Friday, November 6th, 2009
Toyota India has been successful in attaining 4 lakh Mark in India. There are now four lakh Toyota cars in India. The company has achieved this mark in the 11th year of its tenure in India. Toyota is the world’s largest carmaker by sales. And it plans to increase the Toyota dealerships from 93 to 150 by 2011. By 2011, the company will launch a small car and for its launch the second production plant would be set up in Bangalore at an investment of Rs 3,200 crore.
Sandeep Singh, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) Deputy Managing Director (Marketing), said in a statement that it is a big step for the auto market and the company. Toyota, which is present in India through a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group, currently sells Toyota Prado and Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota Corolla Altis, Toyota Camry, Toyota Fortuner and Toyota Innova. Toyota Prius is expected to be showcased in Auto Expo 2010.
[Via: Cars India ]
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Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
It is farewell time for the Bajaj XCD 125 , the executive commuter bike that was launched way back in September 2007. This is the second bike that the Pune-based manufacturer has phased out in the last three months, the first being the Pulsar 200 DTS-i.
The reason behind this move was to make way for the slightly bigger and more powerful XCD 135 which was launched way back in February this year. Bajaj decided to pull the plug on the smaller model when its sales dipped below 20000 units a month as compared to the 50000 units expected of it by the company. In contrast, the XCD 135 sold 10,000 units in the first two weeks after its launch.
Commenting on this move, a Mumbai-based analyst stated “Bajaj had launched too many models in the market without many differentiating factors between the bikes. The company always had the option to lower or even completely stop the production of one bike and increase the other, depending on the demand”. The company is now planning to concentrate only on the Discover and Pulsar brand in the entry to premium segment while containing the Platina and Avenger within these core groups.
[Via: BIKE Magazine]
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Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Skoda India , a fully owned subsidiary of SkodaAuto a.s., Czech Republic, today announced a record of 98% growth in sales for the month of October 2009 over October 2008. SkodaAuto India’s total sales for October, 2009 stood at 1753 units as against 887 units in October, 2008.
Speaking on the increase in sales figures for the month of October, Mr. Thomas Kuehl, Board Member, Sales and Marketing, SkodaAuto India said “We have witnessed a high double-digit jump of 58% in sales in the last 3 months (August - October) over the same period last year.
The Skoda Superb has surpassed the sales number of 336 cars in October ‘09, the highest ever since the launch of superb in India. The sales figures for Skoda since the launch of the all new Skoda Superb and the New Laura this year have surpassed our expectations. We are expecting the momentum will continue to see a much stronger response to our products and services and help drive growth in our sales in the coming months.”
Mr. Thomas Kuehl further added “Online shopping in India has been gaining importance day by day. Due to dearth of time and tedious ways of traditional shopping, customers are increasingly seeking the convenience of shopping from their home. Keeping in mind the customer profile we have launched “Fabia online sales project” to make car buying a hassle free and a haggle free experience by providing complete and transparent information while also streamlining the buying process with the combination of online and offline activities. We believe that the Fabia online sales project has been a part of success for Fabia and in the past 2 months we have doubled our sales figures over last year in the same period.”
Since the Launch of the New Superb in March 2009, the superb has strengthened its position and is outperforming in the premium D segment. In the month of October 2009, the all New Superb has reached the sales figures of 336 units - the highest monthly figures since its Launch. The Skoda Superb had 22.8% Segment share in period January - September 2009 as against 5.4% Segment share in January - September 2008, registering a growth of over 332% in this segment.
Adding on the performance Mr. Ashutosh Dixit, Sr. General Manager, Sales & Marketing, SkodaAuto India said “We are pleased to see such robust growth for all our products and services, which reflects the customer’s growing confidence in Skoda day by day.”
[Via: cartradeindia]
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Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Bajaj India
Bajaj Auto reported a 52.38% increase in its motorcycle sales in October 2009, at 249,681 units, as against 163,850 units in October last year. This includes 127 units of the Kawasaki Ninja 250R sportsbike, which the company launched in India during October this year. Bajaj’s total two-wheeler sales (including scooters) also increased by 51.06% in October this year, at 249,974 units, as compared with 165,477 units in October 2008.
Exports went up by 11.88%, to 84,012 units in October 2009, from 75,092 units in October 2008. Total vehicle sales (including commercial vehicles) of the company in October 2009 stood at 280,455 units, as compared with 191,840 units in October 2008.
Hero Honda India
Hero Honda reported a marginal increase in October 2009 sales, at 354,156 units, as against 352,449 units in October 2008.
TVS India
TVS reported a 12% increase in sales during October 2009, at 131,000 units, as against 117,000 units in the year-ago period. In the domestic market, TVS sales were up 18% at 118,000 units, as against 100,000 units in October 2008. Scooter sales were up 20%, at 28,301 units in October 2009, as against 23,487 units during October 2008.
However, TVS’ total motorcycle sales declined, with the company selling 56,465 units in October 2009 as against 59,217 units in October 2008. Exports also went down, registering 12,466 units in Oct 2009 as against 17,013 units in October 2008.
Yamaha India
India Yamaha Motor registered an increase of 44% in sales during October 2009, at 26,879 units, as against 18,614 units in October 2008.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
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Friday, October 9th, 2009
India’s leading gear-less scooter maker Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) is struggling with labour problem at its Manesar plant in Haryana and the firm predicts that this will cause the production to slide roughly by 50% this month.
HMSI had been producing over a lakh motorcycles and scooters earlier but now it feel that it will barely reach the 50,000 unit mark in October and the downward descend may continue in the coming months if a solution is not found for the labour issue. Honda’s other Indian arm - Hero Honda has been dominating the market and registered over four lakh unit of two-wheeler sales in September and hopes to maintain the positive growth.
The over-all two-wheeler sales in India is robust due to the festive season and attractive loan offers and is expected to cross the 9 lakh unit mark in the month of September 2009. However, HMSI due to its labour issue is losing out on this opportunity.
The Manesar region is facing severe labour problems at other plants located in the area. Thankfully , the Honda plant has not witnessed any violent protests but the pace of production has been reduced as the workers seek higher wages. This will further increase the waiting period for the firm’s flagship scooter - Activa.
[Via: BIKE]
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Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
The year 2009 has been a revival of sorts for one of the country’s most endeared car brands. For the past few years Fiat has been preparing for this new phase in the Indian market and the efforts have met with tremendous response. The beginning of the year saw the launch of its sedan, Linea which is at the core of Fiat’s success in recent times.
Linea within nine months of its launch has crossed the milestone of clocking more than 10,000 units. This figure becomes even more important considering that Fiat sold a total of 3550 cars in the corresponding period last year from January to September. Also, the Grande Punto has sold more than 5000 units within three months of its introduction.
Speaking about the milestone, Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, CEO, Fiat India Automobiles Ltd said, “Fiat is a brand which has been deeply rooted in the Indian psyche for many decades now. Our dream is to see a lot many Fiat vehicles plying on Indian roads. The milestone achieved by Linea is a testimony that we are inching closer towards this goal. Now, we are confident that the Grande Punto will emulate if not exceed this success.”
[Via: CW]
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Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
Mahindra Renault is targeting to sell 1200 units of the Logan in northern region in the current fiscal. The company is also aiming to improve its market share in midsize segment in the region from 8% to 11% by the end of the financial year. To push up sales during the festival season, the company is offering various special schemes that include low interest finance.
“We are targeting to sell 1,200 units of Logan in 2009-10 compared with 1150 units sold in last fiscal in north comprising Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh,” Company’s Deputy General Manager, Indrajeet Ghoshal said. “We are targeting to sell 2,000 units of Logan across the country during this festival season,” said Company’s Senior Manager, Jasjit Singh Bawa.
[Via: motorbeam]
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Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
Passenger Vehicles segment during April-August 2009 grew at 11.97 percent over same period last year. Passenger Cars grew by 13.47 percent, Utility Vehicles fell marginally by 0.10 percent and Multi Purpose Vehicles grew by 22.67 percent in this period.
During April-August 2009, all segments except Passenger vehicles registered de-growth. Overall automobile exports registered a growth rate of 3.18 percent.
[Via: CW]
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Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has announced a 13.82% increase in total sales during August this year, at 96,149 units, as compared with 84,476 units in August 2008. Motorcycle sales in this period went up from 30,454 units to 37,108 units, while scooter sales went up from 54,022 units to 59,041 units.
HMSI is looking at increasing production capacity at its plant in Manesar from the current 1.07 million units per annum to 1.5 million units per annum, by mid-2010. The company will also be investing about Rs 200 crore towards R&D activity in India and towards upgrading its two-wheelers to make sure they comply with BS-III norms.
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Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Yamaha India has reported an increase of 63% in its sales during August 2009, at 19,508 units, as compared to 11,974 units sold in August last year. The company has bookings for over 12,000 units for its latest bike that was launched in India recently - the 150cc Fazer.
Hero Honda reports an increase of 35.88% in sales during August this year, at 415,137 units, as compared to 305,516 units sold in August last year. ‘With sales of more than four lakh units, August 2009 has been a month of record sales for Hero Honda,’ said Anil Dua, senior VP (marketing and sales), Hero Honda.
Up next is Suzuki, which logged a 17.68% increase in its two-wheeler sales in India during August this year, at 13,030 units, as against 11,072 units sold during August last year. According to Suzuki, its latest offering in the Indian market - the GS150R - was the main reason behind this increase in sales.
And finally, TVS Motor, which saw its total two-wheeler sales go up by 11%, at 126,842 units during August this year, as against 114, 321 units sold during August last year. TVS sold 51,127 motorcycles and 28,582 scooters in the domestic market during August 2009. The company also exported 11,747 two-wheelers during August this year, a decline of 35% over last year’s figure for the same month.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
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