BMW Minis in India by 2009

BMW Mini to be launched in India by 2008 at an estimated price of Rs 20 lakh.


BMW India plans to launch the BMW Mini in 2009. Reports say that BMW India has completed market analyses for the launch and handed over the results to its German headquarters. The company has said that the BMW Mini is not just a car, but a brand altogether and so a feasibility study is a must.

Most likely to carry a price tag of Rs 20 lakh, the BMW Mini would be a result of the investments BMW has made at its Chennai plant. BMW has pumped in $750,000, and plant capacity has been increased from 1700 units to 3000 units per year.

To add to its brand visibility, BMW also plans to open smaller showrooms in Tier-2 cities like Jodhpur, Surat and Coimbatore. BMW already has nine showrooms in India and will set up three more, in 2008, in Kochi, Ahmadabad and Kolkata.

BMW has sold a record 350,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2008. BMW reported overall sales of 351,787 units, an increase of 5.7 percent from the first quarter of 2007.

In the overseas markets, the BMW Mini, in 2008, moved a total of 26,963 cars, an increase of 24.4 percent over the previous year.

India contributed the most in these numbers, by posting a jump of 800 per cent to 862 cars. Overall sales in March 2008 alone climbed by 8.2 percent on the year to 153,184 vehicles, BMW has said.

Tata Motors completes acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover

Tata Motors today acquired the Jaguar Land Rover businesses from Ford Motor Company for a net consideration of US $2.3 billion, as announced on March 26, in an all-cash transaction. Ford has contributed about US $600 million to the Jaguar Land Rover pension plans.

Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors, was present at the handing over ceremony at the head quarters of Jaguar Land Rover at Gaydon in the UK along with Mr. Don Leclair, the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Ford Motor Company, and Mr. Lewis Booth, Executive Vice President of Ford Motor Company, who has responsibility for Ford of Europe, Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Tata said, “This is a momentous time for all of us at Tata Motors. Jaguar and Land Rover are two iconic British brands with worldwide growth prospects. We are looking forward to extending our full support to the Jaguar Land Rover team to realise their competitive potential. Jaguar Land Rover will retain their distinctive identities and continue to pursue their respective business plans as before. We recognise the significant improvement in the performance of the two brands and look forward to this trend continuing in the coming years. It is our intention to work closely to support the Jaguar Land Rover team in building the success and preeminence of the two brands.”

Tata Motors confirmed that Mr. David Smith, the acting Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar Land Rover, would be the new CEO of the business. Mr. Smith has 25 years of experience with Jaguar Land Rover and Ford. Before recently returning to Jaguar Land Rover as its Chief Financial Officer, he was Director Finance and Business Strategy for PAG and Ford of Europe.

Mr. Smith said, “We are very pleased with the association with Tata Motors. We look forward to a sustained bright future for the company and its stakeholders.”

Jaguar Land Rover has been acquired at a cost of US$ 2.3 billion on a cash free, debt-free basis. The purchase consideration includes the ownership by Jaguar and Land Rover or perpetual royalty-free licences of all necessary Intellectual Property Rights, manufacturing plants, two advanced design centres in the UK, and worldwide network of National Sales Companies.

Long term agreements have been entered into for supply of engines, stampings and other components to Jaguar Land Rover. Other areas of transition support from Ford include IT, accounting and access to test facilities. The two companies will continue to cooperate in areas such as design and development through sharing of platforms and joint development of hybrid technologies and powertrain engineering. The Ford Motor Credit Company will continue to provide financing for Jaguar Land Rover dealers and customers for a transition period. Tata Motors is in an advanced stage of negotiations with leading auto finance providers to support the Jaguar Land Rover business in the UK, Europe and the US, and is expected to select financial services partners shortly.



About Tata Motors
Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, with revenues of US$ 8.8 billion in 2007-08. With over 4 million Tata vehicles plying in India, it is the leader in commercial vehicles and among the top three in passenger vehicles. It is also the world's fourth largest truck manufacturer and the second largest bus manufacturer. Tata cars, buses and trucks are being marketed in several countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia and South America. Through subsidiaries and associate companies, Tata Motors has operations in South Korea, Thailand and Spain. It also has a strategic alliance with Fiat.

Hyundai launches new Kappa Engine

- Raises performance, fuel efficiency and emission benchmark
- I10 to have the Kappa engine
- Automatic version of i10
- New engine & Transmission plant commissioned

Chennai, July 15, 2008: Hyundai Motor India Ltd, India`s fastest growing auto manufacturer and largest passenger car exporter today rolled out the i10 powered by the all new 1.2 litre advanced Kappa engine at its plant in Chennai. The in-line, four-cylinder, 1.2 litre engine while adding to the power will also deliver greater operational efficiency in terms of both fuel consumption and emissions.

The launch of the new Kappa engine coincides with the inauguration of the Engine & Transmission plant at Sriperumbudur which will produce the brand new Kappa engine to be fitted first in the i10 meant both for the domestic and the export market. The new Engine & transmission plant which cost over US$250 million has a capacity of 250,000 units per annum.

Announcing the launch H S Lheem, Managing Director, HMIL, said, “Efficiencies in fuel consumption and environment are the prerogatives for any automobile manufacturer. And Hyundai, as a conscientious global corporate citizen, prioritises these with continuous innovation in technology and design. Our new Kappa engine is the best in class today, with more power, less fuel consumption and a lower CO2 and overall emissions. The current 1.1L engine has proved to be one of the very successful engines for Hyundai and it will continue to power both the Santro and the i10 but the new Kappa engine will significantly raise the bar in this segment and redefine the expectation from this class of cars”.

The aluminium block, first in its segment Double Overhead Cam Shaft (DOHC), 16 valve with 32 bit microprocessor Kappa engine delivers a class leading 80PS/5200rpm and 11.4Kgm/4000rpm torque which results in excellent driveability both in city as well as on the highway. The engine is Euro 5 ready and emits only 119g/km of CO2 which is the lowest for this class of cars.

The Kappa engine i10 will now be also with an automatic transmission. A four speed 4-speed, automatic gearbox is mated to this all new, powerful engine which will add to the convenience of city driving.

Developed over a period of 48 months at a cost of US$421 million, the Kappa project harnessed all of Hyundai`s engineering know-how and will raise the bar in terms of power, performance, fuel efficiency and environment and uses some cutting edge technology like offset crank and light weight engine material to enhance performance.

The Kappa i10 will be launched in three variants the Magna, Sportz and the Asta with all top end features like the sunroof, 2-Din audio system, a unique red pack for the Sportz interiors and some class leading safety features like anti-lock braking system (ABS) and dual airbags. The new kappa i10 will be sold along with the existing Epsilon 1.1 litre engine variant and will be available in a range of 10 colours.


About HMIL

Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea and is the second largest and the fastest growing car manufacturer in India. HMIL presently markets 30 variants of passenger cars across segments. The Santro in the B segment, the Getz Prime and the i10 in the B+ segment, the Accent and the Verna in the C segment, the Sonata Embera in the E segment and the Tucson in the SUV segment.

Hyundai Motor India, continuing its tradition of being the fastest growing passenger car manufacturer, registering total sales of 327,160 vehicles in the calendar year (CY) 2007, an increase of 9.2 percent over CY 2006. In the domestic market it clocked a growth of 7.6 percent as compared to 2006 with 200,412 units, while overseas sales grew by 11.8 percent, with exports of 126,748 units.

HMIL’s fully integrated state-of-the-art manufacturing plant near Chennai boasts of the most advanced production, quality and testing capabilities in the country. In continuation of its commitment to provide the Indian customer with global technology, HMIL has set up its second plant, which produces an additional 300,000 units per annum, raising HMIL’s total production capacity to 600,000 units per annum.

HMIL is investing to expand capacity in line with its positioning as HMC’s global export hub for compact cars. Apart from expansion of production capacity, HMIL plans to expand its dealer network, which will be increased from 230 to 300 this year.

The year 2007 has been a significant year for Hyundai Motor India. It achieved a significant milestone by rolling out the fastest 400,000th export car. Hyundai exports to over 90 countries globally; even as it plans to continue its thrust in existing export markets, it is gearing up to step up its foray into new markets. The year just ended also saw Hyundai Motor India attaining other milestones with the launch of the i10 and yet another path-breaking record in its young journey by rolling out the fastest 1,500,000th car.

Hyundai’s new model i10 which made its global debut here in India in October, 2007 made a clean sweep of all the ‘Car of the Year 2008’ awards from the leading automotive magazines and TV channels like BS Motoring, CNBC-TV18 AutoCar, NDTV Profit Car & Bike India and Overdrive magazine. The i10 is also the choice of the discerning automotive media of the country as they conferred the prestigious ‘Indian Car of the Year’ (ICOTY) award to the i10 as well. The i10 bagged these awards on the basis of excellence in build quality, handling, driver comfort, safety and ride quality.

The Santro and the Accent also received the ‘TNS Voice of the Customer - 2008’ award for the Premium Compact Car (Santro) and the Entry Mid size Car (Accent). In March 2008 it achieved yet another milestone by rolling out the fastest 500,000th export car.

Last year, the Hyundai Verna bagged some of the most prestigious awards starting with the title of "Car of the Year 2007" by India`s leading automotive publication – Overdrive, the “Best Mid-size Car of the Year” award by the NDTV Profit Car & Bike India Awards 2007, the “Best Value for Money Car” by the CNBC Autocar Auto awards and ‘Performance Car of the Year 2007’ from Business Standard Motoring.

Hyundai cars have been a favorite at all awards ceremonies and have always been winning awards. Our models like Sonata Embera won the ‘Executive Car of The Year 2006’ award from Business Standard Motoring Magazine and NDTV Profit Car & Bike India declared the Tucson as the ‘SUV of The Year 2006’. Not only this, HMIL has also been awarded the benchmark ISO 14001 certification for its sustainable environment management practices.

Maruti brushes aside Nano competition

The Times of India

New Delhi: As Tata Motors gears up to roll out Nano by Durga Puja, country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki is confident that the Rs 1 lakh wonder will be of no competition to it.

"It (Nano) increases the market size but it will not cut into the market of people who are buying cars that are in the Rs two-lakh price category. A person who buys a car for Rs two lakh, I believe that there will be very few people who will buy this (Nano) car. It is a new segment," Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R C Bhargava said in an interview.

He said people who could not buy Maruti 800 would buy Nano as the price difference was huge. Bhargava said more than the existing entry level cars, Nano will affect the two wheelers.

Casting doubts over maintaining the Rs one lakh tag in the wake of rising steel prices and other input costs, Bhargava said: "The one lakh price will be difficult to maintain."

Asked if MSI planned to come out with a competitor to Nano, he said: "Let me make it clear that there is no plan to develop a one-lakh car at Maruti."

Commenting on the changes in MSI after government exited the company with Suzuki becoming the majority shareholder, Bhargava said: "It has does affect the style of the management."

Tata Motors' total vehicle sales in June 2008 grow 7 per cent to 47,245 vehicles

Tata Motors reported a total sale of 47,245 vehicles (including exports) for the month of June 2008, a growth of 7 per cent compared to 44,317 vehicles sold in June last year. Cumulative sales for the company at 131,733 numbers, grew by 3 per cent.

Commercial vehicles
The company’s sales of commercial vehicles in June 2008 in the domestic market was 26,797 numbers, a growth of 25 per cent compared to 21,417 vehicles sold in June last year. M&HCV sales stood at 12,845 numbers, a growth of 9 per cent over June 2007, while LCV sales were 13,952 numbers, a growth of 45 per cent over June 2007.

Cumulative sales of commercial vehicles in the domestic market for the fiscal were 71,480 numbers, a growth of 16 per cent over last year. Cumulative M&HCV sales stood at 35,835 numbers, a growth of 10 per cent over last year, while LCV sales for the fiscal were 35,645 numbers, a growth of 23 per cent over last year.

Passenger vehicles
The passenger vehicles business achieved total sales of 17,017 vehicles in the domestic market in June 2008, a marginal decline of 2 per cent over 17,418 numbers sold in June 2007. The Indica reported sales of 8,560 numbers, a decline of 27 per cent over June 2007. The Indica, while being in its mature phase, continues to see a significant portion of its volumes migrate to the attractively priced Indigo CS sedan. The Indigo family recorded sales of 4,747 numbers, a strong 102 per cent growth over June 2007. The Sumo and Safari accounted for sales of 3,710 numbers, a growth of 11 per cent compared to June 2007. Growth could have been higher but for the adverse impact of the sudden and unexpected increase in excise duties in the latter half of the month. The Sumo recorded a 9 per cent growth over June 2007, with sales of 2,196 numbers Safari sales at 1,514 numbers, grew by 15 per cent.

Cumulative sales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market for the fiscal were 51,094 numbers, a minor decline of 1 per cent over the same period last year. Cumulative sales of the Indica at 25,676 numbers, reported a decline of 26 per cent with part of its sales moving to the Indigo range. Cumulative sales of the Indigo family were 13,052 numbers, a strong growth of 81 per cent. Cumulative sales of Sumo and Safari were 12,366 numbers, a growth of 23 per cent. The Sumo recorded a 34 per cent growth with sales of 7,771 numbers, while Safari sales at 4,595 numbers grew by 8 per cent.

Exports
The company's sales from exports at 3,431 vehicles in June 2008 declined by 37 per cent compared to 5,482 vehicles in June 2007. The cumulative sales from exports for the fiscal at 9,159 numbers declined by 34 per cent over 13,822 numbers in the same period last year.

Source: http://www.tata.com/

Nissan LCVs for India by 2010

Indian roads are set for some more of Japanese technology arrive in the form of LCVs sporting the Nissan brand name. It is expected that the car maker would introduce Light Commercial Vehicles in Indian markets in 2010.

Nissan's strategy is to push itself up the order to be the leading player in global LCV market. By year 2010, the LCVs are expected to debut in the markets around India and the United States. Nissan is also planning to start LCV sale in Russia from September 2008. And that is not all. The company has also drawn up a global strategy in a bid to roll out 13 LCV models by year 2012.

Nissan already has a joint venture with Ashok Leyland to build light commercial vehicles in India, expects to push up revenues as the new launches near. Nissan is planning to double its revenue generated by LCV sales by 2012. The Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd had earlier announced the legal formation of the three JV companies for the Light Commercial Vehicle business in India for vehicle manufacturing, powertrain manufacturing and technology development. Nissan’s small car project with Bajaj that will be priced at Rs 1 lakh is also on the top priority.

In India, Nissan aims to sell over two lakh vehicles in the next four years for which it would take leverage from local expertise. Along with alliance partner Renault, Nissan is setting up a plant for passenger cars in Chennai with a capacity of four lakh units per annum.