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.
In this industry, a company's strategy needs to be adaptable in order to keep up with the pace of change.
The model, which will compete with the likes of Hyundai Verna, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and Skoda Rapid, now features smart devices ecosystem including Alexa remote capability and 32 connected features as standard feature across all variants with a five-year free subscription.
Led by Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the combined revenue of the Tata group's listed firms crossed the Rs 10-trillion mark for the first time, in 2022-23. The group's 14 key listed companies in which Tata Sons holds a direct equity stake reported a combined revenue of Rs 10.07 trillion in FY23, up 15.3 per cent from Rs 8.73 trillion in FY22. The combined net profit of these companies was, however, down 10.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) at Rs 66,670 crore in FY23, from a record high of Rs 74,540 crore in the previous financial year, when the profit had jumped 156 per cent YoY, aided by Tata Steel's strong showing.
The launch of two much-awaited compact cars of Honda and Toyota, scheduled to hit showrooms in a few months, may get reviewed as the two companies struggle with component supplies.
Millions of vehicles have been recalled across the globe due to defective safety airbag manufactured by Japan's Takata Corp.
In the domestic market, the car has been well accepted and currently the company has over 80,000 bookings for the model.
JLR is the latest in the list of companies which have announced a likely impact on operations due to crunch in auto component supplies from Japan.
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), India's second-largest two-wheeler maker, on Wednesday revealed its electric vehicle (EV) roadmap, which includes setting up a dedicated EV factory, launching the first two EVs in 2023-24, and establishing 6,000 battery exchange points in the country. HMSI plans to establish a specialised unit for the manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs), named 'Factory E', at its Narsapura plant located in Karnataka. Factory E will be created by converting an existing production line that currently manufactures internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, said Atsushi Ogata, HMSI managing director and chief executive officer.
Vehicles would be able to offer advice during challenging driving or parking situations, while also providing company to drivers on long, solitary trips
It manufactures cars ranging from entry-level hatchbacks to sedans to sport utility vehicles to vans to pick-up trucks. It also has a range of electric and hybrid vehicles
Honda has finally plunged into the fast growing urban crossover segment in India with the newly minted BR-V seven-seater SUV.
"Honda Jazz is very spacious and the flexibility inside the cabin makes it extremely versatile, while the new and punchy diesel heart comes at the right time," says Indian motoring website MotorBeam.
Industry watchers attribute a lot of the current successes of the $6 billion Hero Group to how B M Munjal planned and executed succession in HeroCorp, balancing the interests of other family-owned businesses.
A stake sale of Reliance's real estate portfolio would help it raise anything between $1-5 billion and could be one of the triggers for the company's shares to break out.
India must integrate more with East Asia by getting into regional trade arrangements, lower its tariff walls, and improve the quality of its workforce, suggests T N Ninan.
It is the global leader in car sales but in India, is a distant fifth.
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.
Besides their country of origin, General Motors, Ford Motor and Harley-Davidson have another trait in common: all three have failed in India, the world's fifth largest automobile market. All three of them took a tough call to de-prioritise India as a market amid disruption from heightened regulations and sharper focus on capital allocation by the parent.
Most Asian stock markets steadied on Wednesday.
Over seven lakh vehicles have been recalled by various manufacturers in India since 2012.
Over seven lakh vehicles have been recalled by various manufacturers in India since 2012.
Toyota Motor Corp is betting on pricier premium models offering better safety and quality.
Maruti, Honda and Tata Motors posted highest sales growth during the month
Suzuki patriarch steps down from CEO post as mileage test storm grows.
Maruti, Hyundai & Mahindra together had 72.5% market share in year's first half.
'India is still hierarchical, but not as much as Japan and people appreciate a flat working culture,' Charles Frump, managing director, Volvo Cars India, tells Pavan Lall.
Tata now occupies the fourth slot with the incremental volumes from the Tiago
Compact car space is going to exciting times in the coming year.
The government has mandated that from October 2017, all new car models will have to be equipped with airbags to meet crash test norms.
A record number of 85 products will be launched.
From discounts to hundred per cent financing to talks of a price hike, companies are doing everything to ensure retail sales pick up this month.
All iconic and very rare to find now, they are still high in demand among the youth
Includes all-new versions of Swift and Swift Dzire.
Today, Suzuki depends on Maruti for its place in the world
Maruti is now at a market share of 50.4%, up from 47.3% last year. In China, the world's biggest market, Volkswagen is the largest, with a share of 17%. In America, the second biggest, GM is leader with 18%. One exception is South Korea, where Hyundai has a market share in excess of 60%.
One of the smallest players in India's car market, it is banking on new-look Etios to make inroads into the personal vehicle segment
An average of 30-40 per cent automation is standard across all big automobile plants in the country
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