Excise duty relief brought in by the Budget may wither away on input cost pressure for cars in India. In light of these details, Indian car makers are contemplating hiking car prices, although none of them has confirmed the exact hike. Top executives from the auto industry have said the hike could be around 3-5 per cent. Most of the car manufacturers had already slashed prices (on small cars) in the beginning of March following the Budget announcement of a cut in excise duty.
Tata Motors has set up a separate team at its plant in Pune to examine ways to cut manufacturing costs on the Nano, the small car scheduled for an October launch, to bring the ex-showroom price down to the psychological Rs 1 lakh mark, managing director Ravi Kant said.
Maruti Suzuki is planning a further investment of Rs 9000 crore in India for world class R&D centres, design facility, regional distribution centres and logistics support. The fresh investment will be made over a longer period, about eight years, as compared with three years for some earlier investments. Regional warehouses will cut short the delivery time of vehicles. The centralised and timely despatch of vehicles from its facilities in the north will mean faster shipment.
The Tata-Fiat joint venture is looking at catering to the global demand for engines through its Ranjangaon plant.
Under its IT/ITeS SEZ development plan, Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot) is setting up nine IT SEZs in Tamil Nadu, developing 1 million sq ft space at an estimated cost of Rs 28,000-30,000 crore (Rs 280-300 billion) - one each at Perumbakkam village and Sholinganallur near Chennai, two in Madurai, and one each at Tiruchirapalli (Trichy), Krishnagiri, Salem, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli.
Exim Bank of India Chairman and Managing Director T C Venkat Subramanian revealed that the bank has good exposure in highly export-intensive sectors. The bank has seen considerable increase in loan approvals and profit after tax. It provides financing both in foreign currency and Indian rupees. The bank will push exports from rural areas and explore untapped areas. Subramanian believes microfinancing model was ideal for villages as it reaches the indigenous rural people.
The much-awaited excise duty cut on small cars to 12 per cent (from 16 per cent) made by the finance minister may have brought smiles on the faces of car manufacturers but this, dealers say, will increase the waiting period on some popular models by another additional month.
FM's decision to make PAN card a neccessity for financial transactions has worried life insurers, who will find it difficult to tap rural India with this requirement.
Auto component sourcing has touched $3 billion in India and is expected to double by next financial year-end. Such sourcing has provided Indian players with the opportunity to charge a premium that varies between 5 and 10 per cent.
Chennai and Ennore ports are set to become hub for car exports from South India. After Hyundai, the two ports have started attracting global manufacturers like Renault SA, Nissan, and Ford.
The rapidly growing banking, financial and services industry sector in India is expected to create about a million jobs every year for the next five years
After developing bancassurance channels, which banks use to sell insurance products, the latest buzzword among insurance companies is "shopassurance" - selling insurance through supermarkets and retail chains.
Most policies attached to co-branded cards to lure customers.
Rs 1,199 spread comfortably across 84 months or 7 years. The rate of interest is 11-11.5 per cent, which is cheaper than a two wheeler loan.
Indian tyre makers are expanding their capacities in the wake of international players flooding the Indian markets.
Yamaha is all set to launch two premium bikes, priced close to Rs 1 lakh. This is an attempt to revive the company's dipping sales and image.
Insurance companies are banking in on health insurance, as it promises to be Rs 25,000-cr industry by 2010.
MV Agusta, the Italian exotic superbike maker, is actively looking to launch its bikes in India
Say lower duties could enhance demand.
Italian auto major Fiat Auto has asked Rajeev Kapoor, the newly appointed president and CEO of Fiat Auto India Automobiles, to take charge of the Indian operations after managing director De Filippis Giovanni's recall from the position about a week back.
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