Page 9 - Passenger Vehicles

Petromin, HPCL partner to launch 1,000 vehicle service centres across India

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL India) in partnership with Saudi Arabia-based Petromin Corporation on Monday launched the first set of 16 express vehicle service centres in Bengaluru and Chennai. These are the first of 1,000 'HP Petromin Express Centres' planned across the country over the next few years, a joint statement said. Petromin Express India, a subsidiary of Petromin Corporation, had said last month that it will be partnering with HPCL to invest around USD 100 million to set up around 1,000 vehicle service centres at HPCL retail outlets in India. The Express Centres will offer the walk-in customer basic maintenance services that will be completed in just 30 minutes, the statement said. The business model conceived is expected to generate about 5,000 jobs over the next few years, it said. "The Express Centres are set to totally disrupt the current status of the automotive after-market in India", said CEO, Petromin India & SE Asia, Sanjay Nigam.

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

See eventual split in platforms for ICE, EVs: Tata Motors' Martin Uhlarik

Tata Motors sees an eventual split in the platforms for its conventional engine and electric passenger vehicles in order to make future products unique and remove the handicap of developing EVs on traditional platforms, according to its Global Head of Design, Martin Uhlarik. With electrification and connectivity fast gaining momentum, he also said interiors of cars of the future could become more "like a home" driven by minimalistic approach, as sophisticated customers seek material comfort, simplicity and ease of use. "We see an eventual splitting of ICE (internal combustion engine) and EV, which is simply driven by the platform. If EV has to carry over an ICE architecture, it will always be handicapped in terms of its full potential, in terms of range, in terms of battery layout," Uhlarik told PTI. Converting EV on an ICE product platform, which has provisions such as the traditional transmission tunnel and firewall, has limitations, he added. "So if you want to do a proper EV or

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.

Festive demand steers passenger vehicle wholesales to record high in Sept

Passenger vehicle wholesales in India rose to record levels in September as automakers dispatched stocks to dealers in order to cater to the robust demand in the ongoing festive season. The industry dispatches stood at 3,63,733 units last month, the best ever in a month. The previous best was reported in August 2023 with dispatches of 3,60,700 units. "This is the highest ever September of course, in any year in the Indian passenger vehicle history. It is also the highest ever in any month so far," Maruti Suzuki India Senior Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales) Shashank Srivastava told reporters in a virtual press meet. He noted that dispatches rose in September as the dealers prepared for the festive season which kicks in a big way from October 14. Last month also witnessed robust demand in western and southern states due to various festivals which see increase in car sales, Srivastava said. Another reason is better availability of cars due to chip supplies stabilising, he ...

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 .

Electric cargo three-wheeler vehicle Greaves Eltra launched: Details here

Greaves Eltra provides a power capability of 9.5 kW at peak performance and also integrates a 10.8 kWh battery pack

Indian PV market to nearly double in size by FY31: Maruti MD Takeuchi

Automobile businesses need to be 'reviewed, re-aligned' for higher scale of operations, he says

Anand Group ties up with Korean entity to boost aftermarket biz for PVs

Auto component maker Anand Group on Wednesday said it has joined hands with South Korea's HL Group to provide a wide range of aftermarket components for the passenger vehicle segment in domestic and international markets. The companies have formed a joint venture (JV) -- HL Anand Automotive Parts Pvt Ltd -- under which two dedicated distribution centres will be set up in the next two years. The JV plans to add around 1,200 new SKUs (stock keeping units) in the next two years, Anand Group said in a statement. The new JV would help increase the size of the Indian firm's aftermarket business two-fold while building the Korean entity's presence in India, it noted. The JV will expand the aftermarket portfolio with products manufactured by Anand Group's existing JVs with HL Group's Mando Corporation, an automotive components leader based in South Korea, it added. The existing partnerships between the two entities are HL Mando Anand Automotive Pvt Ltd, which makes steering, brake, and .

Domestic passenger vehicle wholesales up 9% in Aug, exports rise: Siam

Highest ever August sales for passenger vehicles and three-wheelers, says report

Passenger vehicle retail sales lag wholesales in August, shows data

In August, PV wholesales were at an all-time high at 360,897 units, beating the previous peak of 355,400 units in September 2022

NEC Corp India bags deal for vehicle location tracking project from UPSRTC

Technology firm NEC Corporation India has been selected as the master system integrator by Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) for the Vehicle Location Tracking-Passenger Information System project, the company said on Tuesday. The project is supported by Nirbhaya fund of the Centre and aims at resolving the critical issue of safety in buses and enhancing the overall travel experience of passengers in UPSRTC buses through advanced technologies, such as live tracking of buses. "As a leader in Integrated Transportation Systems, NEC India has successfully implemented many similar bus projects in India and the Middle East," UPSRTC, General Manager (IT), Yajuvendra Kumar said. Under this project, AIS 140-based Vehicle Location Tracking (VLT) devices and emergency safety buttons will be installed across the majority of UPSRTC buses along with tracking of its entire fleet on the Uttar Pradesh state tracking platform. Large display screens will also be installed in ..

Domestic passenger vehicle sales jump 3.1% as strong base effect continues

The highest ever sales by the Indian PV makers was in September last year at about 355,000 units

Indian auto industry is driving sustainable mobility through 6 initiatives

Companies have demonstrated the sector's commitment to the country's green growth

Kia unveils new updated Seltos; eyes 10% market share in PV segment

Kia India on Tuesday unveiled the updated version of its mid-sized sports utility vehicle Seltos, as it aims to garner a 10 per cent market share in the domestic passenger vehicle (PV) segment. The automaker, which currently has a market share of around 7 per cent in the domestic market, also aims to double its existing sales network to 600 plus outlets from over 300. "Seltos is the product with which we entered India, and since then, the journey of Kia India and the Seltos has been almost identical. We have a segment disruptor and a segment winner in the new Seltos and are confident to take forward the strong legacy of the Brand Seltos to lead the premium RV market," Kia India Managing Director and CEO Tae-Jin Park said. This strategic launch is key to the company's ambitions of attaining a 10 per cent market share soon, he added. "We feel that there is a lot of growth potential in the mid-SUV segment, and the new Seltos will grow the premium end of it," Park noted. With the ...

Tata Motors to hike prices of PVs from July 17 to offset input costs

Tata Motors on Monday said it will hike prices of its passenger vehicles with effect from July 17. The company will increase prices of its passenger vehicles (including EVs) by an average of 0.6 per cent across models and variants, Tata Motors said in a statement. The price increase is to offset the residual impact of past input costs, it added. The auto major noted that it will offer price protection to bookings made up to July 16, 2023 and deliveries up to July 31, 2023. Tata Motors sells a range of passenger vehicles including Punch, Nexon and Harrier.

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India produces 27 mn vehicles, valued at $108-bn in FY23: Report

The Indian automobile industry produced a whopping 2.7 crore vehicles across segments and types, worth around USD 108-billion (Rs 8.7-lakh crore) in FY23, with passenger vehicle segment accounting for 57 per cent at Rs 5-lakh crore in the total value, a report said on Wednesday. Also, in the total 2.7 lakh crore vehicles churned out last fiscal, the commercial vehicle segment, which includes small 4-wheel carrier with less than 2-ton capacity to large tractor trailers and specialty vehicles like tippers, share stood at 10-lakh vehicles, generating a value of Rs 1.7-lakh crore, management consulting services firm Primus Partners said in its report. The CV segment accounted for 4 per cent in the total volume and 19 per cent in value terms, it said. According to Primus Partners, the production of two-wheelers is closely matched by China, with 20-million two-wheelers coming out of the manufacturing facilities in the country, accounting for 77 per cent of the volume share. The overall .

Better chip supply fuels passenger vehicle production by 16%: Siam

India's two-wheeler exports down 21% in the month

Car dealer inventories rise despite retail sales of PVs up 4% in May

FADA initiates talks with OEMs on recalibrating production plans