India is a market for low-priced cars with low running costs. The global majors don't have models that fit the bill; only Maruti and Hyundai have successful entry-level models, observes T N Ninan.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) plans to drive in CNG trims across its product range as it remains bullish over long-term prospects of the segment amid increase in fuel prices and drop in diesel car sales, according to a senior company official. The company, which sold around 1.62 lakh CNG cars last fiscal year, is also counting on the rapid expansion of CNG dispensing outlets across the country to bring in more CNG products. Bullish on the expansion of the sales network, the automaker expects its CNG car sales to almost double this fiscal year over 2020-21.
The Baleno is a runaway hit for Maruti Suzuki with delivery wait extending to six months.
The electric vehicle evolution in India's passenger vehicle market has remained frozen in time and may see limited adoption over the next decade, experts say.
Leading automakers Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors on Thursday reported robust sales in March as a shift towards personal mobility and pent up demand continued to help companies push dispatches to their respective retail partners. Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Honda Cars and Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) also reported strong sales last month as compared to the year-ago period, when dispatches were adversely impacted due to the impending transition to BSVI from April 2020 and the nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India said its domestic sales stood at 1,49,518 units last month. The auto major had reported sales of 76,976 units in March 2020.
Most of the hirings are, however, in the entry or junior level.
Maruti is trying to move up the segment by focusing on premium cars, SUVs and even trucks.
Kotak Bank was top loser among Sensex stocks, dropping by 3.28 per cent. HDFC Bank declined by 1.86 per cent, HDFC by 1.28 per cent and ICICI Bank by 0.99 per cent. SBI fell 0.5 per cent while Bajaj Finance by 0.72 per cent. Larsen & Toubro dropped 0.16 per cent.
What explains India's love affair with SUVs? They are not exactly "value for money" -- the watchword for brands across segments -- nor always practical. Is it for the badge value? Or the butch imagery associated with SUVs? Maybe both, says Alokananda Chakraborty.
India's top listed companies reported their best-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 2.39 trillion in the September quarter of FY22, up 46.4 per cent year-on-year. The earnings were driven by a big surge in the profitability of banks, non-banking financial companies & insurance (BFSI), oil & gas, and metal & mining firms. The combined net profit of these three cyclical sectors were up 87 per cent YoY to a record high of Rs 1.53 trillion, up from Rs 82,000 crore a year ago and Rs 1.08 trillion in Q1FY22.
Maruti Suzuki Celerio will now come equipped with ABS and airbags for all its variants.
MSI expects the royalty paid to parent Suzuki Motor Corp to come down starting with its upcoming compact SUV as its engineers enhance their role in the joint development of future products.
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.
Data available from top six players - Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, M&M, Tata Motors, Honda and Toyota - shows an average growth of about 42 per cent for the industry in June
Take out Maruti Suzuki and Honda, and the auto sector's prospects suddenly don't look all that rosy.
Auto sales, particularly of two-wheelers, may not bounce back immediately and may take another two months to come back on track even as car bookings have started seeing an initial uptick. Various states started Unlock 2.0 on Monday, following a fall in the number of Covid-19 cases. Auto sales were hit in May following the impact of Covid-led lockdowns.
If you think the XL6 is a brand new, from-the-ground-up car, you have another think coming, says Pablo Chatterji.
Maruti Suzuki is set to steer its fourth brand into 2 million club. The numbers convey a sense of the contribution that WagonR makes to Maruti Suzuki.
What will it take for Tesla to plug and play in India? Sector pundits say it's a mix of strategy, getting the price right, timing, the right talent, and above all, patience.
Maruti Suzuki claims the new SUV delivers an outstanding fuel efficiency of 24.3 km per litre.
Passenger vehicle sales continue to drop in June; Maruti, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Toyota witness decline. Mahindra & Mahindra, however, reported a 4 per cent growth.
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.
Around 75 per cent, or 372 stocks, that are part of the BSE500 are trading at least 10 per cent below their all-time high levels, despite the index hitting a record high 20,515 points on the BSE in intra-day trade on Wednesday, surpassing its previous high of 20,390 touched in March 12. The index, which accounts for 93 per cent of BSE listed companies' market capitalisation, has gained 8 per cent from its recent low of 18,983, touched on April 19. In comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex gained 6 per cent over the same period, but is still nearly 4.5 per cent away from its all-time high of 52,517 that it hit on February 16.
With multiple options in the compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) and compact sedan space, the mid-size sedan seems to be losing its charm among customers.
Maruti's exports are limited and mainly to countries in Africa and Latin America.
Reeling under severe slowdown, the auto major had reduced its production by 33.99 per cent in August, making it the seventh straight month of reduction.
Maruti has committed Rs 5 crore towards the programme.
So far, the current year has not been great for the leading car exporters from India. In the top five list of exporters -- Hyundai, Ford, Maruti Suzuki, General Motors and Volkswagen -- it is only Hyundai which is clocking a growth.
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