“The overall luxury market growth dominated by the big three – BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi – should be in the region of around 50% this year,” says Vidur Talwar, MD, T&T Motors. “The growth was much better in the first six months of the year but has been much lower since August.”Although the luxury segment isn’t as sensitive to inflation as the mass market cars, the overall downturn in sentiment has hit demand. “Since 75% of luxury cars are now financed, increasing interest rates have hit demand,” says Talwar. “Also, most luxe car buyers are also real estate buyers and that’s where the interest pinch hurts more. The rupee depreciation has also pinched.” and the overall sentiment is not as buoyant as last year. All of that has added up,” he says.

The good news, though, is that a couple of strategic launches have revitalised the luxe market and the nearly 50% trot would not have happened otherwise. BMW’s super successful X1 SAV (sports activity vehicle) hit the sweet spot and is likely to sell around 2,500-3,000 units this year. Without the X1′s contribution, the entire luxe market would have managed only about 30% growth. Add to that Audi’s successful Q5, which along with other stable mates like the Q7, has helped the company give an excellent performance even in a lacklustre month like November.

Rakesh Batra, head of Ernst & Young’s automobile practice in India, says, “The luxury car market seems to have bucked the downturn and this is as true of automobiles as of other luxury products. But, in cars the growth has come on what is still a very small base, so when car companies have launched new products, the market has grown. Also this segment is less affected by the general economic environment, so it’s easier for it to buck the downturn.

“Audi’s 5,117 unit sales from January-November has helped it surpass its annual sales target for the year in the first 11 months, registering 83% growth. In November, it clocked 66% growth selling 425 cars compared to 256 last November. In comparison, market leader BMW and archrival Mercedes Benz have more modest growth rates, though still leagues ahead of the mass market brands. Mercedes Benz India was ‘positive’ in the second half of 2011, clocking 31% growth year-on-year in the January-November period with 6,698 units, up from 5,110 units last year. BMW, which hasn’t announced November numbers yet, clocked 8,042 units in the January-October period, a growth of 70%.

Even super luxury brands like Rolls Royce expect a decent performance this year, clocking over 100 cars while Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover is expected to clock around 1,300 units, up from just under 900 units last year.Auto marketers say the push towards tier-2 markets has helped luxe brands survive the downturn. While Audi is branching out to markets like Coimbatore and Lucknow, Mercedes Benz has expanded its network to cities like Raipur & Nashik. In November, the company inaugurated new facilities in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Ludhiana and Mumbai. Getting into leasing business and pre-owned cars has also helped boost demand.

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Source:TOI  8/12/11

He said, however, with the onset of the festive season and the good monsoon this year, the industry is hoping that there will be a turnaround in car sales growth.During August this year, Maruti’s sales declined by 19.21 percent to 63,296 units from 78,351 units in the same month last year.The company has been facing labour issues at its Manesar plant, where production has been impacted.Similarly, rival Hyundai Motors posted a 7.51 percent decline in sales to 26,451 units in August this year from 28,601 units in the same period last year.Tata Motors also reported a 39.45 percent decline in sales to 13,508 units in August this year from 22,312 units in the same period last year.Domestic passenger car sales had fallen for the first time after 30 months of continuous growth in July, registering a 15.76 percent decline to 1,33,747 units, mainly due to hikes in lending rates and lower production by market leader Maruti Suzuki during the month.Mathur said that sales in September and October will be crucial in determining how much growth the industry will achieve this fiscal.

According to figures released by SIAM, motorcycle sales grew by 15.43 percent during the month to 839,772 units from 727,542 units in the corresponding month last year.Market leader Hero MotoCorp posted a 19.56 percent rise in sales to 462,196 units in August this year from 386,574 units in the same period last year.In contrast, Bajaj Auto saw an 8.10 percent rise in sales to 226,559 units in August this year from 209,567 units in the same period last year.TVS Motor Company also posted a 13.2 per cent increase in sales to 56,186 units in August, 2011, from 49,630 units in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The scooter segment grew by 24.84 percent to 212,750 units in August this year from 170,414 units in the same period last year.Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) reported a 31.52 percent rise in sales to 97,860 units in August, 2011, compared to 74,405 units in the corresponding year-ago period.TVS Motor Co posted a 24.32 percent jump in sales to 48,701 units in August, 2011, as against 39,171 units in the same period last year.Hero MotoCorp reported a 8.78 percent rise in sales to 28,924 units in August this year from 26,588 units in the same period last year.

Sales in the three-wheeler segment declined by 8.63 percent to 45,443 units in August this year, compared to 49,737 units in the corresponding year-ago period.Sales of commercial vehicle segment grew by 22.62 percent to 64,248 units in August, 2011, from 52,394 units in the year-ago period.Light commercial vehicle sales also grew by 34.46 percent to 36,847 in August this year from 27,402 units in the same period last year.
Sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles stood at 27,401 units in August, 2011, compared to 24,992 units in the corresponding period last year.Total sales of vehicles across categories registered a growth of 11.85 percent to 1,412,945 units in August from 1,263,239 units in the same month last year.

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Source:PTI

The production loss at Maruti’s Manesar facility due to preparations for the launch of its new Swift model and realignment of its DZiRE model’s output also severely impacted sales, he said.Earlier this month, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said that due to these two planned activities, sales in July were negatively impacted by nearly 17,000 units.”There is no lack of demand, but just lack of conversion of demand into purchases by customers,” Mathur said.SIAM Senior Director Sugato Sen said non-availability of certain components like castings also impacted the output of many car-makers.During the month, MSI India posted a 31.04% dip in domestic car sales to 52,483 units.Rival Hyundai Motor India’s sales were down by 11.49% to 25,501 units. Tata Motors saw a decline of 43.13% in sales to 13,997 units during the month.When asked about the outlook, Mathur said: “Interest rates and fuel prices are challenges for the market. Hopefully, interest rates have reached their peak… If crude continues to soften, then there may be some positive impact as it will lead to inflation coming down.”The forthcoming festive season is also likely to help car-makers push sales, but to what extent it can boost growth has to be looked at, he added.

The auto industry has started slowing down this fiscal, with the passenger car segment growing by only 7% in May. In June, it saw its slowest growth rate in 27 months of 1.62%.SIAM had last month revised the growth projection downward to 10-12% for 2011-12, as against its earlier forecast of 16-18%.According to SIAM, two-wheeler sales increased by 12.61% in July, 2011, to 10,56,906 units from 9,38,514 units in July, 2010.Motorcycle sales grew by 10.51 per cent during the month to 7,85,278 units from 7,10,621 units in the corresponding month last year.Hero MotoCorp (formerly Hero Honda) continued its impressive performance with a 13.89% increase in sales to 4,43,948 units. Rival Bajaj Auto also posted a 5.30% increase in sales to 2,02,326 units during the month.However, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) saw its bike sales falling by 6.52% to 51,920 units. Chennai-based TVS Motor Co saw its motorcycle sales going up by 9.58% to 48,091 units during the month.

The scooter segment witnessed a growth of 23.03% in sales during July this year to 2,05,695 units from 1,67,195 units in the same month last year.HMSI’s scooter sales during the month were up 19.54% to 89,869 units, while that of TVS Motor Co grew by 20.47% to 46,324 units. Hero MotoCorp’s scooter sales during the month grew by 36.29% to 33,766 units.Three-wheeler sales during July, 2011, declined by 3.13% to 43,949 units from 45,369 in the same month last year.Sales of commercial vehicles jumped by 23.70% to 64,241 units from 51,934 units in the year-ago period.Light commercial vehicle sales grew by 35.95% to 37,111 units from 27,297 units last year. Medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales stood at 27,130 units as against 24,637 units in July last year, up 10.12%, SIAM said.Total sales of vehicles across categories registered a growth of 8.99% to 13,48,753 units in July, compared to 12,37,521 units in the same month last year, it added.

(Inputs from PTI)

The company then had signed the Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the brand ambassador of this bike series. While commenting on the overwhelming success achieved by the company in the Indian market, TVS Motor Company President (Marketing) H S Goindi said, “TVS StaR was introduced as part of the company’s customer centric approach… Constant upgrades with new features, styling and refreshing graphics at regular intervals have helped us achieve this milestone.”TVS has been one of the most popular bike brands in the Indian market. The major competitors of the TVS StaR in the country include Hero Honda Splendor and Bajaj Discover.

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Source: Cartradeindia.com  16/4/2011

Motorcycle sales have increased by 34 percent to 81,381 units compared to 60,718 units in the same period a year earlier.Domestic two wheeler sales rose by 25 percent at 1,65,418 units compared to 1,32,281 units in the same month last year.Exports have also been healthy growth at 19,365 units, a rise of 89 percent when compared to the same month last year.Three wheeler sales have more than doubled at 3,222 units when compared to 1,200 units in September 2009.

Source: ET

While domestic sales witnessed a growth of 33 per cent, the export of over 20,000 units in July, 2010, as against 13,000-odd units last year translated into a growth of 54 per cent, thereby boosting the overall sales growth for the month.The company sold 61,051 motorcycles in July, 2010, against 42,998 in the corresponding period of the previous year — a growth of about 42 per cent — while the sale of 40,357 scooters translated into a 46 per cent growth.”Three-wheeler sales of the company crossed the three thousand mark for the second consecutive month, recording3,108 units in July, 2010, in comparison to 1,026 units in July, 2009,” the release said.

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Source:NDTV

“Compared with Korean cars, our vehicles are roughly 30 percent more expensive globally,” Takeshi Shirane, senior managing director in charge of purchasing, told Reuters in an interview on Friday.”So what we’ve said is, let’s work towards that goal.”

Under the scheme, called RR-CI, Toyota is tasking engineers and purchasing staff to work together to collectively come up with the best way to design and manufacture 165 designated components, setting a unique cost-reduction target for each. Suppliers are also asked to contribute ideas.

The plan, which kicked off late last year, marks a major departure from Toyota’s past practice of setting up project teams for each vehicle model to decide the ideal component design for only that model.
Previously, Shirane said, a model built and sold globally like the Corolla had one blueprint that drew up the same component designs across the world. While that was effective for some components, it wasn’t for others, Shirane said.

Under RR-CI, which stands for “ryohin” (quality) “renka” (low price), and cost innovation, Toyota wants to come up with a design that, for instance, makes better use of cheaper and locally available material, even if it means coming up with several different blueprints for the same part.”It takes a lot of work and (30 percent) is a very tough goal,” he said.”But I’m hoping that by the end of this year we’ll have come up with the best ‘story’ for each of the 165 parts.” The target, is for those efforts to bear fruit from the next round of vehicle revamps, around 2013, he said.

MOVING TARGET?

Automakers around the world are all under increasing pressure to slash the cost of producing cars as they seek growth in emerging markets such as India, where small, cheaper cars dominate.And Toyota — a laggard in many such markets — faces formidable competition. Volkswagen, which has a goal of toppling Toyota as the world’s top automaker by 2018, already has a successful car platform and parts-sharing scheme across its many of its group’s brands including Porsche, Audi and Skoda.

Shirane, a 33-year Toyota veteran, also sees a tough fight against the Chinese.To drive home the urgency of Toyota’s task, Shirane said he sent 150 Toyota engineers and purchasing members to China in November to observe and learn from local parts makers.”I made sure there were young members in the group,” he said. “We’ve always had this notion that we are No. 1 in cost-cutting. I wanted them to see for themselves that we face tough competition.”

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Source: ET 19/6/2010

“We have crossed the total production figure of last year (about 30,200 plus units) a week-and-a-half ago. Our second shift will begin from July to respond to the significant demand,” Ford India president and MD Michael Boneham told reporters, handing over the key to its 1,000th customer of its MPL Ford dealership outlet here on Friday.By second shift operations Ford would be able to reach a capacity of 1.40 lakh units.

While rising input costs may be a cause for concern, Figo is proving to be a competition in the B-segment (price points ranging of Rs 2.1 lakh-Rs 6.2 lakh), that is growing 35% on a year-on-year basis. A clutch of brands such as Wagon R, Swift, Estillo, Alto, Punto, Polo, Spark, Beat, i10 and Micra are vying for a pie of this segment, pegged to be one lakh units.

Before the Figo roll-out, Ford found in a survey that the compact car B-segment constitutes over 70% of the country’s new vehicle market. While it is a tough segment, it has been growing. The interest level is generated by a number of things such as more car aspirants coming into market and new launches, he said.

Attributing Figo’s success to “competitive price positioning,” Mr Boneham said a high degree of localisation has helped the company. In Figo, the localisation levels have touched 85%.The waiting period, depending on dealer position for a Ford Figo is between four and six weeks, he said adding efforts are being directed to reduce the waiting time to less than four weeks.

Ford is also looking at engine exports to Thailand and though volumes are not yet finalised, it is eyeing at a figure of 2,500 to 3,000 engines per month. Similarly, it is planning to export completely-built-units of Figo to South Africa. When pressed, Mr Boneham said “it will happen in the next few weeks. We are looking at new markets too.”It is expanding its dealer footprints and plans to take the count to 200 from the current 166 outlets.

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Source: Auto news

Here’s how it’s playing out, BMW is holding on to the top with 1,314 cars, Mercedes is just 8 cars behind at 1,306 units and Audi is third with 778 cars. Executives with Mercedes say strong sales have poured in from virtually every segment.In addition, to meat and potatoes products such as the ML class and the S-class, Mercedes’ newly launched E-Class coupe will also serve to showcase the company’s trendier designs and target a younger demographic something that rival BMW has done so well.

Even as Benz and BMW go bumper to bumper, the next nine months will see fierce competition in terms of marketing strategies and new models by both makers. All three luxury players reporting strong sales and quantum growth, one thing’s clear, no matter who comes out on top at the end of 2010, the luxury car pie in India has moved along extremely fast and shows no sign of slowing down.

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Source:www.bloombergutv.com 7/4/10

Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj later told television channel CNBC TV18 sales in the coming year would be driven by the 100cc Discover that notched up sales of 500,000 units within 225 days of launch, and the more powerful Pulsar.The two models should contribute more than 2 million units to sales in 2010/11, when total bike sales are expected to reach 3.6 million units, the company said.The board also approved raising manufacturing capacity to 5 million vehicles annually from 4 million now in anticipation of continued growth in the domestic and world markets in 2011/12.”The capacity we have now is sufficient for next year’s target. But we need to expand considering future demand,” Bajaj told CNBC TV18.He said there was strong demand from overseas markets such as Sri Lanka, Africa and Latin America. Exports are expected to reach 1 million in 2010/11.

The company, which also makes motorised 3-wheelers, has sold nearly 2.6 million vehicles in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year ending March, including 1.75 million vehicles domestically.Bajaj said the company hoped to maintain its operating margin at about 22-23 percent in the current quarter, helped by its pricing power and lower operational expenditure but it could dip in the coming year.”Next year, maybe we cannot maintain at the 22 percent level, but we do not expect too much of a dip either, as our sales are also going up,” he said.Shares in Bajaj Auto, valued at nearly $6 billion, ended up 1.6 percent at 1,879.55 rupees in a firm Mumbai market.

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Source:Reuters 25/3/2010