Page 35 - Auto Industry

Maruti Suzuki's WagonR crosses 3 million sales milestone in 2 decades

Maruti Suzuki India on Tuesday said its hatchback WagonR has crossed 30 lakh milestone in over two decades. The model, which was introduced in the market in 1999, achieved 5 lakh sales mark in 2008; 20 lakh in 2017; 25 lakh in 2021 and 30 lakh milestone in 2023. "WagonR's continued success with over 3 million cumulative sales is a testament to its undisputed reign as one of the most iconic Indian hatchbacks," Maruti Suzuki India Senior Executive Officer (Marketing & Sales) Shashank Srivastava said in a statement. Since its launch, WagonR has constantly evolved and risen to the pulse of changing customer preferences, he added. The model has the highest percentage of repeat buyers as 24 per cent of its customers prefer to upgrade to a new WagonR, Srivastava said.

Tesla recalls 1.1 million electric cars from China over braking defect

Some 1.1 million electric cars that Tesla made at its Shanghai factory or imported into China between January 2019 and April this year will need to be fixed

Automotive firm Stellantis India names Aditya Jairaj as Deputy MD

Global automotive group Stellantis on Monday said it has appointed Aditya Jairaj as the Deputy Managing Director with effect from May 4. Jairaj will also lead the Jeep brand's operations in the country. Stellantis India CEO & Managing Director Roland Bouchara said Jairaj brings a proven track record of value creation. "The India strategy is a key pillar for the group as an important element of localisation efforts in the region and transforming the mobility landscape in India through our two-pronged brand approach," he added. Jairaj has more than 17 years of experience in the automotive sector. Before joining Stellantis, he served as the Head, EV Strategy and Transformation, for Nissan.

Commercial vehicles sales of Indian automakers slump by 50% MoM in April

India's wholesale commercial and passenger vehicle sales growth moderated in April, following a boost from the festive season

FAME-II 'defaulters': Hero Electric, Okinawa to get subsidy recovery shock

Notices to Ola Electric, Ather, TVS, Vida for 'breaching' ex-factory price cap

Indian car market to see new variants, facelifts, all-new vehicles soon

Arguably, the most-awaited, Maruti is expected to launch its all-new, five-door Jimny in May

Automaker Stellantis to offer buyouts amid electric vehicle transition

Another automaker is trying to cut its workforce to trim expenses and stay competitive as the industry makes the long and costly transition to electric vehicles. Stellantis on Wednesday said it's offering buyouts to groups of white-collar and unionized employees in the U.S., as well as hourly workers in Canada. The cuts are in response to today's increasingly competitive global market conditions and the necessary shift to electrification, the company said in a prepared statement. Stellantis said it's looking to reduce its hourly workforce by about 3,500, but wouldn't say how many salaried employees it's targeting. The company has about 56,000 workers in the U.S., and about 33,000 of them could get the offers. Of those, 31,000 are blue-collar workers and 2,500 salaried employees. Another 8,000 union workers in Canada also will get offers, the company said. Stellantis, formed in the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA Groupe, says in a statement that it's reviewing its North .

Bajaj Auto Q4 results: Revenue up 12%; PAT dips 2% to Rs 1,433 crore

'Export demand sluggishness may have bottomed out'

Maruti upgrades entire model range to conform to stricter emission norms

Maruti Suzuki India on Tuesday said it has upgraded its entire range of vehicles to meet the stricter emission norms under the BSVI regime. All company hatchbacks, sedans, MPVs, SUVs and commercial vehicles are now compliant with the new BSVI Phase-II real driving emissions (RDE) regulations, alongside being compatible with E20 fuel as well, the auto major said in a statement. The new RDE compliant Maruti Suzuki cars feature an enhanced on-board diagnostics (OBD) system to monitor emission control systems of the car in real-time and will notify drivers in case of any malfunction, it added. The products now also come equipped with an electronic stability control (ESC) system, MSI said. "At Maruti Suzuki, we are always finding new and innovative ways to reduce emissions from our vehicles..The Government's drive to incorporate the new BS6 Phase II norms will go a long way in controlling emissions from vehicles over their entire lifespan," Maruti Suzuki India Chief Technical Officer C

Results preview: Ebitda margins of auto cos to take the wheel in Q4, again

Analysts indicate that in future, gross margins might come under pressure

Passenger vehicle sales up 26.7% in FY23 as chip shortages ease: SIAM

Buying ahead of implementation of new fuel emission norms, and strong demand during the festival season also drove sales towards the end of the year

Stepping on the gas: CNG fuel of choice in green mobility quest

Though EVs have fast gained traction; CNG vehicle sales are up 82% in 5 years

Govt working to make India a global automobile manufacturing hub: Gadkari

The government is working towards making India a global automobile manufacturing hub and the domestic industry is expected to be worth Rs 15 lakh crore in the near term, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. Virtually inaugurating Tata Motor's vehicle scrapping facility in Jaipur, Gadkari said the automobile sector currently contributes to 7.1 per cent of the nation's GDP with the industry size at around Rs 7.8 lakh crore. "The auto sector gives direct and indirect employment to around 4 crore people and this number is expected to grow to 5 crore by 2025. I am working with a target to make India number one global automobile manufacturing hub and to take its size to Rs 15 lakh crore in the near future," he noted. Gadkari noted that the scrappage policy enables removal of older and unfit vehicles and introduction of new lesser polluting vehicles in a phased manner. "It is estimated that the automotive demand generated by the scrapping policy will lead to additional GST revenu

Bajaj Auto total vehicle sales fall 21% to 285,995 units in January

Bajaj Auto Ltd total vehicle sales fell 21 per cent at 2,85,995 units in January. The company's vehicle sales stood at 3,63,443 units in the year-ago period. Total domestic sales rose 16 per cent to 1,73,270 units in the previous month as against 1,49,656 units in January 2022. Exports declined 47 per cent year-on-year at 1,12,725 units, according to a company statement. Bajaj Auto had shipped out a total of 2,13,787 vehicles to various overseas markets in January 2022. Total two-wheeler sales dropped 25 per cent at 2,41,107 units in January 2023 compared to 3,23,430 vehicles sold in the same month previous year, with domestic sales rose 4 per cent at 1,40,428 units and exports declining a whopping 46 per cent at 1,00,679 during the period under review over 2022, as per the statement.

MG Motor India reports 4% fall in vehicle sales at 4,114 units in January

MG Motor India on Wednesday reported a 4 per cent fall in vehicle sales at 4,114 units in January over the same month last year. The company had retailed 4,306 vehicles in January 2022, MG Motor India said in a statement. The carmaker said production is regaining momentum with some improvement in the supply chain. However, select variants of its vehicles still remain impacted, MG Motor India added.

Domestic auto industry scaling up efforts to make electric parts locally

The domestic automobile industry is scaling up efforts to enhance localisation of electronic components in order to curtail dependence on other countries, especially China, as per auto component industry body President Sunjay Kapur. In an interaction with PTI, Kapur noted that the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and the Ministry of Heavy Industries are working together to achieve the target of localisation especially in electronics. He noted that there lies a great opportunity for the auto component industry with the big push towards electrification. With growth in consumption of electric vehicles, the industry is witnessing fast transformation of the auto components sector to be an integral part of the electric vehicle manufacturing supply chain. The component industry is making steady investments and acquiring technology companies. "We will have to keep localising...we as an industry are very fortu

Auto sector must enhance safety features to reduce road accidents: Gadkari

He said that many people in the age group of 18-34 young people are losing their lives due to road accidents

India aims to double auto industry size to Rs 15 trn by 2024 end: Gadkari

India is aiming to double the size of its automobile industry to Rs 15 lakh crore by the end of 2024, making it one of the world's top countries in this sector, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. Gadkari also said that his ministry will carry out project works worth Rs 5 lakh crore next year, of which Rs 2 lakh crore will come from the government and the rest will be raised from the capital market. "Currently our automobile industry is Rs 7.5 lakh crore and we want to take it to Rs 15 lakh crore by the end of 2024, making it one of the largest automakers in the world, creating huge job opportunities," Gadkari said at a virtual session of Merchants' Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He said the majority of automobiles in the country will run on alternative fuels by 2030. "We are also working on developing alternative, clean and green fuels like bio-ethanol, bio-CNG, bio-LNG and green hydrogen," he said, adding that green hydrogen is the fuel

Castrol to pick up 7.09% stake in TVS family's Ki Mobility for Rs 488 cr

With this deal, which is Castrol's largest all-cash transaction, the firm aims to expand its presence in service and maintenance of ICE vehicles and EVs

Jeep India working on next set of portfolio for domestic market

The US marquee on Thursday launched the 2022 edition of Grand Cherokee, priced at Rs 77.50 lakh in the Indian market