Maruti Plans to Step Up its Expansion Plans in Europe
India's largest passenger car manufacturer and the second largest exporter from India, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, is planning to drive up its presence in Europe. The company aims to export nearly 2 lakh cars by 2010-11. it will start is its exports from its new upcoming dedicated car terminal at Mundra port. The latest model from Maruti, A-Star, will be the first consignment that will be shipped through this new port facility.
"Maruti will be able to park some 30,000 cars at the terminal which will be spread over 35 acres. We have inked a 20-year lease agreement with Mundra Port & Special Economic Zone Ltd for the terminal. We will have a dedicated jetty for exporting our cars. The terminal will be ready by mid-December and the first shipment comprising the A-Star is slated to take place in January. This terminal will only deal with cars meant for European markets," said MM Singh, Managing Executive Officer (Production).
[Via: cartradeindia]
General Motors may sell Saturn, Saab and Pontiac brands
General Motors Corp., in a bid to cut costs and perhaps get US$12 billion in government loans, is now said to be considering the possibility of selling or shutting down three of its brands - Saturn, Saab and Pontiac. Hummer , another of the troubled company's brands, is already being considered for sale or closure.
Doing away with these brands will reduce product overlap and cut costs for GM, which is currently facing the grim prospects of running out of working capital by the end of this year, and perhaps having to file for bankruptcy.
While GM wants to keep its Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac brands, it wants to do away with Pontiac, Saab and Saturn. GM's Pontiac division, established in 1926, is an 82 year old brand and used to do well till the late-1970s. Saturn was established in 1985, while Swedish carmaker Saab was fully taken over by GM in the year 2000.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Porsche 911: Spy shots of next-generation 998
Spy shots of next-generation Porsche 998 ....
Audi hopes to triple its sales by 2010
Audi India , a group company from Volkswagen Group in India, plans to triple its sales in India by 2010. It plans to triple its sales by launching an array of new models in the country. The company has already launched five new models in past 22 months of its operations in India.
The company foresees great potential in the emerging Indian car market but is also keeping an eye on declining overall sales in the market. The company has its manufacturing unit in Aurangabad with a production capacity of 1500 units annually.
On the other hand, the auto companies in Germany are hurting already. There has been a considerable decline in luxury car sales as well in India but the luxury car manufacturers are still hopeful about the auto sales in India. Back home, German auto industry is facing their worst crisis, with hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk. BMW and Mercedes are also especially vulnerable.
[Via: cartradeindia]
Bosch India Shuts Down its Plant Temporarily
The German auto component maker in India has announced that it will close its production facilities in Nasik temporarily from November 28-29. The company will not only shut down select production areas or shops at its Nasik manufacturing facility but will also stop manufacturing starters and generators at its Naganathapura plant between November 26-29.
The Nashik manufacturing unit manufactures nozzle holders, DZ nozzles and has a common rail injector assembly line. The company stated that it wanted to refrain itself from unnecessary inventory build up at its plant and adjust the production according to the market demands.
Nasik factory employs about 4500 employees while Naganathapura plant employs about 1500 people. According to the company sources, none of the employees have been laid off but only the plants have been closed for three days.
[Via: cartradeindia]
VECV to make India its commercial vehicles production hub
VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), a joint venture between Eicher Motors and the Sweden-based Volvo , has announced that it plans to make India its global hub for producing commercial vehicles for emerging markets.
'We are looking at making India the centre for product development and manufacturing commercial vehicles to cater to the requirements of emerging markets,' said Siddhartha Lal, MD and CEO, VECV. 'There will be a lot of aggregates such as engines and cabins from Volvo, while Eicher can provide axles and gearboxes,' he added.
Lal said that the idea is to develop and manufacture commercial vehicles that are robust and economical - two traits that are a must for emerging markets. He added that VECV's commercial vehicles would cater to domestic requirements, but will also be exported to markets like Southeast Asia and Africa, where Volvo does not offer lower- and mid-end commercial vehicles. For export markets, VECV's vehicles will be sold through the worldwide Volvo network.
[Via: indiaautomotive]