Ford, which had announced to quit the Indian market last year, said it was exploring the possibility of using one of its plants in India to produce electric cars for exports.
Close to half a dozen more three-row premium mid-size models are expected to hit the road over the next two years.
Tech Mahindra was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 3 per cent, followed by NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank and Reliance Industries. NSE Nifty fell 185.60 points to 17,671.65.
Mukesh Ambani, who is in talks with Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco to sell one-fifth of his oil-to-chemicals business in India for $ 15 billion, said the two countries have all factors to drive growth - technology, young demography, and leadership.
Infosys CEO Salil Parekh has got a massive 88 per cent jump in annual remuneration to Rs 79.75 crore, making him one of the highest-paid executives in the country. The software services firm has sought shareholders' approval for the reappointment of Parekh as chief executive officer and managing director for a second five-year term beginning July 1. According to the company's annual report released on Thursday, Parekh, 58, took home a salary of Rs 71.02 crore in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022.
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.
Vehicle prices have gone up as manufacturers gear up for the transition to stricter emission norm BS-VI from BS-IV beginning April 1.
Companies also said confidence was yet to return among buyers, with many holding back their decision to buy cars.
Infosys has emerged as the fastest growing IT services brand following 52 per cent brand value growth since last year and 80 per cent since 2020 to $12.8 billion, earning it third spot, the brand valuation consultancy said in its latest Global 500 IT Services Ranking report. TCS and Infosys have pushed IBM to fourth spot from second. IBM's brand value now stands at $10.6 billion, a decline of 34 per cent from last year and 50 per cent since 2020.
Global markets trends, inflation, release of industrial output data and quarterly earnings will dictate movement of the equity benchmarks this week, analysts said, adding that volatility might continue amid slew of announcements of macroeconomic data at the global level too. Moreover, foreign fund movement, crude oil prices and trend in rupee would also act as major drivers for the equity market, they added. "The direction of global equity markets along with movement in dollar index and crude oil prices will continue to dominate while inflation numbers of the USA on May 11 and inflation and IIP numbers of India on May 12 will also cause volatility in the market," said Santosh Meena, head of research, Swastika Investmart Ltd.
Maruti, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Honda saw their passenger vehicle sales improve in August compared to the same month last year, although Ford and Toyota witnessed a decline.
A good agricultural harvest and a timely arrival of monsoon, besides a slew of government schemes, have also come as a bounty.
'Companies are being forced to pay higher salaries to retain and hire employees due to a big rise in attrition in the industry.'
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, soaring around 7 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, ONGC, Titan, Infosys and Tech Mahindra.
The Netherlands has emerged as India's fifth-largest export destination in 2021-22 (FY22), jumping from its 10th position a year ago. Exports to the fifth-largest economy in the European Union (EU) bolted 94 per cent to $12.5 billion in the financial year ended March 31. In FY22, the Netherlands surpassed Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, Germany, and Nepal to become India's largest export destination in the EU. Germany, which was earlier India's top European export destination (eighth position), has now dropped two ranks to 10th place.
The company, however, said sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz were down by 11.9 per cent to 13,882 in July this year as against 15,759 units last year.
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.
Industry representatives have said from the second half of the year, they hope to see revival because the rural economy is looking up and the projects the government has announced.
Barely a month after breaking covers, the models -- the Jawa, the Jawa 42 and the Perak -- were sold out, reports Shally Seth Mohile.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
The lockdown in Maharashtra will have a catastrophic impact on April sales, as dealers will not be able to realise the potential of festivities like Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, Baisakhi and Poila Boishakh.
The entry of SoftBank-backed Ola into the electric scooter (e-scooter) segment is set to power up the overall market and perhaps fast-track the adoption of battery-operated vehicles. But for manufacturers of internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered two-wheelers, such as Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, and TVS Motor, it will be a double whammy. Not only will they have to contend with the aggressive pricing of Ola's scooter and incur a loss at each unit of the e-scooter sold, the volumes of their regular (ICE) models, too, could feel the squeeze, observed analysts. Ola is expected to price its e-scooter in the range of Rs 85,000-1.1 lakh.
Scooters, once the fastest growing sub-segment, also declined for the second consecutive month in September.
Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com reveals the good, bad and ugly of the latest MPV from the Mahindra stable.
Even as several SEZs are struggling to get off the ground, the Mahindras have managed to kick off their second SEZ at Jaipur, after their first one in Chennai.
Employees of public sector banks (PSBs) on Thursday went on two-day strike against the move to privatise public sector banks impacting normal banking operation across the country. Many branches across different parts of the country were shut as the United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank unions including All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) had given two day strike call. As a result, services such as deposits and withdrawal at branches, cheque clearance and loan approvals might be affected due to the strike. But ATMs are expected to function as usual.
Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra and Toyota reported low single-digit sales growth for the month owing to weak market sentiment
Market leaders saw good traction for new cars, including the electric ones.
Consumer sentiments have been dampened due to several factors like tight liquidity, high insurance, and high costs
The strike, however, had no impact on production of auto majors Maruti Suzuki India, Hero MotoCorp, Honda Cars India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors and Hyundai Motors India as their plants in various parts of the country functioned normally.
In the two-wheeler segment, Bajaj Auto reported 31 per cent jump in total sales at 357,883 units in February against 273,513 units in the same month last year.
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.
Besides, Toyota and MG Motor also reported nil sales as they suspended operations even before the imposition of lockdown on March 25 to check the spread of coronavirus. In two-wheeler segment, niche bike maker Royal Enfield said it had zero sales in the domestic market but exported a total of 91 units last month.
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.
The increase in PV sales in September was driven by festive season purchases, with SUV models like Maruti Suzuki's Brezza, Hyundai Creta, Mahindra Scorpio, Ford Ecosport and Honda W-RV witnessing good traction
Total sales of passenger vehicles, including Scorpio, XUV500, Xylo, Bolero and Verito, stood at 20,748 units as against 20,554 units in April 2012.
The government has appointed 10 merchant bankers including Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, Citigroup Global Markets India, and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities India to manage the mega initial public offering of country's largest insurer LIC. Other selected bankers include SBI Capital Market, JM Financial, Axis Capital, BofA Securities, JP Morgan India, ICICI Securities, and Kotak Mahindra Capital Co Ltd, a circular on the divestment department website said. "Government has finalised the book running lead managers and some other advisors for the IPO of LIC," DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted. The divestment department had invited applications for the appointment of merchant bankers on July 15.
Domestic passenger vehicle sales declined 0.84 per cent to 2,63,773 units in November from 2,66,000 units in the year-ago period. Motorcycle sales, too, declined 14.87 per cent to 8,93,538 units. Vehicle sales across categories registered a decline of 12.05 per cent to 17,92,415 units from 20,38,007 units in November 2018.
Analysts said the demand recovery in two-wheeler and car segments was skewed towards the semi-urban and rural markets.
