Porsche Books 13 Units of Panamera
Porsche is ready to launch the Panamera model in India. It has already received 13 confirmed bookings of the model. The company is facing severe sales decline in the West, especially in Europe, which is its major market. It is now eyeing Asian markets to boost grappling sales. The company has indeed a small market share in the country and still needs to make its presence felt in the Indian auto market.
Precision Motors in Mumbai are the official importers of Porsche cars in India. They expect to sell at least 50 cars this year of which 13 are already booked so far. Panamera is expected to hit the streets by October-end 2009.
The luxury sedan will be available in its top versions with a V8 power unit and luxurious features, with its price estimated to be retailed in the range Rs. 1.4 crore to Rs. 2 crore (depending on the variants) and would be imported as a CBU from Porsche's plant in Germany. The company currently sells 911, Boxster, Cayman and Cayenne models in India.
[Via: cartradeindia]
Chevy Tavera to Have a New Engine
General Motors is ready to upgrade its MUV Tavera according to the new emission norms that will be effective from April 2010. The current engine will not be able to meet the stringent Bharat Stage IV norms and needs an upgrade. The company is planning to install the engine that currently powers Isuzu D-Max and which is currently sold in Thailand. It is a 2.5L CRDi diesel engine and gives a power of 116 PS.
The new model is unlikely to be launched before end of 2010 which means only the non-metro owners will be able to own the Tavera after April 2010. The new engine will make the car compete effectively against Toyota Innova and Mahindra Xylo.
Nearly all car manufacturers are scrambling to meet the BS IV norms and introduce compliant models in India. Maruti is rumoured to be working on a brand new India-specific model (code: YE3) which will replace Maruti 800. A brand new model of Wagon R is also being planned by the company under code YR9.
[Via: cartradeindia]
Isetta roped in to promote BMW Museum in Munich
BMW's iconic micro-car from the mid-1950s, the Isetta has now been appointed 'welcome ambassador' for the BMW Museum at Munich. Last week, BMW arranged for as many 7,500 of these cars, which were driven all across Munich as moving advertisements for the BMW Museum.
Built in Munich from 1955 to 1962, the Isetta came in two versions - the Isetta 250, with 12bhp, and the Isetta 300 with 13bhp. BMW built more than 160,000 units of this tiny vehicle, which has now attained cult status among motoring enthusiasts worldwide.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Hong Kong police to use Mitsubishi i-MiEV
Taking its cues from Japan, where the Police already use electric patrol cars, Hong Kong also plans to start using battery-powered patrol cars for its Police. By the end of this year, Hong Kong is expected to get its first batch of 10 Mitsubishi i-MiEV cars, three of which will be used by its Police force.
Powered by lithium-ion batteries, the i-MiEV has a range of 160km on a full charge and a top speed of 130km/h. A full charge, however, takes as much as eight hours, which means these EVs cannot entirely replace the entire Police fleet in Hong Kong or indeed any other country.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Maruti to invest Rs 2,000 crore towards capacity expansion
In a move aimed at cutting down on the waiting period for some of its popular cars, Maruti Suzuki is planning to boost production at its plant in Manesar, Haryana. The company, which will spend more than Rs 2,000 crore towards retooling and capacity expansion, hopes to increase its total production capacity to 10 lakh units per annum by the end of the current fiscal.
In addition to launching a thoroughly revamped Swift (possibly with a K-series 1.2-litre petrol engine replacing the current 1.3-litre unit) by the end of this year, Maruti is also looking at freshening up some of its older cars, including the 800, Wagon R, Alto and Versa. However, contrary to some earlier reports in the media, Maruti still maintains that it has no plans to relaunch the Gypsy with a 1.3-litre diesel engine.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
GM will not sell Opel to the Chinese
Talks between GM and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding (BAIC) have come to a standstill as the two are unable to reach an agreement on the negotiations regarding intellectual property rights issues. BAIC has now lost the race to acquire GM's German unit Adam Opel GmbH, and GM a negotiating stance.
The only other contender for GM's Opel is the Canadian company, Magna International along with Sberbank, its Russian financial partner. Their offer visualizes a total investment of EUR700 million, a portion of which would be guaranteed by the German government. If this deal goes through, ownership among the three parties would be as follows: General Motors 35 percent, Sberbank 35 percent, Magna 20 percent, and Opel employees 10 percent.
[Via: globalmotors]
Volkswagen Group increases global market share in first half year
The Volkswagen Group extended its global market share in the first six months of 2009. In a difficult economic environment, Europe's largest automaker increased its share of the world passenger car market from January to June to 12.0 (1st half year 2008: 9.9) percent.
3,100,300** (3,265,200*; -5.0 percent) vehicles were delivered to customers during this period. The overall passenger car market, on the other hand, contracted by 17.7 percent. In June, deliveries by the Group even rose by 6.5 percent to 609,800 (572,700) units. "The comparatively good trend in our sales figures shows that the Volkswagen Group is headed in the right direction. Everything is running to plan. Nevertheless, a major effort is needed in the second half of the year if we are to remain on course. Economic uncertainty will continue as the year progresses," stated Detlef Wittig, Executive Vice President, Group Sales and Marketing, in Wolfsburg yesterday.
Volkswagen brand deliveries rose in first half year
The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand in particular reported a rise in market share during the first half of the year, growing 1.7 percentage points to 8.0 (6.3) percent. Deliveries up to the end of June rose by 2.2 percent to 1,949,000 (1,907,800) vehicles. This was primarily due to very positive developments in Germany, Brazil and especially China. Sales figures for the Tiguan, Scirocco, Passat CC and Golf were very pleasing. Judging by the response to date and by the level of orders, positive momentum can be expected from the new Polo over the coming months. The Audi, ©koda and SEAT brands also developed better than the overall market.
Position in important sales regions strengthened
Comparatively speaking, the Group performed well in all relevant sales regions. While the passenger car market in Europe contracted by 18.4 percent overall, the Group reported a noticeably smaller decline of 11.7 percent to 1,662,900 (1,883,700) units. 221,900 (253,900; -12.6 percent) vehicles were delivered in North America on a market that contracted by 33.2 percent. In South America, the share of the passenger car market rose to 22.1 (19.0) percent. In Brazil, the largest market in this region, deliveries rose by 6.1 percent to 335,700 (316,300) vehicles, surpassing the 3.7 percent rise in the passenger car market. Here sales of the new Gol, the bestselling vehicle in Brazil, continued to develop well. While the market in the Asia/Pacific sales region decreased by 0.6 percent, the Volkswagen Group reported a rise in the number of vehicles delivered to 723,800 units (610,300; +18.6 percent). In China, deliveries increased to 652,200 units (531,600; +22.7 percent). Group brands delivered 631,900 vehicles (previous year: 534,400; +18.3 percent) on the German market. Demand for the Volkswagen Fox, Polo, Golf, Tiguan, Scirocco and Passat CC, the Audi A3 and Q5, the SEAT Ibiza, the ©koda Roomster, Fabia and Superb and the Volkswagen Caddy was particularly high. Volkswagen, the core brand, delivered 339,000 cars (previous year: 269,000; +26.0 percent) in its home market.
* excluding Scania
**excluding Scania, including Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Trucks and Buses for January/February 2009
Note: This text is available from the Volkswagen press database at www.volkswagen-media-services.com
Proton eyes the Indian car market
Proton plans to sell its product in the developing Indian car market. The Malaysian manufacturer believes the Indian car market has a huge potential and a great opportunity for them.
The South-East Asian company has been in talks with Mahindra & Mahindra and Argentum Motors to enter the Indian auto industry. In a company performance review, the company stated, "On this note, we will be launching new programmes regionally, specifically in ASEAN, China, India and the Middle East… Proton will leave no stone unturned in our vision to strengthen our brand equity within the local and regional arena."
[Via: CW]
EICMA to organise motorcycle trade show in China
EICMA, which conducts one of the biggest annual motorcycle shows in the world in Milan, Italy, has now teamed up with the China Chamber of Commerce to hold a motorcycle trade show in Canton, China this year, though the dates for the show are yet to be decided. EICMA also organises the annual BikeAsia show in Singapore.
'In 2010, production of powered two-wheelers in China will reach a stunning 32 million units. The interest in creating a dedicated motorcycle show in China, the biggest manufacturer and consumer of motorcycles in the world, is all but evident. We are flattered by the fact that the Chinese authorities, opening to foreign partners, selected EICMA,' says Guidalberto Guidi, chairman of EICMA SpA.
India, which is second only to China in terms of annual two-wheeler sales volumes, does not yet have a large-scale show dedicated to scooters and motorcycles. The Auto Expo show held in Delhi caters to all classes of vehicles, including two-wheelers, cars and commercial vehicles.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
