Recently, world headlines buzzed with Elon Musk's announcement that he was shelving his audacious bid for social media platform Twitter. Away from the media spotlight, questions are being asked about the maverick billionaire's plans in India, too. A few days ago, a Reuters report said Musk's flagship Tesla had put on hold its plan to launch electric cars in India.
Hyundai, which is also toeing Maruti's lines, said special schemes are offered to engage the cab aggregators, including annual-maintenance-contract packages and extended warranty.
Czech automaker Skoda on Thursday globally unveiled its all new SUV Kushaq which would take on the likes of Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos in the fastest growing mid-sized SUV segment in the domestic market. The model is the first production car as part of the company's India 2.0 project. Under the lead responsibility of Skoda Auto, Volkswagen Group is investing 1 billion euros in its model campaign in the Indian subcontinent to strengthen its presence.
The new year will see a line of hatchbacks (including compact SUVs) hit the Indian roads. Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com offers a peek.
Let alone a discount, they might not even get the model, variant or colour of choice in BS-IV-compliant vehicles.
India has a history of jugaad, and retrofitting vehicles is one such manifestation of the legendary Indian skill. Not so long ago autorickshaws and small Marutis used to strap on subsidised LPG cylinders and power themselves to a cheap ride. There were the odd explosions, lives were lost, but the jugaad continued. Then compressed natural gas (CNG) was introduced in Delhi following a court order. Initially, customised CNG kits were fitted to conventional (internal combustion engine or ICE) autos cheaply, enabling commuting at less than half of what you would cough up for diesel. The industry is better organised now with Suzuki and Hyundai designing CNG-fired vehicles, and Mahindra and TVS manufacturing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-powered three wheelers.
The challenges of transition to stricter emission norm BS-VI from BS-IV and compliance to new safety norms thereby making vehicles costlier are lurking around the sector.
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.
Hyundai has upped the game of the Verna with the 4S.
At the moment Concor, a public sector company controlled by the railways, has a monopoly in running container trains across the country. It offers ferrying rates to carry containers that are one-third of that on roads.
Freight rates between India and China have dropped by more than half following introduction of express services between the two countries by leading international container shipping liners.
Good sowing of kharif crops, better minimum support prices, and fewer Covid-19 cases (in villages) will help the rural growth story to continue, says Maruti.
On the highway, it pulls along with ease and offers smooth commuter ride and drive experience, and also has little competition, says Pavan Lall.
When Dell decided to start its operations in Tamil Nadu, the state government wanted the company to operate from a rural area.
The new Kiger has enough in it to draw you away from the hatchback you've been eyeing.
Quality-wise, and on the fun-to-drive scale, the T-Roc is in a league of its own, notes Pavan Lall.
From Audi A8 to Honda Civic, here's what the auto industry has lined up in 2019.
'I have personally been very keen on investing in lithium ion battery technology for some time.'
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.
That's because India does not have a serious venture capital industry with an appetite for risk, observes T N Ninan.
With the Thar, M&M has come full circle. In a market where every other vehicle has an SUV tag, the company plans to stick to its core competence of making rugged, true-blue, all-terrain SUVs, and marks a fresh beginning for the 75-year-old firm that enjoyed an indomitable position in the SUV segment till 2012, reports Shally Seth Mohile.
Exasperated by frequent labour strikes, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to give public utility status to Auto components makers. A move that has left labour unions fuming since, now, they won't be able to go on strike without issuing a notice of six weeks in advance.
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Car companies are hoping to buck the slowdown by launching new models to push sales from January. Industry majors like Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai India have all lined up launches in the next few weeks and months hoping to generate reasonable volumes.
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Volkswagen has pitted Rapid and Vento againsts Hyundai Verna.
Companies also said confidence was yet to return among buyers, with many holding back their decision to buy cars.
Employees of some top Indian companies were in for a pleasant surprise when they received a mail from their HR team announcing a hike in salaries and bonuses. Led by IT firms and start-ups, HR managers say that while some have offered cash and stock options, others are in a wait-and-watch mode and add the trend will pick up in other sectors. For example, IT giant Cognizant - which had an attrition rate of 19 per cent in the December quarter - has established a $30-million employee retention fund in order to bring down the high attrition rate.
Passenger vehicle wholesales in India increased by 17 per cent in the second quarter of the current fiscal year as buying sentiment improved and companies stocked up to cater to enhanced demand in the festive season, auto industry body SIAM said on Friday. According to the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), passenger vehicles sales in the July-September quarter increased to 726,232 units from 620,620 units in the same period last year. Similarly, two-wheeler sales during the September quarter this fiscal rose marginally to 46,90,565 units as compared with 46,82,571 units in the same period last fiscal. However, commercial vehicles sales saw a dip of 20.13 per cent at 133,524 units in the quarter under review as compared with 167,173 units in July-September 2019.
Customers, instead of visiting showroms, now do most of their decision-making in the comfort of their drawing rooms using internet
BMW, the German luxury carmaker, plans to take on its Asian rivals - Toyota, Honda, Hyundai - with the core strategy of making customised cars from its flexible production lines to stay ahead in its century-old luxury marquee business.
This new avatar comes with a completely new 2.0 litre petrol engine under its hood.
Normal monsoon makes FMCG, automobile and consumer durable companies optimistic about growth prospects
For players like Toyota Kirloskar and Ford, the contribution of UVs to overall sales is now well over 60%.
Reliance was the highest bidder at Rs 63 cr for the 5 airports project.
Maruti Suzuki is offering cash discounts ranging from Rs 5,000 on its hatchback Celerio to Rs 35,000 on entry level Alto800.
When it comes to the replacement of old tyres with new ones, car owners are in a catch-22 situation, wondering about the tyre brand, price and most importantly, tyre warranty.
Lenders have become worried as some dealers were not using the money provided to them for car financing.
Will you ditch Honda City or Hyundai Verna for Maruti's latest offering?
