Roughly 70 per cent of the country's car owners may cringe at the rise in fuel prices, but the rising cost of petrol and diesel does not appear to have put the brakes on the market for luxury cars, even though they deliver a measly mileage in single digits. Till April, sales of luxury cars, defined as those costing Rs 40 lakh and more, touched 4,000 units the same as the number of cars sold for the whole of 2007.
The I&M programme will entail a nationwide comprehensive programme to test and certify, at frequent intervals, a vehicle's 'road worthiness'. The programme gains importance as more than 100,000 people die each year from road accidents in the country, roughly 10 per cent of the world total.
Sure, while Mumbai's tinsel town has made some attempts to break in (Aamir Khan's Lagaan made it to the 2002 Oscar nomination for foreign films), few Indians have managed to enter this exclusive club. Not anymore. The efforts of the threesome have finally paid off and the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) is set to put its imprint on Hollywood.
Move to ensure deals do not hit govt licence fees, revenue share.
The auto sector is doing well in India, despite stock market meltdown, emerging signals of industrial slowdown and rising costs.
By June 2009, the $6 billion Mahindra & Mahindra group will open its new $116 million automobile design and development facility called the Mahindra Research Valley spread over 150 acres in Mahindra World City in Chennai. Primarily, this R&D facility will cater to M&M's design needs, and later may consider doing similar high-end work for other OEMs.
Leading Indian public sector banks State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Syndicate Bank are close to committing a part of the $3 billion bridge loan that Tata Motors has to raise to finance the acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford.
Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal's bid for telecom major MTN Group has to contend with some tough negotiations with Lebanon's former prime minister Najib Mikati, one of the wealthiest men in his country, as well as stiff black economic empowerment policies in South Africa that provide for a major share in the management of companies located in the country to blacks.
That is not out of choice, but because of the new European Union norms for automobile recycling, which comes into effect in 2010, and prescribes that once a vehicle is destined for the scrap heap in the EU territory, 80-85 per cent of its parts ought to be recyclable or reusable. That means every component -- batteries, airbags, catalytic converters, and auto plastics -- have to be safely disposed.
Amongst cars sold in the mid-size category (domestic sales) between April 2007 and March 2008, diesel variants outsold petrol car models roughly in the ratio of 7:3. That means over 70 per cent of the over 1,79,493 mid-size cars sold in the domestic markets were diesel models. Diesel mid-size cars on an average are priced 15.5 per cent more than the petrol variant. Overall, the mid-size category, petrol and diesel models included, grew by 14.6 per cent.
Datacom Solutions, promoted by consumer electronic goods maker Videocon Industries, is close to roping in South African telecom major MTN group as a partner for its GSM foray in the country. According to sources, Datacom, which was scouting for a partner to bring in investments and technology, has short-listed MTN. Discussions with the South African company are in the final stage and a deal is expected to be signed soon.
With an eye to the large and growing market for their products, Indian auto component and tyre companies are making a beeline to set shop in Europe (especially Eastern Europe). Just last month Apollo Tyres announced that it was setting up a euro 200 million green field venture outside Hungary. And Delhi based Amtek Auto will set up a production base which will come in to operation in 2009 in Romania.
HD TV is all set to make a grand entry in India by the year-end. Direct-To-Home operators -- Dish TV and Reliance Communications -- are planning to offer HD TV set top boxes, though at a premium.
The brain drain, it seems, is passe. India is becoming one of the hottest destinations for expatriates (both those of Indian origin and foreigners) for top jobs. That is because big business houses in India are ready to offer pay packets that are equivalent to and sometimes more than global benchmarks. This is a key finding of a study of senior recruitment trends by US-based SpencerStuart, a leading executive search firm that specialises in recruiting CEOs, presidents and COO
Led by Huawei Technologies and ZTE, Chinese manufacturers are challenging the domination of European equipment-makers by grabbing contracts (some of which are in advanced stages of negotiations) worth over $2 billion in 2008 -- nearly one thirds of the Indian market of around $6 billion.
The govt is likely to propose to the EU that it will validate security procedures in its airports before allowing passengers to carry duty-free goods to India. This is in retaliation to a similar proposal made by EU last year, which led to protests from companies operating duty-free shops in India. EU officials would have to validate the security systems at Indian airports before allowing transit passengers to buy at duty-free shops here, resulting in dispute between the two.
Now, a growing number of well-heeled private citizens are buying armoured vehicles for their safety, providing a profitable new business stream for companies like Jalandhar-based Laggar Industries and automaker Hindustan Motors. The annual market is about 500 vehicles, of which 30 to 40 are bought by private citizens.
Speaking on the cancellation of the deal, Joe Bowman, chief executive officer of Ultra Motors, said, "The opportunity cost of selling electric vehicles in India does not fit strategically under this joint agreement. We intend to create shareholder value and positively impact those markets where we operate. We have come to believe India is one of the largest markets in the world. So we are looking forward to develop it independently."
The Italian luxury brand is open to working on traditional Indian clothing and creating a limited domestic collection using local tradition and design. At the moment, Gucci has two stores in Mumbai and Delhi and is planning to open two more, one of which will be in Bangalore. Gucci offers a range of products including bags, footwear, ready-to-wear, perfumes and watches. Apart from Gucci, its other brands include YSL, Sergio Rossi, Stella McCartney, Bottega Veneta, watch brand
German luxury carmaker BMW is evaluating over 100 component manufacturers in India to outsource engines and chassis for its global manufacturing operations, according to a board member. "We are impressed with the quality of die casts and forgings in India that we use for our global operations. The quality of products from second- and third-tier is impressive," said Ind Herbert Diess, who is on the BMW AG board.
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