Although the demand momentum continues, MG Motor believes that the situation will improve in the year's second half, it added. The company sells models like Hector, Astor and Gloster in the domestic market.
Despite the second Covid wave, sales of light and medium commercial vehicles (with capacity of more than 3.5 tonnes) increased 72% to 215,000 units in the first nine months of the fiscal.
The company was able to achieve its target of 1 billion annual cost savings under Project Refocus within 9 months and it has increased its cost savings target to 1.4 billion now. The breakeven for JLR has been further reduced to 300,000 units annually compared to 400,000 units at the beginning of this year and 600,000 units in FY19.
International demand is robust and the company has a huge opportunity to grow overseas, managing director Anant Goenka told ET in a recent interview. "We can more than double our sales in Europe over a period of 2-3 years." He added: "There is an antidumping duty on Chinese tyres in the US and Europe. That's why we are very optimistic about international business."
The demand was felt for a while as only vehicles complying with the BS-VI emission norms are being sold across the country, officials said, adding that as of now vehicles which meet the emission norms of up to BS-IV are allowed for CNG retrofitment.
The capex guidance is Rs 1,000 crore higher than the earlier guided capex of Rs 4,500 crore at the beginning of the fiscal. The company plans to spend Rs 3,000 crore in the ongoing last quarter of the fiscal alone, almost twice the capex last year, said people aware of the matter.
The company has three assembly lines each operational at its facilities in Gurugram and Manesar, with combined production capacity of around 1.5 million units.
The Mumbai-based automaker, which sells models like Punch, Nexon and Harrier, saw its total passenger vehicle dispatches to dealerships rise by 44 per cent to 99,002 units in third quarter (October-December 2021) as compared with 68,806 units in the same period of the previous year.
"In the top 10 countries for Asia Pacific in 2021 we have India as one of them just following Thailand...Of course in the future we believe that India has a strong potential to rank higher in the top 10 markets for APAC," Automobili Lamborghini Asia-Pacific Regional Director Francesco Scardaoni said in an interaction.
The domestic auto components industry is expected to see a revenue growth of 15-17 per cent this fiscal and 10-12 per cent in the next financial year on the back of recovery in automobile sales after having remained subdued in the last couple of years, according to a report.
Passenger car shipments saw 45 per cent growth at 2,75,728 units while utility vehicle exports rose 47 per cent at 1,46,688 units during the period under review, the data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers showed.
The auto major has already hiked the vehicle prices three times last year - by 1.4 per cent in January, 1.6 per cent in April and 1.9 per cent in September, taking the total quantum to 4.9 per cent.
EVage has developed a platform for industry-ready electric vehicles. The first of these will be launched later this year. EVage’s first vehicle, the Model .X (point X), is a one-tonne truck designed for the commercial delivery vehicle market.
While Classic Legends stuck to the retro theme with all the Jawa motorcycles, it is taking a slightly modern flavour with the Yezdi brand. The three motorcycles sport contemporary designs and digital instrument clusters. The company also recently revived the iconic British motorcycle brand BSA in the UK. The motorcycles will eventually make their way to India, Classic Legends co-founder Anupam Thareja told ET in an interview.
The maker of Haval SUV has also kept the term sheet window open to extend the timeline further to acquire the facility by June of 2022, said people in the know, even as US automaker GM continues its bitter legal battle with protesting workers in India.
"I'm pretty confident that we should be having a good double-digit growth provided that things are not spoiled because of the corona once again," Audi India Head Balbir Singh Dhillon told PTI. From Audi point of view, he said, "We will continue to grow because if you see, last year, we have grown by 101 per cent".
Electric two-wheeler maker AMO Electric is looking to raise about USD 100 million next fiscal as it looks to scale up R&D to introduce new products, expand manufacturing capacity and enhance sales infra across the country in order to consolidate its position in the sector.
Maruti to launch more than half a dozen products this year. Half of these would be SUVs and the rest will be small cars.
As per Kia, the MPV will be available in five different trim options -- Premium, Prestige, Prestige Plus, Luxury and Luxury Plus -- with bookings all set to commence from 14th January. The three-row recreational vehicle will have multiple powertrain and seating options.
Stating that Ampere is investing significantly in people, technology and infrastructure, the company said it is moving ahead with an aim to provide a phygital experience wherein discerning buyers can check out the latest products, understand the world of EV and Ampere, interact with EV experts, engage through digital interfaces for simple and easy understanding of EV technology.
Domestic sales were down 3 per cent at 11,493 units in the month under review, as against 11,855 units in December 2020, Ashok Leyland said in a statement. However, medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales were up 9 per cent at 6,752 units in December 2021, compared to 6,173 units in the year-ago month.
Two-wheeler exports for CY 2021 stood at an impressive over 2.2 million units while three-wheeler and quadricycle sales added another 0.3 million plus units.
Domestic sales, however, grew 5 per cent to 1,45,979 units in the previous month as against 1,39,606 units in December 2020, the company said in the statement. Total two-wheeler sales declined 6 per cent to 3,18,769 units in the month under review as compared to 3,38,584 units in the same month a year-ago, with both domestic and exports sales witnessing one per cent and 9 per cent drop, respectively, it said.
The uptick was propelled by these electric cars -- e-tron 50, e-tron 55, e-tron Sportback 55, e-tron GT, RS e-tron GT and the petrol powered Q-range along with A-sedans, Audi India said in a statement. Other models, sedans A4 and A6 along with SUVs Q2, Q5 and Q8 remained volume sellers for the brand, while the RS and S performance cars continued strong demand and a good order bank for 2022, it added.
Hyundai Motor India has already committed to bringing in six all new EVs in the coming 5-6 years and the majority of its future EVs could be SUVs.
In 2020, SUVs accounted for around 29 per cent of the overall passenger vehicle sales. The share has gone up to 37 per cent in 2021.
While the company is yet to declare the full sales numbers for 2021 in the first nine months of the year, globally Lamborghini delivered 6,902 cars, up 23 per cent compared to 2020 and also plus six per cent versus the same period of 2019. In the Asia Pacific region for the same period, its sales were up 8 per cent.
Automotive design and development cycles are long, and change takes time. The big impact of the pandemic has been on the psychology of both creators and consumers who are re-evaluating their values and prioritising health, safety and cleanliness.
Eicher-branded trucks and buses recorded total sales of 6,002 units last month as compared with 4,687 units in December 2020, a growth of 28.1 per cent.
"Despite the headwinds in the form of the pandemic and supply constraints that plagued the industry and economy at large, we have achieved triple-digit growth in our annual sales volumes," Skoda Auto India Brand Director Zac Hollis said.
The company's sales last year were mainly driven by its Hector SUV which clocked 31,509 units, followed by Gloster SUV at 3,823 units, ZS EV 2,798 units and Astor SUV 2,143 units, MG Motor said in a statement.
