Auto companies are now grappling with a slowdown in sales, triggered by pent up demand due to the COVID-led lockdown easing a bit and supply-side issues for raw material.
Market linking of petrol and diesel prices has helped the industry.
Both are finding it difficult to sell one each of their plants -- Chennai Maraimalai Nagar (Ford) and Talegaon near Pune (GM) -- and are finding the road blocked by employee severance snarl-ups, report Sohini Das and Shine Jacob.
Passenger vehicle sales continue to drop in June; Maruti, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Toyota witness decline. Mahindra & Mahindra, however, reported a 4 per cent growth.
Recently, TPEM's first born electric concept, Avinya broke cover. The model promises a minimum range of 500 kilometres and advanced technology features, aimed at buyers in India and outside. TPEM, the newly formed entity may also consider a separate dedicated sales channel for the EVs with a distinctive corporate identity once the volumes reach a critical mass and throughput is large enough for the dealers to be profitable, said Chandra. Elaborating further on the hiring strategy he said, "We will hire from everywhere-wherever the talent of the required competency is available."
New participants included Chinese players such as Great Wall Motors and Haima Automobile along with Olectra.
Clock 11% growth in the first 11 months of 2022.
An EV has to be purchased along with the battery as there are hardly any battery swapping, rental, or leasing business models available across India.
'Some of the launches may get deferred due to the semiconductor shortage, which is unlikely to get resolved before the second half of 2022.'
The 2-door vehicle may finds its way back in India with the launch of the all-new Thar by Mahindra and Mahindra, says Rajesh Karkera.
The Battista hyper GT delivers a unique dynamic experience that can be tailored to suit every journey and the pure-electric model will accelerate from 0-100 km/h in less than two seconds - faster than a current Formula 1 car.
Earlier in May, Ford India announced that it had dropped its plans to make electric vehicles (EVs) in India, which it intended to export, under the production-linked incentive scheme (PLI). Ford was among 20 companies that had signed a Champion OEM Incentive Scheme under the PLI project with the government in February this year. The decision comes as a blow for the 4,000-odd employees at Ford India's Maraimalai Nagar plant near Chennai and in Sanand, Gujarat. In September last year, the company had announced that it would exit the India market, which it had entered in 1995 through an on-again, off-again joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra (they split in 1998, signed a JV in 2019 and split again in December 2020), retailing petrol and diesel brands such as the EcoSport, Figo, Aspire, and Endeavour.
You will come across many a hurdle while purchasing a used car. That, however, cannot keep you away from realising your dream.
While the share of diesel vehicles sales in the overall passenger car industry has already fallen sharply, sales of CNG vehicles have shown a compound annual growth rate of 15.5 per cent over the past five years.
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.
Bhavish Aggarwal, the founder of ride-hailing firm Ola who disrupted the electric scooters market in the country, is planning to launch an electric sports car in 2024. The plan will put it in competition with Indian players, such as the Tata group and Mahindra & Mahindra, and global giants like Tesla and Hyundai. Aggarwal, recently, took a group of reporters to the firm's design studio at the Ola campus in Bengaluru where his teams are working on several EVs, including scooters, motorcycles, sedans, and SUVs - and even robotaxis.
Dealers say there's been a 20-25 per cent drop in demand.
Reflecting the mood, passenger vehicle sales in November either remained muted or skidded for most manufacturers as high fuel prices and the higher cost of borrowing dampened buying sentiment.
The Tata group flagship has sold more sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in the domestic PV market in the past four months than any other automotive manufacturer, cementing its no.1 spot. It first grabbed pole position in the SUV segment in October 2021 after the launch of the Punch - a sub-compact SUV offering.
The Carens is a warning for cars such as the Tata Safari, Hyundai Alcazar, Maruti Ertiga, Toyota Innova Crista and Mahindra XUV 700, because Kia punches much harder than others in its weight category.
Passenger vehicle market leaders Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai on Saturday reported a decline in wholesales in December 2021, although homegrown majors Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra reported growth, amid semiconductor shortage continuing to impact production. Other manufacturers Nissan and Skoda also reported an increase in December 2021 sales although Honda Cars India witnessed a decline last month. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) reported a 4 per cent fall in wholesales to 153,149 units in December 2021 as against 160,226 units a year ago.
MotoGP is ready for a foray into India convinced it has a better future than Formula One in the world's second largest motorcycle market.
Market leader Maruti Suzuki sold 51,274 units, down 49.61 per cent from the same month last year. Hyundai Motor sold 21,320 units, a decline of 49.25 per cent and Mahindra & Mahindra sold 8,075 units, down 54.54 per cent.
The overall volume at India's top four M&HCV makers - Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Volvo Eicher, and Mahindra & Mahindra - fell 59.5 per cent to 31,067 units during the month.
'Just because of my background and poor academic qualifications, most people disbelieve what I have done.'
Combined sales at top four manufacturers - Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles, and Mahindra and Mahindra - dropped 20 per cent to 20,324 units in November
M&M is keen to increase the number of factories in the Africa region and plans are afoot to have one each in Sudan and Kenya.
New age diagnostic tools come in handy for BharatBenz to predict repair needs and breakdown in advance.
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.
The demand for diesel cars, which account for 58 per cent of passenger vehicle sales in India every month, has seen a steep rise, as manufacturers continue to introduce variants that have diesel engines.
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.
High ground clearance, a wide cabin and tall stance all mean that the Carens glides over bad roads with ease and comfort and an engine performance that is adequate in terms of the power of this vehicle, says Pavan Lall.
Over 22 passenger and commercial vehicle makers and 18 two- and three-wheeler makers will take part amid proximate security.
Urban and rural FMCG sales growth data for the last five quarters show the latter outperformed the former consistently.
Among the cars unveiled at the Auto Expo on Wednesday was Mahindra and Mahindra's e-KUV for Rs 8.2 lakhs ex-showroom Delhi. With a single charge range of 150 km and a 55 min fast charging upto 80 pc, it was both a head-turner and a conversation-starter.
The recall will cover cars manufactured between 2008 to 2012 that use safety airbags made by its supplier Takata
Automobile dealers' body FADA said the Budget lacked immediate demand boosters for the automobile industry.
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.
Passenger vehicle wholesales in India rose by 14.16 per cent in August to 2,15,916 units, driven by pent-up demand, industry body SIAM said on Friday. According to the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, passenger vehicle wholesales stood at 1,89,129 units in the same month last year.