Buy Baleno with a discount of Rs 50,000!

Hot wheels and hot deals are doing a tango this festival season. Cash discounts ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh, gift cheques worth Rs 10,000 or more, free petrol and free accessories like music systems are invitations for the customer to open his wallet wide open.

No wonder the Dasara-Diwali fests contribute 20% of the total automobile sales in the country and that amounts to 1.6 million units. The marketing machines of automobile manufacturers come up with the best offer during this period, and it's certainly the best time to head to the nearest dealer.

The nation's largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki is giving its Baleno a discount of Rs 50,000, Swift is down by Rs 20,000 and most other models are driving out with free insurance for the first year. TVS Motors' head of marketing Prasad Narasimhan says: "Festive season is the backbone now. Every year the sale is getting better.

Nissan's may locate manufacturing base with Suzuki in Gujarat

Japan's second largest carmaker Nissan is close to finalising its new manufacturing location in India. According to a report by CNBC-TV18, Gujarat may be chosen as the destination.
Nissan is set to establish its manufacturing base in Gujarat.

According to sources, the company along with Suzuki is planning to invest upto Rs3,000 crore for a 600,000-car per annum plant. It has already submitted a proposal to the Gujarat government and held talks with promoters of Mundra, Kandla and Pipavav ports.

According to sources, the plant will come up by second half of 2008. When contacted, a senior Nissan official said that various options to expand its India business are being considered and a decision would be taken sooner rather than later.

However, a Maruti Udyog spokesperson denied this saying, "There's no decision taken about a joint manufacturing operation apart from the one where Maruti's new Manesar plant will manufacture cars for Nissan."

Sources say, Nissan and Suzuki are looking at a location with a population of atleast 15-20 lakh so that it offers fairly good social infrastructure. Nissan is also learnt to be developing a new B segment vehicle for global markets, and it is possible that car may also be manufactured in India.

Suzuki MR Wagon to hit Indian roads soon

In the next six months or so, a slew of cars are to be launched. The more significant ones being the Suzuki MR Wagon, Fiat Grande Punto, Skoda Fabia, Renault Logan and the New Honda CR-V. Here's a preview of Suzuki MR Wagon.

Maruti is basking in the success of the new Wagon-R Duo, but bigger action for this company in the small-car segment is just around the corner. The ace up the sleeve for Maruti could well be the Suzuki MR Wagon that is rumoured to hit Indian roads as the new Zen.

The MR Wagon will be one of Suzuki's crispest and refreshing small-car designs to be launched in India. After the aggressively young, squat design of the Swift, the MR Wagon will be more universally likeable with its amalgam of jellybean and tallboy designs. The MR Wagon has been withdrawn from the Japanese market and is not widely available in other markets, but in India the car will have novelty value.

However, Maruti, which has also in the past used either the same platform or an existing engine for its new models, could continue to adopt the strategy for the new MR Wagon. The current Wagon-R's platform and engine are likely to be doing double duty in the new Zen. So, the price of the new MR Wagon could well be a surprise, positioning the new car along side the Wagon-R.

Suzuki-Nissan seek port for cars

Car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki is planning to team up with multinational automobile major Nissan Motor Company for developing a greenfield dedicated port to ship out vehicles.

The two vehicle manufacturers will be setting up this facility in Gujarat at an estimated investment of Rs 3,000-3,500 crore.

“Maruti and Nissan will together construct a dedicated port for handling vehicles. For this, they have visited non-major and major ports of Gujarat. The location has not been finalised yet,” Shipping Secretary AK Mahapatra told Business Standard on the sidelines of the India Shipping Summit 2006.

Mahapatra said this exclusive port would be able to handle 400,000 cars a year.

Earlier this year, Maruti Suzuki and Nissan Motor Corporation announced plans to manufacture small cars at the Maruti Suzuki facility in India. The cars will be sold under the Nissan brand and exported to select markets around the world.

Japanese automobile major Mitsubishi Motors has visited Vansi Borsi Port and Maroli Port in Gujarat for setting up a Rs 3,000 crore exclusive car handling terminal.

“The cost of a greenfield facility will go up to Rs 3,500 crore as port operators will have to dredge up to 15 metres depth for a shipping channel. The cost may come down if a major port extends a terminal to these players,” port experts said.

Sources close to the development said Maruti Suzuki and Nissan were in talks with Kandla Port, Shell Hazira Port and Adani Ports for the project.

“The coming together of Maruti Suzuki and Nissan makes sense as the latter has a tie-up with Maruti for design of cars in India. A common automobile port will cut down the cost for both players,” they said.

At present, automobile majors are shipping their cars primarily from Mumbai and Chennai.

Mahapatra said the idea behind such a port was to cut down the logistics cost and streamline the export operations of these companies.

Maruti exports via port in Gujarat

With Maruti Suzuki aiming to increase its exports from India eight-fold to 400,000 units, it has started scouting for a port site in Gujarat. Among the sites on its radar are Hazira, Kandla and Maroli.

Shipping secretary AK Mohapatra told DNA Money that the company was targeting Gujarat because of its easy accessibility from the company’s manufacturing base in Haryana. “They are looking for a space of 70,000 sq metres to begin with and the requirement can go up further depending on their capacity,” he said.

Suzuki had last month announced fresh investment to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore in India.

This money will be over and above the Rs 6,000 crore investment SMC and Maruti have already committed to India till 2010. The fresh investment will flow into the new car plant Maruti is commissioning at Manesar and the diesel engine facility coming up alongside.

While stating that the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai was not on the company’s list of proposed sites, Mohapatra said the company was more keen on Gujarat.

While Hazira and Kandla have good ports, Maroli is a greenfield site for which the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) is looking for private investment. The GMB has already prepared an engineering pre-feasibility report for the project that is estimated to cost Rs 600 crore in the first phase.

Maroli is in Valsad district, about 11 km from Umergaon in South Gujarat on the Arabian Sea.

Sources said the Gujarat government-owned available land at Maroli was far in excess of the company’s requirement. Maroli is about 21 km away from NH 8, which links directly to the company’s plant in Gurgaon and Manesar in Haryana. A broad gauge railway link is also available just 9 km away from the port site.

The site also has water depth of around 10 metres which, according to Mohapatra, is the requirement of the company.

Raid-de-Himalaya : Historic hattrick help Rana seal victory

Suresh Rana made a hattrick of wins in the Xtreme four wheeler category while Damon I'Anson claimed the top honours in the bike category in the 8th Maruti Suzuki Raid-de-Himalaya.

Himachal boy Rana drove his Maruti Suzuki Gypsy, with 02:09:20 penalty points beating his close and arch rival Sunny Siddhu in a nail biting finish, who clocked in second with 02:16:32 penalty points, an official release said.

Sqn. Ldr. Ashish Kumar of the Indian Air Force came third with 03:20:31 penalty points.

In the two-wheeler category, British national I'Anson with 02:36:20 penalty points gave a close fight to Ashish Moudgil to claim the title.

Ashish closed in second with 03:32:27 penalty points while Yogesh Lakhani came in third with 04:16:19 penalty points.

Rajesh Chalana and Farhan Vohra claimed the first positions in the car and SUV category of the reliability trial with 00:32:25 and 00:26:46 penalty points.

The rally flagged-off from Shimla on September 30 with nearly 92 motorsport enthusiasts, had a total prize money of Rs 6 lakhs.

In the last seven days, the rally covered a distance of 2139 kms with 725 kms in the 16 competitive stages running across six of the world's highest mountains passes some well over 5500 meters.

The rally traversed through Gramphoo, Kaza, Dhankar, Patseo, Leh before ending here.

Himachal Pradesh Sports Minister Ram Lal Thakur was present in the prize distribution ceremony.

Cost cutting in focus at Paris Motor Show

Cost cutting is the big concern of the global auto industry. And India's cost management prowess is luring more than one global giant.

Audi plans an India sourcing office by the end of the year and the company is even talking about an assembly plant in India in the very short term.

But no stall is more relevant for India than the Suzuki stall at the Paris Motor Show. And Suzuki doesn't disappoint.

A new compact car caught one's attention, Concept Splash, a super mini Multi-Purpose Vehicle which is set to replace the Wagon R in most overseas markets late next year.

The Splash is a five-seater and shares a platform with the new Swift. With an approximate entry price tag of about 9000 Euro or roughly Rs 5 lakh 20 thousand, the obvious question is, when is Suzuki bringing this car to India?

Once the Splash hits production, it is likely to be made in India too. In fact, this could well be the car that Maruti makes for export to Europe.

There's no clarity yet on whether Suzuki and Nissan will share the Splash with Nissan branding for European exports and Suzuki branding for sales in India, as well as its own exports.

Suzuki thinks it could be a possibility. But clarity will emerge in a month from now when Suzuki and Nissan thrash out the details of their alliance in India.

Carmakers hike export targets

When the government announced excise duty sops for small cars earlier this year, many automobile industry experts had doubts about whether the move would actually help India become a global hub for such cars. But, within six months of the policy initiative, it has become obvious that global car makers are indeed pulling out all stops to make this country an export hub for their vehicles.

Japanese giant Suzuki Motor Corporation has already set itself an ambitious target of exporting 40% of its total production, or four lakh vehicles, from India by 2010, against only about 50,000 at present.

Hyundai Motor Company is set to follow suit, with its Indian operations targeting exports of 50% of the total production, or three lakh units. And Hyundai is expected to beat Suzuki by at least three years, since its three lakh car export capability would be achieved next year itself.

Maruti September sales rise 20.58 per cent

Volume growth for passenger car market leader Maruti Udyog remains strong and monthly volumes for September has come in close to analyst expectations. The company has reported total sales of 59,420 units for the month of September 2006, including exports of 2,814 units, as compared to 49,278 units during September 2005 - an increase of 20.58 per cent. On a sequential basis, sales have increased 14.59 per cent from 51,855 units reported for August 2006.

Total domestic sales for the month increased by 22 per cent to 56,606 units from 46,393 units a year ago. Domestic sales for the month have increased 17.3 per cent sequentially from 48,259 units during the previous month.

The premium hatchback (or B segment in industry parlance) remained the best performer for the month. Volume growth in the segment, which includes models like Alto, Zen, Wagon-R and Swift, increased 28.9 per cent to 37,955 units for the month as compared to 29,456 during September 2005. On a sequential basis, sales in this segment have increased 16.91 per cent.

The re-launched Wagon-R is reportedly receiving very good response in the market. The model is now also available in a petrol-LPG dual fuel version which offers lower running costs.

Sales of entry level model Maruti - 800 increased modestly by 3.5 per cent to 7,680 units as compared to 7,423 units for September 2005. Sales for the month were 19.53 per cent higher than August 2006. Analysts reckon that Maruti is keeping the model alive to fight the low-cost car from Tata Motors expected in early 2008. They expect prices of Maruti - 800 to be cut substantially to take on the Tata car.

In the passenger van segment, the company recorded a growth of 21 per cent with sales of the Omni and Versa increasing to 7,289 units as compared to 6,022 units for September 2005.

Sales growth in the mid-sized sedan segment remained modest at 7.6 per cent. Sales of Esteem and Baleno were at 3,410 units as compared to 3,168 units for September 2005. The company is readying to launch a new model to replace the Baleno in the mid-size sedan segment. Road tests are reportedly going on and a formal launch is expected by early next year.

Exports declined modestly by 2.5 per cent for the month and send this article to a friend monthly export volumes went down to 2,814 units from 2,885 units. Exports would get a leg up once Suzuki starts sourcing more cars from Maruti's new plant, which is under construction. Maruti would also start supplying cars to Nissan at a later date, under a production alliance between Suzuki and Nissan.

Suzuki Baleno: A value for money

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno is great value for money, even before you consider the additional discounts that may be offered by the company's dealers. For a car in its size class, the Baleno is surprisingly well loaded with features that comparable cars offer for a much higher price.

But that is of course because demand for the car has just not taken off given its dated design and unexciting pedigree. It is obvious that Maruti is discounting the product to push sales and that is reason enough for its much lower resale value.

The current Baleno's resale value will be further affected, if and when it is withdrawn from production. Going by market rumours, Suzuki is likely to both withdraw the Baleno completely and replace it with a new premium sedan with a new name or may launch the new model as an upgrade to the current Baleno.

The new sedan is said to have been developed on the Suzuki SX4 platform and may be launched by March next year. There is also news that Suzuki is planning to launch a three-box version of the Swift. Even if the names are retained, the current Baleno and the Zen may actually be the first Maruti models to face the axe.