GM centralizes all cars

The Talegaon facility of General Motors will be the centralized plant for all cars while Halol will look after the commercial vehicles, said its President for India. The Halol plant will give way for the proposed JV with SAIC of China. The first passenger car from Talegaon will come out in 2012 he added. The company has considerably increased its market share from 2.6% to 4.6% with its fast selling Spark [images] and Beat [images]. Halol plant is delivering Spark, Tavera [images] and UVA [images]. He made it clear that there is no proposal to have a separate facility for the SAIC joint venture. The current capacity is 3.85 lakhs cars covering all three variants.(GM-SAIC JV for Chevrolet)

SAIC will look after the design and style of the new car and the components would be domestic. The proposed new car will come under Chevrolet brand while LCVs will have varied brand. The LCVs will fall under sub one tone with a substantial investment. The Talegaon plant will have its operation of powertrain from November and engines will be delivered with the 1.5lit displacement. Tavera, now under scrutiny on BS IV norms, is to undergo refinement meeting the norms.(The Great Wall of China has openings to the car market)

The shock waves spread slowly to M&M factory

M&M, the pioneer name in trucks and auto industry, is turning towards the electric versions of two wheelers and e-scooters. The entry into the two wheeler sector last year prompted the company to explore the possibilities of securing a good share in the electric versions. The scooter may be in the range of 250-1000w as there are three 125cc scooters from M&M- Rodeo, Duro and Flyte [images]. The company took over the deal from Kinetic Motor last year for Rs110crore. The products went on refinement in September 2009 at a sale volume of 70000 units in 2009-10. The President of M&M for two wheelers claimed that the company intends to remain an end-to-end player in the two wheeler sector and rely much on the feedback of the Kinetic products.(M&M in search of Global tie-ups for its Premium Bikes)

Rodeo [images] is meant for masculine ride, Duro [images] for the family and the Flyte fits for the feminine ride. The company is deriving an exclusive Mahindra product which may hit the market in 2011 March. The long term vision is on the electric scooters, he added. He foresees that the motorcycle market will see the volume of 8 million every year and it made the company to ride towards it. The company is on talks with the Italian Engines Engineering and Taiwan’s Sanyang Industry for motorcycles. The plant at Indore has the capacity of 5 lakh units. Kinetic Motor possesses needed facility for electric scooters and the current market trend is 0.1million units of electric scooters, shared largely by TVS and Electrotherm India.

Toyota

The government’s implementation of Bharat Stage IV norms made Toyota introduce Innova in the norm compliant. The engine is same but the intercooler makes the addition to the turbocharged commonrail 2.5 lit engine. Other minor changes are in the catalytic converter and fine tuning the ECU for enhanced efficiency. The change of intercooler is displayed in the front panel and the sticker depicting BS IV on the rear tail gate. The prices of MPV and the refined BS IV Innova [images] D4D VX have been increased by Rs27000 from its BS III variant.

Audi Q7 to carry 8-speed Auto

The Audi cars, known for luxury on par excellence, will soon be fitted with 8-speed tiptronic transmission in Q7 models. The major advantage of this transmission is the provision of engine running close to its ideal operating point allied with optimum efficiency. Also, the fuel consumption will be less (5%less than normal) and the technique is relied on 6-speed unit having an additional friction –clutch shift element. There is also torque converter lock up clutch to eliminate slip at low speeds, by which fuel can still be saved. The mechanism of 8-speed tiptronic transmission makes the transfer of engine power to the Quattro all-wheel drive train. Out of the power, 40% goes to the front while the remaining 60% goes to the rear wheels. However, due to the road conditions, the mechanism may vary making the level in the range of 65%-85% to the rear itself. The Audi Q7 fitted with this 8-speed transmission is likely to come off in this year end.(Limited edition of Audi Q7 4.2 TDI)

Toyota applies brake for the Brake complaints in Fortuner

Toyota has made ratifications regarding the complaints in brakes fitted in Fortuner [images]. The brake is similar to the one in Innova [images] but is improper in the functioning. Fortuners came after February this year cleared with this flaw and Toyota has cleft the cars with larger and thicker discs found in Prado’s [images]. Toyota has some graceful information for the current owners of Fortuner- the brakes of their cars will also be upgraded. The new brakes will give relief from pumping.

Honda to launch CB Dazzler

As a fitting reply to the so called sports bike manufacturers, Honda Motorcycles will launch the CB Dazzler on May 08th in Delhi. The Dazzler is nothing but the Unicorn Sports concept showcased at 2010 Delhi Auto Expo. Honda CB Dazzler bulit on the same Unicorn platform sports new mechanical and cosmetic features. CB Dazzler gets dual tone styling which grabbed many eyeballs at the Auto Expo itself. CB Dazzler also features attractive scoops like its sibling CB twister. The Chiseled front cowl makes the headlamp and the CB Dazzler more appealing. The tail lamp cluster of CB Dazzler is also attractive. On the mechanical front, CB Dazzler gets rear disc brakes. Does it mean a more powerful engine for the CB Dazzler. Few dealers on the condition of anonymity telling us the CB Dazzler might sports Fuel Injection (FI) Engine. But what made us to sit back is the fact that price of this CB Dazzler can be upwards of Rs80,000 (on-road price).

Pictures of Honda CB Dazzler

Maruti 2010 Wagon-R price list

As you read it vicky.in, Maruti today laiunched 2010 Wagon-R. Maruti new Wagon-R comes in the three variants – lx,lxi and vxi with K-series engine. The new 2010 Wagon-R starts with a price tag of Rs3.28 lakhs (introductory price)

Maruti 2010 Wagon-R Lx – Rs3.28 Lakhs

Maruti 2010 Wagon-R Lxi – Rs3.57 lakhs

Maruti 2010 Wagon-R VXi – Rs3.81 lakhs

Maruti 2010 Wagon-R VXi with ABS – Rs4.12 lakhs

All the prices are ex-showroom Delhi

Bookings halted for Enfield bikes

Enfield motorbike company has suspended the booking for the bikes since the wait time exceeded six months. The delivery of Royal Enfield Classic 500 was made after a wait of two months. The company has resorted to this extreme of suspending the booking for Classic 350 model. The craze for the premium bikes in India is on the ever rise and Enfield is one such company to be highly benefitted. Enfield’s 500cc bike was launched in Europe and the US markets some 1 and a half year prior to the launch in India.

The bookings for Classic 350 got some 2000 numbers, a volume greater than the company sought. Nearly 300 customers have booked for the Classic 500. Both these numbers made Enfield to suspend the bookings, which will be in effect till the end of 2010. However, customers can book for Classic 500 [images] on the agreement of delivery period of 6 months. The booking might resume after the existing orders have been properly delivered. The facility at Thiruvottiyur in Tamilnadu has the capacity of making 300 motorcycles per month, to meet the domestic demand. 350 bikes are manufactured for the export markets of Europe and the US.

Given the demand, Enfield plans to increase its capacity to 1 lakh units before 2012 from the current 60000units (a growth of 67%). More secured for prompt delivery, the company has increased the dealer number to 160 spread over India. The company is steadily coordinating the infrastructure, manpower and processes for enhanced production. The projection of superbikes in India, as evinced by Suzuki and Honda, accounts for 350 units per year, but the trend indicates the number near 500 units. Suspending the bookings for vehicles is quite a common practice in the auto market, for instance from Toyota Kirloskar done for its Fortuner SUV. This car got some 5000 units during the first month of its launch.

Ford India seeks hired labor for its Chennai plant

The Chennai plant of Ford India will press some 700 people as hired labor in a bid to increase its production by 40%. The current strength of the plant is around 3000 and the new hiring is for the shop floor in addition to some team leaders and senior engineers. Ford feels that recruiting qualified and deserving personnel would be a challenging task. The company is willing to offer the opening for the fresher from the college and the diploma holders for the position of technicians.(Ford India to invest Rs 2000cr more)

The move comes in the wake of the ongoing demand for its recently launched Figo [images].

The company is on the verge of increasing the volume from the suppliers too, said its President and MD. The car plant of Ford has the annual capacity of 2 lakh units. By running at single shift, the company could deliver 8270 units in March with the net toll for the fiscal making to 39216 units. The launch of Figo last month secured the triple growth to 9478 units against the same period of the previous year. Of this 9478, Figo shares more than 7000 units. The company is overwhelmed at the success of Figo and the demand is rising often. The sale during the first month of the launch was 7700 units, the second highest sales for any passenger car in India. Ford introduced this compact car for the Indian small car market which has 78% of the passenger car segment.(Ford announces prices of Figo)

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It cannot be erased out of the pages of auto world history. General Motors has the credit of delivering its 100001 units of Spark [images]. The feat encouraged the company to invest $50 million for the expansion activities spread over next two years. Further there will be an increased production in its Halol facility- from the existing 85000 units to 1.25 units. In addition there will be a new launch of LCV during the next fiscal year. This initiates the extended capacity of ancillary industrial supplier base in Gujarat- from the current 172.

GM is in the form of awarding some $500 million worth components from the domestic suppliers and $1 billion for its global operations. The expansion will be focused on Chevrolet models which have the wait period of two months. The demand for this model is on the increase from the last September. Moreover, Halol will get the third shift soon with the personnel strength added by 200. GM is on the verge of capitalizing on the demand for its popular models – Spark and Tavera [images]- followed by its latest Beat [images](which sells 5000 units a month and is to hit the 1 lakh mark next few months).

The entire car market has the share of 10 lakh (out of the 14 lakh cars sold last year). GM has the niche of launching its other premier models – Aveo and e-Spark- during the end of this year. The company is seeking a relaxation from the Gujarat government for the electric version of Spark, on the lines of Delhi government(29.5% subsidy). Halol facility is making 250 cars a day by working 26 days in a month. The assembling activity is in full swing in this facility for Cruze [images], Optra [images], Aveo [images], U-Va [images] and Spark. Tavera forms the major share among this volume while Spark is made from both Halol and Talegaon plants. Halol plant takes care of assembling all the cars except Beat.

GM is happy with the sale volume despite the increased price out of increased output costs and Euro-IV norms. The company is aiming to sell about 1.20 lakh cars this year against 70000 units shelled out in the fiscal of 2009-10. The export projection for the next year is set at an increase of 20%, mainly formed by LCVs and small cars like Spark and Beat. The countries marked for the export are Asia and the Pacific region. GM is in deal in countries of Srilanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.