Fiat’s Ranjangaon (Pune) plant with the capacity to produce 3.33 lakh engines a year, can produce a much larger volume of engines than the company and its joint venture partner Tata Motors would need in the near future. The company has decided to utilise the excess capacity to produce engines for export.
For Fiat, engine production in India for its global operations is cost-efficient by 15-20 per cent. Mr Kapoor said the company would use Tata Motors’ facilities to export its products. Fiat India is a 50:50 joint venture between Tata Motors and the Fiat Group.
Fiat is currently producing 1.3 litre Multijet diesel, 1.2 litre FIRE petrol and 1.4 litre FIRE petrol engines at Ranjangaon plant. The 1.3 litre Multijet diesel, a successful engine known for its performance and efficiency, will constitute larger portion of Fiat’s export from India. Fiat group has produced more than 2.5 million units of 1.3 litre, Multijet diesel engines worldwide. Tata Motors is also sourcing this engine from Ranjangaon plant for its Indica Vista.
General Motors Corp. has announced that it will sell its 3% stake in Suzuki Motor Corp. back to Suzuki, for US$232 million, in a bid to raise cash. Suzuki will pay 1,363 yen per share to GM to buy back the 3.02% stake. GM had, back in March 2006, sold a 17.4% stake in Suzuki for around US$2 billion.
GM and Suzuki will, however, continue to work together in the area of automotive technology development. ‘We highly value our strategic relationship with Suzuki. This action will have no impact on our existing bilateral business relationships,’ said GM Chief Executive Officer, Rick Wagoner.
The troubled US auto giant General Motors is now choosing to depend more on the Chinese market. “The financial crisis badly hits GM, but it will not affect GM China business,” GM China president Kevin Wale told Beijing Times, “GM will introduce 10 new models to produce and sell in China within three years.”
According to Kevin Wale, from 2009 to 2011 GM will bring each five new models for Buick and Chevrolet brands, including the new heavyweight Buick LaCrosse and Chevrolet Cruze. The financial crisis mainly impacts GM in the North American market, but it hasn’t affected GM’s business in China, Kevin Wale said. GM China and GM’s eight joint ventures in China have enough capital for investment, he added.
Delphi Corp. has signed an agreement with General Motors, to provide high-speed digital data (HSDD) connectivity systems for GM cars in Europe. Delphi provides HSDD connection systems for a broad range of high-speed protocols, including USB 2.0, 1394, LVDS, FlexRay, eMOST and Ethernet.
‘Delphi’s HSDD connectivity provides one system for connecting all protocols and all data bus systems, and is suitable for both automotive and commercial vehicle applications,’ says Matthias Weber, MD, Delphi Connection Systems Europe.
Peugeot is planning to launch its small and compact car in India and China by the year 2011. The new 5-seater car is expected to be extremely spacious and cater to the growing small car demands in the country. The car is expected to make its debut in next two years which will mark the entry of the company in the small car segment in India.
Peugeot will manufacture its small car in Turkey or Poland. The car will also make its debut in other countries such as Eastern Europe, Central Europe, Russia, Africa, Turkey and South America.
India is one of the biggest auto markets for small car segment. Small car sales in India amount to nearly two-third of the total car sales in the country. Nearly every auto manufacturer plans to introduce its small car in India which would enable to company to expand its market share. Toyota, Ford, Renault-Nissan, General Motors, etc. have already lined up the launches of their small cars in the country. This segment is currently dominated by Maruti Suzuki which occupies more than 50 percent market share.
TataMotors has announced that its commercial vehicle manufacturing plants in Lucknow and Pune will remains closed for six days each. This is being done to cut down on production, to match the current slowdown in demand. Tata employees at both the plants will be given paid leave for the shutdown period. Tata Motors had also, recently, shut down its HCV plant in Jamshedpur for three days.
Tata and a US based company is developing a green engine that would require only air to run. According the EnvironmentalNews Network (ENN), Zero Pollution Motors is developing a vehicle that can motor around all day on nothing but air and a splash of salad oil, alcohol or possibly a pint of gasoline. The car is expecetd to be christened Air Car/ CATS.
The science behind building the Compressed Air Vehicle, or CAV, is not new as off-the-shelf technology already uses compressed air to drive old-fashioned car engine pistons instead of combusting gas or diesel fuel to create a burst of air.
The ruling Left Front indicated that TataMotors should return the land at Singur to the West Bengal State government. They also indicated that the State government must take steps to promote and set up alternative industries on the land acquired by them.
According to the Left Front, Tata Motors has decided not to utilise the land for their much debated Nano project. Thus, the company should return the land to the state government so that alternative industries can be developed. Moreover, the land that cannot be returned to the farmers, it should be auctioned as per the Land Acquisition Act of India.
“We have asked the state government to go ahead in setting up alternative industries at Singur,” said Biman Bose, Left Front Chairman. “Talks are on in this regard. We are looking into all possibilities for setting up alternative industries at Singur,” reciprocated Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Chief Minister, the State of West Bengal.
Tata Motors had shut down the Nano plant amidst growing protests from the farmers in Singur who wanted their land to be returned to them. The protests were led by the Opposition party, Trinamool Congress, headed by Mamata Banerjee.
Tata Motors is currently exhibiting the Indica Vista hatchback and SumoGrande MUV at the ongoing Johannesburg International Motor Show in South Africa. The company will launch both these vehicles in the South African market early next year.
Tata Motors is also showing various commercial vehicles in South Africa, including the Ace mini-truck and other trucks, tippers and buses. ‘The Tata Group has a long and cherished association with Africa. We would like to continue this association with our increasing involvement in various important projects and operations,’ said Syamal Gupta, Chairman of Tata International and Director of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group. ‘South Africa continues to be a strategic market for us. The increasing range of Tata Motors passenger cars and commercial vehicles will further consolidate our strong presence in South Africa,’ he added.
In South Africa, Tata’s range of cars and MUVs is sold through Accordian Investments, a joint venture company in which Tata Africa and Associated Motor Holdings have an equal share holding of 40 percent each, with the remaining 20 percent being held by Ukhamba Holdings Ltd., of the Imperial Group.
According to Manny De Canha, chief executive of Associated Motor Holdings, the Tata brand has received an enthusiastic response from the South African motorist. ‘This is reflected in the 67 full-fledged dealerships already operational across South Africa. We are confident that Tata will continue to be a huge success in South Africa through new models being introduced,’ he says.
