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India Auto News Tuesday, 03 Nov. 2009 |
National - Tata Motors may allow local assemblers to set up assembly sites for Nano- Ducati opens first showroom in India - Bajaj Auto discontinues two bikes in three months - JK Tyre expands Mysore unit - Shanghai Auto may buy 50 per cent stake in GM India - 'Hyundai Advantage' to have 200 used car dealers by the end of 2010 - Labour unrest at Honda two-wheelers comes to an end - Corrigendum |
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Tata Motors may allow local assemblers to set up assembly sites for Nano
Tata Motors Vice Chairman, Mr Ravi Kant, said last week that the company may allow enterprising assemblers across the country to set up 'micro-assembly sites' for the Tata Nano.
Speaking at The Economist Innovation Conference in London, Mr Kant said that these assemblers would be allowed to re-brand the Nano, and call it whatever they liked. He also said that they would each produce approximately 10,000 cars a year. Auto industry experts, however, do not think that India is ready for such an idea. In an arrangement where several independent assembly units operate in addition to the manufacturer's main plant, there may be problems of branding, maintaining safety standards and also post-sales issues related to service and spare parts. |
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Ducati opens first showroom in India
Italian luxury-bike manufacturer, Ducati, has opened its first showroom in India in the country's financial capital, Mumbai. The company plans to begin operations in the National Capital Region by the end of the year, and in the rest of India thereafter. It is targeting a sales figure of 100 units in its first year in the country. Mr Cristiano Silei, sales Vice President of Ducati, said he was confident that there was a market for super-bikes in India in the medium and long term. Other companies already selling luxury bikes in India are Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki. |
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Bajaj Auto discontinues two bikes in three months
India's second largest motorcycle manufacturer, Bajaj Auto, has discontinued two of its eleven models over the past three months. These are the Pulsar 200 and the XCD 125, both of which have been replaced by more powerful bikes. The XCD 135, launched in January 2009, replaced the XCD 125. The price difference between the two products was only Rs 4,000, leading most buyers to go for the newer, more powerful model. Similarly, after Bajaj slashed the price of the Pulsar 220 by Rs 15,000 following a facelift, it would have made little business sense for the company to continue selling the older Pulsar 200 at the same price. |
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JK Tyre completed the expansion of its manufacturing facility in Mysore last week, increasing its capacity to produce radial tyres to 8 lakh units per year. The company has so far invested Rs 315 crore in the plant's expansion, and will put in another 200 crore to further scale up its production capacity by 2 lakh units over the next eighteen months. The Mysore plant will produce both radial tyres and tubeless radials meant for trucks and buses. JK Tyre Chairman Mr H S Singhania said that the company would invest Rs 1,200 crore in the next 3-4 years to meet growing demand, which would also include the setting up of a new plant in south India. |
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Shanghai Auto may buy 50 per cent stake in GM India
General Motors India is all set to enter a joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), to assemble the Chinese automaker's light trucks in India. According to media reports, SAIC is likely to buy a 50 per cent stake in GM India, which may go up in the future. GM already has an alliance with SAIC in China, which also includes Wuling Auto. The Indian JV, if it comes through, will produce Wuling series mini-trucks at GM's Talegaon plant near Pune. |
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'Hyundai Advantage' to have 200 used car dealers by the end of 2010
Hyundai Motor India Limited
(HMIL) is sparing no effort to expand its used-car business, Hyundai Advantage, in the country. Launched in the year 2006, Hyundai Advantage today has 69 dealers in 49 locations across India. The company plans to increase the number of dealers to 108 by the end of 2009, and 200 by the end of 2010. Under the exchange scheme, Hyundai accepts old cars of all makes and models, which are then refurbished under the supervision of trained engineers. Each car comes with a warranty of 1 year and 20,000 kilometres. The Hyundai Advantage microsite allows customers to shop for used cars, and also helps used-car sellers to calculate the approximate value of their cars. |
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Labour unrest at Honda two-wheelers comes to an end
Labour unrest at Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) came to an end last week, when a new wage agreement was signed between the management and the workers' union. According to the new Long-term Wage Settlement (LTS), valid for three years, the company's workers will get a basic monthly salary of Rs 4,400, in addition to other performance-based incentives. Mr G S Thakur, Gurgaon's Deputy Labour Commissioner, said that the fixed salaries would remain stable for three years, irrespective of HMSI's performance. |
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In the October 29, 2009 issue of India Auto News, we published that Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) ranked second in customer satisfaction in the 'JD Power Asia Pacific 2009 India Customer Service Index (CSI) Study'. This is incorrect. The correct rankings are - (1) Maruti Suzuki India Limited, (2) Honda Siel Cars India and (3) Mahindra & Mahindra. Hyundai Motor is 8th in the list. We regret the error. |
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NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES - Auto News Roundup, 29-October-2009 - Auto News Roundup, 27-October-2009 |
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