Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), the country's second-largest two-wheeler manufacturer, is planning to launch its first electric vehicle (EV) here by March next year, said CEO & MD Atsushi Ogata on Monday. The company would also enter the low-end motorcycle market in March by launching a 100cc engine bike at a price that will "positively shock" customers, he said while speaking with reporters, after launching the Activa with Honda Smart Key. HMSI's first EV, an electric scooter, will have a fixed battery and the second model will have two swappable batteries, Ogata explained.
At Prestige Polygon Towers in Chennai's Teynampet, hectic preparations are on for a mega global investors' meet under the aegis of Guidance Tamil Nadu (the state investment promotion agency) scheduled for January 2024. Asked about the key focus areas of the meet, the agency's managing director and chief executive officer, V Vishnu, said the state was betting big on electric mobility. This is no surprise, given that the state has signed electric vehicle (EV)-related memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with several companies in the recent past that may bring in investments worth around Rs 33,000 crore with the potential to create over 43,000 job opportunities.
Dealers say the significant increase in sales was driven by a need to plug the diminishing inventory as most dealerships were transitioning from BS-IV to BS-VI when the Covid-19 lockdown was announced.
286 dealers closed down in 18 months, 32,000 jobs impacted. Maharashtra leads with 84 closures, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi. The worst-hit is the passenger car segment.
At the end of May, out of 26,500 outlets about 60 per cent showrooms and 80 per cent workshops were operational across the country.
Besides job loss, the exit of the American cult bike maker would also lead to a loss of up to Rs 130 crore for the brand's dealer partners in the country.
Passenger vehicle wholesale in India increased by 14.19 per cent to 3,10,294 units in October against 2,71,737 units in the same month last year as companies despatched more units to dealers to cater to enhanced demand in the festive season, auto industry body SIAM said on Wednesday. According to the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheeler sales also rose 16.88 per cent to 20,53,814 units, compared with 17,57,180 units in the same month last year. Motorcycle sales were at 13,82,749 units as against 11,16,886 units in October 2019, up 23.8 per cent.
Tata Motors is looking to ramp up the production of electric vehicles as demand continues to outpace the manufacturing activity by a huge margin, according to a top company official. The Mumbai-based automaker, which led the passenger electric vehicle space in the domestic market in last fiscal year, has been receiving an average of 5,500-6,000 bookings in the past two months for its EV range. The company sells three electric products -- Nexon EV, Tigor EV and XPRES-T -- in the domestic market.
Automobile dealers' body FADA said the Budget lacked immediate demand boosters for the automobile industry.
The optimism stems from benign fuel prices, adequate and well distributed rainfall and the recent measures announced by the government to boost liquidity at banks and NBFCs.
Indian consumers are likely to get respite from rising prices just before the festival season. Some consumer companies, including automakers, have indicated that they are planning to pause price hikes just before demand picks up in August, while keeping a close eye on volatile raw material prices.
Auto sales have been declining for 13 straight months as a broader slowdown in the economy has crippled demand across the country.
The two-wheeler industry was hit by an increase in insurance rates, liquidity crunch, poor sentiment, rural distress and uncertainty over the BS-VI regulations, among other factors.
According to FADA, automobile retail trade and service industry comprises a network of 9,500 automobile dealers and their service stations engaged in sale, service/repair and spares of vehicles across segments, is an essential link in automotive business and a significant stakeholder.
After a very weak December quarter and a poor year-to-date fiscal year volumes-when sales plunged to the lowest in nine years, the signs in the first 15 days of January haven't been encouraging either. "Though the severity of the current wave is not as high as the previous one, it has hit the sentiments hard impacting conversion of enquiries into sales," said Vinkesh Gulati, president, Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA).
This rise was spurred by record kharif sowing - after a good rabi season - that ensured high disposable incomes in rural India.
Lenders have become worried as some dealers were not using the money provided to them for car financing.
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.
Recently, South Korean Foreign Minister, Chung Eui-yong, dialled his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, in New Delhi. His government, he said, "regretted the offence caused to the people of India". A day earlier, India had summoned the South Korean ambassador to express its "strong displeasure" over "an unacceptable social media post".
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.
During the meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the auto industry broadly presented factors such as issues regarding availability and affordability of financing, increasing cost of acquisition of vehicles and change in axle load capacity for commercial vehicles that have hurt demand.
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.
As macroeconomic numbers continue to disappoint, reaching pre-Covid level is unlikely in FY21.
As per the conditions set by General Motors, a dealer who does not accept its offer by July 15 would get only 50 per cent of the compensation amount being offered.
With entry-level cars being preferred amid the pandemic, market leader Maruti Suzuki has strengthened its hold, along with Hyundai Motor India.
The muted expectation of dealers come at a time when vehicle manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor, Mahindra & Mahindra and others reported a double-digit fall in wholesale dispatches to dealerships in July and August.
Increasing the duties on auto parts and putting an additional cess on petrol and diesel could drive up costs of vehicles, specially where volumes are low and localisation is not viable.
The government on Friday announced several relief measures including deferring one-time registration fee, lifting the ban on purchase of petrol/diesel vehicles by its departments and allowing higher depreciation, but it remained non-committal on the demand for a reduction in GST rates.
However, the World Bank has projected India's GDP growth rate at 7.5 per cent for the next three financial years, including the current one.
The development comes after a recent notification from the Union home ministry, which has permitted companies to resume manufacturing operations and reopening of shops in red, green and orange zones with certain riders.
The slowdown in growth is an industry-wide trend and companies are adjusting production to bring down the inventory levels at plants as well as dealerships.
While two-wheeler sales are down 15 per cent year-on-year, passenger vehicles sales are lower by 5-7 per cent.
Renault will start with a slew of new products that will be launched over the second half of this year and next year, apart from giving facelifts to the Kwid and Duster.
Among those who have the most to lose from India's haphazard policies are dealers selling cars made by Toyota, Mahindra & Mahindra, Daimler AG's and Tata Motors' luxury arm, Jaguar Land Rover
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