Page 7 - Automakers

What's at stake as 13,000 workers go on strike at major US auto makers

About 13,000 auto workers have walked off the job at three targeted factories after their union leaders couldn't reach a deal with Detroit's automakers. The United Auto Workers union is seeking big raises and better benefits from General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. They want to get back concessions that the workers made years ago, when the companies were in financial trouble. A small percentage of the union's 146,000 members walked off the job at a GM assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri; a Ford factory in Wayne, Michigan, near Detroit; and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio, at 11.59 pm Eastern time on Thursday. Shawn Fain, the combative president of the UAW, says the targeted strikes will give the union leverage in contract talks and keep the auto companies guessing about its next move. It could also make the union's USD 825 million strike fund last much longer. Both sides began exchanging wage and benefit proposals last week. Though some incremental progress appears to

United Auto Workers union go on historic strike on 'Big Three' firms

The walkouts at the Detroit Three will halt production of the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler and Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck, along with other popular models

Demand, strong SUV off-take propel domestic PV sales to record high in Aug

Domestic passenger vehicle sales hit a record in August led by highest-ever monthly dispatches from Maruti Suzuki on the back of festive demand and the continued strong offtake of SUVs. Hyundai Motor India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Toyota Kirloskar Motor also reported strong dispatches to dealers last month. Tata Motors, however, saw a dip in domestic passenger vehicle sales in August. "The month of August was a very good month for the industry. Passenger vehicle sales in August stood at 3,60,897 units. This is the highest ever monthly sales in any month in any year in the industry," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Senior Executive Officer (Marketing & Sales) Shashank Srivastava said. The previous highest for the industry was 3,55,400 units reported in September 2022, he added. The industry wholesales last month grew by 9.7 per cent to 3,60,897 units as compared with 3,26,980 units in August 2022, Srivastava said. In the April-August period, the industry sales crossed the 17 lakh ...

Indian automakers post rise in August sales ahead of festive season

In the passenger vehicles (PV) category, sales for Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra and Mahindra grew 16.4% and 25%, respectively, for the month compared to a year earlier

As Indian mkt matures, global automakers aim to make India an export hub

Global automakers are looking to turn India into an export hub, as people are shifting from local demand to pricier vehicles and that may spur more 'India-first' models

Arnab Roy to be Maruti Suzuki's new CFO from January 1, Ajay Seth to retire

Ajay Seth, current CFO of the company, will step down from his post on December 31 on account of superannuation

Bullish on green mobility, Tata Motors unveils new identity for EV biz

Tata Passenger Electric Mobility on Tuesday unveiled a new brand identity as it gears up to introduce ten new battery electric vehicles by 2026. As the EV offering grows, spurred by surging consumer demand and a robust, thriving product lineup, customers expect a unique experience across all touchpoints, from the brand to the product and its ownership cycle, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, a unit of Tata Motors, said in a statement. TATA.ev, the new brand identity for the company's electric business, is the first step towards providing differentiated and meaningful experiences for customers in the form of a collective initiative to move towards an electric future, it added. Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Head Marketing, Sales and Service Strategy Vivek Srivatsa said the automaker is entering a new era with TATA.ev. "Our new brand identity for electric vehicles underlines our commitment to accelerate the adoption of clean energy mobility solutions," he noted. With a dominating

Honda to hike City, Amaze prices from Sept to offset impact of input costs

Honda Cars India on Tuesday said it plans to increase vehicle prices from next month in order to partially offset the impact of rising input costs. The automaker currently sells two models -- City and Amaze in the domestic market. "We have been trying to absorb accumulated cost pressures as much as possible. We will carry out a price revision on City and Amaze from September to partially offset the impact of increasing input costs," Honda Cars India Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Kunal Behl told PTI. The company is currently deciding on the quantum of the price increase, he added. Currently, price of compact sedan Amaze starts from Rs 7.05 lakh, mid-sized sedan City from Rs 11.57 lakh and City e:HEV (hybrid) from Rs 18.89 lakh (ex-showroom).

Tesla cuts prices 2nd time in 3 days, concerns of reigniting price war

The automaker announced last month that global production would drop in the third quarter due to downtime for factory upgrades, without offering specifics

Leader as challenger: What does Maruti's EV onslaught mean for Tata Motors?

"We will have at least six models and will start from the premium end, maybe with a sports utility vehicle," says R C Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India

Looking to double turnover to Rs 1.68 trn by 2030-31: Maruti Suzuki CEO

Maruti Suzuki India is looking to double its turnover to around Rs 1.68 lakh crore by 2030-31 from FY22 level in line with parent Suzuki Motor Corporation's global growth strategy, company Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said on Wednesday. The company expects India to "play a very big role" in Suzuki Motor Corporation's goal to achieve a global turnover of Rs 4.32 lakh crore in FY30-31, which would be exactly double the turnover of Rs 2.16 lakh crore achieved in FY21-22, he said. "Yes, of course" because we would like to make our volume double the size, Takeuchi said when asked if Maruti Suzuki India was also looking to double its turnover like its parent Suzuki. He said, "We will invest for production facility, we will invest for human resources so that we will be able to handle such a big volume by 2030. So that is our plan." Maruti Suzuki India had clocked net sales of Rs 83,798 crore in 2021-22. Takeuchi was speaking at the sidelines of the company's launch of premiu

Domestic automakers accelerate employment of women in shop floors

Homegrown automakers Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland and Hero MotoCorp are accelerating the drive to employ more women in shop floors as they press hard on the pedal to enhance diversity. Once outsiders but no longer, thousands of women are now rolling out from two-wheelers to popular SUVs and heavy commercial vehicles across different factories of these companies. Tata Motors has over 4,500 women working in the shop floors across six manufacturing plants, including an all-women line at its Pune facility with over 1,500 of them producing popular SUVs such as Harrier and Safari. "We are an equal opportunity employer and believe a gender-balanced workforce leads to increased productivity, better decisions, enhanced collaboration, and more innovative ideas. Our focus is on enhancing diversity, especially on the shop floor and 25 per cent of all our new recruits are women," Tata Motors Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Ravindra Kumar GP told PTI. He further said, ...

Maruti Suzuki reports 2% rise in retail sales at 159,418 units in June

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Saturday reported 2 per cent increase in total wholesales at 1,59,418 units in June. The company had dispatched 1,55,857 units to dealers in June 2022, MSI said in a statement. Last month, the company's domestic passenger vehicle sales rose 8 per cent to 1,33,027 units as against 1,22,685 units in the year-ago period, it added. Sales of mini cars, comprising Alto and S-Presso, fell marginally to 14,054 units as compared with 14,442 units in the same month last year. Similarly, sales in the compact segment, including models such as Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire, slumped 17 per cent to 64,471 units as against 77,746 cars in June 2022. Sales of mid-sized sedan Ciaz increased to 1,744 units as compared with 1,507 units in June last year. Utility vehicle sales, including Brezza, Grand Vitara and Ertiga, surged over two-fold to 43,404 units as compared with 18,860 vehicles in the year-ago month, MSI said. Exports dec

Hyundai Motor reports 5% rise in retail sales at 65,601 units in June

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) on Saturday said its total wholesales increased 5 per cent to 65,601 units in June 2023. The automaker had dispatched a total of 62,351 units to dealers in June 2022. Domestic sales rose 2 per cent to 50,001 units last month from 49,001 units in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement. Exports in June rose 17 per cent to 15,600 units as compared with 13,350 units in the same month last year, it added. "There is a positive customer traction for all our products and Verna, Creta, and Tucson have attained leadership positions in their respective segments in the first half of CY23," HMIL COO Tarun Garg noted. The company is now looking forward to introducing Exter SUV in the market, he added.

Toyota Kirloskar reports 19% rise in retail sales at 19,608 units in June

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Saturday said its wholesales increased 19 per cent to 19,608 units in June as compared with 16,512 units in the year ago period. Domestic dispatches stood at 18,237 units while overseas shipments rose to 1,371 units last month. "Ever since the launch of Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Innova Hycross, we are witnessing continued high acceptance by our customers," TKM Vice President (Sales and Strategic Marketing) Atul Sood said in a statement. These along with a consistent performance by the entire product portfolio Camry Hybrid, Fortuner, Legender, Vellfire, Glanza and the newly introduced Hilux, are enabling the company to sustain the positive performance, he added. The commencement of three shift operations at the manufacturing plant has played a vital role in enhancing operational capabilities and addressing the growing demand for the products, Sood noted.

MG Motor India reports 14% increase in retail sales at 5,125 units in June

MG Motor India on Saturday reported 14 per cent increase in retail sales at 5,125 units in June 2023 as compared to the same month last year. The company had posted a retail sales of 4,504 units in June 2022, MG Motor India said in a statement. "Supplies were disrupted in the wake of cyclone Biparjoy though customer demand should now gain momentum following the monsoon as India gears up for a long festive season," it said. In the second quarter (April-June) of 2023 , the company said its sales were at 14,682 units as against 10,519 units in the year-ago period, a growth of 40 per cent.

Ford to cut hundreds of US salaried workers to boost profit, lower costs

The automaker is cutting engineers in all three areas of its business, EVs, traditional internal combustion-engine models and commercial vehicles, said T.R. Reid, a company spokesman

Carlos Ghosn sues Nissan, connected individuals over his 2018 ouster

The arrest of Ghosn, 69, sent shockwaves through the global auto industry and unleashed turmoil within Nissan that continues to this day

Automakers to invest $10 billion for enhancing EV manufacturing capacity

The capital expenditure will be allocated towards building green-field plants for EVs, better research and investment in battery plants, and support for grid charging infrastructure

Maruti Suzuki to invest $5.5 bn by 2030 to double its capacity in India

It will invest Rs 45,000 crore to start eight assembly lines with an annual production capacity of 250,000 units each across two new facilities