Dhruvaksh Saha, Amritha Pillay And Deepak Patel

Stories by Dhruvaksh Saha, Amritha Pillay And Deepak Patel

Mercedes-Benz's mega India plans: 12 new launches and double digit sales growth

Mercedes-Benz's mega India plans: 12 new launches and double digit sales growth

Rediff.com   16 Jan 2024

Mercedes-Benz India is aiming to post double-digit growth in sales volume during 2024 as it plans to launch over 12 car models during the year, says its managing director and CEO Santosh Iyer. The German carmaker, which leads the luxury car market in the country, recorded 10 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth to 17,408 units in 2023. "For 2023, we always said that the growth would be in double digits.

Black Is The New White For Car Buyers

Black Is The New White For Car Buyers

Rediff.com   16 Jan 2024

'The decrease in the popularity of white cars and the rise in preference for darker colours like black, grey, and blue over the past three years reflect changing consumer attitudes.'

BMW India races to new peak in record year for luxury car sales

BMW India races to new peak in record year for luxury car sales

Rediff.com   12 Jan 2024

BMW Group India recorded its highest annual sales on the back of strong demand for its top-end ICE (internal combustion engine) and electric vehicles (EVs). The German luxury automaker on Thursday announced that its domestic car sales jumped 18 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 14,172 units in calendar year 2023 (CY23). This mirrored a trend in the luxury space, with its peers also reporting record numbers.

'Railways plans to carry 10 billon passengers every year by 2030'

'Railways plans to carry 10 billon passengers every year by 2030'

Rediff.com   12 Jan 2024

'We carry 6.5 billion passengers every year. We have crossed seven billion this year, and are targeting 10 billion by 2030.'

Renault plans 5 new cars in 3 yrs, seeks regulatory clarity

Renault plans 5 new cars in 3 yrs, seeks regulatory clarity

Rediff.com   10 Jan 2024

The Centre should provide a clear regulatory pathway that it will follow so that automobile companies can plan their investments and car launches accordingly, Venkatram Mamillapalle, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO), Renault India Operations, said on Tuesday. Renault is planning to launch five cars - including a B-plus segment sport utility vehicle (SUV), a C-segment SUV and an electric vehicle (EV) - in India in the next three years, he told reporters. In early 2022, the ministry of road transport and highways had announced that cars in India would be required to have six airbags from October 1, 2022.

'Public AI infrastructure we create would help startups'

'Public AI infrastructure we create would help startups'

Rediff.com   9 Jan 2024

'Similar to the case of the digital payment system where the government created a public platform and others joined in, we are exploring a similar structure to create a PPP platform where the compute required for AI could be accessed by the small player.'

Maruti Makes More Money Per Car Than Others

Maruti Makes More Money Per Car Than Others

Rediff.com   8 Jan 2024

Maruti recorded a 13.12% year-on-year surge in average revenue earned per car in 2023 compared to M&M's 7.56%, Hyundai's 6.76% and Tata Motors' 1.88%.

Why DGCA Wants Airline Altimeter Upgrades

Why DGCA Wants Airline Altimeter Upgrades

Rediff.com   6 Jan 2024

'We have informed the government multiple times that the situation in the US and India are different.' 'Here, there will be a 500 MHz gap in the frequencies which will safely allow aviation without interference.'

Corporate bosses' message for 2024: Focus on people, tech, geopolitics

Corporate bosses' message for 2024: Focus on people, tech, geopolitics

Rediff.com   2 Jan 2024

Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, signed off an address to employees last week by assuring them that 2024 would be better than 2023 for both Reliance Industries and India. Ambani isn't an exception. Promoters and their representatives from several other conglomerates have expressed similar optimism.

E-cars Sales May Surge 30%-40% In 2024

E-cars Sales May Surge 30%-40% In 2024

Rediff.com   29 Dec 2023

If electric cars with a real range of more than 400 km are launched, the anxiety regarding the charging points will come down, and more people will buy EVs.

SpiceJet's resurgence could disrupt Indian aviation market: Capa

SpiceJet's resurgence could disrupt Indian aviation market: Capa

Rediff.com   29 Dec 2023

SpiceJet's resurgence, once the new funding is in place, has the potential to disrupt the Indian aviation market in 2024 as the airline will bring its grounded aircraft back to service and lease as many planes as possible to be competitively relevant, aviation consultancy firm Capa India said on Thursday. "Although the market for procuring aircraft in 2024 is exceptionally tight, we expect that SpiceJet will bring stored aircraft back into operations, and will wet or dry lease as much capacity as possible, in order to be competitively relevant. "This will have a material impact on the industry structure, and possibly on domestic profitability," Capa India said in its report.

Centre Assesses Threats As Sea Piracy Surges

Centre Assesses Threats As Sea Piracy Surges

Rediff.com   29 Dec 2023

'Due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, a faction operating in the Red Sea -- which is a typically safe area - has been firing projectiles arbitrarily.' 'Additionally, there have been two incidents involving Somali pirates, and one vessel has been hijacked.'

Will attacks on ships in Red Sea affect India?

Will attacks on ships in Red Sea affect India?

Rediff.com   26 Dec 2023

'Given that the situation is quickly escalating, such attacks will affect the flow of crude in the short term from West Asia' Subhayan Chakraborty and Dhruvaksh Saha report.

Navi Mumbai international airport's commercial launch expected in Dec 2024

Navi Mumbai international airport's commercial launch expected in Dec 2024

Rediff.com   26 Dec 2023

The outer structure of Navi Mumbai International Airport's first terminal building is almost ready. Exactly behind the under-construction building, stands a partially demolished hill. Executives from the airport company are now hopeful the hill will be flattened by mid-January, paving the way for the first commercial take-off by December next year.

Shippers Are Worried About Red Sea Attacks

Shippers Are Worried About Red Sea Attacks

Rediff.com   26 Dec 2023

'If attacks escalate, there is a risk the Suez Canal may be closed.'

RIL's new energy business piques analysts' interest

RIL's new energy business piques analysts' interest

Rediff.com   18 Dec 2023

For the company's latest energy initiative to expand its green energy and storage portfolio, some analysts are beginning to suggest a closer look at some of its segments. In his address to shareholders in the company's FY22 annual report, billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of the company, said: "The green energy value holds great promise to outshine all our existing growth engines in just 5-7 years." The company has marked an investment of Rs 75,000 crore towards its new energy plans, which include solar energy value chain, green hydrogen, energy storage and other similar businesses.

100 deaths at BSE50 Companies

100 deaths at BSE50 Companies

Rediff.com   11 Dec 2023

74 of these fatalities were reported by 8 companies: Coal India (21), L&T (14), Vedanta (13, of which Hindustan Zinc reported 7), Tata Steel (7), Power Grid Corporation of India (7), JSW Steel (6), and ONGC (6).

Air India changes aircraft order with Airbus, cites 'business requirements'

Air India changes aircraft order with Airbus, cites 'business requirements'

Rediff.com   7 Dec 2023

Air India significantly altered the composition of the aircraft order it placed earlier this year with Airbus, the European plane manufacturer has said. In February, Air India had placed the world's second-largest single-tranche aircraft order for 470 planes: 250 with Airbus and 220 with Boeing. In July, Airbus disclosed an order comprising 70 A321neo, 140 A320neo, 34 A350-1000, and six A350-900 aircraft for Air India.

Rs 8.45 trn & rising: Orders flood major capital goods firms

Rs 8.45 trn & rising: Orders flood major capital goods firms

Rediff.com   4 Dec 2023

India's leading capital goods and engineering firms are in the midst of one of their busiest seasons, with the combined orderbook surging past Rs 8 trillion in value. As on September 30, 2023, 13 of India's top 15 listed capital goods and engineering firms, for which data for the September 2023 quarter was available, had a total orderbook worth Rs 8.45 trillion - a number unseen at least since 2018-19. "This intuitively looks like an all-time high factoring in inflation," said Anupama Arora, a senior independent analyst who tracks the capital goods sector.

91% drop in Indian visas granted to Canadians this year

91% drop in Indian visas granted to Canadians this year

Rediff.com   30 Nov 2023

Data reveals that India issued only 5,709 tourist visas during this year's January 1 to November 2 period, reflecting a staggering 91 per cent decrease compared to the entire year of 2022.