'Nearly all companies are extending festival offers for entry-level, sedan, and hatchback segments.'
"Lady candidates need not apply." So read the postscript in a job notice from Telco (now Tata Motors) on a notice board in the corridors of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (now Bengaluru), in 1974. Irked, Sudha Murty, who was then pursuing her masters in computer science at the institute, wrote a postcard to JRD Tata, expressing her surprise at this gender discrimination, especially since the Tata Group were pioneers on many fronts. Shortly, Murty became the first woman on the firm's shop floor.
Proliferation of home chargers of around 7 KWh and above, which take six to seven hours to fully charge a car depending on the model, bring running costs down by a third or so. That, coupled with the increasing range of modern electric cars, can lead to a massive increase in sales.
While the Nano is priced at Rs 1.12 lakh, Bajaj Auto's RE petrol variant costs about Rs 90,000, while its diesel variant is pegged at Rs 1.2 lakh. Analysts also say Bajaj can drop prices without any problem. "Bajaj Auto has been in the three-wheeler segment for 60 years. Which means their plants are fully depreciated and they can afford to lower the prices, which other manufacturers can't do," says a top executive from a competing three-wheeler brand.
Almost all of these companies either unveiled their new electric vehicle or alternative energy-powered models.
Issues like high insurance cost and the announced price hike effective January could also weigh on sales in 2019. The only bright spot is the softening seen in fuel prices over the past month.
American automaker Ford on Thursday said that it had withdrawn plans to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) in India and it won't invest in the country under the performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. "After careful review, we have decided to no longer pursue EV manufacturing for exports from any of the Indian plants. "We remain grateful to the government for approving our proposal under the PLI and for being supportive while we continued our exploration. "Ford India's previously announced business restructuring continues as planned, including exploring other alternatives for our manufacturing facilities.
The question is: Will the company have a strong balance sheet to support this massive investment plan?
Sales of passenger vehicles in India are likely to grow at 14.9 per cent each year to touch the 2.1 million mark by 2010.
Auto majors, including Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai and Tata Motors, on Sunday reported high double-digit growth in their domestic passenger vehicle sales in July riding on stabilisation of macro-economic factors and better consumer sentiments. Similarly, Honda, Nissan, MG Motor and Skoda also reported healthy growth in their sales last month leveraging on improved market mood amid prevailing lower coronavirus infection rate, despite supply constraints of semi-conductors. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India's (MSI) domestic sales increased by 39 per cent to 1,41,238 units last month as against 1,01,307 units in July 2020, the company said in a statement.
Tata Motors, however, will not be able to meet this small demand and keep the Nano alive from October next year, when safety regulations for existing car models kick in.
India will have 30 per cent of its two-wheeler industry turning electric by 2030 as new manufacturers lead the shift, said a report on Monday. Passenger vehicles will be 15 per cent electric and the three-wheeler segment 75 per cent electric by 2030, said the report by BNP Paribas called 'India Autos-Electric vehicles: Minutes to midnight'. "We see FY22 as the year of inflection for the two-wheeler EV industry, with an accelerated EV adoption helped by incentives, wider availability, model launches, rise in crude prices and improved general awareness. We see 30 per cent of the 2W industry turning electric by 2030; the pace of incentive withdrawal presents an upside/downside risk," the report (India Autos - Electric vehicles: Minutes to midnight) said.
While the overall passenger car industry is expected to grow at around seven per cent a year in the next five years, SUV growth is expected to be over 10 per cent.
German car-maker Volkswagen on Thursday said it will increase its vehicle prices by up to 2.5 per cent in India from next month in order to offset impact of high input costs.
India is sceptical that Tesla might import into the country cars made in China. Tesla executives were in India last month and appear to have proposed a factory in the country. But do not be surprised if that does not happen in a hurry.
Liquidity continues to be a worry for both, customers and dealers, with the latter facing working capital issues.
During April, Maruti Suzuki India's domestic car sales were up 2.72 per cent at 86,481 units, as against 84,188 units in the same month last year.
Tata Motors Limited, on Wednesday said it will launch its 1400cc 'Indica' family car in China 'very soon' and was closely evaluating the best options to penetrate into the world's fastest growing auto market.
RBI's interest rate decision, macroeconomic data and global trends would dictate terms in the equity market in a holiday-shortened week, analysts said. Besides, the focus will also be on foreign portfolio investors' trading activity, they added. Equity markets will remain closed on Tuesday for 'Mahavir Jayanti' and on Friday on account of 'Good Friday'.
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.
Domestic sales for two big Indian automakers tumbled in August on rising fuel costs and interest rates.
If you are planning to buy an electric car in the near future, it would be highly advisable to wait for these upcoming electric SUVs.
The new crossover and fully imported models of the Jeep brand will increase Fiat's product line-up that has shrunk to just two at present
'While we have done a few thousand kilometres in India, most of the testing and data collection and analysis has been done in the US, Japan and Europe.'
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday reported a 11.8 per cent increase in wholesales to 164,469 units in February. The company had sold 147,110 units in February last year, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement. Domestic sales increased 11.8 per cent to 1,52,983 units last month, as against 1,36,849 units in February 2020, it added.
Maruti, Honda and Tata Motors posted highest sales growth during the month
Which were the five businesses Ratan Tata had great hopes for, but his successor failed to deliver?
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.
Close to half a dozen more three-row premium mid-size models are expected to hit the road over the next two years.
Tata group bets on design and price. It looks to mark its spot in a highly cluttered category with its newest offering. Tata Tigor might drives between the lanes!
Cyrus Mistry had put in place a strategy that would have pulled most of the Tata group's 'legacy hotspots' out of the financial mess from legacy issues and helped turn around the group's finances.
For Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), which has just started executing a comeback strategy for wresting back ground it lost to rivals, this could not have come at a worse time. The maker of the Bolero Neo and the Thar models on Thursday said it would have to halt production at its automotive plant for a week due to the worsening supply situation of semiconductors.
Chinese automakers Great Wall Motors, FAW Haima Automobile, and Changan Automobile, after dithering about entering India for some years, have been encouraged by the robust sales performance of the late entrants Kia Motors and MG Motors even in a slowing market.
The chances of former workers getting jobs depends on the model under which Ford would restart its Chennai plant operations -- under Ford India or as a joint venture or under any other model.
The automobile sector is considered a good indicator of economic health. It has a very long value chain, from primary materials, like metals, glass and plastic, to value-added high-end electronic components, specialised alloys, and software.
The company sells a range of vehicles from three-wheelers to high-end sports utility vehicles.
Tata Zica was designed by an international team resulting in a more modern look.
Joint crack team of Maruti, Tata Motors, M&M to develop hybrid cars in India
Tata Sons said dividend from 40-odd Tata Group firms had declined during Mistry's tenure while expenses had risen
According to a senior Tata Motors official, the company is taking aggressive steps to correct its product portfolio, with a more 'cleverly defined and targeted strategy'.
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