Harley Davidson Will Enter India in 2010
Harley Davidson would be importing its motorcycle through the CBU route (Completely Built Units) and its base model is expected to be priced at Rs. 7 Lakh onward, while higher end models would cost even more. Harley Davidson is one of world's oldest motorcycle manufacturer with over 107 years of history behind it.
Harley-Davidson expects to start selling its best in the world cruiser motorcycles in January 2010. The company has established a subsidiary to be located in Gurgaon, near Delhi, and has begun the process of seeking dealers. "As India continues to extend its global reach, so does Harley-Davidson," said Levatich. "We believe Harley-Davidson has outstanding opportunities for continued growth around the world."
The company's current approach is to import its motorcycles, accessories and riding gear, and it will continue to evaluate how best to evolve its approach to the market as Harley-Davidson's business in India grows. Harley-Davidson is the global leader in cruising and touring motorcycles and ranks as one of the strongest brands in the world, with motorcycle sales now in more than 70 countries.
The company will focus its initial steps in India on growing the Harley-Davidson brand through a variety of consumer experiences and on establishing a local dealer network. The Harley-Davidson subsidiary in India will be led by Managing Director Anoop Prakash, who said the company has begun the process of identifying initial dealers in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Punjab State.
Fiat India Secures Funds up to Rs 2,500 Crore
Fiat India Automobiles on Tuesday announced that it has arranged funds to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore from a consortium of domestic and international lenders to support the company's operations and production of vehicles.
The investments would be utilised for projects, including manufacturing powertrain and Fiat and Tata branded cars at the company's Ranjangaon plant, Fiat India Automobiles (FIAL) said in a statement.
"The company has finalised three syndicated, secured credit facility agreements with a consortium of Indian and international banks for a total amount equivalent to Rs 2,500 crore," the statement read. The company, which is investing Rs 4,000 crore for the operations in the country, said the syndicated credit facilities have been arranged by Citibank NA.
[Via: carazoo]
BMW 7 Series Petrol in India by Year End
BMW India is planning to launch the petrol version of its high-end 7-series by the end of 2009. The cost and other details of the petrol version are still not known. But the car is expected to be priced less than its diesel variant that has been already launched in India, which is priced at Rs 93 lakh, excluding other taxes. Like many other models of BMW, the 7 series petrol is also expected to be imported as a CBU.
The company has more expansion plans in India. BMW has announced the launch of its two-seater roadster, Z4, in October on the eve of Diwali, which will be priced between Rs 50 and 60 lakh. Another model from the manufacturer, details of which are not available, will be unveiled at the 2010 Auto Expo that will be held in January. The company is also planning to increase the capacity of its plant.
"If the market grows, we are ready to ramp up production and will consider further investment. At present, our capacity is sufficient to meet the demand till next year. As the trend indicates, we will be able to sell 3,000 units of 3-Series and 5-Series cars in 2010. After that we will have to consider capacity expansion," said Peter Kronschnabl, President of BMW India.
[Via: carazoo]
New Audi Q7: US prices released
The facelifted Q7 may not look much different from the current model at the first glance, but look a little closer and you'll notice a slightly redesigned front end with new LED headlamps, chrome trims, new wheel designs and an updated front and rear bumper.
The U.S. will get a 3.6L FSI V6, a 4.2L FSI V8 along with a 3.0L V6 TDI clean-diesel. The 2010 Q7 TDI returns an estimated fuel economy of 17/25 mpg (city/highway) and more than 600 miles on a full tank.
2010 Audi Q7 (excluding $825 destination charge, taxes, title, options and dealer charges):
2010 Q7 3.6 quattro (Tiptronic): $46,900
2010 Q7 TDI® quattro (Tiptronic): $50,900
2010 Q7 4.2 quattro (Tiptronic): $61,000
[Via: germancarblog]
Tata Nano Mother Plant Ready by January 2010
"The Sanand plant will be ready by January next year. At first stage, the plant will produce more yellow and silver coloured cars as they are in demand in the market," Chairman Ratan Tata said at the company's Annual General Meeting here. The new plant will cater to the domestic demands first.
Later, when the plant is fully operational, it will manufacture cars to cater to demands from Europe, Africa and Asia. Tata Motors started delivering the first batch of cars in India last month. "European, African and some Asian countries have expressed great interest in Nano," said Ratan Tata.
Tata Motors is also planning to build higher capacity engines for its Nano car. It had launched the car targeting the lower income group in India who wish to own a car. However, looking at the strong demand from the export market, now the company is planning for its higher end versions as well.
[Via: cartradeindia]
Prices Of Racing Kit Parts For R15 & FZ16
Muffler Kit (for FZ16 and R15) - Rs. 16,000/- includes : -
- Racing Exhaust System
- Exhaust Pipe
- Bracket Kit Exhaust
Engine Kit (for R15) - Rs. 31,000/- includes : -
- ECU
- Cam Shift
- Muffler Kit
Body kit (for FZ16 and R15) - Rs. 20,000/- includes : -
- Brake Caliper Bracket
- Brake Disc
- Brake Hose Front
- Brake Hose Rear
- Front Brake Master Cylinder
- Step Plate
Toyota Recalls 6.9 Lakh Cars In China
Toyota has announced its biggest ever recall in China, involving 688,314 sedans citing a defect in the electric window system manufactured in China by local joint venture firms with Toyota. . The affected cars include 384,736 Camry models and 22,767 Yaris models made by Guangzhou Toyota between May 15 and Dec 31 of 2008.
The recall also includes 35,523 Vios cars made by Tianjin FAW-Toyota Motor between Feb 18 and Dec 25 of 2008, and 245,288 Corolla models made between May 17, 2007 and Dec 25 of 2008.
Some owners of the Toyota cars in question reported problems when opening and closing the window on the driver's side. Toyota found that parts inside the window switches could cause part of the interior furnishing to melt, produce smoke or even catch fire.
No injuries have been reported due to the defect. It will be the largest ever auto recall in China since 2004. Toyota has started replacing the problematic parts free of charge. The latest discovery of faulty car parts comes on the heels of a recall of about 260,000 Chinese-made Camries in April when the model's brakes were found to be at risk of malfunctioning.
[Via: autosblog]
Its Official: Harley Davidson Indian Debut On 27th August
Harley Davidson is finally coming to India in 3 days time and it's officially official! The official launch will be on the 27th of August by Matt Levatich, president and chief operating officer of the company. Mr. Levatich has also been invited as one of the speakers at the annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, on 28 August.
[Via: BIKE]
GM India to Export 20 Per Cent of its Mini Cars
Indian car maker General Motors India has revealed that it will export at least 20 per cent of the intended 50,000 units of its mini car within the first 12 months of launch early next year.
"We will start production of our mini car, developed on the concept of Beat, at our Talegaon plant in December and it will be launched sometime in January next year, starting with the petrol variant," General Motors India President and Managing Director Karl Slym said. The proposed mini car for India will cost around Rs 4 Lakh and the car company expects to produce over 50,000 units of it during 2010, he added. "The company is targeting to export 20 per cent of the mini car's total production during that period," Slym said.
The Indian subsidiary of the US car giant General Motors is aiming to sell 10,000 units of the mini car by end the of 2010 in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, besides the Asia-Pacific region and European countries, he added. Speaking about the localisation of components in the mini car, Slym said: "It will initially have 65 per cent localisation. However, we plan to make it almost fully-localised once our engine transmission plant in Talegaon gets operationalised by 2010."
The company is likely to roll out the Chevrolet Cruze, in October. This luxury sedan will come with a 2.0 litre diesel engine in the initial stage and 1.8 litre petrol engines will follow later in early 2010. The Cruze will be priced between Rs 12-14 Lakh. Moreover, GM India is planning to introduce four other models in India in 2010.
Kawasaki to move motorcycle production from Japan to Thailand
According to a Bloomberg report, Kawasaki will start shifting the production of some of its medium-sized and large motorcycles from Japan to Thailand, from next year. The aim would be to take advantage of lower costs and cheaper labour in Thailand. Kawasaki isn't the first major motorcycle manufacturer to go to Thailand - Triumph already has two manufacturing facilities in that country.
Kawasaki remains the only Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer that still hasn't managed to set up operations in India. The company does have some kind of an agreement in place with Bajaj Auto though, and the latter is expected to launch the Kawasaki Ninja 250R in India before the end of this year.
[Via: indiaautomotive]