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India Auto News Tuesday, 01 Dec. 2009 |
National - Volkswagen India optimistic about Beetle sales with 160 advance bookings- Tata Group refuses 10 million pound loan from UK Govt - BMW India to launch X1 in 2011 - Peugeot may re-enter India with auto component-maker Caparo - Mamata Banerjee inaugurates first of 10 auto hubs in Shalimar - Delhi Transport Corporation to check buses for CNG leakage, pollution - Tata Motors may introduce hybrid version of Nano; posts Rs 22-crore net profit - Mercedes-Benz customer-base shifting to young Indians - JD Power Quality Study 2009 ranks Chevrolet Spark and Ford Ikon highest in their segments - New Honda City crosses 50,000 sales mark in one year International - Buyers still interested in bankrupt Saab- GM to keep all four Opel plants, may cut more than 9,000 jobs |
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Volkswagen India optimistic about Beetle sales with 160 advance bookings
Volkswagen India has already received 160 advance bookings for its iconic car, the Beetle, to be launched on December 4, 2009. Buoyed by the positive response to the car, the company is expecting to sell at least 500 units of it next year. This is in spite of the fact that the Beetle will be 4 times costlier than the soon-to-be-launched VW Polo. Expected to be priced at Rs 22 lakh, the Beetle will come in a single 2-litre petrol variant with a 6-speed automatic gearbox.
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Tata Group refuses 10 million pound loan from UK Govt The Tata Group has refused a 10-million-pound loan from the Government of UK, according to media reports that came out this week. The loan was offered to the company to develop an electric version of one of its car models. The Sunday Times reported that Tata Motors, which also owns UK-based luxury auto brands Jaguar and Land Rover, rejected the loan as it could get better terms from private lenders. A few weeks back, Lord Mandelson, UK's Business Secretary, had announced that the country would back Tata Motors' electric cars and that it could provide 10 million pounds to the company under the Automotive Assistance Programme (AAP).
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BMW India to launch X1 in 2011
German luxury car company BMW will be launching its smallest Sport Activity Vehicle (SAV), the X1, in India in 2011. The X1 was launched globally in October 2009, and is available in a number of petrol and diesel engine configurations worldwide. It is expected to be priced between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 35 lakh in India. The company is also planning to upgrade the design and features of the BMW X3, which was its smallest SAV before the launch of the X1.
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Peugeot may re-enter India with auto component-maker Caparo
French auto company Peugeot-Citreon is all set to enter India, possibly in a joint venture with the UK-based Caparo Group, which already has an Indian subsidiary. Peugeot will be re-entering India 11 years after its JV with Premier Auto ended. It is looking at an initial production capacity of 6,000 units, which can be scaled up later. The company is expected to launch cars with prices ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, starting from 2012.
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Mamata Banerjee inaugurates first of 10 auto hubs in Shalimar
Shortly after announcing her plan to set up 10 new auto hubs in India, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee last week inaugurated the first of these logistics centres near the Shalimar railway station. Ms Banerjee said that not only would these auto hubs generate additional income for the railways, they would also provide employment to scores of local men and women. The hubs will act as centres where automobiles from production plants across the country will be brought for local distribution. Apart from Shalimar, such centres will also come up in Siliguri, Guwahati, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kerala, Bangalore and Delhi.
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Delhi Transport Corporation to check buses for CNG leakage, pollution
The Environmental Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) of India called a meeting this week following reports of fires in the Delhi Transport Corporation's CNG-powered buses. Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said that all DTC buses would soon be made leakage-proof and that only fully checked and approved buses would be allowed to ply on Delhi roads. DTC has already started checking its buses, and over 600 vehicles have gone through the process so far. Private bus fleets too will have to go through similar checks. A special enforcement drive started by the Government will deploy 12 teams of transport department officials to check the legal documents of all buses.
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Tata Motors may introduce hybrid version of Nano; posts Rs 22-crore net profit
Tata Motors Chairman Mr Ratan Tata said in an interview to a South Korean newspaper this week that the company was planning to produce a hybrid version of the Tata Nano. Mr Tata said that he expected low-priced cars to remain more popular than high-end vehicles in India, and that the trend would be followed worldwide. Meanwhile, Tata Motors posted a surprising Rs 22-crore net profit in the second quarter of FY 2009-10. Vice Chairman of Tata Motors, Mr Ravi Kant, said that the worst was over for the company.
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Mercedes-Benz customer-base shifting to young Indians
The customer-base of luxury-car maker Mercedes-Benz India is slowly moving from the old and the affluent to younger professionals. The company says that the average age of its customers has come down from 50 years to 35-40 years. This new set of customers comprises entrepreneurs and professionals from legal, medical and finance segments. Approximately 50 per cent of the company's sales come from new customers.
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JD Power Quality Study 2009 ranks Chevrolet Spark and Ford Ikon highest in their segments
The JD Power India Initial Quality Study 2009, which rates vehicles based on the problems customers have with them in the first 2-6 months of ownership, ranks the Chevrolet Spark highest in the compact car segment. The Maruti Ritz tops the premium compact car segment, while the Ford Ikon is number one in the entry midsize segment. The Honda City and the Honda Civic rank the highest in the midsize and premium midsize segments respectively. Toyota Innova tops the MPV segment. The study looks at 200 problem symptoms under eight categories. These are engine and transmission; vehicle exterior; driving experience; HVAC; features, controls and displays; vehicle interior; seats; and audio, entertainment and navigation.
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New Honda City crosses 50,000 sales mark in one year
The third-generation Honda City, launched in India in September 2008, has reached a milestone by selling 50,000 units in just 12 months. Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) first introduced the City in India in 1998, since when it has sold a total of 2.8 lakh units. It is the company's highest-selling model in India, and has won more than 30 performance-based awards so far.
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Buyers still interested in bankrupt Saab
General Motors' Swedish car brand Saab is still eliciting interest from bidders, after the deal with Koenigsegg fell through. China's Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings (BAIC) which was to get a minority stake in Saab under the earlier deal, is now said to be interested in buying the company. It is not yet clear whether BAIC will do this on its own or as part of a consortium. BAIC's Wang Dazong said that he thought Saab was a 'pretty good brand' with global recognition and a good history. "It has pretty good people and a pretty good technology depth", he said.
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GM to keep all four Opel plants, may cut more than 9,000 jobs
US-based auto major General Motors (GM) has confirmed that it is not planning to shut down any of Opel's four production plants in Germany. The company had recently announced that it would shift its European headquarters from Zurich to Russelsheim, which is also Opel's main operational base. Nick Reilly, the head of GM's European operations, said that there would be no reststructuring-related job cuts at Russelsheim. Reilly also said, however, that Opel's capacity would have to be reduced by at least 20 per cent to bring it back to profit. The company is expected to lay off between 9,000 and 9,500 workers.
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NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES - Auto News Roundup, 26-November-2009 - Auto News Roundup, 24-November-2009 |
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