For every one experienced candidate being recruited by e-two wheeler companies, 10 have no prior experience; recruitments are for skilled, low-end jobs, not for managerial or supervisory roles.
Tata Motors, India's third largest passenger vehicle maker, took pole position in the competitive sport utility vehicle (SUV) market in October, reveals the data from industry sources. Riding high on the Punch - the sub-compact SUV offering launched on October 18 - the Tata group flagship sold a record 23,381 units in October, higher than 20,022 units sold by archrival Mahindra & Mahindra, 18,538 units sold by Hyundai Motor India, and 15,931 units sold by Kia Motors India. Utility vehicles - that include SUVs and multipurpose vehicles - accounted for almost one in every two passenger vehicles sold in India in the first seven months of the current financial year, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.
Even as the semiconductor shortage has limited the demand for new cars, the pre-owned car segment is seeing a surge. A preference for personal mobility, availability of multiple organised online platforms, including e-commerce channels, aggregators, and classifieds, have been fuelling growth. The growth rate of the pre-owned car market is expected to be 1.5x that of the new car market over the next five years.
Business executives are finally dusting off their long-unused suitcases to resume travel, thanks to a good vaccination rate, a drop in fresh cases, and an easing of travel restrictions. It comes as a huge relief for the ravaged aviation, travel and hospitality sectors. "We are witnessing a 40 per cent recovery on pre-covid volumes from our business travellers, signalling the return of corporate confidence in air travel," said Indiver Rastogi, president & group head, Global Business Travel, Thomas Cook (India) & SOTC.
As a 75-year-old septuagenarian, Bajaj Auto has adapted itself as a nod to competition, regulations, and changing buyer preference. It will continue to do so, said its managing director Rajiv Bajaj at the launch of the all-new Pulsar 250. This was in response to a question on the company's preparedness for disruption by electric two-wheeler start-ups.
After a better-than-expected Dussehra weekend, hospitality firms are hopeful of ending the year on a positive note by doing good business over Christmas and the New Year. Typically, year-end bookings kick in two to four weeks before the season begins. Owing to pandemic-related uncertainties, hotels are seeing a significant reduction in the booking window, with travellers waiting till the last minute to make hotel reservations.
The first leg of the 35-day festive period, which ended with Dussehra, failed to bring any cheer for auto companies. While makers of passenger vehicles struggled to meet demand due to the persistent shortage of semiconductors, a recovery in demand remained elusive for two-wheeler manufacturers despite offers and schemes. The overall season, which ends two days after Diwali, is unlikely to bring any turnaround in either the supply or the demand scenario, said dealers and officials at auto companies.
Ahead of the peak festive season, India's passenger vehicle makers are staring at a cumulative order backlog of nearly 500,000 units as chip shortage continues to cripple production. The crisis is forcing companies to change their production plans frequently and take a call on the variants they can manufacture based on the availability of semiconductors. The booking numbers are not a true reflection of demand, said manufacturers.
Mementos, the new brand, would be aimed at addressing the need for boutique luxury hotels across various destinations.
The mood at the Hotel Investment Conference South Asia (HICSA), the annual hospitality industry conference was rather upbeat. But hotel brand operators and owners remain cautiously optimistic of the outlook and are living on a hope that a third wave of the pandemic doesn't become a reality. Having just survived the unprecedented zero revenue situation, the two day confrence organised by consulting firm Hotelivate, was dotted with anecdotes and best practices adopted by the hotels of all hues.
Besides their country of origin, General Motors, Ford Motor and Harley-Davidson have another trait in common: all three have failed in India, the world's fifth largest automobile market. All three of them took a tough call to de-prioritise India as a market amid disruption from heightened regulations and sharper focus on capital allocation by the parent.
First-time buyers of cars and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) have made a comeback, shows last year's data from top passenger vehicle (PV) makers. If the trend persists, it may move the needle on the overall car penetration ratio. India's car penetration ratio is 32 per 1,000 people - one of the lowest, compared to mature car markets like the US and Europe.
If the court order is implemented, it will lead to an increase in the insurance outgo for car owners by a minimum Rs 50,000 for car and a minimum of Rs 7,000 for two-wheeler owners.
For automakers, the festive season is about raking it in through ramped up sales and attractive consumer offers. However, despite the robust demand, what may spoil the party this year is a global shortage of semiconductors.
For Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), which has just started executing a comeback strategy for wresting back ground it lost to rivals, this could not have come at a worse time. The maker of the Bolero Neo and the Thar models on Thursday said it would have to halt production at its automotive plant for a week due to the worsening supply situation of semiconductors.
In a rare face off, captains of the auto industry have hit out at the government for not walking the talk. At an industry event in the capital on Wednesday, R C Bhargava, chairman of India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki, and Venu Srinivasan, chairman of TVS Motor, questioned the government's intent to support the auto sector. Revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj sat in the audience listening, before his turn came to counter them.
After the hit of the pandemic, India Inc is now worried about the adverse impact of inflation and higher commodity prices on their revenues and margins. The inflation scare is the strongest among manufacturers of consumer goods such as automobiles, consumer durables, and fast-moving capital goods (FMCG). Companies across sectors fear they will not be able to pass on the hike in input costs to their consumers due to weak demand, which, in turn, would lead to a hit on margins and profitability in the forthcoming quarters.
SoftBank-backed Ola Electric took the wraps off its maiden e-scooter offerings -- Ola S1 and S1 Pro -- for a commercial launch on Sunday. With prices starting from Rs 99,999 (excluding state government incentives, registration fee, and insurance cost), the Bhavesh Aggarwal-founded firm said the e-scooters are designed and engineered in India for the world and will deliver the best scooter experience to the consumer. He suggested that after 2025, sale of petrol-powered two-wheelers should not be allowed.
The entry of SoftBank-backed Ola into the electric scooter (e-scooter) segment is set to power up the overall market and perhaps fast-track the adoption of battery-operated vehicles. But for manufacturers of internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered two-wheelers, such as Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, and TVS Motor, it will be a double whammy. Not only will they have to contend with the aggressive pricing of Ola's scooter and incur a loss at each unit of the e-scooter sold, the volumes of their regular (ICE) models, too, could feel the squeeze, observed analysts. Ola is expected to price its e-scooter in the range of Rs 85,000-1.1 lakh.
'On an average we have been getting four to five such proposals a month, but we aren't pursuing them as they don't tick the boxes.'
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