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Monday, May 31, 2010
Maruti enters its name in the Guinness Book of Records
The sales figures of Maruti Swift has crossed the mark of 4.5 lakh units since its launch in India five years back. The company produces over 12,000 Swifts on a monthly basis at its facilities in Gurgaon and Manesar, still, the car is enjoying a high waiting period of 2 to 3 months.
In the initial year of its launch about 61,200 units of Swift were sold in India, which was much higher then the target company had aimed for it of 50,000 units. The Swift model is among one of the most sought-after models in not only India but also in many foreign markets including Japan, Europe. In the Denmark, Swift had topped the chart in year 2006, and is among top three since then.
In the list of largest vehicle parades ever held in the world, BMW has a unique record on its name, the company had organized the largest ever parade of gathering 1,450 units of Minis in London in year 2009, at the occasion of the 50th anniversary of this BMW-owned small car.
Source:- Maruti enters its name in the Guinness Book of Records - New Cars
GM mulling to compete Nano with a new small car
SIAC is among the top car-makers in the Chinese market and sells vehicles across all the segments. On the other hand GM is not new in the compact car segment as the company already has three popular small cars in its India portfolio. This includes Chevrolet Beat, Chevrolet Spark and Chevrolet Aveo, all of these three cars have been designed at GM owned Daewoo Motors in South Korea.
Since the launch of Chevrolet Beat in January this year, GM India has become a leading car maker of this segment with gathering more than 10,000 bookings in the starting 24 days of its launch in India. The Beat model has been launched with a competitive price tag of Rs 3,42,981 - Rs 4,03,415 (Delhi ex-showroom). Launching a small car in India will certainly help both GM and SIAC in strengthening their position in the Indian market.
Besides this, the GM India is also eying on launching a LCV (lightweight commercial vehicle) in the Indian market, in partnership with SIAC, a segment in which GM India is yet to make a mark.
Source:- GM mulling to compete Nano with a new small car - New Cars
High demand, the new growth phenomena for auto industry
Toyota Fortuner, a luxury SUV which was launched in India in Oct last year, is not available for bookings since the month of January as company has stopped receiving bookings for this model in a bid to clear the existing long backlog. At the time when bookings were stopped the Fortuner model was available on a long waiting period of three to four months. According to Mr Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director (marketing), Toyota Kirloskar Motors, the company dosn't has enough production to match the demand that has been phenomenal and beyond its expectation. The bookings have been closed as the company dosn't want people to wait for delivery endlessly after paying hefty booking amounts.
On the other hand, Maruti Swift Dzire, India's best selling entry level sedan is going through a robust demand phase with waiting period reaching up to three months for some variants. The Dezire model, which was launched in India in March 2008, is enjoying the top position in its segment since then. In recently launched compact cars the Volkswagen Polo and Ford Figo are among the highly demanded cars in India, both of these cars are enjoying a waiting period of about 1 to 2 months.
However, car-makers in in India are working hard on their expansion plans to enhance their production capacity and catch-up with this rising demand. This includes GM, Toyota, Maruti, Ford and Volkswagen.
Source:- High demand, the new growth phenomena for auto industry - New Cars
Proton to launch a small car in India
The the EMAS concept displayed at the Geneva Auto show would be used by Proton to develop many small cars for small car markets like India and China, informed the company sources. The top officials from the company quoted that the key markets Proton is focusing on, these days are India, China, Asean and the Middle East.
The reason behind the focus on these markets is the sizeability and the potential for growth. The company has already been in touch with some of the original equipment manufacturers and contract-assembly service providers. The company also mentioned that it wishes to make the most of time and reach Indian markets as soon as possible.
Apart from the small car for the Indian market, another small car in the company's global portfolio is the Savvy. The engine of this car is sourced from Renault. The same is supposed to be extended for Indian markets as well that is, the engine for the upcoming car might me sourced from Renault.
Its been more than a decade now that the company has been looking forward to debut in the Indian market. Initially there were news that the company is in talks with Hindustan Motors to take up a joint venture which was later shelved due to some financial constraints.
Source:- Proton to launch a small car in India - New Cars
Yamaha to increase its rural market share
Now, the company is expecting to grow its total sales by up to 30 percent in the current calender year. Besides, India Yamaha Motor intends to open 1,000 new outlets in sub-urban and remote areas of the country by 2014. Pankaj Dubey, National Business Head of India Yamaha Motor said,"We will focus to strengthen our presence to continue growth in the rural market.
The company has seen till now a good sales in big cities of Urban areas. The rural two-wheeler market is not fully used and hence gives a large growth potential, he added. The company is also planning to introduce its new 125cc bike, Yamaha SZ soon in India. It will also suppose to increase its sales volume in the rural areas. On the other hand, world's major sports bike player, Ducati motor has launched its most popular Ducati Monster in the Indian auto market.
Source:- Yamaha to increase its rural market share - Bikes in India
Car Market witnessing a flurry of buyers
With the demand increasing at a lightening speed, the car manufacturers are finding it difficult to meet the demands but are happy with such a positive response from the buyers. Most of the car models, whether they are the existing rulers are new entrants, are witnessing long waiting periods that on an average is around 2 months.
Maruti Swift has been the pride of the company since the time it was launched. Both Maruti Swift and Maruti Swift Dzire have waiting periods of upto two months. Joining the league is the Van-based model Maruti Eeco. Ford Figo, Volkswagen Polo, Chevrolet Cruze and Chevrolet Beat are the latest entrants in the Indian market and have already become immensely popular amongst the buyers.
The buyers are seen lined up at the company showrooms carrying the booking amounts, to be amongst the early buyers and make efforts to shorten the waiting periods. These companies are forced to ramp up their production in order to meet the demands. Ford and Volkswagen have already started with the second round of manufacturing.
Ford India is also planning to recruit 700 new employees with a view to meet the demands and occupy the expanded manufacturing capacities. One model that needs a special mention in this regard is Toyota Fortuner, an SUV that has been immensely popular ever since it was launched. Toyota Motors had to indeed stop further bookings of the car as the demand was much more than the company had expected.
Source:- Car Market witnessing a flurry of buyers - New Cars
Malaysia's Proton to launch a new compact car in India
Proton, a Malaysia based car maker, is planning to make its debut in the Indian market with launching a small car with a competitive price tag. The new car will be based on the the EMAS concept to which company has presented at the Geneva Auto show last month. The new small car will be a five-door hatchback designed by an Italian firm Italdesign Giugiaro. The concept which was shown at the Geneva auto show was a four-seater model with a total length of 3,550-mm.
The company is aiming to sell this car in markets like India and China, which are one of the fastest growing auto-markets in the world. Besides this new small car, the company has another compact car 'Savvy' in its global portfolio. The Savvy model will be powered with a 1200cc engine which will be out-sourced from Renault. It is speculated that the company may look for possibilities of sourcing engines from Renault for its India bound compact car too, as Renault has invested heavily at its engine production facility in Chennai. However, there is no confirmation form either of the company on this regard.
Its about a decade since the company is planning to enter in the Indian market, but due to the financial problems the company had rescheduled its plans. Last year, the company was in talks with the Hero group for a joint venture in India but these talks couldn't reached to the fruition.
Source:- Malaysia's Proton to launch a new compact car in India - New Cars
Mahindra bids for S Korean SUV maker Ssangyong
Mahindra & Mahindra, country's largest SUV maker has made bids to buy Ssangyong Motor Corp, a South Korea’s bankrupt firm. Interestingly, Renault group, a France based leading car maker which has recently ended a 5 year old joint venture with Mahindra group, has also made bids for this Korean firm. The Mahindra and Renault had entered into a partnership in year 2005 when both of the companies started manufacturing Logan sedan in India. But due to the recently surfaced differences on the issues like pricing and designing the joint venture came to an end in April 2010.
The bidding value for Ssangyong Motor Corp, which has around 2% market share in the Korean market, is expected to be in the range of $300-$500 million. The company sales some of the popular SUV's in the Korean market including Rexton and Kyron which will definitely help Mahindra & Mahindra in enhancing its operations in markets like South-Korea if it gets succeed in buying this bankrupt firm.
Company's expertise lies in turning around sick companies and therein lies the primary synergy for its interest in the company. It has identified value in this company and therefore, has put in a bid for the same, said Mr Pawan Kumar Ruia, in a statement to a leading business daily.
Source:- Mahindra bids for S Korean SUV maker Ssangyong - New Cars