Maruti Suzuki is inching close to the one-million mark in Alto sales in India. Launched eight years ago, the Alto has displaced the 800 as Maruti’s no.1 bestseller in the domestic market.
Alto sales have actually picked up very fast over the last 24-30 months. While Maruti only sold around 500,000 units of the Alto within the first six years of the car’s launch, it has sold around the same number over the last two years.
Apart from sales in the domestic market, Maruti has also exported about 180,000 units of the Alto, to various European countries. In 2009, most parts of the world will get a brand-new Alto, which will be sold as the A-Star in the Indian market. The current Alto will continue its innings in the Indian market.
It has been confirmed by MarutiSuzuki officials that they will launch A-Star on 19th November. Also A-star’s official website is up and Maruti is going to make debut of A-star in true bollywood style…!!
The new models has been designed by Rajesh Kumar Gogu and Saurabh Singh of Maruti Suzuki India, A-Star, which is a five-door hatchback; has been engineered keeping in mind the trends and standards of the European market.
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.
Tata Motors has reported a 6.1% increase in revenues (net of excise) to Rs 7,078.85 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2008, compared to Rs 6,672.65 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Profit before tax (before notional loss on foreign exchange valuation) was Rs 643.03 crore, an increase of 8.9%, compared to Rs 590.34 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
After considering notional exchange valuation loss of Rs 285.02 crore (compared to a notional gain of Rs 30.85 crore in the corresponding quarter last year), reflecting the volatility in foreign exchange rates impacting the company’s long-term funds raised through issue of foreign currency convertible (FCC) instruments, profit before tax was Rs 358.01 crore, a decline of 42.4%, compared to Rs 621.19 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Profit after tax (after notional loss on foreign exchange valuation) was Rs 346.99 crore, a decline of 34.1% compared to Rs 526.84 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
With the Singur debacle, it was almost inevitable that the launch date for the Tata Nano would have to be pushed back by a couple of months. And indeed, it now seems certain that the Nano will miss its earlier launch deadline of November-December this year.
While Tata Motors is struggling to start production of the Nano at its Pantnagar plant (the aim being to produce around 48,000 units per annum from this plant in Uttarakhand), the launch is now likely to happen only in the January-March 2009 quarter.
Tata Motors has, reportedly, asked its vendors to be prepared for supplying components for only 3,500 - 4,000 Nanos on a monthly basis for now. The company, which wants to ensure continuous supply once the car is actually launched, is taking no chances on quality control and will prefer to defer the launch by 2 - 3 months rather than launch the car in a big hurry and then face problems later.
BMW has launched its first electric vehicle - MINI E. Based on the current generation R56 MINI Cooper, the MINI E is powered by a 204 Bhp, 220Nm electric motor that draws power from a rechargeable lithium ion battery. Power is transmitted to the front wheels via a single-stage helical transmission.
0 to 100km/h takes 8.5 seconds and the vehicle has a top speed of 152km/h, which is not very high but is probably due to the maximum spin speed of the motor and the single-stage transmission, which is derived from the Cooper S helical gearbox. It’s essentially a single-speed automatic so there’s limitations on the top speed.
The MINI E has been reduced from a 2+2 into a strict 2 seater as the rear bench has been removed and replaced by the battery bank. The 5,088 lithium ion battery cells (grouped into 48 modules) have a maximum capacity of 35 kWh, and powers the motor at 380 volts. They provide for a maximum of 240km range on a full charge.
Some of the energy can be recovered via brake energy regeneration to provide a 20% boost in range. A full recharge via a plug-in charger draws 28 kWH from the power grid. Quick charging in 2.5 hours is enabled via a quick charger that will be installed in the customer’s garage for higher amperage.
A wholly owned subsidiary of Jamna Auto Industries Ltd., Jai Springs Group (JSG) has started production of suspension components for the Tata Nano. JSG, leading suppliers of leaf-springs and parabolic springs for commercial vehicles, are making suspension components for the Nano at their plant in Pantnagar (in Uttarakhand), from where the Nano is slated to roll by the end of this year.
JSG’s plant at Pantnagar will primararily cater to Tata Motors’ requirements for the Ace mini-truck, the Nano, and some of Ashok Leyland’s commercial vehicles. Jamna Auto is reported to have spent about Rs three crore towards setting up this plant and the company plans to increase capacity to 24,000 MTPA by the end of the current fiscal.
The Gujarat Cabinet today decided to charge Rs 900 per square metre from Tata for the 1,100 acre given for Nano Car Project in Sanand, which means the company will have to pay Rs 400.65 crore for the land. A state cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Narendra Modi, took the decision on the basis of recommendation of state-level land valuation committee of the state government, official sources said.
The cabinet also decided that if the Tatas pay late then they will be charged compound interest of eight per cent from the date of allocation of the land. The state government has given 1,100 acres of land near Charodi village in Sanand taluk on the outskrits of the city to the Tata’s for the relocation of their Nano car project from Singur in West Bengal. An agreement was signed between Gujarat government and the Tatas last week for establishment of the project.
