Government policies and other uncertainties are holding it back from setting up a new diesel engine plant and launching more hybrids.
'Now that all the early adopters have the electric car, governments are backing down in some countries because they do not have the money to subsidise so much.'
'What's sad today is that there are so many people who cannot find work, not because the country is devoid of that opportunity, but because we are not doing enough in the country.'
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.
Under its India 2.0 plan, the Volkswagen group will develop and manufacture cars to meet the requirements of the region.
Volkswagen Passenger Cars is targeting a volume sales growth of about 15 per cent in the country in 2024, even as it expects the Indian passenger vehicle (PV) industry to grow by 5-7 per cent in the current year, its India brand director, Ashish Gupta, said on Thursday. This means the company is expecting to grow 2-3 times faster than the Indian PV industry in 2024. But globally, the German automaker is expecting just 3 per cent rise in sales this year, down from 12 per cent last year.
"We are expecting to launch the high-premium SUV 'Outlander' by this year itself in the Indian market and it would be placed between Mitsubishi's Pajero and Montero," company's Executive Vice-President Y V S Vijay Kumar told reporters here on the sidelines of HM's tie-up with Pune-based Opulent Auto Care.
Mercedes-Benz India is aiming to post double-digit growth in sales volume during 2024 as it plans to launch over 12 car models during the year, says its managing director and CEO Santosh Iyer. The German carmaker, which leads the luxury car market in the country, recorded 10 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth to 17,408 units in 2023. "For 2023, we always said that the growth would be in double digits.
Right now, MPVs along with SUVs comprise about 15 per cent of the entire passenger car market in 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 coaching-tuition-profiteering model built on the back of a broken education system is a scandal and an abomination, and must go, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The Rs 17.70-lakh Honda Civic competes with the Skoda Octavia, Toyota Corola Altis and Hyundai Elantra.
At a price starting from Rs 849,000 and going up to Rs 12.14 lakh, the XUV300 competes with the Maruti Brezza, Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport, and Honda WR-V.
'India is the sixth-largest market for the Kia Corporation, and contributes 8 to 9 per cent to our global sales.' 'We are eyeing 10 per cent market share over the next few years depending on customer demand and new product innovations.'
The 2024 Kia Sonet facelift impresses with its comprehensive upgrades, ranging from a refreshed exterior design to advanced safety and technological features.
Hyundai is all set to launch its Sports Utility Vehicle Santa Fe in the Indian market this festive season.
The automobile maker entered the passenger car segment last year with only one model, but failed to impress the market. It is now banking on new launches to boost sales.
German automotive giant Volkswagen (VW) has said it will focus on the premium sedan/sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment and avoid the mass hatchback segment. "Customers don't expect anything less than a premium product from VW. "Customers expect a certain level of quality and driving dynamics. We have to stay true to that DNA. "The day we go mass, customers will reject us," says Ashish Gupta, brand director, VW India.
With a presence in the value segment, better service quality, and lower ownership cost, Skoda India's director of sales and marketing Zac Hollis aims to make important changes. He tells Arindam Majumder how he plans to make India the company's fifth-largest market by 2023.
'What happens in the real estate market is that once the prices go up it goes on to stay at that level.' 'It might not increase and at the same time the prices will not come down too.'
Smart positioning, continued communication and a global design language have played a big role, say experts
Keeping in mind India's obsession for family vehicles, here is a list of the SUVs and MPV/Minivans that are scheduled to be released soon.
The Stepway will have raised ground clearance, body cladding to add that rugged look and roofrails too.
The design of the rear doors and C-Pillar for example seem inspired by the Suzuki iv-4 concept crossover.
Hybrids have helped Maruti acquire leadership in SUVs, a segment that was never its forte. Toyota has also risen with the hybrid tide to clock its highest-ever annual sales in 2023.
Automakers Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra and Audi India on Monday announced plans to hike prices of their passenger vehicles in January 2024 citing reasons, including cost pressure driven by overall inflation and increased commodity rates. Besides, Tata Motors and Mercedes-Benz India are mulling increasing the prices of their models from January. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India, which sells a range of vehicles from entry-level small car Alto to multi-utility vehicle Invicto, priced between Rs 3.54 lakh and Rs 28.42 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), on Monday said the price hike would vary from model to model.
'Those trying to use these funds for quick gains should avoid them due to risk of being late to the party.'
Those on the lookout for a fun, practical and convenient compact SUV will not be disappointed by the Ford EcoSport.
The previous May peak was observed in 2018 when the domestic PV wholesales stood at 301,238 units.
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.
It is immediately not clear how GST will impact the mass car market. Experts, however, say the level of tax on smaller cars will have to be at a differential to the sedans.
Everyone has an eye over this segment which contains some of the most stylish cars in the country.
'Our objective is to reach a localisation rate of 50% in the span of five years.'
The new model, which is based on the company's fifth generation HEARTECT platform, comes with a BS-VI compliant one-litre petrol engine with a claimed fuel efficiency of 21.7 km per litre.
Hyundai got two stars for Grand i10 Nios and Kia got three stars for Seltos.
Maruti Suzuki India and Hyundai reported single-digit sales growth in July with the sports utility segment continuing to drive overall demand in the market. Mahindra & Mahindra witnessed a 29 per cent increase in passenger vehicle dispatches while Tata Motors saw a marginal increase in the wholesales last month. Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday said its total domestic passenger vehicle sales stood at 152,126 units last month as compared to 142,850 units in the year-ago month, a growth of 6 per cent.
At a time when consumers increasingly embrace green mobility solutions, it is not electric cars but hybrids that are taking the lead, as automotive sales data indicate. Since January, 64,097 electric cars have been sold compared to 266,465 hybrids, according to data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways' Vahan dashboard. Hybrid car sales have surged from 4.42 per cent of the 4.1 million cars sold in calendar year 2022 to 7.2 per cent this year.
Maserati, whose logo is modelled on the trident in the statue of Neptune in Bologna's Piazza Maggiore, was acquired by the Fiat Group in 2005.
Maruti Suzuki claims the new SUV delivers an outstanding fuel efficiency of 24.3 km per litre.
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