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INDUSTRY Auto manufacturers report robust June sales Tata Motors sales fall 3.91 pc in June M&M automotive sales grow 18.72% in June Khattar's car servicing foray to branch into branded spare parts Khattar's Carnation lines up 100 stores in 4 years Carnation announces aggressive strategy for pan-India roll-out INTERVIEWS/FEATURES
COMMERCIAL VEHICLES CONSTRUCTION & AGRI MACHINERY 2/3 WHEELERS Hero Honda sales up 23.70 pc in June TVS Motor sales up 6 pct in June India Yamaha sales rise 84.39% Suzuki motorcycle sales up 33.42% in June | ALLIED INDUSTRIES Maruti rejigs vendor base due to MRF labour issues FINANCE & INSURANCE LUBRICANTS & ALTERNATIVE FUELS Oil rises above USD 70 per barrel INTERNATIONAL NEWS GM goes back to court to seek speedy bankruptcy exit GM CEO defends plan to sell assets Discounts may put US auto sales back on track Chrysler bleeding, cash loss slows, says Fiats Marchionne ECONOMY & FINANCE Sensex rises 151 points in volatile trade
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INDUSTRY Go To Top The Hindu Business Line (Web & Print Edition) Mumbai: June was a heady month for Maruti-Suzuki and Hero Honda in the car and two-wheeler segments as they consolidated their leadership positions. Factors such as lower interest rates, ease in credit disbursement and a more buoyant rural market helped their cause. For Maruti, the almost three-fold increase in exports at 13,336 units was welcome news as it reported total monthly sales of around 75,000 units, a 23 per cent growth over June last year. Since its first shipment in January 2009, the A-Star has led the companys exports. It accounts for 90 per cent of our international business, said Mr Mayank Pareek, Executive Officer, Sales and Marketing, Maruti Suzuki. He added that domestic sales were also boosted by a revival in the urban market, primarily the top 10 cities, over the last one-and-a-half months. Hyundai Motor India posted 18 per cent growth at 47,267 units, a bulk of which came from exports. The first half of 2009 saw us maintain a strong position in the overseas market which saw a resurgence due to (scrapping) incentives in many European countries, said Mr Arvind Saxena, Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing. Tata Motors reported flat growth at 17,039 units. The Indica range grew 19 per cent at 10,210 units while sales of the Indigo sedan fell 26 per cent to 3,522 units. The Sumo and the Safari were down 11 per cent to 3,302 units. The companys ally, Fiat showed a four-fold increase in sales at 2,474 units against 550 units in the same month last year, thanks to the Linea and the recently launched Grande Punto hatchback. Mahindra & Mahindra saw a 56 per cent surge in sales mainly on account of the Xylo multipurpose vehicle which has a booking order of 18,000 units. Sales of Honda Siel Cars India were up 6.5 per cent at 5,039 units. The recently launched Jazz accounted for 2,032 units which brought it within arms length of the flagship City model which did 2,351 units. It will be interesting to see if the Jazz maintains the momentum considering that, for a small car, it does not come in cheap at over Rs 7 lakh Two-wheelers Either way, June has been memorable for Honda with its two-wheeler business getting stronger by the day. Its joint venture with the Hero group, Hero Honda, saw sales grow 24 per cent to close at 3.66 lakh units. In the process, the first quarter sales crossed a million. Our domestic market share is at an all-time high of 59 per cent, said a company release. Building a robust product portfolio across categories, exploring new markets, aggressively expanding the network and continuing to invest in brand building activities boosted our performance, said Mr Anil Dua, Senior Vice-President, Hero Honda. Hondas other two-wheeler arm, HMSI (Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India), posted its ever highest sales since its inception nearly a decade ago at 1.03 lakh units. Of this, scooters accounted for a little over 59,000 units with motorcycles taking up the rest. Sources said that productivity improvements were underway which could see production during this fiscal touch 1.5 million units. The year will also see HMSI launch its 100cc motorcycle. TVS Motor showed a six per cent increase to 1.15 lakh units, thanks largely to scooter sales at nearly 26,000 units. The company added two new motorcycles Apache RTR 180 and TVS Flame SR 125 in June. Bajaj Auto did not declare its sales figures on Wednesday. India Yamaha Motors sales surged 84 per cent by selling 17,878 units while Suzuki Motorcycle sold 12,335, posting 33 per cent growth. As for commercial vehicles, Tata Motors showed a two per cent fall at 26,205 units. The light commercial vehicle segment posted a 17 per cent growth at 16,256 units while medium and heavy commercial vehicle segment continues its dismal performance showing a 23 per cent decline at 9,949 units. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/07/02/stories/2009070251340200.htm AUTO MANUFACTURERS REPORT ROBUST JUNE SALES Samar Srivastava Mint (Web & Print Edition) New Delhi: Car and two-wheeler makers reported robust sales in June even as concerns over a continuing lack of financing prompted manufacturers to say that testing times for the industry are likely to continue. The countrys largest car and bike companies posted the heftiest increases in sales. Powered mainly by a huge jump in exports of its A-Star model, sales at MarutiSuzuki India Ltd rose 22.5% to 75,109 units in June from a year ago. Maruti plans to export 100,000 A-Star cars by the end of this fiscal. Domestic sales were up 9.5% to 61,773 units. June sales at Hero Honda Motors Ltd jumped 23.7% to 365,734 units. Hero Honda was also the only auto maker not to post a fall in sales during the slowdown that began last June. Other two-wheeler makers also saw increased sales. Yamaha Motor Co.s India subsidiary sold 8,179 more bikes than the same month last year, a jump of 84%. Sales at Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd were up 33% to 12,335 units while TVS Motor Co. Ltds sales were up a marginal 6% to 115,448 units. Companies report only shipments to dealers and not retail sales. An industry expert said the June sales were not an indication of firm growth. V.G. Ramakrishnan, director of the automotive and transportation practice for South Asia and Middle East at consultancy Frost and Sullivan, said, Sales will continue to be wavy in the next two-three months. A clear picture, he predicted, would emerge after the budget and related policy announcements are implemented. Still, the months ahead could see a base effect, when a particular years numbers look good due to lower figures in the year earlier, kick in. Car sales, which grew at an anaemic 0.13% last fiscal, started shrinking after June 2008 and will, therefore, show better growth number from July. June was also a month when car maker Hyundai Motor India Ltd bucked its trend of declining domestic sales. They rose 5.2% to 23,016 units. Hyundai, which uses India as an export base for its small cars, shipped 24,251 units to Europe, a jump of 32.5%. Tata Motors Ltd, which also retails cars for Fiat India Pvt. Ltd, said sales rose 11% to 19,513 units. A break-up of Tata-made and Fiat cars was not disclosed. Commercial vehicle sales numbers reported by the company presented a mixed bag. While light vehicles were up 17% to 16,256 units, medium and heavy vehicles continued to post a decline. Sales were down 23% to 9,949 units. At Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, domestic sales of utility vehicles such as the Scorpio and Xylo models were up 56% to 17,653 units. Honda Siel Cars India Ltd, which launched the Jazz, a premium hatchback, last month saw sales rise 6.5% to 5,039 units. It has received 2,032 orders for the car, the company said in a statement. General Motors India Ltd, whose US parent filed for bankruptcy protection in the US last month, saw sales dip by 4% to 4,495 units. It was the only car company to post a decline in sales. http://www.livemint.com/2009/07/01234354/Auto-manufacturers-report-robu.html?d=2 TATA MOTORS SALES FALL 3.91 PC IN JUNE PTI See this story in: The Economic Times (Web Edition) New Delhi: Automaker Tata Motors on Wednesday reported a 3.91 per cent decline in its total sales during June at 45,399 units compared with 47, 245 units the same month in 2008. M&M AUTOMOTIVE SALES GROW 18.72% IN JUNE PTI See this story in: The Hindu Business Line (Web Edition) New Delhi: Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra on Wednesday reported 18.72 per cent growth in its total automotive sales in June at 22,999 units compared with 19,371 units in the corresponding month last year. Domestic sales during the month stood at 22,526 units against 18,179 units in the year-ago period, up 23.91 per cent, the company said in a statement. However, exports during the month stood at 473 units compared with 1,192 units in the same month last year, down 60.32 per cent. Sales of utility vehicles registered 56.07 per cent growth at 17,653 units against 11,311 units in the same period last year. Three-wheelers sales, however, decline by 22.74 per cent at 3,357 units compared with 4,345 units in the corresponding period a year ago, it said. The sales of light commercial vehicles decreased to 1,015 units in June 2009, from 1,172 units in June 2008, down 13.40 per cent, the statement added. Mahindra-Renault's sedan 'Logan' recorded 62.92 per cent decrease in sales at 501 units in June this year compared with 1,351 units in the same month last year. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/02011707.htm KHATTAR'S CAR SERVICING FORAY TO BRANCH INTO BRANDED SPARE PARTS Business Standard (Web & Print Edition) See this story in: The Financial Express (Delhi Print Edition) New Delhi: Carnation, the multi-brand car servicing major, has announced plans to roll out its own brand of auto spare parts by mid-2010. Well be launching our own brand of genuine car spare parts, said Jagdish Khattar, CMD of Carnation, at the formal launch of nine service outlets. The nine outlets have actually been functioning for several months already; company executives say 7,000 customers have come in till now. Company officials said they have begun importing specialised auto components from countries like Thailand and Taiwan to service luxury car brands like Honda and Toyota. Taking advantage of the free trade agreement between India and Thailand, we are importing car spare parts. Further, we are currently exploring options to engage domestic auto component vendors to contract manufacture car ancillaries for us, which will be sold under the Carnation brand name. The domestic market for auto ancillaries is around Rs 20,000 crore. Vendors supplying auto parts to Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai are required to manufacture exclusively for the company. But executives in these companies say certain auto components that are not proprietary in nature are permitted to be manufactured and sold on a non-exclusive basis. Carnation executives say its here they would sell their private label of auto components, where quality is guaranteed. Our positioning will be between the genuine authorisd spare parts and the grey market, says one Carnation executive. The company,which has raised around Rs 108 crore from investors like Azim Premji and IFCI Ventures, plans to raise an additional Rs 180 crore primarily by way of debt funding from banks. The company expects its turnover to touch Rs 70 crore by the end of financial year 2009-10. By the third quarter of the financial year 2010-2011,we expect to break even, says Khattar. Carnation plans to open an additional 30 multi-brand servicing outlets by the end of 2011. And plans to foray into the used car business and then into selling new cars in the next three years. Khattar says the revenues from all these business units would result in increased turnover and cash accruals. But refused to give a forecast.
KHATTAR'S CARNATION LINES UP 100 STORES IN 4 YEARS Sindhu Bhattacharya Daily News & Analysis (Web Edition) See this story in: The Hindu (Web & Print Edition), The Statesman (Web Edition) New Delhi: In a country where 80% of the passenger car market rests with the top three manufacturers and a majority of vehicle servicing and used-vehicle business is done in the unorganised sector, this could be a welcome change. Jagdish Khattar, the man who steered Maruti Suzuki for close to 14 years, on Wednesday announced the launch of perhaps India's first multi brand sales and service network for all kinds of vehicles. To begin with, Khattar has ventured into car servicing, repairs and accessories, offering all these services across multiple brands at the same location. "Our Auto Solution Hubs would provide everything a car owner would need to maximise his car ownership experience under one roof," he said. Carnation Auto has been set up with an investment of Rs 108 crore from PE investors PremjiInvest and IFCI Ventures and the Auto Solution Hubs are already operational across Amritsar, Chennai, Noida (2), Mumbai (3), Hyderabad and Kochi. It plans an investment of Rs 1,000 crore for rolling out 100 such stores over the next four years. Multi brand sales and service outlets are common abroad and help both the manufacturers and customers, says Khattar. "We have seen cases of dealers of large car brands giving up dealerships over the last several months because they have turned unviable. Then, brands which do not sell huge numbers need a pan-India presence but do not have the capacity to bring in large investments required to set up such a network. In both cases, a multi-brand network would be the solution". Over the next few months, Khattar will begin retailing used cars at his outlets; a pilot project has already begun in Mumbai. He is also toying with the idea of introducing spare parts under Carnation's own brand. It is eyeing revenues of Rs 75 crore this fiscal and breakeven in the next. http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_khattar-s-carnation-lines-up-100-stores-in-4-years_1270252 http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/02/stories/2009070255551400.htm http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=12&theme=&usrsess=1&id=259823
Samar Srivastava Mint (Web & Print Edition) New Delhi: A chain of auto repair shops servicing multiple car brands, Carnation Auto India Ltd, plans to at least triple its number of outlets across the country by the end of this fiscal year, aiming to acquire a share from an unorganized auto service market estimated at some Rs9,000 crore. Primed by former chief executive of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd Jagdish Khattar, the company has, at present, nine service stations across the country. Carnation was launched in September. With an investment of Rs30 crore already, Khattar said on Wednesday he plans to scale up to 30 outlets by March. Third-party service shops that give consumers a credible alternative to dealer workshops are slowly gaining acceptance among Indian consumers, six among 10 of who get their vehicles serviced in workshops that are not licensed or run by auto makers. In developed markets such as the UK and France, one-third of cars tend to come to branded third-party workshops such as Carnation. MyTVS, of the Chennai-based TVS Group, which makes motorbikes through TVS Motor Co. Ltd, first seeded the business in 2004, and now has 62 outlets in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. It aims to go national by next year. We realize we have to be a national player to succeed in this business, said R. Srivatchan, president, customer-centric business. In the last 12 months Reliance AutoZone, part of Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Retail Ltd, and Carnation have entered the market. Reliance AutoZone, present in Jamnagar, Gurgaon and Mumbai, plans to launch another outlet this week, the company said in reply to emailed questions. While Carnation and AutoZone plan to service cars and sell accessories such as tyres, seat covers and batteries, MyTVS has also tapped into the growing market for anytime roadside assistance that an increasing number of car buyers are willing to pay for. MyTVS, which has tied up with companies such as Tata Motors Ltd and Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd, aims to offer this service to 1.1. million customers by the end of the year. Rising acceptance among consumers has resulted in a brisk increase in revenue. Carnation said it expects to clock Rs75 crore this fiscal. MyTVS, which did business worth Rs28 crore last fiscal, is targeting Rs50 crore annual sales in the next two years. At present, customers mainly come to third-party outlets for, in addition to getting their cars serviced, small jobs such as carwashes, headlamp fitting and wiper replacements. They are still not comfortable with entrusting denting and paint jobs outside of dealer-owned shops. Srivatchan of MyTVS expects that to change in the next few years: Once consumers get educated, 80% of jobs will begin to flow to third party outlets. Third party outlets are usually 15-20% cheaper than dealer workshops. These firms now plan to expand into selling insurance and more, over the years. Carnation, for instance, plans to sell used cars. At present, only 10% of used-car sales take place through organized channels such as Maruti True Value and Mahindra First Choice. http://www.livemint.com/2009/07/01234418/Carnation-announces-aggressive.html?h=B | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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EXPORTS BOOST MARUTI, HYUNDAI SALES IN JUNE Mumbai: Domestic car majors Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motors managed to better their overall sales last month, thanks to a major boost from the export markets of Europe, where a majority of customers have started preferring smaller and more fuel-efficient cars. Maruti Suzuki (MSIL), India's biggest car maker, posted a growth of 22.6 per cent in sales during June at 75,109 units, 18 per cent of which came from exports. The company had posted total sales of 61,247 units during the same month last year, when exports contributed to under 8 per cent. MSIL claimed in a release that its new car, A-star, met with an impressive demand in the export markets of Germany, UK, Netherlands, Spain and France. It exported 13,336 units last month as against 4,836 units exported in the same month a year ago. Similarly, Korean car brand Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) reported total sales of 47,267 units, a growth of 17.63 per cent during June. Exports of the company went up by 32.5 per cent to 24,251 units as against 18,301 units during the two comparable months. Arvind Saxena, senior V-P (marketing and sales), HMIL, said: The first half of 2009 sales saw us maintain a strong position in the overseas market, which of course saw a resurgence due to the incentives in many European countries. The surge in exports for both companies is a result of a government-driven incentive programme which helps car owners avail financial gains when they trade their vehicle for a new car. This programme is active in countries like Germany, France, Italy and Britain. Maruti's India sales of 61,773 units sales grew by 9.5 per cent, mainly on the back of a healthy demand for the newly launched compact models like Ritz and A-star, besides the regular models like Swift and Swift DZire. It had sold 56,411 units during June last year. In comparison, Hyundai's domestic sales grew by 5 per cent to 23,016 units during the reporting month as compared to 21,881 units. The company is hoping that the upcoming budget will provide some incentive to the export segment. "We hope that in the coming Budget, too, the government will continue the initiatives which it had taken to support the domestic market and would also take some positive steps to support exports, added Saxena. Sales of sports and multi-utility vehicles of Mahindra & Mahindra, India's largest manufacturer of utility vehicles, jumped by 56 per cent during June to 17,653 units as compared with 11,311 units. This is primarily due to resumption of production of the Xylo, a multi-utility vehicle, which is witnessing a strong demand. However, sales of Logan, a joint product from M&M and Renault, slumped to just 501 units as compared with 1,351 units. Meanwhile, sales of Tata Motors, India's third largest car maker, remained flat with negligible growth. It sold 17,039 units during June as compared with 17,017 units sold in the same month last year. The Indica range outperformed with a growth of 19 per cent at 10,210 units, while that of Indigo and Sumo/Safari declined by 26 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. New Delhi-based Honda Siel Cars reported a growth of 6.5 per cent at 5,039 units in June as against 4,732 units reported in the same month last year. The company's newly launched super premium hatchback Jazz sold 2,032 units since its launch of June 10. Jnaneswar Sen, V-P (marketing), Honda Siel Cars India, said: "We are happy at the response received by Honda Jazz. We are sure that the customers of Honda Jazz will appreciate the product and help us win new customers." JUNE AUTO SALES ON EXPRESSWAY New Delhi: Car sales registered seventh straight month of growth in June, helped by the launch of new models and falling interest rate on auto loans. Countrys largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki, which makes every second car sold in India, continued its strong performance by selling 61,773 vehicles in the month, 10% more than in June 2008. It also posted a three-fold increase in exports to 13,336 vehicles, taking its June tally 75,109 units. We tapped the buoyant rural markets and worked with PSU banks to offer competitive interest rates to customers, said Mayank Pareek, executive officer (sales & marketing), Maruti Suzuki.
Copyright 2009, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved" MARUTI SALES JUMP 23% IN JUNE New Delhi: The country's largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, on Wednesday reported a 22.63 per cent jump in its sales at 75,109 units in June against 61,247 units in the same month last year. HYUNDAI MOTOR SALES UP NEARLY 18 PC IN JUNE PTI See this story in: The Economic Times (Web Edition), The Hindu Business Line (Web Edition) New Delhi: The country's second-largest car maker, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), on Wednesday reported a 17.63 per cent increase in its sales at 47,267 units in June as against 40,182 units in the last fiscal. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/02011765.htm GHOST MAY PRISE OPEN INDIA FOR ROLLS-ROYCE Samar Srivastava Mint (Web & Print Edition) New Delhi: Car maker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, part of BMW AG, has said it plans to introduce the Ghost, a new global model, in India by the year-end. This comes right after the launch of marquee brands Jaguar and Land Rover by Tata Motors Ltd on Sunday. The Ghost, which is to be unveiled formally at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, will be on display in showrooms in November or December, said Colin Kelly, regional director, Asia Pacific, at Rolls-Royce in a phone interview on Monday. A formal launch would be followed by events designed for prospective customers only. Our cars are made to order and so our marketing is made to order as well, said Kelly. Bookings and deliveries for the car, which will cost nearly double than the popular Jaguar models, would commence in 2010. The Ghost is a Rolls you can drive everyday, is how chief executive Tom Purves had described the car in an interaction with Mint in May. Indeed, the car comes at a price that is nearly half that of the companys present offering, the Phantom. The company expects to price the car between $250,000 and $270,000 (Rs1.2-1.3 crore) before taxes and import duties, which can easily double the price. With the less expensive tag, Rolls-Royce hopes to substantially increase the number of cars it sells in India. There are at present around 40 Rolls-Royce cars in the country. Last year, the firm sold 14 cars in India through two dealerships in New Delhi and Mumbai and it expects to sell about as many cars this year. (Next year) we expect to sell two-three times what we sold in 2008, Kelly said. The Ghost should also help the firm reach 3,000 cars in global sales by 2010. Last year, it sold 1,212 cars worldwide. According to Kelly, Indian buyers of Rolls-Royce are very similar to counterparts globally. They tend to be hard working wealthy individuals. But they differ in the amount and type of personalization they like to have in their cars. This could be anything from the persons initials to the company logo embroidered into the headrest of the car, he said. There are no plans to expand the number of dealerships in India as of now, he added. The company would, however, look at setting up service only facilities in cities where the number of cars warranted them. It usually waits for a city to have a dozen cars before it considers setting up such a facility. At present, the Indian market is about one-eighth the size of the Chinese market and one-third of the Japanese market but its a gap that the firm believes could narrow substantially in the next few years. A recent Capgemini-Merrill Lynch Wealth Report noted that India has about 1,000 individuals with at least $40 million in liquid assets. Rolls considers each of them potential customers. http://www.livemint.com/2009/07/01234453/Ghost-may-prise-open-India-for.html?d=2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CV PRICES SET TO RISE The Economic Times (Delhi Print Edition) Mumbai: Leading commercial vehicle majors such as Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland are considering a 1-2% price hike this month, mainly due to a sharp rise in input costs over the past few months. The move would be carried out despite a drop in truck sales (volume) by about 11-15% seen in April and May, said industry executives. The last hike by truck makers was in October last year when prices were raised by about 2-2.5%. Most of the commercial vehicle companies said that they had been absorbing input cost increases in the past few months and avoiding price hikes as the economy was still reeling from the impact of a slowdown. We were postponing price hikes as sales of heavy and medium CV were under pressure, said a senior official from a Mumbai-based auto company. Discounts, incentives and reduced interest rates were also prevalent to push volumes, he added. Although most price hikes are implemented early in the year, hikes were postponed after the government announced a stimulus package in December 2008, and reduced excise duties from 16% to 8%, giving a major boost to the commercial vehicles industry. While volumes of light commercial vehicles showed signs of revival, sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles continue to be under pressure. We are now seeing some improvement in truck sales, Tata Motors vice-chairman Ravi Kant had said at a recent meeting. The last two months (April and May) of the current financial year saw CV sales fall by 11% and 15% to 29,842 units and 30,800 units respectively. Lack of finance and high interest rates have seen many fleet operators postpone purchases, said an analyst of a Mumbai-based brokerage. Truck manufacturers are being forced to cut production or maintain flexibility in the manufacturing line, to avoid inventory pile-up. Copyright 2009, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CONSTRUCTION & AGRI MACHINERY Go To Top
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HERO TO TAKE A CALL ON HONDA TIES BEFORE 2014 Nandini Sen Gupta The Economic Times The Hero group will decide on the future of its 25-year old joint venture with Japans Honda Motor well before the expiry of a crucial deadline in 2014, Pawan Munjal, the CEO of the JV firm, said in his most candid statement on the sensitive subject. Copyright 2008, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved" HERO HONDA SALES UP 23.70 PC IN JUNE PTI See this story in: Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, See this story in: The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: The country's largest two-wheeler maker, Hero Honda Motors Ltd, on Wednesday reported a 23.70 per cent jump in its sales at 3,65,734 units in June compared to sales in the same month last year. The company sold 2,95,675 units in June last year. Its cumulative sales for the first quarter (April-June) of this fiscal registered a jump of 25.13 per cent to 11,18,987 units of two-wheelers from 8,94,244 units during the corresponding quarter of 2008-09, Hero Honda Motors Ltd said in a statement. "Our performance in the month of June, as indeed in the first quarter, is very satisfying, coming as it does on the back of a high base last year," Hero Honda Motors Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales) Anil Dua said. "Going forward, we will continue to stay true to our strategy, and carry on setting new benchmarks," he added. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hero-honda-sales-up-23.70-pct-in-june/483572/ http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/02011204.htm TVS MOTOR SALES UP 6 PCT IN JUNE See this story in: The Indian Express, The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: Two-wheeler maker TVS Motor Company reported a 6 per cent increase in its sales at 1,15,448 units in June against 109,082 units in the same month last year. The company's sales growth was mainly due to its scooter sales which rose by 20.8 per cent to 25,945 units in June compared to 21,466 units in the same month last year, TVS Motor said in a statement. The company sold 46,048 motorcycles in June 2009 against 51,409 units in the same month last year. Exports was also down by 32.8 per cent 10,087 units against 15,010 units in the corresponding period of the previous year. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/tvs-motor-sales-up-6-pct-in-june/483605/ http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/02011403.htm INDIA YAMAHA SALES RISE 84.39%
SUZUKI MOTORCYCLE SALES UP 33.42% IN JUNE PTI See this story in: The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: Suzuki Motorcycle India on Wednesday reported a 33.42 per cent rise in its sales in June at 12,335 units compared with 9,245 units in the same month last year. "We are committed to offer world class products in Indian market which is proven by our sales growth of month on month,'' Suzuki Motorcycle India Vice-President (Sales and Marketing), Mr Atul Gupta said in a statement. The company's latest offering to the market - GS150R - was the major factor contributing to growth of Suzuki's sales, he added. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/02011768.htm KABIRDASS MOTOR PLANS IPO TO RAISE RS 60 CR Manu P. Toms The Hindu Business Line Mumbai: Chennai-based Kabirdass Motor Company, which sells Xite electric scooters, is planning to raise Rs 60 crore through an IPO. The issue will be open in 45 to 60 days, said Mr Murali Kabirdass, Managing Director. The fund-raising is primarily meant to set up a manufacturing facility with two-lakh-unit capacity at Sriperumbudur near Chennai. The project cost is Rs 102 crore. A Rs 20-crore loan from Union Bank and Rs 20 crore through equity funding will meet the rest of the project cost. The new facility is expected to be operational in eight to 10 months, said Mr Kabirdass. The company which makes four 250-watt scooters and one 1,500-watt scooter has 33 dealers spread across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Kabirdass Motor plans to expand its dealership network to other States, including Kerala and Maharashtra. Since its inception in February 2007, the company has sold around 2,000 electric scooters, of which 90 per cent were in rural Tamil Nadu. Mr Kabirdass said the target buyers of its 250-watt variants are teenagers who typically travel less than 20 km a day. A driving licence is not required to ride this low-power scooter. Mr Kabirdass said the company is in talks with a few European electric vehicle makers to acquire the licence to manufacture and market their products in India. The company is also in talks with Exide Industries and Amara Raja, which are developing batteries for electric vehicles. Indian electric vehicle makers depend on Chinese companies for batteries. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/07/02/stories/2009070252280300.htm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMPONENTS Go To Top
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ALLIED INDUSTRY Go To Top The Hindu Business Line In a globally integrated business environment, the taxation structure needs to help Indian industry go up the value chain by encouraging the manufacture of value added products. Thats the only way to make industry competitive. Unfortunately, tyre industry in India is still suffering from inverted duty structure wherein Customs duty on import of natural rubber (principal raw material) is 20 per cent whereas that on the finished product (tyres) is 10 per cent. This anomaly encouraging the import of tyres rather than domestic production continues for the last several years. There is urgent need to bring down the customs duty on natural rubber to 10 per cent or alternatively bringing the duty on import of tyres to 20 per cent, at par with import of natural rubber. In another instance of aberration, Customs duty is levied even on those raw materials used by tyre industry which are not manufactured domestically and import is inevitable. This unnecessarily adds to the cost burden of industry. There is need for waiver of customs duty on such raw-materials. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/07/02/stories/2009070250910400.htm MARUTI REJIGS VENDOR BASE DUE TO MRF LABOUR ISSUES The Hindu Business Line New Delhi/Chennai: Labour issues at MRFs production unit in Tamil Nadu is forcing Maruti Suzuki to increase its sourcing from other tyre makers. Maruti Suzuki is now meeting its requirement by buying more tyres from J K Tyres, which is its largest supplier. We have been sourcing from different companies such as MRF, JK and Apollo. But we are increasing our sourcing from companies especially JK, Mr S. Maitra, Managing Executive Officer, Supply Chain, told Business Line. Currently, JK Tyres is the largest vendor of Maruti Suzuki. It accounts for 40 per cent of the companys requirements annually. MRF supplies about 30 per cent of volumes for Suzuki. MRF has been facing labour issues at its Puducherry and Arakonam plant since May. MRFs Arakonam unit was under lock-out between May 17 and 27, 2009. This plant makes tyres for two-wheeler manufacturers such as Hero Honda and passenger car manufacturers such as Maruti. The other plant at Puducherry, which makes radial tyres for passenger cars, was also under lock out from May 17 and was reopened little later. However, the plant is still not fully operational due to issues related to some section of workforce. This is leading to the company not being able to meet the full requirement of Maruti. The radial tyres supplied by MRF are mainly for models such as Swift and Dzire, which already has a waiting period. We have not been able to meet the full requirement. But production has resumed at our plant since a week. It will take time for us to ramp up production to the earlier level. Equipment will need time. So in a few days we will be able to decide the time-frame by when production will reach the normal level, said Mr Koshy Varghese, Executive Vice-President at MRF. Even as the company has started production, it has still not been able to settle issues and discussions are still going on. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/07/02/stories/2009070252130300.htm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TATA MOTORS TIES UP WITH INDIAN BANK PTI See this story in: The Hindu Business Line, The Hindu, The Statesman New Delhi: Tata Motors on Wednesday said it has entered into an agreement with public sector lender Indian Bank for financing Fiat cars distributed by the Indian auto maker. Under the agreement, customers can avail loans up to 85 per cent of the on-the-road-price for a period of up to seven years, at an interest rate of 11.50 per cent for Fiat cars, including Linea, Palio and the recently-launched Grande Punto range. We felt that the strong product range from Fiat could be leveraged further with easy financing options for interested customers. We are extremely happy to have Indian Bank as our new partner,'' Tata Motor's Country Head (Fiat Product Group) Subodh Marat he said in a statement. The company said the facility will be available at all the 1,646 branches of Indian Bank and 100 sales touch points of Tata-Fiat distribution Network. This tie-up will provide customers a single window for availing loans for the whole range of Fiat car s distributed by Tata Motors,'' the company said. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/02011705.htm http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/02/stories/2009070255351300.htm http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=12&theme=&usrsess=1&id=259822 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LUBRICANTS & ALTERNATIVE FUELS Go To Top PETROL PRICES UP RS 4 A LITRE, DIESEL RS 2 Business Standard See similar story in: The Hindu Business Line, Daily News & Analysis New Delhi: With international crude oil prices hovering at a seven-month high of around $70 a barrel, the government raised prices of petrol by Rs 4 a litre and diesel by Rs 2 from midnight, but left cooking gas and kerosene prices unchanged. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, following a Congress core committee meeting chaired by party president Sonia Gandhi. Todays move is expected to ease under-recoveries the differential between the import cost and the selling price of cooking and automobile fuels for the three government oil marketing companies by Rs 13,000 crore from the earlier estimate of Rs 70,000 crore on an annualised basis. Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL had seen losses on fuel sales widening to about Rs 170 crore a day prior to the increase. S V Narasimhan, director (finance) of Indian Oil, the largest oil marketer, told Business Standard that the increase would help his company earn Rs 750 crore more a month. Terming todays price increase ad-hoc, Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey said the government had not taken a widely expected decision on pricing freedom for oil companies, adding that only a portion of the price burden was being passed on to consumers. The three oil marketers will still be left with under-recoveries of Rs 2 a litre on petrol and Rs 1.62 on diesel. The companies will also continue to incur Rs 15.26 a litre loss on kerosene and Rs 92.96 on every cylinder of cooking gas. Oil companies are partly compensated for under-recoveries by government bonds and discounts from state-owned upstream suppliers. Pandey said the government will bear a loss of over Rs 30,000 crore in this financial year on LPG and kerosene, but added that the government was yet to take a decision on whether the subsidy to oil companies will be paid in cash through a Budgetary allocation or in the form of bonds. The Union budget to be presented on July 6 is likely to include oil bonds and a cash subsidy though it might not make any duty changes. Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said cooking fuel prices were unchanged because Sonia Gandhi, who is also chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), had told him that the interests of the common man should be protected. Experts think todays price rise may not push inflation, currently at -1.14 for the week ending June 13, back into positive territory. Petrol, high speed diesel, kerosene and LPG have a weight of 5 per cent in the wholesale price index that constitutes the inflation rate. "At the present levels, it would not add more than 0.33 per cent to the inflation rate. This is the first-round impact," said D K Joshi, principal economist of market rating agency CRISIL. There will, however, also be a second impact on inflation rate, owing to the rise in the cost of transportation, which in turn will push up prices of food and manufactured products. Joshi, however, maintained that unlike the Rs 2 increase in diesel and Rs 5 in petrol in June 2008, when the crude oil price was beginning to peak (it touched $142 a barrel in July), this was the right time to increase the price since inflation had turned negative. After touching a low of $32.40 in December, crude oil prices have been firming up since May on improved economic sentiments and anticipation of a demand revival. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/petrol-pricesrs-4litre-diesel-rs-2/362665/ http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/07/02/stories/2009070252440100.htm http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_petrol-will-cost-you-rs4-more-per-litre-diesel-rs2_1270183 OIL RISES ABOVE USD 70 PER BARREL See this story in: The Indian Express Singapore: Oil rebounded in Asian trade after falling overnight on figures showing declining consumer confidence in the United States, the world's biggest energy user, analysts said. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for August delivery rose 66 cents to 70.55 dollars. Brent North Sea crude for August delivery advanced 75 cents to 70.05 dollars. Analysts expect the rebound in crude prices, coming mainly on the back of investors looking for an alternative to equities, to be temporary amid fresh worries about US energy demand. "Markets have paused for breath over the past month as risk appetite has begun to show signs of waning," analysts from London-based Capital Economics research house said in a report. "We had not expected investors to lose their enthusiasm quite so soon.... We suspect that investors will be ultimately disappointed by the strength of the economic recovery, which is likely to feed back into greater risk aversion later in the year." It said commodities including oil "have generally continued to do well, although the rally is now running out of steam." http://www.indianexpress.com/news/oil-rises-above-usd-70-per-barrel/483560/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
INTERNATIONAL NEWS Go To Top See this story in: The Financial Express, Deccan Chronicle, Asian Age
In the context of the US auto industry, where sales have been slumping for four years, that would constitute good news and support the view sales are near bottom after a punishing decline to nearly 30-year lows, analysts and executives said. All of the largest automakers are expected to post deep US light vehicle sales declines for June to round out what has been the weakest market since the early 1980s. We continue to believe that US auto sales have bottomed this cycle and are heartened by seemingly strengthening retail sales even ahead of any impact from cash for clunkers ... JP Morgan analyst Himanshu Patel said in a note to clients. Ford Motor Co expects to report sales declines in the 10% to 20% range in June, which would be the best result of the top six selling automakers in the United States, following on a recent trend of outperforming sales for Ford. Analysts and Ford see the industry as likely posting a sales decline in the 25% to 30% range for June from a year earlier. On an annualized basis, the rate could top 10 million units, the strongest total since December. Edmunds expects Chrysler sales to drop 29.1%, General Motors Corp 28.9%, Honda Motor Co Ltd 31.4%, Toyota Motor Corp 28.7% and Nissan Motor Co Ltd 24.2%. GMs bankruptcy filing on June 1, inventory sell-offs from Chrysler dealerships that were losing franchises early in June, and the completion of the sale of Chrysler assets to a group led by Italys Fiat SpA all may have distorted the results for the month to some extent, analysts said. June industry sales of light vehicles appear to have improved somewhat further versus last months levels, benefiting from some recovery in consumer confidence but also from the large discounts offered by Chrysler and terminated GM brands in order to liquidate inventories, Barclays Capital analyst Brian Johnson said in a note to clients on Monday. US auto sales may have pierced the 10 million vehicle mark in June on the annualised basis economists follow as an early snapshot of the appetite for big ticket items. A result at or above 10 million units would be the strongest since the 10.3 million unit rate in December, but still one of weakest since the early 1980s. Were still a long way from 16 million unit sales, but things are moving in the right direction, Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com, said of sales rates seen in 2007. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/june-auto-sales-likely-to-show-revival-signs/483719/2 http://www.deccanchronicle.com/business/auto-firms-likely-crawl-back-stability-935 WIND-DOWN COST FOR GM PUT AT $1.5 BN Bloomberg See this story in: Business Standard New York: The cost to wind down what remains of General Motors Corp after an asset sale to a US Treasury- backed buyer is rising, topping the $950 million set aside by GM and the government, executives for the auto maker testified. GM restructuring chief Albert Koch, who will run the so- called old GM if a sale is completed, said he anticipates a wind down will cost slightly in excess of $1.25 billion. The funds will go to closing and selling plants the new GM will leave behind and to paying priority claims from creditors. GM Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson also said the $950 million in cash GM and the Treasury agreed to leave behind after the sale to cover administrative claims and a wind-down likely wont be sufficient. Henderson said on Wednesday at a hearing in US Bankruptcy Court in New York that environmental liabilities may drive the cost higher. It may be short to a certain degree, Henderson said, referring to the money set aside. We would hope the amount that was allocated would be sufficient. The Treasury has said it would leave sufficient cash in GMs bankruptcy estate to fund a wind down, though it hasnt provided a written commitment for more funding, Koch said. Without additional cash from the Treasury, old GM may have to sell some of its 10 per cent stake and warrants in the reorganised company to cover the shortfall, he said. The executives were among the first witnesses to testify at the Detroit-based automakers sale hearing in which it is seeking approval of terms that would give the US government 60 per cent of the new GM for making $50 billion in bailout loans. A worker fund would get a 17.5 per cent stake for giving up health-care benefits, and Canadian government entities would get 11.7 per cent for their loans. Bondholders and unsecured creditors would share 10 per cent of the equity, plus warrants, under the proposed plan. A GM adviser said the stock and warrants going to old GM to pay bondholders and other unsecured creditors would be worth at least $7.4 billion. Koch said he doesnt expect to raise much cash selling the plants that the Treasury isnt buying. Its going to be very difficult to sell or dispose of them, Koch said, noting that many have environmental contamination issues. The environmental liabilities are estimated at $530 million, he said. The heavy lifting on winding down the business will be finished in two to three years, while other elements may drag on longer than that, Koch said. It will likely be early 2010 before the company is in a position to file a liquidation plan with the court, he said. GM may seek to terminate retiree benefits for unionised retirees who arent represented by the United Auto Workers union as early as next week, and it expects to propose a mediation process to deal with tort claims, Koch said. The Treasury is pushing for a speedy sale because it and GM are concerned about the business status of the company in a bankruptcy, Henderson said. The government has said it wont continue to fund the $33 billion bankruptcy loan provided to GM if the judge doesnt approve the sale of most of its assets by July 10. If the government pulled its funding, GM would liquidate, Henderson said. The negotiations over the sale with the Treasury were long and difficult, Henderson said. Ive not seen a more dedicated group than the auto task force, he said. They were tough on us when they needed to be. They were very powerful. Hendersons predecessor, Rick Wagoner, was asked to step down by Steven Rattner, the head of the Treasurys auto task force, in a one-on-one meeting, Henderson testified. Wagoner indicated to me he was asked to step down, Henderson said. GMs board didnt ask for Wagoners resignation at a March meeting, said Henderson, who is a board member. An auto task force adviser, Harry Wilson, is scheduled to testify tomorrow morning. The case is In re General Motors Corp, 09-50026, US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan). http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/wind-down-cost-for-gm-put-at-15-bn/362652/ GM GOES BACK TO COURT TO SEEK SPEEDY BANKRUPTCY EXIT Amandine Ambregni/ AFP See this story in: Hindustan Times New York: General Motors heads back to court on Wednesday to seek approval for a speedy exit from bankruptcy protection by selling off its best assets to a new company in which the US government will hold a majority stake. Judge Robert Gerber plowed through a host of motions Tuesday linked to GM's plan to emerge as a leaner, small company unburdened by old debts and supported by billions in government loans. Facing a courtroom filled with lawyers representing dozens of creditors objecting to the plan, Gerber tried to keep things moving by warning the "hundreds of lawyers here" that while "I'm gonna keep my cool" he expected "questioning more focused on what is important." "People seem to have forgotten why we are here, what we're trying to achieve," Gerber said on the first day of the hearing that is expected to last several days. GM chief executive officer Fritz Henderson was peppered with questions about the automaker's financial problems prior to bankruptcy, the government bailout and how the new company will be structured financially. He stuck largely to the line of defense presented by GM's lawyers: bankruptcy was the "only viable solution" to avoid liquidating the largest US automaker. "Business is doing better," Henderson said during five hours of testimony. "The sales are better than expected, but are still terrible" and are down between 20 and 30 percent compared with a year ago. GM has some "good products" in showrooms and is benefiting from a solid marketing campaign and the public's belief that it will rapidly exit bankruptcy, he said. Gerber could order GM to modify its plan to meet some of the 850 objections mounted by creditors or the automaker could reach a deal outside of court in order to speed up the process. Should Gerber dismiss the objections and grant GM the green light, creditors are given the right to appeal.
That would be well ahead of the 60 to 90 day timeframe predicted by President Barack Obama's administration, which spearheaded the process. Chrysler, which is about a third of the size, spent 40 days in bankruptcy protection and even an appeal to the Supreme Court did not block its sale to a new company run by Italy's Fiat. Like Chrysler, GM's weaker assets will be liquidated through the New York bankruptcy court, but the new GM will not be burdened by the lengthy process. The cost of liquidating GM's remaining assets could surpass the 950 million dollar Treasury department estimate and could be as high as 1.2 billion, Henderson said, adding that the administration is pushing for a speedy emergence.
The US government will own 60.8 per cent of the capital in exchange for some 50 billion dollars in emergency loans, Canada will have 11.7 per cent and a United Auto Workers retiree health care trust fund will hold 17.5 per cent. Creditors holding GM bonds will swap 27.1 billion dollars in debt for a 10-per cent stake and warrants allowing them to buy an additional 15-percent stake. Officials said the Obama administration has no intention of nationalizing General Motors over the long term and will not be participating in its day-to-day operations. While the hearing could take several days given the number of complaints filed, most observers consider it a mere formality as the plan's approval is expected to be assured. "There's no suspense at all!" said one legal source who has followed the case but is not participating. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=BusinessSectionPage&id=e9a30b83-4e23-4232-975f-501969949779&Headline=GM+goes+back+to+court+to+seek+speedy+bankruptcy+exit GM CEO DEFENDS PLAN TO SELL ASSETS See this story in: The Economic Times New York: General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson on Tuesday defended the automakers plan to sell the bulk of its assets to a new company and quickly emerge from bankruptcy protection.
DISCOUNTS MAY PUT US AUTO SALES BACK ON TRACK Reuters See this story in: The Economic Times Detroit: Major automakers are expected to report the highest sales rate of 2009 when they post results for June, as deep discounts limit industry wide results to a 30% decline. CHRYSLER BLEEDING, CASH LOSS SLOWS, SAYS FIATS MARCHIONNE Bloomberg See this story in: The Financial Express Chrysler Group LLC has stemmed the pace at which it uses cash after emerging from bankruptcy June 10 as a slimmer company, chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne said. We are still burning cash, but its slowed down by far, Marchionne, also CEO of Italian automaker Fiat SpA, said in an interview in New York on Tuesday. The question is how quickly we can stop the bleeding. That is priority No 1. Chrysler, which reorganised around what it considered its best assets and $6 billion in fresh financing from the US and Canadian governments, went through $9.6 billion in cash in 2008. Marchionne, who declined to say how quickly the US carmaker is consuming cash, said he isnt seeking another partner in Europe or Asia, even after Fiat lost out to Magna International Inc in a bid for General Motors Corps Opel division in Germany. Marchionne, 57, is focusing on fixing Chrysler after two previous owners failed. Hes cutting inventory and adding new platforms and engine technology to redefine the product portfolio. Turin, Italy-based Fiat bought 20% of the new Chrysler formed from the bankruptcy. Combined, theyre the worlds sixth-largest auto manufacturer, with annual sales of 4.5 million vehicles. The CEO, who is pushing consolidation in the car industry because he expects only six global players to thrive in the long run, said he wants to disclose Chryslers financial information even though the automaker, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, near Detroit, isnt listed on any stock market. It would be very useful for the public, and the people who have funded us, including the taxpayers, to know how were doing, he said. Marchionne said hes working with the US Treasury to decide what information Chrysler might report and when to release it. By the end of the month, Marchionne wants to decide how the partnership will manage its Dodge and Alfa Romeo brands, which he sees as American and European counterparts. The level of competition between these two brands is tremendous because they are both going after the same customer, Marchionne said. Dodge is the American muscle car, while Alfa Romeo is the European muscle car. How we dovetail these two brands is very important. One solution might be to sell Alfa Romeo models under the Dodge brand in the US and Dodge cars as Alfa Romeos in Europe, Marchionne said. Executives at both Fiat and Chrysler have said they will build a new vehicle in the US based on the mechanical underpinnings of Alfa Romeos 149-model car that hasnt gone on sale yet. Chrysler should be able to take control of its European dealer network by September, Marchionne said. Certain operations are still controlled by Daimler AG, which owned Chrysler from 1998 to 2006, said Gualberto Ranieri, a Chrysler spokesperson.
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ECONOMY & FINANCE Go To Top The Hindu Business Line Mumbai: The rupee was flat on Wednesday in a range-bound market. The domestic currency opened at 48.05 and strengthened to touch an intra-day high of 47.88. It closed at 47.90/92, same as the previous close. The rupee opened lower but gained tracking the positive domestic equity markets, said a dealer with a public sector bank. In the overseas markets, the dollar was trading in a range against other major currencies. In the forward premia market, the six-month premium closed margi nally higher at 2.68 per cent (2.61 per cent) and the one-year closed at 2.40 per cent (2.37 per cent). http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/07/02/stories/2009070251590600.htm SENSEX RISES 151 POINTS IN VOLATILE TRADE PTI See this story in: The Hindu Business Line Mumbai: The BSE benchmark Sensex went up over 151 points in choppy trade on Wednesday as nervousness ahead of the Budget next week kept gains in check after the market had slipped two per cent in the previous session. The Sensex, which commenced the day higher and tumbled to touch a low of 14,355.52, closed at 14,645.47, showing a gain of 151.63 points. The 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose 49.80 points at 4,340.90 after touching a low of 4,249.70.It touched the day's high of 4,362.30 points. Marketmen said trading sentiment was mixed as brokers and funds shifted portfolios ahead of the general Budget on Monday. They said buying was mostly in construction and engineering sector stocks on hopes that the government is likely to invest in a big way to revive infrastructure sector. Among the 30 BSE stocks, five ended with losses while 25 recorded moderate to notable gains. Reliance Industries was up 1.68 per cent, Infosys 1.11 per cent, Tata Motors 2.80 per cent, ICICI Bank one per cent, Larsen and Toubro 0.38 per cent, DLF Ltd 4.76 per cent and Tata Steel by 1.07 per cent. The realty sector index gained the most, 4.25 pe r cent, to 3,343.51, followed by the teck index, 1.56 per cent, to 2,644.07. The banking index rose 1.33 per cent to 8,321.05. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/05011901.htm Last Financial closing
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Indian Auto Industry Update July 02, 2009
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