturing operation which will pay particular attention to localisation. GMI will also look at exporting the M300 to parts of the Asia-Pacific region. The Talegaon plant has a capacity of 140,000 units which could be increased to 300,000 cars. The powertrain facility in the same area has been planned for 160,000 diesel and petrol engines, but can enhance this to 300,000 units. Sources say that the big numbers planned clearly reflect the companys intention to use India as an export hub. Sparks LPG version GMI launched the LPG version of the Chevrolet Spark with a price tag of Rs 3.69 lakh (ex-showroom, Thane). The Spark accounted for half the companys total sales of 65,702 units in 2008. It is being manufactured at the Talegaon plant but will also be part of the assembly line at the Gujarat plant once the M300 debuts. The LPG option would only be confined to small cars like the Spark while the bigger models from the GMI stable would use compressed natural gas as an alternative fuel. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/06/10/stories/2009061051570200.htm VW APPOINTS SENIOR EXECS Pune: Volkswagen India has announced the appointment of two senior level executives, aimed at strengthening its sales activities. It has appointed Maik Stephan as managing directorm VW Group Sales India Pvt Ltd and Lutz Kothe as chief general manager, marketing and PR for the VW brand. The VW Group in India represents three brands, Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda Auto. The appointments are effective June 1. Mr Stephan succeeds Andreas Prinz who was managing director, VW passenger cars although Mr Stephans role has been expanded to cover all three brands. Copyright 2009, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 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| MAY SALES REMAIN DULL FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLES The Hindu Business Line (Web & Print Edition) Bangalore: The economy witnessing a minor recovery, following the stimulus package, has failed to help the commercial vehicles sector, which continued dismal sales performance in May. Governments efforts in January to boost the commercial vehicles sector through an increase in depreciation allowance from 15 to 50 per cent and a 6 per cent reduction in excise duty on the purchase of new trucks have failed to stimulate the sector. A 41.75 per cent slump in May sales of higher tonnage five to 49 tonnes vehicles, the apathy of bankers and auto finance companies to first-time buyers and payment delinquency had their impact on the weak sales, said the latest report of the Indian Foundation of Transport Training and Research (IFTTR). The foundation said sales in the five-to-39-tonne category during FY 2009 saw a 38.69 per cent decline to 1.65 lakh trucks from 2.68 lakh units in the previous year. Core sector plunge The weak May sales in all but light commercial vehicles segment were not only due to the ongoing distortion in the economy but also because of the fragmentation in the freight service economy, resulting in oversupply of trucks, said IFTTR. Sales in the five-to-49-tonne range, which reflects the health of the core sectors of the economy in terms of the cargo movement, plunged to 10,919 units in May this year compared with 18,743 in the same period last year. The declining trend was also quite high in mid-range trucks. A 63.6 per cent fall in sales of tipper trucks (16.2 tonnes and 25.2 tonnes categories) underlined the dismal demand caused by the virtual stoppage of work on majority of construction and infrastructure projects, which are the predominant users of the vehicles. During the month, light commercial vehicles segment, however, saw a modest increase by about 6 per cent at 2,290 units, an increase of 139 units. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/06/10/stories/2009061051250300.htm LEYLAND-JOHN DEERE VENTURE TO BE DELAYED T Murrali The Hindu Business Line (Web & Print Edition) Chennai: Commercial production at Ashok Leyland John Deere Construction Equipment Company, the 50:50 joint venture between Ashok Leyland and the US-based John Deere, will be delayed by about a year. The company had planned for going on stream in early 2010 but production will commence from early 2011. Mr Vinod Dasari, COO, Ashok Leyland, told Business Line that the products manufactured would be tailor-made for local applications and the company recently finalised the product portfolio along with its joint venture partner John Deere. When the joint venture was inked last October, the company planned to make backhoe loaders, front loaders and four-wheel loaders. Now it is mulling options to make skid steers, A skid steer is a small machine with lift arm suitable to attach several labour saving tools to do a host of jobs. In addition to construction equipment, Ashok Leyland will roll out light commercial vehicles beginning 2011 through its joint venture with Nissan Motor Corporation. When the joint venture was formalised in May 2008, the company planned to commence production by 2010. The JV company would launch seven models in the gross vehicle weight range of 1.5 tonnes to 6 tonnes, he said. Ashok Leylands Uttarkhand plant, its sixth facility, will commence production from April 2010. Alongside it will launch its Unitruck and Neptune engine. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/06/10/stories/2009061051190300.htm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CONSTRUCTION & AGRI MACHINERY Go To Top Deccan Herald Highly placed sources said the FIPB has cleared the proposal at its meeting held recently and has recommended for a final approval by the Finance Ministry. ShinMaywa Industries had sought permission to form a JV with the Indian firm to design, manufacture, sale and provide after sales service of the Japanese firm's special purpose truck products, like tippers and garbage compactors. Through the proposed JV -- Kailash ShinMaywa Ltd (KSL) -- ShinMaywa Industries plans to set up a manufacturing facility to expand its presence in the country. The Tokyo Stock Exchange and Osaka Securities Exchange listed company sought permission from the Indian government to hold 60 per cent stake in KSL, which would result in an inflow of Rs 1.2 crore. The proposed authorised share capital of KSL is Rs 20 crore, while the paid equity share capital would be Rs 5 lakh, sources said. ShinMaywa Industries has granted exclusive licence to Mumbai-based ACC Machinery Company Ltd (AMCL) to produce, use and sell truck mixer models in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan and a non-exclusive licence for the same products for Sri Lanka and Pakistan. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/7171/japanese-firm-gets-nod-form.html | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2/3 WHEELERS Go To Top Nandini Sen Gupta The Economic Times TVS Motors will launch its Flame brand of motorcycles under a new name, but the new SR125 will omit the controversial twin-spark plug technology over which the Chennai-based company is locked in a two-year old legal battle with rival Bajaj Auto. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News-by-Industry/TVS-Motors-to-launch-Flame-bikes/articleshow/4637677.cms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| AVAILABILITY OF CHEAPER RUBBER ABROAD MAKES IMPORTS VIABLE George Joseph Business Standard Kochi: Duty-bound import of natural rubber, though less attractive for importers through the Advance Licence Scheme, has been on the increase during the last few months. The much lower tariff for the commodity in the overseas markets provides a viable option for industrial users to import rubber even by remitting a 20 per cent duty. This price situation ensures a much higher import in the coming months, likely to be in a range of 14,000-16,000 on a monthly basis, mainly by the non-tyre sector. Generally the non-tyre sector is less interested in the import of natural rubber due to the exorbitantly high import duty. The tyre sector imported 5,500 tonne in April and May this year while this was 4,800 tonne in the same period last year. According to experts it is likely that more import would occur in the coming weeks as the overseas and domestic markets have such huge gap on the price front. The present market conditions in India and abroad paints a different picture while importing rubber from other producers. The cost of 1 kg of rubber in the local market is around Rs 110, including a 4 per cent VAT, transportation cost and other expenses, as the local prices have hovering around Rs 100 per kg for the last 10-12 weeks. But the average overseas price is almost static, in a range of Rs 82-83 for the last few weeks. Even after paying a 20 per cent duty and incurring other expenses, the per kg cost for imported rubber would be Rs 102-103 per kg. So imported rubber is cheaper by Rs 7 per kg on an average, hence a much attractive route for bulk purchases. This is a major reason for a smart increase in imports during April and May. During these months, according to Rubber Board estimates 24,743 tonne were imported to India against 14,341 tonne in the same period of 2008. Total import in 2008-09 were 79,927 tonne against 86,394 tonne in 2007-08. Expert see a possibility of import to cross the 100,000 tonne mark in the current financial year. DEMAND FROM AUTO, CONSTRUCTION SECTOR BOOSTS STEEL CONSUMPTION PTI See this story in: The Economic Times, The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: With demand accelerating from automobile and construction sectors, India's steel consumption increased by six per cent to 8.22 million tonns in the April-May period over the corresponding months last year. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/03091201.htm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| LUBRICANTS & ALTERNATIVE FUELS Go To Top Rohini Singh The Economic Times Consumers might have to shell out a higher cess on auto fuels if the government goes ahead with a proposal to step up funding for highways. The road and surface transport ministry has suggested a Re 1 hike in auto fuel cess. According to highly-placed government sources, the actual hike may be 50 paise per litre, though the final call will be taken by the Prime Ministers Office, the finance ministry and the Planning Commission.
Copyright 2008, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved" OIL PRICES ABOVE $68 IN ASIAN TRADE AFP See this story in: The Times of India Singapore: Oil prices held above $68 a barrel in Asian trade Tuesday after rebounding from overnight falls amid hopes of a recovery for the ailing global economy. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/Oil-prices-above-68-in-Asian-trade/articleshow/4634210.cms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| INTERNATIONAL NEWS Go To Top Bloomberg See this story in: The Economic Times Michigan: US car parts suppliers plan to ask President Barack Obamas auto task force this week for $8 billion to $10 billion in loan guarantees, after negotiating federal loans earlier this year. Industry trade groups will request that the US Treasury back at least a part of loans for auto suppliers from banks to lessen risk and increase lending, said Neil De Koker, president of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA), based in Troy, Michigan. The banks may be part of a group of lenders who could choose the suppliers to receive loans, he said. JUDGE LETS CHRYSLER SEVER TIES WITH 789 DEALERS Agencies See this story in: The Economic Times New York: A bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved Chrysler's plan to terminate 789 of its dealer franchises, while the automaker's plan to partner with Italy's Fiat hinged on action by the Supreme Court and both automakers warned that the deal could fall apart if it's not completed soon. Reuters See this story in: The Economic Times Stockholm: Three groups have entered bids for Saab, General Motors Swedish car unit, and a preferred bidder is to be chosen by the end of this week. Swedish luxury sportscar maker Koenigsegg and Ira Rennerts Renco Group were among the suitors, as well as Merbanco, a group of investors from the US state of Wyoming. FIAT COMMITS TO CHRYSLER DEAL DESPITE COURT DELAY Agencies See this story in: The Economic Times, Hindustan Times Milan: Italian automaker Fiat said on Tuesday it will not turn its back on a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Chrysler despite a US Supreme Court stay on the sale. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName= http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090610/jsp/business/story_11088604.jsp http://in.biz.yahoo.com/090609/137/batpil.html http://www.livemint.com/2009/06/09142025/Fiat-8216won8217t-walk.html http://www.financialexpress.com/news/fiat-wont-abandon-chrysler-deal-after-court-delay/473869/ PORSCHE IN EXCLUSIVE TALKS WITH QATAR ON STAKE AFP See this story in: mint Frankfurt: The German luxury sportscar maker Porsche said Tuesday it was in exclusive talks with Qatar over a possible stake in the company. We are currently speaking only with Qatar, a Porsche spokesman told AFP. The talks are marked by a good atmosphere, he added without providing details. All variations are under discussion, the spokesman nonetheless said. Porsche is weighed down by heavy debt incurred while it pursued a takeover of Volkswagen, the biggest European carmaker in which it now holds a stake of 51%. Porsche abandoned an attempt to take full control of VW last month and the two car makers said they would discuss terms of a merger. Qatar could now buy shares in Porsche via a capital increase, or shares in VW by paying Porsche for stock options held by the maker of the 911 sports car. Investing directly in Porsche would allow the company to come back to its original plan of taking over the much bigger VW. Porsche, which is owned by the Porsche and Piech families, has also raised controversy by asking for aid in the form of a 1.75-billion ($2.43-billion) credit from the state-owned bank KfW. http://www.livemint.com/2009/06/09162237/Porsche-in-exclusive-talks-wit.html BMW, AUDI, DAIMLER: CAR SALES DOWN BUT NOT ALL BAD See this story in: The Hindu Business Line Frankfurt - Three of Germany's leading carmakers, BMW AG, Audi AG and Daimler AG said Monday that sales fell in May compared to a year earlier, but noted that the slump in the auto market was not as bad as in previous months. The three said demand had rebounded in some countries, suggesting sales could continue to improve in the year ahead. Audi reported a six per cent drop in sales in May, to 82,800 vehicles, while BMW saw an 18 per cent decline to 109,042 vehicles. Daimler's Mercedes-Benz Cars booked a 12 per cent drop to 97,300 vehicles. "We were able to increase our market share in the premium segment in major markets such as the U.S. and Japan over the previous month," Ian Robertson, a BMW board member responsible for sales and marketing said in the company's report. The Munich-based premium carmaker said its BMW brand sold 90,643 cars last month, down 18 per cent from the 110,707 sold in May 2008. The Mini brand saw sales fall 19 per cent to 18,348 cars. Sales of the super-luxury Rolls-Royce brand declined 54 per cent to 51 cars and BMW's motorcycles division saw a 12 per cent decline to 10,172 motorcycles. However, BMW said its BMW Z4, a new sports coupe on the market since May 9, has seen a robust 2,365 deliveries worldwide. The 7 Series limousine, the company's biggest sedan, sold nearly 3,400 units in May - a 1.5 per cent increase. Meanwhile, the X6, an SUV-car crossover sold 3,625 units worldwide, a 109 per cent improvement over May a year ago. Audi, one of BMW's main rivals, said that despite its six per cent drop in total sales, it is seeing leaps in demand in the Asia-Pacific region, with China racking up big gains. The Ingolstadt-based company, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, said it sold 82,800 cars in May, compared with 88,168 a year ago. Audi said sales in the Asia-Pacific region were 24 per cent higher, with 15,650 cars sold for the month. In China, the company saw a 28 per cent increase in sales to 12,435 cars. South Korea and Australia also contributed strongly to sales for the region. Sales also increased in several European countries, including Belgium, Italy and Switzerland, lifting market share to 3.9 per cent in Europe excluding Germany, compared to 3.7 per cent in May a year ago. Sales in the U.S. fell more than 12 per cent, but Audi added two percentage points to market share, bringing its portion of the premium segment to 8.8 per cent. "Demand for our A3, A4, and A5 core models is strong," Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi's board member responsible for sales and marketing, said in Audi's report. The three models include two-door coupes, sedans and station wagon models. Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz cars division said its 12 per cent decline in May sales belied an improvement in Germany and other regions. The Mercedes-Benz cars division includes the brands Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Maybach and AMG. Daimler said sales in Germany improved 11 per cent for the month, delivering 25,600 vehicles. Its new E-Class sedans and the A-and B-Class hatchbacks also contributed to the growth in sales. Around 5,300 customers bought an A-Class vehicle in Germany in May, - a 54 per cent jump from a year ago. Deliveries of B-Class vehicles rose by 27 per cent to 3,900 units. The ultra-compact two-seat Smart also recorded a 26 per cent increase in May sales in Germany. "We expect sales to receive a further boost in the coming months from the introduction of the new E-Class to other important markets such as China and the U.S.," said Klaus Maier, a sales and marketing vice president, on the overall sales situation. Daimler said the Mercedes-Benz cars division posted record sales in China, up nearly 60 per cent for the month to 5,200 units. Brazil reported an increase of 40 per cent, and Canada a 17 per cent increase. The group's sales in the U.S. however, declined more than 33 per cent for the month. Shares of BMW were down about one per cent at euro26.82 ($37.27); Audi shares were flat at euro419.46, while Volkswagen shares were 4.5 per cent higher at euro251.81. Daimler shares were 3.4 per cent lower at euro26.79 in Frankfurt afternoon trading. HONDA REVVED INTO US BIKE MARKET 50 YEARS AGO Chicago: Fifty years after Honda got its US start selling motorcycles off the back of a pickup truck, the Japanese automaker is one of the most popular and top-rated car companies in the United States. "The meticulous way they've grown and focused this company over the 50-year period is certainly something to marvel at," said Jeff Schuster, an analyst with JD Power. Just 11 years after its founding as a motorcycle company, Honda launched its first overseas subsidiary in the United States on June 11, 1959. The Japanese government limited Honda's investment to 250,000 dollars, of which only half could be taken out of the country as cash, because it was convinced the effort would fail. So Honda bought an old photo studio in Los Angeles as a base and sent its eight associates off in Chevy pickups to pitch their bikes to local hardware stores and motorcycle shops. The bikes were a lot smaller than the massive "hogs" Americans were used to seeing growling down the road under the grip of tough guys in leather jackets. But a massive advertising campaign with the slogan "you meet the nicest people on a Honda" helped reshape how Americans looked at motorcycles. By 1968 Honda had sold a million of them, and had become the best-selling motorcycle in the country. Honda entered the US car market a year later, selling a handful of its diminutive sedans in Hawaii before launching on the mainland in 1970. Sales were initially weak, but Honda's fuel-efficient engines and low price tags proved far more popular when the oil crisis hit in 1973. Honda became the first Asian automaker to set up production in the United States, with the first motorcycle rolling off an Ohio assembly line on September 10, 1979 and the first car built on November 1, 1982. The plants were built at a painful time in US labor history and there were significant doubts as to whether quality standards could be maintained. Those fears were soon proved to be baseless and in 1988 Honda began exporting the US-built Accord to Japan. A year later, the Accord became the first foreign brand to be the best-selling car in the United States, a title it would hold for three consecutive years. Honda's "strong engineering culture" has played a large part in their success, said Jeremy Anwyl, president of the automotive research firm Edmunds.com. "They were able to meet some of the early fuel efficiency and emission standards without some of the inelegant solutions others found," he said in a telephone interview. The focus on efficiency extended beyond their engines and influenced both their manufacturing operations -- among the first plants to adopt flexible systems able to produce different vehicles on the same assembly line -- and their management structure. "They're able to make decisions really quickly and aren't encumbered by the bureaucracies other automakers have," Anwyl said. While Honda was criticized for failing to capitalize on the massive trucks and sport utility vehicles trend in the 1990s, its focus on core products and smaller car-based crossover sport utility vehicles proved prescient when gas prices skyrocketed again. That focus on efficiency allowed Honda to quickly adjust its production when auto sales crashed last fall, said John Mendel, Honda's vice president in charge of US sales. "Honda really prospers in difficult times," Mendel told AFP. "Customers go to safe harbors -- they know with a Honda vehicle they're probably never going to have any problems with it, it's going to last a long time and the residual value is going to be high." Honda's share of the US market rose to 10.8 percent of the US market in 2008 from 9.6 percent a year earlier even as sales fell eight percent to 1.6 million vehicles, according to Autodata. And it is currently on pace to overtake Chrysler for the number four spot in the US market, just as Toyota overtook Ford for the second rank. Honda now employs some 28,000 people in the United States, where it operates 10 manufacturing plants and 14 research and development facilities. Two more plants are under construction. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Hindu Business Line Mumbai: The rupee gained slightly in a market that saw good selling and buying movement. The domestic currency traced the domestic equities market. It opened at 47.60/65 and closed at 47.48, against the previous close of 47.56. During the day, the rupee touched a low of 47.80 and a high of 47.40, said a forex dealer from a public sector bank. There is not much direction in the forex market. The rupee is tracking either the equities or overseas currencies or the NDF market, the dealer said. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/06/10/stories/2009061051790600.htm GOVERNMENT TO SPEND BIG TO MEET 9% GROWTH: PM The Economic Times New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday promised higher governmental spending for taking the economy to a 9% growth rate. Mr Singh, however, said it could require the political class abandoning its usual games and adapting to a new mindset. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Economy/Govt-to-spend-big-to-meet-9-growth/articleshow/4637717.cms Last Financial closing
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