Ford begins production of 1.2L petrol engine at Chennai, for Figo

The Ford Figo will be on sale in India very soon...

Part of a US$500 million investment at the Maraimalai Nagar site near Chennai, Ford’s new engine plant has a capacity of 250,000 engines a year. ‘This engine plant was created with a ‘best of the best’ approach. We benchmarked against other competitive facilities globally, as well as current volume manufacturers in India for quality and production efficiency,’ says Michael Boneham, President and MD, Ford India.

To start with, the plant will focus on the assembly of 1.4-litre common-rail diesel and 1.2-litre petrol engines, both of which will be fitted to the new Ford Figo hatchback. This car is expected to go on sale in India in the next few weeks.

The 1.2-litre petrol engine, which is now in production at the Chennai plant, has been designed to run on low octane (88 RON, widely available in India) fuel and meet Bharat IV and Euro 4 emissions norms. While this engine will be used in the India-spec Figo, it will also be exported to various markets in Africa and the Asia Pacific regions, from 2011.

M&M to tap high-end motorcycle segment, may tie-up with a European bike manufacturer

Mahindra may look at tying up with either Triumph or Moto Guzzi in order to bring bigger, sportier bikes to the Indian market...

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), which entered the two-wheeler market in India in 2009 after buying out the Pune-based Kinetic Motors, may soon enter the high-end motorcycle segment in the country. While Mahindra Two-Wheelers currently only has some scooters in its line-up, the company is said to be exploring the option of tying up with a foreign motorcycle manufacturer in order to get access to bigger, sportier bikes for the Indian market.

According to reports in the media, M&M is talking to some bike manufacturers in the UK and Italy, including Triumph and Moto Guzzi, both of which are keen to enter the Indian market.

Mahindra Two-Wheelers, which sold 10,000 units in January this year, has a sales target of around 15,000 units per month from April this year. In order to boost sales and enter the motorcycles segment, the company is working with Taiwanese bikes manufacturer, SYM, with which it’s developing an entry-level bike which will be powered by a 110-125cc engine. The company is also sourcing some components from China, in order to keep costs as low as possible.

VW to focus on Asia to boost sales, produces 11,111,111th Polo in India

VW has big plans for India - the competition had better watch out...

Volkswagen AG, which is looking at boosting its global sales by no less than 60% over the next decade, plans to focus on Asian markets – primarily India and China – in a big way in order to achieve its targets. VW, which recently purchased a 19.9% stake in Suzuki, plans to use Suzuki’s expertise with small cars to carve a niche for the VW brand in India and various parts of Southeast Asia, where small, inexpensive cars are very popular.

In the meanwhile, Volkswagen produced its 11,111,111th Polo hatchback yesterday, which rolled off the assembly line at VW’s plant near Pune. German President, Dr Horst Köhler, on his first state visit to India, was present at VW’s facility to mark the occasion.

‘The scale of investment and the sustainable employment opportunities for people from the region underscore Volkswagen’s long-term commitment to India. The Polo built at the Pune plant demonstrates that excellent vehicles are created when German engineering prowess interacts perfectly with Indian skills,’ said Dr Jochem Heizmann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG.

The VW Polo is expected to go on sale in India very soon, at a price of around Rs four lakh.

Volvo S60: First official video

The all-new Volvo S60 will be launched in India by the end of this year. We think this car looks absolutely fabulous - Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz should be worried...!

BMW to launch used cars biz in India by end-2010

BMW, which sold 3,619 units in India during 2009 (as compared to only 3,247 units that Mercedes-Benz sold in the country during the same period...), also plans to get into the used cars business by the end of this year. Not just that, it also plans to start leasing cars to select individuals, who prefer not to buy its cars outright.

BMW Premium Selection – the company’s used car business – is expected to kick off in India by end-2010. Once taken back, BMW cars leased to companies and individuals will be refurbished and sold via the company’s used cars division. These cars will come with a warranty and complete spares and service backup, which BMW will provide via its dealers.

In a bid to boost its sales in India, BMW also plans to invest about US$50 million towards settings up its car loan business – BMW Financial Services – in the country, through which it will provide retail finance to BMW buyers. Also, BMW is looking at increasing the number of dealerships in India from the present 12 to 22, by the end of this year.

Car sales in India, in January 2009

Tata Motors sold 4,001 units of the Nano during January 2010...

Audi

Audi sold 306 units in India during January 2010, as compared to 109 units in January 2009. This year, the company hopes to sell around 2,300 units in India, as compared to 1,658 units sold in the country during 2009.

Hyundai

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) reported a 41.6% growth in sales during January this year, at 52,635 units, as compared to 37,171 units sold in January 2009.

HMIL’s domestic sales during January 2010 stood at 29,601 units, as compared to 21,016 units in the year-ago period. Exports went up from 16,155 units in January 2009 to 23,034 units in January this year.

During January this year, HMIL sold 47,104 units in the A2 segment (Santro, i10, i20, Getz Prime), 5,502 units in the A3 segment (Accent, Verna) and 29 units in the A5 segment (Sonata Transform). No units of the Tucson SUV were sold during the month.

General Motors India

General Motors India (GMI) sold 9,421 units during January 2010, as compared to 3,937 units during January 2009. GMI’s sales during January this year are its highest ever yet in any single month, during its 13 years of existence in India.

During January 2010, GMI sold 3,477 units of the Spark, 686 units of the Cruze, 2,825 units of the Beat, 434 units of the Aveo U-VA, 364 units of the Aveo, 51 units of the Optra, 1,512 units of the Tavera and 51 units of the Captiva.

Mahindra & Mahindra

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) reported domestic automobile sales of 28,988 units for January 2010, as compared to 17,320 units in January 2009 – an increase of 67.4%.

M&M sold 20,332 units of its utility vehicles (Scorpio, Xylo, Bolero) during January this year, as compared to 13,397 units in January 2009 – an increase of 51.8%. Total sales (domestic + exports) stood at 30,149 units in January this year, as compared to 17,611 units in January 2009.

Maruti Suzuki

Maruti Suzuki sold a total of 95,649 units during January this year, a 33.3% increase over the 71,779 units sold during January 2009.

Maruti’s domestic sales during January 2010 stood at 81,087 units, as compared to 67,005 units during January 2009 – an increase of 21%. Sales in the A2 segment (Alto, Wagon R, Zen, Swift, A-Star and Ritz) stood at 58,540 units during January this year, as compared to 46,899 units in January 2009 – an increase of 24.8%. Sales in the A3 segment (Dzire and SX4) during January 2010, at 8,995 units, were up 36.5% over the sales figure for January 2009.

During January this year, Maruti exported 14,562 units, as compared to 4,774 units in the year-ago period.

Honda Siel

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) sold 5,983 units during January 2010, as against 5,773 units during January 2009 – an increase of 3.64%. The company sold 490 units of the Jazz, 4,485 units of the City, 644 units of the Civic, 288 units of the Accord and 76 units of the CR-V during January this year.

HSCI’s sales for the April 2009-January 2010 period stood at 49,609 units, as compared to 39,473 units for the year-ago period – an increase of 25.68%.

Tata Motors

Tata Motors’ total sales (domestic + exports) of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles in January 2010 were 65,478 units, a growth of 77% over the 36,931 units sold in January 2009. The company’s domestic sales of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles for January 2010 were 62,202 units, a 74 % growth over the 35,704 units sold in January 2009.

Tata’s passenger vehicles business reported a total sales and distribution off-take of 28,547 units (26,245 Tata + 2,302 Fiat) in the domestic market in January 2010, the highest ever, and a 43% increase compared to 19,911 units (18,331 Tata + 1,580 Fiat) in January last year.

Sales of Tata cars, at 22,707 units were the highest ever and a growth of 47% over January 2009 sales figures. During January this year, Tata Motors sold 4,001 units of the Nano, 11,448 units of the Indica range, 7,258 units of the Indigo range, and 3,538 units of the Sumo and Safari.

Tata Motors’ sales from exports, at 3,276 vehicles in January 2010, registered a growth of 167% compared to 1,227 vehicles in January last year.

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz sold 403 units during January 2010 - 130 units of the C-Class, 245 units of the E-Class, 22 units of the S-Class and six units of various CBU imports.

Royal Enfield Bullet 500 Military coming soon

No, this isn't really for the Army - the Bullet 500 Military is for fashion-conscious motorcyclists who want to be seen riding a 'cool' neo-retro British motorcycle...

Royal Enfield will soon launch a new version of the Bullet 500 Classic - the Bullet 500 Military. The bike will be fitted with the same fuel-injected, air-cooled 500cc single-cylinder 28-horsepower engine as the Classic, but will come with a new khaki paintjob. Bullet fans have something 'new' to look forward to, again...   :-D

Honda CR-Z road movie could feature… you!

The Honda CR-Z hybrid sports car. It's all about the journey...

Honda, which will launch its first hybrid sports car – the CR-Z – later this year, also plans to make a unique documentary film featuring this car. But instead of regular actors or stars, Honda wants to feature you in their film.

‘We want to co-create and crowd-source a multilingual documentary film. A film about the extraordinary journeys real people go on in their lives. We’re interested in those journeys we say we’ll go on, but never do; the journeys that take us somewhere new, somewhere scary, somewhere fun, somewhere different,’ says a press release from Honda.

Those who may be interested in trying their luck at being a part of this film can get more details here. Applications will be accepted till the 19th of March this year, and filming will start on the 1st of May. Best of luck!

Diesel-engined Volvo S80 launched in India, priced at Rs 37 lakh

The new Volvo S80 D5 diesel costs Rs 37 lakh in India...

Volvo has launched a new variant of its S80 luxury sedan in the Indian market. While the version already available in India comes with a petrol V8 engine, the new model is fitted with a twin-turbo, five-cylinder, 2.4-litre diesel engine that pumps out 205 horsepower and 420Nm of torque. The diesel-engined Volvo S80 is priced at Rs 37 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi, and Rs 38.79 lakh, ex-showroom Mumbai.

Volvo cars in India come with a free servicing offer for two years/60,000 km (whichever is earlier), and a 24×7 road assistance service.

Two-wheeler sales in India, in January 2010

Bajaj Auto

Bajaj Auto reported a 112% rise in motorcycle sales in January 2010, at 233,000 units, compared to 109,000 units during January last year. Bajaj’s total sales of two- and three-wheelers doubled to 270,000 units, while exports were up 33%, at 71,695 units.

During January 2010, Bajaj sold 71,970 units of the Pulsar, of which the new Pulsar 135 comprised 28,000 units.

Hero Honda

Hero Honda sold 389,802 units during January this year – an increase of 23.57% over the 315,458 units sold in January 2009.

Hero Honda also reports that it’s now selling around 17,000 units of its scooter – Pleasure – every month, with January 2010 sales crossing 18,000 units.

TVS Motor

TVS Motor sold 125,578 units during January 2010 as compared to 93,729 units in January 2009 – an increase of 34%. Cumulative sales for the period April 2009 to January 2010 stood at 1,234,632 units, compared to 1,100,453 units in January 2009.

In the domestic market, TVS sold 109,504 units during January 2010, as against 79,729 units in January 2009. Two-wheeler exports were up 15% in January 2010, at 16,074 units, as compared to 14,000 units in January 2009.

TVS Motor's three-wheeler sales stood at 1,710 units in January this year, up from 466 units in January 2009. Cumulative three-wheeler sales for the period April 2009 to January 2010 stood at 10,417 units.

HMSI

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) reported a 24.84% hike in sales during January this year, at 118,571 units, as compared to 94,982 units sold during January 2009.

HMSI’s motorcycle sales rose 19% to 47,815 units in January, over 40,153 units in the corresponding period a year ago. Scooter sales were up 29% at 70,756 units in January 2010, compared to 54,829 units in the year-ago period.

Suzuki Motorcycle India

SMI reported a 93% increase in sales during January this year, at 20,441 units.

Jaguar celebrates its 75th Anniversary this year

This year marks Jaguar’s 75th anniversary. Now owned by India’s Tata Group, the iconic British car brand has seen many ups and downs over the last few decades, but seems set for a strong, significant future under Tata ownership.

Over the last three years, Jaguar has introduced three new cars – the four-door, five-seater XF, the re-engineered XK coupe / convertible, and the fabulous new XJ sedan.

During the year, Jaguar will celebrate its 75th anniversary at some of the world's most glamorous automotive settings, including the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival in the UK, the Concours D'Elegance at Pebble Beach in the US and at the Mille Miglia classic in Italy. Stay tuned – we hope to bring you pics and details from all these events as they happen.

Renault Wind to be unveiled at this year’s Geneva Show

The new Renault Wind will be unveiled in March this year...

Renault will unveil its brand-new coupé-roadster – Wind – at the Geneva Motor Show, on the 2nd of March this year. The Renault Wind is equipped with an electrically operated folding roof and, according to a press release from Renault, it ‘brings a completely different take on a car for drivers who enjoy open top motoring.’

In the meanwhile, Renault is still limping along in India, with its alliance with M&M for the Logan sedan seemingly stuck in a rut. According to reports in the media, Renault may soon look at ending its relationship with M&M and set up completely independent manufacturing operations, followed by independent dealerships.

The French car manufacturer is committed to launching more vehicles in India, though when and how this will happen, remains unclear.

Mahindra Maxximo mini truck launched, priced at Rs 2.79 lakh

The Mahindra Maxximo could be a worthy competitor to the Tata Ace...

Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has launched its new mini truck – Maxximo – which has a payload of 850 kilos and which is priced at Rs 2.79 lakh. To be manufactured at M&M’s plant in Chakan, the Maxximo comes with a one-year/40,000km free maintenance package as well.

The Mahindra Maxximo is powered by one of the smallest common-rail diesel engines in the business – a two-cylinder, 0.9-litre BSIII compliant unit that produces 25 horsepower and 54Nm of torque, and delivers as much as 20km/l in terms of fuel economy. The vehicle’s top speed is 70km/h.

‘The efficient movement of road freight plays an important role in the economic progress of a nation. Under the hub-and-spoke distribution model, the role of small goods carriers is also becoming important to ensure last-mile or end-point distribution of goods,’ said Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Group. ‘The Maxximo has been developed with our mantra of customer centricity combined with modern, efficient technology to create the next generation mini-truck,’ he added.

While the Maxximo is, we’re sure, all set to take on the Tata Ace, we wonder if M&M will also do their own version of the Nano. With that small, fuel-efficient, common-rail diesel engine already in place, it would be a shame if they didn’t do a small, inexpensive passenger car on the lines of the Nano…

Toyota declared best global brand, Honda in second place

According to Interbrand, Toyota Motor Corp. is the best global brand among Japanese companies, followed by Honda Motor Co. and Sony Corp. The Toyota brand is valued at around US$ 30.53 billion, compared with about US$ 18.19 billion for Honda and US$ 11.97 billion for Sony.

Although Toyota tops Interbrand’s list for 2010, the appraised value of its brand dropped 3% from the previous year due to slower global sales, while Honda’s value grew 3%, partly because of brisk sales of its motorcycles in emerging economies.

Maruti Alto may get two-cylinder engine, Wagon R also in line for a heart transplant

Maruti Suzuki is said to be working on new, smaller, more fuel-efficient and lower emissions engines for two of its bestselling cars – the Alto and the Wagon R.

The Alto and Wagon R are about a decade old in India and many – including us, here at IA – had expected Maruti to phase these cars out in the near future. However, it seems the company is not willing to let go of these cars just yet. According to a report on Financial Express, Maruti is working a new engine – codenamed YP3 – for both these cars.

Maruti is likely to develop two variants of the new YP3 engine – a two-cylinder variant for the Alto, and a three-cylinder variant for the Wagon R. While the exact engine displacement has not yet been revealed, it’s expected that the Alto engine could be around 600-700cc while the Wagon R engine could be a 1.0-litre unit. Both the ‘new’ cars will be priced lower than their currently existing versions.

With companies like Toyota, Honda, Nissan, GM, Ford and Volkswagen getting into the small car segment in India, Maruti needs to do all it can in order to protect its turf, and this range of new, cheaper variants of some of its older cars might be a part of that strategy.

Japan fell behind China in terms of automobile production in 2009

Automobile production in Japan was down 31.5% in 2009, at 7.93 million units, while production in China went up 48.3% in the same period, at 13.79 million units. With this, China overtook Japan as the world’s no.1 automobile manufacturer. The US was in third place, with 5.7 million units produced in 2009.

Japan had been the world’s no.1 produced of cars since 2006, when it overtook the US in terms of automobile production. In fact, 2009 was the first time in more than three decades, when Japan’s domestic production of automobiles stood below the eight million units mark.

Volvo S80 gets 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine

Volvo Cars recently unveiled a new version of its S80 luxury sedan in Europe. While the earlier S80, available in India with petrol V8 engine, was a powerful machine, the new one gets a 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine that produces only 109 horsepower and 240Nm of torque. And while the new engine is, of course, much more fuel-efficient and significantly lower on emissions than the petrol V8, time will tell whether a 1.6-litre powerplant will offer adequate drivability for a car that’s as big and heavy as the S80.

In order to conserve power, the new S80 1.6 DRIVe employs tricks like ‘Intelligent’ battery recharging, which ensures that the car’s control system only allows the alternator to charge the battery when the engine is operating at low load. In addition, the belt that drives the alternator and air-conditioning compressor benefits from reduced friction, helping lower fuel consumption and emissions.

‘Now that we have brought two of our larger models in below the magical 120g/km limit [in terms of CO emissions], few of our competitors can now match us when it comes to offering customers an extensive range of low emission cars,’ says Volvo Cars President and CEO, Stephen Odell. And while that might be true, whether an apparently underpowered luxury car will find enough takers remains to be seen.

Hand-built Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is now in production

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG will go on sale by March this year...

Mercedes-Benz’s new top-of-the-range supercar, the SLS AMG, is now in production. A tribute to the original Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, the new SLS AMG is being hand-built at the company’s manufacturing plant at Sindelfingen, in Germany. However, the car’s chassis and aluminium bodyshell are produced by Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik in Graz, Austria.

Along with the Mercedes SLS AMG’s spaceframe chassis, which weighs only 241kg, the car’s 6.3-litre, 570-horsepower V8 engine is also built by hand, by highly skilled engineers and technicians. ‘Made in Sindelfingen also stands for the very highest production and product quality where the SLS AMG is concerned. From the end of March, our customers will be able to verify this for themselves,’ says Dr Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz cars.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is priced at 177,310 euros and will go on sale in Europe by the end of March this year.

Hero Honda may set up fourth manufacturing facility in India soon

Hero Honda, the world’s largest producer of two-wheelers, is on track to produce more than 4.5 million motorcycles and scooters during the current financial year. The company, which has three manufacturing plants in the country – at Daruhera, Gurgaon and Haridwar – churned out 3.7 million units during the last fiscal.

Despite already have a total production capacity of around five million units, Hero Honda may soon look at setting up its fourth manufacturing facility in the country. ‘The market wants more. Very soon we will do a feasibility study. It should take about six months to take a decision,’ says Pawan Munjal, Hero Honda’s managing director.

‘We remain prepared for healthy competition – that provides food for innovation,’ said Munjal, who added that Hero Honda is likely to launch as many as eight or nine new variants in various segments during the next fiscal.

Brazil overtakes Italy as Fiat's biggest market

Fiat sold more cars in Brazil than in Italy, in 2009...

Fiat, always a hugely popular car brand in its home market, Italy, is now even more popular in South America, in Brazil. For the first time in Fiat’s 111-year history, the company sold more cars in a foreign market than its home market – 750,000 Fiat cars were sold in Brazil in 2009, as compared with 722,000 units in Italy.

Fiat outpaced companies like Volkswagen and General Motors in the Brazilian market in 2009, with VW selling 695,395 units and GM selling 610,836 units. Of course, Fiat’s India operations are nowhere in the same league, but the Italian company is ramping up efforts to improve its sales here. By the end of this year, Fiat aims to add 10 dealers to its network across India, which already has 100 outlets in 78 cities.