Tata Motors Ltd.’s purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover caught the auto industry by surprise. As far as the water cooler talk surrounding the purchase was considered, a familiar question was repeatedly asked: How can a truck-maker from India end up buying two of the most luxurious brands in the world today?
Now, it seems that the purchase has come back and turned the tables on the Indian truck giant.
For the first time in seven years, Tata has posted a consolidated net loss of over 25 billion rupees ($520 million) from the period of April 2008 up to March 2009. This, of course, is a stark contrast from Tata’s performance a year ago when it made a net income of 22 billion rupees.
The culprits for this unfortunate about-face in company fortunes lies in the plummeting sales of the industry’s luxury car segment as to which both Jaguar and Land Rover are staples. For one, Land Rover sales fell to 120,000 after selling a little under 200,000 units the year before. Similarly, the sale of Jaguar vehicles met a similar fate, falling to 47,000 units from 50,000 the previous year.
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So what does it take to get to be number one? For athletes it means a lifetime of disciplined training, for a car company it can mean decades of thorough and consistent work, but in the recently wealthy car crazed tuner scene of the UAE, it’ll run you a little more than $14 Million. Saeed Abdul Ghafour Khouri recently shelled out 52.2 dirham, the equivalent of $14,300,000 at an auction at the 7-Star Emirates Palace Hotel in Dubai. Don’t feel bad about the money; it’s going to charity that helps accident victims.
When Saeed laid down all that dirham he was buying more than just a metal rectangle with a coat of paint on the front, he is buying a place in society. The oil-rich nations of the Persian Gulf are developing a form of car culture that makes Paris Hilton’s car collection look amateur. All these new funds have made the citizens of Abu Dhabi crazy for custom super cars. If you can imagine what it costs to have a set of rims mounted on your lowly Acura Integra, imagine the cost of milling a custom set of alloys and then mounting them on your Black Series. The UAE’s tuning scene has developed in such a way, that only a handful of these super-tuned machines could stand up to any group of big money collector cars from around the rest of the globe. The Middle East has become a place where your super car is nothing, unless its gold plated or modified to a point that would mean bankruptcy for most.
In this new status-seeking environment it is not uncommon to see a automobile wearing a number plate that is many times more expensive than the car itself. So after all, is Saeed that crazy for spending so much for the right to be first? However this can also be seen as a wise investment, because someone will always want to be number 1.
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Mahindra is an Indian carmaker that first gained attention by building Jeeps for the home market. Now they may be interested in moving on to the next generation of American military vehicles by buying the Hummer brand. This may seem like an odd move during a time when high fuel prices are causing large SUVs to grow stale on dealer lots, but Mahindra may be looking at Hummer for part of a bigger plan.
It’s no secret that General Motors wants to get rid of Hummer, and Mahindra may utilize its name and products to help bring it’s own cars to the U.S. Its rumored that the company is developing a network of around 300 dealerships across the U.S. to sell Mahindra vehicles, with a $125,000 fee being asked from dealerships to become franchisees.
Tata is taking steps to makes sure the little Nano won’t be short on power. FEV, a German engineering and powertrain firm, is right now actively working on the diesel engine for the Nano to debut later next year. The 800 cc, turbocharged CRDI engine would most likely be the tiniest engine with common rail technology in the world, taking the crown from Daimler.
The CRDI systems are being developed in conjunction with Bosch, while Honeywell Turbo India is working on the turbo charger. Originally the 700 cc CRDI engine, which Tata uses in its Ace mini-truck was considered for the Nano, but Tata has decided against it. The new FEV engine is cheaper and could also involve more progressive technology to battle emissions, redeem a better fuel economy, and achieve better engine refinement.
India has become one of the emerging markets that carmakers want to get a sizable foothold, and Volkswagen is no exception. Today India gets what the rest of the world has had for almost 30 years, the Jetta. The current generation, now celebrating its fourth year, is available in three trim levels. All available engines produce about 100 horsepower, and the price will stay between $30,000 and $40,000. The mid-size sedan joins the more upscale Phaeton and Touareg that are already on sale in the country.
Continuing the expansion into this market, Volkswagen is also reported to be preparing a small car to be built and marketed specifically for the south Asian country by 2010.
The Tata Nano continues to make headlines both for the right and wrong reasons since its unveiling at the Delhi AutoExpo in January this year. Land acquisition trouble and rising inflation which has past well over 11% in the country has created a new set of problems for Tata, although the manufacturer is hell-bent on retailing the base model at $2,500 and more importantly on the previously decided dead line of anytime between September and October.
The good news is that Tata is working on multiple variants of the Nano. No, not bumper colors or alloy wheels, by variants, we mean powertrain options. Sources say a battery powered Nano might roll out of the Singur plant in West Bengal very shortly along with air-powered and micro-hybrid (start-stop technology) models.
The compressed air technology would be borrowed from French company MDI, which uses compressed air to push the piston. An onboard compressor pressurizes air which is stored in a tank for use, a technology which works pretty well, and is one of the best alternatives to an electric car.
Otherwise, the Tata Nano uses a 2-cylinder 624 cc engine that produces a little over 30 hp. The tailpipe emissions are minimal and is less than what an average motorcycle in India would emit.
Who told you that India is solely a small-car market? Audi, the German manufacturer with a difference, is not planning to stop with its sedans and SUVs in India. With already seven dealerships setup in the Nano-country, Audi has plans to expand that network further.
Within a few months, those dealerships, among the A8, Q7 SUV and other models will sell the R8 supercar. Sister company Lamborghini has also been operating successfully in India for sometime now, and Ferrari too, has announced its interest in trading in the country.
Although the R8 wasn’t present at the Delhi AutoExpo earlier this year, the R10 race car along with the entire line-up of cars sold presently in India were on display proving to be the sweetest of eye candies.
“India is an important market for Audi, and there has been a tremendous interest in the Audi R8 up to pre-orders by our exclusive customers in India, so it was inevitable that we launch the Audi R8 here,” Audi India Managing Director Benoit Tiers said in a statement.
With Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi and Ferrari in the future, the only thing that is missing is an Indian supercar. Those established names dominate the supercar game globally, but if any of the Indian automakers could take the effort, it might pay off. If Koenigsegg can do it in such a short period, why not Tata use Jaguar’s help to make their own? A next-gen XJ220 supercar, anyone?
Here’s some mighty exclusive news. The Concept A-Star from Suzuki sent out strong reverberations throughout the world when the wraps were taken off it at the Delhi Auto Expo in January earlier this year. The design of this small car was the reason for the buzz and company officials declared that they would embark on producing it from the later months of this year. They also confirmed that in India, it would run alongside the existing models rubbishing claims which suggested it would replace the Suzuki Alto.
The leap of an automobile from concept stage to mass-production stage sometimes takes years and that was one of the reasons Suzuki’s statement was taken lightly. But No! It looks like they will stick to what they said and the car could go out on markets including Europe on the promised date. But it also seems like they haven’t stuck to all the design elements of the concept car. Looking at the photographs one can make out the similar grille and headlamps but the rest aren’t carried over. There is still some time left, and we hope the thin-striped LED rear tail lamps are present on the production model. C’mon Suzuki!
The A-segment five-door hatchback will be manufactured exclusively in India and will be shipped to overseas markets (read- Europe, India and other non-US markets) similar to its competitor Hyundai’s i10 hatchback. It will use the help of a Euro 5 compliant 1.0-litre petrol engine which is said to have CO2 emission levels nearing 109g/km making it a fiercely green car! No plans as of yet on a diesel version.
On February 25th, Ferrari announced the start of a new Prancing Horse adventure, the Magic India Discovery Tour, which gets underway from Mumbai on February 25th and returns to the same city on May 8th having covered a route stretching more than 11,000 kilometres.
Now, the famous Italian sports car manufacturer announced that it is planning to enter India by the end of 2010. Although in some previous articles the Italian manufacturer announced its presence in India by 2008, it seems that the automaker will pustpone the moment for a few years in order a guarantee for its success.
“Ferrari is looking at India and we may enter the country by 2010. Before which, the company needs to set up a sales and marketing network in India. For us, customer satisfaction is of prime importance. Hence, we will also have to take care of these aspects before we enter India. We are looking forward to India.” Said Gabrielle Lalli, head of Magic India Discovery Tour.
For Hyundai, it all started way back in 1998 with the 800 cc petrol engined Santro hatchback (Atos to our overseas friends). Even after the launch of its successor i10, Hyundai continues selling the Santro, indicating its strong presence and number filled sales charts.
The diesel form of the Santro is set to enter the ever-hot Indian small car market in the month of May. With that said, there are no signs of the company seizing production of this aging wonder car for a long time to come. The diesel sipper will embrace a small 3 cylinder, DOHC, 1.1 litre CRDI engine having 75 ponies at its disposal. Torque wise 153Nm @ 1900-2750 RPM will address the pulling needs. The CRDI technology for Hyundai was developed by US-based Detroit Diesel, using Fiat’s technology back in 1997. (Just for your information!)
Top speed of this car is estimated around 160 kph and a fuel economy figure of roughly 20 kilometres to the litre is expected.
The diesel small car race is getting competitive by the day. Competitors like the Fiat Palio, Tata Indica, Suzuki Swift will give a tough time for this new Santro, but the reputation and reliability of its petrol sibling, will make it a shade easier for it to sell. And the brand image of Hyundai in India is equivalent to a Toyota or a Honda in the United States.
Small, good looking, diesel heart and reliability are its plus points. Any car with those basic ingredients has more or less succeed in India. With an estimated price tag starting at Rs. 4.25 lakh (US $10,597) ex-showroom, we predict that there is a bee in Hyundai’s bonnet.
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