Page 33 - Automobile Industry

Audi India to hike prices of vehicles by up to 2% from January 2024

German luxury car maker Audi on Monday said it will hike prices of its vehicles in India by up to 2 per cent from January next year citing rising input and operational costs. The price hike will be effective from January 1, 2024 and will be across the model range, Audi India said in a statement. "Due to rising supply-chain-related input and operational costs, we have effected a price correction across our model range, maintaining the brand's premium price positioning," Audi India Head Balbir Singh Dhillon said in a statement. He further said, "the price correction aims to ensure sustainable growth for Audi India and our dealer partners, and we will ensure that the price hike's impact is as minimal as possible for customers." Audi India sells a range of vehicles from Q3 SUV to sports car RSQ8 priced between Rs 42.77 lakh and Rs 2.22 crore.

BLive looking to raise $5 million in next 6 months, says CEO Kholkar

BLive, a multi-brand electric vehicle platform, is looking to raise USD 5 million in the next six months, its CEO and co-founder Samarth Kholkar said on Friday. The investor interest in BLive is "strong", Kholkar said, adding that the company is hopeful of making a funding-related announcement in the next six months. "We have raised under USD 2 million over a period of time, and we are looking to raise USD 5 million now because our primary interest is to invest in technology and people. "Technology, because we are a platform at the end of the day, which has a lot of data coming in, now it is time to consolidate, extrapolate and use the latest technology, including blockchain to ensure we can scale up our business from a typical 10X to a 100X," he said. BLive is looking to double its revenue to about Rs 100 crore in FY25 and is aiming for profitability in 12 months timeframe. "So to boost that, we need a strong tech platform, which will help us reach that scale...to that milestone,

Three JK Tyre Motorsport drivers in fray at APRC finals in Indonesia

The final round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship 2023 (APRC) will have a strong Indian presence with three JK Tyre Motosport drivers in fray, at the Danau Toba Rally which will be held here from November 24-26. Considered as one of the toughest rallies on the circuit, the Danau Toba Rally will run on gravel and cover a distance of 433 kms, with 150.35 kms earmarked for 11 special stages and one super special stage. On a combined grid of 63 competitive cars, out of which 18 are participating in APRC also, India's biggest promoter of motorsport JK Tyre together with Vamcy Merla Sports Foundation have fielded three young drivers under their colours, namely Jahaan Singh Gill from Chandigarh with co-driver Suraj Prasad, Coorg lad Suhem Kabeer with co-driver PVS Murthy and Lokesh Gowda from Mysore with co-driver Ashwin Naik. Jahaan, who has just sealed his JINRC title in the Indian National Rally Championship, will be driving the N11 Subaru and Suhem Kabeer and Lokesh Gowda will be

Motul India Unveils Next Level Thrill Advertising Campaign Celebrating the Spirit of Riding

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Made-In-India Honda Elevate ready to run on Japanese road next year

Japanese auto major Honda is all set to introduce its India-made mid-sized SUV Elevate in the Japanese market next year. It would be the first instance that a product manufactured by Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL), a wholly-owned unit of the Japanese firm, will be exported to the highly regulated Japanese market. HCIL is rolling out Elevate from its Tapukara (Rajasthan-based) production facility. "After its successful debut in India earlier this year, Elevate is scheduled for Spring 2024 launch in the Japanese market under the brand name WR-V," an HCIL spokesperson said in a statement. In a first for HCIL, the model will be manufactured in India and exported to Japan, it added. "This strategic move is a strong reflection of manufacturing capabilities of India operations and also solidifies our vision of making the country a key export hub in Honda business," the spokesperson said. The company's Tapukara-based plant is fully equipped to take care of the domestic as well as export ...

Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll sells F1 team stake at £1 bn valuation

The deal comes on the eve of the much-hyped Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend and shows the growing appeal of F1 in the US, the Aston Martin team said in a statement on Thursday

Renault sets out targets for EV unit Ampere, says won't sell it cheap

The group set out financial targets for the unit, including an expected break-even in 2025 and an operating margin of at least 10% from 2030

Bumpy road! Pakistan car sales continue to fall; 6,200 units sold in Oct

Motorcycle sales in Pakistan have declined by around 10% in the first four months of the financial year, which is largely due to the decreasing purchasing capacity among the common masses

New launches, exports gain captured in Eicher Motors' valuations

Aided by a 10 per cent increase in volumes and 5 per cent increase in realisations

Volkswagen to cut administrative personnel costs by 20% in savings drive

The specific details of the drive at Volkswagen's passenger car brand, announced in June and currently being defined in talks between management and the workers council, are due to be set by December

MoRTH proposes installation of inbuilt collision warning system in 4-Ws

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has proposed the installation of an inbuilt 'moving off information system' (MOIS) in certain category of four-wheelers passenger and commercial vehicles to reduce the possibility of collision with pedestrians and cyclists in close proximity. MoRTH in a draft titled 'Approval of motor vehicles with regard to the Moving Off Information System for the Detection of Pedestrians and Cyclists' has specified the automotive industry standard for MOIS and will be notified after public consultation. Moving Off Information System (MOIS) means a system to detect and inform the driver of the presence of pedestrians and cyclists in the close proximity and if deemed necessary, based on manufacturer strategy, warn the driver of a potential collision. "Low-speed moving off from rest manoeuvres that involve collisions between M2, M3, N2 and N3 vehicle category vehicles (subject vehicles) and pedestrians and cyclists have serious consequences for the

M&M Ltd Q2 result: Consolidated net profit at Rs 2,348 cr; revenue up 14%

The total income for Q2FY24 came in at Rs 35,027.23 crore, compared to Rs 30,130.85 crore year-on-year, registering a rise of 16.25%

Oct auto retail sales dip 8% due to Shraddh period; Navratri sales up 18%

Navratri of 2023 marked a milestone, with retail sales soaring by 18 per cent year-over-year, surpassing the figures of Navratri 2017

Retail sales of automobile in domestic market dip 7.73% in Oct: FADA

Retail sales of automobiles in the domestic market saw a 7.73 per cent year-on-year decline in October this year at 21,17,596 units, mainly due to dip in two-wheeler uptake with the inauspicious period of Shraddh affecting new purchases, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Monday. Retail sales of automobiles in the domestic market stood at 22,95,099 units in October 2022, FADA said in a statement. Two-wheeler retail sales were at 15,07,756 units last month, as against 17,25,043 units in the year-ago period, down 12.60 per cent, as per the latest data by FADA. Similarly, passenger vehicle (PV) retail also declined by 1.35 per cent at 3,53,990 last month, as compared to 3,58,884 units in October 2022. On the other hand, three-wheeler sales were up 45.63 per cent at 1,04,711 units, as compared to 71,903 units in the year-ago month. Tractor retail sales also grew by 6.15 per cent at 62,440 units, as against 58,823 units in October 2022. Commercial vehicle

Record sales in sight for 2023, Mercedes-Benz India bullish on 2024 outlook

Set for another record sales this year, Mercedes-Benz India is confident of carrying forward the momentum to 2024 despite supply concerns, company Managing Director and CEO Santosh Iyer said on Thursday. The company on Thursday launched two fresh products -- new SUV GLE priced between Rs 96.4 lakh to Rs 1.15 crore and AMG C 43 with price starting at Rs 98 lakh, completing its planned launch of ten products for 2023. "Overall yes, another record year for us. We still have two months to go but at this stage from a demand perspective (it is) strong. From the supply side, we have to improve from here on and with that we should end the year on a high note," Iyer told PTI in an interview on the sidelines of the launch here. He was responding to a query on whether the company is set for another record sales in 2023 after witnessing a new high in 2022 when it clocked 15,822 units. In the January-September 2023 period, the company delivered 12,768 units at a growth of 11 per cent over the s

Festival season momentum lights up domestic PV sales, GST collection

PV sales climb new peak for 3rd straight month; GST mop-up at Rs 1.72 trn

Hero Moto's consolidated net profit jumps 47.6% to Rs 1,007 crore

Regarding sales volume, the company recorded 14.16 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters sold during the quarter

Expecting topline growth of over 60% during this fiscal, says CarDekho

Auto-tech solutions provider CarDekho on Wednesday said it is expecting a topline growth of over 60 per cent year-on-year this fiscal. The company said it recorded a revenue of Rs 2,331 crore in the previous fiscal, which may see a growth of over 60 per cent by March next year. The company at the core business level has already turned net income positive in the September quarter of FY24, it said. The company had posted a loss of Rs 562 crore in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. Last year, the CarDekho group discontinued its used car franchise retail and consumer-to-dealer businesses owing to inviable unit economics and the strategic decision of prudent capital allocation moving towards asset-light business model, the company said. "The group remains a market leader in Autotech and handles transactions worth over USD 2.2 billion (on ARR basis) annualised. It also has a significant cash reserve of over Rs 12,000 million (Rs 1,200 crore) at group level dedicated to growth project

Ashok Leyland posts 13% rise in total sales to 16,864 units in October

Commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland on Wednesday reported a 13 per cent increase in total sales at 16,864 units in October as compared to 14,863 units in the same month last year. Domestic sales were up 14 per cent at 15,759 units as against 13,860 units in October 2022, Ashok Leyland said in a statement. Sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles in the domestic market were at 9,411 units as against 8,189 units in the year-ago period, up 15 per cent, it added. Light commercial vehicle sales in the domestic market last month stood at 6,348 units as against 5,671 units in the year-ago period, up 12 per cent, the company added.

General Motors reaches tentative agreement with UAW, ending 6-week strike

General Motors and the United Auto Workers union have reached a tentative contract agreement that could end a six-week-old strike against Detroit automakers, a person briefed on the deal said Monday. The deal follows the pattern set with Ford last week and Jeep maker Stellantis over the weekend. The deals will last four years and eight months and include 25 per cent general pay raises and cost of living adjustments. Combined they bring the wage increase to over 30 per cent over the life of the contract. The person briefed on the matter, who didn't want to be identified because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the deal, said the deal was to be announced early Monday. The contract with GM will essentially be the same as the other two automakers but will have differences. GM was the last company to reach a deal, and the union added a factory in Tennessee to the strike list on Saturday in an effort to turn up the pressure. The UAW reached tentative agreement last week