Mahindra Thar 4X4 makes its launch in India Today

Making its first launch in the state of Rajasthan and Kerala, Mahindra & Mahindra will introduce its much awaited sports utility vehicle, Mahindra Thar 4X4, on 21^st December 2010 in India. The price of Mahindra Thar 4X4 will begin from Rs 6.5 Lakhs.

The launch of Mahindra Thar 4X4 will bring some cheer to the mind of Indian people who were eagerly waiting for this car. Mahindra Thar 4X4 is expected to be the company’s first non-commercial car. It will be available in four color ranges- Black, Mist Silver, Toreador Red and Arctic White.

Thar 4X4 was showcased in November at the Performance Autocar Show in Mumbai, almost one month before launch. The muscular body of Thar 4X4 will make you feel that it is an enhanced version of the ‘Commander Jeep’ and is re-introduced almost after 10 years for the Indian market.

In the European and South African markets, Thar 4X4 is already available and it is receiving an impressive response from the buyer of this section. It is surely looking good and many people are showing their interest to buy this vehicle. It can be driven to any road.

It sports a 2500CC turbo-diesel engine, which generates 105 bhp of raw power at 3800 rpm and 247 Nm torque at 1900 rpm. It comes with a 5 speed gear box with manual transmission. It has low and high gear ratios, 1.48 : 1 and 1.0 : 1 respectively to handle off-roading activities.

The power is supplied through 16 inch tires with leaf springs at the rear. New generation independent torsion-bar front suspension system has been used by the Mahindra & Mahindra in Thar.

Car Makers in India Receiving Huge Bookings for New Models

India’s auto market has seen a huge growth in its April sales which is even a 10-year high. After the economic recession is over, consumer confidence in India has been increased largely. Now, auto makers in Indian markets are receiving huge amount of bookings for car models everyday and they are finding it tough to meet the demands.

Ford is planning to set up its second plant in Chennai in order to increase production, and thus, coping up with the bookings. The American car maker received more than 15,000 bookings for the Figo model and the company asked the customers to wait for 5-6 weeks to get the delivery

Volkswagen is also facing it tough to deliver the huge number of bookings for its Polo premium compact car. It also asked the customers to wait for 5 months to get the card delivered.

Toyota Kirloskar has stopped receiving any more booking for its SUV model Fortuner. It will again open the booking at the end of June.

Another problem that the car makers are facing now is that because of the new models the best-seller models are losing the ground. So, they are now forced to give more focus on the new models and increase the production of the new models.

Related article:

bsmotoring

Car Price will go up in India after Budget 2010 Announcement

Earlier today, Indian finance minister announced the Union budget in parliament. He tried to present a balance budget. The finance minister announced that people will have to pay less income tax and this will be welcomed by the consumers in general. However, he also announced that excise duty will be increased to 10%. The current rate of excise duty is 8% and as a result of this increase, the price of cars will increase. In fact, companies like Hundai and Maruti have already announced that the price of their cars is going to increase because of this announcement from the finance minister. Toyota has also said the same thing.

I have mix feeling about this matter. In India, a car is still consider to be a luxury item by most people as the country has just around $1000 dollar per capital income. On the other hand, Indian economy is growing and there is flourishing middle class. Many families really need a car for their jobs and education. 

Electric Cars Dominated at Detroit Auto Show 2010

What if you can not get the required fuel for your vehicle after 10 years or say 20 years? That is the fear roaming around in the global auto industry and among the car enthusiasts. This fear was well reflected in the recent Detroit Auto Show 2010 where automakers brought their environment-friendly hybrid concept cars which would come into the market in the coming years.

Toyota presented its plug-in hybrids and battery electrics models which are expected to be hit the market in 2012. The Japanese auto makers also came up with hydrogen fuel cell vehicle model which is expected to come to the market in 2015. There are reports out in the media that oil demand could surpass supply in the next 20 years and that will be time people would have no other option expect hybrid cars.

Honda Insight gave a good challenge to Toyota’s dominance with Prius in the hybrid car market. Honda is now ready to roll out its 2010 CR-Z Sport Hybrid Coupe car which could make the competition more intense. The new Honda hybrid car focuses on both style and economy.

The good news is that some other big players like Volkswagen and Hyundai are also going to put their mark in electric car market in the near future. Car analysts think that in the next decade hybrid or electric car market would grow significantly and grab a big chunk of the whole auto industry.

Related article:

vancouversun

Toyota to Unveil an All-New Scion in April

Toyota is going to introduce an all-new scion at the upcoming New York Auto Show in April. Besides, the Japanese car maker is also planning for a launch of an updated product in next month’s Chicago Auto Show. There are rumors all round that the new Scion would actually be the Toyota iQ which was announced in September 2008. Initially, reports claimed that Scion would be available only for Japanese and European markets. However, later on it was revealed that Toyota iQ would arrive in the US with the name of Scion.

Related article:

autospies

Ford Posted 44% Growth in China in 2009

Ford is looking for a stronger performance in China in 2010 after it experienced 44 percent growth in its China sales in 2009. The car maker sold 440,619 units in 2009, compared to 306,306 vehicles in the previous year. Ford now looks for more ground in the China market which is one of the biggest car markets in the world. In fact, the car maker built a new plant in China last year.

Chinese government is helping the auto industry of the country so that it can regain some of its strength lost through economic recession. Government has cut on sales tax for small cars and provides subsidy to the buyers. Overall, a number of auto makers have targeted China market very seriously and want to increase their share in China. In fact, there is forecast that Chinese auto market could see an 8% growth in 2010.

Related article:

reuters

Toyota to Showcase New Concept and Hybrid Vehicles in Delhi Auto Expo

Japanese automaker Toyota is going to unveil its low-cost small car in the upcoming Auto Expo in New Delhi. Besides the small car, the car maker would also showcase some other 13 products including concept and hybrid cars. These products will also feature the company upcoming technologies. So, Indian car enthusiasts will have a good chance to see what products Toyota is planning to roll out over the next few years. The compact car that Toyota is planning to unveil at the Auto Expo is specially designed for Indian car market.

The small car will be produced by a joint venture between Toyota and Kirloskar group and the production will be started from December 2010 at the Bangalore plant.

Business Standard reported:

The compact car project is Toyota's most ambitious venture in the country in its 11-year existence and the company is betting big on this in its bid to become a volume player in the domestic market.

It is supposed to showcase both the hatchback and sedan versions of the vehicle during the Expo. Toyota also has plans to roll out 70,000 units of the proposed compact car in the first year of production.

No doubt, Toyota is trying to capitalize on the price sensitive car market of India. Tata Motors experienced huge response for its Nano car which is priced a little more than 1 lakh. So, it seems that Toyota is going to follow Tata’s footstep by launching a small low-cost car which could help Toyota gain a significant chunk of market share in India.

Toyota Reappointed 275 Workers in Georgetown Plant

Toyota has recently announced that it has marked profit in the July-September quarter and it was a big relief for the automaker because the profit came after experiencing only losses in the previous three quarters. The recession-hit auto-market is gradually getting recovered and the car makers are also getting their strength back. Honda and Nissan also experienced success in the last quarter.

Toyota has now reappointed 275 workers in its Georgetown plant in Kentucky. These temporary workers were laid off last year due to poor sales in the wake of economic recession. Production is going on in full swing with the workers working overtime in Saturday. This is another one of the indications that the Japanese automaker is gradually recovering its business with the help of government stimulus as well as increasing demand in the emerging car markets like China.

Related article:

Freep.com

Toyota Prius Could be a Family of Vehicles in Future

Toyota is currently leading the global hybrid market with a 75 percent share and it seems that the Japanese automaker is planning to strengthen its hold in the hybrid market. There is no doubt, Toyota Prius has become an increasingly popular brand in the hybrid car market and that is why, the automaker is planning to roll off several other hybrid cars under the brand name of Prius, and thus, making it a sub-brand of Toyota.

That means Toyota Prius could be a family of vehicles; rather than just one vehicle. However, nothing has been finalized yet, but it has been reported that the plan of making Prius a sub-brand is now on the discussion table and it could happen in future. If Prius really appears as a family of several vehicles, you could find large as well as small versions of hybrid vehicles from Toyota Prius.

No doubt, Toyota has seen extensive success through Prius in the hybrid market and it has been perhaps the most popular hybrid car in the world. The company is also planning to sell more than 1 billions hybrid vehicles per year from now and the company will churn out 10 new hybrid cars.

Related article:

wired

Electric Cars Less Likely for Mass Production in Near Future

You may have heard many good things about electric cars and its benefits. Well, it is true that electric cars are going to be the next big thing in automobile market, but it is less likely that electric car would grab a significant portion of the global car market in the near future. Ahead of Tokyo Motor Show, Japanese automakers like Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi etc. are preparing to introduce their concept electric cars. However, there is less possibility that the companies would bring these models into large scale production in the near future.

Electric cars are really environment friendly with zero-emission, but the analysts believe that electric car market is still in its infancy and it would take time to see electric cars going into mass production for global market.

Among the Japanese car makers, who are going to take part in the Tokyo show, only Nissan and Mitsubishi are planning to unveil their electric cars next year, while Daimler AG will reportedly start the commercial production of electric cars in 2012. Toyota has said that it would launch an electric car by 2012, but it will only be available for the US market. Honda is planning to do the same by launching an electric car in the US as well as in Japan, not for global market.

So, it is pretty much certain that for environment friendly cars people would have to rely on hybrid options in the near future.

Related article:

The Wall Street Journal

Nissan Land Glider Electric Car to be Introduced at Tokyo Motor Show

Japanese automaker Nissan Motors is going to introduce a concept car: Nissan Land Glider- in the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show. A number of automaker will participate in the show in order to introduce their upcoming vehicles.

Nissan Land Glider is a four-wheeler run by electricity, but it looks and works like a motorbike covered by a roof. Actually, you can consider it as an all-covered motorbike which accommodates 2 persons. The specialty of this vehicle is that it can lean up to 17 degree at turns, and thus, giving the passengers an experience of motorbike riding.

It would not be a big problem to park Nissan Land Glider because of its 3.5-feet width. Nissan Land Glider may not give you the experience of riding a Harley Davidson, but then you can feel safe and still enjoy the excitement of riding a motorbike with this electric car. Now, let us see if the zero-emission car receives positive response from the car enthusiasts at the Tokyo Motor show.

Related article:

switched

Ford to Step into Indian Market with Figo Small Hatchback Car

American car maker Ford is planning to join some other major players to make its mark in Indian car market with a small car named Figo. In Italian, Figo means ‘cool’. Well, there is no doubt, Indian car market is pretty much lucrative for the car makers as it has seen excellent growth over the last few years. Small car segment of Indian market is more lucrative because of India’s price sensitive customers. It is true that the growth has been lowered over the last couple of years because of economic recession, but still it has huge potential for the car makers. Indian car maker Tata introduced its much-hyped Nano small car which costs around 1 lakh ruppe. The car has received huge response too.

Ford has not revealed detailed specifications of Figo yet, but it is expected that the features of the hatchback car will be out in the media when Ford will commercially introduce the car next year.

There is no doubt, India has a very potential car market because of it large middle class family. So, it is quite natural that companies like Ford seek to gain a considerable amount of market share.

Related article:

Wall Street Journal

Asian Automakers Lost Market Share in USA in May 2009

May 2009 saw a bad month for Asian carmakers in the US auto market. Asian automakers lost 2.5 percentage market share in May as their overall market share stands at 45.6 percent. This has been the first such drop for the Asian carmakers in the US. Well, it does not mean that the competitors of Asian car makers in US market fared very well in May, but Asian car makers experienced more dip in their sales compared to their competitors.

Japanese and South Korean automakers declined 37 percent in their May sales, while other competitors in the market saw 32 percent drop in their sales last month. It was a bit strange because some US-based car makers like GM and Chrysler have been bankrupted, while Asian automakers were favored by increasing fuel price.

Related article:

bloomberg

Nippon Steel Cuts Prices by 10 Percent for Toyota

Nippon Steel Corp, the world’s second largest steel manufacturer, has finally come to terms with Toyota Motor Corp to cut the autosheet by 10 percent which is less than an expected price cut. It has also been reported that the steelmaker would cut the price further towards the end of the current fiscal year. Demands of Toyota cars fell significantly in the world market due to global economic recession as well as surging Japanese Yen against foreign currencies. In fact, Toyota experienced 450 billion yen of operating in the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2009. The Japanese automaker is also expected a second straight operating loss in the current fiscal year too.

Because of economic slowdown, demands for cars, electronics and industrial products has been drastically reduced over the last one year, and thus, resulting into Steel prices in Asia being decreased by more than 50 percent to $500 per tonne. Naturally, the recent cut in steel price would definitely help the car makers like Toyota to cope up with the current economic recession and survive the poor sales in global market.

Related article:

Reuters

Maruti Bhandare: Most Famous Potential Tata Nano Owner

Tata Nano, the much talked-about 1 lakh car, was launched last month with lots of hopes and expectations among the car owners. Tata Motors started receiving advanced bookings for Tata Nano, which is also known as People’s Car, from 9 April 2009. The company has already received more than 1 million booking for the car Nano, and there are many who even already paid 75% of the total price.

Maruti Bhandare is a cobbler by profession who has now become the most famous would-be owner of a Tata Nano car. Maruti Bhandare has already paid US$2,819 as advanced booking money for a Nano Deluxe. Mr. Maruti has already made the newspaper headlines with his booking for a Nano Deluxe. Even news channels are also reporting on him seriously.

Well, there are many who are now keen to become an owner of Tata Nano which seems to be the most lucrative car in India now, mostly because of its price. There are also reports out in the media that even the owners of BMW, Audis and Mercedes have also made booking for Tata Nano. It seems that Tata Nano is going to bring Tata Motors a big chunk of market share of India’s big car market which is yet to be unraveled properly.

Related article:

Asia Times

Tata Motors Experienced 14 Fall in 1st Quarter Sales

Global economic recession now seems to have started making its impact on fastest-growing Indian car market which is now struggling due to domestic economic crisis. Tata Motors, one of the leading auto makers in India, has seen 14 percent fall in its total sales in the first quarter. Tata sold 498,581 vehicles in the first three months of the year which is well below from 582,390 vehicles sold in the same period of last year. Tata has also seen 13% decrease in its domestic sales for March.

Well, Tata has recently launched its much-awaited 2,000-dollar Nano which is claimed to be the world’s cheapest car and Tata is keeping high hopes for the success of Tata Nano which is known as “The People’s Car”. Tata will start taking reservations for Nano from April 9. Though the company is expecting booming success of Tata Nano, some of the market analysts do not think Nano could turn Tata’s world around because Tata Nano will generate very small profit margin in the small car segment which is already packed with several vehicles from different companies. Moreover, Tata could sell maximum 50,000 Nano cars this year because the company can not increase production due to a heated dispute over land ownership leading to a shift of its production facility from West Bengal to Gujarat. So, the company can not roll out more Nano cars until its new production facility being set up in Gujarat.

It is now clear that Tata may not get a huge boost from Nano in the recent future and it would be interesting to see if Tata takes up any other policy to improve the condition in 2009.

Related article:

AFP

Honda Experienced 35% Drop in 1st Quarter 2009 Sales in U.S.A

Honda has seen extensive drop in their US sales during the first quarter of 2009. In the first three months of 2009, Honda sold 230,985 vehicles in America, 35 percent drop from year-round volume of 352,642. Honda America’s sales in March declined by 36 percent to 88,379 vehicles, compared to 138,734 vehicles sold in the same period of the last year. The only model which showed excellent prospect last month in the US is Acura’s TSX sedan as sales of this model was increased by 12 percent.

This is the time of economic recession and global auto industry has been badly hit by it. It is not surprising that Japanese automaker Honda is struggling in the USA alongside other market leaders like Toyota and GM. Honda is hoping to have a good business in the America with its Insight hybrid car. Well, I do not think that the hybrid model could turn Honda’s world around in the world’s biggest auto market until the overall condition of global economy improves. Due to economic slowdown, many factories were closed down and some decreased their production volume, and thus, the fuel price has been decreased extensively. So, a hybrid car does not seem to create a big difference.

Related article:

bizjournals

Maruti Ritz to Hit the Market in May?

Reports out in the media suggest that Maruti would release its next passenger car model Ritz in the second week of May. In fact, the launching date could be May 13 or 14. However, Maruti sources claim the hatchback car would go on sale in next fiscal year. Nothing about the tentative date of Maruti Ritz launch has been announced officially by Maruti.

Maruti Ritz will allow the car enthusiasts to choose between a 1.2 litre petrol engine and a 1.3 litre diesel engine. It is expected to go on sale for a price about Rs 4 to 5.5 lakhs. Its petrol version would not feature a KB series engine; rather Maruti is going to offer a new engine with the petrol version of Ritz. The engine for the diesel version is already available in Maruti Swift. Featuring a 1.2 litre petrol and 1.3 litre diesel engine, Maruti is looking to gain advantage on excise benefit for small car. Honda Jazz, which is expected to come in the market in the middle of June, could be a competitor for Maruti Ritz.

Related article:

Moneycontrol

Toyota Facing First Operational Loss in 59 Years

Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp. is facing a serious problem as it is losing its share in the US car market, the largest car market in the world. The economic recession is getting aggravated day by day and the global auto market is having its impact at this moment. Toyota recorded 40% drop in the US market as the demand fell in the US car market significantly. Toyota is now going to see its first operational loss in 59 years due to economic slowdown world wide. The situation has been intense for the Japanese automaker due to surging Japanese currency against foreign currencies.

Well, other automakers are also facing the same problem as overall car demand fell in the US car market. Japan’s second largest automaker, Honda, has seen 38 percent fall in its US sales. Nissan Motor’s sales drop by 37 percent, while General Motors experienced 53 percent drop in its sales. GM and Chrysle are surviving on government bailout at this moment.

Well, I think, Japanese government should also provide similar help to Toyota because if the company drops its domestic production, many people in Japan will be unemployed and that would be an added pressure for Japanese government. Moreover, Toyota should also focus on low-cost car models which will have huge demand in this time of economic recession. Toyota should also give more importance on the fast-growing markets like India, China and Russia. Toyota has recently announced that it would set up its second manufacturing plant in India, looking to gain more advantage of India’s cheap labor and low production cost. By reducing operational cost, Toyota can offer more competitive price for its products in the US and European markets.

Related article:

Bloomberg

Toyota to Reduce Domestic Production by 54% in January-March Quarter

Global car maker Toyota Motor Corp. is going to reduce its domestic production by 54 percent in the ongoing quarter, ending this March. Such a huge slash in production is because of large drop in demand both in Japan as well as in the US. World car market is now stumbling due to global economic downturn. Toyota has also predicted its first ever yearly operating loss in 70 years. Toyota’s production in the current quarter will be reduced to 519,000 volumes, compared to 1.13 million volumes in the same period of last year.

It is not only Toyota, but also almost all the car makers are finding it pretty tough to cope up with the ever-worsening economic recession. Surviving in the market has become a big challenge for some big companies like General Motors. The situation got aggravated for the companies like Toyota as they saw an extensive drop in the demand of hybrid cars too in the recent months, because people are now less interested to hybrid cars as global fuel price got decreased significantly.

Related article:

Bloomberg