Page 35 - Automobile Industry

CIE Automotive India results: Profit up 11%, revenue low in Europe segment

Weak demand for cars in CIE's key Europe market, which analysts say brings higher margins, also saw overall revenue rise just 2.2% - its slowest growth in five quarters

SUV segment to see intense competition among players: Tata Motors

Tata Motors on Tuesday said it plans to keep updating its SUV range as it expects the robustly growing segment to remain highly competitive with presence of all leading players. Sports utility vehicles are driving the overall growth of the domestic passenger vehicle segment. As per the latest SIAM data, SUV sales account for 60 per cent of the overall passenger vehicle sales in the country. In an interaction with PTI, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Managing Director Shailesh Chandra said the company has a leadership position in some of the SUV sub-segments and is looking to consolidate in others. "The SUV segment is going to be an intensely fought segment. The top three-four players will have just a few thousand (units) here and there. At some point someone will be number one, sometimes somebody else will become number two," he said. He noted that in such scenarios it is more important to focus on the individual products and whether they are in the top two consideration for ...

Govt mulling another PLI scheme for batteries to bring down cost: Singh

The government will bring out another production-linked incentive scheme for batteries to bring down cost and boost the adoption of electric vehicles in India, union minister R K Singh said on Monday. Speaking at the EV (electric vehicles) Ready India Dashboard of OMI Foundation, the Union Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister said, "We are coming out with another production-linked incentive (PLI) to increase the volumes (of storage or battery)." He was of the view that the price of storage will come down with (higher) volumes. "Price of storage will come down only if you add volumes. That is why there is a production-linked incentive (PLI) for storage," he said. He pointed towards limited battery manufacturing capacity in the world and termed it as a reason for high prices. The minister opined that higher cost and lower driving range are issues in adopting EVs. The central government had approved the (PLI) scheme for manufacturing advanced chemistry cell (ACC) batteries at an

Domestic passenger vehicles wholesales up 2% to 361,717 units in Sept: SIAM

Passenger vehicle wholesales in India increased by 1.87 per cent year-on-year to 3,61,717 units last month, industry body SIAM said on Monday. The passenger vehicle dispatches to dealers stood at 3,55,043 units in September 2022. Similarly, two-wheeler sales increased to 17,49,794 units last month from 17,35,199 units in the year-ago period, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said. Total three-wheeler wholesales rose to 74,418 units last month from 50,626 units in September 2022. Total dispatches last month were up at 21,41,208 units from 20,93,286 units in September 2022. In the September quarter, overall sales rose to 61,16,091 units from 60,52,739 units in the second quarter of 2022-23. Passenger vehicle dispatches rose marginally to 10,74,189 units in the second quarter from 10,26,309 units in July-September period of last fiscal. Commercial vehicles dispatches rose to 2,47,929 units from 2,31,991 units in the year-ago period. Total three-wheeler wholesales ro

No plans to phase out diesel vehicles: BMW India president Vikram Pawah

The company currently has an order book of about 2,000 cars and 1,000 motorcycles

Govt mulls subsidising carmakers investing in local EV production

The government plans to extend incentives to carmakers based on the investments they make to manufacture cars locally, an official aware of the development said

Govt invites bids for licences to supply natural gas to households

"After this round we will go with the authorisation for the island areas to cover 100% geographical areas," Oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said

Centre's panel wants car ratings tied to improved connectivity: Draft

"Most sensors do not work well in these scenarios and V2X fills the gap," it added, referring to the connected car technology commonly known as vehicle-to-everything (V2X)

Festive season bump unlikely to jumpstart rural auto demand: Analysts

India has a line-up of festivals and auspicious periods between August and November, pushing up vehicle sales

Indian auto sales surge 20% in September, despite slump in tractors

Positive market sentiment fuelled by favourable monsoon leads to growth in most categories, but high inventory levels raise concerns for dealers as festive season approaches, FADA data shows

Capex till 2030-31 could be Rs 1.25 trn on product expansion: Maruti Suzuki

Maruti Suzuki India's capex till 2030-31 could be around Rs 1.25 lakh crore as it plans to enhance product range to 28 models from 17 currently and expand production capacity, according to a regulatory filing. The country's largest carmaker is lining up capex to expand its total production capacity to 40 lakh units per annum by 2030-31. "The regular capex in the existing plants at Gurgaon, Manesar and Gujarat will continue. The amount in 2022-23 was around Rs 7,500 crore. Total capex till 2030-31 could be as much as Rs 1.25 lakh crore," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said. In a presentation for shareholders, analysts and proxy advisors, the auto major stated that it will need about Rs 45,000 crore to create a capacity of 20 lakh units. This is based on current costs and a small amount for cost escalation, it noted. Elaborating on the benefits of issuing shares on a preferential basis to Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) rather than utilising cash for the acquisition of Suzuki Motor Gujar

As BYD seeks India expansion, its executives find it tough to get visas

BYD is far from being an outlier, as several Chinese companies from various sectors have faced challenges in getting visas for travel to India

TVS Motor, BMW commence production of first electric bike CE 02 at TN plant

The factory located about 70 kms from Bengaluru, was engaged in the production of vehicles co-developed by the two auto companies

Audi reports 88% increase in retail sales at 5,530 units in Jan-Sept

German luxury carmaker Audi on Wednesday reported an 88 per cent year-on-year growth in retail sales at 5,530 units in January-September period this year in India. Audi India had retailed 2,947 units in the same period last year. The launch of the new Q8 e-tron, Q8 Sportback e-tron, Q3 and Q3 Sportback coupled with continued demand for other models like the A4, A6 and Q5 has led to positive growth, the automaker said in a statement. "Our SUVs have witnessed a growth of 187 per cent. With the upcoming festive season, we are expecting this growth to continue on the back of sustained demand," Audi India Head Balbir Singh Dhillon noted. Robust sales performance owing to strong demand, expansion in the luxury car segment, evolving demographics and favourable economic conditions are leading to growth, he added. "We are on a growth path -- sustainable, profitable business is our strategy and we expect to close the year with high double-digit growth," Dhillon stated.

Automobile industry capable of becoming export-led $1 trn by 2035

The Indian automobile sector has the potential to become an export-led USD 1 trillion industry by 2035, according to a report. The industry can achieve the size enabled by manufacturing, innovation and technology leadership, as per a report by Arthur D Little. Arthur D Little Managing Partner (India & South Asia) Barnik Chitran Maitra noted that India's automotive industry can become a global hub for design, development, and production, appealing to international markets. To achieve this, players across the industry must upgrade their capabilities for reliable and competitive global manufacturing, he added. "India's strength in automotive software and ER&D (engineering research and development) can thrive by offering solutions aligned with emerging trends like zonal architecture and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). India has the potential to be an automotive innovation leader, with a thriving well-funded startup ecosystem," Maitra said. This highlights the increasing

Robert Bosch Automotive Steering pays Rs 10 lakh to settle case with Sebi

Robert Bosch Automotive Steering GmbH, a promoter of Z F Steering Gear (India) Ltd, has settled a case pertaining to alleged violation of disclosure norms with Sebi after paying Rs 10 lakh as the settlement charges. The order came after the applicant had filed a suo motu settlement application proposed to "settle by neither admitting nor denying any conclusions of law or fact". "It is hereby ordered that any proceedings that may be initiated for the violations are settled in respect of the applicant," Sebi's whole time members Ananth Narayan G and Amarjeet Singh said in the settlement order passed on September 27. The applicant was required to make annual disclosures of its shareholding in terms of SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeover) rules, for the financial years 2019-20 and 2020-21 on or before June 01, 2020 and April 9, 2021, respectively. However, it had made delayed disclosures in March 2023 and July 2021, respectively. Robert Bosch Automotive Steering was a

Escorts Sept sales: Tractor sales down 11.2%; construction machine sales up

Year-to-date sales for construction equipment registered a 56.7 per cent rise as the sales zoomed from 1,883 units during Apr-Sep 2022, to 2,950 units for Apr-Sep 2023

Tesla owners must arbitrate false ad claims over autopilot feature: Judge

The ruling marks a significant victory for Tesla, as it means the company will not have to face class action claims on behalf of much larger groups of vehicle owners

Tesla misses market estimates for quarterly deliveries, shares fall 3.7%

The electric-vehicle maker handed over 435,059 vehicles in the three months to Sept. 30, down nearly 7% from the preceding quarter

EV maker Rivian beats Q3 delivery estimates after raising production

The Irvine, California-based startup said it was on track to produce 52,000 vehicles in 2023 - a target it raised in August from 50,000 vehicles as supply-chain bottlenecks eased