Page 2 - Carmakers In India

India should not cut customs duty on auto sector in any pact: GTRI

India should not cut import duties for the automobile sector under free trade agreements (FTAs) with countries like the UK as it will adversely impact the sector and may result in closure of companies here, economic think tank GTRI said in a report on Wednesday. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said India has not given tariff or duty reductions for cars in its free trade agreements with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Japan, and Korea. "Do not cut auto (including electric vehicles) tariffs through FTAs. This will adversely impact auto majors who have invested billions of dollars in India and force them to wind up," it said. It added that there is no reason to offer these concessions to the UK either, as the UK mostly assembles cars with parts imported from the EU (European Union), and China. It said if India offers duty concessions to the UK, it might face pressure to do the same for other free trade agreement partners like Japan and Korea. "This could l

Hyundai, Ducati latest automakers to increase vehicle prices from January 1

Automaker Hyundai Motor India Ltd on Thursday said it will hike the prices of its vehicles from next month citing rising input cost, adverse exchange rate and increase in commodity prices. The company, which sells a range of vehicles starting from Grand i10 Nios to electric SUV IONIQ5, priced between Rs 5.84 lakh to Rs 45.95 lakh, however, did not specify the quantum of the proposed price increase to be effective from January 1, 2024. The price increase is owing to rising input cost, adverse exchange rate and increase in commodity prices, amongst other reasons, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), said in a statement. HMIL COO Tarun Garg, COO said the company always tries to absorb the cost escalations to the extent possible and ensure customers are not burdened. "However, it has now become imperative to pass on some portion of the rising input cost to the market through a minor price increase," he added. HMIL said it will continue to make consistent internal efforts to minimize future

From budget to luxury, cars to get more expensive from January 2024

The carmakers cited high cost pressure, driven by overall inflation and increased commodity prices, behind the price hike plans

Carmakers shift into overdrive with extended festival season deals

An industry source added that the sector is fearing lower sales in November and December

Emission norms: Top carmakers face strict penalties for violation

The stiff penalties stem from the upgrade in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard that went into effect in January of this year

Carmakers Mercedes, Lexus, Audi expect bumper sales in festive period

Luxury carmakers Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Audi expect sales momentum to continue in the ongoing festive season with demand remaining robust for high-end cars. With offtake remaining strong, the festive season push could even see the luxury car segment posting its highest ever volumes in a year in 2023. In an interaction with PTI, Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Santosh Iyer noted that the festive season looks very promising as compared with last year. "This year the festive season is spread across four months and we are optimistic as we started on a very positive note, from Onam onwards," he stated. With a strong demand primarily driven by recent launches and buoyant customer sentiment, Mercedes-Benz expects the growth momentum to continue, Iyer said. Lexus India President Naveen Soni said the luxury car market continues to grow in the country. "This year, the demand for high-end cars has brought cheer to the industry. Luxury cars, as a market segment, are growing at

Safety ratings under Bharat NCAP to play significant role in buying cars

The move will prompt high-selling and even sub-Rs 10 lakh car models to get safety ratings, making the cars more expensive

Local assembly of EVs in India just a matter of time: BMW official

German luxury carmaker BMW will locally produce its electric vehicles in India, and it is just a matter of time as the company's vehicles continue to gain traction in the market, according to a senior company official. BMW, which saw 9 per cent of its sales in India coming from EVs in the first half of 2023, expects to reach up to 25 per cent by 2025. "As the volumes grow, as we have done with every other product, we will localise them (EVS), and we will produce them (locally)," BMW Group India President Vikram Pawah told PTI in an interview. The localisation of EVs in India has two aspects, "one is the volume here, and the other one is the technology", he noted. "It is just a matter of time. There has to be some inertia of the volumes and stability. We're seeing good signs now. It's still early days...We have delivered only 500 cars across four models in the first six months, that is still small from that perspective, but it is clearly growing fast," Pawah said. He was responding

Lexus set to foray into used car biz; roll out first EV in India by 2025

Luxury carmaker Lexus from next year is looking to foray into the used car business in India, having now completed six years in the market, according to a top company official. The Japanese carmaker, which currently sells its product range through 23 touch points, aims to transition some of the sales outlets to also cater to the pre-owned car vertical. Known for its self-charging hybrid cars, Lexus is now gearing up to roll out its first electric model in the country by 2025. In an interaction with PTI, Lexus India President Naveen Soni said the automaker is now seriously considering the introduction of a structured pre-owned car programme. He noted that the company will initiate the programme in select outlets after taking into account the business viability of the dealer partner. "So I think very soon, by the third quarter or maybe next year beginning, I should say," he stated when asked about the timeframe the company was looking to get into the used car segment. Soni stated t

Kia India eyes 10% sales growth this calendar yr as chip supplies improve

Automaker Kia India expects its sales to grow by 8-10 per cent this year as compared with 2022 on the back of improved chip supplies and introduction of the updated Seltos in the market, according to a senior company official. The South Korean carmaker, which sells models like Carens, Sonet and Seltos in the Indian market, sold a total of 3.4 lakh units in the domestic and export markets last year. "So last year our domestic sales were about 2.54 lakh units while exports stood at around 80,000 units. So we did about 3.34 lakh units overall. So this year we are looking at about 8-10 per cent growth," Kia India National Head (Sales and Marketing) Hardeep S Brar told PTI in an interaction. He noted that the company has outpaced the overall passenger industry growth in the first half of the year and expects to do the same in the second half as well. "For the first six months industry has grown at 10 per cent. We have grown at 12 per cent. So like every other year we have outpaced the .

Mercedes-Benz unveils electric SUV EQB 350 in India with some modifications

While the EQB 350 comes with significant performance enhancements, it retains the same 66.5 kWh battery pack similar to its predecessor

BMW launches its 2023 Z4 Roadster at Rs 89.30 lakh for Indian market

BMW will offer the Z4 in its M Performance trim, M40i. The car comes with a standard two-year warranty with unlimited kilometres

Trade deal: India's carmakers back zero duty on limited British imports

India is one of the most protected automobile markets where import taxes are among the highest in the world of any major car making nation

China's SAIC Motor plans to sell its stake in MG Motor to domestic entities

SAIC is in the advanced stages of talks with investors from different Indian companies, which include Reliance, Hero Group, Premji Invest, and JSW Group for equity sale

To match Indian aspirations, carmakers to launch 81 new vehicles this year

Carmakers are looking at new sub-segments in the SUV space and trying to expand their offerings to lure in more and more customers

Expect India to be Citroen's biggest growth driver outside Europe: CEO

French automaker Citroen expects India to be its biggest growth driver outside Europe as it looks to have 30 per cent of its total sales coming from international markets outside the continent by 2025, its global CEO Thierry Koskas said on Thursday. The company, which unveiled its all-new mid-sized SUV C3 Aircross, will introduce another new product next year as it seeks to have a presence in the core segments of the Indian market. "India is a key pillar of the Citroen strategy. It is a market that could very soon reach 5 million units (annually). We want to grow 30 per cent of our sales outside Europe (by 2025). India is a key pillar for that amongst other regions, like for example Latin America," Koskas told PTI here in an interview. At the moment, he said, "It (India) is a very significant operation and probably that will become more and more significant in the years to come". When asked about the sales targets in India, he said, "We do not communicate on numbers, but I can tell

Kia India expects 40% of sales to accrue from iMT trims amid rising demand

Automaker Kia India aims to garner 40 per cent of its overall sales this year from cars with an intelligent manual transmission (iMT) as demand for automatic vehicles continues to grow in the domestic market, according to a senior company official. The automaker is replacing manual transmission with intelligent manual transmission (iMT) in turbo petrol and diesel trims of Seltos, Carens and Sonet. The entry-level trims of the models, which come with a 1.5-litre petrol engine, would however continue to feature the manual transmission in order to cater to the price-conscious customer. The iMT trims come with a gear shift lever but no clutch thus enhancing ease of driving especially in city conditions. It also gives the buyers an option to shift from automatic to manual mode. In an interaction with PTI, Kia India National Head (Sales and Marketing) Hardeep Singh Brar said the company sold 1.35 lakh units in 2020 and out of that iMT contribution stood at 7 per cent. "Last year we sold

Lexus India looks to expand customer base to de-risk biz; expand sales

Luxury carmaker Lexus is looking to expand its customer base in India, enhance sales infrastructure as part of its strategy to grow sales in the country which is expected to see the premium segment return to pre-Covid levels this year, according to a top company official. The company, which is the luxury car arm of Japanese auto major Toyota, completed six years in India earlier this month and now plans to consolidate its position with a slew of measures to bring in additional volumes and growth. In an interaction with PTI, Lexus India President Naveen Soni said the company intends to increase sales contribution from professionals like doctors, architects, lawyers, pilots and people working in corporates, among others, in order to de-risk the business. Currently, a majority of the company sales in the country comes from people engaged in business activities, he noted. "Business class is the most important class which we serve in general...There can be some impact on exporters and .

Maruti Suzuki total wholesales up 5% in February at 172,321 units

Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday said its total wholesales increased 5 per cent to 1,72,321 units in February. The country's largest carmaker had dispatched 1,64,056 units to its dealers in February 2022. Domestic wholesales rose 11 per cent to 1,55,114 units as compared with 1,40,035 units in February last year, the automaker said in a regulatory filing. Total exports last month however dropped 28 per cent to 17,207 units from 24,021 units in February 2022.

Nov car sales zoom to record high; Maruti, Hyundai post double-digit growth

Tata Motors saw its despatches jump 55 per cent to 46,425 units during the month