Indian Auto Industry Thread

[cbeboy]

Bajaj launches 200cc Avenger DTS-i


In an attempt to lift sagging sales, two wheeler major Bajaj Auto has introduced the new 200cc Avenger DTS-i motorcycle.

A release issued by the company today said the new bike is now available in pro-biking showrooms across the country. The vehicle has been priced at Rs 64,830 (ex-showroom New Delhi).

The new Avenger's 200cc oil-cooled engine is capable of generating a top-speed of 115 km/h. The engine delivers 17.5 PS at 8000 rpm with a torque of 16.78 Nm at 6000 rpm. The oil cooler helps the hi-performance engine to maintain the engine oil temperature even at high rpms, which in turn maintains the Engine oil viscosity.

[Euromast]

New Delhi, Oct 11: Strengthening their alliance further, Italian auto major Fiat and India`s Tata Motors on Thursday entered into a joint venture to produce cars, engines and transmissions.

Under the 50:50 joint venture agreement, the partners will manufacture passenger cars, engines and transmissions for Indian and overseas markets at the facility located at Ranjangaon in Maharashtra.

The overall investment in the facility would exceed 650 million dollars, Tata Motors said in a statement.

"The progress of all the joint initiatives between the fiat group and Tata Motors reflects the strong potential of our relationship in India and abroad," Tata Motors managing director Ravi Kant, who will also be the chairman of the JV, said.

The JV will manufacture fiat`s premium cars, Grande Punto and Linea (respectively in the b and c segments), its 1.3 litre multijet diesel engine, 1.2 and 1.4 litre fire gasoline engine and matching transmissions, the statement said, adding one of Tata`s next generation vehicles would also be manufactured at the unit.

The Ranjangaon unit is expected to exceed an overall output of 100,000 cars and 200,000 engines and transmissions. The plant will directly and indirectly employ more than 4,000 people, it added.

http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?...-BUSINESS-NEWS

[cbeboy]

Global auto majors plan to test cars in India


Global car makers such as BMW, Nissan, Toyota, and Honda are in talks with the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) to avail themselves of its facilities for testing the durability and performance of their vehicles for the global market.

The move is primarily aimed at global car makers, who would like to take advantage of cost reduction that countries such as India offer, apart from climatic conditions that would enable manufacturers get accurate account of the performance of their cars.

“We are getting inquiries from Nissan, Honda, BMW among others, mainly for testing the durability and performance of their cars for the Asian as well as the global markets,” said Mr Rajesh Singh, Officiating CEO and Project Director, NATRIP.

Moreover, according to the industry, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have concerns related to piracy issues in China, hence they prefer to consider India as a base for testing, research and development processes.

Considering the interest of global auto majors, NATRIP expects to clock 25-30 per cent of the revenue from international OEMs as a part of the research and development work that would be outsourced to it after its facilities become fully operational, added Mr Singh.

[cbeboy]

DaimlerChrysler may zero in on Chennai or Pune for commercial vehicles plant


The Rs 3,500-crore commercial vehicles plant of the German auto major, DaimlerChrysler AG, could come up either at Chennai or Pune, it is learnt.

A high-level delegation led by Mr Hans-Joerg Knoll, Manager, Supply Chain Management, Trucks Group, Daimler Chrysler AG, Germany, visited the Chennai port to look at the infrastructure facilities available for import and export.

During discussions with officials of Chennai Port Trust and Chennai Container Terminal, officials of DaimlerChrysler said that the company would like to manufacture trucks and buses in India.

The German major began selling imported trucks in India in the second half of 2006. The company had always maintained that it would consider setting up a manufacturing facility in India if volumes justified the investment.

[cncity]

India's now hub for small-car engines, too
Murali Gopalan | Friday, 19 October , 2007, 08:17

It was only a matter of time before India became Suzuki's largest manufacturing base for cars, overtaking Japan in the process.

The first six months of this fiscal saw its Indian arm, Maruti, produce 3.36 lakh vehicles against 3.15 lakh units back home in Japan.

Despite what experts have had to say about the inevitable transition to larger cars, India still remains a small car market and will continue to remain so for some more years.

While all attention is riveted on Maruti, which is but natural for a market leader, it was Hyundai which set the ball rolling in identifying the country as a small car hub.

That was in 2003 when the carmaker decided to shift production of the Atos from Korea to its Indian plant near Chennai. Today, the Santro Xing is shipped out to Europe as the Atos Prime and, as a result, Hyundai Motor India's international business accounts for nearly 35 per cent turnover.

Next in line is the Getz, whose production line is also tipped to move out entirely from Korea to India in the next 2-3 years. Clearly, it is the competitive cost structure here that is the biggest attraction.

However, rising wages and expensive raw materials may can go against this advantage.

The next product from Hyundai, codenamed Pa (and also referred to as the Santro twin), will be out by early November and the company proposes to use India as its global hub.

Managing director H S Lheem told this correspondent in Chennai recently that it was not his intention to only build up the international business but pay equal, if not more, attention to the local market.

Nissan is the other company which has huge plans for India. It had originally planned to team up with Suzuki here for a huge manufacturing operation, but has now confined this to a smaller arrangement for the export market. The company has, instead, teamed up with global ally, Renault, and Mahindra & Mahindra in a Rs 4,000 crore joint venture to make a range of vehicles.

Nissan has already identified small cars as its growth driver in India and is working on two models, codenamed X02A and XO2B, which will be launched by 2010. It is also teaming up with Renault to produce a $3,000 car where the local partner, in all probability, would be Bajaj Auto.

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault and Nissan, has often said that India's biggest strength lies in frugal engineering and is, therefore, confident that this $3,000 car could become a reality. Bajaj will play a key role in contributing to this challenging cost structure as well as some useful technology inputs.

This vehicle may end up being exported from here to other parts of Asia.

Honda, which was focusing on the premium segment, has also announced its intent to get into small cars and is readying a new plant in Rajasthan. The model will be based on the Jazz and tailored to meet Indian customer specifications.

In contrast, Toyota has kept a rather low profile though reports have been doing the rounds that it is working on a small car, codenamed 800L, for the BRIC markets.

The bigger numbers, though, have been earmarked for China, Brazil and Russia with India right at the bottom of the heap. Clearly, Toyota's bigger priority right now is the more profitable North American market.

It is not just cars. Engines, too, will contribute to the country's growing role as a vital production base.

Suzuki plans to manufacture 3,00,000 diesel engines in a technical alliance with Fiat, of which half the number will be exported to Hungary, Poland, Japan and, possibly, China. Production has already begun in the Manesar plant near Haryana and exports are on schedule to Hungary.

Similarly, Tata Motors and Fiat have decided to produce the same 1.3 diesel engine in a new plant at Ranjangaon near Pune.

With 2,50,000 units earmarked over the next three years, a part of this production will certainly be exported to Fiat plants worldwide.

Renault and Nissan have said that they will produce 3,00,000 diesel engines near the Chennai plant. The latest to join the list is General Motors which plans to use India as the hub for manufacturing nearly a million *petrol and diesel engines for the M300 (the small car to succeed the Spark) due to debut in 2010.

This car will also be sold in other parts of Asia, including China, and engines could be sourced from India.

http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14545486

[Euromast]

TOKYO: Japanese car major Honda is betting big on India as it plans to enter the highly competitive compact car segment by 2009 with the launch of Jazz, its first hatchback in the country.

"We started with premium cars and gradually expanded the portfolio. With the entry into the compact cars, we will further strengthen our position," Honda Motor Co CEO and President Takeo Fukui said here on the sidelines of Tokyo Motor Show

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/2486315.cms

[Euromast]

//

CHIBA: Nissan and Renault hope to start selling a car for about $2,500 in India by 2010 along with local partner Bajaj Auto, CEO Carlos Ghosn said on Wednesday.

"We have already practically decided all the attributes of the car,” Ghosn told reporters at the Tokyo Motor Show. "We have the full intention to do it - if it’s feasible. Hopefully this is going to be 2010 in India,” he said.

Ghosn, who heads both Japan’s Nissan Motor and its French partner Renault, said he would visit Indian partner Bajaj Auto next week for talks on the car. He said that it appeared possible to make a $2,500 car for India, but the big question was whether it could be exported to other markets such as Europe, China, Brazil, Mexico or even US

.

[Euromast]

//

Tokyo, Oct 25: Daimler, the world's largest truckmaker, has reached an agreement with a partner in India to jointly produce heavy trucks in the world's second-most populous nation.

"We have found a partner and we will make an announcement very soon," said Andreas Renschler, who heads the division, in an interview in Tokyo today. "If you move into these markets you have to locally produce things."

Navistar International, Man AG and other truckmakers are entering India with local partners to meet demand in the world's second-fastest growing major economy.

Daimler is boosting the heavy-truck division, its second-most profitable unit after the Mercedes passenger car business, by increasing capacity in emerging markets.

Daimler's business in India includes a 6.64 percent stake in Tata Motors, the country's largest truckmaker. The German company is spending USD 67 million to build a factory to assemble Mercedes-Benz passenger

[Euromast]

India's second largest truck maker Ashok Leyland Monday said it has signed an agreement with Japan-based Nissan Motor Co for manufacturing and sale of Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) and powertrains.

Pursuant to the Master Co-operation Agreement (MCA), the two companies would form three joint ventures for vehicle manufacturing, powertrain making and technology development, Ashok Leyland informed the Bombay Stock Exchange in a filing.

The two firms plan to invest up to usd 500 million to form the joint venture companies.

"We hope to leverage Ashok Leyland's marketing insight, product development capabilities and dealer network, together with the excellent engineering foundations inherent in Nissan's global products," Ashok Leyland Co-Chairman Dheeraj G Hinduja said.

"This partnership with Nissan will allow both companies to develop a range of cost-competitive and customer-oriented LCVs targeted not only at the Indian market but several select markets overseas," Ashok Leyland Managing Director R Seshasayee said.

http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?...-BUSINESS-NEWS

[Euromast]

//

New Delhi, Oct 29: Stressing on the need for maintaining its supremacy in India, Japanese auto major Suzuki Motor Co today said its subsidiary Maruti Suzuki will invest 1.8 billion dollars on R&D, marketing and capacity expansion while announcing a top management rejig.

"We have expanded our production capacity at Manesar. Hereafter, Maruti Suzuki will have to invest in sales and research and development. Therefore, the focus will shift on R&D and marketing," Suzuki Motor Co Chairman Osamu Suzuki told reporters here.

He said with many of the major international manufacturers increasing their share in India, MSIL could not afford to be working on at the current pace.

"There has to be a strong link between SMC and MSIL in terms of product pipeline and R&D and we should be able to develop more and more products in India," Suzuki added.

He said overall Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) will invest 1.7-1.8 billion dollars, which would be equally distributed on setting up a R&D facility and marketing, and expanding the capacity of its Manesar plant where it manufactures new models like Swift and the SX4.

"We have already sought 500 acres of land from the Haryana government for setting up of the R&D facility," he added.

The R&D facility in India will be the second largest facility for SMC after Japan and it will be used to develop products not only for the India but also for Suzuki`s global markets.

MSIL also announced a top management rejig with its current Managing Director Jagdish Khattar to retire on December 18 and S Nakanishi, the incumbent Joint Managing Director succeeding Khattar, while RC Bhargava will take over as the chairman.

"We have to think of promoting more Indians in higher positions in core areas of administration, marketing, production and engineering hereafter," Suzuki said.

[ab041937]

Nissan signs pact to build presence in India
Ashling O’Connor in Bombay
The Times, UK
October 30, 2007

Nissan signed a $500 million (£243 million) joint venture with Ashok Leyland yesterday to produce light commercial vehicles in India. Nissan, Japan’s third-largest carmaker, said that separate talks with Bajaj Auto to develop an ultra-low-cost car were progressing “in a favourable direction”.

Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of Nissan, is in India this week for a concerted push into one of the world’s fastest growing car and truck markets, which the company entered this year through a £495 million agreement with Renault and Mahindra & Mahindra of India to make 400,000 vehicles in Madras from 2009. Toyota and Honda, Nissan’s rivals, have a ten-year headstart.

The deal with Ashok Leyland, owned by the Hinduja Group, covers three ventures in manufacturing, engine and components assembly and technology and expands Nissan’s manufacturing base in India. It is the Japanese company’s second attempt at the light truck market in India after a failed joint venture in the 1980s.

The vehicle manufacturing company will be 51 per cent owned by Ashok Leyland, India’s second-biggest bus and truck maker, and 49 per cent by Nissan. Production will start in 2010, with volume forecast to grow beyond 100,000 units a year in the medium term.

The joint venture will make the new generation Nissan Atlas F24 light duty truck and other 2.5 tonne to 8 tonne vehicles for the Indian and export market. Nissan, which last year reported its first fall in operating profits for six years, is seeking a greater presence in India to take advantage of low labour costs and an economy growing at about 9 per cent a year.

Mr Ghosn, who has since turned round Nissan’s fortunes with interim operating profits rising 5.3 per cent to $3.1 billion, plans to establish India as a manufacturing hub. He said: “The light commercial vehicle business is one of Nissan’s most important global growth engines.”

Under the deal, Nissan and Ashok Leyland will use each other’s dealer networks in an increasingly competitive market being eyed by Daimler and Scania. It is Ashok Leyland’s first foray into the light truck market as it attempts to close the gap with Tata Motors, India’s biggest commercial vehicle maker.

“We wanted to be in all ranges,” Gopichand P Hinduja, Hinduja group president, said. “With infrastructure being developed, the future is heavy duty [vehicles] but that will take much longer. Now, light trucks are more convenient for the cities. It is the highest volume market.”

Sales of commercial vehicles in India have risen by more than 20 per cent a year in the past three years to about 500,000 units, on the back of better infrastructure and stricter safety and emission rules.

Nissan, together with its partner Renault, is in talks with Bajaj, India’s number two motorbike maker, about building a $3,000 car aimed at converting millions of Indians from two wheels to four.

[CJ]

[Euromast]

Is this for Indian market or only for export?

I think its for export and will not be produced in India even?

[sammyk]

Originally Posted by Euromast

Is this for Indian market or only for export?

I think its for export and will not be produced in India even?

Well in order to "export" it from India it would have to be built there right?

Anyhow, I believe it is to be built in Argentina in cooperation with Fiat.

[kronik]

nice looking pick-up, though it lacks refinement.

[Euromast]

Originally Posted by sammyk

Well in order to "export" it from India it would have to be built there right?

Anyhow, I believe it is to be built in Argentina in cooperation with Fiat.

yea right . TATA only produce shit kind of commercial vehicles for India.

[Euromast]

Nissan, Renault, Bajaj hold talks in Pune.

The ultra-low-cost small car being jointly developed by Bajaj, Renault and Nissan is expected to hit the roads by 2010.

Renault and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, who was on a visit to Bajaj Auto in Pune today, said he hoped that the prototype of the car, which is expected to cost $3,000 (Rs 1.17 lakh) and will compete with Tata Motors’ Rs 1 lakh car due next year, would be completed by the end of this year.

Bajaj Auto has set up seven working groups for different aspects of the car.

In a press statement Ghosn said, “It’s much easier to upgrade a three-wheeler than downgrade a car. The car will be an upgrade from a conventional three-wheeler.”

Rajiv Bajaj, managing director, Bajaj Auto, said, “To Renault and Nissan’s world of formidable automotive experience, Bajaj aspires to add value through product innovation and competitive operations. Such an alliance would be promisingly placed to develop a unique platform of ‘lite’ vehicles for an increasingly vulnerable world.”

Later Bajaj told a select group of reporters that “a separate engine and transmission team is not required for this. Our R&D team is fully capable of developing a higher capacity engine”. The R&D facility will also develop the car’s body, chassis and dynamics.

Now the question is where will they put plant for small car production? Pune or Chennai?

[Euromast]

Engineers from India design advanced jet engines, write some of the world's most sophisticated software, and run massive global computer networks. But can they make a pickup truck that will sell in America's heartland?

Mahindra & Mahindra, a conglomerate based in Mumbai, intends to find out. In spring, 2009, the company plans to launch two- and four-door pickups and a sport-utility vehicle in the U.S. This trio of diesel-powered trucks will compete against a big pack of aggressively promoted offerings from General Motors (GM ), Ford (F ), Dodge, Nissan (NSANY ), and Toyota (TM ). All of these manufacturers have been warring over a domestic pickup market that is shrinking and a SUV market that's overcrowded.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...ge_top+stories
Slide Show: Mahindra -- An American "Household Name?"

[cncity]

DETROIT -
Auto supplier American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. said Tuesday it has formed a joint venture with India's Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The new company, AAM Sona Axle Private Ltd., will be based in Pune, India, and will manufacture and sell light truck, car and SUV axle assemblies for the Indian market.

The joint venture will give American Axle a manufacturing and operations presence in India, the company said

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/...ap4278745.html

[Euromast]

Tokyo - A proposed $3,000 car that Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co are working on with India's Bajaj Auto Ltd could come in the three brands' badges, Carlos Ghosn, head of the Franco-Japanese alliance, said
There are three partners, so you can imagine having three different skins," Ghosn told Reuters in an interview in Tokyo on Friday.

Renault and Nissan have been in discussions with Bajaj, India's second-largest motorcycle maker, over the feasibility of building an ultra-low-cost car to rival Tata Motors' $2,500 "people's car" for Indians who can only afford a two-wheeler.

Ghosn said he would meet Bajaj's management and the project team on Monday in Pune, near Mumbai, to go over the blueprint.

"I've already seen the drawings. We know the kind of engine, transmission, material and size - these things have already been established," he said. No prototype has been built yet.

"We are in a kind of pre-engineering, pre-conception period, but it's going to move very fast after that," he said, repeating that he hoped for a 2010 launch so as not to fall too far behind Tata's roll-out next year.

Ghosn said that using a new brand altogether was also a possibility, but stressed that one of the vehicle's aims was to conquer new customers for future purchases of Nissan and Renault car

http://in.ibtimes.com/articles/20071...motorcycle.htm