Manufacturers that mainly sell diesel cars like Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen anticipate a significant fall in sales if the government accepts the Parikh committee's recommendation of a flat tax of Rs 80,000 on diesel cars, because of a widening cost differential with petrol variants.
Manufacturers that mainly sell diesel cars like Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen anticipate a significant fall in sales if the government accepts the Parikh committee's recommendation of a flat tax of Rs 80,000 on diesel cars, because of a widening cost differential with petrol variants.
The bad news is that the company has reported an output constraint at its plants because some component vendors were unable to keep pace with the faster production cycle.
With the Indian Railways registering better-than-expected growth in traffic operations this financial year on the back of a revival in the economy, its gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to cross the 9 per cent mark by the end of this financial year. This could lead to a rise in the freight rates of some commodities, say officials in the ministry.
Under the plan being worked out, the labour component of the railway projects, which include the expansion of train lines or conversion of line gauge, would be funded from NREGS, as most of these projects require a large labour force and generate employment opportunities in rural areas.
This is the total of both, direct and indirect employment growth as a result of the expansion. Estimates put together by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) say this will be the extra added between now and 2012, to support the ever-increasing demand for new vehicles.
These companies are keen on having a presence in the segment below their current range of premium sedans, whose market is relatively smaller in size.
Rise in prices of essential inputs increases cost of producing cars, making them less affordable.
The recommendations forwarded by the consultant will be put up for discussions among trade bodies and port authorities.
Among the proposals considered today includes a project to construct a railway link between Rohanpur and Singhabad to facilitate transit traffic from Bangladesh to Nepal through India. Railway ministry sources indicated that the ministry had no objections to opening the additional transit route to Bangladesh.
Leading carmakers are considering raising prices of their vehicles across the board, if the government withdraws the excise duty benefit in the coming Budget.
Chinese auto component manufacturers are quietly making inroads into India.
Toyota Motor Corporation unveiled the much-awaited small car that it developed for the Indian market at the Delhi Auto Expo.
Contrary to expectations that car sales dip in December, auto majors Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor India are poised to grow 30 per cent in sales (the two companies control 72 per cent of the domestic market). General Motors is looking at 70-80 per cent increase in sales.
Bajaj Auto, the country's second-largest manufacturer of motorcycles, has phased out two more models. This makes four bike models phased out in four months, due to weak demand.
The Delhi-based group has already announced Rs 2,300-crore (Rs 23-billion) investment in setting up a number of luxury and mid-market hotels across business and leisure destinations in India and abroad.
The opportunity is huge. With Rs 8,000 crore worth of defence contracts signed in the last two years under the offset policy mandated by the government, Indian component suppliers are gearing up to cash in on balance contracts worth Rs 1,30,000 crore, which would be up for grabs in the next few years.
Overall, the railways intend to build 66 MFCs at a cost of Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million) each. MFCs would provide rail users with facilities like shopping, food stalls and restaurants, book stalls, telephone booths, medicine and variety stores, budget hotels and underground parking.
Tata Motors' luxury automotive brand, Jaguar, bagged a three-year order to supply 13,000 units of its range to a Chinese company earlier this year. Its Land Rover, jointly with Jaguar, is charting new territories for expansion.
India is now the new battleground for two of UK's ultra luxury car makers.
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