HM-Mitsubishi may launch Evo X in India in 2010
According to some hard-to-believe reports in the media, HM-Mitsubishi is planning to launch the latest iteration of the legendary Evo - the Evo X - in the Indian market in 2010. The company is expected to display the Evo X at the Auto Expo in Delhi in January 2010 and launch the car in India subsequently.
Unlike the Mitsubishi products currently on sale in India (most of which are completely outdated and offer underwhelming performance at an overwhelming price!), the Evo X is the real deal. It's fitted with a 2.0-litre engine that produces around 280 horsepower, which allows the car to accelerate from zero to 100km/h in less than five seconds!
Indeed, the Mitsubishi Evo is one of those rare four-door saloons that offer near-supercar levels of handling and performance and that can't possibly come cheap. Which is why Mitsubishi, during 2010, will aim for sales of 100 units or less for the Evo X. The car could be priced at Rs 30 lakh or more, which would certainly make it a very niche product - strictly for the wealthy enthusiast only.
[Via: indiautomotive]
Tata Motors in Talks With SBI for JLR Loan
Tata Motors Ltd is in talks with State Bank of India (SBI) for a counter-guarantee to the guarantee it is seeking from the UK government on a loan for its Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) unit.
The company bought the Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford Motor Co. in March 2008 in a debt-loaded deal for £2.3 billion(Rs 9,223 crore then).
Tata Motors is seeking loans from the Citibank NA and Standard Chartered Bank Plc to develop new cars. The banks have sanctioned the loan on the condition that it has to be supported by a guarantee from the UK government. The UK government, in turn, wants a counter-guarantee from SBI. It has been revealed that the SBI has agreed to give a counter-guarantee to the UK government.
"We are in discussions with the UK government on the loan guarantees and, hopefully, we will find a solution for it...and our funding plan for JLR will progress," Tata group chairman Ratan Tata had told Reuters after launching JLR in Mumbai on 28 June.
Tata had also said that if there was a large financial package from the UK government for JLR, then "there should be commensurate level of representation from them (the government)", which had to be negotiated and worked out.
In the first quarter that ended in June of the fiscal year 2010, the company reported a net profit of Rs 513.78 crore. Operating profit (profit from core operations) as a percentage of sales was 11.4, some 4.3 percentage points higher over a year ago. The quarterly earnings, however, did not include numbers for JLR.
[Via: carazoo]
Toyota to source skin panels from Tata Steel
Toyota is planning to launch its new small car model in India. World's largest car maker Toyota is expected to source the skin panels from Tata Steel for its new car which is expected to launch by 2011. Tata Steel may also be supplying these skin panels to Nissan Motors in India.
"We are talking to Toyota for supplying skin panels for the company's (Toyota's) new small car to be launched in India," said a senior Tata Steel official, confirming that the company is in discussion with Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), the Indian joint venture of the Japanese car giant with the Kirloskar Group.
The skin panels give a fine shape to any car's out body and are responsible for its looks. The skin panels need to be of highest quality of steel to withstand external harshness apart from being strong and thin.
Tata Steel is already providing skin panels to Tata Motors, Hyundai, Maruti Suzuki and Honda Siel Cars India Limited. It also provides skin panels for Toyota Innova already so Tata Steel may be the natural choice for Toyota after all for its small cars.
[Via: cartradeindia]
Hyundai to Hire 1000 more people
Hyundai Motor India plans to increase its output by 20 per cent. In order to meet its target, India second largest car maker will hire 1,000 people by the end of this month. The company has already increased its productivity by about 25 per cent since July and its workforce by over 1,000 employees at its two plants in Chennai.
H S Lheem, MD and CEO of Hyundai Motor India said that the company have started the third shift from July 10 at plant-I and hired over 1,000 people. The third shift at plant-II will begin from September 14 and Hyundai intends to recruit 1,000 more people.
The Korean car company is currently producing about 2,000 units per day in India. The production will go up by 400 units more once the third shift at plant-II starts. Mr. Lheem said the company's total workforce will cross the 12,000 mark after induction of new staff this month.
Moreover, the company is expected to increase its headcount to 800 Indian staff from the existing 210 people at its R&D centre in Hyderabad. The company has sold 45,543 units in July, of which 22,350 cars were exported.
[Via: Carazoo]
Indian cars acceptable in America, says AutoPacific research report
AutoPacific, a US-based automotive marketing research and product-consulting firm, has just released the results of its latest study, which finds that Indian cars are actually acceptable to North American buyers. Well, almost acceptable, since just 11% of the respondents in the study said they would be open to the idea of buying an Indian car. On the other hand, as many as 15% of the respondents in the same study said they would consider buying a Chinese car.
While 11% and 15% might seem quite low, only 16% of the respondents in the same study said they would consider buying a Korean car and Korean have been present in the US market for more than two decades. 'As Hyundai and Kia have been on the American scene for decades now, it's surprising that consideration for Chinese and Indian brands, sight unseen, would be about as strong as it is for the Korean brands,' says George Peterson, president, AutoPacific.
'However, with so many premium and high-tech non-automotive products already being made in China and purchased by Americans, why not automobiles too? It appears that buyers in America are willing to give Chinese and Indian vehicles a chance right out of the box. Understanding these consumers will be critically important to the success of any newcomer,' he adds.
The study, titled 'Opportunity for Chinese and Indian Brands in the USA,' is based on a survey of more than 30,000 new car and truck buyers. And according to Peterson, who was in overall charge of conducting the study, those who are prepared to consider buying Indian cars or Chinese cars tend to be young, well-educated and affluent for their age. Most of these people also hold good jobs in administrative, health care and middle management positions, and most are current owners of Japanese or Korean cars.
Given the results of this study, it does seem that M&M and Tata Motors should - and probably will - start exploring the US car market at some point in the future. Of course, M&M is already looking at launching its Scorpio-based pick-up trucks in the US, perhaps by the end of this year. And with its new crossover and luxury sedan waiting in the wings, we suppose Tata Motors can't be too far behind either!
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Mahindra Two Wheelers to axe Italjet line-up
Changes are afoot at Mahindra Two Wheelers (MTW), the new company which M&M has formed after acquiring the Pune-based two-wheeler manufacturer, Kinetic Motors, last year. While M&M will retain most of Kinetic's 250 dealers across the country, changes are being planned to modify the product mix. And the first to go will be the Kinetic Blaze, which is fitted with a 165cc, 11.5bhp engine sourced from Hyosung.
According to MTW, a scooter like the Blaze (which, incidentally, is the most powerful, stylish and sporty scooter made and sold in India) has no market in India. The company will, instead, choose to focus on the Flyte, which is fitted with a 125cc engine from Taiwanese company, SYM. In fact, MTW will continue to work with SYM and may even launch a brand-new scooter later this year.
MTW currently sells around 3,000 units of the Flyte, which compares quite poorly with sales of the market leader - Honda Activa - which sells between 45-50,000 units per month. Still, with M&M's marketing and engineering muscle now behind the erstwhile Kinetic, the Flyte and other forthcoming two-wheelers from MTW just might be able to challenge Honda's dominance in the scooters segment in India, in the years to come.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Tata Motors Posts Profits In The First Quarter
Tata Motors posted a 58 per cent rise in its fiscal first-quarter unconsolidated net profit at 5.14 billion rupees ($106.8 million), compared with 3.26 billion rupees a year earlier. The Indian carmaker reported revenues (net of excise) of Rs. 6404.63 crores on a stand-alone basis for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, of the financial year 2009-10, a decline of 7.6% compared to Rs. 6928.44 crores in the corresponding quarter previous year.
Tata Motors's continued focus on cost efficiencies, coupled with reduction of raw material prices, inventory reduction and improvement in sales realisation, yielded considerable benefits resulting in the operating margin to 11.4% (from 7.1% in the previous year), with operating profits at Rs. 728.00 crores, an increase of 47.9% as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
Improvement in liquidity, increased reach across the country and introduction of new products and variants improved the company's sales, except in the case of the heavy truck segment.
The company's domestic sales volume at 122,120 vehicles recorded a marginal decrease of 1.4% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year, whilst the exports at 5220 vehicles continued to be severely impacted (negative 43%) in the wake of continuing tumultuous global environment resulting in total sales volume at 127,340 vehicles, a decline of 4.3% as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Tata passenger vehicles declined by 10% in the domestic market to 45,846 units but have been growing sequentially every month of the quarter breaking into positive growth in June. The market share for Tata passenger vehicles has sequentially improved from April to June 2009 with the June exit market share at 12.5%, and for the period being at 11.3%. Along with Fiat, the company has a joint market share of 12.3% in the industry.
[Via: carazoo]
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]
Hyundai Planning i10 Diesel
Hyundai India is planning to launch the diesel variant of its hotselling i10 in the Indian market. According to the media reports, the diesel variant of the i10 could hit the market with in the next 8-12 months.
Hyundai already sells the i10 diesel in the European market where it comes with a 1.1 Litre Common Rail Turbodiesel engine with 75 Ps of power and 153 nm of maximum torque. The new diesel engine in i10 will enable Hyundai to better compete with the likes of Maruti Suzuki's Swift and Tata's Indica Vista.
According to sources Hyundai is also looking for land to set up diesel engine manufacturing plant in India on the lines of Ford which will manufacture its diesel engines in India shortly. The 1.4 Litre diesel under the hood of i20 is currently imported resulting in a higher price tag for the car.
[Via: CC]
HM – Mitsubishi Motors now in Bhubaneswar
Hindustan Motors (HM) and Mitsubishi Motors' authorized dealership, under the auspices of 'Padmalaya Sales Corporation' is now fully functional in Bhubaneswar. The dealership was inaugurated by Mr. Y.V.S Vijay Kumar, Executive Vice-President and SBU Head, Chennai Car Plant, Hindustan Motors, in the presence of other company officials here today.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Y.V.S Vijay Kumar said, "We intend to increase our presence in East India. Bhubaneswar is an important market for us. We were looking for an aggressive partner for this region and in Padmalaya Sales Corporation we found a suitable associate. The potential for premium SUVs in this part of the country is huge and with our range of products namely, Pajero, Outlander and Montero SUVs we are determined to capitalise on it. "
'Padmalaya Sales Corporation' is owned by young and dynamic Kailash Chowdhary who has considerable experience in the automobile industry. The showroom is situated in the business district of Bhubaneswar - Nayapalli which is also a hub for automobile dealerships. The showroom is about 3000 square feet large; its state-of-the-art Service Centre is located in Patrapada. This facility is about 4000 square feet in area and has six service bays which can service fifteen cars on a daily basis.
Mitsubishi Motors' brands, like all across the world, in India too have been highly appreciated and have proved their mettle in performance and endurance. The premium SUV segment currently is witnessing an exciting phase as all the three premium SUVs from the Mitsubishi stable viz. Pajero, Outlander and Montero are doing brisk business in their respective segment.
[Via: Infibeam]