Repowering transport sector will be a major challenge

Smaller, smarter and more efficient vehicles are the future of transport...

According to ‘Repowering Transport,’ a new report recently released by the World Economic Forum, countries seeking to reduce oil dependency as well as emissions of their transport sector must support the development, distribution and adoption of new technologies through a structured policy approach, public-private partnerships, risk hedging and collaborative financing.

As things stand today, global transportation and fossil fuels (petrol, diesel) are inextricably linked. More than 60% of the 87 million barrels of oil consumed every day power the world’s transportation system. And if you’re wondering whether the Toyota Prius and its ilk have made a significant difference, get this – liquid fossil fuels account for more than 96% of the current energy supply to the transport sector.

The ‘Repowering Transport’ report estimates that an annual investment of about US$400 billion would be required to achieve just 25% penetration of alternative energy sources (electricity, biofuels, CNG/LPG) from 2010 to 2030, and reduce total oil consumption in the world’s transport sector by 0.5% per year. However, even though that’s a massive sum of money, it’s still relatively moderate compared to the US$740 billion needed every year in global oil subsidies and maintaining status quo in the worldwide transport sector.

According to the Repowering Transport report, lack of financing for ‘green’ transportation is not because capital isn’t available. Instead, it’s because of the uncertainty prevalent in the regulatory environment and the challenges in risk assessment in this area. To deal with this, the report proposes a two-pronged policy approach to achieve energy diversification – establish and impose fuel taxes and carbon fees, and set progressively higher fuel efficiency performance standards.

While India hasn’t made any significant efforts to reduce its transportation sector’s dependence on oil, countries like China and Brazil have taken strong steps in this area. China has pledged a US$15 billion investment in electric vehicles, coupled with a tight-knit collaboration between government and private enterprise, aiming to put 5-10 million electric vehicles on the road by 2020. Brazil, on the other hand, has been promoting the use of biofuel, which today powers a fifth of the country’s entire transportation system. It’s time India also sat up and took notice of these initiatives. We need to figure out, as soon as possible, what steps we need to take in the short- to mid-term future.

‘The report finds that oil will continue to be the dominant fuel for transportation over the next 20 years but innovative partnerships among business, government, academia and civil society marks are accelerating technology development of alternative sources,’ says John Moavenzadeh, Head of Mobility Industries at the World Economic Forum. Countries like Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the US have started work in a big way towards forging these partnerships and making them work. We, here in India, need to make sure we don’t get left behind.

Ford to boost capacity, invest US$72 million in Chennai

The new Ford Fiesta, which will be launched in India later this year...

Ford Motor Company has recently announced that it will invest US$72 million towards expanding its powertrain facility in Chennai, to further support its sales and export growth plans in India. When the expansion programme is completed in mid-2012, Ford’s engine plant will have a production capacity of 330,000 units per year, up from the current 250,000 units capacity.

‘This investment reinforces the importance of our Chennai plant and Ford's continued expansion in India. This expansion will allow us to provide more technologically advanced and fuel-efficient engines to our customers in India and in markets around the world where we export Chennai-built vehicles,’ says Michael Boneham, President and MD, Ford India. ‘The new investment also further supports our plan to introduce eight new global Ford vehicles in India by 2015. When the expansion is finished, a third production shift will be added at the engine assembly plant, creating more than 300 new direct jobs,’ he adds.

The new investment is part of Ford India's transformation into a major global export and manufacturing hub – soon, 1.6-litre and 1.4-litre petrol and diesel engines, built at Ford’s Maraimalai Nagar facility near Chennai, will be exported from India. Incidentally, this engine manufacturing facility was inaugurated in January 2010 and production hit the 100,000 units figure in March this year, just 14 months after operations commenced at this plant.

The Maraimalai Nagar plant is the first Ford facility in the world that features a single flexible production line where both petrol and diesel engines can be manufactured. The plant currently produces five ‘Duratec’ petrol engine variants and one ‘Duratorq’ diesel engine variant for Ford vehicles, and is also gearing up to produce powertrains for the all-new Fiesta sedan which will be launched in India later this year.

Maruti to launch all-new Swift by August this year

The new Swift should boost Maruti Suzuki's fortunes in a big way...

In recent months, Maruti Suzuki’s once-dominant position in the hatchback segment in India has come under serious attack. Cars like the Ford Figo, Volkswagen Polo, Nissan Micra, Chevrolet Beat and revised Hyundai i10 have all pushed their way into Indian consumers’ hearts and minds while Maruti offerings have been sidelined on account of being a bit stale. And now, with Toyota and Honda also preparing to launch their own hatchbacks – the Etios Liva and Brio respectively – in the country, things aren’t about to get any easier for Maruti anytime in the near future.

Of course, Maruti isn’t exactly sitting around twiddling its thumbs – the Indo-Japanese giant is quietly working on a series of new products that will take on the best that the Europeans, Koreans and other Japanese companies have to offer. And the first of these is very likely to be the all-new Swift, which may be launched in August this year. First launched in India in May 2005, the Swift has been a huge success story for Maruti, with the company selling more than 300,000 units of this car in India in less than four years from the date of its launch.

Very soon, the current Maruti Swift will make way for an all-new version, which is a bit bigger overall than the outgoing car. Styling changes aren’t dramatic and that’s probably because of the fact that the Swift has already managed to carve a strong identity for itself – something that few cars in this segment have been able to do. For those interested in numbers, the new Swift is 90mm longer, 10mm higher and 5mm wider than the existing car and has a 50mm longer wheelbase. In India, the new Swift is very likely to get higher-spec trim material for its interiors, compared to the current Swift. Safety features like anti-lock brakes (ABS) and airbags will definitely be on the options list, and there might also be features like Bluetooth connectivity and steering wheel-mounted controls for the music system.

The new Swift will be available with a 1.2-litre petrol and 1.3-litre common-rail diesel engines, both of which will be adequately powerful and reasonably frugal. The 1.2-litre K-series engine will be the same unit which also does duty on the Ritz, but may get variable valve timing for the Swift, making it a bit more powerful. A five-speed manual gearbox is expected to be standard on both the petrol and diesel models, though we certainly hope Maruti will also offer a five-speed automatic as an option. If they do, the Swift will have a clear edge over the competition since very few hatchbacks in India have automatic transmission.

Another thing about the Swift is that it’s always been an enthusiast driver’s car – it isn’t overtly powerful, but the taut, sharp handling makes driving this car a pleasure. With its carefully tuned chassis and suspension, the existing Swift boasts of excellent driving dynamics and in this area, we expect Maruti Suzuki to only improve things even further with the new car.

The existing Maruti Swift is priced between Rs 4.35-5.65 lakh, ex-showroom, and we believe Maruti will more or less stick to this price bracket for the new Swift as well. Expect to pay about Rs 4.60 lakh for the base model petrol version and approximately Rs 5.30 lakh for the base model diesel, for the new Swift. Yes indeed, if you’re in the market for a new hatchback, the new Swift could well be worth waiting for.

Jaguar Land Rover inaugurates assembly plant in Pune

And now, you can buy Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles assembled in India...!

The Tata Group owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) recently inaugurated its first assembly plant in Pune, in India. JLR will assemble the Land Rover Freelander 2 at this facility, via completely knocked down (CKD) kits, which will be sourced from JLR’s Halewood manufacturing plant in Liverpool, UK.

‘Today marks a significant step in our growth strategy for the Indian market. The opening of this plant demonstrates close co-operation between the parent company Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover and we are keen to develop this further,’ said Carl-Peter Forster, CEO and MD, Tata Motors. ‘Jaguar Land Rover is delighted to have officially opened our first assembly facility in India. We are excited about the prospect of assembling cars in Pune for the Indian market where we have achieved significant growth since we opened our first showroom in 2009. It is a great time to be expanding our operation in India due to the increasing demand for luxury products and the strength of the Indian economy,’ added Dr Ralf Speth, CEO, JLR.

JLR vehicles available in India include the Jaguar XJ, XF and XK, and the Land Rover Freelander 2, Discovery 4, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover. For more details, visit the Jaguar India and Land Rover India websites