Everybody is doing their bit to make the world greener. Automakers are also trying to switch to greener fuels. Honda has already planned to launch many of its models with hybrid technology. Hyundai however, has gone a step further by making the first paperless car. Hyundai Motors America have announced a car with a built in iPad. This new car will not have a traditional owner’s manual but an owner’s manual which is fed into the car’s built in iPad.

Hyundai is planning to launch a new luxury sedan, Equus, this fall and the car is scheduled to be the new paperless model. Hyundai’s move comes in order to cash in on all the hype that is surrounding the sleek tablet computer that Apple has just recently launched. Equus marks the Korean automakers’ first venture into the super luxury car segment. To give their brand the new super premium vehicle feel, the car makers are also including a feature which will allow the car owners to schedule their service appointments using the built in tablet computer.

Hyundai is completely changing its brand image and with this surprising turnaround, they are trying to position themselves as a technologically savvy and modern brand. Traditionally, these are steps that consumers expect of BMW and Mercedes, however, coming off Hyundai, this is a step which has completely taken the world by surprise.

Hyundai has always had an image of creators of budget cars like the i10, Getz, Accent and many others. With the launch of Equus, Hyundai is trying to break into the high end market. Hyundai feels that Equus iwll be comparable to other luxury cars like the Lexus LS and the Mercedes Benz S class series. Physically the three cars will be of similar dimensions. The three cars will also have similarly powered engines in the range of 380 horsepower.

In the late 80s, both Honda Motors and Toyota Motors had made similar moves by expanding their portfolio to include higher end luxury products. Though the Equus is power pack with several high end features, it is estimated to cost much less than its competitors. Auto experts still feel that even though Hyundai is coming up with fancy gadgets and is trying to compete against big wigs like Lexus and Mercedes, how effectively they will be able to give competition to these already established giants in the market. Once the car makers finally launch the new car, things will become a little clearer.

In a sudden and surprising move, Maruti Suzuki India Private Limited has decided to increase the prices of all its car by Rs. 10,000. Though at the outset, the price increase seems small, it can be a big dent in the pocket of the consumer who is already struggling because of the increased fuel prices and the rising inflation.
In cities like Delhi, where road tax have just increased to accommodate the expensive commonwealth games, this move by the Indian automobile giant can in fact be a big blow. Maruti Suzuki India has long been the largest manufacturer of cars in India. Right now, Maruti has 15 different cars and their models in the market. Maruti is also planning to launch new vehicles later this year, of which Maruti Kizashi is a much awaited luxury car.

The car makers have stated that this move has come following the introduction of the renewed emission norms BS IV. Though these emission norms have only been introduced in some models, Maruti has seen it fit to increase the cost of all its vehicles and pass on this increased cost to the customers.

Maruti best sellers like A star and Ritz will now cost Rs. 1,000 more, while Zen Estillo and Swift will cost Rs. 2,500 and Rs. 3,750 more than before respectively. Larger cars like Dzire and SX4 will also cost more. Dzire is now Rs. 7,000 costlier, while SX4’s price has increased by Rs. 9,000. Even newly launched Eeco, which was being sold at an introductory price will also cost Rs. 10,000 more. For cars which are still BSIII compliant like Maruti Omni and 800 will also cost Rs. 3,000 more.

It is only a matter of time before other car makers will also follow Maruti Suzuki’s lead and start to increase the price of their cars. It has still to be seen whether other car makers will increase the cost of their cars and let the customers bear the brunt of the changed emission norms. This sudden price hike may also affect the prices of those cars which are waiting to be launched.

Meanwhile, customers continue to be spoilt by choices in both the small car and the mid sized sedan segments. With more and more car makers rolling out small sized and compact cars, the competition is only becoming tough for Maruti. Let us just hope that the new prices do not tilt the balance in the favor of newer cars.

Apollo has always used these demonstrations as hands on sales pitch, aiming to promote their new technologies. Also, this is another opportunity for Apollo to introduce newer and more expensive products in the markets. Considering the numbers and volumes of cars that are sold in India, even a small price rise in tyres can actually translate into a huge price rise.

Apollo also tries to showcase during these demonstrations, how just a small investment in good quality tyres can help you take better care of your car and maintain the car better. Tyres can help your car achieve additional capabilities and therefore, having the right tyres for the car is extremely important.

In the recent times, the technical demonstrations have allowed Apollo to rake in big money. They have been able to convince car makers that using their technically sound and relatively inexpensive tyres, how companies and individuals can save on maintenance costs and fuel costs.

The company has been producing tyres at maximum capacity, producing about 45,000 tyres every month. In fact only later in the year, Apollo is also going to set up the largest tyre manufacturing facility in Chennai. Though an India based company, Apollo has been able to successfully expand business to parts of Europe. As part of the international marketing strategy, Apollo tyres have already placed its products in some of the most sought after tyre testing centers all over the world. The fact that these tyres are able to successfully tread the Indian roads, comes up as an interesting unique selling point for Apollo.

The research carried out at Apollo Tyres claims that by reducing the weight of the tyres, the disc brakes and the wheel, better handling and riding options can be given to the drivers. Right now, when all three of these are combined, the total weight stands around 23 kgs. The hypothesis was even tested in front of a live audience by using different kind of machinery and equipment.

Though Volvo would continue rolling out cars, it will no longer be done under the aegis of Ford Motors Co. The fat of Volvo’s much awaited compact SUV, which was recently showcased in Sweden and was much awaited in India now hangs in the balance.

The agreement is final, having been signed between the founder and Chairman of Geely Group and the Chief Financial Officer of Ford. China still continues to be the largest market for automobiles in the world, though India is close to overtaking it as the market with the largest potential market for automobiles. Looking at the volatility of the markets, this deal may have been signed under financial duress. However, this is simply a speculation and as time passes, the real intent behind the move may be more apparent.

According to official statistics released by Ford, china is the second largest market for Volvo and it will only be logical to move the operations to China itself. The brand positioning of Volvo may also undergo a change.

The deal, which was valued at $1.8 billion was made after Geely assured Ford that the existing manufacturing facilities in Sweden and Belgium will be preserved and opportunities to set up new facilities will be explored.

Volvo’s employees will be retained even after the takeover is complete and the relations with the suppliers, dealers and unions will be preserved. While Volvo still shared many assets with Ford in the past, it is reported that now Volvo cars will become a separate company with a new management along with a new board.

Ford had purchased Volvo for about $6.4 billion but had been attempting to sell it off after only about 9 years. Geely has been a major private automaker in China since 1998. Ford preferred Geely from amongst several other bidders.

It is known well that India has grown into the largest small car market. In fact, almost all auto giants throughout the world have started to merge into new partnerships or going solo, planning to launch new cars in India. In fact, most of these car makers are more interested in entering into the small and compact, budget cars, trying to entice the flamboyant Indian middle class.

This has almost led to this era’s biggest car wars where rival companies are launching new small cars one after another. The competition is getting very tough, so much so that the Japanese and other Asian motor companies which almost had a monopoly in India till a few years back, have started to feel threatened.

Small cars have become increasingly affordable for the middle class Indian consumer, who has now more money to spend, thanks to the improving economic conditions and increased salaries and other economic opportunities. In Indian, presently, auto heavyweights like GM, Ford and Volkswagen are trying hard to bring in new and improved innovative vehicles to the fore. In fact, they are bringing whatever cheapest offerings they have in their posse, to the Indian market. However, Asian car makers have already established a market in India and even with competitive prices, it might be difficult for the American and European car makers to give competition to Honda, Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki.

The Nano, with its unbelievable price of Rs. 1.5 L is tough competition already. Other cars in the segment include the newly launched Ford Figo and Chevy Beat, both priced at Rs. 3.4 L, and the Volkswagen Polo, which is priced at Rs. 4.5 L. Looking at these prices, it seems that after sales maintenance and other addons will be the key drivers to push the markets in their favor. If that is so, the new entrants in the market are still at loss. While Maruti is present in almost every big and small town and city of India, Hyundai and Honda also have presence in more than 200 cities. As compared to this, Volkswagen is still present only in 32 cities and people do not have much after sales experience for Volkswagen cars because before the launch of Polo, these cars were barely in reach of the middle class.

Only time will tell now whether the leading car makers continue to maintain their monopoly or whether the new car makers in the Indian market are able to make some space for themselves. Meanwhile, the consumer is getting spoilt for choices.

When it comes to sales of cars, there’s not any other country that can come close to India in these times. Even after luxury cars sold like hotcakes, breaking all previous records in January, the car sales went even higher, prompted by the anticipation of a hike in price right after the budget was announced.

After the car sales skyrocketed in January, February saw a whopping 33% increase in sales. According to official statistics released by the SIAM, it is believed that where last year about 115,505 cars were sold in a twelve month period, this year 58,024 cars were sold in February alone. The sale of commercial vehicles has also risen about 87%.

Apart from four wheelers, another surprise came in the form of two wheeler sales. In India, motorcycles constitute the major chunk of two wheeler sales. According to the statistics of SIAM, the sales of two wheelers have also gone up by about 30.7%, aggregating about 642,419 two wheelers sold in the month of February.

As the sales soared and consumer confidence remained positive, the stocks of automobile companies also increased, reacting positively to the SIAM reports. In fact, auto stocks were amongst the highest gainers in the Stock Market. Overall, as compared to the April to February period last year, it has been seen that there is an increase in both the sale of passenger as well as commercial vehicles.

Of course, since the budget has now been announced, it is clear that the two percent hike in the excise duty levied on larger, higher segment cars may hurt their sales. This increase in excise duty also extends to multi-utility vehicles and sports cars. Though this increase may seem like much, the fact is that this duty was removed from these segments as a part of the economic stimulus offered by the government in the year 2008. This was to boost the sales of automobiles which was slowing down due to the impending economic recession in the country and all through the world.

Earlier the excise duty on small cars was 12%, but was brought down by 4%. The excise duty on large cars was 24% and was brought down to 20%. Now, as the tax has increased, car makers have increased the cost of cars by about Rs. 25,000. There is news that as the country prepares itself to conform to new international emission norms, there may be another price hike in the offing. Only time will tell what kind of difference that makes on the car sales.

The officials of both the automotive giants have declined to give any comments either confirming or denying this development. However Hinduja Group’s officials are also claiming that only the highest of officials are in a position to make a any statement about the speculations.

The officials of Nissan Motors are a little warmer to the speculations and have admitted that they have approached Ashok Leyland and currently the top officials of the two companies are in talks with each other. Together, the two giants are planning to come out with another low budget vehicle for the Indian roads. Nissan is already planning two such partnerships, one with Bajaj and Renault and another one, which it is planning to handle independently. With Renault, Nissan is planning a small car for which the manufacturing plant will be commissioned sometime this month. However, for the time being, Nissan has deferred any further investment in this particular venture.

Ashok Leyland has been known as a heavy vehicle manufacturer and had previously also tied up with John Deere to make heavy earth moving and agricultural equipment. Now with Nissan, the company is finally planning to enter into the market of light commercial vehicles. Hinduja group appears to be attractive to Nissan because Ashok Leyland already has several manufacturing plants set up in several locations of the subcontinent. The group also has a strong vendor base for all the different kind of vehicles that it manufactures. Manufacturing an LCV, but the two would also be making gear boxes and would be doing some research and development together.

Automobile companies throughout the country, are wary of this move because Nissan has already partnered with many local automobile companies and is slowly cementing its footing in the Indian market.

The only question which remains unanswered till now is whether Ashok Leyland has enough money to pump into this partnership. If this partnership goes through, Hinduja Group is expected to put in at least Rs. 2,000 Crores in the next two years. This amount is by no means something that the company won’t worry about.

The Japanese car giant Honda, has now fully adopted Hybrid systems in their cars. After the success of its hybrid models in Honda Civic, the Japanese giants have decided to use the hybrid engine in more cars that it plans to launch in India. The hybrid technology enables cars to run on more than one source of power. As a result, the vehicle becomes hybrid and is able to run on different fuels. These hybrid vehicles are also known as Hybrid Electrical Vehicles since they use electrical power as an alternative source to run.

Honda had been working on the hybrid model for quite sometime. This was being done specifically for protecting the environment. With most organizations going green, this is Honda’s biggest victory. By utilizing a clean and efficient source of fuel, Honda reinforces its resolve to bring in green technologies in car making. Now, after this triumph, Honda is planning to accelerate the technology and bring it into India on a larger scale. It is estimated that in the coming 4-5 years, more and more car makers will go green, therefore making the hybrid systems the trend in engines.

India saw its first hybrid car in the form of Honda Civic Hybrid, which was priced at a whopping Rs. 21.5 Lakh, making it accessible only to the higher end customers. 50% of the fuel efficiency in the Civic hybrid is provided by the 1.3 L engine. Even though the market for cars in India has lately been considered the most competitive, India was the thirty third country to get the hybrid engines.

In the next year, Honda is planning to launch another high end car, the Honda CR-Z, with a VTEC engine that has a volume of 1.5 L. This is a sports car which will be introduced with a hybrid engine. It is expected that India would serve as an excellent market for this car. To launch this car soon, Honda is working really hard. Though the hybrid cars come with a huge price tag, it is believed that the market would accept it as a good price for saving the environment. In some of the other countries, the hybrid technology has already gained popularity. However, Honda Civic is the only hybrid car launched in India so far. Experts believe that the introduction of hybrid cars in India is a starting of a new trend in cleaner and greener technologies, especially when it comes to cars.

The recalling of cars has caught on in India too. Maruti Suzuki, the biggest carmaker in the country has admitted that there are defects in the fuel tanks of the A-Star mini car model of its make. It has therefore been forced to recall about 1,00,000 cars for rectification.

The recall also raises certain doubts about the Japanese carmakers as Maruti Suzuki happens to be the Indian subsidiary of Suzuki Motors of Japan. It is the second Japanese car in India to be called back for defects. A few weeks back Honda had done so with its city sedan. Both Honda as well as Toyota have taken a setback on account of their recalls.

As there was an anomaly in the fuel tank Maruti decided to recall its model. According to the company,” These vehicles belonged to lot made till August 22nd,2009 only. In these cars, when fuel is filled up to brim, beyond the fuel auto cut off position, a possible fuel leakage from the fuel pump mounting area may take place.”

The carmaker said that they came to know that of the defect through their regular monitoring programs. The company said they constantly monitor the quality of their products through internal analysts and feedback. “In one such exercise in November ‘09, we started contacting the customers through letters. We are changing fuel pump gasket and O ring at no cost to customer. We are midway through the checking activity and hope to complete it soon.”

Comment: It appears that major car company’s are experiencing setbacks in their quality control as they are being forced to recall their models. No doubt, one does not expect this of major car companies as one expects reliable quality. Recall always undermines the quality standards of the company. Such errors must be avoided in order to maintain high standards.

Toyota is planning to produce Etios specifically in India and export the car from India to the rest of the world. It is estimated that till last year, Toyota had only sold about 55,497 vehicles in India. This was led by the whopping sales of Toyota Innova, which is extensively used as a commercial vehicle in India. While Innova sold about 42,700 units in India, the other offerings, such as Corolla and Fortuner sold only 9100 and 3150 units respectively. However, in the year 2011, Toyota is targeting a sale of 70,000 vehicles from Etios alone. If the trend of the sale of the rest of the vehicles continues this way, Toyota would have sold about 1.4 lakh vehicles in the next year.

Though Toyota has already launched the Etios during the auto expo earlier this year, the production will only start in December 2010. it is expected that the car will hit the Indian roads in the first quarter of the next year.

In Etios, Toyota has launched both hatchback and sedan models, taking after the Swift and the Swift Dzire. In fact the pricing of both the cars will also be similar. The Etios hatchback will be priced in the same range as Maruti Suzuki Swift and the sedan version of the Etios will be priced in the range of Dzire. Toyota is also planning a compact car, especially for the Indian market. This car will be manufactured in a special project which is being established in Karnataka next year. This new manufacturing plant in Karnataka is already geared to produce 80,000 units a year.

Since Etios has been specifically designed for the Indian roads, Toyota Kirloskar will first reach their target sales in India and upon doing so, will begin to export cars from India to the rest of its markets. With the small car market booming in India, the Etios may do well in the market. The concept car of Etios is right now being displayed in various cities of India.