A strong demand for diesel SUVs has bumped up the contribution of these variants to Hyundai Motor India's sales to a three-year high, a company top official told Business Standard. The local arm of the South Korean carmaker has benefitted after some leading manufacturers - including car market leader Maruti Suzuki - pulled the plug on diesel models amid tightening regulations. Hyundai has also gained from the changing travel preference -people are frequenting getaways and taking to the road a lot more than what they did before the pandemic. This trend has been fuelling overall SUV sales.
You increase the production, only then it is possible to reduce cost, Gadkari said.
Passenger vehicle sales in India kicked off on a flat note in new fiscal 2024-25 with 3.38 lakh units sold in April, impacted by high base effect and muted demand due to the ongoing general elections. Dispatches of passenger vehicles from manufacturers to dealers were at 338,341 units in April 2024 as compared to 332,468 units in the same month last year, a growth of 1.77 per cent with major players Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai and Tata Motors reporting marginal growth in their domestic wholesales.
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.
The company had sold 1,58,076 units in March last year, Maruti Suzuki India said in a statement. Domestic sales declined by 46.4 per cent at 79,080 units last month as against 1,47,613 units in March 2019, it added.
'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.'
General Motors also plans to increase sourcing from India over the next 4-5 years to $1 billion annually.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Tuesday said its models Swift, Baleno, WagonR, Alto and Dzire have emerged as best selling cars in 2020-21 and the top five models have come from its stable for the fourth consecutive year. Swift with over 1.72 lakh units was at the number one position followed by Baleno with 1.63 lakh units, the company said in a statement. Maruti Suzuki India's (MSI) tall boy WagonR was in the third spot with 1.60 lakh units while Alto and Dzire were at fourth and fifth with 1.59 lakh units and 1.28 lakh units respectively, it added.
West Bengal is home to 43,000 Durga Pujas, and the business around it is a major economic driver.
Nissan and Renault say they will compete with new models, especially small cars, and by growing their dealer network.
Maruti's sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz, Dzire and Baleno went up by 9.9% to 45,579 units
High cost of acquisition due to a variety of reasons, including higher GST than all other major countries, is slowing down car demand in the country and unless the Centre and states take steps to reduce it, the industry is unlikely to experience reasonable growth, according to Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R C Bhargava. Addressing shareholders in the company's Annual Report for 2020-21, he said after the devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic hitting the first quarter of FY22, the performance in the next three quarters will largely depend on how effectively people get vaccinated and observe safety protocols.
Car companies are hoping to buck the slowdown by launching new models to push sales from January. Industry majors like Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai India have all lined up launches in the next few weeks and months hoping to generate reasonable volumes.
Many of these companies have a waiting period from 6-18 months now, indicating a rise in demand.
Uzbekistan lives comfortably in several centuries but is also a forward-looking nation, Deepa Gahlot discovers on a visit to this Central Asian country.
The EV industry is at an inflection point and batteries will play a critical role ahead -- batteries and related components typically constitute 35-45 per cent of an EV's costs.
Srinagar recorded the maximum temperature of 35.6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, the highest temperature in the month of July in 25 years since 1999 when the mercury had settled at 37 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
High net worth individuals in their mid-40s were the majority of customers opting to purchase the British luxury automobile maker Rolls-Royce's range of cars in India, a company official said. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars on Tuesday launched its latest all-electric - Spectre - priced at a whopping Rs 10 crore (ex-showroom), in Chennai. A 'Chartreuse' (greenish-yellow) colour variant of the Spectre rolled out of the podium at an event marking the formal launch of the brand in the South Indian market showcased for aspiring customers and dealers.
'This case is not a good example of intellectual property strategy for either sector.'
It expects the Indian market to grow to 10 million units annually by 2030 and it intends to control half the market then, like it does now.
What was once a solemn Vedic ritual is today a celebration for the entire extended family. And why not? With families living in distant cities, even continents, weddings are seen as an occasion for cousins and uncles to congregate under one roof for two or three days, observes Ambi Parmeswaran.
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.
The electric vehicle market in India needs a policy push that goes beyond targets, says Vandana Gombar.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Thursday reported a 30.8 per cent increase in total sales at 1,60,442 units in September. The company had sold 1,22,640 units in September last year, MSI said in a statement.
Truck movements across the India-Bangladesh border are on the rise, with increasing rentals signalling a trade recovery between the two South Asian nations. Yet, geopolitical tension looms large, with Bangladesh now under an interim government for nearly two months.
Major automobile manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors and Toyota Kirloskar on Tuesday reported decline in domestic passenger vehicle sales in May compared to the previous month as a spike in COVID-19 cases and lockdowns across various states hit production and dispatches. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), which shut production from May 1 to May 16 so as to divert oxygen from industrial use for medical purposes, reported domestic dispatches to dealers at 35,293 units last month, down 75 per cent from 142,454 units in April. The company said sales of its mini cars, comprising Alto and S-Presso, declined by 81 per cent to 4,760 units in May as against 25,041 units in April this year.
Ola Electric on Monday said it will foray into the electric car segment with plans to launch its first model by 2024. The company, which struggled with deliveries for its electric scooters after it announced entry into the segment exactly a year ago, has set an ambitious target of selling 10 lakh electric cars by 2026-2027. In a press conference, Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said Ola Electric aims to provide a range of electric two-wheelers to electric cars which are priced in the range of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 50 lakh.
Passenger vehicle wholesales in India rose significantly year-on-year in July, as COVID-led restrictions eased across states and companies pushed stocks to dealers to build up inventories for the upcoming festive season, SIAM said on Thursday. The total passenger vehicle sales -- including dispatches of cars, utility vehicles and vans -- from OEMs to dealerships increased by 45 per cent to 264,442 units in July against 182,779 units in the same month last year. According to the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheeler dispatches from the OEMs to dealerships, however, declined by 2 per cent to 12,53,937 units in July, compared to 12,81,354 units in the year-ago period.
A weaker rupee against the US dollar and the Japanese yen along with margin sustenance pressures have forced companies to raise prices.
The stock of the country's largest passenger vehicle maker, Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) was down 1.06 per cent in trade on margin pressures in Q1FY24, mixed market share outlook, and earnings impact due to the buyout of Suzuki Motor Gujarat. While MSIL has decided to terminate the contract manufacturing agreement and acquire Suzuki Motor Gujarat, the quantum of payment and mode (cash/equity swap) has not been decided. If the cash option is opted for, there would be a 3.5-4 per cent hit to MSIL's FY25 earnings per share as the deal is expected to be completed by the end of the current financial year.
Pandemic-hit auto majors are likely to set aside these time-tested strategies for now, and, instead, focus on attractive finance schemes and an enhanced digital experience.
Maruti sold 191 units of SX4 sedan in January 2014.
Tata Motors, the market leader in electric four-wheeler space, has sought incentives for its Tiago EV under the government's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, group chief financial officer P B Balaji said on Tuesday. The Mumbai-headquartered firm has applied for all variants of the Tiago, which recently hit a sales milestone of 10,000 units. "The Automotive Research Association of India certification is done.
Leading automakers Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and Tata Motors reported sales growth in the domestic market in November, aided by robust offtakes amid the festival season. While Maruti Suzuki India reported marginal growth, Hyundai logged in its highest ever monthly sales in November. Others like Honda Cars India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Mahindra & Mahindra and MG Motor India also reported sales growth in November as compared with the same month last year.
On a surprise visit to Beijing amid speculation that he may unveil Tesla's autonomous driving technology in the burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) market in China, billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday met Chinese Premier Li Qiang and discussed future expansion plans for his automobile.
Already reeling under a demand slump, automobile manufacturers have expressed disappointment over the RBI's decision to hike short term lending rate saying it is likely to impact the interest rates on car and automobile loans further.
Rita Mozumdar argues small vehicles have not passed the frontal impact test as required under the law
While sales of compact cars, including models such as Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire declined, sales of utility vehicles, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga, increased 26.3 per cent to 19,177 units as compared to 15,178 in the year-ago month.
Passenger vehicle dispatches from factories to dealers in India fell 8 per cent in January, mainly due to semiconductor shortage, auto industry body SIAM said on Friday. The total passenger vehicle wholesales dropped to 254,287 units in January 2022 as compared to 276,554 units in the same month of last year. Last month, passenger car dispatches stood at 126,693 units as compared to 153,244 units in the year-ago period. Similarly, van dispatches declined to 10,632 units in the period under review from 11,816 units in January 2021.
