'The customer is fast changing, and she demands newer experiences that wealth can buy.'
For the first time in history, the luxury car market is poised to cross the sales mark of 50,000 units in 2024, with Mercedes leading the way
koda Auto India is set to drive in a new car by the first half of next year to reach its target of 100,000 unit annual sales in the country by 2026. The compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) will be positioned against the likes of Maruti Brezza, Hyundai Venue, and Kia Sonet, and would be competitively priced, a senior company official said. koda will also export the car to right-hand-drive markets like Australia, New Zealand and the Asean nations.
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.
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.
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.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd has become the country's fifth most valuable auto firm by market valuation in its debut trade on Tuesday. Shares of Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the Indian arm of South Korean automaker Hyundai, listed at Rs 1,931, reflecting a decline of 1.47 per cent against the issue price of Rs 1,960 on the BSE earlier in the day. The stock slumped 7.80 per cent to Rs 1,807.05 during the day and finally ended at Rs 1,820.40 apiece, down 7.12 per cent.
Passenger vehicle sales are expected to experience muted growth in the current financial year.
Tata Motors plans to set up separate sales network for its electric passenger vehicles in current fiscal year as it looks to give differentiated experience to the buyers opting for the environment-friendly models, according to a top company official. The Mumbai-based auto major, which on Thursday introduced all-new versions of its Nexon EV and Nexon (internal combustion engine), said it will start experimenting with new outlets in some of the cities where EV volumes have gone up. "We'll have to separate them (sales outlets for EVs and ICE) given that we have different requirements of customers and also a growing portfolio (of EVs)" Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles managing director Shailesh Chandra told PTI in an interaction.
This new avatar comes with a completely new 2.0 litre petrol engine under its hood.
'Our objective is to reach a localisation rate of 50% in the span of five years.'
New participants included Chinese players such as Great Wall Motors and Haima Automobile along with Olectra.
German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz is considering assembling more electric vehicles at its plant in India not merely to gain cost advantage but also to meet its zero emission mobility and carbon neutral setup goals, according to a senior company official. Mercedes-Benz India, which currently assembles its flagship electric luxury sedan EQS at its Chakan unit, is considering localisation of other models depending on demand.
...But sales of domestic passenger vehicles dropped 2% to 3% year-on-year in August owing to low demand.
Tata Motors recorded its highest-ever monthly retail sales in November on the back of robust demand for its sports utility vehicles amid the festive period, according to a top company official. In an interaction with PTI, Tata Motors passenger vehicles managing director Shailesh Chandra said the automaker retailed around 53,000 units in November, which was 8 per cent higher as compared to October this year and 30 per cent up as compared to sales in November 2022. The company also witnessed strong sales performance in the 47 days long festive period this year with registrations of around 79,374 units, up 18 per cent over the same period of last year.
'The Indian govt's initiatives on EVs are very strong and customers want to buy EVs. This will make the country's conversion to EVs faster than other markets, and I hope even faster than the US'
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.
German premium car maker Mercedes-Benz on Wednesday reported nearly 100 per cent growth in sales at 4,101 units in the domestic market in September of the current year. Mercedes-Benz India had sold 2,058 cars in the Indian market in the July-September period of 2020. The strong rebound in sales particularly in Q3 2021 retail, reflects the continuous V-shaped recovery witnessed since the pandemic affected second quarter (April-June), owing to the return of economic activities, a stable economy at large and an overall positive market outlook.
Notwithstanding robust volume growth and a strong performance from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Tata Motors, the country's second-largest automobile (auto) manufacturer by market capitalisation, disappointed the Street with its January-March quarter (Q4) results for 2023-24 (FY24). While consolidated revenues saw a 13 per cent increase, lower-than-expected realisations in the Indian operations weighed down overall performance.
'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.'
French carmaker Citroen will launch its C3 Aircross Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) in India by October, and is betting big on exports from India to markets like South Africa, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and Nepal, a top company executive told Business Standard. Citroen, which sold 6,000 units through Citron C3 and C5 Aircross SUV, is likely to double its sales during the current year, as it has already sold 6,000 units of Citron C3 and eC3 electric vehicles during the first six months. "We are going to start bookings for the C3 Aircross SUV in September and launch it in October. Price will be at the heart of the midsize SUV market," said Saurabh Vatsa, Citroen India branch head.
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.
Tata Motors owned Jaguar Land Rover will start producing its Range Rover and Range Rover Sport in India, marking a first for the iconic models in their 54-year long history, to be rolled out from a country outside of the UK. Till now the two models were only produced in Jaguar Land Rover's Solihull plant in the UK and then exported to around 121 markets globally, including India.
The stock of the country's largest passenger vehicle maker, Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), has been hitting successive all-time highs over the past three trading sessions. The rally in the scrip has helped it notch over a 21 per cent gain since the start of February, outperforming the National Stock Exchange Nifty Auto Index. The gains for the leader of small passenger cars have been more recent, as the company still trails the Nifty Auto over one- and two-year periods.
The iconic brand is considering petrol powertrains for its entire Indian portfolio, which includes the Jeep Compass, Meridian, Grand Cherokee and Wrangler.
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.
Has Volvo Cars set the cat among the pigeons? Yes, the compact luxury SUV segment in India will not be the same with the entry of the XC40, says P Tharyan.
I am happy I didn't knock anyone down, driving recklessly or trying to show off. However, in one instance of road rage (the consequence of arguing with a driver who disrespected my right to cross the road peacefully) I did find a man in a SUV taking his anger out on me by driving his vehicle over my feet, recalls Shyam G Menon.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) has ambitious plans to increase capacity. It is also seeking shareholders' approval for a complex swap transaction, which would acquire Suzuki Motor Gujarat (SMG), a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) through a preferential offer. SMC already holds 56.37 per cent of MSIL's equity.
Opt for the top-spec trims, you get four additional airbags, Hill Start Assist and Vehicle Stability Management as well.
The automobile sector has started seeing volume growth, the crucial economy segment included. Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) could be a big beneficiary as the country's largest passenger vehicle (PV) maker has seen several favourable developments including volume recovery. Demand for its new sports utility vehicles (SUVs) appears to be good, and the company has 4 lakh outstanding orders by April 2023, (up from 3.6 lakhs in January 2023). Siam (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) estimates that passenger vehicle demand would grow by 5-7 per cent in the 2023-24 financial year (FY24) and MSIL is likely to beat the market growth.
Nexon is the first sub-4 metre sports utility vehicle from Tata Motors' stable and is expected to give a tough competition to the likes of Maruti's Vitara Brezza and Ford's EcoSport.
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 urban, more sophisticated buyer will favour the BR-V over the Scorpio
The new age XUV500 is the most valuable product from Mahindra
Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) does not anticipate growth in the small car segment because people continue to find these vehicles unaffordable, chairman R C Bhargava said on Wednesday. He said the market had clearly shifted towards the sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment and the company will go in the same direction. The domestic sales of utility vehicles jumped in India by 34.54 per cent to about 2 million units in FY23.
Automotive (auto) and auto ancillary stocks have been in the fast lane thus far in 2023-24 (FY24), with the National Stock Exchange Nifty Auto Index surging nearly 27 per cent, outperforming the Nifty50, which has gained roughly 11 per cent during this period. The top-gear performance of auto stocks at the bourses, according to A K Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital, has been triggered by the premiumisation of products across vehicle manufacturers, which has seen vehicle sales remaining relatively stable. "It is not about higher sales figures now, but about premiumisation.
The Maruti Vitara Brezza is a perfect embodiment of being the right product in the right place at the right time.
The new BMW X3 Luxury Line is definitely a technologically superior car compared to its predecessor and is a lot savvier than I imagined, says P Tharyan.
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.
