Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said he has asked US-based Tesla several times to manufacture its iconic electric vehicles in India, while assuring that all support will be provided by the government to the company. Addressing 'India Today Conclave 2021', Gadkari further said electric cars manufactured by Tata Motors are not less good than electric cars manufactured by Tesla. "I have told Tesla that don't sell electric cars in India which your company has manufactured in China.
While commercial vehicles are expected to benefit from strong replacement demand, the two-wheeler and tractor segments are expected to gain from a recovery in the rural economy.
The merits and demerits of the telcos' 5G strategy however is clearly dependent on the financial muscle of players, reports Surajeet Das Gupta.
Unlike conventional subs that must surface every 48 to 72 hours, these subs can stay submerged for up to 14 days.
While the Slavia comes in eight different variants, it's the base model that starts at around Rs 10.7 lakh that is most likely to take a bite out of the market share of its competitors, says Pavan Lall.
Vehicle sales have been hampered by weak consumer sentiment and still-weak availability of financing following tighter liquidity at non-banking lenders since the middle of 2018.
The second wave of the pandemic in the country has derailed the recovery momentum of the domestic auto industry, which was poised for a comeback in the current fiscal after witnessing the two consecutive challenging years, ratings agency ICRA said on Thursday. Unlike the first wave where infections were largely localised to urban clusters, the second wave has seen deeper and wider penetration, including into rural hinterlands. Accordingly, outlook for various segments has been revised downwards, it said.
Reliance-Google's new smartphone has got mixed reviews from analysts and brokerages. The phone pricing is seen unattractive for low-end customers and bundled offers are being viewed as non-disruptive. While this could slow the pace of adoption, it could set the stage for tariff hikes in the industry, feel analysts.
A single application and a plethora of services for passenger cars - that is what myTVS, a brand that operates under Ki Mobility Solutions and is part of the TVS family, is set to bring to customers, in a bid to disrupt the concept of "super apps" in India. Starting July 15, myTVS will launch its connected car platform or super app called myTVS Life360 for aftermarket passenger cars. Through it, customers will be able to avail themselves of a range of services like maintenance, diagnostics, roadside assistance, accessories, payments, insurance, and so on.
'There were two options before the government -- create a complex, cumbersome law, which will cause a tremendous amount of compliance challenges for startups or say let's go back and do a clean slate, where we do a framework of laws and policies'
Dealers say that the full-year outlook remains negative with a projected contraction in retail sales of 15-35 per cent across segments, save tractors, which look set to clock a positive annual growth.
The defence ministry has lost sight of what it intended to achieve -- which was to nurture private defence firms that would compete on equal terms with the 9 defence PSUs and the 41 Ordnance Factory Board factories.
Jio-BP, the fuels and mobility joint venture between Reliance Industries and UK's BP, on Thursday announced a partnership with BluSmart - India's first and largest all-electric ride-hailing platform - to set up a network of commercial large-scale EV charging stations. As part of the partnership, Jio-BP will set up these stations for passenger electric vehicles and fleets across the country, the company said in a statement. "Through this partnership, both companies will collaborate in planning, development and operation of EV charging infrastructure, at suitable locations across cities where BluSmart operates," it said.
The latest avatar of the F-15 is designed to deal with the world's most potent air threats that are emerging from China.
The shortage of semiconductors globally is expected to persist through 2021 and recover to normal levels by the second quarter of 2022, which will constrain the production of many electronic equipment types this year, according to research firm Gartner. Semiconductors play a crucial role in everything, right from computers to appliances, communication devices, transportation systems to critical infrastructure. The breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic had temporarily disrupted semiconductor shipments.
The MG Motor India management is focused on scaling up and launching smaller cars to play the long game in the country, says Pavan Lall.
Automobile dealers' body FADA has urged the government to formulate a task force to monitor the compensation structure being worked out by Ford India for its dealer partners across the country. In a letter to Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey, FADA president Vinkesh Gulati also requested the government to instruct Ford India to keep the industry body in the loop regarding the compensation structure for the dealerships. "We humbly request your Ministry's intervention... Create a task force which takes day-to-day updates from Ford India to monitor the compensation plan for automobile dealers and dealership employees," Gulati said in the letter.
GSOMIA does not cover the exchange of classified information with Indian private industry. Washington wanted this covered too, given New Delhi's emphasis on the proposed 'strategic partnership' model of procurement.
Shortages of chips will impact the car market
The total vehicle registrations in India fell by 29.85 per cent to 1,52,71,519 units in financial year 2020-21, the lowest in the last eight years, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Monday. Total vehicle registrations were at 2,17,68,502 units in fiscal year 2019-20. All categories of vehicles, except tractors were in red in FY21 with two-wheeler (2W), three-wheeler (3W), commercial vehicles (CV) and passenger vehicles (PV) falling by 31.51 per cent, 64.12 per cent, 49.05 per cent and 13.96 per cent respectively -- the lowest in last eight years and way below the FY13 levels, FADA said in a statement.
The biggest procurement green-lighted was the Rs 217 billion purchase of 111 naval utility helicopters.
Automaker Citroen on Wednesday said it has commenced home deliveries of C5 Aircross SUV, its first model in the Indian market. The company, which is a part of Stellantis group formed by the merger of two global auto majors FCA and Groupe PSA, is taking online bookings for the model and then directly delivering the SUV to customers from its Tiruvallur-based (near Chennai) manufacturing plant. It is the first of its kind sales initiative in the country. Citroen currently has showrooms across ten cities in the country, including Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Delhi, Kochi, and Gurugram. For customers outside these cities, it has launched a 100 per cent direct online buying for its flagship model.
The announcement quells fears among some telcos that Chinese players might be banned from participating in 5G trials and roll outs.
The company cut production of its mini cars comprising Alto, and S-Presso by 98.32 per cent at 401 units as against 23,874 units in the year-ago month.
Passenger vehicle wholesales in India declined by 10 per cent to 2,61,633 units last month as compared to March this year, as COVID-19-led restrictions across various states impacted demand, auto industry body SIAM said on Wednesday. Passenger vehicle sales in March 2021, stood at 290,939 units.
Automobile retail sales in the country fell 18 per cent year-on-year in the 42-day long festive period this year as semiconductor shortage impacted production across companies affecting their ability to supply adequate numbers to dealer partners, FADA said on Thursday. During the period under review, barring three-wheeler and commercial vehicles, all other segments including passenger vehicles, two-wheelers and tractors were down as compared with the same period of last year. As per data collated by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), total retail sales across segments stood at 20,90,893 units this festive period, down 18 per cent from 25,56,335 units in 2020.
While 100 per cent FDI is allowed in single-brand retail, if the foreign investment exceeds 51 per cent, the 30 per cent mandatory local sourcing norm kicks in.
Access to India's defence market must be made conditional -- available only to those who are ready to make a long-term commitment in India, argues Ajai Shukla.
The company, which already has around 66 per cent market share in the hatchback segment and about 50 per cent in the overall domestic passenger vehicle segment, currently sells Vitara Brezza and S-Cross in the SUV segment. In an interaction with PTI, MSI managing director and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa acknowledged that there was some lag in launching new products due to the pandemic but the company is now on track regarding new model launches.
Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu is slated to meet senior executives of Apple on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month.
Will private firms really boost Make in India in the defence sector? Ajai Shukla seeks answers.
Titan was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 3 per cent, followed by M&M, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, TCS, Maruti and Infosys. NSE Nifty surged 122.10 points to 15,885.15.
The US tech major is planning to begin local production of its upcoming iPhone 12 by next April - within six months of its launch.
There are 230 million vehicles on the road, and counting. Bulk of these are under seven years old and once they get older, the industry estimates the requirement for spare parts and aftersales service to shoot up sharply.
Sixteen aircraft will be delivered in a flyaway condition by the Airbus Defence and Space of Spain within 48 months of signing the contract while the remaining 40 planes will be manufactured in India, according to the defence ministry.
"Now the gof India has decided to soon initiate procurement from local industries to reduce import dependence," he said. Reddy, the Union Minister of State for Home, said for many years India was dependent on worldwide Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for procuring arms and ammunition.
Passenger vehicle dispatches from factories to dealers declined 13 per cent to the lowest level in five years in December last year as the industry continued to face production issues due to semiconductor shortage, auto industry body SIAM said on Friday. Passenger vehicle dispatches last month stood at 2,19,421 units compared to 2,52,998 units in December 2020. While acknowledging that the chip shortage situation is not expected to dramatically change in the short term, the industry body expressed hope that things will improve soon.
According to research by IHS Markit, for an ecosystem still grappling with infrastructure issues -- the high cost of EVs and a greater OEM (original equipment manufacturer) focus on electrifying two-wheelers and commercial vehicles first -- the share of such vehicles is expected to be 4 per cent by 2030, reports Pavan Lall.
286 dealers closed down in 18 months, 32,000 jobs impacted. Maharashtra leads with 84 closures, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi. The worst-hit is the passenger car segment.
While the outbreak has forced most leading brands like Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and Realme to rework their launch dates and pricing strategies, Samsung, which struggled to maintain its hold over the market last year, has taken the lead.
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