Page 42 - Automobile Industry

Uber gears up for an electric vehicle future amid rising competition

It has drawn up plans to include more electric vehicles in its fleet by tying up with manufacturers, fleet owners and charging stations

Cracking the investment strategy: FPIs are bullish on finance, auto stocks

Load up on financials, automotive stocks in May

SMEV seeks Rs 3k cr rehabilitation fund to revive ops of e2W makers

Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) has asked the government to create a Rs 3,000 crore fund to revive and sustain operations of OEMs which have been badly affected by the recent FAME subsidy blocks. In a letter to the Finance Minister, the industy body has noted that the total amount of subsidies withheld and still due to various electric two-wheeler OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) amounts to over Rs 1,200 crore and that the industry has been awaiting the funds for over 18 months exclusive of the interest. "The cumulative effect of the subsidy blockade, the claim on older subsidies and the refusal to allow future sales has been devastating on startups and first movers in the electric two-wheeler segment," SMEV Director General Sohinder Gill said. Many of these companies will not be able to come out of the financial stress caused by these actions, he added. "In fact, their post-resolution existence is also a matter of time. It is therefore our considered, .

Volkswagen launches new trims of Virtus, Taigun with 1.5 ltr TSI EVO engine

Volkswagen Passenger Cars India on Thursday said it has launched new trims of its mid-sized sedan Virtus and Taigun sports utility vehicle. The company has introduced the Virtus with a six-speed manual transmission on the GT Plus variant, priced at Rs 16.89 lakh (ex-showroom). Besides, the automaker said it has introduced two new variants of Taigun -- GT DSG and GT Plus, at an introductory price of Rs 16.79 lakh and Rs 17.77 lakh, respectively (ex-showroom). "With its strong legacy of fun-to-drive, the GT badge was introduced on the Performance Line (1.5l TSI EVO engine) variants of Taigun and Virtus. Today, we are taking a step further and democratizing the GT badge by introducing newer variants for customers to choose from," Volkswagen Passenger Cars India Brand Director Ashish Gupta said in a statement. The new variants of Taigun and Virtus will be available across the 161 sales touchpoints in 121 cities in India, the company said.

Automobile emission leading cause of recorded air pollution: IITR study

The pre-monsoon report on air quality released by IITR said that leading cause of air pollution during 2022-23 was automobiles, with number of registered vehicles having risen by 6.3% since 2022

TMS Ep450: Auto inventories, IIT-Madras, RIL, de-risking and decoupling

What do dealer inventories tell about auto market? How does IIT-Madras continue to beat the rest? Can RIL reverse its underperformance trend? How's de-risking different from decoupling? Answers here

Govt to prepare public transport policy with focus on electric vehicles

India has set ambitious targets of making 30% and 70% penetration in private and commercial mobility respectively by 2030

Here are merits, drawbacks of Leasing, buying car which is better for you

When it comes to acquiring a new vehicle, the decision to buy or lease can be a challenging one. Both buying and leasing a car have their own merits and drawbacks

Daimler enters pre-owned market with launch of 'BharatBenz Certified'

Commercial vehicles maker Daimler India has forayed into the pre-owned business segment under its new brand 'BharatBenz Certified', the company said on Monday. Daimler India Commercial Vehicles is a wholly owned subsidiary of Stuttgart-based Daimler Truck AG. The new business initiative would refurbish and sell pre-owned BharatBenz trucks to customers. To be initially available at Trident Trucking in Bengaluru, the BharatBenz Certified programme would be expanded to other dealerships across the country. "Our perpetual and thorough market research practice brought to our attention the aspiration of customers who would like to purchase pre-owned BharatBenz trucks. This need in the market gave birth to the idea of launching BharatBenz Certified -- a company-steered pre-owned CV business initiative...," BharatBenz Marketing, sales, and customer service, President Rajaram K said. BharatBenz Certified would also be the catalyst for its customers to upgrade their fleet to new BharatBenz

Lohum partners MG Motor India for second-life EV battery solutions

Integrated battery recycling and repurposing solutions provider Lohum on Monday said it has teamed up with MG Motor India to develop second-life solutions for the car maker's EV batteries. Under the collaboration, Lohum will reuse end-of-first-life batteries of MG electric vehicles to build 2nd-life Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for a wide variety of clean energy applications in domestic urban and rural markets. As part of the collaboration, it also rolled out a completely off-grid 5kWh battery energy storage system for an uninterrupted power supply even in regions with unreliable grid infrastructure. MG Motor India currently sells its ZS EV, besides the recently launched small electric car Comet EV, in the domestic market. "We anticipate over 1-GW of batteries to be deployed by MG Motor in the market through its vehicles, in roughly a three years period. "The company already has deployed close to 100-MW of power through the batteries in its EVs, which is expected to ...

FMCG, auto data shows rural demand is coming back: CII President R Dinesh

We are projecting FY24 GDP growth at 6.5-6.7 per cent. We believe 6.5 per cent will be achievable, even in a slightly negative scenario. And 6.7 per cent is our belief, let me put it that way

Not prudent to allow more than 2 persons on two-wheelers, says Centre

The Centre has made it clear that it was "not prudent" to allow a third person to travel on a two-wheeler as the same was prohibited under the law and motorcycles or scooters were universally designed to carry only two people. This was Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari's response to a plea by CPI(M) MP Elamaram Kareem requesting that children upto to the age of 10 years be allowed to travel as a third person on two-wheelers on following necessary safety measures, like wearing helmets. Denying the request, Gadkari in a letter dated May 31 has said, "...under the Central Motor Vehicles Act 1988, no driver of a two-wheeler can carry more than one person. "Therefore, from the safety angle of riders, it would not be prudent to allow more than one person in addition to the driver to be carried thereon." The Union Minister also said that every two-wheeler "is universally designed and constructed to carry one person in addition to the driver." This response comes even as the ruling L

India will become world's largest automobile market in 5 years: Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday expressed confidence that India will become the largest automobile market in the world in the next five years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Union minister for road transport and highways was addressing a gathering in Vapi town of Gujarat's Valsad district after inaugurating 'Rajju Shroff ROFEL University' campus. "At present, the size of the Indian automobile industry is Rs 7.5 lakh crore. The industry has so far created 4.5 crore jobs, and it pays the maximum Goods and Services Tax (GST) to the Central and state governments," Gadkari said. India was previously at fourth position in the world (automobile market) after Japan, the US and China, but recently the country surpassed Japan to become No. 3, he said. "And, I am confident that within five years, thanks to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we will be No.1 and the size of the industry will be Rs 15 lakh crore," the minister said. Given the qualif

TVS Motor posts 9% YoY growth in wholesales at 330,609 units in May

TVS Motor Company on Thursday reported a 9 per cent growth in wholesales at 3,30,609 units in May 2023. The company's wholesales stood at 3,02,982 units in the same month last year. Total two-wheelers sales grew 11 per cent last month to 3,19,295 units, as compared with 2,87,058 units in May 2022, TVS Motor Company said in a statement. In May 2023, domestic two-wheeler sales were at 2,52,690 units as against 1,91,482 units in the year-ago period, up 32 per cent, it added. Three-wheeler sales were down at 11,314 units during the month under review from 15,924 units in May 2022. Total exports were also lower at 76,607 units last month over 1,10,245 units in May 2022.

Honda's domestic wholesales decline by 43% YoY to 4,660 units in May

Honda Cars India on Thursday reported a 43 per cent dip in domestic wholesales at 4,660 units in May. The company had dispatched 8,188 units in the domestic market in May 2022, Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) said in a statement. Exports dropped by 71 per cent to 587 units last month against 1,997 units in the previous year, it added. "Our sales for the month of May 23 were in line with our plan. The Amaze and City continued to perform well and get strong customer preference," Honda Cars India Director (Marketing and Sales) Yuichi Murata said.

Toyota logs 2-fold growth with highest monthly sales in May at 20,410 units

Toyota Kirloskar Motor on Thursday said its total sales surged two-fold to 20,410 units in May, its highest-ever in a month. The automaker had dispatched 10,216 units in the same month last year. The company said its domestic wholesales last month stood at 19,379 units. It also exported 1,031 units of the Urban Cruiser Hyryder in May. Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) Vice President of Sales and Strategic Marketing Atul Sood said the automaker has scaled a new high in May by reporting the highest monthly sales performance of 20,410 units. "As we look forward, given the sustained momentum, we continue to be optimistic for the rest of the year by prioritising the customers' needs," he added. The company believes that the strong upward trajectory, highlights the company's customer alignment and ever-growing product popularity with the latest launches like Urban Cruiser Hyryder, Innova Hycross and the Hilux that continue to support the strong sales momentum in their respective segments, So

Bajaj Auto records 29% rise in total sales at 355,148 units for May

Bajaj Auto on Thursday reported 29 per cent rise in total sales at 3,55,148 units in May compared to the same month last year. The company had sold a total of 2,75,868 units in May 2022, Bajaj Auto said in a statement. Total two-wheeler sales stood at 3,07,696 units last month as against 2,49,499 units in the year-ago period, up 23 per cent. Domestic two-wheeler sales were higher at 1,94,811 units as compared to 96,102 units in May 2022, the company said. However, exports were down at 1,12,885 units last month from 1,53,397 units in May 2022, it added. Total commercial vehicle sales rose 80 per cent to 47,452 units last month as compared with 26,369 units in the same period a year ago.

Healthy growth, valuations point to more gains for Mahindra & Mahindra

Auto segment to drive growth on the back of improving demand, new launches

McLaren Automotive launches hybrid sports car Artura with V6 petrol engine

British luxury carmaker McLaren Automotive on Friday said it has launched hybrid sports car Artura in India with price starting at Rs 5.1 crore (ex-showroom). The company produces the cars at its UK-based facility and then ships the units to various locations, including India. The price of the car varies on the level of personalisation ordered by the customer. "Our impact in the Indian market in our first year has been outstanding, and we look forward to continuing to provide our customers with an exceptional service and the ultimate driving experience," McLaren Automotive Managing Director - APAC and China Paul Harris noted. The model comes with a 2,993-cc twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine, paired with an eight-speed transmission and a lithium-ion battery pack, which provides the supercar with instant torque and improved throttle response. The package generates a combined power output of 680PS and 720 Nm of torque. Artura's top speed is electronically limited to 330km/h with ..

Tesla whistleblower leaks data on customers' Full Self-Driving complaints

Challenging Musk's full self-driving claims, a Tesla whistleblower has reportedly leaked data to a German media outlet that contains thousands of customer complaints about automaker's FSD features