Page 36 - Automobile Industry

Maruti Suzuki posts highest ever monthly sales in Sept at 181,343 units

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Sunday said its total wholesales increased 3 per cent year-on-year to 1,81,343 units in September, its best ever in a month. The country's largest carmaker had dispatched 1,76,306 units to dealers in the same month last year. Total domestic passenger vehicle sales rose to 1,50,812 units last month, up 2 per cent from 1,48,380 units in September 2022, MSI said in a statement. In the April-September period, the company's total sales crossed the 10-lakh sales mark. MSI dispatched 10,50,085 units in the first half of the current fiscal as compared with 9,85,326 units in the same period of last fiscal. It is for the first time that the company surpassed the half-yearly sales mark of 1 million units, the automaker noted. In September, the company said the sales of its entry level cars -- Alto and S-Presso -- stood at 10,351 units, down 65 per cent from 29,574 units in the year-ago period. Sales of compact cars also declined to 68,552 units last month from

Hyundai reports highest ever monthly sales in September at 71,641 units

Hyundai Motor India on Sunday said its total wholesales increased 13 per cent year-on-year to 71,641 units in September, its highest ever in a month. The country's second largest carmaker had dispatched 63,201 units to dealers in September last year. Domestic sales last month rose to 54,241 units, up 9 per cent from 49,700 units in September 2022, Hyundai Motor India said in a statement. Exports were higher at 17,400 units last month from 13,501 units in September 2022, an increase of 29 per cent. "While the industry grew by 2 per cent last month, our domestic dispatches were up 9 per cent. The share of SUV sales in our overall volumes continues to grow," Hyundai Motor India COO Tarun Garg told PTI. The ongoing festive season has resulted in strong sales momentum, helping the automaker achieve 9 per cent growth, he added. "Our strong SUV portfolio has received a further boost with the exceptional customer response to the newly launched Exter," Garg said. The company has garnere

Maruti receives show cause notice from GST Authority, demands interest

Maruti Suzuki India on Friday said it has received a show cause notice from the GST Authority proposing to demand interest and impose penalty, besides appropriating tax already paid, amounting to Rs 139.3 crore. The notice pertains to the matter of tax liability under reverse charge basis on certain services for the period of July 2017 to August, 2022, Maruti Suzuki India said in a regulatory filing. "The company will file a reply to the show cause notice before the Adjudicating Authority," it said, adding that there was no impact on its financial, operation or other activities due to the notice. The company also said it has received a favourable order from the High Court of Punjab and Haryana wherein appeals filed by the Central Excise Department for the period June 2006 to March 2011 have been dismissed. The Central Excise Department had filed appeals before the high court against an earlier tribunal order of August 2016, which was passed in favour of the company in which input .

Hero MotoCorp to hike prices of select models by 1% from October 3

Hero MotoCorp on Friday said it will increase prices of select motorcycles and scooters by around 1 per cent from October 3. The company will make a marginal revision in the ex-showroom prices of select motorcycles and scooters, effective from October 3, 2023, the country's largest two-wheeler maker said in a statement. The price increase will be around 1 per cent, and the exact quantum of increase will vary by specific models and markets, it added. The price revision is part of our regular review of product competitiveness and positioning, factoring inflation, margins and market share, the company stated.

Indian EV charger maker Exicom Tele-Systems files for $48 million IPO

The company proposes to utilise the proceeds for partially financing the cost of setting up production lines at its planned manufacturing facility in Telangana

Skoda Auto Volkswagen India net profit up 49% in FY23 at Rs 309.5 cr

KODA AUTO Volkswagen India posted a 48.6 per cent rise in its standalone net profit at Rs 309.5 crore in the fiscal ended March 31, 2023 riding on strong revenue growth, according to financial data accessed by business intelligence platform Tofler. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 208.34 crore in the fiscal ended March 31, 2022. Revenue from operations was at Rs 17,041.72 crore in FY23, highest in the last five financial years, according to the data. In its regulatory filing, the company said the rise in revenue was due to increase in sales volumes in the domestic market. This was mainly due to the launch of new models under the India 2.0 project. In FY22, the company's revenue from operations was at Rs 12,410.48 crore; Rs 6,796.52 crore in FY21; Rs 9,300.06 crore in FY20 and Rs 7,062.71 crore in FY19. In terms of net profit, in the last five fiscals the company posted its highest in FY21 at Rs 756.97 crore. It was at Rs 261.39 crore in FY20 and Rs 198.06 crore in FY19.

350 public electric vehicle charging points will be set up, says NDMC

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has decided to set up 350 public electric vehicle charging points, officials said on Wednesday. The NDMC, in its Council Meeting, also discussed the framing and amendment of Recruitment Rules (RRs) for different posts in the civic body. "The indicative scope of work for setting up Public EV charging stations includes selective quantities/locations for installation of Public EV charging stations that will be provided to the PSUs in the initial stage. Further allocation of quantities/locations will be decided by the NDMC considering the performance parameters delivered by the PSUs, NDMC vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay said. Collaborating with the PSUs on promoting electric vehicles, including two-wheelers, in the NDMC area was also approved by the council, he said. The NDMC approved the signing of MoU between the NDMC and HLL Infra Tech Services Ltd., Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Limited (REIL) and Kerala State Electronics Development ...

Toyota Motor plans third India plant, new SUV as domestic sales surge

The world's biggest car maker wants the plant to start with capacity of 80,000-120,000 vehicles a year, which could grow to around 200,000 over time

Demand for EV charger to grow at 65% CAGR to reach 3 mn by 2030: Report

The domestic demand for EV chargers is likely to grow at a CAGR of 65 per cent to reach the 3 million unit mark by 2030, according to a report. More than 17,000 units of electric vehicle (EV) chargers were sold in 2021, the joint report of Customized Energy Solutions(CES) and India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) said. The Indian EV charger market is poised to expand at an impressive CAGR of 65 per cent between 2022 and 2030 to achieve annual sales of 3 million units to meet the requirement of chargers to meet the national EV scenario (NEV) by 2030, the report titled 'India Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure & Battery Swapping Market Overview' said. The demand will be driven by government initiatives and private investments, it added. Rahul Walawalkar, founder and president, IESA, and MD of Customized Energy Solutions India, said: "India's electric revolution is gaining momentum at an astonishing pace. Government policies and private investments are propelling us towards a ...

Strikes against automakers spread to nearly 38 locations in 20 states

The president of the United Auto Workers said on Friday the union will expand its strike against major automakers by walking out of 38 General Motors and Stellantis plants in 20 states. Ford was spared additional strikes because the company has met some of the union's demands during negotiations over the past week, said UAW President Shawn Fain. The union is pointing to the companies' huge recent profits as it seeks wage increases of 36 per cent over four years. The companies have offered a little over half that amount. The UAW has other demands, including a 32-hour work week for 40 hours of pay and a restoration of traditional pension plans for newer workers. The companies say they can't afford to meet the union's demands because they need to invest profits in a costly transition from gas-powered cars to electric vehicles. The UAW's contract with the automakers expired at midnight on September 14, and workers walked out of a Ford assembly plant near Detroit, a GM factory in ...

Kia India to hike Seltos, Carens prices by up to 2% from Oct: Official

Automaker Kia India on Thursday said it will increase prices of Seltos and Carens by up to 2 per cent from October 1, according to a senior company official. However, the company will not hike the prices of its entry-level model Sonet. "We are looking to take about a 2 per cent price increase on Seltos and Carens from October 1," Kia India National Head (Sales and Marketing) Hardeep S Brar told PTI. The company had last hiked prices in April this year as it upgraded its portfolio to conform to Real Driving Emission (RDE) norms, he said. "While many of the companies have already taken the price increase post-April, we, however, did not take...besides the raw material prices are going up.. and we introduced the new Seltos and a lot of investment has gone into the product..so we think it is time that we take the price increase," Brar said. Kia India also sells an electric model EV6 in the country.

Auto dealers' satisfaction improves, policy concerns remain: Fada

The overall satisfaction of automobile dealers with regards to their relationship with manufacturers has improved but dealer viability and policy issues remain major concerns, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations said on Wednesday. In its 'Dealer Satisfaction Study 2023' conducted in collaboration with PremonAsia, a consumer insights and advisory services firm, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said at an aggregate industry level, the average dealer satisfaction score stood at 767 out of a maximum 1,000 points, an increase of 48 points from a year ago. Commercial Vehicle (CV) dealers were the most satisfied with 778 points, followed by mass market four-wheeler (4W) dealers at 769 points and two-wheeler (2W) dealers with 763 points. "The year-on-year improvements underscore the indispensable value of this annual study in identifying critical issues to fortify the auto OEM-dealer partnership. While auto dealers are increasingly optimistic, concerns related

India's electric vehicle sales zoom past 1 million in 2023, shows data

The two-wheeler segment accounted for 56 per cent of the EVs sold in 2023, followed by three-wheelers and passenger vehicles

Delhi plans to make document submission for overage vehicles faceless

The Delhi government plans to make the document submission process for overage vehicles completely faceless to ensure transparency, officials said on Tuesday. Five million such vehicles were deregistered between January and October last year. "We have plans to launch a portal and make the service completely faceless to ensure transparency. We are trying to ensure that the documents that have to be uploaded and the undertaking that they will have to submit, (the process) will be online," the official said. Another official said the Transport Department is almost ready with the fine points of the initiative and the file will be submitted to Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot. The Delhi High Court had asked the city government to frame a policy on dealing with such vehicles when owners are willing to assure that these vehicles would not be used here. "The disengagement of 437 consultants and experts following the directions of LG V K Saxena also affected framing of policies of Delhi .

SMEV writes to Gadkari, seeks unified policy of road tax exemption for EVs

Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) on Tuesday urged the government to formulate a unified policy of road tax exemption for Electric Vehicles (EVs) across the country. In a letter to the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, SMEV said a consistent and favourable policy environment is essential to accelerate the shift towards electric mobility in India. "I am writing to request your esteemed office to weigh in on a unified policy of road tax exemption for EVs that will play a pivotal role in encouraging the adoption of clean and sustainable transportation options, which is vital for our nation's environmental and economic future," SMEV Chief Evangelist Sanjay Kaul wrote. In July, SMEV had named Kaul as its Chief Evangelist to help revise the association's agenda. In view of the Ministry of Heavy Industries' decision to reduce the subsidy component mid-way through the FAME II scheme, this input (unified policy of road tax exemption for EVs) from t

Volkswagen's battery unit PowerCo investor could be big client: CFO

The battery unit's first planned client is Ford, to whom it will deliver cells for vehicles the U.S. carmaker is building in Europe on Volkswagen's electric MEB platform

Tata Motors to raise CV prices by up to 3%, third price hike in 2023

The company previously raised prices by 1.2% in January and by 5% in March to ensure its vehicles comply with the new emission norms

Diesel vehicles will not yet be out totally: Siam president Vinod Aggarwal

Lots of discussions happen between industry and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. For example, now discussions are happening on ethanol blending; and on LNG availability, says Aggarwal

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

VECV to supply 1,000 electric buses to GreenCell Mobility in 5 years

GreenCell Mobility and VE Commercial Vehicles on Friday said they have entered into an agreement for supply of 1,000 electric buses in the next five years. The two parties have signed a memorandum of understanding, which envisages VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) supplying 1,000 Eicher electric buses to GreenCell's intercity bus business, NueGo, the two companies said in a joint statement. NueGo is already operating in over 30 cities, including Delhi, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Agra, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Bhopal, Indore, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bengaluru, Tirupati, Chennai and Pondicherry. "With our focus on superior uptime, backed by a strong alternate fuel programme, we look forward to our partnership with GreenCell Mobility, as we jointly endeavour to decarbonise city mobility," VECV Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) Vinod Aggarwal said. "The collaboration strengthens our resolve to reshape the mobility landscape and lead the charge towards sustainability," GreenCell .