Monday, 16 November 2015

Mahindra Reva flags off India’s first electric vehicle expedition across the length of the country


  • The Goodness Drive will journeyfrom Kashmir to Kanyakumari
  • Goodness Drive flags off from Srinagar with three all-electric, zero emission Mahindra e2os
  • To traverse over 5,000km across 52 locations in a month
Srinagar, November 16, 2015: Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd., a part of the USD 16.9 billion Mahindra Group, today flagged off India’s first all-electric car expedition christened 'Mahindra RevaGoodness Drive – Kashmir to Kanyakumari'. The ‘Mahindra Reva Goodness Drive – Kashmir to Kanyakumari’ will seethree expedition ready, all-electric, zero emission Mahindra e2os being driven to Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu), covering the entire length of the country in a month. The drive was flagged off by Arvind Mathew, Chief Executive Officer, Mahindra Reva, in the presence of Aravinda De Silva, Former International Cricketer from Sri Lanka.
Pitched as a drive for a better tomorrow, the e2o convoy will pass through 52 locations within the country and traverse a distance of over 5,000 kilometers. The idea for the ‘Goodness Drive – Kashmir to Kanyakumari’ is to demonstrate the advantages of electric vehicles, thereby helping in the manifestation of a clean and green eco-system. The rally will also propagate a zero emission, zero fuel drive in addition to showcasing the full potential of a connected car and dispel any myths related to range anxiety. It is the right opportunity for us to demonstrate the car’s ability to traverse toughand difficult terrain, ability to accelerate instantly, shortest turning radius of the carand convenience of clutch free driving.
Speaking at the flag off, Arvind Mathew, Chief Executive Officer, Mahindra Reva said,“Mahindra e2o is the Mahindra Group’s endeavor to offer its customers a clean, smart and economical personal mobility solution and thus redefine sustainable urbanization.To create awareness of the benefits of electric mobility through Mahindra e2o, we are pleased to flag off the Goodness Drive. As a pioneer of electric vehicles and integrated mobility solutions in India, it is our effort to make EVs more accessible in order to build a cleaner tomorrow. By traversing this vast distance, our e2o’s will look to effectively dispel the range anxiety amongst customers and will demonstrate the cars ability to handle difficult terrain. I would like to acknowledge the presence of Aravinda today who other than being an acclaimed cricket star, is also part of the Mahindra family from Sri Lanka”.
The Mahindra e2o is a manifestation of Mahindra’s vision of the ‘Future of Mobility’ which encompasses the '5Cs' framework of Clean, Convenient, Connected, Clever and Cost Effective vehicle technology. The Mahindrae2ois an Electric Vehicle (EV) designed as a mobility solution for a sustainable zero-emissions society and gains high relevance in the face of issues like environmental degradation, pollution related health concerns, climate change, energy security and rising oil prices, all of which plague communities globally. The e2o is manufactured in Mahindra Reva’s state-of-the-art IGBC platinum certified plant in Bangalore. The vehicle can be purchased from authorized dealers oralternatively, a test drive can be booked after talking to the contact center executives.
India’s first all-electric car expedition, Mahindra Reva Goodness Drive can be tracked on social media and through hashtags:
Website: theelectricexpedition.com
Facebook: facebook.com/MahindraReva

Sunday, 15 November 2015

Tata Motors Group global wholesales at 92,949 in October 2015

The Tata Motors Group global wholesales in October 2015, including Jaguar Land Rover, were at 92,949 nos., higher by 14%, over October 2014. Cumulative wholesales for this fiscal were at 5,71,850 nos., higher by 5% over the last fiscal. 
Global wholesales of all Tata Motors’ commercial vehicles and Tata Daewoo range in October 2015 were 31,320 nos., lower by 2%, compared to October 2014. Cumulative commercial vehicles wholesales for this fiscal at 2,11,944 nos., lower by 2% over last fiscal.   
Global wholesales of all passenger vehicles in October 2015 were at 61,629 nos., higher by 24%, compared to October 2014. Cumulative passenger vehicles wholesales for this fiscal at 3,59,906 nos., higher by 10%, over the last fiscal. 
Global wholesales of Tata Motors’ passenger vehicles in October 2015 were at 13,161 nos., lower by 1%, over October 2014. Cumulative wholesales for the fiscal were at 80,241 nos., higher by 20%, compared to last fiscal. 
Global wholesales for Jaguar Land Rover were 48,468 vehicles (Includes CJLR* wholesales). Jaguar wholesales for the month were 9,171 vehicles and cumulative wholesales were 52,060 vehicles, while Land Rover wholesales for the month were 39,297 vehicles and cumulative wholesales were 2,27,605 vehicles. Cumulative wholesales for Jaguar Land Rover for the fiscal were 2,79,665 vehicles.
*CJLR – It is a JV between JLR and Chery Automobiles and is an unconsolidated subsidiary for JLR
About Tata Motors

Tata Motors Limited is India’s largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues of INR 2,62,796 crores (USD 42.04 billion) in 2014-15. Through subsidiaries and associate companies, Tata Motors has operations in the UK, South Korea, Thailand, South Africa and Indonesia. Among them is Jaguar Land Rover, the business comprising the two iconic British brands. It also has an industrial joint venture with Fiat in India.  With over 8 million Tata vehicles plying in India, Tata Motors is the country’s market leader in commercial vehicles and among the top in passenger vehicles. Tata cars, buses and trucks are being marketed in several countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia, South America, Australia, CIS and Russia.

Monday, 9 November 2015

Automotive Updates - 9th November 2015

  • The board of General Motors, the biggest US carmaker, is in India this week to review the progress of its revival plan in the country. The visit by CEO Mary Barra this is her third in the last 15 months at the head of a 20-member group reflects the importance of India as an auto market for GM, given that it's expected to become the third largest in the world by the end of this decade.The team, which includes international business head Stefan Jacoby, met key stakeholders including government officials, vendors and dealers to discuss its plans. Barra is keen to lift the local unit's performance. (ETauto)
  • Earlier this year, Mahindra launched the TUV300 in India. The vehicle has been selling in good numbers. Our sales reports show, that In the two months that the vehicle has been in the market, the company has shipped close to 9,000 vehicles out of its plant. What is interesting here is that a large number of these bookings are for the AMT version.Media reports claim that Mahindra has received 12,000 bookings for TUV300. Almost 50% of them are for the AMT version. The popularity of the transmission technology has been rising since its introduction in India in 2014.(teambhp)
  • An exceptional loss because of the recent blasts at Tianjin Port weighed on the UK-based luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover’s second quarter performance and resulted in a consolidated net loss of Rs 429.76 crore for parent Tata Motors in the quarter. The automaker recognised a loss of 245 million pounds for about 5,800 vehicles involved in the Tianjin Port explosion. Post the exceptional charge, loss before and after tax stood at 157 million pounds and 92 million pounds, respectively (against profit before and after tax of 609 million pounds and 450 million pounds, respectively in the corresponding quarter last year). - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/tata-motors-reports-loss-q2-jlr-hit-tianjin-blasts-9656#sthash.aCTriOHk.dpuf
  • British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has launched a secret project to cut costs of 4.5 billion pounds ($6.8 billion) and build 1 million cars per year by the end of the decade, the Sunday Times reported.The project, called Leap 4.5, will entail building more models on similar core skeletons, overhauling the carmaker's supply chains and slowing down or halting the recruitment process, although there are no plans for redundancies, the paper reported citing people familiar with the matter.(businesstoday)
  • Hyderabad Angels and Hiro Mashita - led, Singapore-based, early-stage investment firm M&S Partners have invested an undisclosed amount in Iradium Automobiles, which owns and operates online automobile parts and services marketplace SparesHub.com.While the exact terms of the transaction were not disclosed, Hyderabad Angels member investors, Prasad Vanga and PS Sreekanth, the investment director of the city-based angel investor network, will join the board as director and observer respectively.(ETauto)
  • Niche bike maker Royal Enfield is looking to expand its product line up by introducing two new models by 2017. The company, which sells various popular models like Bullet, Classic, Thunderbird and Continental GT, is developing two engine platforms. The two new products would be based on the new engine architecture. "The first model based on the new engine platform will be out next year. Another model will follow in 2017," Eicher Motors Managing Director and CEO Siddhartha Lal said.(cartrade)



Sunday, 8 November 2015

Automotive Updates- 7th and 8th November

  • Japanese carmakerNissan is preparing for a potential legal dispute with joint venture partner Ashok Leyland if parleys to sort out differences over platform-sharing, design and manufacturing fail, according to sources and internal communication accessed by ET.Legal counsellors from Nissan Motor Co, Japan have instructed top executives of Nissan Motor India to preserve documents relating to the loss-making joint venture and avoid oral or email conversations with executives of Ashok Leyland, the country's second-largest maker of trucks and buses. (ETauto)
  • Even as the Hyundai India is working towards increasing the production of Creta to plug the demand supply gap in the domestic market, initial phase of exports has been going for going on since September 2015. According to the data on Zauba, the India made Hyundai Creta has been exported to 44 countries in limited numbers.Once the domestic supply stabilizes, we would see a steady increase in the crossover’s export volumes. As of now, the Creta’s international markets include Peru, Bolivia, Egypt, Greece, Oman, UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Trinidad & Tobago, Vietnam, Morocco, Chile, Jordan, Fiji, Ghana, St. Maarten, Aruba, South Africa, Samoa, Seychelles, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Panama, French Polynesia, Mauritius, Curacao, Guatemala, Barbados, Djibouti, Belgium, Sudan, Lebanon, Madagascar, Bahrain, St. Lucia and Nepal. Interestingly, Hyundai has also shipped several units of the crossover the US, and 2 units to Netherlands via air cargo.(rushlane)
  • Honda is recalling more than 25,000 cars in the US to replace the rear grab rail brackets, which it says could interfere with the deployment of a side curtain airbag.The car maker says no such instances have been reported and that it discovered the faulty design during internal testing.(livemint)
  • Maruti Suzuki India's entry level car Alto has become the best ever selling model in India with a cumulative total of more than 29 lakh units sold over a period of 15 years, overtaking its now phased-out M800. Launched in September 2000, the model touched cumulative sales of 29,19,819 units in October, 2015. This was even better than what M800 - the once bread and butter model of the company - had achieved. Commenting on the milestone, Maruti Suzuki Executive Director (Marketing and Sales) R S Kalsi said, "Over the years, Alto has brought happiness to 29 lakh families to become India's largest selling single brand car.(cartrade)
  •  Maruti Suzuki, India's largest manufacturer by volume, today launched the AMT (Automated manual transmission) version of its tall-boy model Wagon R and Stingray. The auto gear shift transmission will be available in VXi variants of both models. While the Wagon R with AMT has been priced at Rs 4.76 lakh ex-showroom Delhi, the AMT model of Stingray will cost Rs 4.98 lakh. The company has kept the price of LXi, VXi and LXI CNG variants of WagonR and Stingray unchanged.(ETauto)
  • An exceptional loss because of the recent blasts at Tianjin Port weighed on the UK-based luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover’s second quarter performance and resulted in a consolidated net loss of Rs 429.76 crore for parent Tata Motors in the quarter. The automaker recognised a loss of 245 million pounds for about 5,800 vehicles involved in the Tianjin Port explosion. Post the exceptional charge, loss before and after tax stood at 157 million pounds and 92 million pounds, respectively (against profit before and after tax of 609 million pounds and 450 million pounds, respectively in the corresponding quarter last year). - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/tata-motors-reports-loss-q2-jlr-hit-tianjin-blasts-9656#sthash.2Gwwg0Ou.dpuf
  • Commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland has decided to write-off Rs 157 crore in its accounts as diminution in the value of investment made in its earth-moving equipment joint venture with John Deere, said a senior company official on Thursday.Speaking to reporters here, chief financial officer Gopal Mahadevan said a decision was taken to write-off the sum as the joint venture company - Ashok Leyland John Deere Construction Equipment Company making backhoe loader - was not performing well. (ETauto)



WagonR now offered with Auto Gear Shift, dual airbags and ABS

India’s leading passenger vehicle maker, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) today announced that it will offer the acclaimed Auto Gear Shift (AGS) technology in WagonR and Stingray.

The auto gear shift transmission will be available in VXi variants of both models.
In addition, driver and co-driver airbags and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) will be offered as an option across all variants, including base variants, of WagonR and Stingray.
Introducing the new variants, Mr R S Kalsi, Executive Director Marketing & Sales, MSIL said, “WagonR is one of the strongest brands in the Indian car market and it has been one of the top five selling cars in the country. WagonR will be the third brand from our portfolio to get the acclaimed Auto Gear Shift technology. By introducing the AGS in a popular car like WagonR, we aim to democratize the AGS technology so that more customers can enjoy the convenience of automatic gear shift without compromising on fuel efficiency and at an attractive price.”

“The option of dual airbags and anti-lock braking further strengthens the core proposition of WagonR and Stingray as ‘Smart’ cars,” he added.
Auto Gear shift is currently offered in Celerio and Alto K10.


Auto Gear Shift Technology
Auto Gear Shift also known as Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) is equipped with an Intelligent Shift Control Actuator that automatically performs clutch and shift operations. Auto Gear Shift combines the actuator and controller and directly mounts them in the transmission in order to unify the working components. This permits synchronized control over the clutch and engine for smoother gear changes. The shifting time is also shortened as compared to conventional automatic transmissions.
Mated with the 1-litre K-next engine, the new generation transmission with optimized ECU calibration helps WagonR and Stingray deliver high fuel efficiency. The AGS variants of both these models offer a mileage of 20.51* km/l, same as the manual transmission.

Click http://bit.ly/1NIH9CM to view working of AGS.

Brand WagonR
Since its launch in 2000, WagonR has continued to rule the hearts of smart and practical customers. Nearly 16.95 lakh units of WagonR have been sold till date. WagonR is available in petrol and CNG fuel options. The introduction of Stingray in 2013-14 added excitement to the WagonR portfolio. Now with the introduction of AGS and more safety features, WagonR is set to create new standards in the hatchback segment in India.

WagonR
Variant
Price INR
Variant
Price INR
VXi AMT
476935
VXi AMT (O)
509609
LXi (O)
439212
VXi (O)
464609

Stingray
Variant
Price INR
Variant
Price INR
VXi AMT
498594
VXi AMT (O)
531238
LXi (O)
458219
VXi (O)
486238

Price of LXi, VXi and LXI CNG variants of WagonR and Stingray remain unchanged
*Fuel efficiency as per test results of rule 115 of CMVR, 1989

Friday, 6 November 2015

Automotive Updates - 5th and 6th November 2015

  • Eicher Motors owned Royal Enfield will be setting up its third plant in Vallam Vadagal near Oragadam, to double its total motorcycle production capacity to 9,00,000 by 2018 from current 4.5 lakh, said Siddhartha Lal, MD & CEO, Eicher Motor.This expansion will be a part of the new capital expenditure that the company will announce in the next quarter.(Etauto)
  • Shares in Japan’s Takata Corp slumped by a quarter on Thursday as more auto-makers considered no longer using its air bag inflators, casting further doubt on the future of the parts supplier at the centre of a global recall crisis.A day after Takata’s biggest customer, Honda Motor Co , said it would stop fitting its cars with the company’s air bag inflators, Mazda Motor Corp said it would drop Takata inflators containing ammonium nitrate from its new cars.apanese automakers Mitsubishi Motors Corp and Subaru-maker Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd also said they were thinking about switching away from Takata’s inflators.(livemint)
  • Ford India has rolled out millionth vehicle and engine from its Chennai plant, a milestone for the facility that kick-started the company’s growth journey in the Indian market in 1999. Ford EcoSport was the millionth vehicle to roll off the Chennai assembly line, Ford India said in a statement. “Chennai is from where we started our Make in India journey,” Executive Director, Manufacturing Ford Chennai Vehicle Assembly and Engine Plant, Balasundaram Radhakrishnan said.(cartrade)
  • Tata is set to launch the replacement of the ageing Indica and Indigo CS soon. The carmaker has begun teasing the model via an online video. The new siblings, codenamed ‘Kite 4’ for the hatchback and ‘Kite 5’ for the compact sedan, will share their platform and certain components with the Indica though in essence the two will be completely new cars. Both Kite body styles will use the original Indica’s X0 platform as a base, but apart from a few ‘hard points’ like the pedal box, engine firewall and wheelbase, there will be no carryover parts. The X0 platform itself will be greatly beefed up to improve torsional rigidity, refinement and dynamics.  - See more at: http://www.autocarpro.in/news-national/tata-set-launch-kite-hatchback-compact-sedan-soon-9645#sthash.cdMJFA1p.dpuf
  • Moody's has downgraded Volkswagen's debt due to the possible financial impact of the company's car emissions scandal.Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday it had cut the rating on VW's long-term unsecured debt, short-term debtknown as commercial paper, and subordinated notes issued by its finance arm and guaranteed by the company.(businesstodY)
  • Chennai-based truckmaker Ashok Leyland has announced that the board has decided to rope in former Nissan boss Andrew C Palmer as an Additional Director under the Independent category. The move is subject to approval of shareholders at a general meeting.Currently, Palmer is the CEO of British luxury car brand Aston Martin.Interestingly, Palmer was one of the key architects of the joint venture Nissan struck with Ashok Leyland in May 2008. He was then a Corporate Vice-President taking care of the Light Commercial Vehicles business unit for Nissan Motor Company, Japan. (Etauto)
  • As part of efforts to improve customer service, Ford India plans to share information related to service charges of a vehicle on its website. The company is introducing 'Ford Service Promise' by which customers could know the exact service charge of a vehicle, before walking into dealers, a top company official said today. "The information will be on the company's website within the next month or so and by providing details about the vehicle, like age of the vehicle, km run, the cost of the service can be ascertained through all customer touch points," Ford Customer Service Operations vice president N Prabhu told reporters here.(cartrade)



Thursday, 5 November 2015

Mahindra's Auto Sector sells 51383 units during October 2015, registers a 20% growth

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M Ltd.), India’s leading SUV manufacturer, today announced its auto sales numbers which stood at 51383 units during October 2015 as against 42780 units during October 2014, representing a growth of 20%.
The Passenger Vehicles segment (which includes UVs, Cars and Vans) sold 24060 units in October 2015 as against 20255 units during October 2014, registering a growth of 19%. The company’s domestic sales stood at 48815 units during October 2015 as against 40278 units during October 2014, a growth of 21%. In October 2015, the Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles segment sold 581 units, registering a growth of 169%.


Exports for October 2015 stood at 2568 units, representing a growth of 3% for October 2015 and a growth of 32% for YTD October 2015.
Speaking on the auto sales performance for October 2015, Pravin Shah, President & Chief Executive (Automotive), M&M Ltd. said, “The advent of the festive season has provided the much needed fillip for the auto industry especially on the back of the new launches of most manufacturers which has received an encouraging response. With the drop in interest rates and the fuel prices remaining benign, we expect the industry to maintain a good growth momentum going forward. At Mahindra we are happy with our performance during October 2015, which has witnessed a positive growth of 20% backed by excellent response garnered from the recently launched TUV300 as well as other brands such as XUV500, Scorpio, Bolero and pickups. We are quite hopeful of this positive growth momentum continuing for the rest of the year.”
Sales Summary October 2015

October
YTD October
F16
F15
% Change
F16
F15
% Change
Passenger Vehicles
24060
20255
19%
125757
130942
-4%
Utility Vehicles
22664
19029
19%
117246
119115
-2%
Cars + Vans
1396
1226
14%
8511
11827
-28%
Commercial Vehicles
18756
14345
31%
93830
89841
4%
LCV < 3.5T
17770
13811
29%
87164
84955
3%
LCV > 3.5T
405
318
27%
3912
3164
24%
MHCV
581
216
169%
2754
1722
60%
3W
5999
5678
6%
33248
34157
-3%
Total Domestic Sales
48815
40278
21%
252835
254940
-1%
Total Exports
2568
2502
3%
21249
16120
32%
Total Sales (Domestic + Export)
51383
42780
20%
274084
271060
1%