on the sidelines of Tokyo Motor show
* Toyota was keen on launching Lexus in India but the Government should re-examine its import norms for completely built units. “India needs to relax its norms for importing vehicles and only then can we look at bringing Lexus to India,” Toyota’s Executive Vice-President Mr Uranishi said.
* Honda Motor Company is planning to launch to two new cars in the Indian market next year, – the Honda Jazz and the Civic Hybrid. Speaking at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show, Mr Masahiro Takedagawa, President and CEO of Honda Siel Cars India, said that the company is in the process of developing and homologating both the cars for meeting the requirements of the Indian market.
* Toyota Motor Corporation has revealed that its bitter experience with its former partner, the DCM Group in India, had made the auto maker to become cautious while drawing up plans for the country. “We have had extremely bitter experience with DCM earlier. Hence, we wanted to be very cautious while drawing up plans for India,” Toyota Kirloskar Motor Company Chairman and a board member of Toyota Motor Corporation, Mr Dato’ Akira Okabe told. He said one of the reasons for entering a niche segment like the multi-utility vehicle segment in India instead of launching cars for the mass market was because it did not want a repeat of the experience it had with DCM. Toyota Motor Corporation, currently, has a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group in India.
* Small car major Daihatsu has said Suzuki Motor’s huge market share in India has kept it away from launching its own models in the country. Daihatsu will, however, be willing to partner with Toyota Motor Corporation to launch a small car in India, the Daihatsu President, Mr Teruyuki Minoura, told reporters at the 40th edition of the Tokyo Motor Show. “Even though India is a very big market, Suzuki is very strong there. It has captured nearly half of the market there. We don’t want to compete with them,” Mr Minoura said. He, however, said that it was willing to consider partnering with Toyota Motor Corporation for launching a car in the Indian market. “It can be a possibility but Daihatsu will not come into India on its own,” he said.
* Toyota has asked the Government to consider relaxing norms for import of hybrid cars such as Prius. Toyota says it has been negotiating with the Indian Government to consider relaxing norms for import of completely built units (CBUs) of environment-friendly cars like Prius. Toyota’s Senior Managing Director, Akira Okabe has indicated that the Prius could be one of the new cars that the Japanese giant brings into India.
Nissan -Renault – Bajaj JV:
* Nissan Motor may eventually export low-cost Indian-built cars to the US if the Japanese carmaker can modify them for the world’s biggest auto market. The vehicles could cost less than 5,000 dollar in the U S even after modifications to meet local safety and emission standards, Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn told reporters at the Tokyo Motor Show. The models will likely cost about 3,000 dollar in India, he added.
* Bajaj Auto will lead the three-way exclusive global alliance with Renault-Nissan for the $3,000 small car project. It seems that Bajaj will lead the project while the Renault-Nissan will support it. Bajaj will be involved not just in the development and manufacturing of the car but also in its marketing and distribution, using its existing network of two-wheeler dealers. Currently, a feasibility study on the $3000 car is on and a formal decision will be taken in the next two months. However, the alliance with Bajaj will only focus on light vehicles, both passenger and cargo. Which means, Nissan may be looking for another Indian partner to market and distribute its high-end range of cars. Renault-Nissan’s alliance with Bajaj also covers light commercial vehicles, an area that Nissan’s Ashok Leyland alliance includes.
others
* General Motors India will set up a new facility to manufacture engine and transmission parts in india soon. Currently, General Motors India is sourcing engine and transmission parts from its global facilities. Mr Karl Slym, the newly appointed President and Managing Director of General Motors Corporation said, “We are evaluating setting up a manufacturing unit for powertrain products. However, the investment and the precise location of the new facility would be announced shortly.” GM’s new plant is likely to come in Maharashtra, where it already has a facility near Talegaon and would be operational by next year.
* Bajaj Auto Ltd on october 28th said it has sold 65,000 units of its 125 cc DTS-Si bike XCD within the first 50 days of its launch. As much as half of XCD 125 volumes are coming from competition, a majority of them being 100cc users. XCD 125 is a compelling package that 100cc customers are finding very difficult to resist,” Bajaj Auto’s General Manager (Marketing) Amit Nandi said.Bajaj is also ramping up production of XCD from the present 50,000 units a month to 75,000 units a month by November.
* Government of India is considering to implement mandatory ethanol doping with petrol across the country. By the end of this October, 5 per cent ethanol blending will be mandatory. The percentage of ethanol in motor spirits will be increased to 10 per cent from October 2008. Since some of the existing cars are not E10 compatible this manadatory implementation may make some cars unworthy for indian roads.
* Government of India has decided to set up mandatory fuel efficiency standards for all class and type of vehicles, including cars, scooters, bikes, trucks, buses and three-wheelers. The fuel efficiency standard would be like a certificate promising a certain range of kilometres per litre of petrol or diesel that you could expect from your vehicle. Manufacturers could be penalised if their vehicles fail to meet these government-set norms. This will help the consumers to save money as well as it will help in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to government projections, the country could save up to $36 billion if fuel efficiency is improved by 50% by 2030 in all sectors. With as much as 98% of the total petrol stock and 62% of diesel used for transportation, a mandatory fuel efficiency standard will obviously turn into a huge money saver for consumers. Besides, progressive standards will also force the industry to improve car engines and not allow them to sell outdated and inefficient designs being phased out in richer countries. We now have the legal mandate to bring standards and they will be put in place in less than two years. We want to move fast on this and want the industry to participate constructively in the process,” Sanjeev Capoor, executive director of Petroleum Conservation Research Association said.