Toyota’s deal with Aston Martin
For the first time ever, Toyota has agreed to build and supply a car to an outside car maker. Toyota will be making the car for Aston Martin. Called the Cygnet, the car will be ultra small and though based on the IQ model will be substantially different.
The car will be sold in Europe and details like launch date, price and number of cars have yet to be decided. Aston Martin is known for its premium sports cars which have been made famous thanks to the James Bond movies.
[Via: globalmotors]
Toyota to pump in Rs 800 crore in India
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is all set to invest another Rs 800 crore towards expansion activity in India. The company will be investing this sum of money towards capacity expansion at its existing plant near Bangalore and also towards setting up a second manufacturing facility from where it will roll out its first small car for the Indian market.
Toyota, which has already invested around Rs 3,000 crore in India, currently manufactures the Innova MUV and Corolla sedan in the country, while it also sells the Camry and Land Cruiser, which it imports as CBUs.
In recent years, Toyota's arch rival Honda has stolen a march over Toyota in the Indian market. While Honda has gone ahead and launched mass-market cars like the City sedan and Jazz hatchback, Toyota still doesn't have a small car offering despite having been present in India for a decade. Also, the Honda Accord is much more reasonably priced than the Toyota Camry, while Toyota doesn't have a small SUV to counter the Honda CR-V in India.
How Toyota rejigs its product portfolio will probably decide whether it can take on Honda on an equal footing in India, over the next few months/years.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Ford India Bets Big on Indian Market
Ford India recently got an approval for investing $500 million for setting up Indian operations and their further expansion. The parent company Ford Motors faced economic crisis and did not file for bankruptcy. Ford India is quite eager to enter the small car market in India where it currently lacks presence.
According to Ford India Managing Director, Michael Boneham, the Indian operations did not receive any distress calls from either Ford Motors in US or Ford Asian center operations in Bangkok. The company had already announced investments worth $500 million earlier and there was no intimation to the Indian operations to hold them back. The company still sticks to its original plans for India as there had been considerable slow down in the market but definitely no meltdown like the other markets.
Ford considers the small car launch to be a critical part of its overall strategy to grab larger market share and strengthen its presence in India. Ford intends to retain its brand image in India thus will go ahead with its original plans. Boneham remarks that having a small car in India is a necessity to be present here successfully.
[Via: cartradeindia]
Tata Motors To Dispatch Nano Allotment Letters Soon
One lakh Tata Nano customers, most of them from small towns, will begin getting their allotment letters this week. Over 70% of the 2.03-lakh bookings have come from these towns. Tata Motors closed bookings for the Nano on 25th April will start delivering the car by early-July and complete the process by the last quarter of 2010. At the time of the Nano launch in March, the company had said only one lakh customers will get the car "at the currently announced price".
The company announced earlier that 1 lakh customers would be selected through a computerised random selection procedure, with the remaining numbering just over a lakh being given the option of retaining the booking. The company will also announce the allotment to these 1.03 lakh applicants, who will get the Nano at a higher price, and earn interest on their booking amount with effect from July.
[Via: motorbeam]
Honda is Gearing Up for Another Small Car
Honda unveiled its first hatchback the Jazz on the 10th of this month and now the Japanese automaker is gearing up to launch another small car for the Indian market within the next couple of years.
The economic slowdown won't diminish the company's plan to launch this hatchback. The new small car will be cheaper than the premium hatchback Jazz launched last week.
[Via: CW]
Tata Motors to build electric and hybrid cars on Nano platform
Tata Motors has plans to use its Nano platform to build electric and hybrid cars and to produce more high end models. Tata Group said Tata Motors should target exports of the car in the developing countries like Brazil, China, Indonesia and Russia where the growth rate is over 10%.
The introduction of Nano was compared to that of the Ford Model T, the car that completely revolutionized the automobile industry. Nano is also expected to create a new distinct category in the auto industry - the People's car.
A true Indian car, Nano has 97% local content. Before Nano, Maruti 800 was the cheapest car in the Indian market priced at around INR 2 million.
[Via: autoincar]