"As a new entrant in the Indian market, the robust sales momentum of our first offering, the Hector, has been very encouraging. We are working closely with our global and local suppliers to increase the production of the Hector in 2020 to support the booking backlog," said Rakesh Sidana, director for sales, MG Motor India.
Leading electric two-wheeler maker Hero Electric has put on hold investment of up to Rs 700 crore by a year with the sector taking a nosedive as FAME II, scheme aimed to promote electric vehicles, has failed to deliver, according to a top company official.
Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday reported a 2.4 per cent rise in car sales in the domestic market during December, as higher demand for compact models such as New WagonR offset a slump in small cars.
In a market where passenger vehicle sales shrank 18% since the fiscal year started in April, Tata Motors’ sales fell 25-30%, as it reduced dispatches to dealerships to help clear inventory at their end as the industry negotiated a slowdown and ahead of the transition to the Bharat Stage-VI emission standards.
The carmaker, whose sales fell by more than a third in the first eight months of the fiscal year to a little over 77,000 units, expects the market to pick up from the next festive season, said Honda Cars India president and CEO Gaku Nakanishi.
While the cos scale up production of BS-VI vehicles, even as oil marketing companies make fuel compliant with the new regulations available pan India, they will seek to clear the stock of BS-IV units that cannot be sold or registered from April 1. BS-VI fuels aren’t currently available in most parts of the country.
Tata Motors is confident that EVs are getting more affordable in India, especially in the fleet segment. It’s a different story in the personal segment for individual buyers. This is because GoI incentivizes commercial fleet-owners with FAME II and GST concessions. Individual buyers are eligible only for a few tax concessions.
The gadgetry inside vehicles is also getting attention. Companies like Ford are testing cars that can talk to each other wirelessly and avoid collision — called V2V (vehicle to vehicle) communication technologies. Then there is V2I (vehicle to infrastructure) tech that allows vehicles to communicate with road signs and traffic signals, among others, to plan routes and speeds.
The initial 3.5 lakh sq ft office space leased by the company will have capacity to accommodate around 3,500 employees.
The industry is estimating sales to fall 13% from last year — worse than an 8% decline, the steepest so far, recorded in 1998 — to about 2.95 million units in 2019. This would take the volume below the levels three years back. In 2016, automakers had sold nearly 2.97 million units.
The industry's hopes are also in line with expectations that the economy would finally come out of the slump, drawing people back to the showrooms.
Team HMC will be equipped to mobilise capabilities from across Publicis Media globally. Led by chairman Pawan Munjal, Hero Moto-Corp, has significant presence in 37 countries across Asia, Africa, and South and Central America.
The development comes in the wake of calls from financial institutions to Mahindra to inject more funds into the South Korean firm, given its deteriorating bottom line. SsangYong’s net losses had more than tripled year on year to about $160 million (185.5 billion won) during the first nine months of 2019.
As discounts on new cars hit an all-time high this December, the used car market will have the latest models for customers to choose from. The country’s second-hand car market has clocked 12% increase in sales so far in 2019 at 4.2 million units and is set to record a 15% increase in 2020.
The former Maruti boss has been booked under Section 420 of the IPC for cheating the Punjab National Bank in a Rs 110 crore case of fraud.
The deal makes Koito the sole owner of 22-year-old India Japan Lighting which counts top carmakers among its clients. Koito will turn the venture into a wholly owned subsidiary by the end of the month, Lucas TVS said in a statement.
Hemant Sikka will head the farm equipment sector, while R Velusamy will be appointed as the chief of Global Product Development (Automotive) and Vinod Sahay as Chief Purchase Officer of AFS (auto and farm sectors). Nakra, Sikka, Velusamy and Sahay will report to Rajesh Jejurikar, who will join M&M Board as Executive Director AFS from April 1, 2020.
Addressing the 4th annual SIAM CSR Conclave here, the minister of state for heavy industries and public enterprises asked the auto industry for more suggestions, if any, before the finalisation of the Budget.
The Japanese dominance of the Indian car market is under threat with South Korean and Chinese carmakers expected to corner a fourth of it by 2022 from 16% at the end of 2018, driven largely by compact SUVs.
Automakers are set to launch and unveil around 60 vehicles at the biennial motor show in the country next year, down from over 80 products which debut at the expo in the last edition.
"Maruti Suzuki announced the launch of the new Alto VXI+ which offers SmartPlay Studio a 17.8 cm touchscreen infotainment system, enabled with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto," the country's largest car maker said in a filing to the BSE. The variant comes with BS-VI compliant engine and delivers a high fuel efficiency of 22.05 km/l, it added.
From consumers' point of view mid year 2020 may be a time for a few price shocks as car prices go up with automakers rolling out new emission standards compliant vehicles. Especially in diesel SUVs, a price hike of 10% may be in the offing.