Top Indian Automobile Industry News & Updates - 27 April 2024,Saturday
🏢 Industry
India emerges as global leader in electric three-wheeler market, surpasses China in sales
New Delhi: India has surpassed China to become the world's largest market for electric three-wheelers, recording over 580,000 sales in 2023, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported.
For Tesla, India can perhaps wait for now
It was sometime in early 2022 when Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, had tweeted about India’s high import duty levels for cars and why this was impacting his company’s entry into this market.
📝 Chennai Trade Centre to host first Automation Expo roadshow on May 3
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🎤 Interviews & Features
What Maurti Suzuki needs to do to attain its 50% market share goal
Maruti Suzuki came out with its Q4 FY2004 results today. The country's largest carmaker by sales saw its Q4 FY24 net profit climb by 48% to INR3878 crore buoyed by strong demand for its sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
All new features to expect from 2024 Mahindra XUV 3XO
Mahindra has been dropping a number of teasers of the upcoming XUV300 facelift periodically over the past couple of weeks. The automaker has been essentially highlighting the new design and all the new features to be offered in the facelifted XUV300 which has been rebranded as a XUV 3XO.
Maintaining a superbike (300cc to 1000cc) — What you need to know
Finally, after buying ‘that’ special motorcycle that you always wanted, the goal may seem achieved — but is it? No. Buying the dream motorcycle is just half the goal, maintaining the motorcycle throughout its lifetime is when the goal is achieved.
Small (car) is beautiful
The Indian passenger vehicle industry has had a stellar year. In 2023-24 (FY24), PV sales grew up by an impressive 9 per cent. Carmakers are now trying to assess where the next spurt of growth can come from. Will it be from small towns? Will it be from small electric vehicle (EV) buyers? “Smaller towns the next pit stop for carmakers”, read one headline (Business Standard, March 18, 2024). “JSW MG Motor eyes a ‘Maruti moment’”, read another (Business Standard, March 21, 2024).
Jeep Wrangler: One of a kind
Jeep is the only American carmaker still going strong in the Indian market, which makes it fair for them to gift the 2024 Jeep Wrangler a fitting ‘The One and Only’ tagline. Considering the Wrangler (and Jeep, too) has shown many carmakers that a purpose-built off-roader can do well in the market, the new tagline seems all the more apt. We drive the 2024 Jeep Wrangler, across a variety of terrain, to see if it is indeed the one and only of its kind.
Dream on!. Electric Evolution
For a 29-year-old company which began its business by producing batteries, BYD has come a long way indeed. Its dominance of the Chinese electric market might overshadow everything else, but even if one were to look at its products, they’d be shocked to see how well they are positioned. That, for a new carmaker, in a global car market filled with not just legacy brands but also burgeoning forces like Tesla, is a big compliment. In India, BYD began its car journey with the E6, which was soon followed by the Atto 3, both of which were commended as new products, but with the Seal, its third, BYD makes a bold step. Third time lucky?
📝 Data centres, EVs and green hydrogen to create upside for long-term power demand growth: Nikhil Nigania
📝 Interview: Jeep India reveals product strategy & what an electric future holds
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🚗 Cars / SUVs
Volkswagen India opens dealership in Kashi
Volkswagen Passenger Cars India inaugurated a new customer touchpoint in Kashi, further bolstering its presence in UP as part of the Brand’s wider push to make its products and services more accessible to Indian customers.
Maruti Suzuki reports 47.8% surge in Q4 net profit driven by strong sales & product mix
The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki Friday met street estimates to report a 47.8% increase in net profit at INR 3,877.8 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2024 driven by strong sales and better product mix.
Maruti says small hybrid cars on the anvil, lower GST may be a game changer but wait & watch for now!
Tesla’s Elon Musk recently said that the “EV adoption rate globally is under pressure, and a lot of other auto manufacturers are pursuing plug-in hybrids instead.” While he was addressing the Tesla earnings call, has India’s largest passenger vehicle maker-Maruti, already started taking steps to hedge its bets? Well, Maruti reiterated plans to “persue hybrid tech comprehensively over the medium-term.” The higher GST is no doubt a concern but they will wait and watch for what the new Govt does after assuming power.
Maruti goes big on sales, earnings follow
New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest carmaker, Friday reported record revenue, profit and vehicle sales for the quarter as well as the financial year ended March, helped by robust demand for higher-margin sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
Kia to bring 3 new models in FY25
New Delhi: KIA India plans to consolidate its market share by launching three new vehicles in the current fiscal, national head of sales and marketing, Hardeep Singh Brar, told FE.
Kia Sonet sales cross 4 lakh units in 44 months
New Delhi: Kia India has sold over 4 lakh Sonet and its variants, the compact SUV launched in September 2020, in both the domestic and international markets. While in the domestic market it sold 317,754 units, the company exported 85,814 units.
Maruti Suzuki plans an affordable hybrid rollout
New Delhi : Maruti Suzuki India Ltd’s Japanese parent, Suzuki Motor Co., is working on developing cost-effective technologies that would make the otherwise exorbitantly expensive hybrid cars affordable for buyers in India.
📝 Maruti Suzuki declares dividend of Rs 125/share
📝 Safest cars and SUVs under Rs 10 lakh: Tata Tiago to Hyundai Grand i10 Nios
📝 Kia's net profit up 32.5 pc in Q1; India sales drop due to aging models, geopolitical factors
📝 Toyota Kirloskar Motors Launches T Gloss For Car Care
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Electric-Cars / SUVs
Hyundai confirms local EV production begins 2024 end — Is it Creta electric?
Recently, the Executive Chair of Hyundai Motor Group (HMG), Euisun Chung, visited India to review mid- to long-term future mobility strategies for the country. During the recent town hall meeting with the Executive Chair held on April 23, a lot of things were discussed and revealed for both brands under HMG in India– Hyundai and Kia.
Car Review: Byd Seal Electric : Can it Seal the deal for BYD in India?
Have you seen videos of seals swimming in ocean depths? They literally fly through the water, and they're smooth. Almost that similar grace and speed can be felt in a car— in BYD Seal, provided you are driving it on a well-paved highway.
📝 Hyundai to expand EV lineup in India, launch five models
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🚗 Luxury Cars
📝 Land Rover Defender Octa to debut on July 3: Hardcore and most powerful Defender with twin-turbo V8
📝 Lamborghini Urus SE: Most powerful Urus explained by Rouven Mohr
📝 BMW i5 M60 xDrive launched in India, all-electric sedan priced at Rs 11950000
📝 Actor Maniesh Paul & wife Sanyukta buy the MINI Countryman worth ₹48.10 lakh
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⛟ Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors’ new warehouse in Guwahati to enable easier access to CV spare parts across northeastern India
Tata Motors inaugurated a new commercial vehicle spare parts warehouse in Guwahati. Establishing this new unit will enable easy availability of spares at Tata-authorised Service Stations in the North East. Spanning over 1 lakh square feet, this state-of-the-art facility is fully digitalized and stocks spare parts for the entire commercial vehicle portfolio.
Omega Seiki targets 30% revenue from exports in FY25; plans to enter West Asian, African markets
New Delhi: Omega Seiki Mobility, aims to sell Commercial Vehicles worth INR 450 crore in 2024-25 along with entering the international market in the coming two-three months starting with the African and the West Asian countries, Uday Narang, founder and chairman of Omega Seiki Mobility, told ETAuto.
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🏗 Construction & Agri Machinery
Mahindra Tractors sells 40 lakh units, including exports, in 60 years
New Delhi: Mahindra Tractors, part of the Mahindra Group and the world’s largest tractor manufacturer by volume, has sold its 40th lakh tractor, inclusive of exports in March 2024.
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🏍 2/3 Wheelers
Entry bike segment cedes ground to premiumisation
Chennai: The domestic motorcycle market in the country has witnessed a resurgence in demand, driving positive growth. However, it is also experiencing structural shifts, notably with the entry-level segment losing ground to the trend of premiumisation.
Bajaj silently rolls out updated Pulsar 220F – gets new instrument console
Bajaj has silently launched the updated Pulsar 220F as units of semi-faired motorcycle start reaching dealerships. The updated Pulsar 220F gets a familiar set of updates as introduced in Pulsar models like N150, N160, NS200 and the recently launched N250. However, Bajaj is yet to officially announce the launch of the updated Pulsar 220F.
📝 Ducati Hypermotard 950 RVE launched with Graffiti Evo livery. Check what's new
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🚲 Electric 2/3 Wheelers
How an e-bike can go 3 2 3 km on full charge: New Ultraviolette F77 MaACH 2
Ultraviolette Automotive — the TVS-Motor-backed, Bengaluru-based EV start-up — has increased the power and range of its electric motorcycles without making any changes to the battery. How? The answer is that its electric motorcycles are software-defined vehicles (SDVs), unlike petrol bikes that need to go back to the factory for mechanical upgrades.
📝 FAME Subsidy Case: Hero Electric moves HC seeking relief
📝 Okaya starts pre-booking of Ferrato Disruptor electric bike
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⚙ Components
Tata Motors opens new CV parts warehouse in Guwahati
Equipped with world-class infrastructure and safety measures, the facility will unlock greater customer value proposition through digitalised warehouse processes. Tata Motors has partnered with Delhivery, India's largest fully integrated logistics services provider, to leverage its technology-enabled warehousing and transportation solutions. The facility also boasts cutting-edge storage systems catering to diverse needs, including gravity spiral and vertical reciprocating conveyors. Additionally, a designated area for handling medium and heavy vehicle body parts has been integrated to ensure seamless operations.
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🌇 Allied Industries
Tech Mahindra’s strategy gives hope, but watch out for risks along the way
Tech Mahindra Ltd has set its sights on the future amid the difficult demand conditions facing Indian information technology (IT) companies. It has laid out a three-year roadmap, which includes eventual goals such as clocking better-than-peer average revenue growth by FY27 and attaining an Ebit (earnings before interest and tax) margin of 15%
Vedanta presents aluminium range for auto industry at AutoEdge 2024 conclave
New Delhi: Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, recently organised AutoEdge 2024, an industry conclave for the automotive sector, in New Delhi. Aluminium that enables several forms of modern transportation, has established itself as a critical raw material for automotive manufacturing.
Schaeffler India Q1,2024 net profit at INR 227.7 cr
New Delhi: Schaeffler India Limited the motion technology company, has said that its revenue from operations (net) for the first quarter, ended March 31, 2024 (January-March 2024) (Q124) was INR 1849.2 crore, 9.2% higher than the corresponding quarter of 2023 and -0.3% lower than the preceding quarter (Q423).
📝 Battery stocks’ rally may extend after USD 2 billion surge
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🌢 Fuels, Lubricants & Charging Stations
📝 You can charge your EV for free at 400 spots in Karnataka. Check details
📝 Statiq announces free charging for EV owners across 4 South Indian states
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💸 Finance & Insurance
Shriram Finance Q4 results: net profit jumps 49% to Rs 1,945.87 crore; Here are all other details
Shriram Finance’s net profit in Q4 of FY24 rose 49% to Rs 1,945.87 crore Vs Rs 1,308.31 crore it posted in the same quarter a year ago. The company’s total revenue from operations stood at Rs 9,483.71 crore in Q4 of FY24, against Rs 7,756.33 crore it recorded in Q4 of FY24.
Bajaj Finserv Q4 results: Net profit rises 20% to Rs 2,118.53 crore; Here are all other details
In Q4 of FY24, Bajaj Finserv recorded a net profit of Rs 2,118.53 crore Vs Rs 1,768.95 crore it reported in Q4 of FY23, a jump of almost 20% on year
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📖 Magazines News
Toyota BZ3X e-SUV revealed at Beijing motor show
Toyota has unveiled a new electric SUV, dubbed the bZ3X, at the Beijing motor show. A blocky five-seater developed in collaboration with Toyota’s Chinese joint venture partner, GAC, the bZ3X said to prioritise interior space and comfort. The bZ3X was unveiled at Beijing alongside the bZ3C, a fastback version of the sedan of the same name.
Bajaj Pulsar NS400 to be positioned below Dominar 400
The long-awaited Bajaj Pulsar NS400 will be launched on May 3 and we now have some insights into what to expect from this machine. The first point of note is that it will use the existing 373cc engine from the Bajaj Dominar 400, and not the new-gen 399cc motors from either Triumph or KTM. The main reason behind this is to keep costs under control, because the price is going to be a very important factor with this bike.
India-bound Volkswagen Tayron debuts at Beijing motor show
The all-new Volkswagen Tayron SUV has been officially revealed at the ongoing Beijing motor show 2024. China is the first market where this SUV will go on sale – it will be a 5-seater and called the Tiguan L Pro – and it will arrive in India sometime in 2025. Some markets will also get a 7-seater version that will use the Tayron nameplate, although it is essentially a stretched version of the 5-seater Tiguan revealed in September last year.
Every new car, SUV tested by Global NCAP in 2024 in India
Global NCAP’s Safer Cars for India programme is winding down after over 10 years – the first round of test results were released in January 2014 and included models like the Volkswagen Polo, Maruti Alto 800, Tata Nano and Ford Figo. The latest crash test results that have been announced by the safety organisation are among the last it will publish, as India’s own Bharat NCAP safety assessment programme has begun. Still, just four months into 2024, Global NCAP has already announced results for five new models. Here’s how they performed.
Suzuki working on affordable small hybrids, confirms Maruti chairperson
Amid slowing adoption of electric vehicles, Maruti Suzuki continues to explore different alternatives to move towards carbon neutrality. Speaking to the media post FY-24 earnings, the top management stated that HQ Suzuki is working on an affordable hybrid solution for the compact cars and it will seriously consider the more expensive plug-in hybrid technology for the future.
Ultraviolette F77 Mach 2 launching in Middle East, Europe this year
A year and a half after introducing the F77 electric bike, Ultraviolette Automotive aims to expand its operations to the Middle-East, Brazil, and parts of Europe. The company is anticipating strong demand of close to 1 lakh bookings for the F77 Mach 2, said senior company officials at the launch event held in Bengaluru. Last month, the company marked its Europe entry by establishing operations in Turkey.
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📰 International News
VinFast chief plans to invest USD 1 bn more from his fortune in EV maker
Vietnamese billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong said on Thursday he planned to invest USD 1 billion more from his own fortune into Nasdaq-listed electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast, and was considering listings for other companies he controls.
US regulators probe Tesla recall over autopilot concerns
US auto safety regulatory body said on Friday it opened a probe to determine whether Tesla's decision to recall two million cars last December over autopilot safety concerns was adequate.
Why BYD's EV exports sell for twice the China price
U.S. and European politicians have raised alarms that their domestic auto industries could be destroyed by a wave of cheap Chinese electric vehicles. But so far, China's top EV maker, BYD, has dramatically hiked export prices compared to what it charges at home rather than undercut foreign rivals.
Toyota pilots EV pickup trucks in key Thai market
Toyota launched a public transport pilot on Thursday with nine fully electric Hilux Revo pickup trucks in Thailand, a key Southeast Asian battleground for electric vehicles where Chinese players are challenging the dominance of Japanese automakers.
Battle for 'tech luxury' in China as EVs get smarter - and cheaper
The battle for consumer attention in China's electric car market is being fought over touches of "tech luxury" that car buyers in other markets have never seen.
Katy Perry is the latest owner of Tesla Cybertruck: Check out her tweet thanking Elon Musk
Tesla Cybertruck is always in the news for something or the other, but more often than not in bad news recently. This time, the all-electric pickup truck is gaining traction online thanks to Katy Perry. The American pop sensation recently brought home a Tesla Cybertruck and the internet went gaga over it.
Hertz Global eyes worst day on record as EV rental business falters
Shares of Hertz Global slumped 24% and were on track for their sharpest one-day percentage fall on record on Thursday after the company reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, highlighting its struggles with the EV rental business.
Huawei's smart car tech offers automakers route to China sales
It's taken Huawei just four years to become a force in smart car technology, navigating the devastation of trade sanctions on its smartphones business while simultaneously developing a driver assistance system that is the darling of the Beijing auto show.
Car parts maker Valeo posts lower first-quarter sales on weak EV demand
French car parts maker Valeo posted slightly lower first-quarter sales on Thursday, as weak electric vehicle (EV) high-voltage activity overshadowed its traditional powertrain business.
Beijing auto show: Themes and highlights
China's largest auto show opened in Beijing with the biggest names showing off their latest electric vehicles (EVs), underlining how the world's largest auto market is already in an all-electric state of mind, and isn't looking back.
Tesla Layoff: Elon Musk's EV maker to lay off 693 employees in Nevada after cars price cuts
US probes if Tesla Autopilot recall did enough to make drivers attentive
The US government's auto safety agency is investigating whether last year's recall of Tesla's Autopilot driving system did enough to make sure drivers pay attention to the road.
📝 STMicro cuts FY revenue outlook as softer car demand weighs
📝 Tesla's plan for affordable cars takes page from Detroit rivals
📝 Honda announces USD 11 bn EV battery and vehicle plant in Canada
📝 Chinese automakers redefine the car as a living space
📝 Porsche AG Q1 Results: Operating profit drops 30% to $1.37 billion on ramp-up costs
📝 U.S. probes whether Tesla Autopilot recall did enough to make sure drivers pay attention
📝 Tesla autopilot probed after 20 crashes in months since recall
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