Alto for refinement at Rs2 lakhs

India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki is on a mission to refine its largest selling small car Alto. The company is aiming to make it cheaper still thereby attaining a total of 20K units per month. This strategy is to meet the outstanding competition in small cars at the same time to regain the free flow of the phased out Maruti 800. The Chairman of Maruti indicated that the company will take all its might to make this new Alto affordable by common customers.

With no major changes in design of the car, the new Alto will hit the showrooms in a couple of months, he added. The car will not undergo any changes as in the case of Wagon R and other ranges. Wagon R is to undergo tremendous changes, as the company has invested Rs290 crore, for upgrading its hatchback on a new platform, said the company’s EO. The refined Wagon R will be fitted with K 10B engine meeting the BH IV emission norms and be delivered from Gurgaon facility.

Bajaj to launch cars on Renault platform

The tripartite JV among Renault-Nissan– Bajaj has paved way for Bajaj to secure a safe journey for its cars. The small car project is already getting shape to be delivered by 2012. This will make Bajaj ease out its lease of commercial and passenger cars on Renault platform. Common sharing of platform-engine, transmission and chassis- is on the cards for the goods carriers too. Though Bajaj is claiming its credentials on the RE platform for commercial cars, it could not muster necessary force for the passenger vehicles. According to the CEO of Bajaj’s three wheelers said the company is phasing out the GC 1000 and Mega brands only to be replaced by redefined three wheelers. Under this, two new platforms will materialize in this quarter, portraying neat and sporty outlook.

The French flirtation on the way for Tata

Tata’s Nano has gathered momentum when the French province Moselle proposed to provide a plant for the production. It comes in the wake of Tata’s venture for European market on low cost cars. The proposal was confirmed by the Director General of Moselle Development Agency. The agency has a lot of such proposals since it happens to be the home ground for Daimler for its two-seater small car Smart. The agency is providing facilities for the Canadian automobile parts company Magna.

The proposal for Tata would be let known by this month end, said the Director General. Tata’s chairman Ratan Tata had earlier indicated an overseas venture for its small car Nano- by 2011 in Europe and by 2012 in the US. Nano has been in the forefront among the small cars at Rs1 lakh and has been commercially growing in Indian market. To meet the overseas norms, Tata has to upgrade the car with higher safety and emission standards.

Bajaj on land search for its 4-wheeler project

The tripartite JV among Bajaj-Nissan-Renault is facing a roadblock in the way of land acquisition. Bajaj is taking care of the production of the cars and is facing tough time to acquire land for this project. Till then, the project will be carried out in some place out of Pune. The car is to hit the roads by 2012 and the facility in Chakan is short of 100 acres in addition to the existing 250acres of land. The plants in Aurangabad and Pantnagar are operational at full swing.

The proposed target is 4 lakh units a month during this calendar year. Currently the company has the capacity of producing 350000 vehicles per month of which 50000 are three wheelers and the rest being motorcycles. The products coming out of these plants will be the bread winner brands – Pulsar, Discover, RE sportbike and a three wheeler. The export market for Bajaj was also exemplary – 158000 units- diverted to Egypt, Peru, Tanzania and other African nations. The company foresees a growth of 15% in its export market.

Further there will be an allocation of Rs50 crore for R&D during this year, backed up by 650 engineers at Pune. In all there will be 5 platforms for commercial vehicles and three of them are already in operation while the remaining two are expected by this quarter. In addition, there will be a new platform venture on four wheeler.

Hero Honda upgrades Passion Pro, Pleasure and Splendor NXG

Country’s largest bike maker Hero Honda has upgraded three of its popular products – Splendor NXG, Passion Pro and Pleasure. Passion PRO and Splendor NXG gets APDV engine. Along with the new engine mechanism, Passion Pro also gets digital display (speedo is still analogue), new muffler and new tail lamp cluster. Hero Honda has also upgraded the pleasure scooter.

SAIC to tresspass into India through GM board

The long wait for SAIC to enter into the Indian car market is over that its JV with GM has enabled its way. On the official hierarchy, SAIC would have a joint MD for involving in Indian operations. This was asserted by the President and MD of GM India that the company’s board would accommodate the SAIC officials at equal levels. The GM concept is not keen on promoting more representations from SAIC but the latter insists on a better say in the officialdom. The JV is in operation in China under a 50:50 JV with the operations carried out from Hong Kong. Prior to this JV, GM India was a subsidiary of GM Corp (US).

The reversal of fortune for Hero Honda

The overall boost in sales and growth is quite good and comfortable for Hero Honda, but not in terms of production. The country’s largest two wheeler company is facing the production capacity to meet the demand. All the three plants are already in full swing, as the company is strong in the market with more than 50%. In 2009-10, the sale peaked to 4.6million units courtesy rural and semi-urban segments. The net production of three units comes to 5 million and the expansion in the current FY seems vague. Hence, the company is exploring all possibilities to establish new facilities in the country.

Talks with various governments have commenced and by the end of the next year, there would be at least one facility. The company foresees a growth of 12-15% which means it will be able to sell about 5.15-5.30 million units in FY2010-11. Meeting this small variation of production and demand may not pose heavy problem but the situation might be different next year. In the meantime, the MD of Hero Honda hinted at the double digit growth in sales of two wheelers in this FY. The buying power of people will vary due to the facilities offered under government schemes. However, the company sees a soft pedal in its sale during this year despite its achievement of 23% sale in 2009-10.

The Haridwar unit is meeting the peak level of 1.8 million annual units, as a result of excise-free advantage. Other two units- Dharuhera and Gurgaon- are delivering 1.57 million units and 1.6 million units each, dominated by CD Dawn and Splendor models. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India is coming out with a finalized version of a new facility in Rajasthan and it will be ready for operation by Q2 of 2011. As an interim step, the increase in production will be made in Manesar (Gurgaon) units with an increae of 33%. This would enable the company to manage the timely need.

Bajaj-KTM here by year end

Bajaj has entered into a pact with KTM for rolling down global bikes in India. Notwithstanding the run away success of its indigenous brand Pulsar 220, Bajaj is keen on securing a brand image on par with Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki. The new deal is to come out with an entry level motorcycle – 125cc – 250cc which seem to have more potential in global markets. The company has slated the launch of 125cc bikes globally at the end of this year and in next year in India. The launch of 250cc would be in 2013, under Bajaj-KTM JV.

The high-capacity bikes will follow suit once the entry level bikes bring tempo, said the chairman of Bajaj. The bikes will come out from Bajaj’s Chakan plant and the 125cc engine will offer less cubics and power output but with better performance than the similar brands. The projected price of these bikes in the European markets may Rs2.3-2.4 lakhs and the Indian market would get the price when the bikes get shape. So far, Bajaj has not been able to penetrate the high-end platform and this 250cc is expected to boost its image in Europe and Japanese markets. The Indian two wheeler segment consists of just 5% of premium bikes, yet with possible growth rate. The bikes are in due demand at reasonable prices.

The Chairman of Bajaj accepted the view that Pulsar and Discover brands have taken the company on to the level of premium sports bikes from Japan. Bajaj gets the share of 31.92% in KTM, which is the top most manufacturer of superbikes in high-end in the world. KTM has less than 51% and Mr.Rahul Bajaj gets a berth in the supervisory board of KTM. Stunt and Race are the two bikes slated under 125cc due for formal launches in India with different style and common engine facility.