Court orders all cars in Gujarat to switch to gas within a year

In an order which would impact lakhs of people owning cars, the Gujarat high court on Wednesday directed the state government to pass necessary laws to make it compulsory for all four-wheelers registered in Gujarat to convert to natural gas within one year. 

Further, the court gave two months to the state government to issue necessary orders to impose stringent restrictions to reduce pollution by fixing levels of emission to the minimum, at par with international norms. The order applies to both public and private vehicles running on petrol and diesel. 

The order, passed by Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala, came in response to directions sought by Dhrangadhra Prakruti Mandal, through its vice-president Devjibhai Dhamecha, to the state and Centre as well as all gas and petrol companies operating in Gujarat. 

The order said, "The state is directed to pass necessary orders compelling owners of all vehicles having registration in Gujarat to use natural gas and, if necessary, even at higher prices within the shortest possible period, not exceeding one year from today for the protection of lives of citizens." 

The judges suggested gas prices be cheaper for public vehicles and higher for privately owned vehicles. Also, fares of public transport should be fixed at reasonable rates so that the end benefit goes to the public. 

The Gujarat high court also directed the Central government to allocate natural gas for domestic and vehicular use to the city of Ahmedabad usage at the same rate as it is supplied to Delhi and Mumbai. "This is to enforce the right of equality," the judges said. 


Source: Times of India 
Cars to move on CNG

Suzuki officer burnt alive by workers, production halted

Suzuki is having two plants in India to produce cars.  Both of these are situated near Delhi, in Haryana state.  On Wednesday, workers at Manesar plant got agitated after an official of the company, who was a supervisor, got into an argument with them.  This led to heated arguments and thereafter work was stopped.  Soon, senior officers of Human Resources Department of the company were called to negotiate with the workers.  However, during the talks, workers became violent and started beating the officials present in the meeting as well as elsewhere in the factory campus.  Workers used everything that they could find to thrash the officers.  Iron rods, chains etc were freely used.  Property was damaged and vehicles and other assets were burnt.  But the violence did not stop there.  A senior officer of HR Department of the company, A K Dev, who was talking to workers, was beaten badly and then burnt alive.  Many other officials were thrashed and now have been hospitalized.  These include some Japanese officers.

Suzuki’s this plant was also in news last year when workers went on a very long strike which caused huge losses to the company.  Their demand at that time was to recognize the new union of workers.  At that time, company decided to move out of Haryana state which is infamous for its violent labour problems and to move to Gujrat, a highly developed, progressive state where Tata and other automobile manufacturers have set up their plants.

Suzuki is the number one automobile company in India in terms of number of cars sold and revenue earned and it is way ahead of its rivals Hyundai and Tata who are nowhere near Suzuki’s standing.  More than 40 per cent of cars sold in India are from Suzuki stable.

Suzuki stated that its workers were misguided by some external forces.

Meanwhile, Gujrat’s Chief Minister Narendra Modi is all set to welcome Suzuki in the state.

Marketing Team of VW Quits in India

Volkswagen India's topmost marketing team has quit, and the company's newly-appointed CEO is poaching from rival Maruti to stem an alarming slide in sales and revive the carmaker's ambition of cornering a 10 per cent market share in the next two years.

Neeraj Garg, director and member of Volkswagen's passenger cars division and the man responsible for the firm's six brands in the country, has expressed his desire to quit. He has been promoted and offered a posting in China, but ET learns that he has declined the offer. Sandeep Mandrekar, the head of sales for India and the second-in-command in the sales and marketing division, has also decided to move on.

Volkswagen has offered Garg's post to Suzuki India CGM (marketing) Shashank Srivastava while Pankaj Sharma, who was working as general manager in Maruti's True Value business, will become the head of sales replacing Mandrekar. "I don't have anything to say and would like to reserve my comments," Srivastava told ET.

Sharma confirmed his decision to leave, saying he will be joining Volkswagen soon.

Volkswagen confirmed the departure of Mandrekar, attributing it to his desire to pursue opportunities outside the organisation. "Neeraj Garg has been promoted and offered an assignment in China, which is still under discussion," a Volkswagen spokesperson said.

ET learns that some other senior executives have also decided to leave.

But the Volkswagen spokesperson described it as "speculation". The departures come on the heels of a dramatic fall in performance for Volkswagen in the first three months of the new fiscal year. Sales have fallen 16 per cent to 15,539 cars while production slumped 30 per cent to 17,533 cars. Volkswagen's market share, which excludes the sales of subsidiaries Audi and Skoda, slid to 2.35 per cent from 3 per cent in the year-ago period. Gerry Dorizas, dispatched from Japan to turn around the Indian operations, is believed to be cracking the whip and had approached the Maruti executives with job offers after Garg and Mandrekar decided to leave.

The performance is all the more galling for the Wolfsburg, Germany-based auto giant, given that it is on the verge of becoming the world's biggest car company with the successful purchase of Porsche. Its brands are doing well in emerging economies like China and Brazil and it is pushing aggressively into the US with a new plant in Tennessee, and an Audi plant in nearby Mexico to serve that country's bigger northern neighbour.

In India, Audi and Skoda, VW's affiliates, are also posting strong growth that appears to have eluded the parent despite the presence of some of the world's best-selling brands in its portfolio.

Volkswagen India sells Polo, Vento, Jetta, Beetle, Passat & Pheaton. The sales slump, if left unchecked, may affect the firm's plans to grab a 8-10 per cent market share by 2014-15. "Volkswagen has its entire portfolio in diesel, but sales have been withering as the company failed to instill confidence in Indian customers of its superior technology and brand. It failed to provide enough features and specs in its cars unlike the Japanese and Korean and lost out to long-standing rivals in the Indian market," says Deepesh Rathore, MD-India, IHS Global Insight, a multinational consultancy.

A person close to the situation said the Volkswagen headquarters are unhappy over sliding sales and bulging inventory, especially of the Vento sedan, which is made in India for global export.

Source: Economic Times

Top 5 Car Manufacturers in India - June 2012

Following is the list of top five car manufacturers in India on the basis of monthly sales figures for June 2012 (figures rounded off to nearest 100)-

1. Suzuki        83500
2. Hyundai     30500
3. Mahindra   19300
4. Tata            17200
5. Toyota        14700

Among these, Mahindra is a manufacturer producing only diesel vehicles. In the bottom three, there are Mitsubishi (273 units), Renault (787 units) and Fiat (805 units).

Top Ten Best Selling Cars in India - June 2012

 

Following is the list of tep ten best sellers in India during the month of June 2012.  Figures have been rounded off to nearest 100 -

1.  Suzuki Alto (21600)  
2.  Suzuki Swift (15700)
3.  Suzuki Dzire (13700)
4.  Suzuki Wagon R (10000)
5.  Mahindra Bolero (9500)
6.  Hyundai i20 (7700) 
7.  Toyota Innova (6800)
8.  Hyundai Eon (6600)
9.  Suzuki Omni (6300)
10. Hyundai i10 (6200)

Renault Duster launched in Britain for GBP 8995

Dacia, the makers of the Duster, have officially launched the the much awaited compact SUV in the UK market for £8995.  The pre-order starts today with first deliveries in January 2013.

 

The Duster will be exported from the Chennai plant to the UK. Considering the Duster’s India launch is also in sight, the company wants to make sure that it has ample capacity for both markets. In Britain, the Dacia-badged Duster will be available with a 1.6-litre petrol engine delivering 104hp, linked to a five-speed manual gearbox. The diesel duties will be handed to the 1.5-liter dCi turbo diesel rated at 108hp paired to a six-speed manual.

There are three trims levels available, Access, Ambiance and Laureate with features such as -

• 16-inch steel/alloy wheels
• ABS
• Longitudinal roof bars
• Electric front windows
• Four airbags
• Height adjustable steering wheel
• Radio/CD system with AUX, Bluetooth, USB connectivity
• Trip computer
• Scuff plates and side sills

Dacia will also offer a standard three year/60,000 mile warranty to make the Duster a compelling ownership proposition. In India, the Duster is expected to be launched in the first week of July.

Car Companies under Investigation for Unfair Means

Times of India has reported that Competition Commission of India is looking into the allegations of controlling the prices of spare parts unfairly.

New Delhi: A section of car makers has allegedly been found engaging in anti-competitive practices by withholding sales of spare parts in the free market, resulting in controlled and hefty prices at dealerships and service centres authorized by them. The findings are based on a probe by the investigative arm of fair-play watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI).

In its report to the regulatory agency, the director general (investigation) has accused the auto players of controlling and restricting supplies only to their network, sources told TOI. The probe, spread over a year, studied the after-market supply chain and spoke to various players, including car companies, component manufacturers and open market players.

Companies, including Volkswagen, Honda, Ford and General Motors, said they would study the report before commenting on it, while Toyota stuck with the stand of exclusivity. “Clearly it is not anti-competitive. Only accredited people should be allowed to fix parts as it is in the interest of the customers,” said Toyota Kirloskar deputy MD Shekar Viswanathan. “It is inherently unsafe for non-trained people to fix parts.” A spokesperson for GM India said the company cannot comment until it saw the fine print, while Honda did not answer queries sent on Tuesday evening. A spokesperson for Ford India said, “We will need time to review the development and understand the report before we can comment.”

CCI had asked its investigative arm to probe the matter in March 2011 after a car buyer accused companies of abusing their dominant position by making spare parts available only through their authorized dealers, who in turn were allegedly sold them at high rates. The practice is more prevalent with several of the newer car entrants, while the established ones such as Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors make spares available in the open market. CCI will now look into the findings of the DG’s probe before deciding if there is a case of anti-competitive behaviour. It will also hear car companies and other parties before an order is issued in a few months. A ruling against car companies will force several of them to sell components in the open market and restrict sales to exclusive dealerships.

It will be a boon for consumers as car majors will not be able to scrap a vehicle’s warranty if its owner gets a faulty part replaced in the open market. The problem has been plaguing car owners for a long time. They are forced to buy parts only from exclusive dealers of companies at the rates they ask for, many times waiting for several days if the component is out of stock. The problem is acute for those living in smaller cities where many of the international players do not have a dealership. The market size of service and spare parts industry is estimated at Rs 15,000 crore annually.

300000 cars wainting to be sold

The automobile companies in India are now facing the consequences of economic slowdown. This combined with already executed expansion plans has put these companies in a difficult situation i.e. production surpassing the demand.  This has resulted into piling of unsold cars.  Total number of unsold new cars is 300,000 in India as of May 2012; out of which 200,000 are petrol cars and rest being diesel driven ones.  While it was already difficult to sell petrol cars considering the high petrol prices and cheaper diesel, now the diesel cars are also going the same way on account of economic slowdown and moreover high interest rates for auto loan.

Some companies like Tata Motors and Volkswagen have decreased their production by regularly shutting down their plants.  Some have moved from 6 day per week to 5 day per week production.  Some are raining huge discounts on petrol cars.  Others are guaranteeing protection from petrol price hike for a year or so.

Nothing is better than this time to buy a new car, particularly petrol one.

Suzuki Alto Crosses 2 Million Mark in India

The Maruti Alto became only the second Suzuki India car ever to reach the 2 million mark this month. It's been 11 years and 9 months since Suzuki launched the car in India. It was the fastest to sell 10 lakh units in the domestic market. Within 8 years and 3 months. The next ten lakh units came much faster within three years and 6 months.

The Alto has been Suzuki's as well as India's largest selling car for a while now. Only this month, it was toppled by Suzuki's very own Swift which sold marginally higher than the Alto.On the occasion, Mr. Mayank Pareek, Chief Operating Officer, (Marketing and Sales), said, “Alto’s superior fuel efficiency, compact sleek design, good manoeuvrability and overall low cost of ownership are the attributes that make it the best car for the first time buyers. Alto as a complete package continues to win customer’s hearts and surprise everyone with its performance.”

Encouraged by the demand for the Alto, Suzuki launched a powerful K-Series engine in an Alto K-10 avatar in August 2010. At the same, they also introduced a CNG variant of the Alto.

Source : BS Motoring

Tata and Volkswagen to Halt Production in India

The economic slowdown is clear and present.  Automobile giants like Tata and Volkswagen are heading towards halting the production.  An article published in Indian Express says -

Automobile majors Tata Motors and Volkswagen are planning stop-production (block closure) this month in Pune. The companies say there has been a drop in end-user demand “because of slowdown”. While Tata Motors has confirmed a three-day block closure, Volkswagen workers’ union claims that the company is planning a month-long block closure soon.

Debasis Ray, head (corporate communication), Tata Motors, said, “The Pune commercial vehicle plant will have a block closure on June 22, 23 and 24 to align production with demand.”

During this block closure, employees will be paid half a day’s salary per day of the closure.

Tata Motors had undertaken block closure in 2008 and 2009, when production was stopped for three and five days respectively.

At Volkswagen’s Chakan plant, the company will be observing a five-day week instead of the usual six days. “For the past 15 days our production has come down from 430 vehicles per day to 400 per week. We expect this trend to continue till December,” said a source from the company.

However, the company’s head of communications, Alexander Skibbe denied any plans of block closure in Volkswagen or reduction in production.

Anant Sardeshmukh, executive director general, Mahratta Chamber Of Commerce Industries and Agriculture, said the automotive sector is facing 15 to 20 per cent crunch in demand, which could be the beginning of a slowdown.

XUV 500 Gets 7000+ Bookings in Two Days

Mahindra & Mahindra re-opened bookings for its highly successful SUV 'XUV 500' on 8th June.  Within two days, the bookings have crossed 7200 mark.  M&M has already raised the production level to 4000 units per month.  This will be further raised to 5000 per month by September-October this year. In addition to domestic demand, soon this SUV will be exported also. 

In the previous round of bookings which was second round of booking, this vehicle was booked using a lottery system.  For more information on that system, you can visit - Now get XUV 500 through draw of lots.