Speed Limit Increased for the Indian Roads
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has set new speed limits on Indian roads. The Ministry has finally decided to increase the speed limits on the roads, highways and expresseways. The speed on national highways and four lanes has been increased from 60kmph to 80kmph. The new speed limit set for Mumbai-Pune express highway is 100kmph. Other roads like arterial roads, urban roads, urban distributor roads, major district roads, etc. will have maximum speed limit of 50kmph whereas the access roads will have a maximum speed limit of 30kmph.
With new cars being launched on the road and existing cars being made better each day, it was a much needed call from the Ministry. The cars have gotten much faster and safer than before. Thus, an increase in speed limits will enable drivers to reach their destinations faster than before. The speed limits have been increased for the first time since 1989. The motoring lobby welcomes the move as an "expansion of freedom in a over-regulated country".
"It was absurd that we have speed limits of 60 kph on many expressways. I mean you cannot get a decent car into fifth gear with speeds that low," said Murad Ali Baig, a motoring columnist. "The modern cars sold in India have seat belts, most meet global crash test norms and we will see anti lock braking systems being made mandatory pretty soon. Doing 100 kph is no big deal for modern cars," he added.
[Via: cartradeindia]
TVS Motor scales down investment plans
India's third-largest two-wheeler manufacturer, TVS Motor Company Ltd. is scaling down its investment plans in India, owing to weaker demand and tight availability of consumer finance.
TVS, which was earlier planning to invest about Rs 1 billion per annum on expansion, will now only invest about Rs 750 million per year for the next two years. 'We have seen low growth and will only invest for new models and R&D projects now,' said Venu Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Motor. 'There is no significant investment in capacity. Given the turbulent conditions, we would trim our investments,' he added.
TVS Motor had recorded a 19 percent increase in total two-wheeler sales in September this year, but the company expects growth to slow down in the near future, primarily due to lack of availability of finance. 'We don't expect improvements till the end of 2009, as the global economy is slowing down. The crisis in the west is affecting us here, nobody is really willing to lend,' said Srinivasan.
Apollo Tyres Q2 FY 2008 profits down by 74%
Despite increased sales, Apollo Tyres has reported a steep fall in its Q2 FY 2008 profits due to increases in raw material prices. India's second largest tyre manufacturing company, Apollo Tyres posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 151 million, on sales of Rs 12.6 billion in the quarter, compared to a profit of Rs 576 million on sales of Rs 10.8 billion in Q2 FY 2007.
The company's consolidated net profit margin for the quarter came in at 1.2 percent, compared with the preceding quarter's 4.4 percent. 'It has been a testing quarter for the company and the industry, but I do believe that the worst might be behind us,' said Onkar Kanwar, chairman, Apollo Tyres.
The company, which had last raised prices by about seven percent in July, is likely to raise prices again by 3-4 percent over the next one month. Apollo Tyres, however, stands by its forecast of 15-20 percent growth in FY09, and will also go ahead with its planned capacity expansion in India and South Africa, investing up to US$320 million towards this.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Denso develops small-format automotive air-conditioning unit
Japanese automotive components manufacturer, Denso has developed a new automotive air-conditioning unit, which it claims is about 20% smaller in volume compared to conventional units. The new system will initially be installed on the Toyota iQ compact car, which will be launched in Japan next month and in Europe in early 2009.
According to Denso, new resin moulding technologies have been used, which allows the size of the blower unit (containing the blower fan) to be reduced to almost half the size of a conventional unit, leading to a significant reduction in size of the entire AC unit.
[Via: indiautomotive]
Suzuki to launch 150cc Lanza soon!!
Suzuki 's GS150R is finally ready to be launched, the official launch is in September, but we still got a picture of the bike. It's going to compete the 150cc commuter bikes that includes Honda's Unicorn, Bajaj's Pulsar 150, and Hero Honda's Hunk and CBZ Xtreme. TVS's RTR and Yamaha's New R15 have nothing to fear about from this bike.
Maruti To Launch Its First Luxury Family Car in India
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Maruti Suzuki India Limited, plans to enter the D-segment of the Indian car market. It will be launching its new model, Kizashi, in India by 2009. It will be one of the first cars in India that will have four-wheel drive in its segment. The new model will compete with Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla Altis, Hyundai Sonata, Skoda Octavia, and Volkswagen Jetta.
Maruti is already the most successful car manufacturer in the A-segment and B-segment cars in India. Its engineers are now working towards a new target of bringing the model from the concept form to the production level. The car was first unveiled at the Frankfurt Motors Show 2007. It was also showcased at the Delhi Auto Expo 2008. The new model, Kizashi , is basically a crossover sports sedan powered with an advanced four-valve turbo-fired 2-litre petrol engine completely compliant with Euro V norms. |
Bajaj Auto Q2 net drops 22.50%
India`s second largest two-wheeler maker - Bajaj Auto - on Thursday announced a 22.50% decline in its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2008. During the quarter, the profit of the company fell to Rs 1,849.10 million from Rs 2,386 million in the same quarter, last year.
Total income for the quarter climbed 7.65% to Rs 25,705.30 million from Rs 23,877.70 million in the prior year period. Earnings per share stood at Rs 12.80 for the quarter ended September 2008. Shares of the company declined Rs 10.8, or 2%, to trade at Rs 530. The total volume of shares traded was 3,353 at the BSE.
[Via: myiris]