‘AUTO MONITOR’, India’s leading fortnightly automotive news magazine, focusses on offering a broad platform to the automotive industry. It strives to facilitate effective interaction among several fraternities of the automotive, auto component and auto allied industries by enabling them in reaching out to their prospective buyers and sellers. It facilitates domestic business exchange and acts as a gateway to international business opportunities for Indian automotive manufacturers. It is recognised by leading associations like CII, SIAM, ACMA, and SIAT.
Auto Monitor www.amonline.in 16 July 2012 Vol. 12 No. 21 24 Pages ` 50 INDIA’S NO. 1 MAGAZINE FOR AUTOMOTIVE NEWS, VIEWS & ANALYSIS Logistics Convergence To Lead To Emergence Of Stronger Players, Better Service Standards Shantanu Bhadkamkar, Chairman, FFFAI CORPORATE Pg 8 Pg 11 NEW MATERIALS Now Turns Weekly FOCUS NEWS IN BRIEF Greaves Cotton to power Atul Auto three-wheelers G reaves Automotive Engines Business, part of Greaves Cotton Limited, has entered into a sev- en-year agreement with Atul Auto for supply of diesel engines for their three-wheeled diesel vehicles. Currently, Greaves engines power Atul Smart, Atul Shakti and Atul Gem. Eco-Friendly Engines Greaves Automotive Division has a wide portfolio in automo- tive engines with production of over 4.5 lakh engines annu- ally. These eco-friendly light diesel engines are supplied to major automotive players like Piaggio, M&M, Tata Motors, Scooters India among others. The company’s manufacturing units are located at Ranipet in Tamil Nadu and Aurangabad in Maharashtra. The company has enrolled over 1200 author- ised dealers. F iat is planning to bring its sports utility vehicle (SUV) brand Jeep and 500X to India. Utility vehi- cle segment grew by 50 percent in April-June 2012 compared to the like period in the previous year, according to SIAM data. “A number of Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) or SUV-like prod- ucts are coming to India. The segment is growing and there is lot of excitement. The next prob- able brand from Fiat-Chrysler that could come to the Indian market is Jeep,” Senior Vice President (Commercial), Fiat India Automobiles Ltd (FIAL) Enrico Atanasio said during an event in Delhi recently. The Jeep will be coming to India as CBU initially. However, these new products would be consid- ered for launch only after the company sets-up about 70-80 exclusive showrooms. To further strengthen its presence in the country, the com- pany is currently in the process of having its own commercial opera- tions, such as sales and after sales business, after ending its distribu- tion association with Tata Motors earlier this year. The Italian car major hopes to open 70 to 80 inde- pendent dealerships across India by March 2013. It will dismantle all dealerships which are with Tata Motors by the middle of next year. However, if the entrepreneur wants to own the Fiat dealership, they can have it but in a separate operational set up. “Fiat has decided to create a fully-owned company to take care of car sales and parts. It is being incorporated and in a cou- ple of days, we will finalise the name and I will be serving as the Managing Director of that new entity,” Atanasio added. Fiat and Tata Motors had ended their distribution alliance formed in 2007 for sales and service of Italian firm’s vehicles in India in May. However, the JV company will exist and manu- facture all cars and engines. It will be a 100 percent manufac- turing setup. Currently, Fiat has 166 joint showrooms with Tata Motors, besides 179 workshops across 126 locations. Fiat is also mulling on utilising the Indian plant for export to markets in Asia Pacific as well as other right hand drive countries in the world. S onalika Group owned International Tractors Ltd (ITL) is looking at more than doubling its revenue in the next two years and major chunk of contribution is expect- ed from the exports of tractors. The company has recently set-up assembly units in three countries and is gearing to set-up an assem- bly plant in Argentina. Following approval of its tractor engines by Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, it will start exporting to the US also in a cou- ple of months. Initially, the tractors will be exported as Completely Built Units (CBUs) to the US and after weighing larger opportuni- ties, it may consider setting-up an assembly plant. It sees great demand potential in US and recently a delegation from US has visited company’s plants in India. The biggest positive point for Sonalika in the US market will be its price competitiveness and hopes to sell around 1,000 units in the first year. The other new markets where it is going to export tractors are Brazil, Chile and Turkey. The deal has almost been finalised and the exports will start in the next two months. Sonalika expects to sell total 2,000 units in Brazil, Chile and Turkey this year. ITL currently earns around 10 percent of its total revenue from export busi- ness which is likely to go up to 20 percent of its total revenue from the current 10 percent by 2014. Sonalika Group’s revenue stood at around `5,000 crore in the last fiscal and it hopes to touch `10,000 crore by FY14. The group’s business inter- est includes manufacturing of farm equipment, cranes, cars and utility vehicles. The compa- ny has recently developed mini trucks that will be launched next year. ITL is a leader in the trac- tor industry in India and sells it in over 60 countries. It created a new landmark in Sri Lanka by exporting more than 500 units in the last financial year. “We may even exceed our turnover target of `10,000 crore by FY14. The growth will mainly come from the export of tractors. We are entering into new inter- national markets to export tractors and exploring more such markets. Currently, we are present in 58 countries,” Sonalika Group, Chairman, LD Mittal told Auto Monitor. The company has set-up assembly units in marketing and trading alliances with local partners in three new countriesNi- geria, Cameroon and Algeria. The tractors have already started roll- ing out from these plants a couple of months ago. Each plant has an initial capacity of around 20,000 units a year. The tractors will also be exported to the surrounding countries from these plants. The total investment in these countries is around `100 crore by Sonalika Group, while a total of around `60 crore was put in by three local partners from each country. The main mechanism and technology of the tractors will be exported out of India as CKD while some of the components like battery, tyres will be pro- cured locally. In India, the company hopes to grow by around 20 percent and does not see any impact of the slowing economy. “The tractor sector has become a positive busi- ness—it is not exclusively used for agriculture, but put to multiple usages by adding a few attach- ments ,” stated Mittal. The group has also expanded its units in order to increase the production capacity from 60,000 to 100,000 tractors due to a strong demand across the globe. Around 7,000 units of tractors were exported in FY12 while in the same fiscal the total sales stood at around 51,000 tractors. In the domestic market, it sees lots of unexplored places and most of them are in the south- ern part of the country where it is going to establish a new dealers network. Fiat may introduce Jeep, 500X in India Sonalika to reap more from exports Our Bureau New Delhi Nabeel A Khan New Delhi Enrico Atanasio, Senior VP- Commercial, Jayant Deb, Head-Engineering & Design and Gurpratap Boparai, Head- Fiat Powertrain at Techno Season, Fiat Caffé Top 5 Car Makers Company Jun-11 Jun-12 Change Maruti 70,020 83,531 19.30% Hyundai 30,402 30,450 0.16% Tata Motors 26,184 22,551 -13.87% M&M 17,863 22,448 25.67% TKM 12,034 14,700 22.15% Top 5 Car Exporters Company Jun-11 Jun-12 Change Hyundai 22,129 23,904 8.02% Maruti 10,278 13,066 27.13% Nissan 9,072 12,864 41.80% Ford 2179 1024 -53.01% Tata Motors 706 767 8.64% * Source: SIAM/ ** Excluding exports/ *** all sub segments considered/ ^ excluding MRPL DATA MONITOR Fiat India Automobiles recently started a new theme campaign, ‘Italian Technological Marvels’ at its Fiat Caffe. The initiative is to showcase a host of Italian engi- neering innovations for the next two months. The inventions across fields have been on display, especially the inventions sig- nificant from an automotive perspective, such as electric motors, batteries, bearings, internal combustion engines & microprocessors which were projected on the screens at the Caffe. The campaign will also fea- ture Fiat’s inventions of the common rail direct injection technology & 1.3L Multijet SDE. Fiat Starts New Campaign In India
Transcript
Auto Monitorwww.amonline.in16 July 2012Vol. 12 No. 21 24 Pages ` 50
I N D I A ’ S N O . 1 M A G A Z I N E F O R A U T O M O T I V E N E W S , V I E W S & A N A LY S I S
Logistics Convergence To Lead To Emergence Of Stronger Players, Better Service StandardsShantanu Bhadkamkar, Chairman, FFFAI
CORPORATE
Pg 8Pg 11NEW MATERIALS
Now Turns
Weekly FOCUS
NEWS IN BRIEFGreaves Cotton to power Atul Auto three-wheelers
Gre ave s Automot i ve E ng i ne s Bu si ne s s , part of Greaves Cotton
Limited, has entered into a sev-en-year agreement with Atul Auto for supply of diesel engines for their three-wheeled diesel vehicles. Currently, Greaves engines power Atul Smart, Atul Shakti and Atul Gem.
Eco-Friendly EnginesGreaves Automotive Division
has a wide portfolio in automo-tive engines with production of over 4.5 lakh engines annu-ally. These eco-friendly light diesel engines are supplied to major automotive players like Piaggio, M&M, Tata Motors, Scooters India among others. The company’s manufacturing units are located at Ranipet in Tamil Nadu and Aurangabad in Maharashtra. The company has enrolled over 1200 author-ised dealers.
Fiat is planning to bring its sports utility vehicle (SUV) brand Jeep and 500X to India. Utility vehi-
cle segment grew by 50 percent in April-June 2012 compared to the like period in the previous year, according to SIAM data.
“A number of Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) or SUV-like prod-ucts are coming to India. The segment is growing and there is lot of excitement. The next prob-able brand from Fiat-Chrysler that could come to the Indian market is Jeep,” Senior Vice President (Commercial), Fiat India Automobiles Ltd (FIAL) Enrico Atanasio said during an event in Delhi recently. The Jeep will be coming to India as
CBU initially. However, these new products would be consid-ered for launch only after the company sets-up about 70-80 exclusive showrooms.
To further strengthen its presence in the country, the com-pany is currently in the process of having its own commercial opera-tions, such as sales and after sales business, after ending its distribu-tion association with Tata Motors earlier this year. The Italian car major hopes to open 70 to 80 inde-pendent dealerships across India by March 2013. It will dismantle all dealerships which are with Tata Motors by the middle of next
year. However, if the entrepreneur wants to own the Fiat dealership, they can have it but in a separate operational set up.
“Fiat has decided to create a fully-owned company to take care of car sales and parts. It is being incorporated and in a cou-ple of days, we will finalise the name and I will be serving as the Managing Director of that new entity,” Atanasio added.
Fiat and Tata Motors had ended their distribution alliance
formed in 2007 for sales and service of Italian firm’s vehicles in India in May. However, the JV company will exist and manu-facture all cars and engines. It will be a 100 percent manufac-turing setup.
Currently, Fiat has 166 joint showrooms with Tata Motors, besides 179 workshops across 126 locations. Fiat is also mulling on utilising the Indian plant for export to markets in Asia Pacific as well as other right hand drive countries in the world.
Sonalika Group owned International Tractors Ltd (ITL) is looking at more than doubling its revenue
in the next two years and major chunk of contribution is expect-ed from the exports of tractors. The company has recently set-up assembly units in three countries and is gearing to set-up an assem-bly plant in Argentina. Following approval of its tractor engines by Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, it will start exporting to the US also in a cou-ple of months.
Initially, the tractors will be exported as Completely Built Units (CBUs) to the US and after weighing larger opportuni-ties, it may consider setting-up an assembly plant. It sees great demand potential in US and recently a delegation from US has visited company’s plants in India. The biggest positive point for Sonalika in the US market
will be its price competitiveness and hopes to sell around 1,000 units in the first year. The other new markets where it is going to export tractors are Brazil, Chile and Turkey. The deal has almost been finalised and the exports will start in the next two months. Sonalika expects to sell total 2,000 units in Brazil, Chile and Turkey this year. ITL currently earns around 10 percent of its total revenue from export busi-ness which is likely to go up to 20 percent of its total revenue from the current 10 percent by 2014.
Sonalika Group’s revenue stood at around `5,000 crore in the last fiscal and it hopes to touch `10,000 crore by FY14. The group’s business inter-est includes manufacturing of farm equipment, cranes, cars and utility vehicles. The compa-ny has recently developed mini trucks that will be launched next year. ITL is a leader in the trac-tor industry in India and sells it in over 60 countries. It created a new landmark in Sri Lanka by
exporting more than 500 units in the last financial year.
“We may even exceed our turnover target of `10,000 crore by FY14. The growth will mainly come from the export of tractors. We are entering into new inter-national markets to export tractors and exploring more such markets. Currently, we are present in 58 countries,” Sonalika Group, Chairman, LD Mittal told Auto Monitor.
The company has set-up assembly units in marketing and trading alliances with local partners in three new countriesNi-geria, Cameroon and Algeria. The tractors have already started roll-ing out from these plants a couple of months ago. Each plant has an initial capacity of around 20,000 units a year. The tractors will also be exported to the surrounding countries from these plants. The total investment in these countries is around `100 crore by Sonalika Group, while a total of around `60 crore was put in by three local partners from each country.
The main mechanism and technology of the tractors will be exported out of India as CKD while some of the components like battery, tyres will be pro-cured locally.
In India, the company hopes to grow by around 20 percent and does not see any impact of the slowing economy. “The tractor sector has become a positive busi-ness—it is not exclusively used for agriculture, but put to multiple usages by adding a few attach-ments ,” stated Mittal.
The group has also expanded its units in order to increase the production capacity from 60,000 to 100,000 tractors due to a strong demand across the globe. Around 7,000 units of tractors were exported in FY12 while in the same fiscal the total sales stood at around 51,000 tractors. In the domestic market, it sees lots of unexplored places and most of them are in the south-ern part of the country where it is going to establish a new dealers network.
Fiat may introduce Jeep, 500X in India
Sonalika to reap more from exports
Our Bureau New Delhi
Nabeel A Khan New Delhi
Enrico Atanasio, Senior VP- Commercial, Jayant Deb, Head-Engineering & Design and Gurpratap Boparai, Head- Fiat Powertrain at Techno Season, Fiat Caffé
Top 5 Car Makers
Company Jun-11 Jun-12 Change
Maruti 70,020 83,531 19.30%
Hyundai 30,402 30,450 0.16%
Tata Motors 26,184 22,551 -13.87%
M&M 17,863 22,448 25.67%
TKM 12,034 14,700 22.15%
Top 5 Car Exporters
Company Jun-11 Jun-12 Change
Hyundai 22,129 23,904 8.02%
Maruti 10,278 13,066 27.13%
Nissan 9,072 12,864 41.80%
Ford 2179 1024 -53.01%
Tata Motors 706 767 8.64%
* Source: SIAM/ ** Excluding exports/ *** all sub segments considered/ ^ excluding MRPL
DATA MONITOR
Fiat India Automobiles recently started a new theme campaign, ‘Italian Technological Marvels’ at its Fiat Caffe. The initiative is to showcase a host of Italian engi-neering innovations for the next two months.
The inventions across fields have been on display, especially the inventions sig-
nificant from an automotive perspective, such as electric motors, batteries, bearings, internal combustion engines & microprocessors which were projected on the screens at the Caffe.
The campaign will also fea-ture Fiat’s inventions of the common rail direct injection technology & 1.3L Multijet SDE.
Fiat Starts New Campaign In India
A new trend is emerging rapidly and it’s threat-
ening to change the very way we perceive cars.
Thanks to fantastically affordable SUVs and
scarily expensive hatchbacks, the dynamics
in the Indian automotive space are all looking at radical
change. Renault and Maruti are showing the way forward
for the SUV segment with products such as the Duster and
the XA-Alpha respectively.
Mercedes-Benz on the other hand is looking at providing
the more affluent buyer with a premium small car, a hatch-
back called the A-Class. With immediate effect however is
their B-Class, an MPV, which is positioned even below the
C-Class with an expected price of under `25 lakh.
The B-Class will essentially open up the price wars
amongst the three big German manufacturers. The next few
issues will elaborate Mercedes-Benz’s plans to heat up the
entry level premium segment and taking the fight to tradi-
tional rivals BMW and upstarts Audi.
Since all of these vehicles will be manufactured in India
with a substantial amount of localisation, it also spells a big
change for all the industries directly associated with these
new products. It opens up new opportunities for both value
and premium engineering. But it also puts the onus on high
quality and precision manufacturing. The technology and
quality demanded by these products is being met capably
but there needs to be more focus.
We hope that both these trends turn out to be hugely suc-
cessful since that will only encourage more manufacturers
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QUOTESPhilippe Varin, PSA Chief Executive Officer on restructuring
Ivan Hodac, Secretary General, ACEA on CO2 emission norms for European markets
“The group is facing a commercial tsunami in Europe and we’re at the epicentre. I am absolutely determined to push through the plan; it’s the only path possible for the group”
“These are tough targets–the toughest in the world. This will increase manufacturing costs in Europe, creating a competitive disadvantage for the region”
Auto Monitor
EDITORIAL
Bayer showcases future mobility concepts 11Together with customers and other partners along the added-value chain, Bayer MaterialScience is working on sustainable developments for future mobility concepts
SIAM revises sales forecast slightly upward for this fiscal 9SIAM recently revised sales projection for the entire automobiles upward by one percentage point to 11-13 percent compared to April projections of 10-12 percent for FY13
Duster receives more than 6,000 bookings 10Renault Duster SUV has garnered a healthy 6,000 bookings within five days of its launch at `7.19 lakh for the base version
Bosch forays into two-wheeler service segment 10Bosch has forayed into multi-brand two-wheeler service centres in a bid to diversify its service offerings
HMSI to drive into rural market 10Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) will be penetrating deeper into the rural markets with the launch of its mass segment motorcycle, Dream Yuga
CONTENTS
THE OTHER SIDE
Daimler, Gaz start van manufacturing operations in Russia 14Daimler AG, Gaz Group have started implementation of the project to set-up Mercedes-Benz Sprinter production at Gorky Automobile Plant in Russia
Magneti Marelli kicks off new facility for exhaust systems 16Magneti Marelli’s plant in Changsha, China is dedicated to the supply of exhaust systems to GAC Fiat, a JV for automobiles, buses and industrial vehicles
Land Rover, Bowler sign formal brand partnership agreement 16Land Rover and Bowler, all-terrain performance cars and rally raid vehicles maker, have agreed to a brand partnership
Gaurav Malhotra, Director, Presto Stantest Pvt LtdMalhotra, an alumini of Indian Marketing & Management Institute, has been working in the field of manufacturing testing instruments since the last two decades
22
CORPORATE
GLOBAL WATCH
NEW MATERIALS
10
10
Auto Monitor
816 JULY 2012
I N T E R V I E W
How has freight forward-ing business changed over the years and what has been the market impact?
We have evolved as pro-fessionals from being purely clearing and forwarding agents to being door-to-door serv-ice providers with a gamut of logistics related service offer-ings. The evolution has been necessitated by the growing customer requirements and need for a single window serv-ice. Many freight forwarding companies have invested in assets including warehousing, aircrafts to offer better customer services. One may look at this as us infringing on logistics serv-ice providers, but the evolution has worked the other way round as well. The customer benefits from this in the end. I would term this phenomenon as con-vergence and the stronger player would survive.
Has service quality and delivery benchmarks gone up?
We are now in a position to provide our customers with all inclusive quotations for end-to-end goods delivery nationally and internationally. This had not been the case earlier but we have developed these capabilities. We feel we have evolved as much as or even faster than other players in the logistics sector.
What are the key challeng-es that you are facing?
There is no formal educa-tion or training in a structured manner imparted anywhere in the country for our profes-sion. Our immediate priority is to address this situation. Very few professionals may opt to get into the forwarding and clearing business but it is a stimulating activity as we deal with more legal issues, more stakeholders and more govern-ment authorities than any other profession. On the job training is the primary mode through which, most people enter our profession. Western countries including Germany, Denmark and Switzerland have developed
training infrastructure that has helped these countries evolve into logistics hub within Europe. We are looking to start a dedicat-ed course for freight forwarding in our federation’s institute. We will offer a six-month diploma course, to begin with, that would be accredited in more than 70 countries globally.
The other major issue is that the infrastructure development in our country including road network, ports, airports and other modes have lagged behind. We can only be as much efficient as the available physical infra-structure. Our estimate would be that our existing logistics infrastructure is being utilised at full capacity while most devel-oped countries in Europe and South East Asia would be utilis-
ing around 65-70 percent of their logistics infrastructure.
We have been working, with other stakeholders in the logistics sector, on a common network akin to ‘Swift’ in bank-ing or ‘SITA’ in airline ticketing industry in order to cut ineffi-ciencies and faster turnaround. But such interlinkages cannot be constructed in isolation and we need to work closely with gov-ernment and other associations/stakeholders to make it a reality.
What are your priorities?Apart from operational pri-
orities including closer and frequent interactions with international bodies in the
freight forwarding business and directory/handbook of the associations, we are working in several other areas. Freight for-warders are increasingly getting more integrated in the custom-ers’ supply chain, production and distribution planning. Moreover, we are increasing-ly relied upon by government agencies for tax planning, secu-rity, compliance, data and other areas concerning the economic and infrastructural issues. We have created a youth wing with-in our association to enable the next generation in our profes-sion to take cognisance of these unfolding scenarios and equip themselves better.
There is no formal education or training
in a structured manner imparted anywhere in the country for
our profession. Our immediate priority is to address this situation. We are looking to start a dedicated course for
freight forwarding in our federation’s institute.
We will offer a six-month diploma course, to
begin with, that would be accredited in more
than 70 countries globally
Logistics convergence to lead to emergence of stronger players, better service standardsFFFAI (Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India) is the apex body of 24 Custom House Agents Associations spread across India and represents licensed custom house agents (customs brokers). In addition, organisations which are directly or indirectly connected with freight forwarding, shipping and commerce are associated with FFFAI as allied members. It is recognised by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Shipping, and Ministry of Civil Aviation and is consulted on many issues concerning exim trade. Chairman, Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India, Shantanu Bhadkamkar elaborated on challenges and opportunities for the profession and the way forward.
Abhishek Parekh
Auto Monitor
C O R P O R A T E 916 JULY 2012
The apex body of veh icle ma nu fac-turers—Societ y of Indian Automobile
Manufacturers (SIAM) recently revised the sales projections for the entire automobiles upward by one percentage point to 11-13 percent compared to April pro-jections of 10-12 percent for FY13. The manufacturers expect a marginal revival in the future by virtue of festive season and good monsoon expectations. SIAM has also upped sales fore-cast for the Passenger Vehicle (PV) segment by one percentage point to 11-13 percent for this fi s-cal year. In April, the projection for PVs was at 10-12 percent. The growth will be primarily driven by the increase in the sales of utility vehicles.
At the same time, SIAM sliced the car sales growth forecast marginally for the year ending next March, due to higher costs
and slowing economic. The car sales, which grew by 5.22 per-cent in April-June 2012 compared to the like period a year ago has been projected to have a modera-tion in growth by one percentage point to nine-11 percent in this fi scal year. SIAM, in April had forecasted the car sales growth at 10-12 percent.
A major spike has been observed in the sales of utility vehicles in the past few months as the segment grew by 50 percent in period of April-June, 2012 com-pared to the previous year. SIAM also almost doubled (in percent-age point) its growth projections for this segment to 29-31 percent this fi scal compared to the fore-cast of 10-12 percent in April.
The increase in excise duty on cars in the Budget, which came into effect from April 1, has pushed the car prices up and adversely impacted the overall
sales of the vehicles. The other negative factors were increas-ing interest rates and fuel costs. However, sales of diesel cars have surged in recent months due to government subsidies that have made the fuel almost 50 percent cheaper than petrol. Many car makers, including Tata Motors and Toyota Motor’s Indian units have temporarily cut back pro-duction in the last few weeks as the slowdown started biting.
“The growth in the utility vehicle segment has occurred because of two main reasons. Firstly, because of the increas-ing gap between petrol and diesel prices, customers pre-fer diesel vehicles and most of the utility vehicles are avail-able with the diesel option. Secondly, there has been a lot of excitement in this segment because of the new launches.” President, SIAM, S Sandilya told
Auto Monitor.The three-wheeler segment
was badly hit during April-June as its sales in domestic market remained static but exports expe-rience a slump of over 40 percent in the same period. The automo-bile manufacturers have revised the forecast in negative by four to fi ve percentage points. Earlier in April, SIAM had projected that the three-wheeler industry would grow by fi ve-seven per-cent but now it has been cut to 0-two percent.
The Indian manufacturers were mainly exporting three-wheelers to the neighbouring countries like—Bangladesh and Sri Lanka from where the demand has dipped because of the impact of global economic slowdown. While in the domestic market, the three-wheelers have been cannibalised by the grow-ing four-wheeler (0.8-tonner or
seven-seater passenger vehicle) segment, which are now largely being used for shuttle and last minute connectivity. “Another important factor behind the growth of three-wheeler is that the state governments in many of the major cities are not allowing permits to the three-wheeler,” S Sandilya added. Moreover, the industry body thinks that the southward slid in the M&HCV segment has been triggered mainly because of the negative sentiments.
The demand from schools and new state transports bodies has made the vehicle manufacturing body to revise the sales projec-tion of buses for this fi scal by seven percentage point to nine-11 percent from April projections of fi ve-seven percent. There was no change in the two-wheeler projec-tion of and the forecast remained between 11-13 percent.
SIAM revises upward sales forecast
The increase in excise duty on
cars in the Budget, which came into effect from April
1, has pushed the car prices up and
adversely impacted the overall sales
of the vehicles. The other negative factors
are the increasing interest rates and
fuel costs
Nabeel A Khan New Delhi
Society of Indian Automobile Industry’s (SIAM) revise sales growth forecast for FY12-13
Vehicle CategoriesGrowth April-June 2012, Vs April-June 2011
Growth Projection in April (SIAM) Revised Growth Projection (SIAM)
Passenger Car 5.22% 10-12% 9-11%
Utilitiy Vehicle 50.85% 10-12% 29-31%
Van -9.60% 08-10% 3-5%
PV (total) 9.71% 10-12% 11-13%
Light Commercial Vehicle 19.92% 14-16% 16-18%
M&HCV -11.99% 5-7% 6-8%
Bus Data not available 5-7% 9-11%
CV (total) ‘ 9-11% 6-8%
two-wheeler 10.51% 11-13% 11-13%
three-wheeler -40.73% 5-7% 0-2%
Total 10-12% 11-13%
*Source: SIAM
Auto Monitor
C O R P O R A T E1016 JULY 2012
BMW rolled out the 25,000th car from its Chennai plant recent-ly. Managing Director,
BMW Plant in Chennai, Juergen Eder said, “It is with great excite-ment that BMW Plant Chennai rolls out the 25,000th car assem-bled in India.”
The company has clocked retail sales of 4,457 cars (deliv-
ered to customers) in the calendar year 2012 (January: 550, February: 736, March: 1083, April: 712, May: 626, June: 750). President, BMW India, Dr Andreas Schaaf said, “BMW India continues its success story in 2012 by maintaining its momen-tum in the leadership position in Indian luxury car segment.”
With 9,371 cars delivered to customers in the calendar year 2011, BMW India achieved leadership position in the lux-
ury car segment in India for the third consecutive year. Headquartered in Gurgaon (National Capital Region), it is the wholly owned subsidiary of the BMW Group. Currently, BMW India has 25 outlets in the Indian market.
By end of 2012, BMW India will aggressively expand its deal-er network by increasing the number of outlets to 40 across major metropolitan centres and emerging markets in India.
Hyundai Construction Equipment India (HCEIPL) launched a wheel loader—the
SL730 and SL760. The loaders have longer wheelbase enabling them to maintain longitudinal stability in a variety of operating conditions. The two-wheel loaders SL730 and SL760 have an overall operating weight of 10,200 kg and 17,200 kg respectively. Powered
by Yuchai and Weichai, 117 and 206 HP engines and have payload capacity of 3T and 5T respective-ly. The loaders are apt for varied application like dry or wet Sand, gravel, clay, soil, coal, iron ore such as bauxite, gypsum/phosphate and aggregates handling.
HCEIPL, a subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries, Korea, has acquired its position in three years since its inception in 2008. It has been set-up over a 50-acre land at Chakan near Pune in Maharashtra with an initial
investment of `300 crore in 2007. It is headquartered in Pune and has four offices at Delhi, Calcutta, Hyderabad and Mumbai over-looking sales & service through its 24 dealerships across every state in India. The dealerships are aptly supported by sales and service centres ensuring custom-er-centric service and maximum uptime to customers. Each region has a warehouse for its immedi-ate requirement whereas the mother warehouse in Pune works as a feeder.
In a bid to diversify its serv-ice offerings, Bosch has forayed into multi-brand two-wheeler service cen-
tres. It has opened ten EBS (Express Bike Service) work-shops at Coimbatore, which will provide service to multi-brand two-wheelers.
Expansion In PipelineBosch offers a wide range of
genuine two-wheeler parts, work-shop equipments and services to the EBS concept. It is looking to establish 500 workshops within two years. The company plans to expand its EBS outlets to 50 by the end of 2012, with a minimum
of ten each in a city or town. The company’s Vice-President
(Automotive Aftermarket), S Muralidharan said, “With Bosch Car Service, Express Car Service and now Express Bike Service, Bosch has set new benchmarks in the service domain and we are planning aggressively to expand our footprint.”
EBS workshops aim to fill the large service network gap for two-wheelers in the country, which is the second largest in the world with over eight crore two-wheelers on the road. Bosch has among the largest service net-works in technical unit repair (fuel Injection and automotive electrical systems) and car serv-ice space. In addition, it has over 2,000 authorised workshops.
Renault Duster has gar-nered a healthy 6,000 bookings within five days of its launch. The
Duster range starts at `7.19 lakh for the base petrol variant, `7.99 lakh for the base diesel variant and `11.29 lakh for the top of the line 110 BHP diesel variant.
There is a dearth of Renault dealerships and service centres in India. Renault has around 55 dealerships at present and plans to take this number fur-ther to 70 by October and 100 by the end of the year. There are two petrol variants and six die-sel variants of the Duster in India. The petrol Duster comes with a 1.6 litre petrol engine, this 1598 cc engine puts out 102 BHP of power at 5,850 RPM and 145 nm of torque at 3,750 RPM and is mated to a five-speed manual transmission.
The Renault Duster diesel comes in two engine options—both 1.5 litre diesel, but with different power output and transmission. The Duster 85 PS variant has a 1,461 cc common-rail diesel engine that puts out 84 BHP of power at 3,750 RPM and 200 nm of torque at 1,900 RPM, mated to a five-speed manual transmission. The Duster 110PS variant on the other hand sports a 1,461 cc common-rail diesel engine that puts out 108 BHP of power at 3,900 RPM and 248 nm of torque at 2,250 RPM. There are a total of six diesel variants, three with the 85 PS engine spec, and three with the 110 PS engine spec.
Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) will be pen-etrating deeper into
the rural markets with the launch of its mass segment motor-cycle, Dream Yuga. With the launch of Dream Yuga, Honda had unleashed its first big step towards mobility in India and will be targeting the rural market by expanding its network.
The company’s Vice-President and Operating Head (Sales and
Marketing), Yadvinder Singh Guleria said, “We have planned to set-up more touch points (sales and service) in the upcom-ing months. Currently, we have planned to add 500 touch points across the country, by the end of this financial year we will be hav-ing 1,500 to 2,000 touch points.”
During the expansion phase, the company indicated that more than 50 percent will be in rural areas and their focus would be more in semi-urban and rural areas. Looking into the 110 cc segment the company has not witnessed any huge competition.
According to Guleria, Honda will position their “Twister” motor-cycle targeting the young college students, while ‘Dream Yuga’ for those who are conscious about fuel consumption and for day-to-day commuting purposes.
HMSI offers Twister, Dream Yuga, CB Shine, CB Unicorn, CB Unicorn Dazzler, CBR250R, CBR 150R, Honda Activa and Dio. On their plans to increase pro-duction, Guleria said that the company will be ramping up production in its second manu-facturing plant next month. Once that happens, we will be able to reduce the waiting period for all our products.
Commenting on the invest-ments he said, “We will be investing `1,500 crore this year alone in India under various heads. This would be the largest investment in a sin-gle year. In the last seven years, the total investment was only `3,500 crore, he added. The two-wheeler manufacturer had already com-pleted the launch of seven new models planned for the current year. The company was setting-up a Honda Technology Centre at its Manesar (Gurgaon) plant site. This would go operational by October this year.
Luxury car maker BMW rolls out 25,000th car from its Chennai plant
Hyundai Construction Equipment launches wheel loader
Bosch forays into two- wheeler service segment
Duster receives more than 6,000 bookings
HMSI to drive into rural market
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Bhargav TS Chennai
Dream Yuga At The Launch Renault Duster At The Launch
S Muralidharan, VP (Automotive Aftermarket), Bosch Inaugurating An EBS In Coimbatore
Auto Monitor
N E W M A T E R I A L S 1116 JULY 2012
Bayer MaterialScience exhibited a range of solutions for global challenges at Plast 2012
in Milan, Italy recently. Together with customers and other part-ners along the added-value chain, Bayer MaterialScience is working on sustainable developments for future mobility concepts.
The demand for lightweight designs in the automotive indus-try is at an all-time high, the aim being to cut fuel consump-tion, costs and CO2 emissions. Makrolon-brand polycarbonates tailored to this application have already proven effective in transparent glazing solutions for production vehicles.
Current trends include roof modules and panoramic roofs all the way to design solutions for complete modules, such as rear hatches. Compared to con-ventional glass technology, the weight of such components can be reduced by as much as 50 per-cent. Bayer MaterialScience also markets Bayblend polycarbonate blends for bodywork parts that can be painted the same colour as the vehicle.
Apart from weight reduction, the good thermal insulation properties of polycarbonate com-pared to glass are also a factor. Because the material’s thermal conductivity is five times lower, less energy is required to heat the cabin. This is not an issue in vehi-cles with a combustion engine, because they produce more than enough heat when running. The situation is different, however, in electric cars, because the battery must additionally supply energy to heat the interior, which has a direct impact on vehicle range. Polycarbonate glazing is a good thermal insulator and can there-fore contribute to improving energy efficiency in the interior.
The need to reduce fuel con-sumption and CO2 emissions is spurring the development of alternative drive technolo-gies. One example is electric mobility, which could eliminate the use of fossil fuels entirely. Polycarbonate blends such as Bayblend can offer advantag-es when it comes to the battery enclosure. Because battery out-put may be limited in winter by the lower temperatures, the good
thermal insulating capacity of polycarbonate can be exploit-ed to improve the function of the battery and thus the range of the car. Plastic has a clear advantage over metal housings in terms of weight, while still offering high mechanical sta-bility. Furthermore, suitable flameproofing of the polycar-bonate blend reduces the risk of fire for the battery, particularly in hybrid vehicles.
The continued advancement of electric mobility depends not only on the efficient design and equipping of electric cars, but also on the establishment of a suitable infrastructure. The Dutch company EV-Box, for instance, manufactures charg-ing stations of the same name with a housing made of a halo-gen-free, flame retardant grade of Bayblend polycarbonate blend. The material offers exten-sive design freedom and resists vandalism and other mechani-cal stresses. Additional factors in favour of the heat-resistant material are that it allows the charging stations to be pro-duced in large volumes much
more cost-effectively than when using metal, and it does not dis-rupt wireless communication between the driver and charg-ing station.
Polycarbonate also plays an important role in automo-tive lighting. Special Makrolon grades with very high optical transparency were developed for use in headlamp lenses and dif-fuser panels. The transparency improves luminous efficiency and helps save energy. Modern LED technologies are not only 70 percent more energy-efficient than conventional incandescent bulbs, they also offer greater flexibility, particularly in cars. Modern control systems make it possible to illuminate specific areas, such as when cornering, which is a clear advantage for passenger safety.
Due to the polycarbonate’s extensive design freedom, auto manufacturers can design uniquely shaped headlamp cov-ers and lenses to differentiate themselves from the competi-tion. As part of its special support services for lens manufacturing, Bayer MaterialScience assists
customers with multilayer injec-tion molding and other steps. This also applies to street lamps, in which the lenses focus the cone of light so that it falls precisely on the desired spot on the street below to increase pedestrian and traffic safety. Under the name Apec, Bayer MaterialScience markets highly heat-resistant polycarbonate grades capable of withstanding the very high temperatures generated by con-tinuous lamp operation.
With 2011 sales of Euro 10.8 billion, Bayer MaterialScience is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innova-tive solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automo-tive, electrical and electronics, construction and the sports and leisure industries. At the end of 2011, Bayer MaterialScience had 30 production sites and employed approximately 14,800 people around the globe.
(Courtesy: Bayer MaterialScience)
Bayer showcases future mobility concepts
M anufacturers of racing yachts are always on the lookout for new technologies to optimise boats and sails. An ingenious new sen-
sor technology now helps them to extend the boundaries of what is possible.
The constant hunger to break new records has turned boat building into a high-tech business. The racing yachts that compete at international regattas today are sporting machines designed to reach top speeds. The process of optimising the boats has been ongoing for decades.
On the fifth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race in spring 2012, from New Zealand to Brazil, only one of the six teams reached its destination without technical problems—all the others were forced to either take a break from the race or give up altogether.
A new sensor system from the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich Hertz Institute HHI can help to detect weak points on time and warn yachtsmen when breaking point has been reached. Prof Wolfgang Schade and his team in the project group for Fibre Optical Sensor Systems in the German town of Goslar have developed “nerves of glass”, which can measure the forces that act on hulls, masts, and sails. The technology was actually developed for monitoring wind turbines, where rotor blades and cables are exposed to high loads. “With fibre optic sensors, we can detect delami-nations and even cracks at any early stage—long before a part breaks or fails,” explained Schade.
The centrepiece of the new technology is “fibre Bragg grating”, microscopic structures that are integrated in the glass fibre at defined intervals and which, alter the refractive index. Light racing through the glass fibre is reflect-ed by these lattice points. The wavelength of the reflected light depends on the distance between the microscopic structures. To be able to measure the reflectance spectrum quickly and cheaply, the researchers developed a mini-spectrometer, which consists of a chip that splits light into various frequencies. By analys-ing the frequency spectrum, experts can draw conclusions about the forces currently acting on the glass fibre.
Schade and his team’s next objective is to adapt the measurement technology so it is fit for use in competitive racing. For the first time, the fiber optic sensors data provides results that will be accessible through an app that allows crew members to access real time data from their smart phones. The new measuring sys-tem will be launched shortly under the name NextSailSystem.
(Courtesy: Fraunhofer Institute)
Sailing with nerves of glass
Auto Monitor
S T U D Y1216 JULY 2012
Customers report a greater number of problems on long-term vehicle dependability
this year, primarily due to an increase in the number of prob-lems related to the engine and driving experience, according to the JD Power Asia Pacific 2012 India Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS).
Measuring IssuesThe study measures problems
experienced by the owners of 30 to 42 month-old vehicles in 169 different problem symptoms across nine vehicle catego-ries including vehicle exterior, driving experience, features, controls and displays, audio and entertainment, seats, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), vehicle interior, engine and transmission. Overall vehicle dependability aver-
ages 225 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) in 2012, an increase from 195 PP100 in 2011. Overall dependability is deter-mined by the level of problems experienced per 100 vehicles, with a lower score reflecting higher quality.
The increase in problem counts is predominantly driven by an increase in issues related to the engine and driving experi-ence. Together, these categories account for more than 40 per-cent of the problems reported by vehicle owners. Six of the top ten problems that have deteriorated year-over-year relate to compo-nent and supplier parts.
Revitalising Consumer Confidence
According to Executive Director, JD Power Asia Pacific, Singapore, Mohit Arora, “To build a positive and reliable perception in the minds of con-sumers, manufacturers in India need to provide a problem-free
experience over a longer peri-od of vehicle ownership. An increase in problems experi-enced by car owners, alongside an increase in the ownership period, acutely undermines consumer confidence and needs to be tackled expeditiously by automotive OEMs and their component suppliers.”
Small Engine ExperiencesThe study finds that the pro-
portion of vehicles powered by smaller diesel engines (1.3 L to 1.4 L) has increased by eleven percentage points from 2011. However, with the increase in the proportion of smaller diesel engines, there is a par-allel increase in the number of engine-related problems. The largest year-over-year increases in the number of engine-relat-ed problems experienced by owners of vehicles with small-er diesel engines are excessive fuel consumption and a lack of engine power.
Furthermore, among owners who indicated that they did not experience problems with their vehicle, 66 percent said they ‘definitely would’ recommend their current model. This figure declined to 48 percent among owners who said that they expe-rienced one or more problems with their vehicle.
The 2012 India Vehicle Dependability Study is based on evaluations from 7,866 orig-inal owners who purchased a
new vehicle between July 2008 and September 2009. The study includes 62 vehicle models cov-ering 16 nameplates and was fielded from January to April 2012 in 25 cities across India. The Vehicle Dependability Study is one of two JD Power Asia Pacific automotive qual-ity studies for the India market. The Initial Quality Study (IQS) measures problems of new vehicles at two to six months of ownership.
Our Bureau Chennai
Small diesel car owners report more problems: JD Power
Minimising the cost of operations has always been a high priority for value-oriented consum-ers in India. Hence, vehicle buyers have opted for a smaller diesel engine in anticipation of better fuel efficiency and savings on over-all fuel costs. However, when the actual fuel efficiency falls short of expectations over the longer term, it often leads to a higher problem count being reported and a decrease in overall vehicle owner satisfaction, Arora pointed out. The study, now in its fifth year, includes mod-els in eleven vehicle segments: entry compact, compact, premium compact, entry mid-size, mid-size, premium mid-size, entry luxury, lux-ury, multi-utility/ multi-purpose vehicle (MUV/ MPV), sport-utility vehicle (SUV) and the van.
Hyundai is the only improved make in 2012. Fewer reported problems in the HVAC, driv-ing experience and vehicle exterior categories contribute to Hyundai’s 14-point improve-ment from 2011. Three Hyundai models garner awards in their respective segments: Hyundai Santro in the compact segment, Hyundai i20 in the premium compact segment and Hyundai Verna in the mid-size segment. “Hyundai’s performance in the 2012 study underscores the sustained improvements it has made in consist-ently improving longer-term product quality over the past three years.
What is more, experiencing fewer problems than its key competition over a longer term is likely to aid Hyundai in further strengthening its image of dependability and reliability among its owners, helping to spread positive word–of-mouth advertising”, Arora said.
The study also finds that there are a higher number of problems experienced among vehi-cle owners who employ a driver, compared with those who do not employ a driver. The propor-tion of problems experienced by these owners is relatively higher in the HVAC, seats, audio and entertainment and vehicle interior categories.
Arora said that the vehicle owners who employ a driver seem to be more observant of various aspects of their vehicle, in comparison to owners who drive their own vehicle. They have more opportunities to observe and inter-act with the vehicle and thus, are more sensitive to the problems that may crop up.
Highlights Of The Study
The study, now in its fifth year, includes models in eleven
size, entry luxury, luxury, MUV/ MPV, SUV and the van
Minimising the cost of operations has always been a high priority for value-ori-ented consumers in India. Hence, vehicle buyers have opted for a smaller diesel engine in anticipation of better fuel efficiency and savings on overall fuel costs
Auto Monitor
G L O B A L W A T C H 1316 JULY 2012
Toyota GB has cut its carbon footprint by hundreds of tonne of CO2 a year in a series of
intelligent measures to reduce energy consumption. New light-ing systems, adjustments to air conditioning performance and changes to operational hours have helped bring down electricity and gas usage by a considerable margin.
The company’s annual Green Month provides an opportunity to assess the advances made and engage all employees in learn-ing more about the importance of environmental best practice. In 2010, Toyota was one of the first vehicle manufacturers in the UK to meet the Carbon Trust Standard, having made a seven
percent reduction in its CO2 emissions. That has inspired the company to set a more ambitious target: in 2009 the annual com-bined emissions from Toyota GB’s sites totalled 3,873 tonnes of CO2—equivalent to driving a Toyota Prius 27 million miles—the goal is to reduce this figure by 20 percent, by 2013.
The results show it to be well on course to meet that goal, with emissions already down by 19 per cent at the end of the 2011 financial year. An example of how innovative measures can make a valuable contribution to reducing emissions can be seen at Toyota’s vehicle import centre at Portbury in Bristol, where LED lighting has been installed in the parking compounds and the
workshops, together with a new central lighting control system and a more efficient air condi-tioning unit. These steps have delivered a 23 percent cut in CO2 from electricity usage and 17 per cent from gas consumption.
Similar changes have also been adopted at Toyota’s Surrey headquarters building, along with lighting sensors in meet-ing rooms and adjustments to air conditioning temperatures. As a result, CO2 emissions fell by more than 400 tonne a year in 2011. Manager Corporate Planning and CSR, Thomas Rosselle said, “Toyota is world-famous for making cars that are
environmentally efficient, but the company has a 360-degree approach to environmental mat-ters that takes in every aspect of its operations. The work we are doing in our offices, workshops and training centres in the UK to achieve big reductions in our car-bon emissions demonstrates our commitment to this ethos.”
Staff at Toyota’s head office have been learning more about
environmental issues, with a presentation on water mat-ters by representatives from the local provider, East Surrey Water. Three charities tackling water-related good causes have been profiled and employees are vot-ing to decide which will receive a £3,000 donation from the Toyota Fund for a Better Tomorrow, the other two will respectively receive £2,000 and £1,000.
Toyota taking big steps for a smaller carbon footprint
Mercedes-Benz is now adding the Intouro regular-service bus to its Western European portfolio of buses and coaches. The model in
question is a rural-service bus, which has already proven highly popular in many Central and Eastern European countries as well as in France and Portugal since its start of production and launch in 2007, with over 3,500 built to date. The company is thereby capitalising on the flexibility of its international production network to quickly respond to the changes in demand in this price-sensitive segment of Western European markets.
Economical Overall Concept Based Around Proven Components
Intouro is an economical high-floor vehicle that has been specially designed for rural-serv-ice applications such as rural regular-service use, regular school-bus services and internal company transport. In order to deliver rapid and sustained profitability, the Intouro’s eco-nomical purchase and operating costs add up to outstanding value for money. Long-lasting components, robust technology and a standard equipment package aimed principally at rural-service use are the defining characteristics of the Intouro fully-equipped bus.
This two-axle, two-door vehicle is available in two lengths (the Intouro, measuring 12.14 m, and the Intouro M, measuring 12.98 m) and seats 55 or 59 passengers. It is manufactured by Daimler’s Turkish subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Türk AS at the state-of-the-art Ho dere plant near Istanbul.
Both variants of the Mercedes-Benz Intouro are powered by a vertically mounted Mercedes-Benz OM 926 LA six-cylinder in-line diesel engine with a displacement of 7.2 litres. In its standard form, it has an output of 210 kW (286 hp) and maximum torque of 1,120 nm at an engine speed of 1,200-1,600 RPM. The pow-erful turbodiesel engine with BlueTec diesel technology based on the SCR principle com-plies with the EU’s Euro V emissions standard and can optionally be specified in an EEV ver-sion (available without diesel particulate filter). Positioned centrally, the engine can be accessed easily for maintenance work. Power transmis-sion is performed by a Mercedes-Benz GO 110 six-speed manual transmission. The OM 457 hLA, with 220 kW (299 HP) and ZF EcoLife auto-matic transmission, is available as an option.
Like all other Mercedes-Benz buses and coaches, the Intouro can count on the tight-knit, Europe-wide Omniplus service network for its servicing and maintenance needs, as well as on the many Mercedes-Benz authorised dealers and company-owned sales and service outlets.
Mercedes-Benz Intouro now in Western Europe
In 2009, the annual combined emissions
from Toyota GB’s sites totalled 3,873 tonne
of CO2—equivalent to driving a Toyota Prius 27 million miles. The goal is to reduce this figure
by 20 percent, by 2013
Toyota is world-famous for making cars that are environmentally efficient, but the company has a 360-degree approach to environ-
mental matters that takes in every aspect of its operations
Auto Monitor
G L O B A L W A T C H1416 JULY 2012
Daimler AG and Russian commercial vehicle manufacturer, Gaz Group, a part of Basic
Element, a Russia-based business group, have started implemen-tation of the project to set-up Mercedes-Benz Sprinter produc-tion at Gorky Automobile Plant in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
The companies are coop-erating under the terms of the agreement that came into force in May 2012 after a number of prerequisites agreed upon by the partners had been met. The signing brought the negotiations, which had commenced after a Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the end of 2010, to a successful conclusion.
The parties plan to localise the well-proven Mercedes-Benz Sprinter T1N, as well as the engine and other components. In its partnership with GAZ, Daimler will invest more than Euro 100 million in the product adjustment, production process-es and sales network. Gaz Group
will invest over Euro 90 million in the project.
In the framework of coopera-tion, both companies are also planning to localise Mercedes-Benz engines at Gaz Group’s production site in Yaroslavl. Its new plant conforming to the advanced international stand-ards was constructed at the end of 2011 to produce YaMZ-530 Euro IV engines.
Commenting on the prospects of the joint project to assemble Mercedes-Benz vehicles at Gaz, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, Volker Mornhinweg stated at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, “The partner-ship with Gaz will take us a big step forward in the promising Russian van market. For Mercedes-Benz vans, Russia is an important future market that offers us good growth opportunities. That is why we want to produce our vans for Russia locally and cater to local customer preferences.”
According to experts, Russia will become one of the world’s larg-
est sales markets in the mid-size and large van segments by 2020 with the annual volume of around 300,000 units. Russia’s market volume for this segment today is already about 150,000 units.
President and CEO of Gaz Group, Bo Andersson said, “The cooperation with Daimler will enable us to upgrade the manufacturing capacities and processes of Gorky Automobile
Plant. And we are already on the way—in May 2012, a contract was signed with Germany-based Eisenmann, the leading interna-tional supplier of systems for the automotive industry, to supply a new paintshop for more than Euro 50 million. The new technol-ogy will ensure full conformance with Daimler standards in the paint process at Gaz, and will also be used for the model range
of Gorky Automobile Plant.”Start of Mercedes-Benz
Sprinter production at Gaz in Nizhny Novgorod is scheduled for the first half of 2013. The com-pany has started preparation of its production facilities for the joint project. Daimler will organise the vehicles sales and service through the existing Mercedes-Benz deal-ership network, which will grow significantly in the future.
Daimler, Gaz start implementation of Mercedes-Benz vans manufacturing in Russia
With more than 117,500 cars sold in the first six months of this year, which represents an increase of 10.9 percent, Chevrolet recorded
its best-ever volume and market share in Western and Central Europe. Industry sales were down by 7.7 percent during the same period. Chevrolet Europe’s volume was up 11,500 vehicles, com-pared to the first six months of 2011, while market share was up 0.24 points at a record 1.43 percent. In western Europe, Chevrolet sales were up 12 percent at 92,400 cars and SUVs.
“In the current economic climate, European customers are more value-conscious than ever. They are turning to Chevrolet in record numbers because we are giving them what they need: dis-tinctive design and all the equipment they are looking for at a price they can afford. In short, a lot of car for their money,” said President of Chevrolet Europe, Susan Docherty.
In the first half of 2012, Chevrolet sales were up in 19 countries and enjoyed particularly strong growth in the following countries (sorted by increase in units): Chevrolet recorded its best-ever market share, for the January to June period, in the following eight countries: Poland (3.7 per-cent), Turkey (2.78 percent), The Netherlands (2.09 percent), Estonia (1.78 percent), Austria (1.25 percent), France (1.17 percent), Belgium (0.94 percent) and Germany (0.90 percent).
Chevrolet’s best-selling vehicle in Europe in the first six months of 2012 was the Chevrolet Aveo city car, with sales of 34,310 units. Aveo was followed by the Chevrolet Spark mini car of which, 32,010 units were sold. Chevrolet sold 21,000 Cruzes (sedan and hatchback) in west-ern and central Europe. Cruze continues to be Chevrolet’s best-selling model globally and sales are expected to grow even further as the sta-tion wagon will hit European showrooms later this summer. Chevrolet sold 14,300 Orlando minivans and 13,820 Captiva SUVs. The diesel version of the Malibu mid-size sedan will also arrive at dealerships later this summer.
Chevrolet sales up 10.9 percent despite troubled European economy
The partnership with Gaz will take
us a big step forward in the promising
Russian van market. For MB vans, Russia is an important future
market that offers us good growth
opportunities—Volker Mornhinweg, Head of
MB Vans
Auto Monitor
G L O B A L W A T C H1616 JULY 2012
Mag net i Ma rel l i recently kicked off production at its plant in Changsha,
China. The new plant is dedi-
cated to the supply of exhaust systems to GAC Fiat, the equal joint venture between Fiat and GAC (China’s sixth largest man-ufacturer of automobiles, buses and industrial vehicles).
Expanding FacilitiesThe new facility is located in
the supplier park of GAC Fiat, in the Economic & Technical Development Zone of Changsha. The plant covers an area of 21,000 sq mtrs, 10,000 of which are intended for production activities. At full capacity, the plant will employ 200 workers and will be able to produce up to 300,000 systems per year. The Changsha plant will be produc-ing complete exhaust systems based on the know-how consol-idated in the sector by Magneti Marelli, which set-up a produc-tion base in China back in 2000 in order to serve local customers.
The Changsha facility will also supply the exhaust systems for the Fiat Viaggio on site, soon to be sold on the Chinese market.
Magneti Marelli supplies components like lighting, pow-ertrain, electronic systems, exhaust systems and suspension systems. The supplied compo-nents include front headlamps with bi-halogen elliptic module, rear LED lights, body computer, instrument cluster, hands-free module with voice recognition for incoming/outgoing calls through Bluetooth connection, front and rear shock absorbers
and components for the dual clutch transmission (hydrau-lic kit and electronic control unit) used for the 1.4 T-Jet 88 and 110 KW engine. The compa-ny also supplies the Motorised Throttle Valve (ETC), the injec-tors and the intake manifold for this engine.
The company has been oper-ating in China since 1996 with production plants and R&D/engineering centres in Shanghai
(for powertrain products and exhaust systems), Wuhu (pow-ertrain and automotive lighting products), Guangzhou (elec-tronic systems), Hangzhou (shock absorbers in JV with Wanxiang Qianchao Company) and in the Chaoyang economic and industrial district of the city of Changchun (JV with FUDI for powertrain components).
The company operates around 77 production units, 11 R&D centres and 26 application centres in 18 countries, over 34,000 employees and a turno-ver of Euro 5.9 billion in 2011.
Magneti Marelli kicks off new facility for exhaust systems
Land Rover and Bowler, the UK-based manufacturer of all-terrain perform-ance cars and rally raid vehicles, have agreed to a brand partnership, formal-
ising a relationship that has been in place for over a decade. This new partnership will enable Land Rover and Bowler to realise even greater value from their relationship.
Under the agreement, “Powered by Land Rover” badging on Bowler’s competition cars and across its marketing materials marks the role that Land Rover technology plays in the performance and race success of Bowler prod-ucts. The “Powered by Land Rover” branding will also be highlighted in joint event and pro-motional activities.
Bowler will benefit from access to compo-nents—powertrain and chassis engineering in particular—and technical and development support from Land Rover. In addition, the agree-ment provides a secured piece of ongoing parts business and allows Land Rover’s engineers to stretch themselves creatively and technically on an extreme performance-orientated pro-gramme that brings further knowledge to the core road-going Land Rover range.
From its first competition vehicle of the mid-1980s, Bowler has based its racers on Land Rover technology. The company’s latest mod-els—the EXR rally raid competition car and the road-going EXR S—both use modified engines, chassis and other components from the Range Rover Sport.
Land Rover Brand Experience Director, Global Marketing, Mark Cameron said, “Bowler vehicles demonstrate the kind of performance, ride, handling and chassis dynamics that a vehicle powered by Land Rover is capable of when taken to the extreme and liberated of most practical constraints.
Bowler EXR Bowler has pioneered rally raid cars in the
UK and is one of the global market leaders in the production of racing and all-terrain perform-ance vehicles. Following in the footsteps of its predecessors—the Bowler Wildcat (produced from 1997 to 2007) and Nemesis (2006-2011)—the new EXR was designed, developed and produced to compete in the world’s toughest rally raid events, including the Dakar Rally, the Silk Way Rally and those that comprise the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies. Several generations of Bowler models, including the lat-est EXR model, will be competing in the Rally Reykjavik (Iceland) in September.
Land Rover, Bowler sign formal brand partnership agreement
The Changsha plant will be producing
complete exhaust systems based on the
know-how consolidated in the sector by
Magneti Marelli, which set-up a production
base in China back in 2000 in order to serve local customers. The
Changsha facilities will also supply the exhaust
systems for the Fiat Viaggio on site, soon
to be sold on the Chinese market
The new plant is dedicated to the supply of exhaust systems to GAC Fiat, the equal
The leading source for automotive parts, components & accessories.
Auto Monitor
C L A S S I F I E D S 2116 JULY 2012
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Our consistent advertisersFIC : Front Inside Cover BIC : Back Inside Cover BC: Back cover
Gaurav Malhotra is presently working in the field of manufacturing testing instru-ments since the last two decades. He did his schooling from Frank Anthony Public School, Graduation from DU in the com-merce stream followed by a diploma in Indian Marketing & Management Institute.
In Person
An experience I won’t forget…
If not in the auto industry, where would you be?I would probably be a chef or a painter! What car do you drive? What do you dream of driving?I drive a Honda Civic .My dream car would be an Audi Q7
Your most recent indulgence…A 10-seater personal home-theatre
What are you currently reading?‘The Prince’ by Niccolo Machiavelli
What is Mr Gaurav Malhotra doing when not talking auto?Cooking or taking photographs!
Outdoor activity you would miss office for…Playing football with my son
Where did you go for your last holiday?Macau & Hongkong .
You get angry when…When I feel people are not passionate about their work or not giving up to their full potential
What is the one thing you would like to change about you?My inability to ‘switch off’ after work
Best thing to have happened to you…My wife (grins)
Running from one terminal to the other at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport (Thailand) to catch my connecting flight to Australia and managing to just board it in the nick of time. The whole family heaved a sigh of relief as it was the beginning of one of our best vacations!
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TPM-Trak
Regn. No. MH/MR/WEST/20/2012-2014. RNI No. MAHENG/2000/11414Licenced to post at Mumbai patrika channel sorting office G.P.O. Mumbai 400 001.Date Of Mailing:16th & 17th Fortnightly Issue. Date Of Publication: 13th of Every Month
