A year that began with a bang only to fizzle out in the end with car sales posting the steepest fall in nearly 11 years; a year marred by strikes -- 2011 will be one that the Indian automobile industry would like to forget in a hurry.
With the job squeeze coming up, it may be a good time to assess your strengths and weaknesses, be prepared and move on if you must. Vikas Shirodkar, Vice President HR, General Motors lists out the ten most practical ways to deal with this impending situation.
Indian and international brands are now all focused on small cars.
Indian passenger car sales jumped by 10.15 per cent in January to 54,825 units from 49,769 units in the same month last year.
The version is GM India's first clean-burning liquefied natural gas car in India, built at company's plant at Talegaon in Maharashtra.
Toyota Kirloskar Motors on Thursday launched Innova, a replacement model for its flagship Qualis, pricing the base models of petrol and diesel versions at Rs 6.82 lakh and Rs 7.42 lakh respectively.\n\n
Talks between the management and workers on strike have so far failed to yield any result and even the threat to terminate jobs have not made the nearly 200 agitating employees return to duty.
Always wondered what hiring managers wished you knew? Vikas Shirodkar, vice- president, Human Resource Development, General Motors, India, spells out the six qualities he always looks for in prospective candidates.
Everyone could do with that little extra cash but how do you sell the idea to your boss that you deserve it. Vikas Shirodkar, Vice-president, Human Resource Development, General Motors, India lists out these dos and don'ts to follow.
Workers resorted to strike at the Halol facility in Gujarat that has an installed capacity of 85,000 units a year.
The company wants to exploit the space further as the online medium is the most cost-efficient advertising option compared to print and television.
US automaker General Motors' chief executive has apologised for the company's handling of the failed sale of its subsidiary Opel to Canadian manufacturer Magna and Russian investment bank Sperbank.
Led by the country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki, Ford India, General Motors and Toyota Kirloskar logged overall growth in sales volumes.
The decision to retain Opel in addition to restructuring its European operations was taken by the company's board of directors in the backdrop of "improving business environment," GM said.
The company, which plans to launch three light commercial vehicles from the stable of its Chinese partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation during the same time period, also said it has lined up to introduce 14 new variants of its existing car models.
Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra on Friday said it will hike the prices of its passenger cars and commercial vehicles by Rs 6,000 to Rs 20,000 from October 1, partly to offset higher input costs and depreciation of rupee against the dollar.
General Motors India is aiming to increase sales three-fold over the next three years, with the five new models it is planning to launch in collaboration with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation.
'The immediate impact would be delayed payments, followed by slowly ramping down of existing projects while retaining only the ones that are mission critical,' said Karthik Ananth of Zinnov Management. 'In the long run, it would have a trickle down effect on tier one and tier two suppliers for auto majors. They will indeed see an impact on their business, which in turn will impact the business of Indian service providers, who work with them and have them as key accounts.'
The stand-off at the facility, which employs around 1,900 permanent workers and 2,500 contract workers, began on November 5 morning when the company management did not allow some of the contractual workers to go inside the plant.
On Nooyi, who is now in her 10th year as CEO, Fortune said, she "shows no signs of slowing down"
The US financial crisis and the resultant economic downturn pushed many a top honchos out of their corner rooms in 2009, but Citigroup's India-born chief Vikram Pandit continues to steer the once financial colossus out of its biggest ever crisis.
Model 3 received 180,000 orders worldwide.
The once-beleaguered auto maker, bailed out by the US government last year, had lost a whopping $13 billion in the 2009 June quarter.
The production and concept vehicles which are to be displayed include the company's hybrid sedan Chevrolet Volt, sports-car Chevrolet Camaro, sports utility vehicle Captiva Extreme, electric version of its small car Spark, CNG version of Chevrolet Aveo and its race car WTCC Cruze.
The LPG model was launched a fortnight ago. Chevrolet is now hoping to rev up the car's sales with a diesel option in June.
Workers fear that GM might close down one or two production plants in Germany in the process of restructuring Opel. It may also lay off thousands of workers and force the remaining workers to make sacrifices to protect their jobs.
Green vehicle set to hit Indian roads next year.
Cracking the whip on the practice of exorbitant salaries, the US government's pay czar has slashed the compensation of top executives by 50 per cent at seven largest bailed-out firms including Citigroup and AIG.
It is usually better to buy those shares which are members of an industry group which is leading the market's move.
American car maker General Motors is likely to pull out of its technological partnership with REVA Electric Car Company, after domestic auto major Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd bought 55.2 per cent equity in the Bangalore-based company to stake its place in the fledgling electric vehicle market.
The recession triggered unemployment, which rose to all-time highs in the US and around the world. Markets felt the ripples of the meltdown wiping off trillions of dollars of investor wealth.
The Supreme Court on Monday directed Uber to apply for a licence within three weeks to operate in Maharashtra, stressing that cab aggregators cannot function without one. A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud said that an earlier interim order by the Supreme Court that had allowed Uber to operate in the state would not provide legal cover, since an aggregator cannot operate without a licence. It ordered Uber to apply for a licence by March 6, said a report by Bar and Bench.
Undeterred by global credit freeze, India maintains a bullish outlook on attracting foreign direct investment which may be governed by easier rules, a top government official said.
The decision reflected Birla's thinking that his stepping down would pave the way for the entry of strategic investors and allow for greater flexibility during discussions, the company said.
The New York Auto Show 2010 which opened at the Jacob Javits Center on April 2 has some of the hottest cars and trucks ever seen under one roof.
The components would cater to GM facilities worldwide, said Karl Slym, president and managing director, GM India.
