General Motors India has unveiled the Chevrolet Beat LPG which features are very sophisticated for the Next Generation LPG (Liquefied petroleum gas) Kit. Different from the Venturi type LPG kit that has been reigning the market untill now, the new Chevrolet LPG Beat comes with modern Multipoint Sequential (MPS) LPG Injection Technology. All Chevrolet Beat Liquefied petroleum gas is now powered by 2nd generation 1200cc S-TEC II engine constructed at Talegaon, Pune. Light-weight of Chevrolet Beat LPG Smartech engine along with cars exceptional mileage of around 18 kmpl and an improper power delivery of 79 Bhp makes Chevrolet Beat adaptable to terrains and Indian roads. At the point of Mileage, the new Beat LPG is unmatched in itsvariants. This marvel vehicle is cut above on the benefits like fuel economy and savings.
Ferrari is ultimately coming to India and will unveil its complete series of sports vehicles in April 2011. Ferrari India has link-up with the Shreyans as its sole distributer for India with a contrive to 1st showroom in New Delhi followed by Mumbai. Ferrari's decision to cooperator with Shreyans Groups comes as a surprise specially since Tata Motors India was awaited to be the retail cooperator of the legendary car manufacturer, given its bond with Fiat.
However, Ferrari India has decided to enter in India via Shreyans Group which contract in high-end goods, to set up its network in Indian market. Shreyans Group is also the exclusive distributor for Porsche in Indian market and until recently, Audi cars dealers in Mumbai as well. With the super high-end car market in India prospering and the first Indian Grand Prix 2011, Ferrari could not have timed its low-end into India better. Expected cars to be launched are 458 Italia and the forthcoming 4 seater Ferrari FF and it is speculated to find a substantial number of consumers in India & it is anticipated that ferrari will be able to sell its super cars in good numbers.
The conclusion of the 2010 calendar last year for Maruti India is not a good one during the quater 3 when its gross profit faced a fall down by 18 percent. This came in spite of its supremacy in the automobile marketplace & the increased input costs. Extra factors which brought this ruin include fluctuated unstinted royalty payment and foreign exchange rates. With these problems, Maruti Suzuki posted a fall of 17.80 percent in the gross profit for the period that mentioned in the reports. The sum accrued by the method of business amidst these restraint stood at rupees 565.17 crore against rupees 687.53 crore achieved throughout the similar period of the last year. Quite interestingly the vehicle sales figures was not that much shameful as it was improve by 26.49 percent yielding rupees 9276.73 crore against rupees 7333.77 crore for the next year of 2009.
Maruti Suzuki attributed the drop to other element such as growth in commodity rates during that individual quarter affecting the margin of its profit considerably. The sales during this section saw an increment by 28.16 percent with 3,30,687 vehicles which was 258026 vehicles in quarter three of 2009. With these, the sales in internai market was an increment by 36.83 percent with 2,99,527 vehicles against 2,18,910 vehicles in the same time of the last year. All these enlargement stints were reaped by
Maruti Alto, Swift DZire and WagonR with the greatest sale mark being arrived with 1,07,555 vehicles in national market during thenth month of last year. The following month saw a drop to 1,02,503 vehicless but retained the 1 lakh mark for the 2nd repeated month in that particular 1/4th. Maruti Suzuki witnessed a drop by 20.34 percent with 31,160 vehicles against 39,116 vehicles in the corresponding 1/4th of 2009.
Market leader Maruti Suzuki India today launched its luxury sedan Kizashi. The car would be available in 2 variants: the manual variant will cost Rs. 16.5 lakh and the automatic version has been priced higher at Rs. 17.5 lakh (ex-showroom) in Delhi. There was a lot of expectation over the pricing of the car since Maruti will import the Kizashi from parent Suzuki's facility in Japan. Maruti Kizashi is powered by a 2400cc litre petrol engine that will churn out 185 bhp of power. Kizashi will compete with Toyota Camry and Honda Accord at the upper end and Honda Civic, Volkswagen Jetta and Toyota Corolla at the lower end. These vehicles are priced between Rs. 12 to 20 lakh.
As per industry estimates, the size of the luxury car segment in the country is over 55,000 units per year. Maruti currently commands nearly 50% of the total Indian car market which was at 1.87 million units in 2010. Maruti India has been trying to get into the bigger car segment for some time now. Its 1st attempt with Baleno did not meet with much success but the company was able to make a mark with the mid-sized sedan Maruti SX4 in 2007.
Between December and January, Ford India and its popular sub-compact car Ford Figo, together lifted 20 Awards in 2010, making Figo the most awarded passenger car in the country. Ford topped up the three 'Car of the Year' titles with the impressive 'Manufacturer of the Year', from a leading, jointly held broadcast and print media house. The definitively popular compact car's laurel journey began with the Indian Cars of the Year 2011' award – measured the most revered car industry award in India. Ford Figo has the largest boot in its segment but is not proving huge enough to hold all the trophies that the car has recently won.
These precious honours have come from across the automotive media industry which runs across print, web-based and broadcast mediums. They soon became infectious and garnered tremendous fame for the brand, building serious recognition and acknowledgement of the Figo's class leading attributes such as space and aesthetic design, best-in-class technology features, fuel efficient powertrains and value for money substantial package - all incorporated to address discerning consumers practical as well as lifestyle needs. Michael Boneham, president and managing director,
Ford India said, We always believed that Ford Figo would be our game changer but this car has performed beyond expectations. We appreciate that our customers had a wide option in the market but they chose to buy the Ford Figo. It is they who have immensely contributed for us to win these awards. Figo attracted thousand of customers, 40% of them, were in fact, first time buyers.
Ford Figo saw support and gained fabulous popularity in social networks. Many well-known automotive blogs and sites conducted their independent polls and guests and customers voted Ford Figo as 'Car of the Year'. More than 60,000 Figos have been sold since March and Ford India recorded an impressive yearly sales increase of 184 percent as compared to 2009. Ford India saw a favourable enlargement across nameplates with the Fiesta, Ikon and the Endeavour faring well in their respective segments in the year 2010, the company sold 83,887 units and nearly tripled it sales volume against a sum of 29,488 cars sold in 2009. It gives us immense pleasure to imagine those who bought the Ford Figo would be proud to have made the purchase decision. With such a massive boost in morale, we are sure of crossing more significant milestones in 2011 – something that we are already known for, concluded Boneham
Ford India and Figo won the following awards:
* All magazine Editor Jury - Indian Car of the Year 2011
* CARS India - Readers Choice Car of the Year 2010
* 2010 ET Zig Wheels Car of the Year
* CNBC TV18-Overdrive – Compact Car of the Year
* CNBC TV18-Overdrive – Viewers Choice Award
* NDTV Car & Bike 2011 – Small Car of the Year
* NDTV Car & Bike 2011 – Design of the Year
* 2010 ET Zig Wheels Premium Hatchback of the Year
* 2010 ET Now Viewers Choice Award
* BBC Top Gear – Small Car of the Year
* Bloomberg UTV-Autocar India - Car of the Year 2010
* Bloomberg UTV-Autocar India – Value for Money Car 2011
* Bloomberg UTV-Autocar India – Premium Compact Car of the Year 2011
* Bloomberg UTV-Autocar India – Viewer's Choice - Car of the Year 2011
* Bloomberg UTV-Autocar India – Ford India - Manufacturer of the year 2011
* Business Standard Motoring – Special Jury Award 2011
* TeamBHP.com - Car of the Year 2010
* Motor Vikatan – Best Car of the Year
* Motor Vikatan – Manufacturer of the Year
* Motorbeam.com - 2010 Car of the Year
Mahindra had high belief from its bread and butter motorcycle, the Stallio but even Aamir Khan can do nothing about it after charging rupees fourteen crore endorsement fees. The 110cc entry level dirt bike saw a dispatch of just 260 vehicles from Mahindra to its 250 dealers, at an average of one unit per dealer. The sales of the
Mahindra Stallio have been dropping more rapidly then you can blink. The company dispatched 2664 vehicles in October and sold 1706 vehicles in November.
The reason for this poor show is obvious, recognized competitors. Mahindra Stallio has a base price of Rs. 41,199/- (ex-showroom, Mumbai), but consumers prefer to choose for either the Hero Honda Splendor, Bajaj Discover or Honda CB Twister which cost more. Mahindra CB Twister costs Rs. 5000 more than the Stallio and Honda manages to sell 15000 vehicles a month, commanding a two month wait. However Mahindra says that they are facing capacity crunch due to rough supply and blame the same for the dwindling sales. But to give the Stallio the much needed force, it will soon feature with a four year, 80,000 kms warranty.
Royal Enfield, the classic Indian motorbike maker has a firm wish to go into the Latin American market and wishes to begin this venture with Brazil. The company is apparently in talks with various contract manufacturers in Brazil. Royal Enfield is looking for a contract manufacturer as the corporation doesn't mean to raise the stakes too high and enter an unknown market all by themselves. The Brazilian two-wheeler market is approximately 6-7million units a year and it would benefit Royal Enfield if they go into this market. This venture will also help them to build a bigger footprint the world of two-wheelers. However, the company has not released any information confirming these plans.
Chevrolet India aims to almost triple annual sales to 300,000 vehicles by 2013 as India’s monetary progress and rising incomes boost demand. GM tactics to launch as many as six models, with two commercial vehicles, in India in the next two years, Karl Slym, leader of the Detroit-based company’s local unit, said at a press discussion in New Delhi recently.
A diesel-powered form of the Beat small vehicle will go on sale in a “few weeks,” he said. The automaker and its Shanghai-based partner SAIC Motor Corporation will begin advertising models in India this year similar to those already sold in China. GM entered the South Asian nation in 1994, tactics to boost its 5 percent market share with the new variety and challenge Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the country’s major
cars maker. In India, 40 % of the overall sales of the market are in commercial vehicles, and we don’t sell in that market. That is a big, huge progress area.” India’s domestic car sales rose 29 percent from a year earlier to 148,681 vehicles in December, the group of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said this month. Total passenger-car shipments jumped 31 percent to 1.87 million very last year, according to the group. GM’s sales in India increase to 59 % in 2010 to 110,804, according to the company’s website.
Mahindra & Mahindra planing to export its recently launched small commercial vehicle Genio. We are very eager on exporting this. when we conceptualised this vehicle, we were also looking at in exporting also. We are positive that
Mahindra Genio will drive the growth in the pickup segment, Mahindra & Mahindra Senior Vice-President Sales and Customer Care Arun Malhotra said at the unleash of the commercial vehicle in Tamil Nadu.
The design, comfort and convenience from Genio is of the worldwide standards and that is one of the reasons for them to consider it for the overseas markets said, Arun Malhotra. Mahindra starts the manufacture of Genio at its Chakan plant only ten days ago. The new Genio built on the similar platform in which passenger vehicle Mahindra Scorpio and Xylo are made, also it carries same engine of Scorpio and Xylo.
M&M has launched its next gen commercial vehicle, the Genio, in Mumbai. Targeting to a captive segment – small and medium business needs – the Genio pick-up is priced at Rs 4.99 lakh for the BS-III variant (ex-showroom Navi Mumbai). With the open of the
Mahindra Genio, company is expecting to modify the face of the pick-up industry in India. The Genio single cab pick-up will be the 2nd product after Maxximo that will be rolled out of Mahindra’s new Chakan facility. The pickup has been developed from Mahindra’s Ingenio platform (U-platform) – the same program which formed the basis of the Xylo MPV. This 1.2 tonne pickup will also be motorized by the same mDi CRDe motor from the Xylo D2, but in a detuned state. The motor now produces 75bhp, 20bhp less than the Xylo D2, while the maximum torque remains identical at 22kg.
Speaking at the initiate Dr. Pawan Goenka, President, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, M&M said, The Genio is a result of extensive buyer insight which captured the hidden and expressed needs of the customer. The Genio is an ideal commercial vehicle for businessmen, traders and SMEs. I am confident that it would be a game changer for the pickup section in times to come. Mahindra already has its Bolero pick-up doing duty in the section which the firm dominates with 75 % market share. The segment has seen a growth of 5% in the pervious year and is expected to make in double digits this year. The underperforming segment which had seen no new launches for the previous four years – the most recent being the Bolero pick-up – needed brand new products to help it grow. The newly launched Mahindra Genio will now directly compete with the Tata 207 Di.
On the occasion, Rajesh Jejurikar, Chief Executive, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra said, The pickup industry in India is more than 6500 vehicles per month and increasing With the bulk market share that we command, the onus is on us to suggest superior products thereby driving the industry growth. Launch of the Genio threatens to canablise the market share of own
Mahindra Bolero pickup. Though, Jejurikar is expectant that the new product won’t eat up into Bolero’s market. He added, Genio will not canablise Bolero’s market as they are targeted at different client base. And even if it happens, it will help the section grow overall.
The Genio has been developed with an investment of rupees 225 crore and Mahindra claims that more products on the similar platform are in the pipeline. Looking at the value-for money quotient of CNG powered motor vehicles; Mahindra is also working on a CNG powered variation of the Genio on priority basis, which will be followed by a dual cab pick-up version on the similar platform in future. At present, Mahindra Chakan plant has a capacity of producing 2000 Genios per month, which can be expanded to meet with the market demands.
Mahindra is also eyeing the export markets where it’s already selling the Bolero and the Scorpio pickups. For at the present the Genio has been developed for the Indian market only. We are looking at select export markets, but that will happen only after 6 months, Goenka said. The Genio is available in BS-IV variation as well which will be around Rs 15000-18000 dearer than the BS-III version. Offered in four smart colour options – Silver Shine, Marvel Granite, Diamond White and Skyline Blue, the Genio will be available across 70 dealerships at the time of the launch. And by mid February 2011, the pickup will be accessible across Mahindra CV dealerships pan India.