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.
Tata Motors has halved the volume outlook for its UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover Automotive (JLR) and warned of lower earnings as it sees the semiconductor shortage deepening in the September quarter of the current financial year, according to a notification issued by the company to the stock exchanges on Tuesday. The announcement caught investors unawares. They were hoping for a quicker recovery. Tata Motors' stock tanked 13 per cent (on July 6) from the day's high of Rs 358.10 and hit the lower circuit (Rs 311.45) in intra-day trades.
The price differential has been upwards of 20%.
The new SUV from the Tatas will compete with the likes of Jeep Compass, Hyundai Creta, Hyundai Tucson and the Mahindra XUV500.
However, notable absentees from the expo will be Honda, Toyota, Ford, BMW, Audi, Lexus, Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover along with two-wheeler majors Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor Co.
Recently, Suzuki Motor Corp (SMC) in an investor presentation expressed strong intent to enter the electric vehicle (EV) space. This is part of a larger strategy the Hamamatsu-based firm has drawn up in developing electrification of technologies as it seeks to achieve carbon neutrality. The significance of this presentation is that it marked the first time that the Japanese carmaker spelt out its EV strategy with well-defined timelines. SMC plans to develop electrification technologies by 2025, fully implement them in products from the same year, and make a full-scale quantitative increase from 2030.
Companies have also managed to find talent created by frequent exits.
Let alone a discount, they might not even get the model, variant or colour of choice in BS-IV-compliant vehicles.
Maruti Suzuki posted a marginal increase in January and the likes of Hyundai, Ford and Mahindra & Mahindra reporting a single-digit growth.
After the easing of lockdown in mid-May, auto companies were able to resume production in a phased manner, but the ramp-up was slow due to a broken supply chain, and lockdown-induced restrictions.
Cumulative sales of India's top passenger vehicle makers -- Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Motors, Honda Cars, and Toyota Kirloskar -- increased to 206,418 units in February over 200,322 units in the same month last year, an increase of 3 per cent.
Experts attribute the high valuation of Indian auto makers to the faster growth in India compared to the rest of the world.
Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra and Toyota reported low single-digit sales growth for the month owing to weak market sentiment
'If it is your second car (electric vehicle), you typically keep it for travel within the city.' 'And the first car (internal combustion engine-run vehicles) can then be used to travel to some other cities.'
Maruti's 7 models in India's top ten selling passenger vehicles in 2016-17
Vehicle prices have gone up as manufacturers gear up for the transition to stricter emission norm BS-VI from BS-IV beginning April 1.
The company has delivered 1,000 cars to buyers and is in the process of delivering another 2,000 units.
The first major pricing error was made by market leader Maruti Suzuki when it launched its first crossover the S Cross
Innovation ranging from exterior designs of vehicles to EV charger locks grabbed eyeballs at the expo
There are few firms that are applauded for managing a healthy top line growth along with an impressive brand image that inspires most companies.
Ola Electric on Thursday teased five new electric motorcycles that the SoftBank-backed company is working on, announcing the range after selling electric scooters. The products are labelled cafe racer, an adventure tourer, a scrambler and a naked motorcycle. The motorcycles are expected to be launched next year and would include premium and mass-market versions, said sources.
Unless the model is being phased out or is expected to get a facelift, buying in December makes sense
The new year will see a line of hatchbacks (including compact SUVs) hit the Indian roads. Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com offers a peek.
Exports during the month rose 4.4 per cent to 7,077 units as compared to 6,779 units in April last year, MSI said.
There was no sale of premium sedan Kizashi during the month.
Maruti Suzuki is set to launch a new multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) -- Invicto -- next month. It will be the company's first passenger vehicle with an ex-showroom price tag of Rs 20 lakh or more, said Shashank Srivastava, executive director (sales), on Tuesday. The upcoming MPV will compete with the likes of Toyota Innova Hycross, Kia Carnival, Hyundai Alcazar, MG Hector Plus, Tata Safari, Mahindra & Mahindra XUV700, and Mahindra & Mahindra Scorpio-N - all having three rows of seats. Invicto will be based on the Hycross by Toyota, which will manufacture Maruti's most expensive car at its Bidadi plant in Karnataka.
'While we have done a few thousand kilometres in India, most of the testing and data collection and analysis has been done in the US, Japan and Europe.'
The revised prices enhances the accessibility of these outstanding products, which offer segment-first safety features and class-leading technologies
Amid better semiconductor chip supplies, the Indian automotive industry posted an 8 percent growth in production of vehicles across categories for the month of May, with three-wheelers (20 per cent) and passenger vehicles (16 per cent) leading the pack. Exports, however, dipped 21 per cent at an industry level. The industry also recorded its highest-ever May wholesales of domestic passenger vehicles (334,802 units), riding on high demand for sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and better supplies of semiconductor chips.
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.
In doing so, Bajaj has become the first internal combustion engine two-wheeler company to launch an all-electric two-wheeler in India.
The Baleno is among the top selling cars with unserviced bookings of 55,000 units.
Tesla Inc, the world's largest electric car producer, is looking to make a significant investment in India, said its chief Elon Musk, who saw India as holding more promise than any other large country around the globe. Musk, after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said he plans to visit India in 2024. "I am confident that Tesla will be in India and we will do so as soon as humanly possible," Musk told reporters after the meeting.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) does not anticipate growth in the small car segment because people continue to find these vehicles unaffordable, chairman R C Bhargava said on Wednesday. He said the market had clearly shifted towards the sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment and the company will go in the same direction. The domestic sales of utility vehicles jumped in India by 34.54 per cent to about 2 million units in FY23.
Various factors, including robust demand in rural markets and good response to new models, helped in driving the sales.
India is sceptical that Tesla might import into the country cars made in China. Tesla executives were in India last month and appear to have proposed a factory in the country. But do not be surprised if that does not happen in a hurry.
That means a manufacturer looking at a market like India needs to decide whether small, cheap cars or small, expensive cars or both will work better for them, says Pavan Lall.
Mercedes sells models ranging from A Class to Maybach, priced between Rs 28 lakh and Rs 1.67 crore.
Car sales are likely to grow further in November.
The company had launched the Yaris in May 2018 at a price range of Rs 8.75 lakh and Rs 14.07 lakh (ex-showroom), competing with the likes of Honda City, Hyundai Verna and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz. However, it didn't have a robust response in the market, clocking a cumulative wholesales of around 19,800 units.
