GMI AIMS TO SELL 1,500 UNITS OF CHEVROLET CRUZE THIS YEAR
PTI
See this story in: Business Standard (Web Edition)
Kochi: General Motors India (GMI) expects to increase its total vehicle sales in the country by 10 per cent and is also targeting to sell about 1,500 units of its new model Chevrolet Cruze this year.
"We expect 10 per cent growth this year and plan to sell close to 75,000 units this year against last year's 65,000 units." This year's growth could be in double digits, GMI Vice-President P Balendran told reporters here.
"We have (already) received 1,200 orders (for the new model) and expect to sell about 800 units a month initially," he said. Balendran said that in Kochi, orders for 22 cars have already been received. The new Chevrolet Cruze, which was launched in Kerala, is being offered in two variants -- LT, with an introductory price range of Rs 11 lakh, and LTZ (Rs 12 lakh) in six colours.
Despite the recession last year, General Motors registered a 9.6 per cent growth by selling 65,702 units in 2008 against 60,032 units sold in 2007, he said. GM's new mini car will be rolled out by December this year and it would be a premium hatchback, he said adding the company had also entered into a MOU with Reva for manufacturing electric car by October next.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/gmi-aims-to-sell-1500-unitschevrolet-cruze-this-year/76556/on
GENERAL MOTORS' AMBITIOUS PLANS FOR 2010
Debjoy
The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Kolkata: General Motors India (GM) is hoping to close calender 2009 with a total sales of 70,000 units of which around 40,000 units will be Chevrolet Spark while 14000 units will comprise the `Tavera. During 2010, we are looking at a growth rate higher than 20%. The company will also launch four new vehicles including the compact car Beat.
"Plans include launching the `Beat during early-January, followed by an electric car and alternate fuel versions of Avio, though not necessarily in that order," said Mr Ankush Arora, vice president marketing sales and after sales at Chevrolet Sales India a GM group company.
Mr Arora was talking to reporters here on Thursday at the launch of Chevrolet Cruze in Kolkata. The LT version of the vehicle has been priced at Rs 10.99 lakh while the LTZ version is Rs 12.45 lakh in Kolkata.
"We hope to close 2009 at about 70,000 units, which would be higher by 10% over the previous year. During 2010, we hope to achieve a growth higher than 20%. This will be fueled by higher economic growth as well as new launches," he said.
Talking about the electric car, Mr Arora said: "We hope to launch the electric car in the 12 months towards the later part of 2010. It will be built inside the Spark model. The price is yet to be decided. The small car on the other hand will be priced about Rs 4 lakh."
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/General-Motors-ambitious-plans-for-2010/articleshow/5150477.cms
MAHINDRAS MUM ON FUTURE OF JOINT VENTURE WITH RENAULT
PTI
See this story in: Business Standard (Web & Print Edition)
New Delhi: Mahindra & Mahindra is keeping silence over the future of its joint venture with Renault, which has been put into question with the French auto firm saying it can severe ties and may even drive in its new product into India with a different partner.
"No comment," a Mahindra & Mahindra spokesperson said when asked about the group's views on the statements made by Renault President and CEO Carlos Ghosn in Tokyo yesterday regarding their joint-venture -- Mahindra Renault.
Ghosn had said although Renault's intention was to continue in India with its three different partners (M&M, Bajaj Auto and Ashok Leyland), it can severe ties if things didn't work out.
"I am not saying we will, I am saying we can. I don't want anybody to be surprised," he said.
M&M is the majority shareholder with 51 per cent stake in the JV, which manufactures entry level sedan Logan. Declining sales had put a question mark over the future of the JV.
Ghosn said: "We are going to try sometime, if it does not work we will go for second time with a decent car and eventually with a different partner, does not matter. We are in India to stay."
Analysts pointed out that with Logan selling way below expected levels, the capacity utilisation is hardly upto 25 per cent, which makes it difficult for the joint venture to be profitable.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/mahindras-mumfuturejoint-venturerenault/76550/on
TOYOTA'S SMALL CAR TO BE 10% MORE FUEL EFFICIENT THAN MARUTI, HYUNDAI
PTI
See this story in: The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Tokyo: The world's biggest carmaker by sales, Toyota Motor Corp, is developing a 10 per cent more fuel-efficient small car for launch in India by early 2011 to beat market leaders Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai.
"For our upcoming small car we have set the benchmark with Maruti's Swift and Hyundai's i20. We are targeting to develop the car with 10 per cent more fuel efficiency than the Swift and i20," Toyota Motor Corporation Chief Engineer (Product Planning for Passenger Vehicle) Yoshinori Noritake told a group of visiting Indian journalists here.
The company would introduce the car with a four-cylinder engine that will be Bharat Stage IV emission norm compliant. Asked about engine specifications, Noritake said: "Though we have not decided, we are finalising the engine capacity to make it suitable for enjoying the excise duty benefits for the small car."
Currently, small cars -- 1.2 litre for petrol and 1.5 litre for diesel engine -- are charged only 8 per cent excise duty compared with 20 per cent for bigger cars in the Indian market. He said besides fuel efficiency, pricing is a big challenge that Toyota is trying to overcome to be successful in the price-sensitive Indian market.
"Pricing is very important. Toyota is looking very positively with this small car to mark a strong presence in the country," Noritake said. In order to reduce cost of production, he said the company is looking at sharing components from other models with the proposed compact car.
"It is very important to reduce the cost. Commonalisation of components of various models is helpful and now we are assessing this aspect," he said, adding a major portion of the components will be sourced locally. "But we are also considering to supply parts from the ASEAN countries such as Thailand and Indonesia to bring down the cost of the car," he said.
The company is planning to launch both the hatchback and sedan versions of the car. The base model of the car will also have options to select various high-end safety features like ABS (anti braking system).
Copyright 2009, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved"
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/auto/automobiles/Toyotas-small-car-to-be-10-more-fuel-efficient-than-Maruti-Hyundai/articleshow/5148235.cms
TOYOTA TO HIRE 2,000 MORE FOR BANGALORE UNIT
PTI
See this story in: The Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Tokyo: Toyota Motor Corporation on Thursday said it will hire 2,000 more people in India as the auto maker gears up to launch a small car in the country by 2011.
The company, which runs its Indian operation Toyota Kirloskar Motor through a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group, is constructing the second plant at its Bangalore facility with an investment of Rs 3,200 crore to manufacture the small car.
We will require a strong manpower to roll out our small car from India. We will have an additional 2,000 people in our second plant which is currently under construction, the
Toyota Kirloskar Motor Managing Director, Mr Hiroshi Nakagawa, told PTI at t he ongoing Tokyo Motor Show here.
He said the company has started the recruitment process and it will be completed by the time the plant is commissioned in 2011. The plant will have an initial annual production capacity of 70,000 units, which could be expanded up to two lakh units.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor has an existing facility in Bangalore with an annual installed capacity of 80,000 units. The existing plant has about 4,000 people, which include staff from the sales and marketing division also.
Besides hiring new employees, the company is also planning to shift some of its employees to the upcoming plant from the existing one, Mr Nakagawa added.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/02221401.htm
Toyota to hire 2,000 workers
The Tribune (Web Edition)
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20091023/biz.htm
Toyota to hire 2,000 workers in India
The Indian Express (Web Edition)
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/toyota-to-hire-2-000-workers-in-india/531875/#
Toyota to hire 2,000 in India
Rediff India (Web Edition)
http://business.rediff.com/report/2009/oct/22/auto-toyota-to-hire-2000-in-india.htm
Toyota to hire 2,000 workers in India
mint (Web & Print Edition)
http://www.livemint.com/2009/10/22135016/Toyota-to-hire-2000-workers-i.html
Toyota plans to hire 2,000 more in India
The Financial Express (Web & Print Edition)
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/toyota-plans-to-hire-2-000-more-in-india/532068/
Toyota to hire 2,000 workers in India
Business Standard (Delhi Print Edition)
Toyota to hire 2,000 in India
The Economic Times (Delhi Print Edition)
TOYOTA TO SHOWCASE SMALL CAR DURING AUTO EXPO
PTI
See this story in: The Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Tokyo: Toyota Motor Corporation, on Thursday said it will showcase the concept of its small car during the Delhi Auto Expo in January, 2010.
We will showcase the concept of the car in the upcoming Delhi Auto Expo. We are ready with the concept model of both the compact and the sedan versions of the car, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Senior Managing Director Mr Akira Okabe told a group of v isiting Indian journalists here.
Though he declined to divulge the name of the compact car, Mr Okabe said it is internally code named as 'EFC'. Asked about the version in which the company is likely to roll out the car initially, he said: We can launch both the hatchback and the sedan together but nothing has been finalised as yet.
Toyota, which is present in India under a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group, is planning to launch the small car by early 2011.The car would be manufactured at its upcoming Rs 3,200 crore second facility at Bangalore.
The company had earlier this week said that the planned compact car would be 10 per cent more fuel efficient than Suzuki's Swift and Hyundai's i20. TMC, which has a very small share in the Indian passenger car market, is expecting four per cent of its to tal global sales to come from the country by 2015.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/10221920.htm
Toyota car
The Statesman (Web Edition)
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=12&theme=&usrsess=1&id=272693
TOYOTA SET TO ROLL OUT OWN SMALL CAR
Garima Singh Neogy
The Telegraph (Web Edition)
New Delhi: Japanese car maker Toyota Kirloskar Motors is planning to launch its own small car in India by the end of next year. The company will source 70 per cent of the components locally as it prepares to make India a hub for its small cars.
However, the Japanese giant denied plans to bring in a second small car from group company Daihatsu. Our energies are now focussed on launching Toyotas small car in India on schedule. There are no plans for a joint collaboration with Daihatsu for the same. These are baseless rumours. We have not held any talks with them. We are not conducting any feasibility study on this issue as of now, Sandip Singh, deputy managing director (marketing) of Toyota Kirloskar Motors, told The Telegraph over phone from Tokyo.
The small car will be produced at the companys upcoming 100,000-unit-a-year plant at the outskirts of Bangalore. Toyota, reportedly, has launched Daihatsu cars in some countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. The cars, in the entry-level 600cc segment, are doing well.
Daihatsu is known in Japan for its mini cars and recently launched the 660cc Mira Cocoa for women. Its passenger car range includes models such as the Materia, Copen, Sirion and Curore, with engine capacities of up to 1.5 litres.
Daihatsu had wanted to foray into India, but talks with the late Manu Chhabria, among others, failed. Toyota will launch both the diesel and petrol variants of the small car, powered by a 1.3 and a 1.2-litre engine, respectively. The small car, according to Singh, will generate volumes for Toyota and increase its market share. The company will later export the car to neighbouring countries.
We currently have a market share of 3 per cent but by 2015 it should reach 10 per cent. Our small car should contribute to this figure substantially, said Singh.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091023/jsp/business/story_11648296.jsp
GLOBAL AUTOMAKERS READY HYBRID VEHICLES FOR INDIA
Sindhu Bhattacharya
Daily News & Analysis (Web Edition)
New Delhi: India has a rather insignificant presence on the global original equipment manufacturers' alternate fuel/hybrid vehicle roadmap. But this seems to be changing. At the ongoing Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota Motor Corp has reiterated plans to launch the world's most successful hybrid -- Prius -- in India early next year and compatriot Nissan says it is open to launching its electric cars here as well.
The enthusiasm shown by Toyota and Nissan follows close on the heels of General Motors India signing up with the Reva Electric Car Co for developing an electric 'Spark' indigenously. Honda Motor Co launched its Civic Hybrid here but received only limited success and the car is now available only on order.
Homegrown Tata Motors is already in advanced stages of developing an electric 'Indica' and is also working on various other alternate fuel options, including what is famously known as a car "which runs on air" as well as a petrol-electric hybrid Indica.
Even commercial vehicle makers are experimenting with alternate fuel technologies. Eaton Corp has begun work with top CV makers in India to develop electric and hydraulic hybrid trucks and the first such vehicle could be on the road during the Commonwealth Games next year. Arun Jaura, VP, technology and head of Eaton India Engineering Centre, says, "These technologies are sustainable and the energy captured in hydraulic hybrids can be used for productivity gains in garbage collection trucks."
But is India ready for the electric/hybrid revolution? Speaking in Tokyo, Nissan Motor Company's CEO Carlos Ghosn said, "I think India will probably come at a later stage (in terms of launching electric vehicles) because of infrastructure."
Karl Slym, president & CEO of GM India, had acknowledged infrastructure issues exist
for the Indian market while pointing out that only a live socket is needed for charging an electric 'Spark'. But with erratic power supply in most parts of rural and semi-urban India, charging electric vehicles would obviously be an issue. Slym said that the electric Spark would be in the market by late next year, would be priced affordably but GM was not looking at significant volumes from this variant.
Even the price of such vehicles isn't conducive to the Indian buyer's psyche. In India, the Reva cars are priced between Rs 3.5-4.3 lakh. Toyota has been trying to bring the Prius to India for about two years now but prohibitive import duties have made the proposition unviable. The Toyota Prius comes for about $22,000 in the US, or close to Rs 11 lakh.
But the car would cost around Rs 25 lakh here because of total import levies of about 111%. So, will Toyota actually bring Prius at an exorbitant price tag or is it looking for some duty rationalisation in the Budget? This remains to be seen.
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_global-automakers-ready-hybrid-vehicles-for-india_1301921
PLANNING TO BUY CAR? LONG WAITING PERIOD MAY PLAY DAMPENER
Prashant Mahesh & Lijee Philip
The Economic Times (Delhi Print Edition)
Mumbai: In March 2009, Ajay Shah (name changed) working at a Mumbai based brokerage house wanted to buy his first car. At that point, the car dealer in the neighbourhood were sparing no effort in luring him with freebies such as music systems apart from cash discounts. Then the slowdown came, and Mr Shah deferred his decision.
Now, with a sense of optimism prevailing, he has zeroed in on a Maruti Ritz. When he approached the same dealer a few days ago, he was in for a surprise. The waiting period for the Ritz was going to be at least 45 days. Ritz is not a case in isolation with most car manufactures telling potential buyers that they would have to wait for anywhere between 20 days and 45 days before the delivery comes their way.
With the fear of recession behind the customer, there has been a sudden surge in demand which automobile manufacturers have been unable to meet, says Nishant Singh, sales manager at Mumbai-based Modi Hyundai. Hyundais models such as the i10, i20 and Verna have a waiting period of about 20-30 days.
Meanwhile, sales personnel at Ratan Motors, a Maruti dealer in the city agrees that there is a long waiting period on select models. For instance, if you are looking to buy a Swift Dzire, you will have to wait for 3-4 months, while its two months for Ritzs petrol version. Marutis other cars, WagonR and Swift (petrol versions), come with a 30-45 day waiting period. If you are not willing to wait for beyond a week, the options are limited to the Alto or the Maruti 800.
The case of cars from Chevrolet is no different, with a waiting period of about a month. The newly launched Cruze has a waiting period of 20 days, while it is a month for the Aveo, says Amjad Contractor at Mumbais National Garage. Cars at the higher end like the Toyota Fortuner, Fiat Linea, Honda CRV, Chevrolet Captiva also have long waiting periods. For instance, Fiat Lineas lower and mid end variants like Active and Dynamic do not have waiting periods, though Emotion, which is a high-end version costing almost a lakh more than any of the base variants has a one-month waiting period, said a senior official at a Tata Fiat showroom.
New model launches have led the growth in passenger car market for a while and manufacturers point out that a factor like the initial novelty value adds to the premium and the waiting period. In the instance of the more competitively priced models like the Suzuki Dzire, Nano and Linea, there is not much of competition in the segments they exist.
Many customers prefer waiting for a new car and it takes a while for the company to ramp up production of a new product, said a senior official at a car company in Mumbai. Importantly, manufacturers creating an artificial demand by having low production levels is also not unheard of.
The story is not restricted to just cars. The Honda Activa, a scooter that comes with an ex-showroom price tag of Rs 51,000, is not available before January next year, unless one is willing to pay a premium of Rs 8,000. Kamlesh Jain at the citys Sona Motors, said there was a waiting period of at least three months for Hondas Activa as well as Splendour. The waiting period is possibly on account of the labour unrest at the companys production hub in Gurgaon, though customers appear to be unaffected by this.
Copyright 2009, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved"
SECOND-HAND AUTO SALES SURGE, FINANCING TOO CATCHES ON
Sutanuka Ghosal
The Economic Times (Delhi Print Edition)
Kolkata: The recession seems a thing of the past for the second-hand car market. Auto majors such as Maruti, General Motors and other second hand car dealers have witnessed a significant surge in their pre-owned car business in the first half of the current fiscal. Sales have picked up from September and auto majors are hopeful the trend will continue.
Financing companies and banks are also getting into the act. Interestingly, small cars like Alto, Maruti 800, Omni, Maruti Wagon R, Zen, Santro and Spark sold more in the first half of 2009-10 and customers steered clear from larger cars in absence of financing options.
A Maruti Suzuki official told ET: Theres been no adverse impact on sale of pre-owned cars sold through Maruti True Value. In the first quarter, Maruti True Value pre-owned car sales grew by 20% and in the second quarter, the momentum continued with sales in excess of 42,000 units, with growth accelerating to 34%. Overall, the sales of pre-owned cars through Maruti True Value outlets in the period April to September 2009 was over 74,500 units, registering a growth of 27%.
In September, Maruti saw a marked surge in second-hand car sales. Over 15,500 preowned cars were sold through the network of 321 Maruti True Value outlets operating in 188 cities across the country. In September 2008, sales was around 10,000 units. A Maruti Suzuki official added there was a positive trend in financing of used cars. The number of used cars financed are increasing. It is also reflected in interest being shown by new NBFC players for having tie- ups with us. We expect True Value pre-owned car sales will continue to have solid growth in the second half as well, he added.
General Motors, too, has witnessed a growth in its second-hand car business, Chevy OK. We had launched our pre-owned car business in April 2009 with five outlets. We now have 22 outlets and by December 2009, we propose to have 30. We had kept a target of selling 500 pre-owned cars between April to December 2009. But we have been able to achieve a sales of 554 used cars by September 30. Customers have picked up Spark and some have bought Opel Astra. The financing companies are also showing interest in second hand car financing, said Mr P. Balendran, VP (sales) of GM India.
Second-hand car dealers are also optimistic about sales going up in the second half. Sales have really picked up from the first week of September. Growth is coming mainly in the small car category, said a Chennai-based preowned car dealer.
Incidentally, the size of the used-car market in India is estimated at about 10 lakh units per annum, with the market being largely fragmented and unorganised. The share of the organised market in this segment is only about 10% while unorganised dealers account for another 30% share. The balance 60% of the sales in the used car market is through personal dealings between the buyers and the sellers.
Copyright 2009, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved"
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