indian auto industry update · indian auto industry update 15 feb 2017 industry tata motors...
TRANSCRIPT
Indian Auto Industry Update
15 Feb 2017
IndustryTata Motors consolidated Q3 PAT declines 96 at Rs 112 crore
One-offs dent Tata Motors Q3 performance
Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 crore m-cap hit post Q3
Tata Motors has a bumpy ride ahead with JLR misfiring
Eicher Motors hits three-month high stock up 10 post Q3 results
The Budget 2017 Hard task
Interviews amp FeaturesAt the end of the day we are enablers and everyone has to sell more Ramesh Iyer VC amp MD MampM Financial Services
Here is how much it will cost to personalize your Maruti Suzuki Ignis
Opinion Rebirth of Ambassador brand
Ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave says Munjal
Cars SUVs MUVs2017 Honda City launched in India Prices start at Rs 849 lakh (Ex-Delhi)
Honda City 2017 bookings cross 5000 units
Honda has no plans for a sub-Rs5 lakh car in India
Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz
Honda lines up compact SUV Civic
Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City
Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city
Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales
Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas
2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm
Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordamprsquos Sanand plant
Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel
Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI
MDS to promote safe driving in India
Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost
Luxury CarsEight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB
Jaguar Land Roveramprsquos weak performance impacts margin
Commercial VehiclesTata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20
Construction amp Agri Machinery23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled
E-BikesComponents
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex
Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore
Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore
Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million
Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation
Allied IndustriesEmissions EnvironmentFinance amp InsuranceOil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound
News MagazinesAll-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA
India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know
General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA
Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch
Worldamprsquos first commercial flying car now on sale
2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained
International NewsGeneral Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased
US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars
Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer
Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business
BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China
Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution
Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history
Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles
Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity
Dodge Viper is now officially sold out
Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles
Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster
South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche
2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors
Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138
MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady
EconomyRupee recovers ends 9 paise up
WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017
India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18
ClosingLast Financial Closing
Industry
Tata Motors consolidated Q3 PAT declines 96 at Rs 112 crore The Economic Times (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Indian automobile manufacturer Tata Motors has reported 96 percent decline in its consolidated Profit After Tax (PAT) forthird quarter of fiscal 2017 and stood at Rs 112 crore as against Rs 2953 crore for the corresponding quarter last fiscal informedthe automaker in a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing
For the nine months ended December 31 2016 the consolidated PAT was Rs 3220 crore as against Rs 6467 crore for thecorresponding period last year thereby registering de-growth of 50 percent
Tata Motors Standalone ResultsTata Motors has experienced 664 percent jump in its standalone Profit After Tax (PAT) for the quarter ended December 31 2016
was Rs 1046 crore against Rs 137 crore for the corresponding quarter last year informed the automaker in a Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
During the quarter commercial vehicle segments of the company witnessed demand shrinkage due to the demonetisation MampHCVsegment witnessed major pressure with a fall of year-on-year fall of 9 percent and LCV segment was overall flat Passengervehicles segment grew by 254 percent with car segment showing growth of 311 percent on the back of continued strong responseto the Tiago
Total exports grew by 346 percent during the quarter The sales (including exports) of commercial and passenger vehicles for thequarter ended December 31 2016 stood at 132572 units a growth of 75 percent as compared to the corresponding quarter lastyear
Jaguar Land Rover AutomotiveTotal Retail sales including the China JV in the third quarter were 149288 units up 85 percent on strong demand for productsprimarily reflecting higher volumes in China (including CJLR) North America and Europe led by strong sales of Discovery SportF-PACE and the new long wheel base XFL in China
Jaguar Land Rover wholesales and retails excluding the China JV for the quarter were 130910 units and 129893 unitsrespectively China JV wholesales and retails for the quarter were 21335 units and 19395 units respectively
PAT was pound167 million for the quarter ended December 31 2016 compared to pound440 million in the corresponding quarter last year
Tata Daewoo Commercial VehiclesTata Daewoo Commercial Vehicles has registered a net profit of approx Rs 90 crore in the quarter ended December 31 2016
Tata Motors FinanceTata Motors Finance on a consolidated basis registered net revenue from operations of Rs 688 crore and reported a Loss after taxof Rs 3 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrytata-motors-consolidated-q3-pat-declines-96-at-rs-112-crore57146248Tata Motors profit plunges 96 in Q3The Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertata-motors-profit-plunges-96-in-q3article9543424eceTata Motorsamprsquo Q3 profit down 96The Tribune (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinesstata-motors-q3-profit-down-96364160htmlDeep dent in TaMo profitThe Telegraph (Web Edition)httpswwwtelegraphindiacom1170215jspbusinessstory_135811jspWKO2hWOqBkgTata Motors posts 96 per cent profit plungeThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinesstata-motors-posts-96-per-cent-profit-plungearticleshow57149100cms Tata Motors net down 96 per cent on poor JLR domestic salesThe Indian Express (Web amp Print Edition)httpindianexpresscomarticlebusinesscompaniestata-motors-net-down-96-per-cent-on-poor-jlr-domestic-sales-4525524 Tata Motors profit dives 96 as JLR loses steamBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompaniestata-motors-profit-dives-96-as-jlr-loses-steam-117021401009_1htmlTata Motors net falls 96The Financial Express (Web Edition)httpwwwfinancialexpresscomindustrytata-motors-net-falls-96551636Steep fall in Jaguar profit dents Tata Motors earnings by 97Financial Chronicle (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomnewssteep-fall-jaguar-profit-dents-tata-motors-earnings-97-218Tata Motorsamprsquo net plunges 96The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessTata-MotorsE28099-net-plunges-96article17303912eceTata Motors net drops 96 as domestic ops bleed JLR strugglesDaily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-net-drops-96-as-domestic-ops-bleed-jlr-struggles-2323043Tata Motors Q3 profit plunges 96 on losses in India ops lower JLR profitmint (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesF9KOjTBH8jkg5jKVefnCSNTata-Motors-Q3-profit-slides-96-on-losses-in-India-ops-lowhtmlTata motors reports decline in quaterly profitAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinesscompanies140217tata-motors-reports-decline-in-quaterly-profithtmlTata Motors posts surprise 96 per cent dip in Q3 net profitDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos150217tata-motors-posts-surprise-96-per-cent-dip-in-q3-net-profithtmlTata Motors Q3 net profit drops 96Deccan Herald (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596436tata-motors-q3-net-profithtml
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One-offs dent Tata Motors Q3 performance
Ram Prasad SahuBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Tata Motors gave a disappointing performance for December quarter (Q3) as lower volumes lower realisations from salesand higher costs saw consolidated net profit falling to Rs 112 crore from Rs 2953 crore a year ago Volumes were lower atUK-based subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover and Indian unit JLR wholesale volumes were down five per cent as they ran out of unitsmade in 2016 due to preparations for Discovery launch in Q4FY17 Retail demand for JLR products continues to be strong onhigher orders from China North America and Europe led by Discovery Sport F-Pace and Jaguar XFL models
Volumes in Indian unit were disappointing as the key segment of medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MampHCV) saw salesdecline nine per cent in Q3 While light commercial vehicle volumes were flat some pressures were offset by high demand forTiago which helped car sales volumes improve 25 per cent year over year Export volumes grew a robust 345 per cent Analystssay the phase of subdued new product launches for Tata Motors is over and given new launches and refreshes in passenger andcommercial vehicles both they expect India volumes to improve substantially
Consolidated revenue at Rs 70567 was 44 per cent year over year on lower volumes and currency-translation impact of Rs 10670crore JLR revenue at pound65 billion was up 13 per cent year on year and on expected lines But a number of one-offs impactedoperating profitability Operating profit margin for JLR at 93 per cent compared to 144 per cent a year ago was due to inferiorproduct mix and negative leverage on lower volumes higher variable marketing mix new model launch costs unfavourable forexmovements biennial pay negotiation settlement and others Adjusted for foreign-exchange effect margin would have been 101per cent Analysts say many of these are one-offs and margin is expected to bounce back
Net profit for JLR at pound167 million as against pound440 million a year ago was due to higher depreciation and amortisation andmovements of foreign exchange commodity and US debt The positives for JLR are higher recoveries on Tianjin losses improvingChina venture profitability and lower net finance expenses Though overall India volumes were up 75 per cent revenues were flatat Rs 10167 crore Given operating profit of Rs 153 crore the company is barely making money Higher discounts also hitoperating performance Higher variable marketing expenses commodity costs depreciation as well as finance costs led to theIndian unit reporting a loss of Rs 1046 crore as against a loss of Rs 137 crore a year agohttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticleopinionone-offs-dent-tata-motors-q3-performance-117021401097_1html
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Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 crore m-cap hit post Q3 PTISee this story in The Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Shares of Tata Motors on Tuesday fell by nearly 5 per cent after the company reported a steep 9622 per cent decline inconsolidated net profit for the December quarter
The scrip sank 368 per cent to settle at Rs 48680 on BSE Intra-day it tanked 734 per cent to Rs 46830
The stock was the worst performer among the 30-BSE Sensex components
At NSE it dived 460 per cent to close at Rs 48205
Led by the decline in the stock the companys market valuation tumbled Rs 599323 crore to Rs 13993277 crore
On the volume front 1242 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over 1 crore shares changed hands at NSE duringthe day
Home-grown auto major Tata Motors has reported 9622 per cent drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 11157 crore for theDecember quarter dragged down by losses in domestic operations and lower profit of its British arm JLR
It had posted a net profit of Rs 295267 crore in the same quarter of the last fiscal Tata Motors said in a BSE filing
The companys consolidated sales during the October- December quarter were down 22 per cent at Rs 6786495 crore as againstRs 6939807 crore in the year-ago period
On a standalone basis Tata Motors loss after tax widened to Rs 1046 crore in the third quarter of 2016-17 from Rs 137 crore ayear agohttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financetata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-crore-m-cap-hit-post-q357148624Tata Motors skids 37 on poor resultThe Financial Expresshttpwwwfinancialexpresscomindustrytata-motors-skids-3-7-on-poor-result551567
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Tata Motors has a bumpy ride ahead with JLR misfiring Vatsala Kamatmint (Web amp Print Edition)
There are many reasons for the Tata Motors Ltd stock to have a bumpy rideampmdashthey range from the Brexit effect to Cyrus
Mistryamprsquos exit and more recently demonetization And now we have a deplorable set of numbers put forth by the company forthe December quarter which practically writes off the stockamprsquos near-term prospects Not surprisingly the stock plunged by 4and its DVR (differential voting rights) tanked even harder by 6 after the results were announced
Although the consolidated net revenue at Rs668551 crore was in tune with Street estimates it was the operating performance thatwas the biggest let-down It was harder to fathom because the UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover Ltd (JLR) which has been leadingprofits higher quarter after quarter for the first time hugely failed investors
Consolidated operating margin fell by about 500 basis points to 76 from a year ago mainly because JLRamprsquos upward margintrajectory was punctured It contracted from 144 to 93ampmdashthe first time to single digits since fiscal year 2010 The TataMotors management in its media meet explained that runout in one of its premium models significant marketing expenses biennialsalary negotiations and new model launches led to this margin drop Add to this an unfavourable currency and product mix too
One wonders though if its new product lines are yielding lower profit margins Indeed JLR sales have been maintained thanks tothe expansion in US markets even when China briefly wobbled and Europe was still inching up But higher market penetration andshare led to margin erosion during the quarter The consequent weak operating profit trickled down to weaker net profit almost halfof that clocked a year back
The story was similar for the stand-alone company on home ground too Demonetization impacted commercial vehicle salesthough its passenger cars fared better than the industry during the quarter But again it was the 345 basis points drop in operatingmargin to 15 that was a big let-down from the Streetamprsquos expectation of 42 Net loss at Rs1000 crore was more severethan that charted out by brokerage firms
Therefore the consolidated net profit of Rs1116 crore was a distant cry from the ambitious average expectation of Rs22645 croreby 20 Bloomberg analysts
For now it does not appear that the results disappointed on account of any one-off provisions or write-offs Therefore a bigger slidein the Tata Motors stock which closed at Rs48680 on Tuesday may not be surprising Certainly brokerage firms will trim theearnings forecast for the near term
Yes it cannot be ignored that JLR the prized cash-cow of Tata Motors is continuing to add sales volumes What needs to bewatched is whether growth will come at the cost of margins If so it will cap the earnings momentum leading to an erosion invaluation toohttpwwwlivemintcomMoneyRNNHsLKWnhup8oEQTJDwdMTata-Motors-has-a-bumpy-ride-ahead-with-JLR-misfiringhtml
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Eicher Motors hits three-month high stock up 10 post Q3 results Business Standard (Web Edition)
Mumbai Eicher Motors gained3 to Rs 25449 on the BSE in an otherwise subdued market The stock trading at its highest levelsince November 1 2016 is 45 away from its record high of Rs 26602 touched on September 29 2016 in intra-day trade
Thus far in February the stock has appreciated by 10 after the company reported good set of numbers for the quarter endedDecember 2016 (Q3FY17) In comparison the SampP BSE Sensex was up 24 during the period
Eicher Motors is engaged in manufacturing automobile products and related components The Company also owns the RoyalEnfield motorcycle business
The company had reported a strong 49 year on year (YoY) jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 417 crore in Q3FY17 on backof 43 YoY rise in total operational income at Rs 2071 crore It also recorded its highest ever and best-in-class EBITDA (earningsbefore interest tax depreciation and amortization) margin at 314
ampldquoRoyal Enfield (RE) margins expanded 50bps QoQ340bps YoY to 318 beating our estimates of 308 Margins weredriven by a 150bps reduction in other expenses due to lower marketing expenditureamprdquo analysts at Religare InstitutionalResearch said in a results preview The broking firm maintains amplsquobuyamprsquo ration on the stock with target price of Rs 27500
Meanwhile RE the two-wheeler division of Eicher Motors reported a 25 jump in total sales at 59676 units in January Thetwo-wheeler manufacturer had sold 47710 units in January 2016
At 0107 pm the stock was up 23 at Rs 25348 as compared to 002 decline in the SampP BSE Sensex A combined 46838shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE so farhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlemarketseicher-motors-hits-three-month-high-stock-up-10-post-q3-results-117021400340_1html
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The Budget 2017 Hard task Shekar ViswanathanDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Much has been written and said on this and the modal rating of the budget is a healthy 7 out of 10 This stems from the fact that themost refreshing feature of the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley statement is the recognition that the salaried class has been paying its
taxes as a result of the tax deducted at source provision that enables the taxman to collect taxes most easily
In fact the FM went on to say that it is salaried tax payers who have been carrying the burden of paying taxes and having to makeup for those who have not been paying these taxes So the reduction of taxes in the tax brackets up to Rs 5 lakh is something tocheer about
Hard driveThe auto sector has reason to be less than pleased as it was unfairly made the villain of the piece last year when two of itsmembers found their state of the art vehicles banned by the Supreme Court in the NCR on the specious reasoning of vehiclesabove 2000 cc being more polluting
Yet in the current budget there was no measure announced by the Government in scrapping old vehicles particularly those usingengines compatible only with older grade BS 1 BS2 and BS3 fuel
A scrappage scheme would have been most helpful in removing old vehicles from the road and putting in newer vehiclesenhancing tax collections thereby and ensuring that a culture of pollution reduction takes root Indeed a missed opportunity
Further more a formal scheme to capture the second hand vehicle trade and bring it within the tax net would have been a healthyprecursor to the advent of GST this July
The income arising out of the transfer of carbon credits is sought to be taxed at 10 of such income This is not encouraging at allRather the Government of India would have done well to incentivise the generation of carbon credit as this will force companies tolook for environment friendly ways to generate production Those who buy carbon credits ought to have been taxed Infrastructurespend of course has been fixed at Rs 64000 crore ampndash while this is laudable it remains to be seen whether the government cansustain the spend at the scorching pace of 133 km per day
While numbers are important in a budget this is one area where implementation is key to evaluating whether the budget direction issuccessful or not
The hard analysisThe auto sectoramprsquos growth has always been linked to job creation With the punitive tax structure on excise in respect of thebigger cars this sector has hardly been incentivised to grow
The magic of the auto sector is that for every vehicle built the jobs in the service sector grow concomitantly whether it is in simpleservice jobs for autos or in the allied financial services and certainly in the auto component sector
Small cars do not necessarily mean lower pollution or lower congestion which is the bane of Indian urban roads People mover carssuch as the 8 seaters equipped with state of the art engines and compatible with modern fuels ought to have been encouraged witha lower tax structure to provide last mile connectivity and to lessen the scourge of pollutionhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596410budget-2017-hard-taskhtml
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Interviews amp Features
At the end of the day we are enablers and everyone has to sell more Ramesh Iyer VC amp MD MampM Financial Services The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Ramesh Iyer VC amp MD MampM Financial Services talks to ET Now about the future of MampM Financils and how much demonetisationhas hit their business if at all
There are concerns which are visible in terms of what is going to happen to the demand side or in terms of fresh NPA formation oneis getting a sense that at least fresh NPA formation has stopped
I very strongly think that it is nothing new I mean it has happened for different reasons may be but what we hear from the customeris that the sentiments are pretty positive at least the monsoon cash flows have been very supportive the farm cash flows havedefinitely improved over the third quarter to fourth quarter as we see I would therefore think that the sentiments are returningpositive and with little infrastructure that will commence in different states I would think the rural should do well
After getting listed your numbers are getting slightly more difficult for an outsider to predict why is thatIf you look at pre-listing we might have been almost a single product company like we were just doing may be Mahindra Vehiclesand then we added tractors to that so it was much more easier for someone to predict because you knew what is happening outthere
We derisk ourselves by going to more geography and then more products so that got in different segments of customers and theynot necessarily behave the same way like a tractor would have behaved earlier so that is one of the reasons why this becomes
Also the reasons are earlier it was so easy to understand the first half in rural is not as good as the second half is With the delayedmonsoon the crop money gets delayed it moves from third to fourth quarter so everyone kind of understands will it be good in thethird quarter suddenly you see a shift happening to the fourth quarter
Over a period of time the rural cash flow has also moved from just farm dependent to also infra based cash flow so when it moved
into first time into infra base cash flow I think it was more stable every quarter had some numbers coming in once it gets to a largersize there are some delays in government payments or from tractor payments etc
All customers that we work with are earn and pay customers they are not fixed cash flow customers so it will always be thechallenge to predict in a earn and pay segment as to when is this earning going to come in and how are they going to dischargetheir liabilities But what is important to look at a model like this is look at a contractual period of three years you will never find wemake less money than we promise to make
Are you getting a sense that Q4 onwards things will look substantially better
So demonetisation did what to us one is 8th November to end November none of us knew what exactly should be our reaction howdo we take it forward what do we do
Customers were kind of guessing as to what they should be doing I think December showed a very different number to uscustomers started getting used to this money did comeback into the market in some form So demonetisation impact is it gotaccepted well a new format has been found and going forward seems to be definitely good but we should not forget that ultimatelyagain I am repeating the customers are earn and pay customer their overall transaction volumes have to go
Farm cash flows are pretty positive I think the money is coming in what was to come in the third quarter possibly has got shifted tothe fourth quarter The January crop is good and therefore we do think that the flow of money from farm will definitely be good Ithink another important thing to look at is look at state by state these businesses are no more to be looked at India as a whole
If some states are doing well from a growth perspective we resources ourselves well there and if some states need higher attentionfrom a recovery perspective then we resource ourselves differently in those states
So you find us adjusting to this so these are models which are getting into what is your ability to quickly readjust to the new normalunlike before you had a stable situation you put a model in place work around it for three years-four years time now I think it isgetting to a situation where what is your ability to kind of quickly react to a changing scenario how fast can you change what is theflexibility of your organisation as a peopleamprsquos competence and capability anyone who does all of this well I think will still have agreat future also
So when do you think the new cycle will start for you in terms of demand and in terms of recovery
We did not have had too much of pressure on demand you see if somebody wanted us to grow at 25 per cent we have not grown atthat but I think at the end of the day we are enablers and everyone has to sell more but for example the tractors did well We alsogrow in tractors our market share went up as well as volumes went up
So if you look at our books we still have a growth rate of anywhere between 12 and 15 per cent now someone has used toMahindra Finance growth rate of 25-30 per cent continues to think that we are not growing enough and I want to correct thatimpression to say on a large book growing at 15 per cent is a good enough growth
So 15 per cent growth is a new normal for you now
I would not say so but 15 per cent in the current situation is a great growth is that the way I would put it Yes you can get back to a25 per cent I mean look at for the same volume that disbursements are low because the discounts on the product is high See if thediscounts vcanish you get another 5-7 per cent growth happening and then of course the value of the price goes up for that tractoror cars or anything then you get a growth and then the volumes kicks in
So asset side growth I am not too worried we have deeper penetration large customer base we are in close to 300000 plus villagesin this country so why should I worry much about the growth out there
Historically if you look at a book NPA might have climbed up climbed down whichever way it has happened our credit losses havenever gone beyond 225-24 per cent which is well priced into our pricing into the customer
So I am not again overly worried about the peaking of NPA like the norms changed from 150 to 120 we move to 120 We have notchanged our aggressive provisioning that we were doing even otherwise We will need to move to 90 so I do not think one needs tolook at NPAs as a standalone number to say how is the NPA moving up let us look at if the NPA is moving up what is the coveragethat you have got but eventually is the collateral competent and capable enough to protect the principal there we are prettyconfident because loan to asset value is the key to success of this business
So if you are kind of restricted yourself to somewhere around 75-77 per cent or even go up to 80 per cent and someone repays 10instalments on a three year or a four year period I think we are well protected and therefore that is not the big worry Yessituationally cash flows need to improve money starts coming back then past provisions bring back your profits and futureprovisions no need to be these aggressive
Historically your book has doubled in 24 to 28 months but that was when you are growing at about 25 per cent 25 has become 15so can I assume that your book now will double in three and a half to four years not before that
If it is 15 per cen it it will take about four years or so but I continue to believe that this growth rate will change as the volumesincreases like last month we saw Maruti retail numbers were good so we got the benefit of it
We normally do about 8000-9000 vehicles we crossed 12000 vehicles so in overall car market for us is also growing
Mahindra UV numbers are growing for us tractor numbers are growing pre-owned vehicle will be a growth story for us We havestill not a significant player when it comes to commercial vehicle construction equipment once the infrastructure story unfolds I thinkwe will get benefit of these happening as well
I think to get back to a 25 per cent kind of a growth story two-three things need to happen overall volumes need to improve there Ithink the discounts on products need to vanish if these two happens even without a price increase on the vehicle I think the growthrate will return to some new number We are putting in place a direct marketing initiative where we reach out to our customers andthrough them we are actually growing more business
So there clearly go to a customer he gets you more customer in the village so I think I am again not too worried about when will weget to 25 per cent I think we are ready to get to there if few of these fundamentals change I think getting a 25 per cent should not bea challenge if that happens going back to doubling in three years should happen
Your agrarian income has been under pressure rural infrastructure has not picked up and yet you are doing at 15 per cent so 15per cent is the base
I would think so but except that one should know we are at the end of the day an enabler if somebody is not doing well we can onlydo so much I think everyone sense the numbers that they are doing today we are pretty sure that our market shares would not fall ifany of our market share is only growing and therefore if that is converting itself into 15 per cent I think the answer is yes
If the agrarian income picks up what happens to you if the infrastructure picks up what happens to you and if they both pick upwhat happens to you
If you kind of go back into history when both were doing well let us say from somewhere between 11-12 to 13-14 times we sawalmost and every state both of this doing well possibly and therefore we had a great growth story from 10 onwards
We have had situations in the past and let us take some state in particular let us take Maharashtra or take any state of that matter ifthe monsoon does not do well I think the sentiments go low and I think about 40-50 per cent of the cash flow does come from thefarm cash flow so therefore to that extent things goes slow they start getting delayed So when you said six months farm cash flowsare expected to be good we reasonably believe 50-60 per cent of the book will normally behave in a very decent manner
Then look at each state as to which state is spending on what on infrastructure look at Andhra it has done well for us look at partsof Maharashtra Rajasthan parts of MP UP Bihar so we have had states which have done well and we have had states in the pastlike Tamil Nadu etc going slow for us So I think if the infra at the state level starts picking up may not be a large project but even acontinuing work there the labour and asset absorption if it happens well in state level I think our book should do normally wellbecause we are not financing a large contractors nor are we really financing the marginal customer
Our customers are someone who can afford to bring a 25 per cent margin on any assets it is close to about 15-2 lakh plus so if thatkind of a customer is what we are supporting I think he looks for a stable earnings on a monthly or a quarterly basis for him to beable to service the loan Even today if you look at our NPA numbers while it may be little elevated but you look at the progress inthose numbers customers are at least 60 per cent of the NPL customers are repaying their instalments they are not earning enoughto pay for the past So these stability is what we look for and then once the cash flow improves they get corrected
Are there any key categories which you have identified which will grow at 100 per cent or 75 per cent for next couple of years
If you look at our pre-owned book we are at about 8-10 per cent of the book is pre-owned vehicle we think that is a large opportunitybecause and I am not talking of commercial vehicle pre-owned that is not where we are but tractors utility vehicles cars
We have large number of customers about every year at least about 25-3 lakh customers contract mature So we are putting inplace an arrangement where when they sell their vehicle to someone else who wants to buy we know the vehicle we know thebackground of the vehicle we know the customer who is selling and the customer who is buying so I think that is a segment that willhelp us grow bigger and better that also comes with a much higher margin well the value of disbursements could be much lower butthat segment is something that we will see grow from a current 10-12 per cent book going up to may be 15-18 per cent
Is that is why your spreads are higher naturally because you are in a condition to lend more efficientlyExactly so we go more deeper we engage ourselves with the customer and in difficult times like this customer choose to buy apre-owned vehicle before he can go and buy any vehicle so it is a great opportunity
What could be that big change for Mahindra Financials what is that big thing which will give you a frog leap
We look at who is planning what so we look at what is MampMamprsquos plan in terms of vehicle launches how deep are they goinghow many dealers how are they doing Tractor also we look at Marutiamprsquos launch when we look at everyone else who iscoming with a rural vehicle we are now working with Nissan we are working with Renault we are working with Toyota we areworking with JCB all of them are looking at a customer out there
So what is it that we are looking for we are looking for all of them to really penetrate deeper we help some of them to go there andsome of the products attract customers there I think the two together makes a new volume there
So you remind me of this old Hindi movie dialogue roti kapda makaan that is what you always believe inYes precisely because we are giving product loan which is livelihood we give shelter housing loans we give insurance as asecurity loan We are willing to give them personal loans to meet their personal aspirations so I think that is our jobhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomopinioninterviewsat-the-end-of-the-day-we-are-enablers-and-everyone-has-to-sell-more-ramesh-iyer-vc-md-mm-financial-servicesarticleshow57143635cms
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Here is how much it will cost to personalize your Maruti Suzuki Ignis Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Maruti Suzuki with its Ignis has been very clear on its target audience and the target customer for the company hasbeen the amplsquomillennialsamprsquo or the youngsters of the country born between 1980-90 The company has a wider productportfolio to address to small family cars to executive sedans for corporate demand MPV Ertiga for Indian family needs SUV stylingon its Vitara Brezza and with Ignis it wants to diversify its product offering to attract the youth first time buyers
Launch at a concert using car emoji while using IGNIS on twitter and many more marketing stunts by the company certainlyhelped to create that initial buzz which the company was looking for On the product front also Maruti Suzuki announced variouspersonalisation and customisation options to give that individual look and below is the cost involved to customise Maruti SuzukiIgnis
Maruti Suzuki Ignis is being offered in 9 colours except for the base variant which only gets white silver and grey colour optionsCustomisation on Ignis is available on all the trims of all petrol diesel and automatic variants This is also the second offering afterMaruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza to get customisation options
Maruti Suzuki Ignis exterior customisation optionsOn the exterior you get to choose to include body side moulding cladding on the side door visor roof wrap roof spoiler and a fewother options Roof wraps also known as Crowners are available in 4 different patterns and number of colours Digiscape RadicalImplode and unbox are the names of the patterns of the crowners on option which costs an additional of Rs 9990
There is also an option of adding a roof line spoiler at Rs 5590 and for the carbon finish roof spoiler costs about 10990 Body sidemouldings are offered 6 colours
Overall You will end up paying about Rs13000 ampndash 16000 more on your choice of Ignis variant for exterior customisation
Maruti Suzuki Ignis customisation options (interiors)The interiors of the cars can also be tweaked and rather than doing it from a vendor outside its always good to get the factory fittedkits on a new car Inside the car you get an option of interior styling kit which includes ambient lighting there is also a huge rangeof floor mats seat covers to choose from Footers or floor mats comes with Ignis embossed on it to increase the personalised feel
Other features that you can include to personalise Maruti Suzuki Ignis are addition of Black alloy wheels crossbar cladding glassline spoiler door visor steering wheel finished in leather and rear-seat infotainment system
The infotainment system is not available on all variants specially on the automatic variants so the company is offering anaftermarket Kenwood infotainment system which is post-factory fitted equipment and will be installed at the Nexa dealership
At about Rs35000-40000 extra on your preferred Ignis variant you will be able to personalize the whole car Maruti Suzuki Ignis isthe only car in its segment to offer this personalization options This was introduced by the company since the launch and so far iswell recieved The company sold a total of 4830 units of its Ignis since its launch in January 2017httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshere-is-how-much-it-will-cost-to-personalize-your-maruti-suzuki-ignis57140666
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Opinion Rebirth of Ambassador brand Santosh DesaiThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
The selling of the Ambassador brand to Peugeot is an eyebrow raiser Why would anyone want to revive a car that is deservedlydead and in the minds of many took far too long in its death sequence a la a Hindi film hero in the 70s
Clearly Peugeot has no interest in the car in its physical form what it is buying is the idea of the Ambassador and the meaning thatit can give it in todays context
There is something about the Ambassador that lends itself to nostalgic affection Unlike the more sensible Fiat which offered atimid version of the modern and hence stops short of evoking an era and a culture the Ambassadors relation with the modern wasfrosty It remained steadfastly true to its own sensibilities largely because it refused to change or perhaps lacked the capability todo so
Barring minor modifications that were universally mocked at for their transparent lack of ambition the Ambassador stood its groundfor a long time Eventually it did change its engine but it was too late by then Its time was over once the hot plastic era of theMaruti made its appearance
In its time the Ambassador reigned supreme Its lines were inspired by a matrons commodious petticoats and its interiors had thecomfortable well-worn shabbiness of the Indian drawing room The gears shifted with a grunt and the car began its journey with agroan It drove one with the laconic recalcitrance of the father while offering you the familiar comfort of a mothers lap
One sprawled inside the car when not carrying ones entire brood of third cousins and their family friends to the railway station toreceive or to see someone off in the dead of night The car was large solid and rounded nothing about its design acknowledgedthat it was an object designed to move Indeed it seemed to actively shun any association with aerodynamics
The Ambassador squatted on the ground embracing its own centre of gravity It was a car that clearly believed that it was better towaddle than to race and moved with stolid disregard for ones surroundings or ones intent The Ambassador was status quo onwheels a car that allowed one to stand still even as one moved and to do so with ones entire way of life intact
It pointed nowhere and took us nowhere which was where we wanted to be The Ambassador was equanimity in a world where
abruptness was the norm Traffic on Indian roads might have been slow but it was always sudden Roads disappeared from undertheir feet cows changed their minds about moving buses decided to come tearing down the wrong side for a closer look andpedestrians stopped in the middle of the road to scratch themselves meditatively
The car itself was a constant source of uncertainty- it stalled leaked oil the brake fluid ran out at odd times of course it could alsobe repaired anywhere by virtually any mechanic and so life chugged along The ability to accommodate anything - peoplemerchandise circumstances recurring dents and scrapes breakdowns - without showing any sign of strain made the car a naturalin the Indian context
At the surface level the Ambassador might offer an easy route to marketable nostalgia particularly in the West It is a quirky riposteto the modern and works at the level of an ironic joke But this is the kind of appeal that works fast and dissipates even fasterHowever there is something more substantial about the idea of the Ambassador apart from its incongruous looks
The idea of the Ambassador potentially holds allure today because it tells us that it is possible to completely disregard context Itexposes the fuss that cars make about moving from point A to point B as being unnecessary Neither motion nor the car as anobject of desire are fetishised According to the Ambassador one can be a placid cow chewing cud while the world goes on aroundit spinning out of control The individual finds no reflection in the car the fluidity of time and fashion mean nothing to it It restores tothe car the idea of affectionate and comfortable warmth it feels like home should
Equanimity is the ornament of those that understand time One doesnt have to hurry the world doesnt need to be about oneselfone is secure in the knowledge that current events will pass however unlikely it seems today When one is home the world outsideholds few terrors at least for the time being
And while this idea has been born out of India and its realities today it is unlikely that this idea will find much resonance in India foras a country we have traded placid wisdom for prickly ambition Even if Peugeot were to re-present the Ambassador in anacceptably contemporary form the country today wants to see a more desirable face in the mirror The individual wants to seehimself and his future in the car he drives
The idea of the Ambassador becomes in effect a return to an earlier era and there is little appetite for that today Globally on theother hand it might be another story The brands attractiveness to a company like Peugeot lies in the fact that the Ambassador isabove all a brand It stands for an idea that is located in a culture and it signifies a belief in some values
It has a design ethos and a point of view about mobility and indeed about the world we live in today It is unlikely to offer theopportunity to build a huge global brand but there is a truth that it speaks that could potentially create value for the Frenchcompany Shorn of the shoddy product that carried this name it might just be that the underlying idea of the Ambassador hasrelevance in todays timeshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsopinion-rebirth-of-ambassador-brand57138047
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Ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave says Munjal N V VijayakumarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru Hero MotoCorp Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pawan Munjal is working hard to take the brand Hero on theglobal automotive landscape He believes that Hero MotoCorpamprsquos global expansion will help the company achieve asustainable growth in the long run
Being the largest producer of two-wheeler globally with over 65 million vehicles a year Munjal says the companyamprsquos strategyis product-centric for each geography Munjal tells DHamprsquos N VacirceuroˆVijayakumar that the company will reach 50 global marketswithin 2020
Can you elaborate your global expansion plan
We are going global to tap the huge untapped opportunities for growth We entered the global market after beginning our solojourney six years ago The launch in Argentina marks our foray into the 35th country globally We are right now present across AsiaAfrica and South and Central America
Our rapid expansion in these regions helped us build our brand identity We are present in these regions with a range of popularmotorcycles and scooters across segments which are known for their fuel efficiency performance and durability We expect thatthe mix of our product portfolio and after sales service efficiency will bring us ahead of the curve in these markets
How do you view the global economic environment
We also realise the fact that political or economic uncertainties are looming large globally We have to understand that suchuncertainties are present in every sphere of activity and that should not deter us from pursuing our long-term goals and vision Webelieve our global expansion is an opportunity for sustainable growth in the long run
We believe that we can achieve 10 of total sales from global operations by 2020 We do hope that we will scale up further afterthat We are planning to enter the Mexican and Brazilian markets soon
Do you believe that your volume play will help in the global expansion plan
We have to achieve some basic volume mass to make certain impact in the market The size and scale of Hero MotoCorp in the
Indian market is a big advantage when we foray into any global market
This helps us choose the distributor partner In terms of continent we are focussing on various continents and by 2020 we will get asolid idea of the market Then we will be focussing on 12 to 15 markets as they will help us grow Some markets will grow on theirown steam
We believe that we should focus on low hanging fruits in the markets like Latin America and Africa where we can achieve thevolume Unlike the western market especially the US and the South-East Asian markets geographies like Latin America and Africawe do not have to face any complications and no competition from existing established players from Japan Having said that wehavenamprsquot lost focus on global product planning
How do you view the domestic market
Hero MotoCorp finds huge potential from the domestic market as our growth comes from there only We are very much focused onchanges in the customer preference and this is clearly revealed during the last Auto Expo
We find a lot of traction in the premium and high performance products We feel in these segments our market share is very less orwe are entirely missing Also since our domestic two-wheeler penetration is still only around 30 we think there is still growth inthe mass market segment ranging from 100 cc to 150 cc
We are also registering steady growth in the scooter segment We aspire Hero MotoCorp achieve greater market share in thissegment than our current position
How do you view the investment made in RampD
We invested heavily in our new Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) located at Jaipur A lot of design and development workson premium products are currently happening there We have already made it with the new Achiever 150 The next one will beXtreme 200S a premium product which is already showcased at the Auto Expo last year
We want to come up with products that suit each geography as part of our global expansion and the centre will play a key role inthat Till now we donamprsquot have any global product and the CIT will come up with products that are truly global in nature and takeHero MotoCorp ahead of competition
Can you share your take on the growing importance of electric vehicles hybrid vehicles and ride sharing
I believe that ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave The world is really moving in that direction and we are alsocommitted to that Our research activities with electric vehicles are progressing at the CIT The government will have to focus onthis and I believe that we are not isolated in that as they have started their initiatives We have invested in two startups electricscooter startup Ather Energy based out of Bengaluru and ride-sharing bike taxi startup Rapido Cost and affordability will decide thegrowth of the hybrid products We have already displayed hybrid products at the Auto Expo
Startups are the rage of the day What is your take on this
I personally believe that lots of innovation happen in the startup culture Sometimes large companies are not able to do thosethings We also believe that big companies like Hero and other players should provide the ecosystem so that startups can alsoprosperhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596412ride-sharing-electric-vehicles-nexthtml
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Cars SUVs MUVs
2017 Honda City launched in India Prices start at Rs 849 lakh (Ex-Delhi) Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese car maker Honda Cars India launched the facelift on its 4th generation Honda City 2017 Thepetrol variants of Honda City are priced Rs 849 lakh - 1352 lakh (Ex-Delhi) at and the diesel variants of Honda City costs Rs1075 lakh - 1356 at (Ex- Delhi)
Honda City variant line-up now gets the addition of a new flagship grade ampndash ampldquoZXamprdquo
Honda City facelift now gets a wide-opening bumper design and a new signature front chrome grille with intricate design connectingthe two headlights The LED package including the integrated LED DRL which is now standard across all variants the inline LEDheadlamps LED fog lampsLED RR Combi LED license plate lamps trunk lid spoiler with LED
The car now also gets new diamond-cut and two-tone alloy wheel design for both 15 and 16 inch wheels The new City also hasfirst-in-segment auto-folding door mirrors in V VX and ZX grades
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India Ltd said ampldquoThe Honda City has been ourmost successful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquosmost successful sedan since its launch in 1998 It has also been the industry benchmark for quality and has been ranked No 1 by
the JD Power Initial Quality Study 14 times since its inception in the Indian marketamprdquo
ampldquoWith the launch of a much-enhanced new Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations byoffering amazing value at a very competitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in thesegmentamprdquo he added
Interiors are finished in dual-tone beige amp black trim Honda City also gets a 177 cm touchscreen infotainment system called theDigipad which supports navigation voice recognition Bluetooth and also Wi-Fi support for internet The infotainment system isavailable on the V VX and ZX grades
The car also features a soft-touch dashboard on passenger side and new white illumination in the advanced 3D multi-informationmeter Other important interior feature includes chrome plating on steering switches and chrome plated knobs for rear-aircon ventThe car continues to get the tilt and telescopic steering adjustment StartStop ignition system button fully auto-dimming insiderear-view mirror and LED interior cabin lights
The ZX grade also has both rear-adjustable headrests
The interiors of the new City are beige upholstery with dual-tone beige amp black trims
Honda City continues to get the same 15L i-DTEC diesel engine of Earth Dream Technology series which sheds a power of 100 Psand a peak torque of 200 Nm Honda City diesel claims a mileage of 256 Kmpl The engine is mated to a 6-speed manualtransmission
The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119 ps and a torque of 145 NmIt has been mated with the same CVT gearbox with 7-speed paddle shifters and claims a mileage of 18 kmpl The 5-speed manualtransmission delivers an impressive fuel efficiency of 174 kmpl
Honda is offering dual SRS airbags ABS with EBD as a standard safety features across all its variants The new ZX variant gets 6air-bags automatic headlamp and auto rain-sensing wipers
The new Honda City 2017 is offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades Petrol CVTwill be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
Honda is also offereing 3 accessory packages on the facelifted City
Deliveries of the new Honda City will begin immediately from the HCIL dealer network of 332 facilities in 220 cities across thecountryhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-honda-city-launched-in-india-prices-start-at-rs-8-49-lakh-ex-delhi57141912Honda rolls out new City at starting price of Rs 850 lakhThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newshonda-rolls-out-new-city-at-starting-price-of-rs-850-lakharticle9543447eceHonda unveils much-awaited City 2017The Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautolauncheshonda-unveils-much-awaited-city-2017articleshow57142363cms 2017 Honda City Facelift launched at Rs850 lakhThe Statesman (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthestatesmancombusiness2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-8-50-lakh-1487059835htmlAutocar Indiahttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-849-lakh-404196aspxHonda City facelift launched at Rs 85 LakhAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinessautos140217honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-85-lakhhtmlHonda Introduces City facelift at Rs 85 LakhDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos140217honda-introduces-city-facelift-at-rs-85-lakhhtml
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Honda City 2017 bookings cross 5000 units Pooja ChatterjeeThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese carmaker Hondas newly launched 4th generation City 2017 has crossed 5000 bookings in 12days Out of 5000 70 percent bookings were for petrol variant
Bookings for New Honda City 2017 started from February 3 with an amount of Rs 21000 The car was launched on February 14 forRs 849990 (ex showroom Delhi)
The new Honda City 2017 will be offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades PetrolCVT will be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
The New Honda City 2017 will be available in 5 exterior colours ampndash Modern Steel Metallic (New) White Orchid PearlCarnelian Red Pearl Alabaster Silver Metallic and Golden Brown Metallic
The Diesel City is powered by the 15L i-DTEC engine which delivers maximum power of 100ps3600 rpm with a max torque of
200 Nm1750 rpm The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119ps6600 rpm and a torque of 145 N-m4600 rpm
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India said ampldquoThe Honda City has been our mostsuccessful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquos mostsuccessful sedan since its launch in 1998
The New Honda City 2017 is likely to act as a disruptive product for the carmaker and help it woo back its customers who shifted toMaruti Suzuki Ciaz one of the biggest competitor of the carhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshonda-city-2017-bookings-cross-5000-units57145018Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 cr m-cap hit post Q3Daily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-cr-m-cap-hit-post-q3-2322687
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Honda has no plans for a sub-Rs5 lakh car in India Amrit Rajmint (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Cars India Ltd will look to introduce more premium and bigger automobiles as it seeks to lift sales that havesagged 23 so far this financial year
In the meantime the Honda City sedan and the sub-4 meter notchback Amaze will be the two mainstays of the Japanese carmakerin India
On Tuesday Honda launched a new Honda City priced at Rs85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWe receive a lot of request to launch more premium and bigger carsamprdquo Yoichiro Ueno chief executive and presidentof Honda Cars India said in an interview ampldquoWe launched Accord Hybrid which is quite premium segment as it is a CBU It isreceiving quite good acceptance We are studying the potential for this sort of a bigger marketamprdquo
CBU is short for Completely Built Up and refers to a car that is completely imported
Honda needs to do something to boost sales in India The Japanese carmaker is way off its target of selling 300000 cars per yearin India by March 2017 Even globally Honda has scrapped its sales forecast of achieving seven million units by 2017 amid recallwoes
In India sales of Honda Cars during April-January declined 23 to 124000 units compared with an increase of 9 to 25 millionunits for the broader automobile industry in the same period
To be sure Honda is still a premium brand and its customers seem to be happy with its products It has performed consistently wellin the JD Power survey for customer satisfaction
But the Indian car market itself has changed There are more companies seeking premium playampmdasha phenomenon that Hondapioneered in India At the same time Honda does not have a strong presence in some key market segments
Honda has no plans to introduce a car in the sub-Rs5 lakh category in the near future said Ueno The sub-Rs5 lakh segmentaccounts for about 50 of total passenger vehicles sold in India
It does not have a compact sports utility vehicle eitherampmdashanother hot-selling segment although in March it plans to launch theWR-V a derivative of the Jazz hatchback reminiscent of an SUV The multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio didnamprsquot do too well andnor did the BR-V which Ueno says is a cross between an SUV and MPV
Honda launched the Brio hatchback and the Amaze in 2011 and 2012ampmdashlong after its rivals had entered these segments
ampldquoWe are not a late entrant but careful Weamprsquore careful about Indiaamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBelow Rs5 lakhwe are not launching Maybe it is not our market We are talking about a couple of years In the long term(when) big motorization comes and this sort of small cars become very popular we might consider For a while we arenamprsquotconsideringamprdquo Ueno said
When ampldquobig motorizationamprdquo actually happens Ueno says the Indian market can be as big as 10 million units per annum
As for the demand for SUVs Ueno said that the trend may not last
ampldquoSUV is a boom and we have seen that kind of a boom in many countries It will be there for some time maybe a few yearsWe have seen that in the US there was a big boom and even in Japanampmdashand then it droppedamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBut at some stage of the maturing of motorization SUVs do become popular At this moment many customers are choosingSUVs because of the rough road conditions Improvement of infrastructure is very very fast in India So some customers willcome back to sedans or other segments Always the market trend can be changedamprdquo he addedhttpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesFR2bp58jTndVKeuoPtF75KHonda-eyes-top-slot-in-sedan-segment-with-launch-of-new-Cityhtml
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Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese auto major Honda on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its best selling sedan City in India priced at betweenRs 85 lakh and Rs 1358 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWith the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price
I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo Honda Cars India president andCEO Yoichiro Ueno said
The City competes with Maruti Suzukiamprsquos Ciaz While City had been the segment leader for a long time it was recentlydethroned by the Ciaz The new City is an upgraded version of the 4th generationThe new version will be available in both petroland diesel options
While the petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel variant isavailable in the price range of Rs 1076 lakh to Rs 1357 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessHonda-unveils-new-City-bids-to-trump-Maruti-Ciazarticle17303948ece
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Honda lines up compact SUV Civic Pankaj DovalThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Civic will make a comeback in India as the Japanese car maker looks for a more aggressive play in thepremium-end while staying away from mass-market segment categories that are dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Hondahas been struggling to maintain growth in India and has reported negative numbers for the last 15 months in a row It will also drivein a new compact SUV -WR-V -based on the Jazz platform Yoichiro Ueno MD amp CEO of the Indian subsidiary told TOI here
Ueno said the company had attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with models such as Brio mini butcould not experience encouraging growth due to heightened competition from established players
The brand positioning is thus being scaled up We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning which is a bit morepremium though not luxury So we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai We would like to do that interms of products service and customer experience Petrol-only Civic had been one of the most-recognisable cars from the brandbut was moved out from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel
With petrol gaining traction in the market once again following decontrol of fuel prices the company is now keen to reintroduce thecar here
We are keen but we need some time to study and some period to meet the regulations for India Ueno said when asked aboutplans for the launch of Civic in India The model is expected to be launched within a year Ueno said WR-V will be launched prettysoonhttptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinessindia-businesshonda-lines-up-compact-suv-civicarticleshow57157599cms
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Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City Ajay ModiBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese car maker Honda is eyeing a bigger sedan ride from the launch of its fourth generation City which has beenfacing a challenge from rival Maruti Suzukis Ciaz City the best-selling model for Honda ever since it entered India in 1998 andsegment leader for years is now behind Ciaz in volumesSince the Honda brand was established in India with the City as the firstproduct it holds a special place in the company and also among the customers With this relaunch we believe we will regain thesegment leadership said Jnaneswar Sen senior vice-president (sales amp marketing) Honda Cars India
City has been launched at a price beginning Rs 850 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) and the top end variant is priced at Rs 1358 lakh Iam confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segment Honda Cars India President and CEOYoichiro Ueno said The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) So on a price point Maruti still has the edge But Sen said the new City is packed with several new featuresthat will bring buyers back In the last ten days the company has received advance bookings for about 5000 units (petrol and dieselcombined) of the new City
The significance of City is evident from its contribution to Hondas sales in India during the last nineteen years The Japanese automajor has sold approximately 13 million cars in the country since it arrived Every second car sold by the company happened to bea City
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
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Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
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Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
Top
Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
Top
Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
Top
E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
Top
Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
Top
Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
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Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
Top
MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million
Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation
Allied IndustriesEmissions EnvironmentFinance amp InsuranceOil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound
News MagazinesAll-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA
India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know
General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA
Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch
Worldamprsquos first commercial flying car now on sale
2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained
International NewsGeneral Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased
US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars
Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer
Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business
BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China
Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution
Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history
Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles
Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity
Dodge Viper is now officially sold out
Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles
Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster
South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche
2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors
Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138
MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady
EconomyRupee recovers ends 9 paise up
WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017
India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18
ClosingLast Financial Closing
Industry
Tata Motors consolidated Q3 PAT declines 96 at Rs 112 crore The Economic Times (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Indian automobile manufacturer Tata Motors has reported 96 percent decline in its consolidated Profit After Tax (PAT) forthird quarter of fiscal 2017 and stood at Rs 112 crore as against Rs 2953 crore for the corresponding quarter last fiscal informedthe automaker in a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing
For the nine months ended December 31 2016 the consolidated PAT was Rs 3220 crore as against Rs 6467 crore for thecorresponding period last year thereby registering de-growth of 50 percent
Tata Motors Standalone ResultsTata Motors has experienced 664 percent jump in its standalone Profit After Tax (PAT) for the quarter ended December 31 2016
was Rs 1046 crore against Rs 137 crore for the corresponding quarter last year informed the automaker in a Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
During the quarter commercial vehicle segments of the company witnessed demand shrinkage due to the demonetisation MampHCVsegment witnessed major pressure with a fall of year-on-year fall of 9 percent and LCV segment was overall flat Passengervehicles segment grew by 254 percent with car segment showing growth of 311 percent on the back of continued strong responseto the Tiago
Total exports grew by 346 percent during the quarter The sales (including exports) of commercial and passenger vehicles for thequarter ended December 31 2016 stood at 132572 units a growth of 75 percent as compared to the corresponding quarter lastyear
Jaguar Land Rover AutomotiveTotal Retail sales including the China JV in the third quarter were 149288 units up 85 percent on strong demand for productsprimarily reflecting higher volumes in China (including CJLR) North America and Europe led by strong sales of Discovery SportF-PACE and the new long wheel base XFL in China
Jaguar Land Rover wholesales and retails excluding the China JV for the quarter were 130910 units and 129893 unitsrespectively China JV wholesales and retails for the quarter were 21335 units and 19395 units respectively
PAT was pound167 million for the quarter ended December 31 2016 compared to pound440 million in the corresponding quarter last year
Tata Daewoo Commercial VehiclesTata Daewoo Commercial Vehicles has registered a net profit of approx Rs 90 crore in the quarter ended December 31 2016
Tata Motors FinanceTata Motors Finance on a consolidated basis registered net revenue from operations of Rs 688 crore and reported a Loss after taxof Rs 3 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrytata-motors-consolidated-q3-pat-declines-96-at-rs-112-crore57146248Tata Motors profit plunges 96 in Q3The Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertata-motors-profit-plunges-96-in-q3article9543424eceTata Motorsamprsquo Q3 profit down 96The Tribune (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinesstata-motors-q3-profit-down-96364160htmlDeep dent in TaMo profitThe Telegraph (Web Edition)httpswwwtelegraphindiacom1170215jspbusinessstory_135811jspWKO2hWOqBkgTata Motors posts 96 per cent profit plungeThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinesstata-motors-posts-96-per-cent-profit-plungearticleshow57149100cms Tata Motors net down 96 per cent on poor JLR domestic salesThe Indian Express (Web amp Print Edition)httpindianexpresscomarticlebusinesscompaniestata-motors-net-down-96-per-cent-on-poor-jlr-domestic-sales-4525524 Tata Motors profit dives 96 as JLR loses steamBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompaniestata-motors-profit-dives-96-as-jlr-loses-steam-117021401009_1htmlTata Motors net falls 96The Financial Express (Web Edition)httpwwwfinancialexpresscomindustrytata-motors-net-falls-96551636Steep fall in Jaguar profit dents Tata Motors earnings by 97Financial Chronicle (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomnewssteep-fall-jaguar-profit-dents-tata-motors-earnings-97-218Tata Motorsamprsquo net plunges 96The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessTata-MotorsE28099-net-plunges-96article17303912eceTata Motors net drops 96 as domestic ops bleed JLR strugglesDaily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-net-drops-96-as-domestic-ops-bleed-jlr-struggles-2323043Tata Motors Q3 profit plunges 96 on losses in India ops lower JLR profitmint (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesF9KOjTBH8jkg5jKVefnCSNTata-Motors-Q3-profit-slides-96-on-losses-in-India-ops-lowhtmlTata motors reports decline in quaterly profitAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinesscompanies140217tata-motors-reports-decline-in-quaterly-profithtmlTata Motors posts surprise 96 per cent dip in Q3 net profitDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos150217tata-motors-posts-surprise-96-per-cent-dip-in-q3-net-profithtmlTata Motors Q3 net profit drops 96Deccan Herald (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596436tata-motors-q3-net-profithtml
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One-offs dent Tata Motors Q3 performance
Ram Prasad SahuBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Tata Motors gave a disappointing performance for December quarter (Q3) as lower volumes lower realisations from salesand higher costs saw consolidated net profit falling to Rs 112 crore from Rs 2953 crore a year ago Volumes were lower atUK-based subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover and Indian unit JLR wholesale volumes were down five per cent as they ran out of unitsmade in 2016 due to preparations for Discovery launch in Q4FY17 Retail demand for JLR products continues to be strong onhigher orders from China North America and Europe led by Discovery Sport F-Pace and Jaguar XFL models
Volumes in Indian unit were disappointing as the key segment of medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MampHCV) saw salesdecline nine per cent in Q3 While light commercial vehicle volumes were flat some pressures were offset by high demand forTiago which helped car sales volumes improve 25 per cent year over year Export volumes grew a robust 345 per cent Analystssay the phase of subdued new product launches for Tata Motors is over and given new launches and refreshes in passenger andcommercial vehicles both they expect India volumes to improve substantially
Consolidated revenue at Rs 70567 was 44 per cent year over year on lower volumes and currency-translation impact of Rs 10670crore JLR revenue at pound65 billion was up 13 per cent year on year and on expected lines But a number of one-offs impactedoperating profitability Operating profit margin for JLR at 93 per cent compared to 144 per cent a year ago was due to inferiorproduct mix and negative leverage on lower volumes higher variable marketing mix new model launch costs unfavourable forexmovements biennial pay negotiation settlement and others Adjusted for foreign-exchange effect margin would have been 101per cent Analysts say many of these are one-offs and margin is expected to bounce back
Net profit for JLR at pound167 million as against pound440 million a year ago was due to higher depreciation and amortisation andmovements of foreign exchange commodity and US debt The positives for JLR are higher recoveries on Tianjin losses improvingChina venture profitability and lower net finance expenses Though overall India volumes were up 75 per cent revenues were flatat Rs 10167 crore Given operating profit of Rs 153 crore the company is barely making money Higher discounts also hitoperating performance Higher variable marketing expenses commodity costs depreciation as well as finance costs led to theIndian unit reporting a loss of Rs 1046 crore as against a loss of Rs 137 crore a year agohttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticleopinionone-offs-dent-tata-motors-q3-performance-117021401097_1html
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Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 crore m-cap hit post Q3 PTISee this story in The Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Shares of Tata Motors on Tuesday fell by nearly 5 per cent after the company reported a steep 9622 per cent decline inconsolidated net profit for the December quarter
The scrip sank 368 per cent to settle at Rs 48680 on BSE Intra-day it tanked 734 per cent to Rs 46830
The stock was the worst performer among the 30-BSE Sensex components
At NSE it dived 460 per cent to close at Rs 48205
Led by the decline in the stock the companys market valuation tumbled Rs 599323 crore to Rs 13993277 crore
On the volume front 1242 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over 1 crore shares changed hands at NSE duringthe day
Home-grown auto major Tata Motors has reported 9622 per cent drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 11157 crore for theDecember quarter dragged down by losses in domestic operations and lower profit of its British arm JLR
It had posted a net profit of Rs 295267 crore in the same quarter of the last fiscal Tata Motors said in a BSE filing
The companys consolidated sales during the October- December quarter were down 22 per cent at Rs 6786495 crore as againstRs 6939807 crore in the year-ago period
On a standalone basis Tata Motors loss after tax widened to Rs 1046 crore in the third quarter of 2016-17 from Rs 137 crore ayear agohttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financetata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-crore-m-cap-hit-post-q357148624Tata Motors skids 37 on poor resultThe Financial Expresshttpwwwfinancialexpresscomindustrytata-motors-skids-3-7-on-poor-result551567
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Tata Motors has a bumpy ride ahead with JLR misfiring Vatsala Kamatmint (Web amp Print Edition)
There are many reasons for the Tata Motors Ltd stock to have a bumpy rideampmdashthey range from the Brexit effect to Cyrus
Mistryamprsquos exit and more recently demonetization And now we have a deplorable set of numbers put forth by the company forthe December quarter which practically writes off the stockamprsquos near-term prospects Not surprisingly the stock plunged by 4and its DVR (differential voting rights) tanked even harder by 6 after the results were announced
Although the consolidated net revenue at Rs668551 crore was in tune with Street estimates it was the operating performance thatwas the biggest let-down It was harder to fathom because the UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover Ltd (JLR) which has been leadingprofits higher quarter after quarter for the first time hugely failed investors
Consolidated operating margin fell by about 500 basis points to 76 from a year ago mainly because JLRamprsquos upward margintrajectory was punctured It contracted from 144 to 93ampmdashthe first time to single digits since fiscal year 2010 The TataMotors management in its media meet explained that runout in one of its premium models significant marketing expenses biennialsalary negotiations and new model launches led to this margin drop Add to this an unfavourable currency and product mix too
One wonders though if its new product lines are yielding lower profit margins Indeed JLR sales have been maintained thanks tothe expansion in US markets even when China briefly wobbled and Europe was still inching up But higher market penetration andshare led to margin erosion during the quarter The consequent weak operating profit trickled down to weaker net profit almost halfof that clocked a year back
The story was similar for the stand-alone company on home ground too Demonetization impacted commercial vehicle salesthough its passenger cars fared better than the industry during the quarter But again it was the 345 basis points drop in operatingmargin to 15 that was a big let-down from the Streetamprsquos expectation of 42 Net loss at Rs1000 crore was more severethan that charted out by brokerage firms
Therefore the consolidated net profit of Rs1116 crore was a distant cry from the ambitious average expectation of Rs22645 croreby 20 Bloomberg analysts
For now it does not appear that the results disappointed on account of any one-off provisions or write-offs Therefore a bigger slidein the Tata Motors stock which closed at Rs48680 on Tuesday may not be surprising Certainly brokerage firms will trim theearnings forecast for the near term
Yes it cannot be ignored that JLR the prized cash-cow of Tata Motors is continuing to add sales volumes What needs to bewatched is whether growth will come at the cost of margins If so it will cap the earnings momentum leading to an erosion invaluation toohttpwwwlivemintcomMoneyRNNHsLKWnhup8oEQTJDwdMTata-Motors-has-a-bumpy-ride-ahead-with-JLR-misfiringhtml
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Eicher Motors hits three-month high stock up 10 post Q3 results Business Standard (Web Edition)
Mumbai Eicher Motors gained3 to Rs 25449 on the BSE in an otherwise subdued market The stock trading at its highest levelsince November 1 2016 is 45 away from its record high of Rs 26602 touched on September 29 2016 in intra-day trade
Thus far in February the stock has appreciated by 10 after the company reported good set of numbers for the quarter endedDecember 2016 (Q3FY17) In comparison the SampP BSE Sensex was up 24 during the period
Eicher Motors is engaged in manufacturing automobile products and related components The Company also owns the RoyalEnfield motorcycle business
The company had reported a strong 49 year on year (YoY) jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 417 crore in Q3FY17 on backof 43 YoY rise in total operational income at Rs 2071 crore It also recorded its highest ever and best-in-class EBITDA (earningsbefore interest tax depreciation and amortization) margin at 314
ampldquoRoyal Enfield (RE) margins expanded 50bps QoQ340bps YoY to 318 beating our estimates of 308 Margins weredriven by a 150bps reduction in other expenses due to lower marketing expenditureamprdquo analysts at Religare InstitutionalResearch said in a results preview The broking firm maintains amplsquobuyamprsquo ration on the stock with target price of Rs 27500
Meanwhile RE the two-wheeler division of Eicher Motors reported a 25 jump in total sales at 59676 units in January Thetwo-wheeler manufacturer had sold 47710 units in January 2016
At 0107 pm the stock was up 23 at Rs 25348 as compared to 002 decline in the SampP BSE Sensex A combined 46838shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE so farhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlemarketseicher-motors-hits-three-month-high-stock-up-10-post-q3-results-117021400340_1html
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The Budget 2017 Hard task Shekar ViswanathanDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Much has been written and said on this and the modal rating of the budget is a healthy 7 out of 10 This stems from the fact that themost refreshing feature of the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley statement is the recognition that the salaried class has been paying its
taxes as a result of the tax deducted at source provision that enables the taxman to collect taxes most easily
In fact the FM went on to say that it is salaried tax payers who have been carrying the burden of paying taxes and having to makeup for those who have not been paying these taxes So the reduction of taxes in the tax brackets up to Rs 5 lakh is something tocheer about
Hard driveThe auto sector has reason to be less than pleased as it was unfairly made the villain of the piece last year when two of itsmembers found their state of the art vehicles banned by the Supreme Court in the NCR on the specious reasoning of vehiclesabove 2000 cc being more polluting
Yet in the current budget there was no measure announced by the Government in scrapping old vehicles particularly those usingengines compatible only with older grade BS 1 BS2 and BS3 fuel
A scrappage scheme would have been most helpful in removing old vehicles from the road and putting in newer vehiclesenhancing tax collections thereby and ensuring that a culture of pollution reduction takes root Indeed a missed opportunity
Further more a formal scheme to capture the second hand vehicle trade and bring it within the tax net would have been a healthyprecursor to the advent of GST this July
The income arising out of the transfer of carbon credits is sought to be taxed at 10 of such income This is not encouraging at allRather the Government of India would have done well to incentivise the generation of carbon credit as this will force companies tolook for environment friendly ways to generate production Those who buy carbon credits ought to have been taxed Infrastructurespend of course has been fixed at Rs 64000 crore ampndash while this is laudable it remains to be seen whether the government cansustain the spend at the scorching pace of 133 km per day
While numbers are important in a budget this is one area where implementation is key to evaluating whether the budget direction issuccessful or not
The hard analysisThe auto sectoramprsquos growth has always been linked to job creation With the punitive tax structure on excise in respect of thebigger cars this sector has hardly been incentivised to grow
The magic of the auto sector is that for every vehicle built the jobs in the service sector grow concomitantly whether it is in simpleservice jobs for autos or in the allied financial services and certainly in the auto component sector
Small cars do not necessarily mean lower pollution or lower congestion which is the bane of Indian urban roads People mover carssuch as the 8 seaters equipped with state of the art engines and compatible with modern fuels ought to have been encouraged witha lower tax structure to provide last mile connectivity and to lessen the scourge of pollutionhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596410budget-2017-hard-taskhtml
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Interviews amp Features
At the end of the day we are enablers and everyone has to sell more Ramesh Iyer VC amp MD MampM Financial Services The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Ramesh Iyer VC amp MD MampM Financial Services talks to ET Now about the future of MampM Financils and how much demonetisationhas hit their business if at all
There are concerns which are visible in terms of what is going to happen to the demand side or in terms of fresh NPA formation oneis getting a sense that at least fresh NPA formation has stopped
I very strongly think that it is nothing new I mean it has happened for different reasons may be but what we hear from the customeris that the sentiments are pretty positive at least the monsoon cash flows have been very supportive the farm cash flows havedefinitely improved over the third quarter to fourth quarter as we see I would therefore think that the sentiments are returningpositive and with little infrastructure that will commence in different states I would think the rural should do well
After getting listed your numbers are getting slightly more difficult for an outsider to predict why is thatIf you look at pre-listing we might have been almost a single product company like we were just doing may be Mahindra Vehiclesand then we added tractors to that so it was much more easier for someone to predict because you knew what is happening outthere
We derisk ourselves by going to more geography and then more products so that got in different segments of customers and theynot necessarily behave the same way like a tractor would have behaved earlier so that is one of the reasons why this becomes
Also the reasons are earlier it was so easy to understand the first half in rural is not as good as the second half is With the delayedmonsoon the crop money gets delayed it moves from third to fourth quarter so everyone kind of understands will it be good in thethird quarter suddenly you see a shift happening to the fourth quarter
Over a period of time the rural cash flow has also moved from just farm dependent to also infra based cash flow so when it moved
into first time into infra base cash flow I think it was more stable every quarter had some numbers coming in once it gets to a largersize there are some delays in government payments or from tractor payments etc
All customers that we work with are earn and pay customers they are not fixed cash flow customers so it will always be thechallenge to predict in a earn and pay segment as to when is this earning going to come in and how are they going to dischargetheir liabilities But what is important to look at a model like this is look at a contractual period of three years you will never find wemake less money than we promise to make
Are you getting a sense that Q4 onwards things will look substantially better
So demonetisation did what to us one is 8th November to end November none of us knew what exactly should be our reaction howdo we take it forward what do we do
Customers were kind of guessing as to what they should be doing I think December showed a very different number to uscustomers started getting used to this money did comeback into the market in some form So demonetisation impact is it gotaccepted well a new format has been found and going forward seems to be definitely good but we should not forget that ultimatelyagain I am repeating the customers are earn and pay customer their overall transaction volumes have to go
Farm cash flows are pretty positive I think the money is coming in what was to come in the third quarter possibly has got shifted tothe fourth quarter The January crop is good and therefore we do think that the flow of money from farm will definitely be good Ithink another important thing to look at is look at state by state these businesses are no more to be looked at India as a whole
If some states are doing well from a growth perspective we resources ourselves well there and if some states need higher attentionfrom a recovery perspective then we resource ourselves differently in those states
So you find us adjusting to this so these are models which are getting into what is your ability to quickly readjust to the new normalunlike before you had a stable situation you put a model in place work around it for three years-four years time now I think it isgetting to a situation where what is your ability to kind of quickly react to a changing scenario how fast can you change what is theflexibility of your organisation as a peopleamprsquos competence and capability anyone who does all of this well I think will still have agreat future also
So when do you think the new cycle will start for you in terms of demand and in terms of recovery
We did not have had too much of pressure on demand you see if somebody wanted us to grow at 25 per cent we have not grown atthat but I think at the end of the day we are enablers and everyone has to sell more but for example the tractors did well We alsogrow in tractors our market share went up as well as volumes went up
So if you look at our books we still have a growth rate of anywhere between 12 and 15 per cent now someone has used toMahindra Finance growth rate of 25-30 per cent continues to think that we are not growing enough and I want to correct thatimpression to say on a large book growing at 15 per cent is a good enough growth
So 15 per cent growth is a new normal for you now
I would not say so but 15 per cent in the current situation is a great growth is that the way I would put it Yes you can get back to a25 per cent I mean look at for the same volume that disbursements are low because the discounts on the product is high See if thediscounts vcanish you get another 5-7 per cent growth happening and then of course the value of the price goes up for that tractoror cars or anything then you get a growth and then the volumes kicks in
So asset side growth I am not too worried we have deeper penetration large customer base we are in close to 300000 plus villagesin this country so why should I worry much about the growth out there
Historically if you look at a book NPA might have climbed up climbed down whichever way it has happened our credit losses havenever gone beyond 225-24 per cent which is well priced into our pricing into the customer
So I am not again overly worried about the peaking of NPA like the norms changed from 150 to 120 we move to 120 We have notchanged our aggressive provisioning that we were doing even otherwise We will need to move to 90 so I do not think one needs tolook at NPAs as a standalone number to say how is the NPA moving up let us look at if the NPA is moving up what is the coveragethat you have got but eventually is the collateral competent and capable enough to protect the principal there we are prettyconfident because loan to asset value is the key to success of this business
So if you are kind of restricted yourself to somewhere around 75-77 per cent or even go up to 80 per cent and someone repays 10instalments on a three year or a four year period I think we are well protected and therefore that is not the big worry Yessituationally cash flows need to improve money starts coming back then past provisions bring back your profits and futureprovisions no need to be these aggressive
Historically your book has doubled in 24 to 28 months but that was when you are growing at about 25 per cent 25 has become 15so can I assume that your book now will double in three and a half to four years not before that
If it is 15 per cen it it will take about four years or so but I continue to believe that this growth rate will change as the volumesincreases like last month we saw Maruti retail numbers were good so we got the benefit of it
We normally do about 8000-9000 vehicles we crossed 12000 vehicles so in overall car market for us is also growing
Mahindra UV numbers are growing for us tractor numbers are growing pre-owned vehicle will be a growth story for us We havestill not a significant player when it comes to commercial vehicle construction equipment once the infrastructure story unfolds I thinkwe will get benefit of these happening as well
I think to get back to a 25 per cent kind of a growth story two-three things need to happen overall volumes need to improve there Ithink the discounts on products need to vanish if these two happens even without a price increase on the vehicle I think the growthrate will return to some new number We are putting in place a direct marketing initiative where we reach out to our customers andthrough them we are actually growing more business
So there clearly go to a customer he gets you more customer in the village so I think I am again not too worried about when will weget to 25 per cent I think we are ready to get to there if few of these fundamentals change I think getting a 25 per cent should not bea challenge if that happens going back to doubling in three years should happen
Your agrarian income has been under pressure rural infrastructure has not picked up and yet you are doing at 15 per cent so 15per cent is the base
I would think so but except that one should know we are at the end of the day an enabler if somebody is not doing well we can onlydo so much I think everyone sense the numbers that they are doing today we are pretty sure that our market shares would not fall ifany of our market share is only growing and therefore if that is converting itself into 15 per cent I think the answer is yes
If the agrarian income picks up what happens to you if the infrastructure picks up what happens to you and if they both pick upwhat happens to you
If you kind of go back into history when both were doing well let us say from somewhere between 11-12 to 13-14 times we sawalmost and every state both of this doing well possibly and therefore we had a great growth story from 10 onwards
We have had situations in the past and let us take some state in particular let us take Maharashtra or take any state of that matter ifthe monsoon does not do well I think the sentiments go low and I think about 40-50 per cent of the cash flow does come from thefarm cash flow so therefore to that extent things goes slow they start getting delayed So when you said six months farm cash flowsare expected to be good we reasonably believe 50-60 per cent of the book will normally behave in a very decent manner
Then look at each state as to which state is spending on what on infrastructure look at Andhra it has done well for us look at partsof Maharashtra Rajasthan parts of MP UP Bihar so we have had states which have done well and we have had states in the pastlike Tamil Nadu etc going slow for us So I think if the infra at the state level starts picking up may not be a large project but even acontinuing work there the labour and asset absorption if it happens well in state level I think our book should do normally wellbecause we are not financing a large contractors nor are we really financing the marginal customer
Our customers are someone who can afford to bring a 25 per cent margin on any assets it is close to about 15-2 lakh plus so if thatkind of a customer is what we are supporting I think he looks for a stable earnings on a monthly or a quarterly basis for him to beable to service the loan Even today if you look at our NPA numbers while it may be little elevated but you look at the progress inthose numbers customers are at least 60 per cent of the NPL customers are repaying their instalments they are not earning enoughto pay for the past So these stability is what we look for and then once the cash flow improves they get corrected
Are there any key categories which you have identified which will grow at 100 per cent or 75 per cent for next couple of years
If you look at our pre-owned book we are at about 8-10 per cent of the book is pre-owned vehicle we think that is a large opportunitybecause and I am not talking of commercial vehicle pre-owned that is not where we are but tractors utility vehicles cars
We have large number of customers about every year at least about 25-3 lakh customers contract mature So we are putting inplace an arrangement where when they sell their vehicle to someone else who wants to buy we know the vehicle we know thebackground of the vehicle we know the customer who is selling and the customer who is buying so I think that is a segment that willhelp us grow bigger and better that also comes with a much higher margin well the value of disbursements could be much lower butthat segment is something that we will see grow from a current 10-12 per cent book going up to may be 15-18 per cent
Is that is why your spreads are higher naturally because you are in a condition to lend more efficientlyExactly so we go more deeper we engage ourselves with the customer and in difficult times like this customer choose to buy apre-owned vehicle before he can go and buy any vehicle so it is a great opportunity
What could be that big change for Mahindra Financials what is that big thing which will give you a frog leap
We look at who is planning what so we look at what is MampMamprsquos plan in terms of vehicle launches how deep are they goinghow many dealers how are they doing Tractor also we look at Marutiamprsquos launch when we look at everyone else who iscoming with a rural vehicle we are now working with Nissan we are working with Renault we are working with Toyota we areworking with JCB all of them are looking at a customer out there
So what is it that we are looking for we are looking for all of them to really penetrate deeper we help some of them to go there andsome of the products attract customers there I think the two together makes a new volume there
So you remind me of this old Hindi movie dialogue roti kapda makaan that is what you always believe inYes precisely because we are giving product loan which is livelihood we give shelter housing loans we give insurance as asecurity loan We are willing to give them personal loans to meet their personal aspirations so I think that is our jobhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomopinioninterviewsat-the-end-of-the-day-we-are-enablers-and-everyone-has-to-sell-more-ramesh-iyer-vc-md-mm-financial-servicesarticleshow57143635cms
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Here is how much it will cost to personalize your Maruti Suzuki Ignis Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Maruti Suzuki with its Ignis has been very clear on its target audience and the target customer for the company hasbeen the amplsquomillennialsamprsquo or the youngsters of the country born between 1980-90 The company has a wider productportfolio to address to small family cars to executive sedans for corporate demand MPV Ertiga for Indian family needs SUV stylingon its Vitara Brezza and with Ignis it wants to diversify its product offering to attract the youth first time buyers
Launch at a concert using car emoji while using IGNIS on twitter and many more marketing stunts by the company certainlyhelped to create that initial buzz which the company was looking for On the product front also Maruti Suzuki announced variouspersonalisation and customisation options to give that individual look and below is the cost involved to customise Maruti SuzukiIgnis
Maruti Suzuki Ignis is being offered in 9 colours except for the base variant which only gets white silver and grey colour optionsCustomisation on Ignis is available on all the trims of all petrol diesel and automatic variants This is also the second offering afterMaruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza to get customisation options
Maruti Suzuki Ignis exterior customisation optionsOn the exterior you get to choose to include body side moulding cladding on the side door visor roof wrap roof spoiler and a fewother options Roof wraps also known as Crowners are available in 4 different patterns and number of colours Digiscape RadicalImplode and unbox are the names of the patterns of the crowners on option which costs an additional of Rs 9990
There is also an option of adding a roof line spoiler at Rs 5590 and for the carbon finish roof spoiler costs about 10990 Body sidemouldings are offered 6 colours
Overall You will end up paying about Rs13000 ampndash 16000 more on your choice of Ignis variant for exterior customisation
Maruti Suzuki Ignis customisation options (interiors)The interiors of the cars can also be tweaked and rather than doing it from a vendor outside its always good to get the factory fittedkits on a new car Inside the car you get an option of interior styling kit which includes ambient lighting there is also a huge rangeof floor mats seat covers to choose from Footers or floor mats comes with Ignis embossed on it to increase the personalised feel
Other features that you can include to personalise Maruti Suzuki Ignis are addition of Black alloy wheels crossbar cladding glassline spoiler door visor steering wheel finished in leather and rear-seat infotainment system
The infotainment system is not available on all variants specially on the automatic variants so the company is offering anaftermarket Kenwood infotainment system which is post-factory fitted equipment and will be installed at the Nexa dealership
At about Rs35000-40000 extra on your preferred Ignis variant you will be able to personalize the whole car Maruti Suzuki Ignis isthe only car in its segment to offer this personalization options This was introduced by the company since the launch and so far iswell recieved The company sold a total of 4830 units of its Ignis since its launch in January 2017httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshere-is-how-much-it-will-cost-to-personalize-your-maruti-suzuki-ignis57140666
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Opinion Rebirth of Ambassador brand Santosh DesaiThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
The selling of the Ambassador brand to Peugeot is an eyebrow raiser Why would anyone want to revive a car that is deservedlydead and in the minds of many took far too long in its death sequence a la a Hindi film hero in the 70s
Clearly Peugeot has no interest in the car in its physical form what it is buying is the idea of the Ambassador and the meaning thatit can give it in todays context
There is something about the Ambassador that lends itself to nostalgic affection Unlike the more sensible Fiat which offered atimid version of the modern and hence stops short of evoking an era and a culture the Ambassadors relation with the modern wasfrosty It remained steadfastly true to its own sensibilities largely because it refused to change or perhaps lacked the capability todo so
Barring minor modifications that were universally mocked at for their transparent lack of ambition the Ambassador stood its groundfor a long time Eventually it did change its engine but it was too late by then Its time was over once the hot plastic era of theMaruti made its appearance
In its time the Ambassador reigned supreme Its lines were inspired by a matrons commodious petticoats and its interiors had thecomfortable well-worn shabbiness of the Indian drawing room The gears shifted with a grunt and the car began its journey with agroan It drove one with the laconic recalcitrance of the father while offering you the familiar comfort of a mothers lap
One sprawled inside the car when not carrying ones entire brood of third cousins and their family friends to the railway station toreceive or to see someone off in the dead of night The car was large solid and rounded nothing about its design acknowledgedthat it was an object designed to move Indeed it seemed to actively shun any association with aerodynamics
The Ambassador squatted on the ground embracing its own centre of gravity It was a car that clearly believed that it was better towaddle than to race and moved with stolid disregard for ones surroundings or ones intent The Ambassador was status quo onwheels a car that allowed one to stand still even as one moved and to do so with ones entire way of life intact
It pointed nowhere and took us nowhere which was where we wanted to be The Ambassador was equanimity in a world where
abruptness was the norm Traffic on Indian roads might have been slow but it was always sudden Roads disappeared from undertheir feet cows changed their minds about moving buses decided to come tearing down the wrong side for a closer look andpedestrians stopped in the middle of the road to scratch themselves meditatively
The car itself was a constant source of uncertainty- it stalled leaked oil the brake fluid ran out at odd times of course it could alsobe repaired anywhere by virtually any mechanic and so life chugged along The ability to accommodate anything - peoplemerchandise circumstances recurring dents and scrapes breakdowns - without showing any sign of strain made the car a naturalin the Indian context
At the surface level the Ambassador might offer an easy route to marketable nostalgia particularly in the West It is a quirky riposteto the modern and works at the level of an ironic joke But this is the kind of appeal that works fast and dissipates even fasterHowever there is something more substantial about the idea of the Ambassador apart from its incongruous looks
The idea of the Ambassador potentially holds allure today because it tells us that it is possible to completely disregard context Itexposes the fuss that cars make about moving from point A to point B as being unnecessary Neither motion nor the car as anobject of desire are fetishised According to the Ambassador one can be a placid cow chewing cud while the world goes on aroundit spinning out of control The individual finds no reflection in the car the fluidity of time and fashion mean nothing to it It restores tothe car the idea of affectionate and comfortable warmth it feels like home should
Equanimity is the ornament of those that understand time One doesnt have to hurry the world doesnt need to be about oneselfone is secure in the knowledge that current events will pass however unlikely it seems today When one is home the world outsideholds few terrors at least for the time being
And while this idea has been born out of India and its realities today it is unlikely that this idea will find much resonance in India foras a country we have traded placid wisdom for prickly ambition Even if Peugeot were to re-present the Ambassador in anacceptably contemporary form the country today wants to see a more desirable face in the mirror The individual wants to seehimself and his future in the car he drives
The idea of the Ambassador becomes in effect a return to an earlier era and there is little appetite for that today Globally on theother hand it might be another story The brands attractiveness to a company like Peugeot lies in the fact that the Ambassador isabove all a brand It stands for an idea that is located in a culture and it signifies a belief in some values
It has a design ethos and a point of view about mobility and indeed about the world we live in today It is unlikely to offer theopportunity to build a huge global brand but there is a truth that it speaks that could potentially create value for the Frenchcompany Shorn of the shoddy product that carried this name it might just be that the underlying idea of the Ambassador hasrelevance in todays timeshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsopinion-rebirth-of-ambassador-brand57138047
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Ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave says Munjal N V VijayakumarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru Hero MotoCorp Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pawan Munjal is working hard to take the brand Hero on theglobal automotive landscape He believes that Hero MotoCorpamprsquos global expansion will help the company achieve asustainable growth in the long run
Being the largest producer of two-wheeler globally with over 65 million vehicles a year Munjal says the companyamprsquos strategyis product-centric for each geography Munjal tells DHamprsquos N VacirceuroˆVijayakumar that the company will reach 50 global marketswithin 2020
Can you elaborate your global expansion plan
We are going global to tap the huge untapped opportunities for growth We entered the global market after beginning our solojourney six years ago The launch in Argentina marks our foray into the 35th country globally We are right now present across AsiaAfrica and South and Central America
Our rapid expansion in these regions helped us build our brand identity We are present in these regions with a range of popularmotorcycles and scooters across segments which are known for their fuel efficiency performance and durability We expect thatthe mix of our product portfolio and after sales service efficiency will bring us ahead of the curve in these markets
How do you view the global economic environment
We also realise the fact that political or economic uncertainties are looming large globally We have to understand that suchuncertainties are present in every sphere of activity and that should not deter us from pursuing our long-term goals and vision Webelieve our global expansion is an opportunity for sustainable growth in the long run
We believe that we can achieve 10 of total sales from global operations by 2020 We do hope that we will scale up further afterthat We are planning to enter the Mexican and Brazilian markets soon
Do you believe that your volume play will help in the global expansion plan
We have to achieve some basic volume mass to make certain impact in the market The size and scale of Hero MotoCorp in the
Indian market is a big advantage when we foray into any global market
This helps us choose the distributor partner In terms of continent we are focussing on various continents and by 2020 we will get asolid idea of the market Then we will be focussing on 12 to 15 markets as they will help us grow Some markets will grow on theirown steam
We believe that we should focus on low hanging fruits in the markets like Latin America and Africa where we can achieve thevolume Unlike the western market especially the US and the South-East Asian markets geographies like Latin America and Africawe do not have to face any complications and no competition from existing established players from Japan Having said that wehavenamprsquot lost focus on global product planning
How do you view the domestic market
Hero MotoCorp finds huge potential from the domestic market as our growth comes from there only We are very much focused onchanges in the customer preference and this is clearly revealed during the last Auto Expo
We find a lot of traction in the premium and high performance products We feel in these segments our market share is very less orwe are entirely missing Also since our domestic two-wheeler penetration is still only around 30 we think there is still growth inthe mass market segment ranging from 100 cc to 150 cc
We are also registering steady growth in the scooter segment We aspire Hero MotoCorp achieve greater market share in thissegment than our current position
How do you view the investment made in RampD
We invested heavily in our new Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) located at Jaipur A lot of design and development workson premium products are currently happening there We have already made it with the new Achiever 150 The next one will beXtreme 200S a premium product which is already showcased at the Auto Expo last year
We want to come up with products that suit each geography as part of our global expansion and the centre will play a key role inthat Till now we donamprsquot have any global product and the CIT will come up with products that are truly global in nature and takeHero MotoCorp ahead of competition
Can you share your take on the growing importance of electric vehicles hybrid vehicles and ride sharing
I believe that ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave The world is really moving in that direction and we are alsocommitted to that Our research activities with electric vehicles are progressing at the CIT The government will have to focus onthis and I believe that we are not isolated in that as they have started their initiatives We have invested in two startups electricscooter startup Ather Energy based out of Bengaluru and ride-sharing bike taxi startup Rapido Cost and affordability will decide thegrowth of the hybrid products We have already displayed hybrid products at the Auto Expo
Startups are the rage of the day What is your take on this
I personally believe that lots of innovation happen in the startup culture Sometimes large companies are not able to do thosethings We also believe that big companies like Hero and other players should provide the ecosystem so that startups can alsoprosperhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596412ride-sharing-electric-vehicles-nexthtml
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Cars SUVs MUVs
2017 Honda City launched in India Prices start at Rs 849 lakh (Ex-Delhi) Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese car maker Honda Cars India launched the facelift on its 4th generation Honda City 2017 Thepetrol variants of Honda City are priced Rs 849 lakh - 1352 lakh (Ex-Delhi) at and the diesel variants of Honda City costs Rs1075 lakh - 1356 at (Ex- Delhi)
Honda City variant line-up now gets the addition of a new flagship grade ampndash ampldquoZXamprdquo
Honda City facelift now gets a wide-opening bumper design and a new signature front chrome grille with intricate design connectingthe two headlights The LED package including the integrated LED DRL which is now standard across all variants the inline LEDheadlamps LED fog lampsLED RR Combi LED license plate lamps trunk lid spoiler with LED
The car now also gets new diamond-cut and two-tone alloy wheel design for both 15 and 16 inch wheels The new City also hasfirst-in-segment auto-folding door mirrors in V VX and ZX grades
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India Ltd said ampldquoThe Honda City has been ourmost successful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquosmost successful sedan since its launch in 1998 It has also been the industry benchmark for quality and has been ranked No 1 by
the JD Power Initial Quality Study 14 times since its inception in the Indian marketamprdquo
ampldquoWith the launch of a much-enhanced new Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations byoffering amazing value at a very competitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in thesegmentamprdquo he added
Interiors are finished in dual-tone beige amp black trim Honda City also gets a 177 cm touchscreen infotainment system called theDigipad which supports navigation voice recognition Bluetooth and also Wi-Fi support for internet The infotainment system isavailable on the V VX and ZX grades
The car also features a soft-touch dashboard on passenger side and new white illumination in the advanced 3D multi-informationmeter Other important interior feature includes chrome plating on steering switches and chrome plated knobs for rear-aircon ventThe car continues to get the tilt and telescopic steering adjustment StartStop ignition system button fully auto-dimming insiderear-view mirror and LED interior cabin lights
The ZX grade also has both rear-adjustable headrests
The interiors of the new City are beige upholstery with dual-tone beige amp black trims
Honda City continues to get the same 15L i-DTEC diesel engine of Earth Dream Technology series which sheds a power of 100 Psand a peak torque of 200 Nm Honda City diesel claims a mileage of 256 Kmpl The engine is mated to a 6-speed manualtransmission
The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119 ps and a torque of 145 NmIt has been mated with the same CVT gearbox with 7-speed paddle shifters and claims a mileage of 18 kmpl The 5-speed manualtransmission delivers an impressive fuel efficiency of 174 kmpl
Honda is offering dual SRS airbags ABS with EBD as a standard safety features across all its variants The new ZX variant gets 6air-bags automatic headlamp and auto rain-sensing wipers
The new Honda City 2017 is offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades Petrol CVTwill be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
Honda is also offereing 3 accessory packages on the facelifted City
Deliveries of the new Honda City will begin immediately from the HCIL dealer network of 332 facilities in 220 cities across thecountryhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-honda-city-launched-in-india-prices-start-at-rs-8-49-lakh-ex-delhi57141912Honda rolls out new City at starting price of Rs 850 lakhThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newshonda-rolls-out-new-city-at-starting-price-of-rs-850-lakharticle9543447eceHonda unveils much-awaited City 2017The Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautolauncheshonda-unveils-much-awaited-city-2017articleshow57142363cms 2017 Honda City Facelift launched at Rs850 lakhThe Statesman (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthestatesmancombusiness2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-8-50-lakh-1487059835htmlAutocar Indiahttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-849-lakh-404196aspxHonda City facelift launched at Rs 85 LakhAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinessautos140217honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-85-lakhhtmlHonda Introduces City facelift at Rs 85 LakhDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos140217honda-introduces-city-facelift-at-rs-85-lakhhtml
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Honda City 2017 bookings cross 5000 units Pooja ChatterjeeThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese carmaker Hondas newly launched 4th generation City 2017 has crossed 5000 bookings in 12days Out of 5000 70 percent bookings were for petrol variant
Bookings for New Honda City 2017 started from February 3 with an amount of Rs 21000 The car was launched on February 14 forRs 849990 (ex showroom Delhi)
The new Honda City 2017 will be offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades PetrolCVT will be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
The New Honda City 2017 will be available in 5 exterior colours ampndash Modern Steel Metallic (New) White Orchid PearlCarnelian Red Pearl Alabaster Silver Metallic and Golden Brown Metallic
The Diesel City is powered by the 15L i-DTEC engine which delivers maximum power of 100ps3600 rpm with a max torque of
200 Nm1750 rpm The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119ps6600 rpm and a torque of 145 N-m4600 rpm
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India said ampldquoThe Honda City has been our mostsuccessful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquos mostsuccessful sedan since its launch in 1998
The New Honda City 2017 is likely to act as a disruptive product for the carmaker and help it woo back its customers who shifted toMaruti Suzuki Ciaz one of the biggest competitor of the carhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshonda-city-2017-bookings-cross-5000-units57145018Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 cr m-cap hit post Q3Daily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-cr-m-cap-hit-post-q3-2322687
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Honda has no plans for a sub-Rs5 lakh car in India Amrit Rajmint (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Cars India Ltd will look to introduce more premium and bigger automobiles as it seeks to lift sales that havesagged 23 so far this financial year
In the meantime the Honda City sedan and the sub-4 meter notchback Amaze will be the two mainstays of the Japanese carmakerin India
On Tuesday Honda launched a new Honda City priced at Rs85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWe receive a lot of request to launch more premium and bigger carsamprdquo Yoichiro Ueno chief executive and presidentof Honda Cars India said in an interview ampldquoWe launched Accord Hybrid which is quite premium segment as it is a CBU It isreceiving quite good acceptance We are studying the potential for this sort of a bigger marketamprdquo
CBU is short for Completely Built Up and refers to a car that is completely imported
Honda needs to do something to boost sales in India The Japanese carmaker is way off its target of selling 300000 cars per yearin India by March 2017 Even globally Honda has scrapped its sales forecast of achieving seven million units by 2017 amid recallwoes
In India sales of Honda Cars during April-January declined 23 to 124000 units compared with an increase of 9 to 25 millionunits for the broader automobile industry in the same period
To be sure Honda is still a premium brand and its customers seem to be happy with its products It has performed consistently wellin the JD Power survey for customer satisfaction
But the Indian car market itself has changed There are more companies seeking premium playampmdasha phenomenon that Hondapioneered in India At the same time Honda does not have a strong presence in some key market segments
Honda has no plans to introduce a car in the sub-Rs5 lakh category in the near future said Ueno The sub-Rs5 lakh segmentaccounts for about 50 of total passenger vehicles sold in India
It does not have a compact sports utility vehicle eitherampmdashanother hot-selling segment although in March it plans to launch theWR-V a derivative of the Jazz hatchback reminiscent of an SUV The multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio didnamprsquot do too well andnor did the BR-V which Ueno says is a cross between an SUV and MPV
Honda launched the Brio hatchback and the Amaze in 2011 and 2012ampmdashlong after its rivals had entered these segments
ampldquoWe are not a late entrant but careful Weamprsquore careful about Indiaamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBelow Rs5 lakhwe are not launching Maybe it is not our market We are talking about a couple of years In the long term(when) big motorization comes and this sort of small cars become very popular we might consider For a while we arenamprsquotconsideringamprdquo Ueno said
When ampldquobig motorizationamprdquo actually happens Ueno says the Indian market can be as big as 10 million units per annum
As for the demand for SUVs Ueno said that the trend may not last
ampldquoSUV is a boom and we have seen that kind of a boom in many countries It will be there for some time maybe a few yearsWe have seen that in the US there was a big boom and even in Japanampmdashand then it droppedamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBut at some stage of the maturing of motorization SUVs do become popular At this moment many customers are choosingSUVs because of the rough road conditions Improvement of infrastructure is very very fast in India So some customers willcome back to sedans or other segments Always the market trend can be changedamprdquo he addedhttpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesFR2bp58jTndVKeuoPtF75KHonda-eyes-top-slot-in-sedan-segment-with-launch-of-new-Cityhtml
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Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese auto major Honda on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its best selling sedan City in India priced at betweenRs 85 lakh and Rs 1358 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWith the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price
I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo Honda Cars India president andCEO Yoichiro Ueno said
The City competes with Maruti Suzukiamprsquos Ciaz While City had been the segment leader for a long time it was recentlydethroned by the Ciaz The new City is an upgraded version of the 4th generationThe new version will be available in both petroland diesel options
While the petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel variant isavailable in the price range of Rs 1076 lakh to Rs 1357 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessHonda-unveils-new-City-bids-to-trump-Maruti-Ciazarticle17303948ece
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Honda lines up compact SUV Civic Pankaj DovalThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Civic will make a comeback in India as the Japanese car maker looks for a more aggressive play in thepremium-end while staying away from mass-market segment categories that are dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Hondahas been struggling to maintain growth in India and has reported negative numbers for the last 15 months in a row It will also drivein a new compact SUV -WR-V -based on the Jazz platform Yoichiro Ueno MD amp CEO of the Indian subsidiary told TOI here
Ueno said the company had attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with models such as Brio mini butcould not experience encouraging growth due to heightened competition from established players
The brand positioning is thus being scaled up We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning which is a bit morepremium though not luxury So we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai We would like to do that interms of products service and customer experience Petrol-only Civic had been one of the most-recognisable cars from the brandbut was moved out from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel
With petrol gaining traction in the market once again following decontrol of fuel prices the company is now keen to reintroduce thecar here
We are keen but we need some time to study and some period to meet the regulations for India Ueno said when asked aboutplans for the launch of Civic in India The model is expected to be launched within a year Ueno said WR-V will be launched prettysoonhttptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinessindia-businesshonda-lines-up-compact-suv-civicarticleshow57157599cms
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Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City Ajay ModiBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese car maker Honda is eyeing a bigger sedan ride from the launch of its fourth generation City which has beenfacing a challenge from rival Maruti Suzukis Ciaz City the best-selling model for Honda ever since it entered India in 1998 andsegment leader for years is now behind Ciaz in volumesSince the Honda brand was established in India with the City as the firstproduct it holds a special place in the company and also among the customers With this relaunch we believe we will regain thesegment leadership said Jnaneswar Sen senior vice-president (sales amp marketing) Honda Cars India
City has been launched at a price beginning Rs 850 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) and the top end variant is priced at Rs 1358 lakh Iam confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segment Honda Cars India President and CEOYoichiro Ueno said The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) So on a price point Maruti still has the edge But Sen said the new City is packed with several new featuresthat will bring buyers back In the last ten days the company has received advance bookings for about 5000 units (petrol and dieselcombined) of the new City
The significance of City is evident from its contribution to Hondas sales in India during the last nineteen years The Japanese automajor has sold approximately 13 million cars in the country since it arrived Every second car sold by the company happened to bea City
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
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Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
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Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
Top
Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
Top
E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
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Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
was Rs 1046 crore against Rs 137 crore for the corresponding quarter last year informed the automaker in a Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
During the quarter commercial vehicle segments of the company witnessed demand shrinkage due to the demonetisation MampHCVsegment witnessed major pressure with a fall of year-on-year fall of 9 percent and LCV segment was overall flat Passengervehicles segment grew by 254 percent with car segment showing growth of 311 percent on the back of continued strong responseto the Tiago
Total exports grew by 346 percent during the quarter The sales (including exports) of commercial and passenger vehicles for thequarter ended December 31 2016 stood at 132572 units a growth of 75 percent as compared to the corresponding quarter lastyear
Jaguar Land Rover AutomotiveTotal Retail sales including the China JV in the third quarter were 149288 units up 85 percent on strong demand for productsprimarily reflecting higher volumes in China (including CJLR) North America and Europe led by strong sales of Discovery SportF-PACE and the new long wheel base XFL in China
Jaguar Land Rover wholesales and retails excluding the China JV for the quarter were 130910 units and 129893 unitsrespectively China JV wholesales and retails for the quarter were 21335 units and 19395 units respectively
PAT was pound167 million for the quarter ended December 31 2016 compared to pound440 million in the corresponding quarter last year
Tata Daewoo Commercial VehiclesTata Daewoo Commercial Vehicles has registered a net profit of approx Rs 90 crore in the quarter ended December 31 2016
Tata Motors FinanceTata Motors Finance on a consolidated basis registered net revenue from operations of Rs 688 crore and reported a Loss after taxof Rs 3 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrytata-motors-consolidated-q3-pat-declines-96-at-rs-112-crore57146248Tata Motors profit plunges 96 in Q3The Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertata-motors-profit-plunges-96-in-q3article9543424eceTata Motorsamprsquo Q3 profit down 96The Tribune (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinesstata-motors-q3-profit-down-96364160htmlDeep dent in TaMo profitThe Telegraph (Web Edition)httpswwwtelegraphindiacom1170215jspbusinessstory_135811jspWKO2hWOqBkgTata Motors posts 96 per cent profit plungeThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinesstata-motors-posts-96-per-cent-profit-plungearticleshow57149100cms Tata Motors net down 96 per cent on poor JLR domestic salesThe Indian Express (Web amp Print Edition)httpindianexpresscomarticlebusinesscompaniestata-motors-net-down-96-per-cent-on-poor-jlr-domestic-sales-4525524 Tata Motors profit dives 96 as JLR loses steamBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompaniestata-motors-profit-dives-96-as-jlr-loses-steam-117021401009_1htmlTata Motors net falls 96The Financial Express (Web Edition)httpwwwfinancialexpresscomindustrytata-motors-net-falls-96551636Steep fall in Jaguar profit dents Tata Motors earnings by 97Financial Chronicle (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomnewssteep-fall-jaguar-profit-dents-tata-motors-earnings-97-218Tata Motorsamprsquo net plunges 96The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessTata-MotorsE28099-net-plunges-96article17303912eceTata Motors net drops 96 as domestic ops bleed JLR strugglesDaily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-net-drops-96-as-domestic-ops-bleed-jlr-struggles-2323043Tata Motors Q3 profit plunges 96 on losses in India ops lower JLR profitmint (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesF9KOjTBH8jkg5jKVefnCSNTata-Motors-Q3-profit-slides-96-on-losses-in-India-ops-lowhtmlTata motors reports decline in quaterly profitAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinesscompanies140217tata-motors-reports-decline-in-quaterly-profithtmlTata Motors posts surprise 96 per cent dip in Q3 net profitDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos150217tata-motors-posts-surprise-96-per-cent-dip-in-q3-net-profithtmlTata Motors Q3 net profit drops 96Deccan Herald (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596436tata-motors-q3-net-profithtml
Top
One-offs dent Tata Motors Q3 performance
Ram Prasad SahuBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Tata Motors gave a disappointing performance for December quarter (Q3) as lower volumes lower realisations from salesand higher costs saw consolidated net profit falling to Rs 112 crore from Rs 2953 crore a year ago Volumes were lower atUK-based subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover and Indian unit JLR wholesale volumes were down five per cent as they ran out of unitsmade in 2016 due to preparations for Discovery launch in Q4FY17 Retail demand for JLR products continues to be strong onhigher orders from China North America and Europe led by Discovery Sport F-Pace and Jaguar XFL models
Volumes in Indian unit were disappointing as the key segment of medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MampHCV) saw salesdecline nine per cent in Q3 While light commercial vehicle volumes were flat some pressures were offset by high demand forTiago which helped car sales volumes improve 25 per cent year over year Export volumes grew a robust 345 per cent Analystssay the phase of subdued new product launches for Tata Motors is over and given new launches and refreshes in passenger andcommercial vehicles both they expect India volumes to improve substantially
Consolidated revenue at Rs 70567 was 44 per cent year over year on lower volumes and currency-translation impact of Rs 10670crore JLR revenue at pound65 billion was up 13 per cent year on year and on expected lines But a number of one-offs impactedoperating profitability Operating profit margin for JLR at 93 per cent compared to 144 per cent a year ago was due to inferiorproduct mix and negative leverage on lower volumes higher variable marketing mix new model launch costs unfavourable forexmovements biennial pay negotiation settlement and others Adjusted for foreign-exchange effect margin would have been 101per cent Analysts say many of these are one-offs and margin is expected to bounce back
Net profit for JLR at pound167 million as against pound440 million a year ago was due to higher depreciation and amortisation andmovements of foreign exchange commodity and US debt The positives for JLR are higher recoveries on Tianjin losses improvingChina venture profitability and lower net finance expenses Though overall India volumes were up 75 per cent revenues were flatat Rs 10167 crore Given operating profit of Rs 153 crore the company is barely making money Higher discounts also hitoperating performance Higher variable marketing expenses commodity costs depreciation as well as finance costs led to theIndian unit reporting a loss of Rs 1046 crore as against a loss of Rs 137 crore a year agohttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticleopinionone-offs-dent-tata-motors-q3-performance-117021401097_1html
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Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 crore m-cap hit post Q3 PTISee this story in The Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Shares of Tata Motors on Tuesday fell by nearly 5 per cent after the company reported a steep 9622 per cent decline inconsolidated net profit for the December quarter
The scrip sank 368 per cent to settle at Rs 48680 on BSE Intra-day it tanked 734 per cent to Rs 46830
The stock was the worst performer among the 30-BSE Sensex components
At NSE it dived 460 per cent to close at Rs 48205
Led by the decline in the stock the companys market valuation tumbled Rs 599323 crore to Rs 13993277 crore
On the volume front 1242 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over 1 crore shares changed hands at NSE duringthe day
Home-grown auto major Tata Motors has reported 9622 per cent drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 11157 crore for theDecember quarter dragged down by losses in domestic operations and lower profit of its British arm JLR
It had posted a net profit of Rs 295267 crore in the same quarter of the last fiscal Tata Motors said in a BSE filing
The companys consolidated sales during the October- December quarter were down 22 per cent at Rs 6786495 crore as againstRs 6939807 crore in the year-ago period
On a standalone basis Tata Motors loss after tax widened to Rs 1046 crore in the third quarter of 2016-17 from Rs 137 crore ayear agohttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financetata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-crore-m-cap-hit-post-q357148624Tata Motors skids 37 on poor resultThe Financial Expresshttpwwwfinancialexpresscomindustrytata-motors-skids-3-7-on-poor-result551567
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Tata Motors has a bumpy ride ahead with JLR misfiring Vatsala Kamatmint (Web amp Print Edition)
There are many reasons for the Tata Motors Ltd stock to have a bumpy rideampmdashthey range from the Brexit effect to Cyrus
Mistryamprsquos exit and more recently demonetization And now we have a deplorable set of numbers put forth by the company forthe December quarter which practically writes off the stockamprsquos near-term prospects Not surprisingly the stock plunged by 4and its DVR (differential voting rights) tanked even harder by 6 after the results were announced
Although the consolidated net revenue at Rs668551 crore was in tune with Street estimates it was the operating performance thatwas the biggest let-down It was harder to fathom because the UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover Ltd (JLR) which has been leadingprofits higher quarter after quarter for the first time hugely failed investors
Consolidated operating margin fell by about 500 basis points to 76 from a year ago mainly because JLRamprsquos upward margintrajectory was punctured It contracted from 144 to 93ampmdashthe first time to single digits since fiscal year 2010 The TataMotors management in its media meet explained that runout in one of its premium models significant marketing expenses biennialsalary negotiations and new model launches led to this margin drop Add to this an unfavourable currency and product mix too
One wonders though if its new product lines are yielding lower profit margins Indeed JLR sales have been maintained thanks tothe expansion in US markets even when China briefly wobbled and Europe was still inching up But higher market penetration andshare led to margin erosion during the quarter The consequent weak operating profit trickled down to weaker net profit almost halfof that clocked a year back
The story was similar for the stand-alone company on home ground too Demonetization impacted commercial vehicle salesthough its passenger cars fared better than the industry during the quarter But again it was the 345 basis points drop in operatingmargin to 15 that was a big let-down from the Streetamprsquos expectation of 42 Net loss at Rs1000 crore was more severethan that charted out by brokerage firms
Therefore the consolidated net profit of Rs1116 crore was a distant cry from the ambitious average expectation of Rs22645 croreby 20 Bloomberg analysts
For now it does not appear that the results disappointed on account of any one-off provisions or write-offs Therefore a bigger slidein the Tata Motors stock which closed at Rs48680 on Tuesday may not be surprising Certainly brokerage firms will trim theearnings forecast for the near term
Yes it cannot be ignored that JLR the prized cash-cow of Tata Motors is continuing to add sales volumes What needs to bewatched is whether growth will come at the cost of margins If so it will cap the earnings momentum leading to an erosion invaluation toohttpwwwlivemintcomMoneyRNNHsLKWnhup8oEQTJDwdMTata-Motors-has-a-bumpy-ride-ahead-with-JLR-misfiringhtml
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Eicher Motors hits three-month high stock up 10 post Q3 results Business Standard (Web Edition)
Mumbai Eicher Motors gained3 to Rs 25449 on the BSE in an otherwise subdued market The stock trading at its highest levelsince November 1 2016 is 45 away from its record high of Rs 26602 touched on September 29 2016 in intra-day trade
Thus far in February the stock has appreciated by 10 after the company reported good set of numbers for the quarter endedDecember 2016 (Q3FY17) In comparison the SampP BSE Sensex was up 24 during the period
Eicher Motors is engaged in manufacturing automobile products and related components The Company also owns the RoyalEnfield motorcycle business
The company had reported a strong 49 year on year (YoY) jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 417 crore in Q3FY17 on backof 43 YoY rise in total operational income at Rs 2071 crore It also recorded its highest ever and best-in-class EBITDA (earningsbefore interest tax depreciation and amortization) margin at 314
ampldquoRoyal Enfield (RE) margins expanded 50bps QoQ340bps YoY to 318 beating our estimates of 308 Margins weredriven by a 150bps reduction in other expenses due to lower marketing expenditureamprdquo analysts at Religare InstitutionalResearch said in a results preview The broking firm maintains amplsquobuyamprsquo ration on the stock with target price of Rs 27500
Meanwhile RE the two-wheeler division of Eicher Motors reported a 25 jump in total sales at 59676 units in January Thetwo-wheeler manufacturer had sold 47710 units in January 2016
At 0107 pm the stock was up 23 at Rs 25348 as compared to 002 decline in the SampP BSE Sensex A combined 46838shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE so farhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlemarketseicher-motors-hits-three-month-high-stock-up-10-post-q3-results-117021400340_1html
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The Budget 2017 Hard task Shekar ViswanathanDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Much has been written and said on this and the modal rating of the budget is a healthy 7 out of 10 This stems from the fact that themost refreshing feature of the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley statement is the recognition that the salaried class has been paying its
taxes as a result of the tax deducted at source provision that enables the taxman to collect taxes most easily
In fact the FM went on to say that it is salaried tax payers who have been carrying the burden of paying taxes and having to makeup for those who have not been paying these taxes So the reduction of taxes in the tax brackets up to Rs 5 lakh is something tocheer about
Hard driveThe auto sector has reason to be less than pleased as it was unfairly made the villain of the piece last year when two of itsmembers found their state of the art vehicles banned by the Supreme Court in the NCR on the specious reasoning of vehiclesabove 2000 cc being more polluting
Yet in the current budget there was no measure announced by the Government in scrapping old vehicles particularly those usingengines compatible only with older grade BS 1 BS2 and BS3 fuel
A scrappage scheme would have been most helpful in removing old vehicles from the road and putting in newer vehiclesenhancing tax collections thereby and ensuring that a culture of pollution reduction takes root Indeed a missed opportunity
Further more a formal scheme to capture the second hand vehicle trade and bring it within the tax net would have been a healthyprecursor to the advent of GST this July
The income arising out of the transfer of carbon credits is sought to be taxed at 10 of such income This is not encouraging at allRather the Government of India would have done well to incentivise the generation of carbon credit as this will force companies tolook for environment friendly ways to generate production Those who buy carbon credits ought to have been taxed Infrastructurespend of course has been fixed at Rs 64000 crore ampndash while this is laudable it remains to be seen whether the government cansustain the spend at the scorching pace of 133 km per day
While numbers are important in a budget this is one area where implementation is key to evaluating whether the budget direction issuccessful or not
The hard analysisThe auto sectoramprsquos growth has always been linked to job creation With the punitive tax structure on excise in respect of thebigger cars this sector has hardly been incentivised to grow
The magic of the auto sector is that for every vehicle built the jobs in the service sector grow concomitantly whether it is in simpleservice jobs for autos or in the allied financial services and certainly in the auto component sector
Small cars do not necessarily mean lower pollution or lower congestion which is the bane of Indian urban roads People mover carssuch as the 8 seaters equipped with state of the art engines and compatible with modern fuels ought to have been encouraged witha lower tax structure to provide last mile connectivity and to lessen the scourge of pollutionhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596410budget-2017-hard-taskhtml
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Interviews amp Features
At the end of the day we are enablers and everyone has to sell more Ramesh Iyer VC amp MD MampM Financial Services The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Ramesh Iyer VC amp MD MampM Financial Services talks to ET Now about the future of MampM Financils and how much demonetisationhas hit their business if at all
There are concerns which are visible in terms of what is going to happen to the demand side or in terms of fresh NPA formation oneis getting a sense that at least fresh NPA formation has stopped
I very strongly think that it is nothing new I mean it has happened for different reasons may be but what we hear from the customeris that the sentiments are pretty positive at least the monsoon cash flows have been very supportive the farm cash flows havedefinitely improved over the third quarter to fourth quarter as we see I would therefore think that the sentiments are returningpositive and with little infrastructure that will commence in different states I would think the rural should do well
After getting listed your numbers are getting slightly more difficult for an outsider to predict why is thatIf you look at pre-listing we might have been almost a single product company like we were just doing may be Mahindra Vehiclesand then we added tractors to that so it was much more easier for someone to predict because you knew what is happening outthere
We derisk ourselves by going to more geography and then more products so that got in different segments of customers and theynot necessarily behave the same way like a tractor would have behaved earlier so that is one of the reasons why this becomes
Also the reasons are earlier it was so easy to understand the first half in rural is not as good as the second half is With the delayedmonsoon the crop money gets delayed it moves from third to fourth quarter so everyone kind of understands will it be good in thethird quarter suddenly you see a shift happening to the fourth quarter
Over a period of time the rural cash flow has also moved from just farm dependent to also infra based cash flow so when it moved
into first time into infra base cash flow I think it was more stable every quarter had some numbers coming in once it gets to a largersize there are some delays in government payments or from tractor payments etc
All customers that we work with are earn and pay customers they are not fixed cash flow customers so it will always be thechallenge to predict in a earn and pay segment as to when is this earning going to come in and how are they going to dischargetheir liabilities But what is important to look at a model like this is look at a contractual period of three years you will never find wemake less money than we promise to make
Are you getting a sense that Q4 onwards things will look substantially better
So demonetisation did what to us one is 8th November to end November none of us knew what exactly should be our reaction howdo we take it forward what do we do
Customers were kind of guessing as to what they should be doing I think December showed a very different number to uscustomers started getting used to this money did comeback into the market in some form So demonetisation impact is it gotaccepted well a new format has been found and going forward seems to be definitely good but we should not forget that ultimatelyagain I am repeating the customers are earn and pay customer their overall transaction volumes have to go
Farm cash flows are pretty positive I think the money is coming in what was to come in the third quarter possibly has got shifted tothe fourth quarter The January crop is good and therefore we do think that the flow of money from farm will definitely be good Ithink another important thing to look at is look at state by state these businesses are no more to be looked at India as a whole
If some states are doing well from a growth perspective we resources ourselves well there and if some states need higher attentionfrom a recovery perspective then we resource ourselves differently in those states
So you find us adjusting to this so these are models which are getting into what is your ability to quickly readjust to the new normalunlike before you had a stable situation you put a model in place work around it for three years-four years time now I think it isgetting to a situation where what is your ability to kind of quickly react to a changing scenario how fast can you change what is theflexibility of your organisation as a peopleamprsquos competence and capability anyone who does all of this well I think will still have agreat future also
So when do you think the new cycle will start for you in terms of demand and in terms of recovery
We did not have had too much of pressure on demand you see if somebody wanted us to grow at 25 per cent we have not grown atthat but I think at the end of the day we are enablers and everyone has to sell more but for example the tractors did well We alsogrow in tractors our market share went up as well as volumes went up
So if you look at our books we still have a growth rate of anywhere between 12 and 15 per cent now someone has used toMahindra Finance growth rate of 25-30 per cent continues to think that we are not growing enough and I want to correct thatimpression to say on a large book growing at 15 per cent is a good enough growth
So 15 per cent growth is a new normal for you now
I would not say so but 15 per cent in the current situation is a great growth is that the way I would put it Yes you can get back to a25 per cent I mean look at for the same volume that disbursements are low because the discounts on the product is high See if thediscounts vcanish you get another 5-7 per cent growth happening and then of course the value of the price goes up for that tractoror cars or anything then you get a growth and then the volumes kicks in
So asset side growth I am not too worried we have deeper penetration large customer base we are in close to 300000 plus villagesin this country so why should I worry much about the growth out there
Historically if you look at a book NPA might have climbed up climbed down whichever way it has happened our credit losses havenever gone beyond 225-24 per cent which is well priced into our pricing into the customer
So I am not again overly worried about the peaking of NPA like the norms changed from 150 to 120 we move to 120 We have notchanged our aggressive provisioning that we were doing even otherwise We will need to move to 90 so I do not think one needs tolook at NPAs as a standalone number to say how is the NPA moving up let us look at if the NPA is moving up what is the coveragethat you have got but eventually is the collateral competent and capable enough to protect the principal there we are prettyconfident because loan to asset value is the key to success of this business
So if you are kind of restricted yourself to somewhere around 75-77 per cent or even go up to 80 per cent and someone repays 10instalments on a three year or a four year period I think we are well protected and therefore that is not the big worry Yessituationally cash flows need to improve money starts coming back then past provisions bring back your profits and futureprovisions no need to be these aggressive
Historically your book has doubled in 24 to 28 months but that was when you are growing at about 25 per cent 25 has become 15so can I assume that your book now will double in three and a half to four years not before that
If it is 15 per cen it it will take about four years or so but I continue to believe that this growth rate will change as the volumesincreases like last month we saw Maruti retail numbers were good so we got the benefit of it
We normally do about 8000-9000 vehicles we crossed 12000 vehicles so in overall car market for us is also growing
Mahindra UV numbers are growing for us tractor numbers are growing pre-owned vehicle will be a growth story for us We havestill not a significant player when it comes to commercial vehicle construction equipment once the infrastructure story unfolds I thinkwe will get benefit of these happening as well
I think to get back to a 25 per cent kind of a growth story two-three things need to happen overall volumes need to improve there Ithink the discounts on products need to vanish if these two happens even without a price increase on the vehicle I think the growthrate will return to some new number We are putting in place a direct marketing initiative where we reach out to our customers andthrough them we are actually growing more business
So there clearly go to a customer he gets you more customer in the village so I think I am again not too worried about when will weget to 25 per cent I think we are ready to get to there if few of these fundamentals change I think getting a 25 per cent should not bea challenge if that happens going back to doubling in three years should happen
Your agrarian income has been under pressure rural infrastructure has not picked up and yet you are doing at 15 per cent so 15per cent is the base
I would think so but except that one should know we are at the end of the day an enabler if somebody is not doing well we can onlydo so much I think everyone sense the numbers that they are doing today we are pretty sure that our market shares would not fall ifany of our market share is only growing and therefore if that is converting itself into 15 per cent I think the answer is yes
If the agrarian income picks up what happens to you if the infrastructure picks up what happens to you and if they both pick upwhat happens to you
If you kind of go back into history when both were doing well let us say from somewhere between 11-12 to 13-14 times we sawalmost and every state both of this doing well possibly and therefore we had a great growth story from 10 onwards
We have had situations in the past and let us take some state in particular let us take Maharashtra or take any state of that matter ifthe monsoon does not do well I think the sentiments go low and I think about 40-50 per cent of the cash flow does come from thefarm cash flow so therefore to that extent things goes slow they start getting delayed So when you said six months farm cash flowsare expected to be good we reasonably believe 50-60 per cent of the book will normally behave in a very decent manner
Then look at each state as to which state is spending on what on infrastructure look at Andhra it has done well for us look at partsof Maharashtra Rajasthan parts of MP UP Bihar so we have had states which have done well and we have had states in the pastlike Tamil Nadu etc going slow for us So I think if the infra at the state level starts picking up may not be a large project but even acontinuing work there the labour and asset absorption if it happens well in state level I think our book should do normally wellbecause we are not financing a large contractors nor are we really financing the marginal customer
Our customers are someone who can afford to bring a 25 per cent margin on any assets it is close to about 15-2 lakh plus so if thatkind of a customer is what we are supporting I think he looks for a stable earnings on a monthly or a quarterly basis for him to beable to service the loan Even today if you look at our NPA numbers while it may be little elevated but you look at the progress inthose numbers customers are at least 60 per cent of the NPL customers are repaying their instalments they are not earning enoughto pay for the past So these stability is what we look for and then once the cash flow improves they get corrected
Are there any key categories which you have identified which will grow at 100 per cent or 75 per cent for next couple of years
If you look at our pre-owned book we are at about 8-10 per cent of the book is pre-owned vehicle we think that is a large opportunitybecause and I am not talking of commercial vehicle pre-owned that is not where we are but tractors utility vehicles cars
We have large number of customers about every year at least about 25-3 lakh customers contract mature So we are putting inplace an arrangement where when they sell their vehicle to someone else who wants to buy we know the vehicle we know thebackground of the vehicle we know the customer who is selling and the customer who is buying so I think that is a segment that willhelp us grow bigger and better that also comes with a much higher margin well the value of disbursements could be much lower butthat segment is something that we will see grow from a current 10-12 per cent book going up to may be 15-18 per cent
Is that is why your spreads are higher naturally because you are in a condition to lend more efficientlyExactly so we go more deeper we engage ourselves with the customer and in difficult times like this customer choose to buy apre-owned vehicle before he can go and buy any vehicle so it is a great opportunity
What could be that big change for Mahindra Financials what is that big thing which will give you a frog leap
We look at who is planning what so we look at what is MampMamprsquos plan in terms of vehicle launches how deep are they goinghow many dealers how are they doing Tractor also we look at Marutiamprsquos launch when we look at everyone else who iscoming with a rural vehicle we are now working with Nissan we are working with Renault we are working with Toyota we areworking with JCB all of them are looking at a customer out there
So what is it that we are looking for we are looking for all of them to really penetrate deeper we help some of them to go there andsome of the products attract customers there I think the two together makes a new volume there
So you remind me of this old Hindi movie dialogue roti kapda makaan that is what you always believe inYes precisely because we are giving product loan which is livelihood we give shelter housing loans we give insurance as asecurity loan We are willing to give them personal loans to meet their personal aspirations so I think that is our jobhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomopinioninterviewsat-the-end-of-the-day-we-are-enablers-and-everyone-has-to-sell-more-ramesh-iyer-vc-md-mm-financial-servicesarticleshow57143635cms
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Here is how much it will cost to personalize your Maruti Suzuki Ignis Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Maruti Suzuki with its Ignis has been very clear on its target audience and the target customer for the company hasbeen the amplsquomillennialsamprsquo or the youngsters of the country born between 1980-90 The company has a wider productportfolio to address to small family cars to executive sedans for corporate demand MPV Ertiga for Indian family needs SUV stylingon its Vitara Brezza and with Ignis it wants to diversify its product offering to attract the youth first time buyers
Launch at a concert using car emoji while using IGNIS on twitter and many more marketing stunts by the company certainlyhelped to create that initial buzz which the company was looking for On the product front also Maruti Suzuki announced variouspersonalisation and customisation options to give that individual look and below is the cost involved to customise Maruti SuzukiIgnis
Maruti Suzuki Ignis is being offered in 9 colours except for the base variant which only gets white silver and grey colour optionsCustomisation on Ignis is available on all the trims of all petrol diesel and automatic variants This is also the second offering afterMaruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza to get customisation options
Maruti Suzuki Ignis exterior customisation optionsOn the exterior you get to choose to include body side moulding cladding on the side door visor roof wrap roof spoiler and a fewother options Roof wraps also known as Crowners are available in 4 different patterns and number of colours Digiscape RadicalImplode and unbox are the names of the patterns of the crowners on option which costs an additional of Rs 9990
There is also an option of adding a roof line spoiler at Rs 5590 and for the carbon finish roof spoiler costs about 10990 Body sidemouldings are offered 6 colours
Overall You will end up paying about Rs13000 ampndash 16000 more on your choice of Ignis variant for exterior customisation
Maruti Suzuki Ignis customisation options (interiors)The interiors of the cars can also be tweaked and rather than doing it from a vendor outside its always good to get the factory fittedkits on a new car Inside the car you get an option of interior styling kit which includes ambient lighting there is also a huge rangeof floor mats seat covers to choose from Footers or floor mats comes with Ignis embossed on it to increase the personalised feel
Other features that you can include to personalise Maruti Suzuki Ignis are addition of Black alloy wheels crossbar cladding glassline spoiler door visor steering wheel finished in leather and rear-seat infotainment system
The infotainment system is not available on all variants specially on the automatic variants so the company is offering anaftermarket Kenwood infotainment system which is post-factory fitted equipment and will be installed at the Nexa dealership
At about Rs35000-40000 extra on your preferred Ignis variant you will be able to personalize the whole car Maruti Suzuki Ignis isthe only car in its segment to offer this personalization options This was introduced by the company since the launch and so far iswell recieved The company sold a total of 4830 units of its Ignis since its launch in January 2017httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshere-is-how-much-it-will-cost-to-personalize-your-maruti-suzuki-ignis57140666
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Opinion Rebirth of Ambassador brand Santosh DesaiThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
The selling of the Ambassador brand to Peugeot is an eyebrow raiser Why would anyone want to revive a car that is deservedlydead and in the minds of many took far too long in its death sequence a la a Hindi film hero in the 70s
Clearly Peugeot has no interest in the car in its physical form what it is buying is the idea of the Ambassador and the meaning thatit can give it in todays context
There is something about the Ambassador that lends itself to nostalgic affection Unlike the more sensible Fiat which offered atimid version of the modern and hence stops short of evoking an era and a culture the Ambassadors relation with the modern wasfrosty It remained steadfastly true to its own sensibilities largely because it refused to change or perhaps lacked the capability todo so
Barring minor modifications that were universally mocked at for their transparent lack of ambition the Ambassador stood its groundfor a long time Eventually it did change its engine but it was too late by then Its time was over once the hot plastic era of theMaruti made its appearance
In its time the Ambassador reigned supreme Its lines were inspired by a matrons commodious petticoats and its interiors had thecomfortable well-worn shabbiness of the Indian drawing room The gears shifted with a grunt and the car began its journey with agroan It drove one with the laconic recalcitrance of the father while offering you the familiar comfort of a mothers lap
One sprawled inside the car when not carrying ones entire brood of third cousins and their family friends to the railway station toreceive or to see someone off in the dead of night The car was large solid and rounded nothing about its design acknowledgedthat it was an object designed to move Indeed it seemed to actively shun any association with aerodynamics
The Ambassador squatted on the ground embracing its own centre of gravity It was a car that clearly believed that it was better towaddle than to race and moved with stolid disregard for ones surroundings or ones intent The Ambassador was status quo onwheels a car that allowed one to stand still even as one moved and to do so with ones entire way of life intact
It pointed nowhere and took us nowhere which was where we wanted to be The Ambassador was equanimity in a world where
abruptness was the norm Traffic on Indian roads might have been slow but it was always sudden Roads disappeared from undertheir feet cows changed their minds about moving buses decided to come tearing down the wrong side for a closer look andpedestrians stopped in the middle of the road to scratch themselves meditatively
The car itself was a constant source of uncertainty- it stalled leaked oil the brake fluid ran out at odd times of course it could alsobe repaired anywhere by virtually any mechanic and so life chugged along The ability to accommodate anything - peoplemerchandise circumstances recurring dents and scrapes breakdowns - without showing any sign of strain made the car a naturalin the Indian context
At the surface level the Ambassador might offer an easy route to marketable nostalgia particularly in the West It is a quirky riposteto the modern and works at the level of an ironic joke But this is the kind of appeal that works fast and dissipates even fasterHowever there is something more substantial about the idea of the Ambassador apart from its incongruous looks
The idea of the Ambassador potentially holds allure today because it tells us that it is possible to completely disregard context Itexposes the fuss that cars make about moving from point A to point B as being unnecessary Neither motion nor the car as anobject of desire are fetishised According to the Ambassador one can be a placid cow chewing cud while the world goes on aroundit spinning out of control The individual finds no reflection in the car the fluidity of time and fashion mean nothing to it It restores tothe car the idea of affectionate and comfortable warmth it feels like home should
Equanimity is the ornament of those that understand time One doesnt have to hurry the world doesnt need to be about oneselfone is secure in the knowledge that current events will pass however unlikely it seems today When one is home the world outsideholds few terrors at least for the time being
And while this idea has been born out of India and its realities today it is unlikely that this idea will find much resonance in India foras a country we have traded placid wisdom for prickly ambition Even if Peugeot were to re-present the Ambassador in anacceptably contemporary form the country today wants to see a more desirable face in the mirror The individual wants to seehimself and his future in the car he drives
The idea of the Ambassador becomes in effect a return to an earlier era and there is little appetite for that today Globally on theother hand it might be another story The brands attractiveness to a company like Peugeot lies in the fact that the Ambassador isabove all a brand It stands for an idea that is located in a culture and it signifies a belief in some values
It has a design ethos and a point of view about mobility and indeed about the world we live in today It is unlikely to offer theopportunity to build a huge global brand but there is a truth that it speaks that could potentially create value for the Frenchcompany Shorn of the shoddy product that carried this name it might just be that the underlying idea of the Ambassador hasrelevance in todays timeshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsopinion-rebirth-of-ambassador-brand57138047
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Ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave says Munjal N V VijayakumarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru Hero MotoCorp Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pawan Munjal is working hard to take the brand Hero on theglobal automotive landscape He believes that Hero MotoCorpamprsquos global expansion will help the company achieve asustainable growth in the long run
Being the largest producer of two-wheeler globally with over 65 million vehicles a year Munjal says the companyamprsquos strategyis product-centric for each geography Munjal tells DHamprsquos N VacirceuroˆVijayakumar that the company will reach 50 global marketswithin 2020
Can you elaborate your global expansion plan
We are going global to tap the huge untapped opportunities for growth We entered the global market after beginning our solojourney six years ago The launch in Argentina marks our foray into the 35th country globally We are right now present across AsiaAfrica and South and Central America
Our rapid expansion in these regions helped us build our brand identity We are present in these regions with a range of popularmotorcycles and scooters across segments which are known for their fuel efficiency performance and durability We expect thatthe mix of our product portfolio and after sales service efficiency will bring us ahead of the curve in these markets
How do you view the global economic environment
We also realise the fact that political or economic uncertainties are looming large globally We have to understand that suchuncertainties are present in every sphere of activity and that should not deter us from pursuing our long-term goals and vision Webelieve our global expansion is an opportunity for sustainable growth in the long run
We believe that we can achieve 10 of total sales from global operations by 2020 We do hope that we will scale up further afterthat We are planning to enter the Mexican and Brazilian markets soon
Do you believe that your volume play will help in the global expansion plan
We have to achieve some basic volume mass to make certain impact in the market The size and scale of Hero MotoCorp in the
Indian market is a big advantage when we foray into any global market
This helps us choose the distributor partner In terms of continent we are focussing on various continents and by 2020 we will get asolid idea of the market Then we will be focussing on 12 to 15 markets as they will help us grow Some markets will grow on theirown steam
We believe that we should focus on low hanging fruits in the markets like Latin America and Africa where we can achieve thevolume Unlike the western market especially the US and the South-East Asian markets geographies like Latin America and Africawe do not have to face any complications and no competition from existing established players from Japan Having said that wehavenamprsquot lost focus on global product planning
How do you view the domestic market
Hero MotoCorp finds huge potential from the domestic market as our growth comes from there only We are very much focused onchanges in the customer preference and this is clearly revealed during the last Auto Expo
We find a lot of traction in the premium and high performance products We feel in these segments our market share is very less orwe are entirely missing Also since our domestic two-wheeler penetration is still only around 30 we think there is still growth inthe mass market segment ranging from 100 cc to 150 cc
We are also registering steady growth in the scooter segment We aspire Hero MotoCorp achieve greater market share in thissegment than our current position
How do you view the investment made in RampD
We invested heavily in our new Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) located at Jaipur A lot of design and development workson premium products are currently happening there We have already made it with the new Achiever 150 The next one will beXtreme 200S a premium product which is already showcased at the Auto Expo last year
We want to come up with products that suit each geography as part of our global expansion and the centre will play a key role inthat Till now we donamprsquot have any global product and the CIT will come up with products that are truly global in nature and takeHero MotoCorp ahead of competition
Can you share your take on the growing importance of electric vehicles hybrid vehicles and ride sharing
I believe that ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave The world is really moving in that direction and we are alsocommitted to that Our research activities with electric vehicles are progressing at the CIT The government will have to focus onthis and I believe that we are not isolated in that as they have started their initiatives We have invested in two startups electricscooter startup Ather Energy based out of Bengaluru and ride-sharing bike taxi startup Rapido Cost and affordability will decide thegrowth of the hybrid products We have already displayed hybrid products at the Auto Expo
Startups are the rage of the day What is your take on this
I personally believe that lots of innovation happen in the startup culture Sometimes large companies are not able to do thosethings We also believe that big companies like Hero and other players should provide the ecosystem so that startups can alsoprosperhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596412ride-sharing-electric-vehicles-nexthtml
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Cars SUVs MUVs
2017 Honda City launched in India Prices start at Rs 849 lakh (Ex-Delhi) Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese car maker Honda Cars India launched the facelift on its 4th generation Honda City 2017 Thepetrol variants of Honda City are priced Rs 849 lakh - 1352 lakh (Ex-Delhi) at and the diesel variants of Honda City costs Rs1075 lakh - 1356 at (Ex- Delhi)
Honda City variant line-up now gets the addition of a new flagship grade ampndash ampldquoZXamprdquo
Honda City facelift now gets a wide-opening bumper design and a new signature front chrome grille with intricate design connectingthe two headlights The LED package including the integrated LED DRL which is now standard across all variants the inline LEDheadlamps LED fog lampsLED RR Combi LED license plate lamps trunk lid spoiler with LED
The car now also gets new diamond-cut and two-tone alloy wheel design for both 15 and 16 inch wheels The new City also hasfirst-in-segment auto-folding door mirrors in V VX and ZX grades
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India Ltd said ampldquoThe Honda City has been ourmost successful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquosmost successful sedan since its launch in 1998 It has also been the industry benchmark for quality and has been ranked No 1 by
the JD Power Initial Quality Study 14 times since its inception in the Indian marketamprdquo
ampldquoWith the launch of a much-enhanced new Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations byoffering amazing value at a very competitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in thesegmentamprdquo he added
Interiors are finished in dual-tone beige amp black trim Honda City also gets a 177 cm touchscreen infotainment system called theDigipad which supports navigation voice recognition Bluetooth and also Wi-Fi support for internet The infotainment system isavailable on the V VX and ZX grades
The car also features a soft-touch dashboard on passenger side and new white illumination in the advanced 3D multi-informationmeter Other important interior feature includes chrome plating on steering switches and chrome plated knobs for rear-aircon ventThe car continues to get the tilt and telescopic steering adjustment StartStop ignition system button fully auto-dimming insiderear-view mirror and LED interior cabin lights
The ZX grade also has both rear-adjustable headrests
The interiors of the new City are beige upholstery with dual-tone beige amp black trims
Honda City continues to get the same 15L i-DTEC diesel engine of Earth Dream Technology series which sheds a power of 100 Psand a peak torque of 200 Nm Honda City diesel claims a mileage of 256 Kmpl The engine is mated to a 6-speed manualtransmission
The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119 ps and a torque of 145 NmIt has been mated with the same CVT gearbox with 7-speed paddle shifters and claims a mileage of 18 kmpl The 5-speed manualtransmission delivers an impressive fuel efficiency of 174 kmpl
Honda is offering dual SRS airbags ABS with EBD as a standard safety features across all its variants The new ZX variant gets 6air-bags automatic headlamp and auto rain-sensing wipers
The new Honda City 2017 is offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades Petrol CVTwill be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
Honda is also offereing 3 accessory packages on the facelifted City
Deliveries of the new Honda City will begin immediately from the HCIL dealer network of 332 facilities in 220 cities across thecountryhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-honda-city-launched-in-india-prices-start-at-rs-8-49-lakh-ex-delhi57141912Honda rolls out new City at starting price of Rs 850 lakhThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newshonda-rolls-out-new-city-at-starting-price-of-rs-850-lakharticle9543447eceHonda unveils much-awaited City 2017The Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautolauncheshonda-unveils-much-awaited-city-2017articleshow57142363cms 2017 Honda City Facelift launched at Rs850 lakhThe Statesman (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthestatesmancombusiness2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-8-50-lakh-1487059835htmlAutocar Indiahttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-849-lakh-404196aspxHonda City facelift launched at Rs 85 LakhAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinessautos140217honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-85-lakhhtmlHonda Introduces City facelift at Rs 85 LakhDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos140217honda-introduces-city-facelift-at-rs-85-lakhhtml
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Honda City 2017 bookings cross 5000 units Pooja ChatterjeeThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese carmaker Hondas newly launched 4th generation City 2017 has crossed 5000 bookings in 12days Out of 5000 70 percent bookings were for petrol variant
Bookings for New Honda City 2017 started from February 3 with an amount of Rs 21000 The car was launched on February 14 forRs 849990 (ex showroom Delhi)
The new Honda City 2017 will be offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades PetrolCVT will be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
The New Honda City 2017 will be available in 5 exterior colours ampndash Modern Steel Metallic (New) White Orchid PearlCarnelian Red Pearl Alabaster Silver Metallic and Golden Brown Metallic
The Diesel City is powered by the 15L i-DTEC engine which delivers maximum power of 100ps3600 rpm with a max torque of
200 Nm1750 rpm The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119ps6600 rpm and a torque of 145 N-m4600 rpm
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India said ampldquoThe Honda City has been our mostsuccessful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquos mostsuccessful sedan since its launch in 1998
The New Honda City 2017 is likely to act as a disruptive product for the carmaker and help it woo back its customers who shifted toMaruti Suzuki Ciaz one of the biggest competitor of the carhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshonda-city-2017-bookings-cross-5000-units57145018Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 cr m-cap hit post Q3Daily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-cr-m-cap-hit-post-q3-2322687
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Honda has no plans for a sub-Rs5 lakh car in India Amrit Rajmint (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Cars India Ltd will look to introduce more premium and bigger automobiles as it seeks to lift sales that havesagged 23 so far this financial year
In the meantime the Honda City sedan and the sub-4 meter notchback Amaze will be the two mainstays of the Japanese carmakerin India
On Tuesday Honda launched a new Honda City priced at Rs85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWe receive a lot of request to launch more premium and bigger carsamprdquo Yoichiro Ueno chief executive and presidentof Honda Cars India said in an interview ampldquoWe launched Accord Hybrid which is quite premium segment as it is a CBU It isreceiving quite good acceptance We are studying the potential for this sort of a bigger marketamprdquo
CBU is short for Completely Built Up and refers to a car that is completely imported
Honda needs to do something to boost sales in India The Japanese carmaker is way off its target of selling 300000 cars per yearin India by March 2017 Even globally Honda has scrapped its sales forecast of achieving seven million units by 2017 amid recallwoes
In India sales of Honda Cars during April-January declined 23 to 124000 units compared with an increase of 9 to 25 millionunits for the broader automobile industry in the same period
To be sure Honda is still a premium brand and its customers seem to be happy with its products It has performed consistently wellin the JD Power survey for customer satisfaction
But the Indian car market itself has changed There are more companies seeking premium playampmdasha phenomenon that Hondapioneered in India At the same time Honda does not have a strong presence in some key market segments
Honda has no plans to introduce a car in the sub-Rs5 lakh category in the near future said Ueno The sub-Rs5 lakh segmentaccounts for about 50 of total passenger vehicles sold in India
It does not have a compact sports utility vehicle eitherampmdashanother hot-selling segment although in March it plans to launch theWR-V a derivative of the Jazz hatchback reminiscent of an SUV The multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio didnamprsquot do too well andnor did the BR-V which Ueno says is a cross between an SUV and MPV
Honda launched the Brio hatchback and the Amaze in 2011 and 2012ampmdashlong after its rivals had entered these segments
ampldquoWe are not a late entrant but careful Weamprsquore careful about Indiaamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBelow Rs5 lakhwe are not launching Maybe it is not our market We are talking about a couple of years In the long term(when) big motorization comes and this sort of small cars become very popular we might consider For a while we arenamprsquotconsideringamprdquo Ueno said
When ampldquobig motorizationamprdquo actually happens Ueno says the Indian market can be as big as 10 million units per annum
As for the demand for SUVs Ueno said that the trend may not last
ampldquoSUV is a boom and we have seen that kind of a boom in many countries It will be there for some time maybe a few yearsWe have seen that in the US there was a big boom and even in Japanampmdashand then it droppedamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBut at some stage of the maturing of motorization SUVs do become popular At this moment many customers are choosingSUVs because of the rough road conditions Improvement of infrastructure is very very fast in India So some customers willcome back to sedans or other segments Always the market trend can be changedamprdquo he addedhttpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesFR2bp58jTndVKeuoPtF75KHonda-eyes-top-slot-in-sedan-segment-with-launch-of-new-Cityhtml
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Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese auto major Honda on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its best selling sedan City in India priced at betweenRs 85 lakh and Rs 1358 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWith the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price
I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo Honda Cars India president andCEO Yoichiro Ueno said
The City competes with Maruti Suzukiamprsquos Ciaz While City had been the segment leader for a long time it was recentlydethroned by the Ciaz The new City is an upgraded version of the 4th generationThe new version will be available in both petroland diesel options
While the petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel variant isavailable in the price range of Rs 1076 lakh to Rs 1357 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessHonda-unveils-new-City-bids-to-trump-Maruti-Ciazarticle17303948ece
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Honda lines up compact SUV Civic Pankaj DovalThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Civic will make a comeback in India as the Japanese car maker looks for a more aggressive play in thepremium-end while staying away from mass-market segment categories that are dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Hondahas been struggling to maintain growth in India and has reported negative numbers for the last 15 months in a row It will also drivein a new compact SUV -WR-V -based on the Jazz platform Yoichiro Ueno MD amp CEO of the Indian subsidiary told TOI here
Ueno said the company had attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with models such as Brio mini butcould not experience encouraging growth due to heightened competition from established players
The brand positioning is thus being scaled up We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning which is a bit morepremium though not luxury So we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai We would like to do that interms of products service and customer experience Petrol-only Civic had been one of the most-recognisable cars from the brandbut was moved out from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel
With petrol gaining traction in the market once again following decontrol of fuel prices the company is now keen to reintroduce thecar here
We are keen but we need some time to study and some period to meet the regulations for India Ueno said when asked aboutplans for the launch of Civic in India The model is expected to be launched within a year Ueno said WR-V will be launched prettysoonhttptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinessindia-businesshonda-lines-up-compact-suv-civicarticleshow57157599cms
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Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City Ajay ModiBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese car maker Honda is eyeing a bigger sedan ride from the launch of its fourth generation City which has beenfacing a challenge from rival Maruti Suzukis Ciaz City the best-selling model for Honda ever since it entered India in 1998 andsegment leader for years is now behind Ciaz in volumesSince the Honda brand was established in India with the City as the firstproduct it holds a special place in the company and also among the customers With this relaunch we believe we will regain thesegment leadership said Jnaneswar Sen senior vice-president (sales amp marketing) Honda Cars India
City has been launched at a price beginning Rs 850 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) and the top end variant is priced at Rs 1358 lakh Iam confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segment Honda Cars India President and CEOYoichiro Ueno said The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) So on a price point Maruti still has the edge But Sen said the new City is packed with several new featuresthat will bring buyers back In the last ten days the company has received advance bookings for about 5000 units (petrol and dieselcombined) of the new City
The significance of City is evident from its contribution to Hondas sales in India during the last nineteen years The Japanese automajor has sold approximately 13 million cars in the country since it arrived Every second car sold by the company happened to bea City
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
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Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
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Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
Top
E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
Top
Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
Top
Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
Top
News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
Top
MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
Ram Prasad SahuBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Tata Motors gave a disappointing performance for December quarter (Q3) as lower volumes lower realisations from salesand higher costs saw consolidated net profit falling to Rs 112 crore from Rs 2953 crore a year ago Volumes were lower atUK-based subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover and Indian unit JLR wholesale volumes were down five per cent as they ran out of unitsmade in 2016 due to preparations for Discovery launch in Q4FY17 Retail demand for JLR products continues to be strong onhigher orders from China North America and Europe led by Discovery Sport F-Pace and Jaguar XFL models
Volumes in Indian unit were disappointing as the key segment of medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MampHCV) saw salesdecline nine per cent in Q3 While light commercial vehicle volumes were flat some pressures were offset by high demand forTiago which helped car sales volumes improve 25 per cent year over year Export volumes grew a robust 345 per cent Analystssay the phase of subdued new product launches for Tata Motors is over and given new launches and refreshes in passenger andcommercial vehicles both they expect India volumes to improve substantially
Consolidated revenue at Rs 70567 was 44 per cent year over year on lower volumes and currency-translation impact of Rs 10670crore JLR revenue at pound65 billion was up 13 per cent year on year and on expected lines But a number of one-offs impactedoperating profitability Operating profit margin for JLR at 93 per cent compared to 144 per cent a year ago was due to inferiorproduct mix and negative leverage on lower volumes higher variable marketing mix new model launch costs unfavourable forexmovements biennial pay negotiation settlement and others Adjusted for foreign-exchange effect margin would have been 101per cent Analysts say many of these are one-offs and margin is expected to bounce back
Net profit for JLR at pound167 million as against pound440 million a year ago was due to higher depreciation and amortisation andmovements of foreign exchange commodity and US debt The positives for JLR are higher recoveries on Tianjin losses improvingChina venture profitability and lower net finance expenses Though overall India volumes were up 75 per cent revenues were flatat Rs 10167 crore Given operating profit of Rs 153 crore the company is barely making money Higher discounts also hitoperating performance Higher variable marketing expenses commodity costs depreciation as well as finance costs led to theIndian unit reporting a loss of Rs 1046 crore as against a loss of Rs 137 crore a year agohttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticleopinionone-offs-dent-tata-motors-q3-performance-117021401097_1html
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Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 crore m-cap hit post Q3 PTISee this story in The Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Shares of Tata Motors on Tuesday fell by nearly 5 per cent after the company reported a steep 9622 per cent decline inconsolidated net profit for the December quarter
The scrip sank 368 per cent to settle at Rs 48680 on BSE Intra-day it tanked 734 per cent to Rs 46830
The stock was the worst performer among the 30-BSE Sensex components
At NSE it dived 460 per cent to close at Rs 48205
Led by the decline in the stock the companys market valuation tumbled Rs 599323 crore to Rs 13993277 crore
On the volume front 1242 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over 1 crore shares changed hands at NSE duringthe day
Home-grown auto major Tata Motors has reported 9622 per cent drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 11157 crore for theDecember quarter dragged down by losses in domestic operations and lower profit of its British arm JLR
It had posted a net profit of Rs 295267 crore in the same quarter of the last fiscal Tata Motors said in a BSE filing
The companys consolidated sales during the October- December quarter were down 22 per cent at Rs 6786495 crore as againstRs 6939807 crore in the year-ago period
On a standalone basis Tata Motors loss after tax widened to Rs 1046 crore in the third quarter of 2016-17 from Rs 137 crore ayear agohttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financetata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-crore-m-cap-hit-post-q357148624Tata Motors skids 37 on poor resultThe Financial Expresshttpwwwfinancialexpresscomindustrytata-motors-skids-3-7-on-poor-result551567
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Tata Motors has a bumpy ride ahead with JLR misfiring Vatsala Kamatmint (Web amp Print Edition)
There are many reasons for the Tata Motors Ltd stock to have a bumpy rideampmdashthey range from the Brexit effect to Cyrus
Mistryamprsquos exit and more recently demonetization And now we have a deplorable set of numbers put forth by the company forthe December quarter which practically writes off the stockamprsquos near-term prospects Not surprisingly the stock plunged by 4and its DVR (differential voting rights) tanked even harder by 6 after the results were announced
Although the consolidated net revenue at Rs668551 crore was in tune with Street estimates it was the operating performance thatwas the biggest let-down It was harder to fathom because the UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover Ltd (JLR) which has been leadingprofits higher quarter after quarter for the first time hugely failed investors
Consolidated operating margin fell by about 500 basis points to 76 from a year ago mainly because JLRamprsquos upward margintrajectory was punctured It contracted from 144 to 93ampmdashthe first time to single digits since fiscal year 2010 The TataMotors management in its media meet explained that runout in one of its premium models significant marketing expenses biennialsalary negotiations and new model launches led to this margin drop Add to this an unfavourable currency and product mix too
One wonders though if its new product lines are yielding lower profit margins Indeed JLR sales have been maintained thanks tothe expansion in US markets even when China briefly wobbled and Europe was still inching up But higher market penetration andshare led to margin erosion during the quarter The consequent weak operating profit trickled down to weaker net profit almost halfof that clocked a year back
The story was similar for the stand-alone company on home ground too Demonetization impacted commercial vehicle salesthough its passenger cars fared better than the industry during the quarter But again it was the 345 basis points drop in operatingmargin to 15 that was a big let-down from the Streetamprsquos expectation of 42 Net loss at Rs1000 crore was more severethan that charted out by brokerage firms
Therefore the consolidated net profit of Rs1116 crore was a distant cry from the ambitious average expectation of Rs22645 croreby 20 Bloomberg analysts
For now it does not appear that the results disappointed on account of any one-off provisions or write-offs Therefore a bigger slidein the Tata Motors stock which closed at Rs48680 on Tuesday may not be surprising Certainly brokerage firms will trim theearnings forecast for the near term
Yes it cannot be ignored that JLR the prized cash-cow of Tata Motors is continuing to add sales volumes What needs to bewatched is whether growth will come at the cost of margins If so it will cap the earnings momentum leading to an erosion invaluation toohttpwwwlivemintcomMoneyRNNHsLKWnhup8oEQTJDwdMTata-Motors-has-a-bumpy-ride-ahead-with-JLR-misfiringhtml
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Eicher Motors hits three-month high stock up 10 post Q3 results Business Standard (Web Edition)
Mumbai Eicher Motors gained3 to Rs 25449 on the BSE in an otherwise subdued market The stock trading at its highest levelsince November 1 2016 is 45 away from its record high of Rs 26602 touched on September 29 2016 in intra-day trade
Thus far in February the stock has appreciated by 10 after the company reported good set of numbers for the quarter endedDecember 2016 (Q3FY17) In comparison the SampP BSE Sensex was up 24 during the period
Eicher Motors is engaged in manufacturing automobile products and related components The Company also owns the RoyalEnfield motorcycle business
The company had reported a strong 49 year on year (YoY) jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 417 crore in Q3FY17 on backof 43 YoY rise in total operational income at Rs 2071 crore It also recorded its highest ever and best-in-class EBITDA (earningsbefore interest tax depreciation and amortization) margin at 314
ampldquoRoyal Enfield (RE) margins expanded 50bps QoQ340bps YoY to 318 beating our estimates of 308 Margins weredriven by a 150bps reduction in other expenses due to lower marketing expenditureamprdquo analysts at Religare InstitutionalResearch said in a results preview The broking firm maintains amplsquobuyamprsquo ration on the stock with target price of Rs 27500
Meanwhile RE the two-wheeler division of Eicher Motors reported a 25 jump in total sales at 59676 units in January Thetwo-wheeler manufacturer had sold 47710 units in January 2016
At 0107 pm the stock was up 23 at Rs 25348 as compared to 002 decline in the SampP BSE Sensex A combined 46838shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE so farhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlemarketseicher-motors-hits-three-month-high-stock-up-10-post-q3-results-117021400340_1html
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The Budget 2017 Hard task Shekar ViswanathanDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Much has been written and said on this and the modal rating of the budget is a healthy 7 out of 10 This stems from the fact that themost refreshing feature of the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley statement is the recognition that the salaried class has been paying its
taxes as a result of the tax deducted at source provision that enables the taxman to collect taxes most easily
In fact the FM went on to say that it is salaried tax payers who have been carrying the burden of paying taxes and having to makeup for those who have not been paying these taxes So the reduction of taxes in the tax brackets up to Rs 5 lakh is something tocheer about
Hard driveThe auto sector has reason to be less than pleased as it was unfairly made the villain of the piece last year when two of itsmembers found their state of the art vehicles banned by the Supreme Court in the NCR on the specious reasoning of vehiclesabove 2000 cc being more polluting
Yet in the current budget there was no measure announced by the Government in scrapping old vehicles particularly those usingengines compatible only with older grade BS 1 BS2 and BS3 fuel
A scrappage scheme would have been most helpful in removing old vehicles from the road and putting in newer vehiclesenhancing tax collections thereby and ensuring that a culture of pollution reduction takes root Indeed a missed opportunity
Further more a formal scheme to capture the second hand vehicle trade and bring it within the tax net would have been a healthyprecursor to the advent of GST this July
The income arising out of the transfer of carbon credits is sought to be taxed at 10 of such income This is not encouraging at allRather the Government of India would have done well to incentivise the generation of carbon credit as this will force companies tolook for environment friendly ways to generate production Those who buy carbon credits ought to have been taxed Infrastructurespend of course has been fixed at Rs 64000 crore ampndash while this is laudable it remains to be seen whether the government cansustain the spend at the scorching pace of 133 km per day
While numbers are important in a budget this is one area where implementation is key to evaluating whether the budget direction issuccessful or not
The hard analysisThe auto sectoramprsquos growth has always been linked to job creation With the punitive tax structure on excise in respect of thebigger cars this sector has hardly been incentivised to grow
The magic of the auto sector is that for every vehicle built the jobs in the service sector grow concomitantly whether it is in simpleservice jobs for autos or in the allied financial services and certainly in the auto component sector
Small cars do not necessarily mean lower pollution or lower congestion which is the bane of Indian urban roads People mover carssuch as the 8 seaters equipped with state of the art engines and compatible with modern fuels ought to have been encouraged witha lower tax structure to provide last mile connectivity and to lessen the scourge of pollutionhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596410budget-2017-hard-taskhtml
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Interviews amp Features
At the end of the day we are enablers and everyone has to sell more Ramesh Iyer VC amp MD MampM Financial Services The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Ramesh Iyer VC amp MD MampM Financial Services talks to ET Now about the future of MampM Financils and how much demonetisationhas hit their business if at all
There are concerns which are visible in terms of what is going to happen to the demand side or in terms of fresh NPA formation oneis getting a sense that at least fresh NPA formation has stopped
I very strongly think that it is nothing new I mean it has happened for different reasons may be but what we hear from the customeris that the sentiments are pretty positive at least the monsoon cash flows have been very supportive the farm cash flows havedefinitely improved over the third quarter to fourth quarter as we see I would therefore think that the sentiments are returningpositive and with little infrastructure that will commence in different states I would think the rural should do well
After getting listed your numbers are getting slightly more difficult for an outsider to predict why is thatIf you look at pre-listing we might have been almost a single product company like we were just doing may be Mahindra Vehiclesand then we added tractors to that so it was much more easier for someone to predict because you knew what is happening outthere
We derisk ourselves by going to more geography and then more products so that got in different segments of customers and theynot necessarily behave the same way like a tractor would have behaved earlier so that is one of the reasons why this becomes
Also the reasons are earlier it was so easy to understand the first half in rural is not as good as the second half is With the delayedmonsoon the crop money gets delayed it moves from third to fourth quarter so everyone kind of understands will it be good in thethird quarter suddenly you see a shift happening to the fourth quarter
Over a period of time the rural cash flow has also moved from just farm dependent to also infra based cash flow so when it moved
into first time into infra base cash flow I think it was more stable every quarter had some numbers coming in once it gets to a largersize there are some delays in government payments or from tractor payments etc
All customers that we work with are earn and pay customers they are not fixed cash flow customers so it will always be thechallenge to predict in a earn and pay segment as to when is this earning going to come in and how are they going to dischargetheir liabilities But what is important to look at a model like this is look at a contractual period of three years you will never find wemake less money than we promise to make
Are you getting a sense that Q4 onwards things will look substantially better
So demonetisation did what to us one is 8th November to end November none of us knew what exactly should be our reaction howdo we take it forward what do we do
Customers were kind of guessing as to what they should be doing I think December showed a very different number to uscustomers started getting used to this money did comeback into the market in some form So demonetisation impact is it gotaccepted well a new format has been found and going forward seems to be definitely good but we should not forget that ultimatelyagain I am repeating the customers are earn and pay customer their overall transaction volumes have to go
Farm cash flows are pretty positive I think the money is coming in what was to come in the third quarter possibly has got shifted tothe fourth quarter The January crop is good and therefore we do think that the flow of money from farm will definitely be good Ithink another important thing to look at is look at state by state these businesses are no more to be looked at India as a whole
If some states are doing well from a growth perspective we resources ourselves well there and if some states need higher attentionfrom a recovery perspective then we resource ourselves differently in those states
So you find us adjusting to this so these are models which are getting into what is your ability to quickly readjust to the new normalunlike before you had a stable situation you put a model in place work around it for three years-four years time now I think it isgetting to a situation where what is your ability to kind of quickly react to a changing scenario how fast can you change what is theflexibility of your organisation as a peopleamprsquos competence and capability anyone who does all of this well I think will still have agreat future also
So when do you think the new cycle will start for you in terms of demand and in terms of recovery
We did not have had too much of pressure on demand you see if somebody wanted us to grow at 25 per cent we have not grown atthat but I think at the end of the day we are enablers and everyone has to sell more but for example the tractors did well We alsogrow in tractors our market share went up as well as volumes went up
So if you look at our books we still have a growth rate of anywhere between 12 and 15 per cent now someone has used toMahindra Finance growth rate of 25-30 per cent continues to think that we are not growing enough and I want to correct thatimpression to say on a large book growing at 15 per cent is a good enough growth
So 15 per cent growth is a new normal for you now
I would not say so but 15 per cent in the current situation is a great growth is that the way I would put it Yes you can get back to a25 per cent I mean look at for the same volume that disbursements are low because the discounts on the product is high See if thediscounts vcanish you get another 5-7 per cent growth happening and then of course the value of the price goes up for that tractoror cars or anything then you get a growth and then the volumes kicks in
So asset side growth I am not too worried we have deeper penetration large customer base we are in close to 300000 plus villagesin this country so why should I worry much about the growth out there
Historically if you look at a book NPA might have climbed up climbed down whichever way it has happened our credit losses havenever gone beyond 225-24 per cent which is well priced into our pricing into the customer
So I am not again overly worried about the peaking of NPA like the norms changed from 150 to 120 we move to 120 We have notchanged our aggressive provisioning that we were doing even otherwise We will need to move to 90 so I do not think one needs tolook at NPAs as a standalone number to say how is the NPA moving up let us look at if the NPA is moving up what is the coveragethat you have got but eventually is the collateral competent and capable enough to protect the principal there we are prettyconfident because loan to asset value is the key to success of this business
So if you are kind of restricted yourself to somewhere around 75-77 per cent or even go up to 80 per cent and someone repays 10instalments on a three year or a four year period I think we are well protected and therefore that is not the big worry Yessituationally cash flows need to improve money starts coming back then past provisions bring back your profits and futureprovisions no need to be these aggressive
Historically your book has doubled in 24 to 28 months but that was when you are growing at about 25 per cent 25 has become 15so can I assume that your book now will double in three and a half to four years not before that
If it is 15 per cen it it will take about four years or so but I continue to believe that this growth rate will change as the volumesincreases like last month we saw Maruti retail numbers were good so we got the benefit of it
We normally do about 8000-9000 vehicles we crossed 12000 vehicles so in overall car market for us is also growing
Mahindra UV numbers are growing for us tractor numbers are growing pre-owned vehicle will be a growth story for us We havestill not a significant player when it comes to commercial vehicle construction equipment once the infrastructure story unfolds I thinkwe will get benefit of these happening as well
I think to get back to a 25 per cent kind of a growth story two-three things need to happen overall volumes need to improve there Ithink the discounts on products need to vanish if these two happens even without a price increase on the vehicle I think the growthrate will return to some new number We are putting in place a direct marketing initiative where we reach out to our customers andthrough them we are actually growing more business
So there clearly go to a customer he gets you more customer in the village so I think I am again not too worried about when will weget to 25 per cent I think we are ready to get to there if few of these fundamentals change I think getting a 25 per cent should not bea challenge if that happens going back to doubling in three years should happen
Your agrarian income has been under pressure rural infrastructure has not picked up and yet you are doing at 15 per cent so 15per cent is the base
I would think so but except that one should know we are at the end of the day an enabler if somebody is not doing well we can onlydo so much I think everyone sense the numbers that they are doing today we are pretty sure that our market shares would not fall ifany of our market share is only growing and therefore if that is converting itself into 15 per cent I think the answer is yes
If the agrarian income picks up what happens to you if the infrastructure picks up what happens to you and if they both pick upwhat happens to you
If you kind of go back into history when both were doing well let us say from somewhere between 11-12 to 13-14 times we sawalmost and every state both of this doing well possibly and therefore we had a great growth story from 10 onwards
We have had situations in the past and let us take some state in particular let us take Maharashtra or take any state of that matter ifthe monsoon does not do well I think the sentiments go low and I think about 40-50 per cent of the cash flow does come from thefarm cash flow so therefore to that extent things goes slow they start getting delayed So when you said six months farm cash flowsare expected to be good we reasonably believe 50-60 per cent of the book will normally behave in a very decent manner
Then look at each state as to which state is spending on what on infrastructure look at Andhra it has done well for us look at partsof Maharashtra Rajasthan parts of MP UP Bihar so we have had states which have done well and we have had states in the pastlike Tamil Nadu etc going slow for us So I think if the infra at the state level starts picking up may not be a large project but even acontinuing work there the labour and asset absorption if it happens well in state level I think our book should do normally wellbecause we are not financing a large contractors nor are we really financing the marginal customer
Our customers are someone who can afford to bring a 25 per cent margin on any assets it is close to about 15-2 lakh plus so if thatkind of a customer is what we are supporting I think he looks for a stable earnings on a monthly or a quarterly basis for him to beable to service the loan Even today if you look at our NPA numbers while it may be little elevated but you look at the progress inthose numbers customers are at least 60 per cent of the NPL customers are repaying their instalments they are not earning enoughto pay for the past So these stability is what we look for and then once the cash flow improves they get corrected
Are there any key categories which you have identified which will grow at 100 per cent or 75 per cent for next couple of years
If you look at our pre-owned book we are at about 8-10 per cent of the book is pre-owned vehicle we think that is a large opportunitybecause and I am not talking of commercial vehicle pre-owned that is not where we are but tractors utility vehicles cars
We have large number of customers about every year at least about 25-3 lakh customers contract mature So we are putting inplace an arrangement where when they sell their vehicle to someone else who wants to buy we know the vehicle we know thebackground of the vehicle we know the customer who is selling and the customer who is buying so I think that is a segment that willhelp us grow bigger and better that also comes with a much higher margin well the value of disbursements could be much lower butthat segment is something that we will see grow from a current 10-12 per cent book going up to may be 15-18 per cent
Is that is why your spreads are higher naturally because you are in a condition to lend more efficientlyExactly so we go more deeper we engage ourselves with the customer and in difficult times like this customer choose to buy apre-owned vehicle before he can go and buy any vehicle so it is a great opportunity
What could be that big change for Mahindra Financials what is that big thing which will give you a frog leap
We look at who is planning what so we look at what is MampMamprsquos plan in terms of vehicle launches how deep are they goinghow many dealers how are they doing Tractor also we look at Marutiamprsquos launch when we look at everyone else who iscoming with a rural vehicle we are now working with Nissan we are working with Renault we are working with Toyota we areworking with JCB all of them are looking at a customer out there
So what is it that we are looking for we are looking for all of them to really penetrate deeper we help some of them to go there andsome of the products attract customers there I think the two together makes a new volume there
So you remind me of this old Hindi movie dialogue roti kapda makaan that is what you always believe inYes precisely because we are giving product loan which is livelihood we give shelter housing loans we give insurance as asecurity loan We are willing to give them personal loans to meet their personal aspirations so I think that is our jobhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomopinioninterviewsat-the-end-of-the-day-we-are-enablers-and-everyone-has-to-sell-more-ramesh-iyer-vc-md-mm-financial-servicesarticleshow57143635cms
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Here is how much it will cost to personalize your Maruti Suzuki Ignis Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Maruti Suzuki with its Ignis has been very clear on its target audience and the target customer for the company hasbeen the amplsquomillennialsamprsquo or the youngsters of the country born between 1980-90 The company has a wider productportfolio to address to small family cars to executive sedans for corporate demand MPV Ertiga for Indian family needs SUV stylingon its Vitara Brezza and with Ignis it wants to diversify its product offering to attract the youth first time buyers
Launch at a concert using car emoji while using IGNIS on twitter and many more marketing stunts by the company certainlyhelped to create that initial buzz which the company was looking for On the product front also Maruti Suzuki announced variouspersonalisation and customisation options to give that individual look and below is the cost involved to customise Maruti SuzukiIgnis
Maruti Suzuki Ignis is being offered in 9 colours except for the base variant which only gets white silver and grey colour optionsCustomisation on Ignis is available on all the trims of all petrol diesel and automatic variants This is also the second offering afterMaruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza to get customisation options
Maruti Suzuki Ignis exterior customisation optionsOn the exterior you get to choose to include body side moulding cladding on the side door visor roof wrap roof spoiler and a fewother options Roof wraps also known as Crowners are available in 4 different patterns and number of colours Digiscape RadicalImplode and unbox are the names of the patterns of the crowners on option which costs an additional of Rs 9990
There is also an option of adding a roof line spoiler at Rs 5590 and for the carbon finish roof spoiler costs about 10990 Body sidemouldings are offered 6 colours
Overall You will end up paying about Rs13000 ampndash 16000 more on your choice of Ignis variant for exterior customisation
Maruti Suzuki Ignis customisation options (interiors)The interiors of the cars can also be tweaked and rather than doing it from a vendor outside its always good to get the factory fittedkits on a new car Inside the car you get an option of interior styling kit which includes ambient lighting there is also a huge rangeof floor mats seat covers to choose from Footers or floor mats comes with Ignis embossed on it to increase the personalised feel
Other features that you can include to personalise Maruti Suzuki Ignis are addition of Black alloy wheels crossbar cladding glassline spoiler door visor steering wheel finished in leather and rear-seat infotainment system
The infotainment system is not available on all variants specially on the automatic variants so the company is offering anaftermarket Kenwood infotainment system which is post-factory fitted equipment and will be installed at the Nexa dealership
At about Rs35000-40000 extra on your preferred Ignis variant you will be able to personalize the whole car Maruti Suzuki Ignis isthe only car in its segment to offer this personalization options This was introduced by the company since the launch and so far iswell recieved The company sold a total of 4830 units of its Ignis since its launch in January 2017httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshere-is-how-much-it-will-cost-to-personalize-your-maruti-suzuki-ignis57140666
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Opinion Rebirth of Ambassador brand Santosh DesaiThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
The selling of the Ambassador brand to Peugeot is an eyebrow raiser Why would anyone want to revive a car that is deservedlydead and in the minds of many took far too long in its death sequence a la a Hindi film hero in the 70s
Clearly Peugeot has no interest in the car in its physical form what it is buying is the idea of the Ambassador and the meaning thatit can give it in todays context
There is something about the Ambassador that lends itself to nostalgic affection Unlike the more sensible Fiat which offered atimid version of the modern and hence stops short of evoking an era and a culture the Ambassadors relation with the modern wasfrosty It remained steadfastly true to its own sensibilities largely because it refused to change or perhaps lacked the capability todo so
Barring minor modifications that were universally mocked at for their transparent lack of ambition the Ambassador stood its groundfor a long time Eventually it did change its engine but it was too late by then Its time was over once the hot plastic era of theMaruti made its appearance
In its time the Ambassador reigned supreme Its lines were inspired by a matrons commodious petticoats and its interiors had thecomfortable well-worn shabbiness of the Indian drawing room The gears shifted with a grunt and the car began its journey with agroan It drove one with the laconic recalcitrance of the father while offering you the familiar comfort of a mothers lap
One sprawled inside the car when not carrying ones entire brood of third cousins and their family friends to the railway station toreceive or to see someone off in the dead of night The car was large solid and rounded nothing about its design acknowledgedthat it was an object designed to move Indeed it seemed to actively shun any association with aerodynamics
The Ambassador squatted on the ground embracing its own centre of gravity It was a car that clearly believed that it was better towaddle than to race and moved with stolid disregard for ones surroundings or ones intent The Ambassador was status quo onwheels a car that allowed one to stand still even as one moved and to do so with ones entire way of life intact
It pointed nowhere and took us nowhere which was where we wanted to be The Ambassador was equanimity in a world where
abruptness was the norm Traffic on Indian roads might have been slow but it was always sudden Roads disappeared from undertheir feet cows changed their minds about moving buses decided to come tearing down the wrong side for a closer look andpedestrians stopped in the middle of the road to scratch themselves meditatively
The car itself was a constant source of uncertainty- it stalled leaked oil the brake fluid ran out at odd times of course it could alsobe repaired anywhere by virtually any mechanic and so life chugged along The ability to accommodate anything - peoplemerchandise circumstances recurring dents and scrapes breakdowns - without showing any sign of strain made the car a naturalin the Indian context
At the surface level the Ambassador might offer an easy route to marketable nostalgia particularly in the West It is a quirky riposteto the modern and works at the level of an ironic joke But this is the kind of appeal that works fast and dissipates even fasterHowever there is something more substantial about the idea of the Ambassador apart from its incongruous looks
The idea of the Ambassador potentially holds allure today because it tells us that it is possible to completely disregard context Itexposes the fuss that cars make about moving from point A to point B as being unnecessary Neither motion nor the car as anobject of desire are fetishised According to the Ambassador one can be a placid cow chewing cud while the world goes on aroundit spinning out of control The individual finds no reflection in the car the fluidity of time and fashion mean nothing to it It restores tothe car the idea of affectionate and comfortable warmth it feels like home should
Equanimity is the ornament of those that understand time One doesnt have to hurry the world doesnt need to be about oneselfone is secure in the knowledge that current events will pass however unlikely it seems today When one is home the world outsideholds few terrors at least for the time being
And while this idea has been born out of India and its realities today it is unlikely that this idea will find much resonance in India foras a country we have traded placid wisdom for prickly ambition Even if Peugeot were to re-present the Ambassador in anacceptably contemporary form the country today wants to see a more desirable face in the mirror The individual wants to seehimself and his future in the car he drives
The idea of the Ambassador becomes in effect a return to an earlier era and there is little appetite for that today Globally on theother hand it might be another story The brands attractiveness to a company like Peugeot lies in the fact that the Ambassador isabove all a brand It stands for an idea that is located in a culture and it signifies a belief in some values
It has a design ethos and a point of view about mobility and indeed about the world we live in today It is unlikely to offer theopportunity to build a huge global brand but there is a truth that it speaks that could potentially create value for the Frenchcompany Shorn of the shoddy product that carried this name it might just be that the underlying idea of the Ambassador hasrelevance in todays timeshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsopinion-rebirth-of-ambassador-brand57138047
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Ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave says Munjal N V VijayakumarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru Hero MotoCorp Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pawan Munjal is working hard to take the brand Hero on theglobal automotive landscape He believes that Hero MotoCorpamprsquos global expansion will help the company achieve asustainable growth in the long run
Being the largest producer of two-wheeler globally with over 65 million vehicles a year Munjal says the companyamprsquos strategyis product-centric for each geography Munjal tells DHamprsquos N VacirceuroˆVijayakumar that the company will reach 50 global marketswithin 2020
Can you elaborate your global expansion plan
We are going global to tap the huge untapped opportunities for growth We entered the global market after beginning our solojourney six years ago The launch in Argentina marks our foray into the 35th country globally We are right now present across AsiaAfrica and South and Central America
Our rapid expansion in these regions helped us build our brand identity We are present in these regions with a range of popularmotorcycles and scooters across segments which are known for their fuel efficiency performance and durability We expect thatthe mix of our product portfolio and after sales service efficiency will bring us ahead of the curve in these markets
How do you view the global economic environment
We also realise the fact that political or economic uncertainties are looming large globally We have to understand that suchuncertainties are present in every sphere of activity and that should not deter us from pursuing our long-term goals and vision Webelieve our global expansion is an opportunity for sustainable growth in the long run
We believe that we can achieve 10 of total sales from global operations by 2020 We do hope that we will scale up further afterthat We are planning to enter the Mexican and Brazilian markets soon
Do you believe that your volume play will help in the global expansion plan
We have to achieve some basic volume mass to make certain impact in the market The size and scale of Hero MotoCorp in the
Indian market is a big advantage when we foray into any global market
This helps us choose the distributor partner In terms of continent we are focussing on various continents and by 2020 we will get asolid idea of the market Then we will be focussing on 12 to 15 markets as they will help us grow Some markets will grow on theirown steam
We believe that we should focus on low hanging fruits in the markets like Latin America and Africa where we can achieve thevolume Unlike the western market especially the US and the South-East Asian markets geographies like Latin America and Africawe do not have to face any complications and no competition from existing established players from Japan Having said that wehavenamprsquot lost focus on global product planning
How do you view the domestic market
Hero MotoCorp finds huge potential from the domestic market as our growth comes from there only We are very much focused onchanges in the customer preference and this is clearly revealed during the last Auto Expo
We find a lot of traction in the premium and high performance products We feel in these segments our market share is very less orwe are entirely missing Also since our domestic two-wheeler penetration is still only around 30 we think there is still growth inthe mass market segment ranging from 100 cc to 150 cc
We are also registering steady growth in the scooter segment We aspire Hero MotoCorp achieve greater market share in thissegment than our current position
How do you view the investment made in RampD
We invested heavily in our new Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) located at Jaipur A lot of design and development workson premium products are currently happening there We have already made it with the new Achiever 150 The next one will beXtreme 200S a premium product which is already showcased at the Auto Expo last year
We want to come up with products that suit each geography as part of our global expansion and the centre will play a key role inthat Till now we donamprsquot have any global product and the CIT will come up with products that are truly global in nature and takeHero MotoCorp ahead of competition
Can you share your take on the growing importance of electric vehicles hybrid vehicles and ride sharing
I believe that ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave The world is really moving in that direction and we are alsocommitted to that Our research activities with electric vehicles are progressing at the CIT The government will have to focus onthis and I believe that we are not isolated in that as they have started their initiatives We have invested in two startups electricscooter startup Ather Energy based out of Bengaluru and ride-sharing bike taxi startup Rapido Cost and affordability will decide thegrowth of the hybrid products We have already displayed hybrid products at the Auto Expo
Startups are the rage of the day What is your take on this
I personally believe that lots of innovation happen in the startup culture Sometimes large companies are not able to do thosethings We also believe that big companies like Hero and other players should provide the ecosystem so that startups can alsoprosperhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596412ride-sharing-electric-vehicles-nexthtml
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Cars SUVs MUVs
2017 Honda City launched in India Prices start at Rs 849 lakh (Ex-Delhi) Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese car maker Honda Cars India launched the facelift on its 4th generation Honda City 2017 Thepetrol variants of Honda City are priced Rs 849 lakh - 1352 lakh (Ex-Delhi) at and the diesel variants of Honda City costs Rs1075 lakh - 1356 at (Ex- Delhi)
Honda City variant line-up now gets the addition of a new flagship grade ampndash ampldquoZXamprdquo
Honda City facelift now gets a wide-opening bumper design and a new signature front chrome grille with intricate design connectingthe two headlights The LED package including the integrated LED DRL which is now standard across all variants the inline LEDheadlamps LED fog lampsLED RR Combi LED license plate lamps trunk lid spoiler with LED
The car now also gets new diamond-cut and two-tone alloy wheel design for both 15 and 16 inch wheels The new City also hasfirst-in-segment auto-folding door mirrors in V VX and ZX grades
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India Ltd said ampldquoThe Honda City has been ourmost successful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquosmost successful sedan since its launch in 1998 It has also been the industry benchmark for quality and has been ranked No 1 by
the JD Power Initial Quality Study 14 times since its inception in the Indian marketamprdquo
ampldquoWith the launch of a much-enhanced new Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations byoffering amazing value at a very competitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in thesegmentamprdquo he added
Interiors are finished in dual-tone beige amp black trim Honda City also gets a 177 cm touchscreen infotainment system called theDigipad which supports navigation voice recognition Bluetooth and also Wi-Fi support for internet The infotainment system isavailable on the V VX and ZX grades
The car also features a soft-touch dashboard on passenger side and new white illumination in the advanced 3D multi-informationmeter Other important interior feature includes chrome plating on steering switches and chrome plated knobs for rear-aircon ventThe car continues to get the tilt and telescopic steering adjustment StartStop ignition system button fully auto-dimming insiderear-view mirror and LED interior cabin lights
The ZX grade also has both rear-adjustable headrests
The interiors of the new City are beige upholstery with dual-tone beige amp black trims
Honda City continues to get the same 15L i-DTEC diesel engine of Earth Dream Technology series which sheds a power of 100 Psand a peak torque of 200 Nm Honda City diesel claims a mileage of 256 Kmpl The engine is mated to a 6-speed manualtransmission
The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119 ps and a torque of 145 NmIt has been mated with the same CVT gearbox with 7-speed paddle shifters and claims a mileage of 18 kmpl The 5-speed manualtransmission delivers an impressive fuel efficiency of 174 kmpl
Honda is offering dual SRS airbags ABS with EBD as a standard safety features across all its variants The new ZX variant gets 6air-bags automatic headlamp and auto rain-sensing wipers
The new Honda City 2017 is offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades Petrol CVTwill be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
Honda is also offereing 3 accessory packages on the facelifted City
Deliveries of the new Honda City will begin immediately from the HCIL dealer network of 332 facilities in 220 cities across thecountryhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-honda-city-launched-in-india-prices-start-at-rs-8-49-lakh-ex-delhi57141912Honda rolls out new City at starting price of Rs 850 lakhThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newshonda-rolls-out-new-city-at-starting-price-of-rs-850-lakharticle9543447eceHonda unveils much-awaited City 2017The Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautolauncheshonda-unveils-much-awaited-city-2017articleshow57142363cms 2017 Honda City Facelift launched at Rs850 lakhThe Statesman (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthestatesmancombusiness2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-8-50-lakh-1487059835htmlAutocar Indiahttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-849-lakh-404196aspxHonda City facelift launched at Rs 85 LakhAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinessautos140217honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-85-lakhhtmlHonda Introduces City facelift at Rs 85 LakhDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos140217honda-introduces-city-facelift-at-rs-85-lakhhtml
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Honda City 2017 bookings cross 5000 units Pooja ChatterjeeThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese carmaker Hondas newly launched 4th generation City 2017 has crossed 5000 bookings in 12days Out of 5000 70 percent bookings were for petrol variant
Bookings for New Honda City 2017 started from February 3 with an amount of Rs 21000 The car was launched on February 14 forRs 849990 (ex showroom Delhi)
The new Honda City 2017 will be offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades PetrolCVT will be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
The New Honda City 2017 will be available in 5 exterior colours ampndash Modern Steel Metallic (New) White Orchid PearlCarnelian Red Pearl Alabaster Silver Metallic and Golden Brown Metallic
The Diesel City is powered by the 15L i-DTEC engine which delivers maximum power of 100ps3600 rpm with a max torque of
200 Nm1750 rpm The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119ps6600 rpm and a torque of 145 N-m4600 rpm
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India said ampldquoThe Honda City has been our mostsuccessful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquos mostsuccessful sedan since its launch in 1998
The New Honda City 2017 is likely to act as a disruptive product for the carmaker and help it woo back its customers who shifted toMaruti Suzuki Ciaz one of the biggest competitor of the carhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshonda-city-2017-bookings-cross-5000-units57145018Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 cr m-cap hit post Q3Daily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-cr-m-cap-hit-post-q3-2322687
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Honda has no plans for a sub-Rs5 lakh car in India Amrit Rajmint (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Cars India Ltd will look to introduce more premium and bigger automobiles as it seeks to lift sales that havesagged 23 so far this financial year
In the meantime the Honda City sedan and the sub-4 meter notchback Amaze will be the two mainstays of the Japanese carmakerin India
On Tuesday Honda launched a new Honda City priced at Rs85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWe receive a lot of request to launch more premium and bigger carsamprdquo Yoichiro Ueno chief executive and presidentof Honda Cars India said in an interview ampldquoWe launched Accord Hybrid which is quite premium segment as it is a CBU It isreceiving quite good acceptance We are studying the potential for this sort of a bigger marketamprdquo
CBU is short for Completely Built Up and refers to a car that is completely imported
Honda needs to do something to boost sales in India The Japanese carmaker is way off its target of selling 300000 cars per yearin India by March 2017 Even globally Honda has scrapped its sales forecast of achieving seven million units by 2017 amid recallwoes
In India sales of Honda Cars during April-January declined 23 to 124000 units compared with an increase of 9 to 25 millionunits for the broader automobile industry in the same period
To be sure Honda is still a premium brand and its customers seem to be happy with its products It has performed consistently wellin the JD Power survey for customer satisfaction
But the Indian car market itself has changed There are more companies seeking premium playampmdasha phenomenon that Hondapioneered in India At the same time Honda does not have a strong presence in some key market segments
Honda has no plans to introduce a car in the sub-Rs5 lakh category in the near future said Ueno The sub-Rs5 lakh segmentaccounts for about 50 of total passenger vehicles sold in India
It does not have a compact sports utility vehicle eitherampmdashanother hot-selling segment although in March it plans to launch theWR-V a derivative of the Jazz hatchback reminiscent of an SUV The multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio didnamprsquot do too well andnor did the BR-V which Ueno says is a cross between an SUV and MPV
Honda launched the Brio hatchback and the Amaze in 2011 and 2012ampmdashlong after its rivals had entered these segments
ampldquoWe are not a late entrant but careful Weamprsquore careful about Indiaamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBelow Rs5 lakhwe are not launching Maybe it is not our market We are talking about a couple of years In the long term(when) big motorization comes and this sort of small cars become very popular we might consider For a while we arenamprsquotconsideringamprdquo Ueno said
When ampldquobig motorizationamprdquo actually happens Ueno says the Indian market can be as big as 10 million units per annum
As for the demand for SUVs Ueno said that the trend may not last
ampldquoSUV is a boom and we have seen that kind of a boom in many countries It will be there for some time maybe a few yearsWe have seen that in the US there was a big boom and even in Japanampmdashand then it droppedamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBut at some stage of the maturing of motorization SUVs do become popular At this moment many customers are choosingSUVs because of the rough road conditions Improvement of infrastructure is very very fast in India So some customers willcome back to sedans or other segments Always the market trend can be changedamprdquo he addedhttpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesFR2bp58jTndVKeuoPtF75KHonda-eyes-top-slot-in-sedan-segment-with-launch-of-new-Cityhtml
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Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese auto major Honda on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its best selling sedan City in India priced at betweenRs 85 lakh and Rs 1358 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWith the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price
I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo Honda Cars India president andCEO Yoichiro Ueno said
The City competes with Maruti Suzukiamprsquos Ciaz While City had been the segment leader for a long time it was recentlydethroned by the Ciaz The new City is an upgraded version of the 4th generationThe new version will be available in both petroland diesel options
While the petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel variant isavailable in the price range of Rs 1076 lakh to Rs 1357 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessHonda-unveils-new-City-bids-to-trump-Maruti-Ciazarticle17303948ece
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Honda lines up compact SUV Civic Pankaj DovalThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Civic will make a comeback in India as the Japanese car maker looks for a more aggressive play in thepremium-end while staying away from mass-market segment categories that are dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Hondahas been struggling to maintain growth in India and has reported negative numbers for the last 15 months in a row It will also drivein a new compact SUV -WR-V -based on the Jazz platform Yoichiro Ueno MD amp CEO of the Indian subsidiary told TOI here
Ueno said the company had attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with models such as Brio mini butcould not experience encouraging growth due to heightened competition from established players
The brand positioning is thus being scaled up We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning which is a bit morepremium though not luxury So we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai We would like to do that interms of products service and customer experience Petrol-only Civic had been one of the most-recognisable cars from the brandbut was moved out from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel
With petrol gaining traction in the market once again following decontrol of fuel prices the company is now keen to reintroduce thecar here
We are keen but we need some time to study and some period to meet the regulations for India Ueno said when asked aboutplans for the launch of Civic in India The model is expected to be launched within a year Ueno said WR-V will be launched prettysoonhttptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinessindia-businesshonda-lines-up-compact-suv-civicarticleshow57157599cms
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Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City Ajay ModiBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese car maker Honda is eyeing a bigger sedan ride from the launch of its fourth generation City which has beenfacing a challenge from rival Maruti Suzukis Ciaz City the best-selling model for Honda ever since it entered India in 1998 andsegment leader for years is now behind Ciaz in volumesSince the Honda brand was established in India with the City as the firstproduct it holds a special place in the company and also among the customers With this relaunch we believe we will regain thesegment leadership said Jnaneswar Sen senior vice-president (sales amp marketing) Honda Cars India
City has been launched at a price beginning Rs 850 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) and the top end variant is priced at Rs 1358 lakh Iam confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segment Honda Cars India President and CEOYoichiro Ueno said The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) So on a price point Maruti still has the edge But Sen said the new City is packed with several new featuresthat will bring buyers back In the last ten days the company has received advance bookings for about 5000 units (petrol and dieselcombined) of the new City
The significance of City is evident from its contribution to Hondas sales in India during the last nineteen years The Japanese automajor has sold approximately 13 million cars in the country since it arrived Every second car sold by the company happened to bea City
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
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Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
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Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
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E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
Top
Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
Mistryamprsquos exit and more recently demonetization And now we have a deplorable set of numbers put forth by the company forthe December quarter which practically writes off the stockamprsquos near-term prospects Not surprisingly the stock plunged by 4and its DVR (differential voting rights) tanked even harder by 6 after the results were announced
Although the consolidated net revenue at Rs668551 crore was in tune with Street estimates it was the operating performance thatwas the biggest let-down It was harder to fathom because the UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover Ltd (JLR) which has been leadingprofits higher quarter after quarter for the first time hugely failed investors
Consolidated operating margin fell by about 500 basis points to 76 from a year ago mainly because JLRamprsquos upward margintrajectory was punctured It contracted from 144 to 93ampmdashthe first time to single digits since fiscal year 2010 The TataMotors management in its media meet explained that runout in one of its premium models significant marketing expenses biennialsalary negotiations and new model launches led to this margin drop Add to this an unfavourable currency and product mix too
One wonders though if its new product lines are yielding lower profit margins Indeed JLR sales have been maintained thanks tothe expansion in US markets even when China briefly wobbled and Europe was still inching up But higher market penetration andshare led to margin erosion during the quarter The consequent weak operating profit trickled down to weaker net profit almost halfof that clocked a year back
The story was similar for the stand-alone company on home ground too Demonetization impacted commercial vehicle salesthough its passenger cars fared better than the industry during the quarter But again it was the 345 basis points drop in operatingmargin to 15 that was a big let-down from the Streetamprsquos expectation of 42 Net loss at Rs1000 crore was more severethan that charted out by brokerage firms
Therefore the consolidated net profit of Rs1116 crore was a distant cry from the ambitious average expectation of Rs22645 croreby 20 Bloomberg analysts
For now it does not appear that the results disappointed on account of any one-off provisions or write-offs Therefore a bigger slidein the Tata Motors stock which closed at Rs48680 on Tuesday may not be surprising Certainly brokerage firms will trim theearnings forecast for the near term
Yes it cannot be ignored that JLR the prized cash-cow of Tata Motors is continuing to add sales volumes What needs to bewatched is whether growth will come at the cost of margins If so it will cap the earnings momentum leading to an erosion invaluation toohttpwwwlivemintcomMoneyRNNHsLKWnhup8oEQTJDwdMTata-Motors-has-a-bumpy-ride-ahead-with-JLR-misfiringhtml
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Eicher Motors hits three-month high stock up 10 post Q3 results Business Standard (Web Edition)
Mumbai Eicher Motors gained3 to Rs 25449 on the BSE in an otherwise subdued market The stock trading at its highest levelsince November 1 2016 is 45 away from its record high of Rs 26602 touched on September 29 2016 in intra-day trade
Thus far in February the stock has appreciated by 10 after the company reported good set of numbers for the quarter endedDecember 2016 (Q3FY17) In comparison the SampP BSE Sensex was up 24 during the period
Eicher Motors is engaged in manufacturing automobile products and related components The Company also owns the RoyalEnfield motorcycle business
The company had reported a strong 49 year on year (YoY) jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 417 crore in Q3FY17 on backof 43 YoY rise in total operational income at Rs 2071 crore It also recorded its highest ever and best-in-class EBITDA (earningsbefore interest tax depreciation and amortization) margin at 314
ampldquoRoyal Enfield (RE) margins expanded 50bps QoQ340bps YoY to 318 beating our estimates of 308 Margins weredriven by a 150bps reduction in other expenses due to lower marketing expenditureamprdquo analysts at Religare InstitutionalResearch said in a results preview The broking firm maintains amplsquobuyamprsquo ration on the stock with target price of Rs 27500
Meanwhile RE the two-wheeler division of Eicher Motors reported a 25 jump in total sales at 59676 units in January Thetwo-wheeler manufacturer had sold 47710 units in January 2016
At 0107 pm the stock was up 23 at Rs 25348 as compared to 002 decline in the SampP BSE Sensex A combined 46838shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE so farhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlemarketseicher-motors-hits-three-month-high-stock-up-10-post-q3-results-117021400340_1html
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The Budget 2017 Hard task Shekar ViswanathanDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Much has been written and said on this and the modal rating of the budget is a healthy 7 out of 10 This stems from the fact that themost refreshing feature of the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley statement is the recognition that the salaried class has been paying its
taxes as a result of the tax deducted at source provision that enables the taxman to collect taxes most easily
In fact the FM went on to say that it is salaried tax payers who have been carrying the burden of paying taxes and having to makeup for those who have not been paying these taxes So the reduction of taxes in the tax brackets up to Rs 5 lakh is something tocheer about
Hard driveThe auto sector has reason to be less than pleased as it was unfairly made the villain of the piece last year when two of itsmembers found their state of the art vehicles banned by the Supreme Court in the NCR on the specious reasoning of vehiclesabove 2000 cc being more polluting
Yet in the current budget there was no measure announced by the Government in scrapping old vehicles particularly those usingengines compatible only with older grade BS 1 BS2 and BS3 fuel
A scrappage scheme would have been most helpful in removing old vehicles from the road and putting in newer vehiclesenhancing tax collections thereby and ensuring that a culture of pollution reduction takes root Indeed a missed opportunity
Further more a formal scheme to capture the second hand vehicle trade and bring it within the tax net would have been a healthyprecursor to the advent of GST this July
The income arising out of the transfer of carbon credits is sought to be taxed at 10 of such income This is not encouraging at allRather the Government of India would have done well to incentivise the generation of carbon credit as this will force companies tolook for environment friendly ways to generate production Those who buy carbon credits ought to have been taxed Infrastructurespend of course has been fixed at Rs 64000 crore ampndash while this is laudable it remains to be seen whether the government cansustain the spend at the scorching pace of 133 km per day
While numbers are important in a budget this is one area where implementation is key to evaluating whether the budget direction issuccessful or not
The hard analysisThe auto sectoramprsquos growth has always been linked to job creation With the punitive tax structure on excise in respect of thebigger cars this sector has hardly been incentivised to grow
The magic of the auto sector is that for every vehicle built the jobs in the service sector grow concomitantly whether it is in simpleservice jobs for autos or in the allied financial services and certainly in the auto component sector
Small cars do not necessarily mean lower pollution or lower congestion which is the bane of Indian urban roads People mover carssuch as the 8 seaters equipped with state of the art engines and compatible with modern fuels ought to have been encouraged witha lower tax structure to provide last mile connectivity and to lessen the scourge of pollutionhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596410budget-2017-hard-taskhtml
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Interviews amp Features
At the end of the day we are enablers and everyone has to sell more Ramesh Iyer VC amp MD MampM Financial Services The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Ramesh Iyer VC amp MD MampM Financial Services talks to ET Now about the future of MampM Financils and how much demonetisationhas hit their business if at all
There are concerns which are visible in terms of what is going to happen to the demand side or in terms of fresh NPA formation oneis getting a sense that at least fresh NPA formation has stopped
I very strongly think that it is nothing new I mean it has happened for different reasons may be but what we hear from the customeris that the sentiments are pretty positive at least the monsoon cash flows have been very supportive the farm cash flows havedefinitely improved over the third quarter to fourth quarter as we see I would therefore think that the sentiments are returningpositive and with little infrastructure that will commence in different states I would think the rural should do well
After getting listed your numbers are getting slightly more difficult for an outsider to predict why is thatIf you look at pre-listing we might have been almost a single product company like we were just doing may be Mahindra Vehiclesand then we added tractors to that so it was much more easier for someone to predict because you knew what is happening outthere
We derisk ourselves by going to more geography and then more products so that got in different segments of customers and theynot necessarily behave the same way like a tractor would have behaved earlier so that is one of the reasons why this becomes
Also the reasons are earlier it was so easy to understand the first half in rural is not as good as the second half is With the delayedmonsoon the crop money gets delayed it moves from third to fourth quarter so everyone kind of understands will it be good in thethird quarter suddenly you see a shift happening to the fourth quarter
Over a period of time the rural cash flow has also moved from just farm dependent to also infra based cash flow so when it moved
into first time into infra base cash flow I think it was more stable every quarter had some numbers coming in once it gets to a largersize there are some delays in government payments or from tractor payments etc
All customers that we work with are earn and pay customers they are not fixed cash flow customers so it will always be thechallenge to predict in a earn and pay segment as to when is this earning going to come in and how are they going to dischargetheir liabilities But what is important to look at a model like this is look at a contractual period of three years you will never find wemake less money than we promise to make
Are you getting a sense that Q4 onwards things will look substantially better
So demonetisation did what to us one is 8th November to end November none of us knew what exactly should be our reaction howdo we take it forward what do we do
Customers were kind of guessing as to what they should be doing I think December showed a very different number to uscustomers started getting used to this money did comeback into the market in some form So demonetisation impact is it gotaccepted well a new format has been found and going forward seems to be definitely good but we should not forget that ultimatelyagain I am repeating the customers are earn and pay customer their overall transaction volumes have to go
Farm cash flows are pretty positive I think the money is coming in what was to come in the third quarter possibly has got shifted tothe fourth quarter The January crop is good and therefore we do think that the flow of money from farm will definitely be good Ithink another important thing to look at is look at state by state these businesses are no more to be looked at India as a whole
If some states are doing well from a growth perspective we resources ourselves well there and if some states need higher attentionfrom a recovery perspective then we resource ourselves differently in those states
So you find us adjusting to this so these are models which are getting into what is your ability to quickly readjust to the new normalunlike before you had a stable situation you put a model in place work around it for three years-four years time now I think it isgetting to a situation where what is your ability to kind of quickly react to a changing scenario how fast can you change what is theflexibility of your organisation as a peopleamprsquos competence and capability anyone who does all of this well I think will still have agreat future also
So when do you think the new cycle will start for you in terms of demand and in terms of recovery
We did not have had too much of pressure on demand you see if somebody wanted us to grow at 25 per cent we have not grown atthat but I think at the end of the day we are enablers and everyone has to sell more but for example the tractors did well We alsogrow in tractors our market share went up as well as volumes went up
So if you look at our books we still have a growth rate of anywhere between 12 and 15 per cent now someone has used toMahindra Finance growth rate of 25-30 per cent continues to think that we are not growing enough and I want to correct thatimpression to say on a large book growing at 15 per cent is a good enough growth
So 15 per cent growth is a new normal for you now
I would not say so but 15 per cent in the current situation is a great growth is that the way I would put it Yes you can get back to a25 per cent I mean look at for the same volume that disbursements are low because the discounts on the product is high See if thediscounts vcanish you get another 5-7 per cent growth happening and then of course the value of the price goes up for that tractoror cars or anything then you get a growth and then the volumes kicks in
So asset side growth I am not too worried we have deeper penetration large customer base we are in close to 300000 plus villagesin this country so why should I worry much about the growth out there
Historically if you look at a book NPA might have climbed up climbed down whichever way it has happened our credit losses havenever gone beyond 225-24 per cent which is well priced into our pricing into the customer
So I am not again overly worried about the peaking of NPA like the norms changed from 150 to 120 we move to 120 We have notchanged our aggressive provisioning that we were doing even otherwise We will need to move to 90 so I do not think one needs tolook at NPAs as a standalone number to say how is the NPA moving up let us look at if the NPA is moving up what is the coveragethat you have got but eventually is the collateral competent and capable enough to protect the principal there we are prettyconfident because loan to asset value is the key to success of this business
So if you are kind of restricted yourself to somewhere around 75-77 per cent or even go up to 80 per cent and someone repays 10instalments on a three year or a four year period I think we are well protected and therefore that is not the big worry Yessituationally cash flows need to improve money starts coming back then past provisions bring back your profits and futureprovisions no need to be these aggressive
Historically your book has doubled in 24 to 28 months but that was when you are growing at about 25 per cent 25 has become 15so can I assume that your book now will double in three and a half to four years not before that
If it is 15 per cen it it will take about four years or so but I continue to believe that this growth rate will change as the volumesincreases like last month we saw Maruti retail numbers were good so we got the benefit of it
We normally do about 8000-9000 vehicles we crossed 12000 vehicles so in overall car market for us is also growing
Mahindra UV numbers are growing for us tractor numbers are growing pre-owned vehicle will be a growth story for us We havestill not a significant player when it comes to commercial vehicle construction equipment once the infrastructure story unfolds I thinkwe will get benefit of these happening as well
I think to get back to a 25 per cent kind of a growth story two-three things need to happen overall volumes need to improve there Ithink the discounts on products need to vanish if these two happens even without a price increase on the vehicle I think the growthrate will return to some new number We are putting in place a direct marketing initiative where we reach out to our customers andthrough them we are actually growing more business
So there clearly go to a customer he gets you more customer in the village so I think I am again not too worried about when will weget to 25 per cent I think we are ready to get to there if few of these fundamentals change I think getting a 25 per cent should not bea challenge if that happens going back to doubling in three years should happen
Your agrarian income has been under pressure rural infrastructure has not picked up and yet you are doing at 15 per cent so 15per cent is the base
I would think so but except that one should know we are at the end of the day an enabler if somebody is not doing well we can onlydo so much I think everyone sense the numbers that they are doing today we are pretty sure that our market shares would not fall ifany of our market share is only growing and therefore if that is converting itself into 15 per cent I think the answer is yes
If the agrarian income picks up what happens to you if the infrastructure picks up what happens to you and if they both pick upwhat happens to you
If you kind of go back into history when both were doing well let us say from somewhere between 11-12 to 13-14 times we sawalmost and every state both of this doing well possibly and therefore we had a great growth story from 10 onwards
We have had situations in the past and let us take some state in particular let us take Maharashtra or take any state of that matter ifthe monsoon does not do well I think the sentiments go low and I think about 40-50 per cent of the cash flow does come from thefarm cash flow so therefore to that extent things goes slow they start getting delayed So when you said six months farm cash flowsare expected to be good we reasonably believe 50-60 per cent of the book will normally behave in a very decent manner
Then look at each state as to which state is spending on what on infrastructure look at Andhra it has done well for us look at partsof Maharashtra Rajasthan parts of MP UP Bihar so we have had states which have done well and we have had states in the pastlike Tamil Nadu etc going slow for us So I think if the infra at the state level starts picking up may not be a large project but even acontinuing work there the labour and asset absorption if it happens well in state level I think our book should do normally wellbecause we are not financing a large contractors nor are we really financing the marginal customer
Our customers are someone who can afford to bring a 25 per cent margin on any assets it is close to about 15-2 lakh plus so if thatkind of a customer is what we are supporting I think he looks for a stable earnings on a monthly or a quarterly basis for him to beable to service the loan Even today if you look at our NPA numbers while it may be little elevated but you look at the progress inthose numbers customers are at least 60 per cent of the NPL customers are repaying their instalments they are not earning enoughto pay for the past So these stability is what we look for and then once the cash flow improves they get corrected
Are there any key categories which you have identified which will grow at 100 per cent or 75 per cent for next couple of years
If you look at our pre-owned book we are at about 8-10 per cent of the book is pre-owned vehicle we think that is a large opportunitybecause and I am not talking of commercial vehicle pre-owned that is not where we are but tractors utility vehicles cars
We have large number of customers about every year at least about 25-3 lakh customers contract mature So we are putting inplace an arrangement where when they sell their vehicle to someone else who wants to buy we know the vehicle we know thebackground of the vehicle we know the customer who is selling and the customer who is buying so I think that is a segment that willhelp us grow bigger and better that also comes with a much higher margin well the value of disbursements could be much lower butthat segment is something that we will see grow from a current 10-12 per cent book going up to may be 15-18 per cent
Is that is why your spreads are higher naturally because you are in a condition to lend more efficientlyExactly so we go more deeper we engage ourselves with the customer and in difficult times like this customer choose to buy apre-owned vehicle before he can go and buy any vehicle so it is a great opportunity
What could be that big change for Mahindra Financials what is that big thing which will give you a frog leap
We look at who is planning what so we look at what is MampMamprsquos plan in terms of vehicle launches how deep are they goinghow many dealers how are they doing Tractor also we look at Marutiamprsquos launch when we look at everyone else who iscoming with a rural vehicle we are now working with Nissan we are working with Renault we are working with Toyota we areworking with JCB all of them are looking at a customer out there
So what is it that we are looking for we are looking for all of them to really penetrate deeper we help some of them to go there andsome of the products attract customers there I think the two together makes a new volume there
So you remind me of this old Hindi movie dialogue roti kapda makaan that is what you always believe inYes precisely because we are giving product loan which is livelihood we give shelter housing loans we give insurance as asecurity loan We are willing to give them personal loans to meet their personal aspirations so I think that is our jobhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomopinioninterviewsat-the-end-of-the-day-we-are-enablers-and-everyone-has-to-sell-more-ramesh-iyer-vc-md-mm-financial-servicesarticleshow57143635cms
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Here is how much it will cost to personalize your Maruti Suzuki Ignis Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Maruti Suzuki with its Ignis has been very clear on its target audience and the target customer for the company hasbeen the amplsquomillennialsamprsquo or the youngsters of the country born between 1980-90 The company has a wider productportfolio to address to small family cars to executive sedans for corporate demand MPV Ertiga for Indian family needs SUV stylingon its Vitara Brezza and with Ignis it wants to diversify its product offering to attract the youth first time buyers
Launch at a concert using car emoji while using IGNIS on twitter and many more marketing stunts by the company certainlyhelped to create that initial buzz which the company was looking for On the product front also Maruti Suzuki announced variouspersonalisation and customisation options to give that individual look and below is the cost involved to customise Maruti SuzukiIgnis
Maruti Suzuki Ignis is being offered in 9 colours except for the base variant which only gets white silver and grey colour optionsCustomisation on Ignis is available on all the trims of all petrol diesel and automatic variants This is also the second offering afterMaruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza to get customisation options
Maruti Suzuki Ignis exterior customisation optionsOn the exterior you get to choose to include body side moulding cladding on the side door visor roof wrap roof spoiler and a fewother options Roof wraps also known as Crowners are available in 4 different patterns and number of colours Digiscape RadicalImplode and unbox are the names of the patterns of the crowners on option which costs an additional of Rs 9990
There is also an option of adding a roof line spoiler at Rs 5590 and for the carbon finish roof spoiler costs about 10990 Body sidemouldings are offered 6 colours
Overall You will end up paying about Rs13000 ampndash 16000 more on your choice of Ignis variant for exterior customisation
Maruti Suzuki Ignis customisation options (interiors)The interiors of the cars can also be tweaked and rather than doing it from a vendor outside its always good to get the factory fittedkits on a new car Inside the car you get an option of interior styling kit which includes ambient lighting there is also a huge rangeof floor mats seat covers to choose from Footers or floor mats comes with Ignis embossed on it to increase the personalised feel
Other features that you can include to personalise Maruti Suzuki Ignis are addition of Black alloy wheels crossbar cladding glassline spoiler door visor steering wheel finished in leather and rear-seat infotainment system
The infotainment system is not available on all variants specially on the automatic variants so the company is offering anaftermarket Kenwood infotainment system which is post-factory fitted equipment and will be installed at the Nexa dealership
At about Rs35000-40000 extra on your preferred Ignis variant you will be able to personalize the whole car Maruti Suzuki Ignis isthe only car in its segment to offer this personalization options This was introduced by the company since the launch and so far iswell recieved The company sold a total of 4830 units of its Ignis since its launch in January 2017httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshere-is-how-much-it-will-cost-to-personalize-your-maruti-suzuki-ignis57140666
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Opinion Rebirth of Ambassador brand Santosh DesaiThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
The selling of the Ambassador brand to Peugeot is an eyebrow raiser Why would anyone want to revive a car that is deservedlydead and in the minds of many took far too long in its death sequence a la a Hindi film hero in the 70s
Clearly Peugeot has no interest in the car in its physical form what it is buying is the idea of the Ambassador and the meaning thatit can give it in todays context
There is something about the Ambassador that lends itself to nostalgic affection Unlike the more sensible Fiat which offered atimid version of the modern and hence stops short of evoking an era and a culture the Ambassadors relation with the modern wasfrosty It remained steadfastly true to its own sensibilities largely because it refused to change or perhaps lacked the capability todo so
Barring minor modifications that were universally mocked at for their transparent lack of ambition the Ambassador stood its groundfor a long time Eventually it did change its engine but it was too late by then Its time was over once the hot plastic era of theMaruti made its appearance
In its time the Ambassador reigned supreme Its lines were inspired by a matrons commodious petticoats and its interiors had thecomfortable well-worn shabbiness of the Indian drawing room The gears shifted with a grunt and the car began its journey with agroan It drove one with the laconic recalcitrance of the father while offering you the familiar comfort of a mothers lap
One sprawled inside the car when not carrying ones entire brood of third cousins and their family friends to the railway station toreceive or to see someone off in the dead of night The car was large solid and rounded nothing about its design acknowledgedthat it was an object designed to move Indeed it seemed to actively shun any association with aerodynamics
The Ambassador squatted on the ground embracing its own centre of gravity It was a car that clearly believed that it was better towaddle than to race and moved with stolid disregard for ones surroundings or ones intent The Ambassador was status quo onwheels a car that allowed one to stand still even as one moved and to do so with ones entire way of life intact
It pointed nowhere and took us nowhere which was where we wanted to be The Ambassador was equanimity in a world where
abruptness was the norm Traffic on Indian roads might have been slow but it was always sudden Roads disappeared from undertheir feet cows changed their minds about moving buses decided to come tearing down the wrong side for a closer look andpedestrians stopped in the middle of the road to scratch themselves meditatively
The car itself was a constant source of uncertainty- it stalled leaked oil the brake fluid ran out at odd times of course it could alsobe repaired anywhere by virtually any mechanic and so life chugged along The ability to accommodate anything - peoplemerchandise circumstances recurring dents and scrapes breakdowns - without showing any sign of strain made the car a naturalin the Indian context
At the surface level the Ambassador might offer an easy route to marketable nostalgia particularly in the West It is a quirky riposteto the modern and works at the level of an ironic joke But this is the kind of appeal that works fast and dissipates even fasterHowever there is something more substantial about the idea of the Ambassador apart from its incongruous looks
The idea of the Ambassador potentially holds allure today because it tells us that it is possible to completely disregard context Itexposes the fuss that cars make about moving from point A to point B as being unnecessary Neither motion nor the car as anobject of desire are fetishised According to the Ambassador one can be a placid cow chewing cud while the world goes on aroundit spinning out of control The individual finds no reflection in the car the fluidity of time and fashion mean nothing to it It restores tothe car the idea of affectionate and comfortable warmth it feels like home should
Equanimity is the ornament of those that understand time One doesnt have to hurry the world doesnt need to be about oneselfone is secure in the knowledge that current events will pass however unlikely it seems today When one is home the world outsideholds few terrors at least for the time being
And while this idea has been born out of India and its realities today it is unlikely that this idea will find much resonance in India foras a country we have traded placid wisdom for prickly ambition Even if Peugeot were to re-present the Ambassador in anacceptably contemporary form the country today wants to see a more desirable face in the mirror The individual wants to seehimself and his future in the car he drives
The idea of the Ambassador becomes in effect a return to an earlier era and there is little appetite for that today Globally on theother hand it might be another story The brands attractiveness to a company like Peugeot lies in the fact that the Ambassador isabove all a brand It stands for an idea that is located in a culture and it signifies a belief in some values
It has a design ethos and a point of view about mobility and indeed about the world we live in today It is unlikely to offer theopportunity to build a huge global brand but there is a truth that it speaks that could potentially create value for the Frenchcompany Shorn of the shoddy product that carried this name it might just be that the underlying idea of the Ambassador hasrelevance in todays timeshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsopinion-rebirth-of-ambassador-brand57138047
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Ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave says Munjal N V VijayakumarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru Hero MotoCorp Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pawan Munjal is working hard to take the brand Hero on theglobal automotive landscape He believes that Hero MotoCorpamprsquos global expansion will help the company achieve asustainable growth in the long run
Being the largest producer of two-wheeler globally with over 65 million vehicles a year Munjal says the companyamprsquos strategyis product-centric for each geography Munjal tells DHamprsquos N VacirceuroˆVijayakumar that the company will reach 50 global marketswithin 2020
Can you elaborate your global expansion plan
We are going global to tap the huge untapped opportunities for growth We entered the global market after beginning our solojourney six years ago The launch in Argentina marks our foray into the 35th country globally We are right now present across AsiaAfrica and South and Central America
Our rapid expansion in these regions helped us build our brand identity We are present in these regions with a range of popularmotorcycles and scooters across segments which are known for their fuel efficiency performance and durability We expect thatthe mix of our product portfolio and after sales service efficiency will bring us ahead of the curve in these markets
How do you view the global economic environment
We also realise the fact that political or economic uncertainties are looming large globally We have to understand that suchuncertainties are present in every sphere of activity and that should not deter us from pursuing our long-term goals and vision Webelieve our global expansion is an opportunity for sustainable growth in the long run
We believe that we can achieve 10 of total sales from global operations by 2020 We do hope that we will scale up further afterthat We are planning to enter the Mexican and Brazilian markets soon
Do you believe that your volume play will help in the global expansion plan
We have to achieve some basic volume mass to make certain impact in the market The size and scale of Hero MotoCorp in the
Indian market is a big advantage when we foray into any global market
This helps us choose the distributor partner In terms of continent we are focussing on various continents and by 2020 we will get asolid idea of the market Then we will be focussing on 12 to 15 markets as they will help us grow Some markets will grow on theirown steam
We believe that we should focus on low hanging fruits in the markets like Latin America and Africa where we can achieve thevolume Unlike the western market especially the US and the South-East Asian markets geographies like Latin America and Africawe do not have to face any complications and no competition from existing established players from Japan Having said that wehavenamprsquot lost focus on global product planning
How do you view the domestic market
Hero MotoCorp finds huge potential from the domestic market as our growth comes from there only We are very much focused onchanges in the customer preference and this is clearly revealed during the last Auto Expo
We find a lot of traction in the premium and high performance products We feel in these segments our market share is very less orwe are entirely missing Also since our domestic two-wheeler penetration is still only around 30 we think there is still growth inthe mass market segment ranging from 100 cc to 150 cc
We are also registering steady growth in the scooter segment We aspire Hero MotoCorp achieve greater market share in thissegment than our current position
How do you view the investment made in RampD
We invested heavily in our new Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) located at Jaipur A lot of design and development workson premium products are currently happening there We have already made it with the new Achiever 150 The next one will beXtreme 200S a premium product which is already showcased at the Auto Expo last year
We want to come up with products that suit each geography as part of our global expansion and the centre will play a key role inthat Till now we donamprsquot have any global product and the CIT will come up with products that are truly global in nature and takeHero MotoCorp ahead of competition
Can you share your take on the growing importance of electric vehicles hybrid vehicles and ride sharing
I believe that ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave The world is really moving in that direction and we are alsocommitted to that Our research activities with electric vehicles are progressing at the CIT The government will have to focus onthis and I believe that we are not isolated in that as they have started their initiatives We have invested in two startups electricscooter startup Ather Energy based out of Bengaluru and ride-sharing bike taxi startup Rapido Cost and affordability will decide thegrowth of the hybrid products We have already displayed hybrid products at the Auto Expo
Startups are the rage of the day What is your take on this
I personally believe that lots of innovation happen in the startup culture Sometimes large companies are not able to do thosethings We also believe that big companies like Hero and other players should provide the ecosystem so that startups can alsoprosperhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596412ride-sharing-electric-vehicles-nexthtml
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Cars SUVs MUVs
2017 Honda City launched in India Prices start at Rs 849 lakh (Ex-Delhi) Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese car maker Honda Cars India launched the facelift on its 4th generation Honda City 2017 Thepetrol variants of Honda City are priced Rs 849 lakh - 1352 lakh (Ex-Delhi) at and the diesel variants of Honda City costs Rs1075 lakh - 1356 at (Ex- Delhi)
Honda City variant line-up now gets the addition of a new flagship grade ampndash ampldquoZXamprdquo
Honda City facelift now gets a wide-opening bumper design and a new signature front chrome grille with intricate design connectingthe two headlights The LED package including the integrated LED DRL which is now standard across all variants the inline LEDheadlamps LED fog lampsLED RR Combi LED license plate lamps trunk lid spoiler with LED
The car now also gets new diamond-cut and two-tone alloy wheel design for both 15 and 16 inch wheels The new City also hasfirst-in-segment auto-folding door mirrors in V VX and ZX grades
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India Ltd said ampldquoThe Honda City has been ourmost successful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquosmost successful sedan since its launch in 1998 It has also been the industry benchmark for quality and has been ranked No 1 by
the JD Power Initial Quality Study 14 times since its inception in the Indian marketamprdquo
ampldquoWith the launch of a much-enhanced new Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations byoffering amazing value at a very competitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in thesegmentamprdquo he added
Interiors are finished in dual-tone beige amp black trim Honda City also gets a 177 cm touchscreen infotainment system called theDigipad which supports navigation voice recognition Bluetooth and also Wi-Fi support for internet The infotainment system isavailable on the V VX and ZX grades
The car also features a soft-touch dashboard on passenger side and new white illumination in the advanced 3D multi-informationmeter Other important interior feature includes chrome plating on steering switches and chrome plated knobs for rear-aircon ventThe car continues to get the tilt and telescopic steering adjustment StartStop ignition system button fully auto-dimming insiderear-view mirror and LED interior cabin lights
The ZX grade also has both rear-adjustable headrests
The interiors of the new City are beige upholstery with dual-tone beige amp black trims
Honda City continues to get the same 15L i-DTEC diesel engine of Earth Dream Technology series which sheds a power of 100 Psand a peak torque of 200 Nm Honda City diesel claims a mileage of 256 Kmpl The engine is mated to a 6-speed manualtransmission
The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119 ps and a torque of 145 NmIt has been mated with the same CVT gearbox with 7-speed paddle shifters and claims a mileage of 18 kmpl The 5-speed manualtransmission delivers an impressive fuel efficiency of 174 kmpl
Honda is offering dual SRS airbags ABS with EBD as a standard safety features across all its variants The new ZX variant gets 6air-bags automatic headlamp and auto rain-sensing wipers
The new Honda City 2017 is offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades Petrol CVTwill be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
Honda is also offereing 3 accessory packages on the facelifted City
Deliveries of the new Honda City will begin immediately from the HCIL dealer network of 332 facilities in 220 cities across thecountryhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-honda-city-launched-in-india-prices-start-at-rs-8-49-lakh-ex-delhi57141912Honda rolls out new City at starting price of Rs 850 lakhThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newshonda-rolls-out-new-city-at-starting-price-of-rs-850-lakharticle9543447eceHonda unveils much-awaited City 2017The Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautolauncheshonda-unveils-much-awaited-city-2017articleshow57142363cms 2017 Honda City Facelift launched at Rs850 lakhThe Statesman (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthestatesmancombusiness2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-8-50-lakh-1487059835htmlAutocar Indiahttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-849-lakh-404196aspxHonda City facelift launched at Rs 85 LakhAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinessautos140217honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-85-lakhhtmlHonda Introduces City facelift at Rs 85 LakhDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos140217honda-introduces-city-facelift-at-rs-85-lakhhtml
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Honda City 2017 bookings cross 5000 units Pooja ChatterjeeThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese carmaker Hondas newly launched 4th generation City 2017 has crossed 5000 bookings in 12days Out of 5000 70 percent bookings were for petrol variant
Bookings for New Honda City 2017 started from February 3 with an amount of Rs 21000 The car was launched on February 14 forRs 849990 (ex showroom Delhi)
The new Honda City 2017 will be offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades PetrolCVT will be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
The New Honda City 2017 will be available in 5 exterior colours ampndash Modern Steel Metallic (New) White Orchid PearlCarnelian Red Pearl Alabaster Silver Metallic and Golden Brown Metallic
The Diesel City is powered by the 15L i-DTEC engine which delivers maximum power of 100ps3600 rpm with a max torque of
200 Nm1750 rpm The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119ps6600 rpm and a torque of 145 N-m4600 rpm
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India said ampldquoThe Honda City has been our mostsuccessful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquos mostsuccessful sedan since its launch in 1998
The New Honda City 2017 is likely to act as a disruptive product for the carmaker and help it woo back its customers who shifted toMaruti Suzuki Ciaz one of the biggest competitor of the carhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshonda-city-2017-bookings-cross-5000-units57145018Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 cr m-cap hit post Q3Daily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-cr-m-cap-hit-post-q3-2322687
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Honda has no plans for a sub-Rs5 lakh car in India Amrit Rajmint (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Cars India Ltd will look to introduce more premium and bigger automobiles as it seeks to lift sales that havesagged 23 so far this financial year
In the meantime the Honda City sedan and the sub-4 meter notchback Amaze will be the two mainstays of the Japanese carmakerin India
On Tuesday Honda launched a new Honda City priced at Rs85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWe receive a lot of request to launch more premium and bigger carsamprdquo Yoichiro Ueno chief executive and presidentof Honda Cars India said in an interview ampldquoWe launched Accord Hybrid which is quite premium segment as it is a CBU It isreceiving quite good acceptance We are studying the potential for this sort of a bigger marketamprdquo
CBU is short for Completely Built Up and refers to a car that is completely imported
Honda needs to do something to boost sales in India The Japanese carmaker is way off its target of selling 300000 cars per yearin India by March 2017 Even globally Honda has scrapped its sales forecast of achieving seven million units by 2017 amid recallwoes
In India sales of Honda Cars during April-January declined 23 to 124000 units compared with an increase of 9 to 25 millionunits for the broader automobile industry in the same period
To be sure Honda is still a premium brand and its customers seem to be happy with its products It has performed consistently wellin the JD Power survey for customer satisfaction
But the Indian car market itself has changed There are more companies seeking premium playampmdasha phenomenon that Hondapioneered in India At the same time Honda does not have a strong presence in some key market segments
Honda has no plans to introduce a car in the sub-Rs5 lakh category in the near future said Ueno The sub-Rs5 lakh segmentaccounts for about 50 of total passenger vehicles sold in India
It does not have a compact sports utility vehicle eitherampmdashanother hot-selling segment although in March it plans to launch theWR-V a derivative of the Jazz hatchback reminiscent of an SUV The multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio didnamprsquot do too well andnor did the BR-V which Ueno says is a cross between an SUV and MPV
Honda launched the Brio hatchback and the Amaze in 2011 and 2012ampmdashlong after its rivals had entered these segments
ampldquoWe are not a late entrant but careful Weamprsquore careful about Indiaamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBelow Rs5 lakhwe are not launching Maybe it is not our market We are talking about a couple of years In the long term(when) big motorization comes and this sort of small cars become very popular we might consider For a while we arenamprsquotconsideringamprdquo Ueno said
When ampldquobig motorizationamprdquo actually happens Ueno says the Indian market can be as big as 10 million units per annum
As for the demand for SUVs Ueno said that the trend may not last
ampldquoSUV is a boom and we have seen that kind of a boom in many countries It will be there for some time maybe a few yearsWe have seen that in the US there was a big boom and even in Japanampmdashand then it droppedamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBut at some stage of the maturing of motorization SUVs do become popular At this moment many customers are choosingSUVs because of the rough road conditions Improvement of infrastructure is very very fast in India So some customers willcome back to sedans or other segments Always the market trend can be changedamprdquo he addedhttpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesFR2bp58jTndVKeuoPtF75KHonda-eyes-top-slot-in-sedan-segment-with-launch-of-new-Cityhtml
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Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese auto major Honda on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its best selling sedan City in India priced at betweenRs 85 lakh and Rs 1358 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWith the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price
I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo Honda Cars India president andCEO Yoichiro Ueno said
The City competes with Maruti Suzukiamprsquos Ciaz While City had been the segment leader for a long time it was recentlydethroned by the Ciaz The new City is an upgraded version of the 4th generationThe new version will be available in both petroland diesel options
While the petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel variant isavailable in the price range of Rs 1076 lakh to Rs 1357 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessHonda-unveils-new-City-bids-to-trump-Maruti-Ciazarticle17303948ece
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Honda lines up compact SUV Civic Pankaj DovalThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Civic will make a comeback in India as the Japanese car maker looks for a more aggressive play in thepremium-end while staying away from mass-market segment categories that are dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Hondahas been struggling to maintain growth in India and has reported negative numbers for the last 15 months in a row It will also drivein a new compact SUV -WR-V -based on the Jazz platform Yoichiro Ueno MD amp CEO of the Indian subsidiary told TOI here
Ueno said the company had attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with models such as Brio mini butcould not experience encouraging growth due to heightened competition from established players
The brand positioning is thus being scaled up We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning which is a bit morepremium though not luxury So we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai We would like to do that interms of products service and customer experience Petrol-only Civic had been one of the most-recognisable cars from the brandbut was moved out from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel
With petrol gaining traction in the market once again following decontrol of fuel prices the company is now keen to reintroduce thecar here
We are keen but we need some time to study and some period to meet the regulations for India Ueno said when asked aboutplans for the launch of Civic in India The model is expected to be launched within a year Ueno said WR-V will be launched prettysoonhttptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinessindia-businesshonda-lines-up-compact-suv-civicarticleshow57157599cms
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Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City Ajay ModiBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese car maker Honda is eyeing a bigger sedan ride from the launch of its fourth generation City which has beenfacing a challenge from rival Maruti Suzukis Ciaz City the best-selling model for Honda ever since it entered India in 1998 andsegment leader for years is now behind Ciaz in volumesSince the Honda brand was established in India with the City as the firstproduct it holds a special place in the company and also among the customers With this relaunch we believe we will regain thesegment leadership said Jnaneswar Sen senior vice-president (sales amp marketing) Honda Cars India
City has been launched at a price beginning Rs 850 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) and the top end variant is priced at Rs 1358 lakh Iam confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segment Honda Cars India President and CEOYoichiro Ueno said The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) So on a price point Maruti still has the edge But Sen said the new City is packed with several new featuresthat will bring buyers back In the last ten days the company has received advance bookings for about 5000 units (petrol and dieselcombined) of the new City
The significance of City is evident from its contribution to Hondas sales in India during the last nineteen years The Japanese automajor has sold approximately 13 million cars in the country since it arrived Every second car sold by the company happened to bea City
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
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Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
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Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
Top
Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
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E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
Top
Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
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Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
taxes as a result of the tax deducted at source provision that enables the taxman to collect taxes most easily
In fact the FM went on to say that it is salaried tax payers who have been carrying the burden of paying taxes and having to makeup for those who have not been paying these taxes So the reduction of taxes in the tax brackets up to Rs 5 lakh is something tocheer about
Hard driveThe auto sector has reason to be less than pleased as it was unfairly made the villain of the piece last year when two of itsmembers found their state of the art vehicles banned by the Supreme Court in the NCR on the specious reasoning of vehiclesabove 2000 cc being more polluting
Yet in the current budget there was no measure announced by the Government in scrapping old vehicles particularly those usingengines compatible only with older grade BS 1 BS2 and BS3 fuel
A scrappage scheme would have been most helpful in removing old vehicles from the road and putting in newer vehiclesenhancing tax collections thereby and ensuring that a culture of pollution reduction takes root Indeed a missed opportunity
Further more a formal scheme to capture the second hand vehicle trade and bring it within the tax net would have been a healthyprecursor to the advent of GST this July
The income arising out of the transfer of carbon credits is sought to be taxed at 10 of such income This is not encouraging at allRather the Government of India would have done well to incentivise the generation of carbon credit as this will force companies tolook for environment friendly ways to generate production Those who buy carbon credits ought to have been taxed Infrastructurespend of course has been fixed at Rs 64000 crore ampndash while this is laudable it remains to be seen whether the government cansustain the spend at the scorching pace of 133 km per day
While numbers are important in a budget this is one area where implementation is key to evaluating whether the budget direction issuccessful or not
The hard analysisThe auto sectoramprsquos growth has always been linked to job creation With the punitive tax structure on excise in respect of thebigger cars this sector has hardly been incentivised to grow
The magic of the auto sector is that for every vehicle built the jobs in the service sector grow concomitantly whether it is in simpleservice jobs for autos or in the allied financial services and certainly in the auto component sector
Small cars do not necessarily mean lower pollution or lower congestion which is the bane of Indian urban roads People mover carssuch as the 8 seaters equipped with state of the art engines and compatible with modern fuels ought to have been encouraged witha lower tax structure to provide last mile connectivity and to lessen the scourge of pollutionhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596410budget-2017-hard-taskhtml
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Interviews amp Features
At the end of the day we are enablers and everyone has to sell more Ramesh Iyer VC amp MD MampM Financial Services The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Ramesh Iyer VC amp MD MampM Financial Services talks to ET Now about the future of MampM Financils and how much demonetisationhas hit their business if at all
There are concerns which are visible in terms of what is going to happen to the demand side or in terms of fresh NPA formation oneis getting a sense that at least fresh NPA formation has stopped
I very strongly think that it is nothing new I mean it has happened for different reasons may be but what we hear from the customeris that the sentiments are pretty positive at least the monsoon cash flows have been very supportive the farm cash flows havedefinitely improved over the third quarter to fourth quarter as we see I would therefore think that the sentiments are returningpositive and with little infrastructure that will commence in different states I would think the rural should do well
After getting listed your numbers are getting slightly more difficult for an outsider to predict why is thatIf you look at pre-listing we might have been almost a single product company like we were just doing may be Mahindra Vehiclesand then we added tractors to that so it was much more easier for someone to predict because you knew what is happening outthere
We derisk ourselves by going to more geography and then more products so that got in different segments of customers and theynot necessarily behave the same way like a tractor would have behaved earlier so that is one of the reasons why this becomes
Also the reasons are earlier it was so easy to understand the first half in rural is not as good as the second half is With the delayedmonsoon the crop money gets delayed it moves from third to fourth quarter so everyone kind of understands will it be good in thethird quarter suddenly you see a shift happening to the fourth quarter
Over a period of time the rural cash flow has also moved from just farm dependent to also infra based cash flow so when it moved
into first time into infra base cash flow I think it was more stable every quarter had some numbers coming in once it gets to a largersize there are some delays in government payments or from tractor payments etc
All customers that we work with are earn and pay customers they are not fixed cash flow customers so it will always be thechallenge to predict in a earn and pay segment as to when is this earning going to come in and how are they going to dischargetheir liabilities But what is important to look at a model like this is look at a contractual period of three years you will never find wemake less money than we promise to make
Are you getting a sense that Q4 onwards things will look substantially better
So demonetisation did what to us one is 8th November to end November none of us knew what exactly should be our reaction howdo we take it forward what do we do
Customers were kind of guessing as to what they should be doing I think December showed a very different number to uscustomers started getting used to this money did comeback into the market in some form So demonetisation impact is it gotaccepted well a new format has been found and going forward seems to be definitely good but we should not forget that ultimatelyagain I am repeating the customers are earn and pay customer their overall transaction volumes have to go
Farm cash flows are pretty positive I think the money is coming in what was to come in the third quarter possibly has got shifted tothe fourth quarter The January crop is good and therefore we do think that the flow of money from farm will definitely be good Ithink another important thing to look at is look at state by state these businesses are no more to be looked at India as a whole
If some states are doing well from a growth perspective we resources ourselves well there and if some states need higher attentionfrom a recovery perspective then we resource ourselves differently in those states
So you find us adjusting to this so these are models which are getting into what is your ability to quickly readjust to the new normalunlike before you had a stable situation you put a model in place work around it for three years-four years time now I think it isgetting to a situation where what is your ability to kind of quickly react to a changing scenario how fast can you change what is theflexibility of your organisation as a peopleamprsquos competence and capability anyone who does all of this well I think will still have agreat future also
So when do you think the new cycle will start for you in terms of demand and in terms of recovery
We did not have had too much of pressure on demand you see if somebody wanted us to grow at 25 per cent we have not grown atthat but I think at the end of the day we are enablers and everyone has to sell more but for example the tractors did well We alsogrow in tractors our market share went up as well as volumes went up
So if you look at our books we still have a growth rate of anywhere between 12 and 15 per cent now someone has used toMahindra Finance growth rate of 25-30 per cent continues to think that we are not growing enough and I want to correct thatimpression to say on a large book growing at 15 per cent is a good enough growth
So 15 per cent growth is a new normal for you now
I would not say so but 15 per cent in the current situation is a great growth is that the way I would put it Yes you can get back to a25 per cent I mean look at for the same volume that disbursements are low because the discounts on the product is high See if thediscounts vcanish you get another 5-7 per cent growth happening and then of course the value of the price goes up for that tractoror cars or anything then you get a growth and then the volumes kicks in
So asset side growth I am not too worried we have deeper penetration large customer base we are in close to 300000 plus villagesin this country so why should I worry much about the growth out there
Historically if you look at a book NPA might have climbed up climbed down whichever way it has happened our credit losses havenever gone beyond 225-24 per cent which is well priced into our pricing into the customer
So I am not again overly worried about the peaking of NPA like the norms changed from 150 to 120 we move to 120 We have notchanged our aggressive provisioning that we were doing even otherwise We will need to move to 90 so I do not think one needs tolook at NPAs as a standalone number to say how is the NPA moving up let us look at if the NPA is moving up what is the coveragethat you have got but eventually is the collateral competent and capable enough to protect the principal there we are prettyconfident because loan to asset value is the key to success of this business
So if you are kind of restricted yourself to somewhere around 75-77 per cent or even go up to 80 per cent and someone repays 10instalments on a three year or a four year period I think we are well protected and therefore that is not the big worry Yessituationally cash flows need to improve money starts coming back then past provisions bring back your profits and futureprovisions no need to be these aggressive
Historically your book has doubled in 24 to 28 months but that was when you are growing at about 25 per cent 25 has become 15so can I assume that your book now will double in three and a half to four years not before that
If it is 15 per cen it it will take about four years or so but I continue to believe that this growth rate will change as the volumesincreases like last month we saw Maruti retail numbers were good so we got the benefit of it
We normally do about 8000-9000 vehicles we crossed 12000 vehicles so in overall car market for us is also growing
Mahindra UV numbers are growing for us tractor numbers are growing pre-owned vehicle will be a growth story for us We havestill not a significant player when it comes to commercial vehicle construction equipment once the infrastructure story unfolds I thinkwe will get benefit of these happening as well
I think to get back to a 25 per cent kind of a growth story two-three things need to happen overall volumes need to improve there Ithink the discounts on products need to vanish if these two happens even without a price increase on the vehicle I think the growthrate will return to some new number We are putting in place a direct marketing initiative where we reach out to our customers andthrough them we are actually growing more business
So there clearly go to a customer he gets you more customer in the village so I think I am again not too worried about when will weget to 25 per cent I think we are ready to get to there if few of these fundamentals change I think getting a 25 per cent should not bea challenge if that happens going back to doubling in three years should happen
Your agrarian income has been under pressure rural infrastructure has not picked up and yet you are doing at 15 per cent so 15per cent is the base
I would think so but except that one should know we are at the end of the day an enabler if somebody is not doing well we can onlydo so much I think everyone sense the numbers that they are doing today we are pretty sure that our market shares would not fall ifany of our market share is only growing and therefore if that is converting itself into 15 per cent I think the answer is yes
If the agrarian income picks up what happens to you if the infrastructure picks up what happens to you and if they both pick upwhat happens to you
If you kind of go back into history when both were doing well let us say from somewhere between 11-12 to 13-14 times we sawalmost and every state both of this doing well possibly and therefore we had a great growth story from 10 onwards
We have had situations in the past and let us take some state in particular let us take Maharashtra or take any state of that matter ifthe monsoon does not do well I think the sentiments go low and I think about 40-50 per cent of the cash flow does come from thefarm cash flow so therefore to that extent things goes slow they start getting delayed So when you said six months farm cash flowsare expected to be good we reasonably believe 50-60 per cent of the book will normally behave in a very decent manner
Then look at each state as to which state is spending on what on infrastructure look at Andhra it has done well for us look at partsof Maharashtra Rajasthan parts of MP UP Bihar so we have had states which have done well and we have had states in the pastlike Tamil Nadu etc going slow for us So I think if the infra at the state level starts picking up may not be a large project but even acontinuing work there the labour and asset absorption if it happens well in state level I think our book should do normally wellbecause we are not financing a large contractors nor are we really financing the marginal customer
Our customers are someone who can afford to bring a 25 per cent margin on any assets it is close to about 15-2 lakh plus so if thatkind of a customer is what we are supporting I think he looks for a stable earnings on a monthly or a quarterly basis for him to beable to service the loan Even today if you look at our NPA numbers while it may be little elevated but you look at the progress inthose numbers customers are at least 60 per cent of the NPL customers are repaying their instalments they are not earning enoughto pay for the past So these stability is what we look for and then once the cash flow improves they get corrected
Are there any key categories which you have identified which will grow at 100 per cent or 75 per cent for next couple of years
If you look at our pre-owned book we are at about 8-10 per cent of the book is pre-owned vehicle we think that is a large opportunitybecause and I am not talking of commercial vehicle pre-owned that is not where we are but tractors utility vehicles cars
We have large number of customers about every year at least about 25-3 lakh customers contract mature So we are putting inplace an arrangement where when they sell their vehicle to someone else who wants to buy we know the vehicle we know thebackground of the vehicle we know the customer who is selling and the customer who is buying so I think that is a segment that willhelp us grow bigger and better that also comes with a much higher margin well the value of disbursements could be much lower butthat segment is something that we will see grow from a current 10-12 per cent book going up to may be 15-18 per cent
Is that is why your spreads are higher naturally because you are in a condition to lend more efficientlyExactly so we go more deeper we engage ourselves with the customer and in difficult times like this customer choose to buy apre-owned vehicle before he can go and buy any vehicle so it is a great opportunity
What could be that big change for Mahindra Financials what is that big thing which will give you a frog leap
We look at who is planning what so we look at what is MampMamprsquos plan in terms of vehicle launches how deep are they goinghow many dealers how are they doing Tractor also we look at Marutiamprsquos launch when we look at everyone else who iscoming with a rural vehicle we are now working with Nissan we are working with Renault we are working with Toyota we areworking with JCB all of them are looking at a customer out there
So what is it that we are looking for we are looking for all of them to really penetrate deeper we help some of them to go there andsome of the products attract customers there I think the two together makes a new volume there
So you remind me of this old Hindi movie dialogue roti kapda makaan that is what you always believe inYes precisely because we are giving product loan which is livelihood we give shelter housing loans we give insurance as asecurity loan We are willing to give them personal loans to meet their personal aspirations so I think that is our jobhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomopinioninterviewsat-the-end-of-the-day-we-are-enablers-and-everyone-has-to-sell-more-ramesh-iyer-vc-md-mm-financial-servicesarticleshow57143635cms
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Here is how much it will cost to personalize your Maruti Suzuki Ignis Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Maruti Suzuki with its Ignis has been very clear on its target audience and the target customer for the company hasbeen the amplsquomillennialsamprsquo or the youngsters of the country born between 1980-90 The company has a wider productportfolio to address to small family cars to executive sedans for corporate demand MPV Ertiga for Indian family needs SUV stylingon its Vitara Brezza and with Ignis it wants to diversify its product offering to attract the youth first time buyers
Launch at a concert using car emoji while using IGNIS on twitter and many more marketing stunts by the company certainlyhelped to create that initial buzz which the company was looking for On the product front also Maruti Suzuki announced variouspersonalisation and customisation options to give that individual look and below is the cost involved to customise Maruti SuzukiIgnis
Maruti Suzuki Ignis is being offered in 9 colours except for the base variant which only gets white silver and grey colour optionsCustomisation on Ignis is available on all the trims of all petrol diesel and automatic variants This is also the second offering afterMaruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza to get customisation options
Maruti Suzuki Ignis exterior customisation optionsOn the exterior you get to choose to include body side moulding cladding on the side door visor roof wrap roof spoiler and a fewother options Roof wraps also known as Crowners are available in 4 different patterns and number of colours Digiscape RadicalImplode and unbox are the names of the patterns of the crowners on option which costs an additional of Rs 9990
There is also an option of adding a roof line spoiler at Rs 5590 and for the carbon finish roof spoiler costs about 10990 Body sidemouldings are offered 6 colours
Overall You will end up paying about Rs13000 ampndash 16000 more on your choice of Ignis variant for exterior customisation
Maruti Suzuki Ignis customisation options (interiors)The interiors of the cars can also be tweaked and rather than doing it from a vendor outside its always good to get the factory fittedkits on a new car Inside the car you get an option of interior styling kit which includes ambient lighting there is also a huge rangeof floor mats seat covers to choose from Footers or floor mats comes with Ignis embossed on it to increase the personalised feel
Other features that you can include to personalise Maruti Suzuki Ignis are addition of Black alloy wheels crossbar cladding glassline spoiler door visor steering wheel finished in leather and rear-seat infotainment system
The infotainment system is not available on all variants specially on the automatic variants so the company is offering anaftermarket Kenwood infotainment system which is post-factory fitted equipment and will be installed at the Nexa dealership
At about Rs35000-40000 extra on your preferred Ignis variant you will be able to personalize the whole car Maruti Suzuki Ignis isthe only car in its segment to offer this personalization options This was introduced by the company since the launch and so far iswell recieved The company sold a total of 4830 units of its Ignis since its launch in January 2017httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshere-is-how-much-it-will-cost-to-personalize-your-maruti-suzuki-ignis57140666
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Opinion Rebirth of Ambassador brand Santosh DesaiThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
The selling of the Ambassador brand to Peugeot is an eyebrow raiser Why would anyone want to revive a car that is deservedlydead and in the minds of many took far too long in its death sequence a la a Hindi film hero in the 70s
Clearly Peugeot has no interest in the car in its physical form what it is buying is the idea of the Ambassador and the meaning thatit can give it in todays context
There is something about the Ambassador that lends itself to nostalgic affection Unlike the more sensible Fiat which offered atimid version of the modern and hence stops short of evoking an era and a culture the Ambassadors relation with the modern wasfrosty It remained steadfastly true to its own sensibilities largely because it refused to change or perhaps lacked the capability todo so
Barring minor modifications that were universally mocked at for their transparent lack of ambition the Ambassador stood its groundfor a long time Eventually it did change its engine but it was too late by then Its time was over once the hot plastic era of theMaruti made its appearance
In its time the Ambassador reigned supreme Its lines were inspired by a matrons commodious petticoats and its interiors had thecomfortable well-worn shabbiness of the Indian drawing room The gears shifted with a grunt and the car began its journey with agroan It drove one with the laconic recalcitrance of the father while offering you the familiar comfort of a mothers lap
One sprawled inside the car when not carrying ones entire brood of third cousins and their family friends to the railway station toreceive or to see someone off in the dead of night The car was large solid and rounded nothing about its design acknowledgedthat it was an object designed to move Indeed it seemed to actively shun any association with aerodynamics
The Ambassador squatted on the ground embracing its own centre of gravity It was a car that clearly believed that it was better towaddle than to race and moved with stolid disregard for ones surroundings or ones intent The Ambassador was status quo onwheels a car that allowed one to stand still even as one moved and to do so with ones entire way of life intact
It pointed nowhere and took us nowhere which was where we wanted to be The Ambassador was equanimity in a world where
abruptness was the norm Traffic on Indian roads might have been slow but it was always sudden Roads disappeared from undertheir feet cows changed their minds about moving buses decided to come tearing down the wrong side for a closer look andpedestrians stopped in the middle of the road to scratch themselves meditatively
The car itself was a constant source of uncertainty- it stalled leaked oil the brake fluid ran out at odd times of course it could alsobe repaired anywhere by virtually any mechanic and so life chugged along The ability to accommodate anything - peoplemerchandise circumstances recurring dents and scrapes breakdowns - without showing any sign of strain made the car a naturalin the Indian context
At the surface level the Ambassador might offer an easy route to marketable nostalgia particularly in the West It is a quirky riposteto the modern and works at the level of an ironic joke But this is the kind of appeal that works fast and dissipates even fasterHowever there is something more substantial about the idea of the Ambassador apart from its incongruous looks
The idea of the Ambassador potentially holds allure today because it tells us that it is possible to completely disregard context Itexposes the fuss that cars make about moving from point A to point B as being unnecessary Neither motion nor the car as anobject of desire are fetishised According to the Ambassador one can be a placid cow chewing cud while the world goes on aroundit spinning out of control The individual finds no reflection in the car the fluidity of time and fashion mean nothing to it It restores tothe car the idea of affectionate and comfortable warmth it feels like home should
Equanimity is the ornament of those that understand time One doesnt have to hurry the world doesnt need to be about oneselfone is secure in the knowledge that current events will pass however unlikely it seems today When one is home the world outsideholds few terrors at least for the time being
And while this idea has been born out of India and its realities today it is unlikely that this idea will find much resonance in India foras a country we have traded placid wisdom for prickly ambition Even if Peugeot were to re-present the Ambassador in anacceptably contemporary form the country today wants to see a more desirable face in the mirror The individual wants to seehimself and his future in the car he drives
The idea of the Ambassador becomes in effect a return to an earlier era and there is little appetite for that today Globally on theother hand it might be another story The brands attractiveness to a company like Peugeot lies in the fact that the Ambassador isabove all a brand It stands for an idea that is located in a culture and it signifies a belief in some values
It has a design ethos and a point of view about mobility and indeed about the world we live in today It is unlikely to offer theopportunity to build a huge global brand but there is a truth that it speaks that could potentially create value for the Frenchcompany Shorn of the shoddy product that carried this name it might just be that the underlying idea of the Ambassador hasrelevance in todays timeshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsopinion-rebirth-of-ambassador-brand57138047
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Ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave says Munjal N V VijayakumarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru Hero MotoCorp Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pawan Munjal is working hard to take the brand Hero on theglobal automotive landscape He believes that Hero MotoCorpamprsquos global expansion will help the company achieve asustainable growth in the long run
Being the largest producer of two-wheeler globally with over 65 million vehicles a year Munjal says the companyamprsquos strategyis product-centric for each geography Munjal tells DHamprsquos N VacirceuroˆVijayakumar that the company will reach 50 global marketswithin 2020
Can you elaborate your global expansion plan
We are going global to tap the huge untapped opportunities for growth We entered the global market after beginning our solojourney six years ago The launch in Argentina marks our foray into the 35th country globally We are right now present across AsiaAfrica and South and Central America
Our rapid expansion in these regions helped us build our brand identity We are present in these regions with a range of popularmotorcycles and scooters across segments which are known for their fuel efficiency performance and durability We expect thatthe mix of our product portfolio and after sales service efficiency will bring us ahead of the curve in these markets
How do you view the global economic environment
We also realise the fact that political or economic uncertainties are looming large globally We have to understand that suchuncertainties are present in every sphere of activity and that should not deter us from pursuing our long-term goals and vision Webelieve our global expansion is an opportunity for sustainable growth in the long run
We believe that we can achieve 10 of total sales from global operations by 2020 We do hope that we will scale up further afterthat We are planning to enter the Mexican and Brazilian markets soon
Do you believe that your volume play will help in the global expansion plan
We have to achieve some basic volume mass to make certain impact in the market The size and scale of Hero MotoCorp in the
Indian market is a big advantage when we foray into any global market
This helps us choose the distributor partner In terms of continent we are focussing on various continents and by 2020 we will get asolid idea of the market Then we will be focussing on 12 to 15 markets as they will help us grow Some markets will grow on theirown steam
We believe that we should focus on low hanging fruits in the markets like Latin America and Africa where we can achieve thevolume Unlike the western market especially the US and the South-East Asian markets geographies like Latin America and Africawe do not have to face any complications and no competition from existing established players from Japan Having said that wehavenamprsquot lost focus on global product planning
How do you view the domestic market
Hero MotoCorp finds huge potential from the domestic market as our growth comes from there only We are very much focused onchanges in the customer preference and this is clearly revealed during the last Auto Expo
We find a lot of traction in the premium and high performance products We feel in these segments our market share is very less orwe are entirely missing Also since our domestic two-wheeler penetration is still only around 30 we think there is still growth inthe mass market segment ranging from 100 cc to 150 cc
We are also registering steady growth in the scooter segment We aspire Hero MotoCorp achieve greater market share in thissegment than our current position
How do you view the investment made in RampD
We invested heavily in our new Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) located at Jaipur A lot of design and development workson premium products are currently happening there We have already made it with the new Achiever 150 The next one will beXtreme 200S a premium product which is already showcased at the Auto Expo last year
We want to come up with products that suit each geography as part of our global expansion and the centre will play a key role inthat Till now we donamprsquot have any global product and the CIT will come up with products that are truly global in nature and takeHero MotoCorp ahead of competition
Can you share your take on the growing importance of electric vehicles hybrid vehicles and ride sharing
I believe that ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave The world is really moving in that direction and we are alsocommitted to that Our research activities with electric vehicles are progressing at the CIT The government will have to focus onthis and I believe that we are not isolated in that as they have started their initiatives We have invested in two startups electricscooter startup Ather Energy based out of Bengaluru and ride-sharing bike taxi startup Rapido Cost and affordability will decide thegrowth of the hybrid products We have already displayed hybrid products at the Auto Expo
Startups are the rage of the day What is your take on this
I personally believe that lots of innovation happen in the startup culture Sometimes large companies are not able to do thosethings We also believe that big companies like Hero and other players should provide the ecosystem so that startups can alsoprosperhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596412ride-sharing-electric-vehicles-nexthtml
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Cars SUVs MUVs
2017 Honda City launched in India Prices start at Rs 849 lakh (Ex-Delhi) Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese car maker Honda Cars India launched the facelift on its 4th generation Honda City 2017 Thepetrol variants of Honda City are priced Rs 849 lakh - 1352 lakh (Ex-Delhi) at and the diesel variants of Honda City costs Rs1075 lakh - 1356 at (Ex- Delhi)
Honda City variant line-up now gets the addition of a new flagship grade ampndash ampldquoZXamprdquo
Honda City facelift now gets a wide-opening bumper design and a new signature front chrome grille with intricate design connectingthe two headlights The LED package including the integrated LED DRL which is now standard across all variants the inline LEDheadlamps LED fog lampsLED RR Combi LED license plate lamps trunk lid spoiler with LED
The car now also gets new diamond-cut and two-tone alloy wheel design for both 15 and 16 inch wheels The new City also hasfirst-in-segment auto-folding door mirrors in V VX and ZX grades
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India Ltd said ampldquoThe Honda City has been ourmost successful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquosmost successful sedan since its launch in 1998 It has also been the industry benchmark for quality and has been ranked No 1 by
the JD Power Initial Quality Study 14 times since its inception in the Indian marketamprdquo
ampldquoWith the launch of a much-enhanced new Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations byoffering amazing value at a very competitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in thesegmentamprdquo he added
Interiors are finished in dual-tone beige amp black trim Honda City also gets a 177 cm touchscreen infotainment system called theDigipad which supports navigation voice recognition Bluetooth and also Wi-Fi support for internet The infotainment system isavailable on the V VX and ZX grades
The car also features a soft-touch dashboard on passenger side and new white illumination in the advanced 3D multi-informationmeter Other important interior feature includes chrome plating on steering switches and chrome plated knobs for rear-aircon ventThe car continues to get the tilt and telescopic steering adjustment StartStop ignition system button fully auto-dimming insiderear-view mirror and LED interior cabin lights
The ZX grade also has both rear-adjustable headrests
The interiors of the new City are beige upholstery with dual-tone beige amp black trims
Honda City continues to get the same 15L i-DTEC diesel engine of Earth Dream Technology series which sheds a power of 100 Psand a peak torque of 200 Nm Honda City diesel claims a mileage of 256 Kmpl The engine is mated to a 6-speed manualtransmission
The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119 ps and a torque of 145 NmIt has been mated with the same CVT gearbox with 7-speed paddle shifters and claims a mileage of 18 kmpl The 5-speed manualtransmission delivers an impressive fuel efficiency of 174 kmpl
Honda is offering dual SRS airbags ABS with EBD as a standard safety features across all its variants The new ZX variant gets 6air-bags automatic headlamp and auto rain-sensing wipers
The new Honda City 2017 is offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades Petrol CVTwill be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
Honda is also offereing 3 accessory packages on the facelifted City
Deliveries of the new Honda City will begin immediately from the HCIL dealer network of 332 facilities in 220 cities across thecountryhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-honda-city-launched-in-india-prices-start-at-rs-8-49-lakh-ex-delhi57141912Honda rolls out new City at starting price of Rs 850 lakhThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newshonda-rolls-out-new-city-at-starting-price-of-rs-850-lakharticle9543447eceHonda unveils much-awaited City 2017The Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautolauncheshonda-unveils-much-awaited-city-2017articleshow57142363cms 2017 Honda City Facelift launched at Rs850 lakhThe Statesman (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthestatesmancombusiness2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-8-50-lakh-1487059835htmlAutocar Indiahttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-849-lakh-404196aspxHonda City facelift launched at Rs 85 LakhAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinessautos140217honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-85-lakhhtmlHonda Introduces City facelift at Rs 85 LakhDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos140217honda-introduces-city-facelift-at-rs-85-lakhhtml
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Honda City 2017 bookings cross 5000 units Pooja ChatterjeeThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese carmaker Hondas newly launched 4th generation City 2017 has crossed 5000 bookings in 12days Out of 5000 70 percent bookings were for petrol variant
Bookings for New Honda City 2017 started from February 3 with an amount of Rs 21000 The car was launched on February 14 forRs 849990 (ex showroom Delhi)
The new Honda City 2017 will be offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades PetrolCVT will be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
The New Honda City 2017 will be available in 5 exterior colours ampndash Modern Steel Metallic (New) White Orchid PearlCarnelian Red Pearl Alabaster Silver Metallic and Golden Brown Metallic
The Diesel City is powered by the 15L i-DTEC engine which delivers maximum power of 100ps3600 rpm with a max torque of
200 Nm1750 rpm The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119ps6600 rpm and a torque of 145 N-m4600 rpm
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India said ampldquoThe Honda City has been our mostsuccessful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquos mostsuccessful sedan since its launch in 1998
The New Honda City 2017 is likely to act as a disruptive product for the carmaker and help it woo back its customers who shifted toMaruti Suzuki Ciaz one of the biggest competitor of the carhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshonda-city-2017-bookings-cross-5000-units57145018Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 cr m-cap hit post Q3Daily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-cr-m-cap-hit-post-q3-2322687
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Honda has no plans for a sub-Rs5 lakh car in India Amrit Rajmint (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Cars India Ltd will look to introduce more premium and bigger automobiles as it seeks to lift sales that havesagged 23 so far this financial year
In the meantime the Honda City sedan and the sub-4 meter notchback Amaze will be the two mainstays of the Japanese carmakerin India
On Tuesday Honda launched a new Honda City priced at Rs85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWe receive a lot of request to launch more premium and bigger carsamprdquo Yoichiro Ueno chief executive and presidentof Honda Cars India said in an interview ampldquoWe launched Accord Hybrid which is quite premium segment as it is a CBU It isreceiving quite good acceptance We are studying the potential for this sort of a bigger marketamprdquo
CBU is short for Completely Built Up and refers to a car that is completely imported
Honda needs to do something to boost sales in India The Japanese carmaker is way off its target of selling 300000 cars per yearin India by March 2017 Even globally Honda has scrapped its sales forecast of achieving seven million units by 2017 amid recallwoes
In India sales of Honda Cars during April-January declined 23 to 124000 units compared with an increase of 9 to 25 millionunits for the broader automobile industry in the same period
To be sure Honda is still a premium brand and its customers seem to be happy with its products It has performed consistently wellin the JD Power survey for customer satisfaction
But the Indian car market itself has changed There are more companies seeking premium playampmdasha phenomenon that Hondapioneered in India At the same time Honda does not have a strong presence in some key market segments
Honda has no plans to introduce a car in the sub-Rs5 lakh category in the near future said Ueno The sub-Rs5 lakh segmentaccounts for about 50 of total passenger vehicles sold in India
It does not have a compact sports utility vehicle eitherampmdashanother hot-selling segment although in March it plans to launch theWR-V a derivative of the Jazz hatchback reminiscent of an SUV The multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio didnamprsquot do too well andnor did the BR-V which Ueno says is a cross between an SUV and MPV
Honda launched the Brio hatchback and the Amaze in 2011 and 2012ampmdashlong after its rivals had entered these segments
ampldquoWe are not a late entrant but careful Weamprsquore careful about Indiaamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBelow Rs5 lakhwe are not launching Maybe it is not our market We are talking about a couple of years In the long term(when) big motorization comes and this sort of small cars become very popular we might consider For a while we arenamprsquotconsideringamprdquo Ueno said
When ampldquobig motorizationamprdquo actually happens Ueno says the Indian market can be as big as 10 million units per annum
As for the demand for SUVs Ueno said that the trend may not last
ampldquoSUV is a boom and we have seen that kind of a boom in many countries It will be there for some time maybe a few yearsWe have seen that in the US there was a big boom and even in Japanampmdashand then it droppedamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBut at some stage of the maturing of motorization SUVs do become popular At this moment many customers are choosingSUVs because of the rough road conditions Improvement of infrastructure is very very fast in India So some customers willcome back to sedans or other segments Always the market trend can be changedamprdquo he addedhttpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesFR2bp58jTndVKeuoPtF75KHonda-eyes-top-slot-in-sedan-segment-with-launch-of-new-Cityhtml
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Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese auto major Honda on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its best selling sedan City in India priced at betweenRs 85 lakh and Rs 1358 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWith the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price
I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo Honda Cars India president andCEO Yoichiro Ueno said
The City competes with Maruti Suzukiamprsquos Ciaz While City had been the segment leader for a long time it was recentlydethroned by the Ciaz The new City is an upgraded version of the 4th generationThe new version will be available in both petroland diesel options
While the petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel variant isavailable in the price range of Rs 1076 lakh to Rs 1357 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessHonda-unveils-new-City-bids-to-trump-Maruti-Ciazarticle17303948ece
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Honda lines up compact SUV Civic Pankaj DovalThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Civic will make a comeback in India as the Japanese car maker looks for a more aggressive play in thepremium-end while staying away from mass-market segment categories that are dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Hondahas been struggling to maintain growth in India and has reported negative numbers for the last 15 months in a row It will also drivein a new compact SUV -WR-V -based on the Jazz platform Yoichiro Ueno MD amp CEO of the Indian subsidiary told TOI here
Ueno said the company had attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with models such as Brio mini butcould not experience encouraging growth due to heightened competition from established players
The brand positioning is thus being scaled up We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning which is a bit morepremium though not luxury So we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai We would like to do that interms of products service and customer experience Petrol-only Civic had been one of the most-recognisable cars from the brandbut was moved out from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel
With petrol gaining traction in the market once again following decontrol of fuel prices the company is now keen to reintroduce thecar here
We are keen but we need some time to study and some period to meet the regulations for India Ueno said when asked aboutplans for the launch of Civic in India The model is expected to be launched within a year Ueno said WR-V will be launched prettysoonhttptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinessindia-businesshonda-lines-up-compact-suv-civicarticleshow57157599cms
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Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City Ajay ModiBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese car maker Honda is eyeing a bigger sedan ride from the launch of its fourth generation City which has beenfacing a challenge from rival Maruti Suzukis Ciaz City the best-selling model for Honda ever since it entered India in 1998 andsegment leader for years is now behind Ciaz in volumesSince the Honda brand was established in India with the City as the firstproduct it holds a special place in the company and also among the customers With this relaunch we believe we will regain thesegment leadership said Jnaneswar Sen senior vice-president (sales amp marketing) Honda Cars India
City has been launched at a price beginning Rs 850 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) and the top end variant is priced at Rs 1358 lakh Iam confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segment Honda Cars India President and CEOYoichiro Ueno said The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) So on a price point Maruti still has the edge But Sen said the new City is packed with several new featuresthat will bring buyers back In the last ten days the company has received advance bookings for about 5000 units (petrol and dieselcombined) of the new City
The significance of City is evident from its contribution to Hondas sales in India during the last nineteen years The Japanese automajor has sold approximately 13 million cars in the country since it arrived Every second car sold by the company happened to bea City
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
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Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
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Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
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E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
Top
Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
Top
Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
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into first time into infra base cash flow I think it was more stable every quarter had some numbers coming in once it gets to a largersize there are some delays in government payments or from tractor payments etc
All customers that we work with are earn and pay customers they are not fixed cash flow customers so it will always be thechallenge to predict in a earn and pay segment as to when is this earning going to come in and how are they going to dischargetheir liabilities But what is important to look at a model like this is look at a contractual period of three years you will never find wemake less money than we promise to make
Are you getting a sense that Q4 onwards things will look substantially better
So demonetisation did what to us one is 8th November to end November none of us knew what exactly should be our reaction howdo we take it forward what do we do
Customers were kind of guessing as to what they should be doing I think December showed a very different number to uscustomers started getting used to this money did comeback into the market in some form So demonetisation impact is it gotaccepted well a new format has been found and going forward seems to be definitely good but we should not forget that ultimatelyagain I am repeating the customers are earn and pay customer their overall transaction volumes have to go
Farm cash flows are pretty positive I think the money is coming in what was to come in the third quarter possibly has got shifted tothe fourth quarter The January crop is good and therefore we do think that the flow of money from farm will definitely be good Ithink another important thing to look at is look at state by state these businesses are no more to be looked at India as a whole
If some states are doing well from a growth perspective we resources ourselves well there and if some states need higher attentionfrom a recovery perspective then we resource ourselves differently in those states
So you find us adjusting to this so these are models which are getting into what is your ability to quickly readjust to the new normalunlike before you had a stable situation you put a model in place work around it for three years-four years time now I think it isgetting to a situation where what is your ability to kind of quickly react to a changing scenario how fast can you change what is theflexibility of your organisation as a peopleamprsquos competence and capability anyone who does all of this well I think will still have agreat future also
So when do you think the new cycle will start for you in terms of demand and in terms of recovery
We did not have had too much of pressure on demand you see if somebody wanted us to grow at 25 per cent we have not grown atthat but I think at the end of the day we are enablers and everyone has to sell more but for example the tractors did well We alsogrow in tractors our market share went up as well as volumes went up
So if you look at our books we still have a growth rate of anywhere between 12 and 15 per cent now someone has used toMahindra Finance growth rate of 25-30 per cent continues to think that we are not growing enough and I want to correct thatimpression to say on a large book growing at 15 per cent is a good enough growth
So 15 per cent growth is a new normal for you now
I would not say so but 15 per cent in the current situation is a great growth is that the way I would put it Yes you can get back to a25 per cent I mean look at for the same volume that disbursements are low because the discounts on the product is high See if thediscounts vcanish you get another 5-7 per cent growth happening and then of course the value of the price goes up for that tractoror cars or anything then you get a growth and then the volumes kicks in
So asset side growth I am not too worried we have deeper penetration large customer base we are in close to 300000 plus villagesin this country so why should I worry much about the growth out there
Historically if you look at a book NPA might have climbed up climbed down whichever way it has happened our credit losses havenever gone beyond 225-24 per cent which is well priced into our pricing into the customer
So I am not again overly worried about the peaking of NPA like the norms changed from 150 to 120 we move to 120 We have notchanged our aggressive provisioning that we were doing even otherwise We will need to move to 90 so I do not think one needs tolook at NPAs as a standalone number to say how is the NPA moving up let us look at if the NPA is moving up what is the coveragethat you have got but eventually is the collateral competent and capable enough to protect the principal there we are prettyconfident because loan to asset value is the key to success of this business
So if you are kind of restricted yourself to somewhere around 75-77 per cent or even go up to 80 per cent and someone repays 10instalments on a three year or a four year period I think we are well protected and therefore that is not the big worry Yessituationally cash flows need to improve money starts coming back then past provisions bring back your profits and futureprovisions no need to be these aggressive
Historically your book has doubled in 24 to 28 months but that was when you are growing at about 25 per cent 25 has become 15so can I assume that your book now will double in three and a half to four years not before that
If it is 15 per cen it it will take about four years or so but I continue to believe that this growth rate will change as the volumesincreases like last month we saw Maruti retail numbers were good so we got the benefit of it
We normally do about 8000-9000 vehicles we crossed 12000 vehicles so in overall car market for us is also growing
Mahindra UV numbers are growing for us tractor numbers are growing pre-owned vehicle will be a growth story for us We havestill not a significant player when it comes to commercial vehicle construction equipment once the infrastructure story unfolds I thinkwe will get benefit of these happening as well
I think to get back to a 25 per cent kind of a growth story two-three things need to happen overall volumes need to improve there Ithink the discounts on products need to vanish if these two happens even without a price increase on the vehicle I think the growthrate will return to some new number We are putting in place a direct marketing initiative where we reach out to our customers andthrough them we are actually growing more business
So there clearly go to a customer he gets you more customer in the village so I think I am again not too worried about when will weget to 25 per cent I think we are ready to get to there if few of these fundamentals change I think getting a 25 per cent should not bea challenge if that happens going back to doubling in three years should happen
Your agrarian income has been under pressure rural infrastructure has not picked up and yet you are doing at 15 per cent so 15per cent is the base
I would think so but except that one should know we are at the end of the day an enabler if somebody is not doing well we can onlydo so much I think everyone sense the numbers that they are doing today we are pretty sure that our market shares would not fall ifany of our market share is only growing and therefore if that is converting itself into 15 per cent I think the answer is yes
If the agrarian income picks up what happens to you if the infrastructure picks up what happens to you and if they both pick upwhat happens to you
If you kind of go back into history when both were doing well let us say from somewhere between 11-12 to 13-14 times we sawalmost and every state both of this doing well possibly and therefore we had a great growth story from 10 onwards
We have had situations in the past and let us take some state in particular let us take Maharashtra or take any state of that matter ifthe monsoon does not do well I think the sentiments go low and I think about 40-50 per cent of the cash flow does come from thefarm cash flow so therefore to that extent things goes slow they start getting delayed So when you said six months farm cash flowsare expected to be good we reasonably believe 50-60 per cent of the book will normally behave in a very decent manner
Then look at each state as to which state is spending on what on infrastructure look at Andhra it has done well for us look at partsof Maharashtra Rajasthan parts of MP UP Bihar so we have had states which have done well and we have had states in the pastlike Tamil Nadu etc going slow for us So I think if the infra at the state level starts picking up may not be a large project but even acontinuing work there the labour and asset absorption if it happens well in state level I think our book should do normally wellbecause we are not financing a large contractors nor are we really financing the marginal customer
Our customers are someone who can afford to bring a 25 per cent margin on any assets it is close to about 15-2 lakh plus so if thatkind of a customer is what we are supporting I think he looks for a stable earnings on a monthly or a quarterly basis for him to beable to service the loan Even today if you look at our NPA numbers while it may be little elevated but you look at the progress inthose numbers customers are at least 60 per cent of the NPL customers are repaying their instalments they are not earning enoughto pay for the past So these stability is what we look for and then once the cash flow improves they get corrected
Are there any key categories which you have identified which will grow at 100 per cent or 75 per cent for next couple of years
If you look at our pre-owned book we are at about 8-10 per cent of the book is pre-owned vehicle we think that is a large opportunitybecause and I am not talking of commercial vehicle pre-owned that is not where we are but tractors utility vehicles cars
We have large number of customers about every year at least about 25-3 lakh customers contract mature So we are putting inplace an arrangement where when they sell their vehicle to someone else who wants to buy we know the vehicle we know thebackground of the vehicle we know the customer who is selling and the customer who is buying so I think that is a segment that willhelp us grow bigger and better that also comes with a much higher margin well the value of disbursements could be much lower butthat segment is something that we will see grow from a current 10-12 per cent book going up to may be 15-18 per cent
Is that is why your spreads are higher naturally because you are in a condition to lend more efficientlyExactly so we go more deeper we engage ourselves with the customer and in difficult times like this customer choose to buy apre-owned vehicle before he can go and buy any vehicle so it is a great opportunity
What could be that big change for Mahindra Financials what is that big thing which will give you a frog leap
We look at who is planning what so we look at what is MampMamprsquos plan in terms of vehicle launches how deep are they goinghow many dealers how are they doing Tractor also we look at Marutiamprsquos launch when we look at everyone else who iscoming with a rural vehicle we are now working with Nissan we are working with Renault we are working with Toyota we areworking with JCB all of them are looking at a customer out there
So what is it that we are looking for we are looking for all of them to really penetrate deeper we help some of them to go there andsome of the products attract customers there I think the two together makes a new volume there
So you remind me of this old Hindi movie dialogue roti kapda makaan that is what you always believe inYes precisely because we are giving product loan which is livelihood we give shelter housing loans we give insurance as asecurity loan We are willing to give them personal loans to meet their personal aspirations so I think that is our jobhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomopinioninterviewsat-the-end-of-the-day-we-are-enablers-and-everyone-has-to-sell-more-ramesh-iyer-vc-md-mm-financial-servicesarticleshow57143635cms
Top
Here is how much it will cost to personalize your Maruti Suzuki Ignis Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Maruti Suzuki with its Ignis has been very clear on its target audience and the target customer for the company hasbeen the amplsquomillennialsamprsquo or the youngsters of the country born between 1980-90 The company has a wider productportfolio to address to small family cars to executive sedans for corporate demand MPV Ertiga for Indian family needs SUV stylingon its Vitara Brezza and with Ignis it wants to diversify its product offering to attract the youth first time buyers
Launch at a concert using car emoji while using IGNIS on twitter and many more marketing stunts by the company certainlyhelped to create that initial buzz which the company was looking for On the product front also Maruti Suzuki announced variouspersonalisation and customisation options to give that individual look and below is the cost involved to customise Maruti SuzukiIgnis
Maruti Suzuki Ignis is being offered in 9 colours except for the base variant which only gets white silver and grey colour optionsCustomisation on Ignis is available on all the trims of all petrol diesel and automatic variants This is also the second offering afterMaruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza to get customisation options
Maruti Suzuki Ignis exterior customisation optionsOn the exterior you get to choose to include body side moulding cladding on the side door visor roof wrap roof spoiler and a fewother options Roof wraps also known as Crowners are available in 4 different patterns and number of colours Digiscape RadicalImplode and unbox are the names of the patterns of the crowners on option which costs an additional of Rs 9990
There is also an option of adding a roof line spoiler at Rs 5590 and for the carbon finish roof spoiler costs about 10990 Body sidemouldings are offered 6 colours
Overall You will end up paying about Rs13000 ampndash 16000 more on your choice of Ignis variant for exterior customisation
Maruti Suzuki Ignis customisation options (interiors)The interiors of the cars can also be tweaked and rather than doing it from a vendor outside its always good to get the factory fittedkits on a new car Inside the car you get an option of interior styling kit which includes ambient lighting there is also a huge rangeof floor mats seat covers to choose from Footers or floor mats comes with Ignis embossed on it to increase the personalised feel
Other features that you can include to personalise Maruti Suzuki Ignis are addition of Black alloy wheels crossbar cladding glassline spoiler door visor steering wheel finished in leather and rear-seat infotainment system
The infotainment system is not available on all variants specially on the automatic variants so the company is offering anaftermarket Kenwood infotainment system which is post-factory fitted equipment and will be installed at the Nexa dealership
At about Rs35000-40000 extra on your preferred Ignis variant you will be able to personalize the whole car Maruti Suzuki Ignis isthe only car in its segment to offer this personalization options This was introduced by the company since the launch and so far iswell recieved The company sold a total of 4830 units of its Ignis since its launch in January 2017httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshere-is-how-much-it-will-cost-to-personalize-your-maruti-suzuki-ignis57140666
Top
Opinion Rebirth of Ambassador brand Santosh DesaiThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
The selling of the Ambassador brand to Peugeot is an eyebrow raiser Why would anyone want to revive a car that is deservedlydead and in the minds of many took far too long in its death sequence a la a Hindi film hero in the 70s
Clearly Peugeot has no interest in the car in its physical form what it is buying is the idea of the Ambassador and the meaning thatit can give it in todays context
There is something about the Ambassador that lends itself to nostalgic affection Unlike the more sensible Fiat which offered atimid version of the modern and hence stops short of evoking an era and a culture the Ambassadors relation with the modern wasfrosty It remained steadfastly true to its own sensibilities largely because it refused to change or perhaps lacked the capability todo so
Barring minor modifications that were universally mocked at for their transparent lack of ambition the Ambassador stood its groundfor a long time Eventually it did change its engine but it was too late by then Its time was over once the hot plastic era of theMaruti made its appearance
In its time the Ambassador reigned supreme Its lines were inspired by a matrons commodious petticoats and its interiors had thecomfortable well-worn shabbiness of the Indian drawing room The gears shifted with a grunt and the car began its journey with agroan It drove one with the laconic recalcitrance of the father while offering you the familiar comfort of a mothers lap
One sprawled inside the car when not carrying ones entire brood of third cousins and their family friends to the railway station toreceive or to see someone off in the dead of night The car was large solid and rounded nothing about its design acknowledgedthat it was an object designed to move Indeed it seemed to actively shun any association with aerodynamics
The Ambassador squatted on the ground embracing its own centre of gravity It was a car that clearly believed that it was better towaddle than to race and moved with stolid disregard for ones surroundings or ones intent The Ambassador was status quo onwheels a car that allowed one to stand still even as one moved and to do so with ones entire way of life intact
It pointed nowhere and took us nowhere which was where we wanted to be The Ambassador was equanimity in a world where
abruptness was the norm Traffic on Indian roads might have been slow but it was always sudden Roads disappeared from undertheir feet cows changed their minds about moving buses decided to come tearing down the wrong side for a closer look andpedestrians stopped in the middle of the road to scratch themselves meditatively
The car itself was a constant source of uncertainty- it stalled leaked oil the brake fluid ran out at odd times of course it could alsobe repaired anywhere by virtually any mechanic and so life chugged along The ability to accommodate anything - peoplemerchandise circumstances recurring dents and scrapes breakdowns - without showing any sign of strain made the car a naturalin the Indian context
At the surface level the Ambassador might offer an easy route to marketable nostalgia particularly in the West It is a quirky riposteto the modern and works at the level of an ironic joke But this is the kind of appeal that works fast and dissipates even fasterHowever there is something more substantial about the idea of the Ambassador apart from its incongruous looks
The idea of the Ambassador potentially holds allure today because it tells us that it is possible to completely disregard context Itexposes the fuss that cars make about moving from point A to point B as being unnecessary Neither motion nor the car as anobject of desire are fetishised According to the Ambassador one can be a placid cow chewing cud while the world goes on aroundit spinning out of control The individual finds no reflection in the car the fluidity of time and fashion mean nothing to it It restores tothe car the idea of affectionate and comfortable warmth it feels like home should
Equanimity is the ornament of those that understand time One doesnt have to hurry the world doesnt need to be about oneselfone is secure in the knowledge that current events will pass however unlikely it seems today When one is home the world outsideholds few terrors at least for the time being
And while this idea has been born out of India and its realities today it is unlikely that this idea will find much resonance in India foras a country we have traded placid wisdom for prickly ambition Even if Peugeot were to re-present the Ambassador in anacceptably contemporary form the country today wants to see a more desirable face in the mirror The individual wants to seehimself and his future in the car he drives
The idea of the Ambassador becomes in effect a return to an earlier era and there is little appetite for that today Globally on theother hand it might be another story The brands attractiveness to a company like Peugeot lies in the fact that the Ambassador isabove all a brand It stands for an idea that is located in a culture and it signifies a belief in some values
It has a design ethos and a point of view about mobility and indeed about the world we live in today It is unlikely to offer theopportunity to build a huge global brand but there is a truth that it speaks that could potentially create value for the Frenchcompany Shorn of the shoddy product that carried this name it might just be that the underlying idea of the Ambassador hasrelevance in todays timeshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsopinion-rebirth-of-ambassador-brand57138047
Top
Ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave says Munjal N V VijayakumarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru Hero MotoCorp Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pawan Munjal is working hard to take the brand Hero on theglobal automotive landscape He believes that Hero MotoCorpamprsquos global expansion will help the company achieve asustainable growth in the long run
Being the largest producer of two-wheeler globally with over 65 million vehicles a year Munjal says the companyamprsquos strategyis product-centric for each geography Munjal tells DHamprsquos N VacirceuroˆVijayakumar that the company will reach 50 global marketswithin 2020
Can you elaborate your global expansion plan
We are going global to tap the huge untapped opportunities for growth We entered the global market after beginning our solojourney six years ago The launch in Argentina marks our foray into the 35th country globally We are right now present across AsiaAfrica and South and Central America
Our rapid expansion in these regions helped us build our brand identity We are present in these regions with a range of popularmotorcycles and scooters across segments which are known for their fuel efficiency performance and durability We expect thatthe mix of our product portfolio and after sales service efficiency will bring us ahead of the curve in these markets
How do you view the global economic environment
We also realise the fact that political or economic uncertainties are looming large globally We have to understand that suchuncertainties are present in every sphere of activity and that should not deter us from pursuing our long-term goals and vision Webelieve our global expansion is an opportunity for sustainable growth in the long run
We believe that we can achieve 10 of total sales from global operations by 2020 We do hope that we will scale up further afterthat We are planning to enter the Mexican and Brazilian markets soon
Do you believe that your volume play will help in the global expansion plan
We have to achieve some basic volume mass to make certain impact in the market The size and scale of Hero MotoCorp in the
Indian market is a big advantage when we foray into any global market
This helps us choose the distributor partner In terms of continent we are focussing on various continents and by 2020 we will get asolid idea of the market Then we will be focussing on 12 to 15 markets as they will help us grow Some markets will grow on theirown steam
We believe that we should focus on low hanging fruits in the markets like Latin America and Africa where we can achieve thevolume Unlike the western market especially the US and the South-East Asian markets geographies like Latin America and Africawe do not have to face any complications and no competition from existing established players from Japan Having said that wehavenamprsquot lost focus on global product planning
How do you view the domestic market
Hero MotoCorp finds huge potential from the domestic market as our growth comes from there only We are very much focused onchanges in the customer preference and this is clearly revealed during the last Auto Expo
We find a lot of traction in the premium and high performance products We feel in these segments our market share is very less orwe are entirely missing Also since our domestic two-wheeler penetration is still only around 30 we think there is still growth inthe mass market segment ranging from 100 cc to 150 cc
We are also registering steady growth in the scooter segment We aspire Hero MotoCorp achieve greater market share in thissegment than our current position
How do you view the investment made in RampD
We invested heavily in our new Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) located at Jaipur A lot of design and development workson premium products are currently happening there We have already made it with the new Achiever 150 The next one will beXtreme 200S a premium product which is already showcased at the Auto Expo last year
We want to come up with products that suit each geography as part of our global expansion and the centre will play a key role inthat Till now we donamprsquot have any global product and the CIT will come up with products that are truly global in nature and takeHero MotoCorp ahead of competition
Can you share your take on the growing importance of electric vehicles hybrid vehicles and ride sharing
I believe that ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave The world is really moving in that direction and we are alsocommitted to that Our research activities with electric vehicles are progressing at the CIT The government will have to focus onthis and I believe that we are not isolated in that as they have started their initiatives We have invested in two startups electricscooter startup Ather Energy based out of Bengaluru and ride-sharing bike taxi startup Rapido Cost and affordability will decide thegrowth of the hybrid products We have already displayed hybrid products at the Auto Expo
Startups are the rage of the day What is your take on this
I personally believe that lots of innovation happen in the startup culture Sometimes large companies are not able to do thosethings We also believe that big companies like Hero and other players should provide the ecosystem so that startups can alsoprosperhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596412ride-sharing-electric-vehicles-nexthtml
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Cars SUVs MUVs
2017 Honda City launched in India Prices start at Rs 849 lakh (Ex-Delhi) Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese car maker Honda Cars India launched the facelift on its 4th generation Honda City 2017 Thepetrol variants of Honda City are priced Rs 849 lakh - 1352 lakh (Ex-Delhi) at and the diesel variants of Honda City costs Rs1075 lakh - 1356 at (Ex- Delhi)
Honda City variant line-up now gets the addition of a new flagship grade ampndash ampldquoZXamprdquo
Honda City facelift now gets a wide-opening bumper design and a new signature front chrome grille with intricate design connectingthe two headlights The LED package including the integrated LED DRL which is now standard across all variants the inline LEDheadlamps LED fog lampsLED RR Combi LED license plate lamps trunk lid spoiler with LED
The car now also gets new diamond-cut and two-tone alloy wheel design for both 15 and 16 inch wheels The new City also hasfirst-in-segment auto-folding door mirrors in V VX and ZX grades
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India Ltd said ampldquoThe Honda City has been ourmost successful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquosmost successful sedan since its launch in 1998 It has also been the industry benchmark for quality and has been ranked No 1 by
the JD Power Initial Quality Study 14 times since its inception in the Indian marketamprdquo
ampldquoWith the launch of a much-enhanced new Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations byoffering amazing value at a very competitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in thesegmentamprdquo he added
Interiors are finished in dual-tone beige amp black trim Honda City also gets a 177 cm touchscreen infotainment system called theDigipad which supports navigation voice recognition Bluetooth and also Wi-Fi support for internet The infotainment system isavailable on the V VX and ZX grades
The car also features a soft-touch dashboard on passenger side and new white illumination in the advanced 3D multi-informationmeter Other important interior feature includes chrome plating on steering switches and chrome plated knobs for rear-aircon ventThe car continues to get the tilt and telescopic steering adjustment StartStop ignition system button fully auto-dimming insiderear-view mirror and LED interior cabin lights
The ZX grade also has both rear-adjustable headrests
The interiors of the new City are beige upholstery with dual-tone beige amp black trims
Honda City continues to get the same 15L i-DTEC diesel engine of Earth Dream Technology series which sheds a power of 100 Psand a peak torque of 200 Nm Honda City diesel claims a mileage of 256 Kmpl The engine is mated to a 6-speed manualtransmission
The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119 ps and a torque of 145 NmIt has been mated with the same CVT gearbox with 7-speed paddle shifters and claims a mileage of 18 kmpl The 5-speed manualtransmission delivers an impressive fuel efficiency of 174 kmpl
Honda is offering dual SRS airbags ABS with EBD as a standard safety features across all its variants The new ZX variant gets 6air-bags automatic headlamp and auto rain-sensing wipers
The new Honda City 2017 is offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades Petrol CVTwill be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
Honda is also offereing 3 accessory packages on the facelifted City
Deliveries of the new Honda City will begin immediately from the HCIL dealer network of 332 facilities in 220 cities across thecountryhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-honda-city-launched-in-india-prices-start-at-rs-8-49-lakh-ex-delhi57141912Honda rolls out new City at starting price of Rs 850 lakhThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newshonda-rolls-out-new-city-at-starting-price-of-rs-850-lakharticle9543447eceHonda unveils much-awaited City 2017The Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautolauncheshonda-unveils-much-awaited-city-2017articleshow57142363cms 2017 Honda City Facelift launched at Rs850 lakhThe Statesman (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthestatesmancombusiness2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-8-50-lakh-1487059835htmlAutocar Indiahttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-849-lakh-404196aspxHonda City facelift launched at Rs 85 LakhAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinessautos140217honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-85-lakhhtmlHonda Introduces City facelift at Rs 85 LakhDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos140217honda-introduces-city-facelift-at-rs-85-lakhhtml
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Honda City 2017 bookings cross 5000 units Pooja ChatterjeeThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese carmaker Hondas newly launched 4th generation City 2017 has crossed 5000 bookings in 12days Out of 5000 70 percent bookings were for petrol variant
Bookings for New Honda City 2017 started from February 3 with an amount of Rs 21000 The car was launched on February 14 forRs 849990 (ex showroom Delhi)
The new Honda City 2017 will be offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades PetrolCVT will be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
The New Honda City 2017 will be available in 5 exterior colours ampndash Modern Steel Metallic (New) White Orchid PearlCarnelian Red Pearl Alabaster Silver Metallic and Golden Brown Metallic
The Diesel City is powered by the 15L i-DTEC engine which delivers maximum power of 100ps3600 rpm with a max torque of
200 Nm1750 rpm The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119ps6600 rpm and a torque of 145 N-m4600 rpm
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India said ampldquoThe Honda City has been our mostsuccessful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquos mostsuccessful sedan since its launch in 1998
The New Honda City 2017 is likely to act as a disruptive product for the carmaker and help it woo back its customers who shifted toMaruti Suzuki Ciaz one of the biggest competitor of the carhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshonda-city-2017-bookings-cross-5000-units57145018Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 cr m-cap hit post Q3Daily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-cr-m-cap-hit-post-q3-2322687
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Honda has no plans for a sub-Rs5 lakh car in India Amrit Rajmint (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Cars India Ltd will look to introduce more premium and bigger automobiles as it seeks to lift sales that havesagged 23 so far this financial year
In the meantime the Honda City sedan and the sub-4 meter notchback Amaze will be the two mainstays of the Japanese carmakerin India
On Tuesday Honda launched a new Honda City priced at Rs85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWe receive a lot of request to launch more premium and bigger carsamprdquo Yoichiro Ueno chief executive and presidentof Honda Cars India said in an interview ampldquoWe launched Accord Hybrid which is quite premium segment as it is a CBU It isreceiving quite good acceptance We are studying the potential for this sort of a bigger marketamprdquo
CBU is short for Completely Built Up and refers to a car that is completely imported
Honda needs to do something to boost sales in India The Japanese carmaker is way off its target of selling 300000 cars per yearin India by March 2017 Even globally Honda has scrapped its sales forecast of achieving seven million units by 2017 amid recallwoes
In India sales of Honda Cars during April-January declined 23 to 124000 units compared with an increase of 9 to 25 millionunits for the broader automobile industry in the same period
To be sure Honda is still a premium brand and its customers seem to be happy with its products It has performed consistently wellin the JD Power survey for customer satisfaction
But the Indian car market itself has changed There are more companies seeking premium playampmdasha phenomenon that Hondapioneered in India At the same time Honda does not have a strong presence in some key market segments
Honda has no plans to introduce a car in the sub-Rs5 lakh category in the near future said Ueno The sub-Rs5 lakh segmentaccounts for about 50 of total passenger vehicles sold in India
It does not have a compact sports utility vehicle eitherampmdashanother hot-selling segment although in March it plans to launch theWR-V a derivative of the Jazz hatchback reminiscent of an SUV The multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio didnamprsquot do too well andnor did the BR-V which Ueno says is a cross between an SUV and MPV
Honda launched the Brio hatchback and the Amaze in 2011 and 2012ampmdashlong after its rivals had entered these segments
ampldquoWe are not a late entrant but careful Weamprsquore careful about Indiaamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBelow Rs5 lakhwe are not launching Maybe it is not our market We are talking about a couple of years In the long term(when) big motorization comes and this sort of small cars become very popular we might consider For a while we arenamprsquotconsideringamprdquo Ueno said
When ampldquobig motorizationamprdquo actually happens Ueno says the Indian market can be as big as 10 million units per annum
As for the demand for SUVs Ueno said that the trend may not last
ampldquoSUV is a boom and we have seen that kind of a boom in many countries It will be there for some time maybe a few yearsWe have seen that in the US there was a big boom and even in Japanampmdashand then it droppedamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBut at some stage of the maturing of motorization SUVs do become popular At this moment many customers are choosingSUVs because of the rough road conditions Improvement of infrastructure is very very fast in India So some customers willcome back to sedans or other segments Always the market trend can be changedamprdquo he addedhttpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesFR2bp58jTndVKeuoPtF75KHonda-eyes-top-slot-in-sedan-segment-with-launch-of-new-Cityhtml
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Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese auto major Honda on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its best selling sedan City in India priced at betweenRs 85 lakh and Rs 1358 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWith the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price
I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo Honda Cars India president andCEO Yoichiro Ueno said
The City competes with Maruti Suzukiamprsquos Ciaz While City had been the segment leader for a long time it was recentlydethroned by the Ciaz The new City is an upgraded version of the 4th generationThe new version will be available in both petroland diesel options
While the petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel variant isavailable in the price range of Rs 1076 lakh to Rs 1357 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessHonda-unveils-new-City-bids-to-trump-Maruti-Ciazarticle17303948ece
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Honda lines up compact SUV Civic Pankaj DovalThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Civic will make a comeback in India as the Japanese car maker looks for a more aggressive play in thepremium-end while staying away from mass-market segment categories that are dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Hondahas been struggling to maintain growth in India and has reported negative numbers for the last 15 months in a row It will also drivein a new compact SUV -WR-V -based on the Jazz platform Yoichiro Ueno MD amp CEO of the Indian subsidiary told TOI here
Ueno said the company had attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with models such as Brio mini butcould not experience encouraging growth due to heightened competition from established players
The brand positioning is thus being scaled up We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning which is a bit morepremium though not luxury So we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai We would like to do that interms of products service and customer experience Petrol-only Civic had been one of the most-recognisable cars from the brandbut was moved out from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel
With petrol gaining traction in the market once again following decontrol of fuel prices the company is now keen to reintroduce thecar here
We are keen but we need some time to study and some period to meet the regulations for India Ueno said when asked aboutplans for the launch of Civic in India The model is expected to be launched within a year Ueno said WR-V will be launched prettysoonhttptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinessindia-businesshonda-lines-up-compact-suv-civicarticleshow57157599cms
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Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City Ajay ModiBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese car maker Honda is eyeing a bigger sedan ride from the launch of its fourth generation City which has beenfacing a challenge from rival Maruti Suzukis Ciaz City the best-selling model for Honda ever since it entered India in 1998 andsegment leader for years is now behind Ciaz in volumesSince the Honda brand was established in India with the City as the firstproduct it holds a special place in the company and also among the customers With this relaunch we believe we will regain thesegment leadership said Jnaneswar Sen senior vice-president (sales amp marketing) Honda Cars India
City has been launched at a price beginning Rs 850 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) and the top end variant is priced at Rs 1358 lakh Iam confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segment Honda Cars India President and CEOYoichiro Ueno said The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) So on a price point Maruti still has the edge But Sen said the new City is packed with several new featuresthat will bring buyers back In the last ten days the company has received advance bookings for about 5000 units (petrol and dieselcombined) of the new City
The significance of City is evident from its contribution to Hondas sales in India during the last nineteen years The Japanese automajor has sold approximately 13 million cars in the country since it arrived Every second car sold by the company happened to bea City
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
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Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
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Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
Top
E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
Top
Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
Top
Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
Top
News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
Top
India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
Top
General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
I think to get back to a 25 per cent kind of a growth story two-three things need to happen overall volumes need to improve there Ithink the discounts on products need to vanish if these two happens even without a price increase on the vehicle I think the growthrate will return to some new number We are putting in place a direct marketing initiative where we reach out to our customers andthrough them we are actually growing more business
So there clearly go to a customer he gets you more customer in the village so I think I am again not too worried about when will weget to 25 per cent I think we are ready to get to there if few of these fundamentals change I think getting a 25 per cent should not bea challenge if that happens going back to doubling in three years should happen
Your agrarian income has been under pressure rural infrastructure has not picked up and yet you are doing at 15 per cent so 15per cent is the base
I would think so but except that one should know we are at the end of the day an enabler if somebody is not doing well we can onlydo so much I think everyone sense the numbers that they are doing today we are pretty sure that our market shares would not fall ifany of our market share is only growing and therefore if that is converting itself into 15 per cent I think the answer is yes
If the agrarian income picks up what happens to you if the infrastructure picks up what happens to you and if they both pick upwhat happens to you
If you kind of go back into history when both were doing well let us say from somewhere between 11-12 to 13-14 times we sawalmost and every state both of this doing well possibly and therefore we had a great growth story from 10 onwards
We have had situations in the past and let us take some state in particular let us take Maharashtra or take any state of that matter ifthe monsoon does not do well I think the sentiments go low and I think about 40-50 per cent of the cash flow does come from thefarm cash flow so therefore to that extent things goes slow they start getting delayed So when you said six months farm cash flowsare expected to be good we reasonably believe 50-60 per cent of the book will normally behave in a very decent manner
Then look at each state as to which state is spending on what on infrastructure look at Andhra it has done well for us look at partsof Maharashtra Rajasthan parts of MP UP Bihar so we have had states which have done well and we have had states in the pastlike Tamil Nadu etc going slow for us So I think if the infra at the state level starts picking up may not be a large project but even acontinuing work there the labour and asset absorption if it happens well in state level I think our book should do normally wellbecause we are not financing a large contractors nor are we really financing the marginal customer
Our customers are someone who can afford to bring a 25 per cent margin on any assets it is close to about 15-2 lakh plus so if thatkind of a customer is what we are supporting I think he looks for a stable earnings on a monthly or a quarterly basis for him to beable to service the loan Even today if you look at our NPA numbers while it may be little elevated but you look at the progress inthose numbers customers are at least 60 per cent of the NPL customers are repaying their instalments they are not earning enoughto pay for the past So these stability is what we look for and then once the cash flow improves they get corrected
Are there any key categories which you have identified which will grow at 100 per cent or 75 per cent for next couple of years
If you look at our pre-owned book we are at about 8-10 per cent of the book is pre-owned vehicle we think that is a large opportunitybecause and I am not talking of commercial vehicle pre-owned that is not where we are but tractors utility vehicles cars
We have large number of customers about every year at least about 25-3 lakh customers contract mature So we are putting inplace an arrangement where when they sell their vehicle to someone else who wants to buy we know the vehicle we know thebackground of the vehicle we know the customer who is selling and the customer who is buying so I think that is a segment that willhelp us grow bigger and better that also comes with a much higher margin well the value of disbursements could be much lower butthat segment is something that we will see grow from a current 10-12 per cent book going up to may be 15-18 per cent
Is that is why your spreads are higher naturally because you are in a condition to lend more efficientlyExactly so we go more deeper we engage ourselves with the customer and in difficult times like this customer choose to buy apre-owned vehicle before he can go and buy any vehicle so it is a great opportunity
What could be that big change for Mahindra Financials what is that big thing which will give you a frog leap
We look at who is planning what so we look at what is MampMamprsquos plan in terms of vehicle launches how deep are they goinghow many dealers how are they doing Tractor also we look at Marutiamprsquos launch when we look at everyone else who iscoming with a rural vehicle we are now working with Nissan we are working with Renault we are working with Toyota we areworking with JCB all of them are looking at a customer out there
So what is it that we are looking for we are looking for all of them to really penetrate deeper we help some of them to go there andsome of the products attract customers there I think the two together makes a new volume there
So you remind me of this old Hindi movie dialogue roti kapda makaan that is what you always believe inYes precisely because we are giving product loan which is livelihood we give shelter housing loans we give insurance as asecurity loan We are willing to give them personal loans to meet their personal aspirations so I think that is our jobhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomopinioninterviewsat-the-end-of-the-day-we-are-enablers-and-everyone-has-to-sell-more-ramesh-iyer-vc-md-mm-financial-servicesarticleshow57143635cms
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Here is how much it will cost to personalize your Maruti Suzuki Ignis Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Maruti Suzuki with its Ignis has been very clear on its target audience and the target customer for the company hasbeen the amplsquomillennialsamprsquo or the youngsters of the country born between 1980-90 The company has a wider productportfolio to address to small family cars to executive sedans for corporate demand MPV Ertiga for Indian family needs SUV stylingon its Vitara Brezza and with Ignis it wants to diversify its product offering to attract the youth first time buyers
Launch at a concert using car emoji while using IGNIS on twitter and many more marketing stunts by the company certainlyhelped to create that initial buzz which the company was looking for On the product front also Maruti Suzuki announced variouspersonalisation and customisation options to give that individual look and below is the cost involved to customise Maruti SuzukiIgnis
Maruti Suzuki Ignis is being offered in 9 colours except for the base variant which only gets white silver and grey colour optionsCustomisation on Ignis is available on all the trims of all petrol diesel and automatic variants This is also the second offering afterMaruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza to get customisation options
Maruti Suzuki Ignis exterior customisation optionsOn the exterior you get to choose to include body side moulding cladding on the side door visor roof wrap roof spoiler and a fewother options Roof wraps also known as Crowners are available in 4 different patterns and number of colours Digiscape RadicalImplode and unbox are the names of the patterns of the crowners on option which costs an additional of Rs 9990
There is also an option of adding a roof line spoiler at Rs 5590 and for the carbon finish roof spoiler costs about 10990 Body sidemouldings are offered 6 colours
Overall You will end up paying about Rs13000 ampndash 16000 more on your choice of Ignis variant for exterior customisation
Maruti Suzuki Ignis customisation options (interiors)The interiors of the cars can also be tweaked and rather than doing it from a vendor outside its always good to get the factory fittedkits on a new car Inside the car you get an option of interior styling kit which includes ambient lighting there is also a huge rangeof floor mats seat covers to choose from Footers or floor mats comes with Ignis embossed on it to increase the personalised feel
Other features that you can include to personalise Maruti Suzuki Ignis are addition of Black alloy wheels crossbar cladding glassline spoiler door visor steering wheel finished in leather and rear-seat infotainment system
The infotainment system is not available on all variants specially on the automatic variants so the company is offering anaftermarket Kenwood infotainment system which is post-factory fitted equipment and will be installed at the Nexa dealership
At about Rs35000-40000 extra on your preferred Ignis variant you will be able to personalize the whole car Maruti Suzuki Ignis isthe only car in its segment to offer this personalization options This was introduced by the company since the launch and so far iswell recieved The company sold a total of 4830 units of its Ignis since its launch in January 2017httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshere-is-how-much-it-will-cost-to-personalize-your-maruti-suzuki-ignis57140666
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Opinion Rebirth of Ambassador brand Santosh DesaiThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
The selling of the Ambassador brand to Peugeot is an eyebrow raiser Why would anyone want to revive a car that is deservedlydead and in the minds of many took far too long in its death sequence a la a Hindi film hero in the 70s
Clearly Peugeot has no interest in the car in its physical form what it is buying is the idea of the Ambassador and the meaning thatit can give it in todays context
There is something about the Ambassador that lends itself to nostalgic affection Unlike the more sensible Fiat which offered atimid version of the modern and hence stops short of evoking an era and a culture the Ambassadors relation with the modern wasfrosty It remained steadfastly true to its own sensibilities largely because it refused to change or perhaps lacked the capability todo so
Barring minor modifications that were universally mocked at for their transparent lack of ambition the Ambassador stood its groundfor a long time Eventually it did change its engine but it was too late by then Its time was over once the hot plastic era of theMaruti made its appearance
In its time the Ambassador reigned supreme Its lines were inspired by a matrons commodious petticoats and its interiors had thecomfortable well-worn shabbiness of the Indian drawing room The gears shifted with a grunt and the car began its journey with agroan It drove one with the laconic recalcitrance of the father while offering you the familiar comfort of a mothers lap
One sprawled inside the car when not carrying ones entire brood of third cousins and their family friends to the railway station toreceive or to see someone off in the dead of night The car was large solid and rounded nothing about its design acknowledgedthat it was an object designed to move Indeed it seemed to actively shun any association with aerodynamics
The Ambassador squatted on the ground embracing its own centre of gravity It was a car that clearly believed that it was better towaddle than to race and moved with stolid disregard for ones surroundings or ones intent The Ambassador was status quo onwheels a car that allowed one to stand still even as one moved and to do so with ones entire way of life intact
It pointed nowhere and took us nowhere which was where we wanted to be The Ambassador was equanimity in a world where
abruptness was the norm Traffic on Indian roads might have been slow but it was always sudden Roads disappeared from undertheir feet cows changed their minds about moving buses decided to come tearing down the wrong side for a closer look andpedestrians stopped in the middle of the road to scratch themselves meditatively
The car itself was a constant source of uncertainty- it stalled leaked oil the brake fluid ran out at odd times of course it could alsobe repaired anywhere by virtually any mechanic and so life chugged along The ability to accommodate anything - peoplemerchandise circumstances recurring dents and scrapes breakdowns - without showing any sign of strain made the car a naturalin the Indian context
At the surface level the Ambassador might offer an easy route to marketable nostalgia particularly in the West It is a quirky riposteto the modern and works at the level of an ironic joke But this is the kind of appeal that works fast and dissipates even fasterHowever there is something more substantial about the idea of the Ambassador apart from its incongruous looks
The idea of the Ambassador potentially holds allure today because it tells us that it is possible to completely disregard context Itexposes the fuss that cars make about moving from point A to point B as being unnecessary Neither motion nor the car as anobject of desire are fetishised According to the Ambassador one can be a placid cow chewing cud while the world goes on aroundit spinning out of control The individual finds no reflection in the car the fluidity of time and fashion mean nothing to it It restores tothe car the idea of affectionate and comfortable warmth it feels like home should
Equanimity is the ornament of those that understand time One doesnt have to hurry the world doesnt need to be about oneselfone is secure in the knowledge that current events will pass however unlikely it seems today When one is home the world outsideholds few terrors at least for the time being
And while this idea has been born out of India and its realities today it is unlikely that this idea will find much resonance in India foras a country we have traded placid wisdom for prickly ambition Even if Peugeot were to re-present the Ambassador in anacceptably contemporary form the country today wants to see a more desirable face in the mirror The individual wants to seehimself and his future in the car he drives
The idea of the Ambassador becomes in effect a return to an earlier era and there is little appetite for that today Globally on theother hand it might be another story The brands attractiveness to a company like Peugeot lies in the fact that the Ambassador isabove all a brand It stands for an idea that is located in a culture and it signifies a belief in some values
It has a design ethos and a point of view about mobility and indeed about the world we live in today It is unlikely to offer theopportunity to build a huge global brand but there is a truth that it speaks that could potentially create value for the Frenchcompany Shorn of the shoddy product that carried this name it might just be that the underlying idea of the Ambassador hasrelevance in todays timeshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsopinion-rebirth-of-ambassador-brand57138047
Top
Ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave says Munjal N V VijayakumarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru Hero MotoCorp Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pawan Munjal is working hard to take the brand Hero on theglobal automotive landscape He believes that Hero MotoCorpamprsquos global expansion will help the company achieve asustainable growth in the long run
Being the largest producer of two-wheeler globally with over 65 million vehicles a year Munjal says the companyamprsquos strategyis product-centric for each geography Munjal tells DHamprsquos N VacirceuroˆVijayakumar that the company will reach 50 global marketswithin 2020
Can you elaborate your global expansion plan
We are going global to tap the huge untapped opportunities for growth We entered the global market after beginning our solojourney six years ago The launch in Argentina marks our foray into the 35th country globally We are right now present across AsiaAfrica and South and Central America
Our rapid expansion in these regions helped us build our brand identity We are present in these regions with a range of popularmotorcycles and scooters across segments which are known for their fuel efficiency performance and durability We expect thatthe mix of our product portfolio and after sales service efficiency will bring us ahead of the curve in these markets
How do you view the global economic environment
We also realise the fact that political or economic uncertainties are looming large globally We have to understand that suchuncertainties are present in every sphere of activity and that should not deter us from pursuing our long-term goals and vision Webelieve our global expansion is an opportunity for sustainable growth in the long run
We believe that we can achieve 10 of total sales from global operations by 2020 We do hope that we will scale up further afterthat We are planning to enter the Mexican and Brazilian markets soon
Do you believe that your volume play will help in the global expansion plan
We have to achieve some basic volume mass to make certain impact in the market The size and scale of Hero MotoCorp in the
Indian market is a big advantage when we foray into any global market
This helps us choose the distributor partner In terms of continent we are focussing on various continents and by 2020 we will get asolid idea of the market Then we will be focussing on 12 to 15 markets as they will help us grow Some markets will grow on theirown steam
We believe that we should focus on low hanging fruits in the markets like Latin America and Africa where we can achieve thevolume Unlike the western market especially the US and the South-East Asian markets geographies like Latin America and Africawe do not have to face any complications and no competition from existing established players from Japan Having said that wehavenamprsquot lost focus on global product planning
How do you view the domestic market
Hero MotoCorp finds huge potential from the domestic market as our growth comes from there only We are very much focused onchanges in the customer preference and this is clearly revealed during the last Auto Expo
We find a lot of traction in the premium and high performance products We feel in these segments our market share is very less orwe are entirely missing Also since our domestic two-wheeler penetration is still only around 30 we think there is still growth inthe mass market segment ranging from 100 cc to 150 cc
We are also registering steady growth in the scooter segment We aspire Hero MotoCorp achieve greater market share in thissegment than our current position
How do you view the investment made in RampD
We invested heavily in our new Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) located at Jaipur A lot of design and development workson premium products are currently happening there We have already made it with the new Achiever 150 The next one will beXtreme 200S a premium product which is already showcased at the Auto Expo last year
We want to come up with products that suit each geography as part of our global expansion and the centre will play a key role inthat Till now we donamprsquot have any global product and the CIT will come up with products that are truly global in nature and takeHero MotoCorp ahead of competition
Can you share your take on the growing importance of electric vehicles hybrid vehicles and ride sharing
I believe that ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave The world is really moving in that direction and we are alsocommitted to that Our research activities with electric vehicles are progressing at the CIT The government will have to focus onthis and I believe that we are not isolated in that as they have started their initiatives We have invested in two startups electricscooter startup Ather Energy based out of Bengaluru and ride-sharing bike taxi startup Rapido Cost and affordability will decide thegrowth of the hybrid products We have already displayed hybrid products at the Auto Expo
Startups are the rage of the day What is your take on this
I personally believe that lots of innovation happen in the startup culture Sometimes large companies are not able to do thosethings We also believe that big companies like Hero and other players should provide the ecosystem so that startups can alsoprosperhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596412ride-sharing-electric-vehicles-nexthtml
Top
Cars SUVs MUVs
2017 Honda City launched in India Prices start at Rs 849 lakh (Ex-Delhi) Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese car maker Honda Cars India launched the facelift on its 4th generation Honda City 2017 Thepetrol variants of Honda City are priced Rs 849 lakh - 1352 lakh (Ex-Delhi) at and the diesel variants of Honda City costs Rs1075 lakh - 1356 at (Ex- Delhi)
Honda City variant line-up now gets the addition of a new flagship grade ampndash ampldquoZXamprdquo
Honda City facelift now gets a wide-opening bumper design and a new signature front chrome grille with intricate design connectingthe two headlights The LED package including the integrated LED DRL which is now standard across all variants the inline LEDheadlamps LED fog lampsLED RR Combi LED license plate lamps trunk lid spoiler with LED
The car now also gets new diamond-cut and two-tone alloy wheel design for both 15 and 16 inch wheels The new City also hasfirst-in-segment auto-folding door mirrors in V VX and ZX grades
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India Ltd said ampldquoThe Honda City has been ourmost successful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquosmost successful sedan since its launch in 1998 It has also been the industry benchmark for quality and has been ranked No 1 by
the JD Power Initial Quality Study 14 times since its inception in the Indian marketamprdquo
ampldquoWith the launch of a much-enhanced new Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations byoffering amazing value at a very competitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in thesegmentamprdquo he added
Interiors are finished in dual-tone beige amp black trim Honda City also gets a 177 cm touchscreen infotainment system called theDigipad which supports navigation voice recognition Bluetooth and also Wi-Fi support for internet The infotainment system isavailable on the V VX and ZX grades
The car also features a soft-touch dashboard on passenger side and new white illumination in the advanced 3D multi-informationmeter Other important interior feature includes chrome plating on steering switches and chrome plated knobs for rear-aircon ventThe car continues to get the tilt and telescopic steering adjustment StartStop ignition system button fully auto-dimming insiderear-view mirror and LED interior cabin lights
The ZX grade also has both rear-adjustable headrests
The interiors of the new City are beige upholstery with dual-tone beige amp black trims
Honda City continues to get the same 15L i-DTEC diesel engine of Earth Dream Technology series which sheds a power of 100 Psand a peak torque of 200 Nm Honda City diesel claims a mileage of 256 Kmpl The engine is mated to a 6-speed manualtransmission
The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119 ps and a torque of 145 NmIt has been mated with the same CVT gearbox with 7-speed paddle shifters and claims a mileage of 18 kmpl The 5-speed manualtransmission delivers an impressive fuel efficiency of 174 kmpl
Honda is offering dual SRS airbags ABS with EBD as a standard safety features across all its variants The new ZX variant gets 6air-bags automatic headlamp and auto rain-sensing wipers
The new Honda City 2017 is offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades Petrol CVTwill be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
Honda is also offereing 3 accessory packages on the facelifted City
Deliveries of the new Honda City will begin immediately from the HCIL dealer network of 332 facilities in 220 cities across thecountryhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-honda-city-launched-in-india-prices-start-at-rs-8-49-lakh-ex-delhi57141912Honda rolls out new City at starting price of Rs 850 lakhThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newshonda-rolls-out-new-city-at-starting-price-of-rs-850-lakharticle9543447eceHonda unveils much-awaited City 2017The Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautolauncheshonda-unveils-much-awaited-city-2017articleshow57142363cms 2017 Honda City Facelift launched at Rs850 lakhThe Statesman (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthestatesmancombusiness2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-8-50-lakh-1487059835htmlAutocar Indiahttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-849-lakh-404196aspxHonda City facelift launched at Rs 85 LakhAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinessautos140217honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-85-lakhhtmlHonda Introduces City facelift at Rs 85 LakhDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos140217honda-introduces-city-facelift-at-rs-85-lakhhtml
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Honda City 2017 bookings cross 5000 units Pooja ChatterjeeThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese carmaker Hondas newly launched 4th generation City 2017 has crossed 5000 bookings in 12days Out of 5000 70 percent bookings were for petrol variant
Bookings for New Honda City 2017 started from February 3 with an amount of Rs 21000 The car was launched on February 14 forRs 849990 (ex showroom Delhi)
The new Honda City 2017 will be offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades PetrolCVT will be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
The New Honda City 2017 will be available in 5 exterior colours ampndash Modern Steel Metallic (New) White Orchid PearlCarnelian Red Pearl Alabaster Silver Metallic and Golden Brown Metallic
The Diesel City is powered by the 15L i-DTEC engine which delivers maximum power of 100ps3600 rpm with a max torque of
200 Nm1750 rpm The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119ps6600 rpm and a torque of 145 N-m4600 rpm
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India said ampldquoThe Honda City has been our mostsuccessful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquos mostsuccessful sedan since its launch in 1998
The New Honda City 2017 is likely to act as a disruptive product for the carmaker and help it woo back its customers who shifted toMaruti Suzuki Ciaz one of the biggest competitor of the carhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshonda-city-2017-bookings-cross-5000-units57145018Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 cr m-cap hit post Q3Daily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-cr-m-cap-hit-post-q3-2322687
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Honda has no plans for a sub-Rs5 lakh car in India Amrit Rajmint (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Cars India Ltd will look to introduce more premium and bigger automobiles as it seeks to lift sales that havesagged 23 so far this financial year
In the meantime the Honda City sedan and the sub-4 meter notchback Amaze will be the two mainstays of the Japanese carmakerin India
On Tuesday Honda launched a new Honda City priced at Rs85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWe receive a lot of request to launch more premium and bigger carsamprdquo Yoichiro Ueno chief executive and presidentof Honda Cars India said in an interview ampldquoWe launched Accord Hybrid which is quite premium segment as it is a CBU It isreceiving quite good acceptance We are studying the potential for this sort of a bigger marketamprdquo
CBU is short for Completely Built Up and refers to a car that is completely imported
Honda needs to do something to boost sales in India The Japanese carmaker is way off its target of selling 300000 cars per yearin India by March 2017 Even globally Honda has scrapped its sales forecast of achieving seven million units by 2017 amid recallwoes
In India sales of Honda Cars during April-January declined 23 to 124000 units compared with an increase of 9 to 25 millionunits for the broader automobile industry in the same period
To be sure Honda is still a premium brand and its customers seem to be happy with its products It has performed consistently wellin the JD Power survey for customer satisfaction
But the Indian car market itself has changed There are more companies seeking premium playampmdasha phenomenon that Hondapioneered in India At the same time Honda does not have a strong presence in some key market segments
Honda has no plans to introduce a car in the sub-Rs5 lakh category in the near future said Ueno The sub-Rs5 lakh segmentaccounts for about 50 of total passenger vehicles sold in India
It does not have a compact sports utility vehicle eitherampmdashanother hot-selling segment although in March it plans to launch theWR-V a derivative of the Jazz hatchback reminiscent of an SUV The multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio didnamprsquot do too well andnor did the BR-V which Ueno says is a cross between an SUV and MPV
Honda launched the Brio hatchback and the Amaze in 2011 and 2012ampmdashlong after its rivals had entered these segments
ampldquoWe are not a late entrant but careful Weamprsquore careful about Indiaamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBelow Rs5 lakhwe are not launching Maybe it is not our market We are talking about a couple of years In the long term(when) big motorization comes and this sort of small cars become very popular we might consider For a while we arenamprsquotconsideringamprdquo Ueno said
When ampldquobig motorizationamprdquo actually happens Ueno says the Indian market can be as big as 10 million units per annum
As for the demand for SUVs Ueno said that the trend may not last
ampldquoSUV is a boom and we have seen that kind of a boom in many countries It will be there for some time maybe a few yearsWe have seen that in the US there was a big boom and even in Japanampmdashand then it droppedamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBut at some stage of the maturing of motorization SUVs do become popular At this moment many customers are choosingSUVs because of the rough road conditions Improvement of infrastructure is very very fast in India So some customers willcome back to sedans or other segments Always the market trend can be changedamprdquo he addedhttpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesFR2bp58jTndVKeuoPtF75KHonda-eyes-top-slot-in-sedan-segment-with-launch-of-new-Cityhtml
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Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese auto major Honda on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its best selling sedan City in India priced at betweenRs 85 lakh and Rs 1358 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWith the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price
I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo Honda Cars India president andCEO Yoichiro Ueno said
The City competes with Maruti Suzukiamprsquos Ciaz While City had been the segment leader for a long time it was recentlydethroned by the Ciaz The new City is an upgraded version of the 4th generationThe new version will be available in both petroland diesel options
While the petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel variant isavailable in the price range of Rs 1076 lakh to Rs 1357 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessHonda-unveils-new-City-bids-to-trump-Maruti-Ciazarticle17303948ece
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Honda lines up compact SUV Civic Pankaj DovalThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Civic will make a comeback in India as the Japanese car maker looks for a more aggressive play in thepremium-end while staying away from mass-market segment categories that are dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Hondahas been struggling to maintain growth in India and has reported negative numbers for the last 15 months in a row It will also drivein a new compact SUV -WR-V -based on the Jazz platform Yoichiro Ueno MD amp CEO of the Indian subsidiary told TOI here
Ueno said the company had attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with models such as Brio mini butcould not experience encouraging growth due to heightened competition from established players
The brand positioning is thus being scaled up We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning which is a bit morepremium though not luxury So we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai We would like to do that interms of products service and customer experience Petrol-only Civic had been one of the most-recognisable cars from the brandbut was moved out from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel
With petrol gaining traction in the market once again following decontrol of fuel prices the company is now keen to reintroduce thecar here
We are keen but we need some time to study and some period to meet the regulations for India Ueno said when asked aboutplans for the launch of Civic in India The model is expected to be launched within a year Ueno said WR-V will be launched prettysoonhttptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinessindia-businesshonda-lines-up-compact-suv-civicarticleshow57157599cms
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Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City Ajay ModiBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese car maker Honda is eyeing a bigger sedan ride from the launch of its fourth generation City which has beenfacing a challenge from rival Maruti Suzukis Ciaz City the best-selling model for Honda ever since it entered India in 1998 andsegment leader for years is now behind Ciaz in volumesSince the Honda brand was established in India with the City as the firstproduct it holds a special place in the company and also among the customers With this relaunch we believe we will regain thesegment leadership said Jnaneswar Sen senior vice-president (sales amp marketing) Honda Cars India
City has been launched at a price beginning Rs 850 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) and the top end variant is priced at Rs 1358 lakh Iam confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segment Honda Cars India President and CEOYoichiro Ueno said The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) So on a price point Maruti still has the edge But Sen said the new City is packed with several new featuresthat will bring buyers back In the last ten days the company has received advance bookings for about 5000 units (petrol and dieselcombined) of the new City
The significance of City is evident from its contribution to Hondas sales in India during the last nineteen years The Japanese automajor has sold approximately 13 million cars in the country since it arrived Every second car sold by the company happened to bea City
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
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Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
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Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
Top
E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
Top
Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
Top
Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
Top
News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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PLEASE NOTE
NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
This update purports to be a compilation of the top stories for the day in the leading Indian and International dailies websites and other information sources and NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot and does not vouch for their authenticity NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot be held responsible for any loss(es) arising out of or incidental to theuse of this News Update Reproduction or redistribution without express permission of NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd is strictly prohibited and is a violation of the subscriptionagreement Such instances will result in immediate cancellation of subscription to the Service without any refund for the remaining period at the sole discretion of NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
New Delhi Maruti Suzuki with its Ignis has been very clear on its target audience and the target customer for the company hasbeen the amplsquomillennialsamprsquo or the youngsters of the country born between 1980-90 The company has a wider productportfolio to address to small family cars to executive sedans for corporate demand MPV Ertiga for Indian family needs SUV stylingon its Vitara Brezza and with Ignis it wants to diversify its product offering to attract the youth first time buyers
Launch at a concert using car emoji while using IGNIS on twitter and many more marketing stunts by the company certainlyhelped to create that initial buzz which the company was looking for On the product front also Maruti Suzuki announced variouspersonalisation and customisation options to give that individual look and below is the cost involved to customise Maruti SuzukiIgnis
Maruti Suzuki Ignis is being offered in 9 colours except for the base variant which only gets white silver and grey colour optionsCustomisation on Ignis is available on all the trims of all petrol diesel and automatic variants This is also the second offering afterMaruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza to get customisation options
Maruti Suzuki Ignis exterior customisation optionsOn the exterior you get to choose to include body side moulding cladding on the side door visor roof wrap roof spoiler and a fewother options Roof wraps also known as Crowners are available in 4 different patterns and number of colours Digiscape RadicalImplode and unbox are the names of the patterns of the crowners on option which costs an additional of Rs 9990
There is also an option of adding a roof line spoiler at Rs 5590 and for the carbon finish roof spoiler costs about 10990 Body sidemouldings are offered 6 colours
Overall You will end up paying about Rs13000 ampndash 16000 more on your choice of Ignis variant for exterior customisation
Maruti Suzuki Ignis customisation options (interiors)The interiors of the cars can also be tweaked and rather than doing it from a vendor outside its always good to get the factory fittedkits on a new car Inside the car you get an option of interior styling kit which includes ambient lighting there is also a huge rangeof floor mats seat covers to choose from Footers or floor mats comes with Ignis embossed on it to increase the personalised feel
Other features that you can include to personalise Maruti Suzuki Ignis are addition of Black alloy wheels crossbar cladding glassline spoiler door visor steering wheel finished in leather and rear-seat infotainment system
The infotainment system is not available on all variants specially on the automatic variants so the company is offering anaftermarket Kenwood infotainment system which is post-factory fitted equipment and will be installed at the Nexa dealership
At about Rs35000-40000 extra on your preferred Ignis variant you will be able to personalize the whole car Maruti Suzuki Ignis isthe only car in its segment to offer this personalization options This was introduced by the company since the launch and so far iswell recieved The company sold a total of 4830 units of its Ignis since its launch in January 2017httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshere-is-how-much-it-will-cost-to-personalize-your-maruti-suzuki-ignis57140666
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Opinion Rebirth of Ambassador brand Santosh DesaiThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
The selling of the Ambassador brand to Peugeot is an eyebrow raiser Why would anyone want to revive a car that is deservedlydead and in the minds of many took far too long in its death sequence a la a Hindi film hero in the 70s
Clearly Peugeot has no interest in the car in its physical form what it is buying is the idea of the Ambassador and the meaning thatit can give it in todays context
There is something about the Ambassador that lends itself to nostalgic affection Unlike the more sensible Fiat which offered atimid version of the modern and hence stops short of evoking an era and a culture the Ambassadors relation with the modern wasfrosty It remained steadfastly true to its own sensibilities largely because it refused to change or perhaps lacked the capability todo so
Barring minor modifications that were universally mocked at for their transparent lack of ambition the Ambassador stood its groundfor a long time Eventually it did change its engine but it was too late by then Its time was over once the hot plastic era of theMaruti made its appearance
In its time the Ambassador reigned supreme Its lines were inspired by a matrons commodious petticoats and its interiors had thecomfortable well-worn shabbiness of the Indian drawing room The gears shifted with a grunt and the car began its journey with agroan It drove one with the laconic recalcitrance of the father while offering you the familiar comfort of a mothers lap
One sprawled inside the car when not carrying ones entire brood of third cousins and their family friends to the railway station toreceive or to see someone off in the dead of night The car was large solid and rounded nothing about its design acknowledgedthat it was an object designed to move Indeed it seemed to actively shun any association with aerodynamics
The Ambassador squatted on the ground embracing its own centre of gravity It was a car that clearly believed that it was better towaddle than to race and moved with stolid disregard for ones surroundings or ones intent The Ambassador was status quo onwheels a car that allowed one to stand still even as one moved and to do so with ones entire way of life intact
It pointed nowhere and took us nowhere which was where we wanted to be The Ambassador was equanimity in a world where
abruptness was the norm Traffic on Indian roads might have been slow but it was always sudden Roads disappeared from undertheir feet cows changed their minds about moving buses decided to come tearing down the wrong side for a closer look andpedestrians stopped in the middle of the road to scratch themselves meditatively
The car itself was a constant source of uncertainty- it stalled leaked oil the brake fluid ran out at odd times of course it could alsobe repaired anywhere by virtually any mechanic and so life chugged along The ability to accommodate anything - peoplemerchandise circumstances recurring dents and scrapes breakdowns - without showing any sign of strain made the car a naturalin the Indian context
At the surface level the Ambassador might offer an easy route to marketable nostalgia particularly in the West It is a quirky riposteto the modern and works at the level of an ironic joke But this is the kind of appeal that works fast and dissipates even fasterHowever there is something more substantial about the idea of the Ambassador apart from its incongruous looks
The idea of the Ambassador potentially holds allure today because it tells us that it is possible to completely disregard context Itexposes the fuss that cars make about moving from point A to point B as being unnecessary Neither motion nor the car as anobject of desire are fetishised According to the Ambassador one can be a placid cow chewing cud while the world goes on aroundit spinning out of control The individual finds no reflection in the car the fluidity of time and fashion mean nothing to it It restores tothe car the idea of affectionate and comfortable warmth it feels like home should
Equanimity is the ornament of those that understand time One doesnt have to hurry the world doesnt need to be about oneselfone is secure in the knowledge that current events will pass however unlikely it seems today When one is home the world outsideholds few terrors at least for the time being
And while this idea has been born out of India and its realities today it is unlikely that this idea will find much resonance in India foras a country we have traded placid wisdom for prickly ambition Even if Peugeot were to re-present the Ambassador in anacceptably contemporary form the country today wants to see a more desirable face in the mirror The individual wants to seehimself and his future in the car he drives
The idea of the Ambassador becomes in effect a return to an earlier era and there is little appetite for that today Globally on theother hand it might be another story The brands attractiveness to a company like Peugeot lies in the fact that the Ambassador isabove all a brand It stands for an idea that is located in a culture and it signifies a belief in some values
It has a design ethos and a point of view about mobility and indeed about the world we live in today It is unlikely to offer theopportunity to build a huge global brand but there is a truth that it speaks that could potentially create value for the Frenchcompany Shorn of the shoddy product that carried this name it might just be that the underlying idea of the Ambassador hasrelevance in todays timeshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsopinion-rebirth-of-ambassador-brand57138047
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Ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave says Munjal N V VijayakumarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru Hero MotoCorp Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pawan Munjal is working hard to take the brand Hero on theglobal automotive landscape He believes that Hero MotoCorpamprsquos global expansion will help the company achieve asustainable growth in the long run
Being the largest producer of two-wheeler globally with over 65 million vehicles a year Munjal says the companyamprsquos strategyis product-centric for each geography Munjal tells DHamprsquos N VacirceuroˆVijayakumar that the company will reach 50 global marketswithin 2020
Can you elaborate your global expansion plan
We are going global to tap the huge untapped opportunities for growth We entered the global market after beginning our solojourney six years ago The launch in Argentina marks our foray into the 35th country globally We are right now present across AsiaAfrica and South and Central America
Our rapid expansion in these regions helped us build our brand identity We are present in these regions with a range of popularmotorcycles and scooters across segments which are known for their fuel efficiency performance and durability We expect thatthe mix of our product portfolio and after sales service efficiency will bring us ahead of the curve in these markets
How do you view the global economic environment
We also realise the fact that political or economic uncertainties are looming large globally We have to understand that suchuncertainties are present in every sphere of activity and that should not deter us from pursuing our long-term goals and vision Webelieve our global expansion is an opportunity for sustainable growth in the long run
We believe that we can achieve 10 of total sales from global operations by 2020 We do hope that we will scale up further afterthat We are planning to enter the Mexican and Brazilian markets soon
Do you believe that your volume play will help in the global expansion plan
We have to achieve some basic volume mass to make certain impact in the market The size and scale of Hero MotoCorp in the
Indian market is a big advantage when we foray into any global market
This helps us choose the distributor partner In terms of continent we are focussing on various continents and by 2020 we will get asolid idea of the market Then we will be focussing on 12 to 15 markets as they will help us grow Some markets will grow on theirown steam
We believe that we should focus on low hanging fruits in the markets like Latin America and Africa where we can achieve thevolume Unlike the western market especially the US and the South-East Asian markets geographies like Latin America and Africawe do not have to face any complications and no competition from existing established players from Japan Having said that wehavenamprsquot lost focus on global product planning
How do you view the domestic market
Hero MotoCorp finds huge potential from the domestic market as our growth comes from there only We are very much focused onchanges in the customer preference and this is clearly revealed during the last Auto Expo
We find a lot of traction in the premium and high performance products We feel in these segments our market share is very less orwe are entirely missing Also since our domestic two-wheeler penetration is still only around 30 we think there is still growth inthe mass market segment ranging from 100 cc to 150 cc
We are also registering steady growth in the scooter segment We aspire Hero MotoCorp achieve greater market share in thissegment than our current position
How do you view the investment made in RampD
We invested heavily in our new Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) located at Jaipur A lot of design and development workson premium products are currently happening there We have already made it with the new Achiever 150 The next one will beXtreme 200S a premium product which is already showcased at the Auto Expo last year
We want to come up with products that suit each geography as part of our global expansion and the centre will play a key role inthat Till now we donamprsquot have any global product and the CIT will come up with products that are truly global in nature and takeHero MotoCorp ahead of competition
Can you share your take on the growing importance of electric vehicles hybrid vehicles and ride sharing
I believe that ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave The world is really moving in that direction and we are alsocommitted to that Our research activities with electric vehicles are progressing at the CIT The government will have to focus onthis and I believe that we are not isolated in that as they have started their initiatives We have invested in two startups electricscooter startup Ather Energy based out of Bengaluru and ride-sharing bike taxi startup Rapido Cost and affordability will decide thegrowth of the hybrid products We have already displayed hybrid products at the Auto Expo
Startups are the rage of the day What is your take on this
I personally believe that lots of innovation happen in the startup culture Sometimes large companies are not able to do thosethings We also believe that big companies like Hero and other players should provide the ecosystem so that startups can alsoprosperhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596412ride-sharing-electric-vehicles-nexthtml
Top
Cars SUVs MUVs
2017 Honda City launched in India Prices start at Rs 849 lakh (Ex-Delhi) Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese car maker Honda Cars India launched the facelift on its 4th generation Honda City 2017 Thepetrol variants of Honda City are priced Rs 849 lakh - 1352 lakh (Ex-Delhi) at and the diesel variants of Honda City costs Rs1075 lakh - 1356 at (Ex- Delhi)
Honda City variant line-up now gets the addition of a new flagship grade ampndash ampldquoZXamprdquo
Honda City facelift now gets a wide-opening bumper design and a new signature front chrome grille with intricate design connectingthe two headlights The LED package including the integrated LED DRL which is now standard across all variants the inline LEDheadlamps LED fog lampsLED RR Combi LED license plate lamps trunk lid spoiler with LED
The car now also gets new diamond-cut and two-tone alloy wheel design for both 15 and 16 inch wheels The new City also hasfirst-in-segment auto-folding door mirrors in V VX and ZX grades
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India Ltd said ampldquoThe Honda City has been ourmost successful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquosmost successful sedan since its launch in 1998 It has also been the industry benchmark for quality and has been ranked No 1 by
the JD Power Initial Quality Study 14 times since its inception in the Indian marketamprdquo
ampldquoWith the launch of a much-enhanced new Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations byoffering amazing value at a very competitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in thesegmentamprdquo he added
Interiors are finished in dual-tone beige amp black trim Honda City also gets a 177 cm touchscreen infotainment system called theDigipad which supports navigation voice recognition Bluetooth and also Wi-Fi support for internet The infotainment system isavailable on the V VX and ZX grades
The car also features a soft-touch dashboard on passenger side and new white illumination in the advanced 3D multi-informationmeter Other important interior feature includes chrome plating on steering switches and chrome plated knobs for rear-aircon ventThe car continues to get the tilt and telescopic steering adjustment StartStop ignition system button fully auto-dimming insiderear-view mirror and LED interior cabin lights
The ZX grade also has both rear-adjustable headrests
The interiors of the new City are beige upholstery with dual-tone beige amp black trims
Honda City continues to get the same 15L i-DTEC diesel engine of Earth Dream Technology series which sheds a power of 100 Psand a peak torque of 200 Nm Honda City diesel claims a mileage of 256 Kmpl The engine is mated to a 6-speed manualtransmission
The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119 ps and a torque of 145 NmIt has been mated with the same CVT gearbox with 7-speed paddle shifters and claims a mileage of 18 kmpl The 5-speed manualtransmission delivers an impressive fuel efficiency of 174 kmpl
Honda is offering dual SRS airbags ABS with EBD as a standard safety features across all its variants The new ZX variant gets 6air-bags automatic headlamp and auto rain-sensing wipers
The new Honda City 2017 is offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades Petrol CVTwill be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
Honda is also offereing 3 accessory packages on the facelifted City
Deliveries of the new Honda City will begin immediately from the HCIL dealer network of 332 facilities in 220 cities across thecountryhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-honda-city-launched-in-india-prices-start-at-rs-8-49-lakh-ex-delhi57141912Honda rolls out new City at starting price of Rs 850 lakhThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newshonda-rolls-out-new-city-at-starting-price-of-rs-850-lakharticle9543447eceHonda unveils much-awaited City 2017The Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautolauncheshonda-unveils-much-awaited-city-2017articleshow57142363cms 2017 Honda City Facelift launched at Rs850 lakhThe Statesman (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthestatesmancombusiness2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-8-50-lakh-1487059835htmlAutocar Indiahttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-849-lakh-404196aspxHonda City facelift launched at Rs 85 LakhAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinessautos140217honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-85-lakhhtmlHonda Introduces City facelift at Rs 85 LakhDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos140217honda-introduces-city-facelift-at-rs-85-lakhhtml
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Honda City 2017 bookings cross 5000 units Pooja ChatterjeeThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese carmaker Hondas newly launched 4th generation City 2017 has crossed 5000 bookings in 12days Out of 5000 70 percent bookings were for petrol variant
Bookings for New Honda City 2017 started from February 3 with an amount of Rs 21000 The car was launched on February 14 forRs 849990 (ex showroom Delhi)
The new Honda City 2017 will be offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades PetrolCVT will be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
The New Honda City 2017 will be available in 5 exterior colours ampndash Modern Steel Metallic (New) White Orchid PearlCarnelian Red Pearl Alabaster Silver Metallic and Golden Brown Metallic
The Diesel City is powered by the 15L i-DTEC engine which delivers maximum power of 100ps3600 rpm with a max torque of
200 Nm1750 rpm The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119ps6600 rpm and a torque of 145 N-m4600 rpm
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India said ampldquoThe Honda City has been our mostsuccessful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquos mostsuccessful sedan since its launch in 1998
The New Honda City 2017 is likely to act as a disruptive product for the carmaker and help it woo back its customers who shifted toMaruti Suzuki Ciaz one of the biggest competitor of the carhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshonda-city-2017-bookings-cross-5000-units57145018Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 cr m-cap hit post Q3Daily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-cr-m-cap-hit-post-q3-2322687
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Honda has no plans for a sub-Rs5 lakh car in India Amrit Rajmint (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Cars India Ltd will look to introduce more premium and bigger automobiles as it seeks to lift sales that havesagged 23 so far this financial year
In the meantime the Honda City sedan and the sub-4 meter notchback Amaze will be the two mainstays of the Japanese carmakerin India
On Tuesday Honda launched a new Honda City priced at Rs85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWe receive a lot of request to launch more premium and bigger carsamprdquo Yoichiro Ueno chief executive and presidentof Honda Cars India said in an interview ampldquoWe launched Accord Hybrid which is quite premium segment as it is a CBU It isreceiving quite good acceptance We are studying the potential for this sort of a bigger marketamprdquo
CBU is short for Completely Built Up and refers to a car that is completely imported
Honda needs to do something to boost sales in India The Japanese carmaker is way off its target of selling 300000 cars per yearin India by March 2017 Even globally Honda has scrapped its sales forecast of achieving seven million units by 2017 amid recallwoes
In India sales of Honda Cars during April-January declined 23 to 124000 units compared with an increase of 9 to 25 millionunits for the broader automobile industry in the same period
To be sure Honda is still a premium brand and its customers seem to be happy with its products It has performed consistently wellin the JD Power survey for customer satisfaction
But the Indian car market itself has changed There are more companies seeking premium playampmdasha phenomenon that Hondapioneered in India At the same time Honda does not have a strong presence in some key market segments
Honda has no plans to introduce a car in the sub-Rs5 lakh category in the near future said Ueno The sub-Rs5 lakh segmentaccounts for about 50 of total passenger vehicles sold in India
It does not have a compact sports utility vehicle eitherampmdashanother hot-selling segment although in March it plans to launch theWR-V a derivative of the Jazz hatchback reminiscent of an SUV The multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio didnamprsquot do too well andnor did the BR-V which Ueno says is a cross between an SUV and MPV
Honda launched the Brio hatchback and the Amaze in 2011 and 2012ampmdashlong after its rivals had entered these segments
ampldquoWe are not a late entrant but careful Weamprsquore careful about Indiaamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBelow Rs5 lakhwe are not launching Maybe it is not our market We are talking about a couple of years In the long term(when) big motorization comes and this sort of small cars become very popular we might consider For a while we arenamprsquotconsideringamprdquo Ueno said
When ampldquobig motorizationamprdquo actually happens Ueno says the Indian market can be as big as 10 million units per annum
As for the demand for SUVs Ueno said that the trend may not last
ampldquoSUV is a boom and we have seen that kind of a boom in many countries It will be there for some time maybe a few yearsWe have seen that in the US there was a big boom and even in Japanampmdashand then it droppedamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBut at some stage of the maturing of motorization SUVs do become popular At this moment many customers are choosingSUVs because of the rough road conditions Improvement of infrastructure is very very fast in India So some customers willcome back to sedans or other segments Always the market trend can be changedamprdquo he addedhttpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesFR2bp58jTndVKeuoPtF75KHonda-eyes-top-slot-in-sedan-segment-with-launch-of-new-Cityhtml
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Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese auto major Honda on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its best selling sedan City in India priced at betweenRs 85 lakh and Rs 1358 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWith the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price
I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo Honda Cars India president andCEO Yoichiro Ueno said
The City competes with Maruti Suzukiamprsquos Ciaz While City had been the segment leader for a long time it was recentlydethroned by the Ciaz The new City is an upgraded version of the 4th generationThe new version will be available in both petroland diesel options
While the petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel variant isavailable in the price range of Rs 1076 lakh to Rs 1357 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessHonda-unveils-new-City-bids-to-trump-Maruti-Ciazarticle17303948ece
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Honda lines up compact SUV Civic Pankaj DovalThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Civic will make a comeback in India as the Japanese car maker looks for a more aggressive play in thepremium-end while staying away from mass-market segment categories that are dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Hondahas been struggling to maintain growth in India and has reported negative numbers for the last 15 months in a row It will also drivein a new compact SUV -WR-V -based on the Jazz platform Yoichiro Ueno MD amp CEO of the Indian subsidiary told TOI here
Ueno said the company had attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with models such as Brio mini butcould not experience encouraging growth due to heightened competition from established players
The brand positioning is thus being scaled up We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning which is a bit morepremium though not luxury So we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai We would like to do that interms of products service and customer experience Petrol-only Civic had been one of the most-recognisable cars from the brandbut was moved out from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel
With petrol gaining traction in the market once again following decontrol of fuel prices the company is now keen to reintroduce thecar here
We are keen but we need some time to study and some period to meet the regulations for India Ueno said when asked aboutplans for the launch of Civic in India The model is expected to be launched within a year Ueno said WR-V will be launched prettysoonhttptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinessindia-businesshonda-lines-up-compact-suv-civicarticleshow57157599cms
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Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City Ajay ModiBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese car maker Honda is eyeing a bigger sedan ride from the launch of its fourth generation City which has beenfacing a challenge from rival Maruti Suzukis Ciaz City the best-selling model for Honda ever since it entered India in 1998 andsegment leader for years is now behind Ciaz in volumesSince the Honda brand was established in India with the City as the firstproduct it holds a special place in the company and also among the customers With this relaunch we believe we will regain thesegment leadership said Jnaneswar Sen senior vice-president (sales amp marketing) Honda Cars India
City has been launched at a price beginning Rs 850 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) and the top end variant is priced at Rs 1358 lakh Iam confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segment Honda Cars India President and CEOYoichiro Ueno said The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) So on a price point Maruti still has the edge But Sen said the new City is packed with several new featuresthat will bring buyers back In the last ten days the company has received advance bookings for about 5000 units (petrol and dieselcombined) of the new City
The significance of City is evident from its contribution to Hondas sales in India during the last nineteen years The Japanese automajor has sold approximately 13 million cars in the country since it arrived Every second car sold by the company happened to bea City
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
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Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
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Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
Top
E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
Top
Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
Top
Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
Top
News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
Top
India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
Top
General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
abruptness was the norm Traffic on Indian roads might have been slow but it was always sudden Roads disappeared from undertheir feet cows changed their minds about moving buses decided to come tearing down the wrong side for a closer look andpedestrians stopped in the middle of the road to scratch themselves meditatively
The car itself was a constant source of uncertainty- it stalled leaked oil the brake fluid ran out at odd times of course it could alsobe repaired anywhere by virtually any mechanic and so life chugged along The ability to accommodate anything - peoplemerchandise circumstances recurring dents and scrapes breakdowns - without showing any sign of strain made the car a naturalin the Indian context
At the surface level the Ambassador might offer an easy route to marketable nostalgia particularly in the West It is a quirky riposteto the modern and works at the level of an ironic joke But this is the kind of appeal that works fast and dissipates even fasterHowever there is something more substantial about the idea of the Ambassador apart from its incongruous looks
The idea of the Ambassador potentially holds allure today because it tells us that it is possible to completely disregard context Itexposes the fuss that cars make about moving from point A to point B as being unnecessary Neither motion nor the car as anobject of desire are fetishised According to the Ambassador one can be a placid cow chewing cud while the world goes on aroundit spinning out of control The individual finds no reflection in the car the fluidity of time and fashion mean nothing to it It restores tothe car the idea of affectionate and comfortable warmth it feels like home should
Equanimity is the ornament of those that understand time One doesnt have to hurry the world doesnt need to be about oneselfone is secure in the knowledge that current events will pass however unlikely it seems today When one is home the world outsideholds few terrors at least for the time being
And while this idea has been born out of India and its realities today it is unlikely that this idea will find much resonance in India foras a country we have traded placid wisdom for prickly ambition Even if Peugeot were to re-present the Ambassador in anacceptably contemporary form the country today wants to see a more desirable face in the mirror The individual wants to seehimself and his future in the car he drives
The idea of the Ambassador becomes in effect a return to an earlier era and there is little appetite for that today Globally on theother hand it might be another story The brands attractiveness to a company like Peugeot lies in the fact that the Ambassador isabove all a brand It stands for an idea that is located in a culture and it signifies a belief in some values
It has a design ethos and a point of view about mobility and indeed about the world we live in today It is unlikely to offer theopportunity to build a huge global brand but there is a truth that it speaks that could potentially create value for the Frenchcompany Shorn of the shoddy product that carried this name it might just be that the underlying idea of the Ambassador hasrelevance in todays timeshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsopinion-rebirth-of-ambassador-brand57138047
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Ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave says Munjal N V VijayakumarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru Hero MotoCorp Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pawan Munjal is working hard to take the brand Hero on theglobal automotive landscape He believes that Hero MotoCorpamprsquos global expansion will help the company achieve asustainable growth in the long run
Being the largest producer of two-wheeler globally with over 65 million vehicles a year Munjal says the companyamprsquos strategyis product-centric for each geography Munjal tells DHamprsquos N VacirceuroˆVijayakumar that the company will reach 50 global marketswithin 2020
Can you elaborate your global expansion plan
We are going global to tap the huge untapped opportunities for growth We entered the global market after beginning our solojourney six years ago The launch in Argentina marks our foray into the 35th country globally We are right now present across AsiaAfrica and South and Central America
Our rapid expansion in these regions helped us build our brand identity We are present in these regions with a range of popularmotorcycles and scooters across segments which are known for their fuel efficiency performance and durability We expect thatthe mix of our product portfolio and after sales service efficiency will bring us ahead of the curve in these markets
How do you view the global economic environment
We also realise the fact that political or economic uncertainties are looming large globally We have to understand that suchuncertainties are present in every sphere of activity and that should not deter us from pursuing our long-term goals and vision Webelieve our global expansion is an opportunity for sustainable growth in the long run
We believe that we can achieve 10 of total sales from global operations by 2020 We do hope that we will scale up further afterthat We are planning to enter the Mexican and Brazilian markets soon
Do you believe that your volume play will help in the global expansion plan
We have to achieve some basic volume mass to make certain impact in the market The size and scale of Hero MotoCorp in the
Indian market is a big advantage when we foray into any global market
This helps us choose the distributor partner In terms of continent we are focussing on various continents and by 2020 we will get asolid idea of the market Then we will be focussing on 12 to 15 markets as they will help us grow Some markets will grow on theirown steam
We believe that we should focus on low hanging fruits in the markets like Latin America and Africa where we can achieve thevolume Unlike the western market especially the US and the South-East Asian markets geographies like Latin America and Africawe do not have to face any complications and no competition from existing established players from Japan Having said that wehavenamprsquot lost focus on global product planning
How do you view the domestic market
Hero MotoCorp finds huge potential from the domestic market as our growth comes from there only We are very much focused onchanges in the customer preference and this is clearly revealed during the last Auto Expo
We find a lot of traction in the premium and high performance products We feel in these segments our market share is very less orwe are entirely missing Also since our domestic two-wheeler penetration is still only around 30 we think there is still growth inthe mass market segment ranging from 100 cc to 150 cc
We are also registering steady growth in the scooter segment We aspire Hero MotoCorp achieve greater market share in thissegment than our current position
How do you view the investment made in RampD
We invested heavily in our new Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) located at Jaipur A lot of design and development workson premium products are currently happening there We have already made it with the new Achiever 150 The next one will beXtreme 200S a premium product which is already showcased at the Auto Expo last year
We want to come up with products that suit each geography as part of our global expansion and the centre will play a key role inthat Till now we donamprsquot have any global product and the CIT will come up with products that are truly global in nature and takeHero MotoCorp ahead of competition
Can you share your take on the growing importance of electric vehicles hybrid vehicles and ride sharing
I believe that ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave The world is really moving in that direction and we are alsocommitted to that Our research activities with electric vehicles are progressing at the CIT The government will have to focus onthis and I believe that we are not isolated in that as they have started their initiatives We have invested in two startups electricscooter startup Ather Energy based out of Bengaluru and ride-sharing bike taxi startup Rapido Cost and affordability will decide thegrowth of the hybrid products We have already displayed hybrid products at the Auto Expo
Startups are the rage of the day What is your take on this
I personally believe that lots of innovation happen in the startup culture Sometimes large companies are not able to do thosethings We also believe that big companies like Hero and other players should provide the ecosystem so that startups can alsoprosperhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596412ride-sharing-electric-vehicles-nexthtml
Top
Cars SUVs MUVs
2017 Honda City launched in India Prices start at Rs 849 lakh (Ex-Delhi) Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese car maker Honda Cars India launched the facelift on its 4th generation Honda City 2017 Thepetrol variants of Honda City are priced Rs 849 lakh - 1352 lakh (Ex-Delhi) at and the diesel variants of Honda City costs Rs1075 lakh - 1356 at (Ex- Delhi)
Honda City variant line-up now gets the addition of a new flagship grade ampndash ampldquoZXamprdquo
Honda City facelift now gets a wide-opening bumper design and a new signature front chrome grille with intricate design connectingthe two headlights The LED package including the integrated LED DRL which is now standard across all variants the inline LEDheadlamps LED fog lampsLED RR Combi LED license plate lamps trunk lid spoiler with LED
The car now also gets new diamond-cut and two-tone alloy wheel design for both 15 and 16 inch wheels The new City also hasfirst-in-segment auto-folding door mirrors in V VX and ZX grades
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India Ltd said ampldquoThe Honda City has been ourmost successful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquosmost successful sedan since its launch in 1998 It has also been the industry benchmark for quality and has been ranked No 1 by
the JD Power Initial Quality Study 14 times since its inception in the Indian marketamprdquo
ampldquoWith the launch of a much-enhanced new Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations byoffering amazing value at a very competitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in thesegmentamprdquo he added
Interiors are finished in dual-tone beige amp black trim Honda City also gets a 177 cm touchscreen infotainment system called theDigipad which supports navigation voice recognition Bluetooth and also Wi-Fi support for internet The infotainment system isavailable on the V VX and ZX grades
The car also features a soft-touch dashboard on passenger side and new white illumination in the advanced 3D multi-informationmeter Other important interior feature includes chrome plating on steering switches and chrome plated knobs for rear-aircon ventThe car continues to get the tilt and telescopic steering adjustment StartStop ignition system button fully auto-dimming insiderear-view mirror and LED interior cabin lights
The ZX grade also has both rear-adjustable headrests
The interiors of the new City are beige upholstery with dual-tone beige amp black trims
Honda City continues to get the same 15L i-DTEC diesel engine of Earth Dream Technology series which sheds a power of 100 Psand a peak torque of 200 Nm Honda City diesel claims a mileage of 256 Kmpl The engine is mated to a 6-speed manualtransmission
The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119 ps and a torque of 145 NmIt has been mated with the same CVT gearbox with 7-speed paddle shifters and claims a mileage of 18 kmpl The 5-speed manualtransmission delivers an impressive fuel efficiency of 174 kmpl
Honda is offering dual SRS airbags ABS with EBD as a standard safety features across all its variants The new ZX variant gets 6air-bags automatic headlamp and auto rain-sensing wipers
The new Honda City 2017 is offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades Petrol CVTwill be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
Honda is also offereing 3 accessory packages on the facelifted City
Deliveries of the new Honda City will begin immediately from the HCIL dealer network of 332 facilities in 220 cities across thecountryhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-honda-city-launched-in-india-prices-start-at-rs-8-49-lakh-ex-delhi57141912Honda rolls out new City at starting price of Rs 850 lakhThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newshonda-rolls-out-new-city-at-starting-price-of-rs-850-lakharticle9543447eceHonda unveils much-awaited City 2017The Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautolauncheshonda-unveils-much-awaited-city-2017articleshow57142363cms 2017 Honda City Facelift launched at Rs850 lakhThe Statesman (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthestatesmancombusiness2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-8-50-lakh-1487059835htmlAutocar Indiahttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-849-lakh-404196aspxHonda City facelift launched at Rs 85 LakhAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinessautos140217honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-85-lakhhtmlHonda Introduces City facelift at Rs 85 LakhDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos140217honda-introduces-city-facelift-at-rs-85-lakhhtml
Top
Honda City 2017 bookings cross 5000 units Pooja ChatterjeeThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese carmaker Hondas newly launched 4th generation City 2017 has crossed 5000 bookings in 12days Out of 5000 70 percent bookings were for petrol variant
Bookings for New Honda City 2017 started from February 3 with an amount of Rs 21000 The car was launched on February 14 forRs 849990 (ex showroom Delhi)
The new Honda City 2017 will be offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades PetrolCVT will be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
The New Honda City 2017 will be available in 5 exterior colours ampndash Modern Steel Metallic (New) White Orchid PearlCarnelian Red Pearl Alabaster Silver Metallic and Golden Brown Metallic
The Diesel City is powered by the 15L i-DTEC engine which delivers maximum power of 100ps3600 rpm with a max torque of
200 Nm1750 rpm The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119ps6600 rpm and a torque of 145 N-m4600 rpm
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India said ampldquoThe Honda City has been our mostsuccessful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquos mostsuccessful sedan since its launch in 1998
The New Honda City 2017 is likely to act as a disruptive product for the carmaker and help it woo back its customers who shifted toMaruti Suzuki Ciaz one of the biggest competitor of the carhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshonda-city-2017-bookings-cross-5000-units57145018Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 cr m-cap hit post Q3Daily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-cr-m-cap-hit-post-q3-2322687
Top
Honda has no plans for a sub-Rs5 lakh car in India Amrit Rajmint (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Cars India Ltd will look to introduce more premium and bigger automobiles as it seeks to lift sales that havesagged 23 so far this financial year
In the meantime the Honda City sedan and the sub-4 meter notchback Amaze will be the two mainstays of the Japanese carmakerin India
On Tuesday Honda launched a new Honda City priced at Rs85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWe receive a lot of request to launch more premium and bigger carsamprdquo Yoichiro Ueno chief executive and presidentof Honda Cars India said in an interview ampldquoWe launched Accord Hybrid which is quite premium segment as it is a CBU It isreceiving quite good acceptance We are studying the potential for this sort of a bigger marketamprdquo
CBU is short for Completely Built Up and refers to a car that is completely imported
Honda needs to do something to boost sales in India The Japanese carmaker is way off its target of selling 300000 cars per yearin India by March 2017 Even globally Honda has scrapped its sales forecast of achieving seven million units by 2017 amid recallwoes
In India sales of Honda Cars during April-January declined 23 to 124000 units compared with an increase of 9 to 25 millionunits for the broader automobile industry in the same period
To be sure Honda is still a premium brand and its customers seem to be happy with its products It has performed consistently wellin the JD Power survey for customer satisfaction
But the Indian car market itself has changed There are more companies seeking premium playampmdasha phenomenon that Hondapioneered in India At the same time Honda does not have a strong presence in some key market segments
Honda has no plans to introduce a car in the sub-Rs5 lakh category in the near future said Ueno The sub-Rs5 lakh segmentaccounts for about 50 of total passenger vehicles sold in India
It does not have a compact sports utility vehicle eitherampmdashanother hot-selling segment although in March it plans to launch theWR-V a derivative of the Jazz hatchback reminiscent of an SUV The multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio didnamprsquot do too well andnor did the BR-V which Ueno says is a cross between an SUV and MPV
Honda launched the Brio hatchback and the Amaze in 2011 and 2012ampmdashlong after its rivals had entered these segments
ampldquoWe are not a late entrant but careful Weamprsquore careful about Indiaamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBelow Rs5 lakhwe are not launching Maybe it is not our market We are talking about a couple of years In the long term(when) big motorization comes and this sort of small cars become very popular we might consider For a while we arenamprsquotconsideringamprdquo Ueno said
When ampldquobig motorizationamprdquo actually happens Ueno says the Indian market can be as big as 10 million units per annum
As for the demand for SUVs Ueno said that the trend may not last
ampldquoSUV is a boom and we have seen that kind of a boom in many countries It will be there for some time maybe a few yearsWe have seen that in the US there was a big boom and even in Japanampmdashand then it droppedamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBut at some stage of the maturing of motorization SUVs do become popular At this moment many customers are choosingSUVs because of the rough road conditions Improvement of infrastructure is very very fast in India So some customers willcome back to sedans or other segments Always the market trend can be changedamprdquo he addedhttpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesFR2bp58jTndVKeuoPtF75KHonda-eyes-top-slot-in-sedan-segment-with-launch-of-new-Cityhtml
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Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese auto major Honda on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its best selling sedan City in India priced at betweenRs 85 lakh and Rs 1358 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWith the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price
I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo Honda Cars India president andCEO Yoichiro Ueno said
The City competes with Maruti Suzukiamprsquos Ciaz While City had been the segment leader for a long time it was recentlydethroned by the Ciaz The new City is an upgraded version of the 4th generationThe new version will be available in both petroland diesel options
While the petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel variant isavailable in the price range of Rs 1076 lakh to Rs 1357 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessHonda-unveils-new-City-bids-to-trump-Maruti-Ciazarticle17303948ece
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Honda lines up compact SUV Civic Pankaj DovalThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Civic will make a comeback in India as the Japanese car maker looks for a more aggressive play in thepremium-end while staying away from mass-market segment categories that are dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Hondahas been struggling to maintain growth in India and has reported negative numbers for the last 15 months in a row It will also drivein a new compact SUV -WR-V -based on the Jazz platform Yoichiro Ueno MD amp CEO of the Indian subsidiary told TOI here
Ueno said the company had attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with models such as Brio mini butcould not experience encouraging growth due to heightened competition from established players
The brand positioning is thus being scaled up We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning which is a bit morepremium though not luxury So we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai We would like to do that interms of products service and customer experience Petrol-only Civic had been one of the most-recognisable cars from the brandbut was moved out from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel
With petrol gaining traction in the market once again following decontrol of fuel prices the company is now keen to reintroduce thecar here
We are keen but we need some time to study and some period to meet the regulations for India Ueno said when asked aboutplans for the launch of Civic in India The model is expected to be launched within a year Ueno said WR-V will be launched prettysoonhttptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinessindia-businesshonda-lines-up-compact-suv-civicarticleshow57157599cms
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Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City Ajay ModiBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese car maker Honda is eyeing a bigger sedan ride from the launch of its fourth generation City which has beenfacing a challenge from rival Maruti Suzukis Ciaz City the best-selling model for Honda ever since it entered India in 1998 andsegment leader for years is now behind Ciaz in volumesSince the Honda brand was established in India with the City as the firstproduct it holds a special place in the company and also among the customers With this relaunch we believe we will regain thesegment leadership said Jnaneswar Sen senior vice-president (sales amp marketing) Honda Cars India
City has been launched at a price beginning Rs 850 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) and the top end variant is priced at Rs 1358 lakh Iam confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segment Honda Cars India President and CEOYoichiro Ueno said The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) So on a price point Maruti still has the edge But Sen said the new City is packed with several new featuresthat will bring buyers back In the last ten days the company has received advance bookings for about 5000 units (petrol and dieselcombined) of the new City
The significance of City is evident from its contribution to Hondas sales in India during the last nineteen years The Japanese automajor has sold approximately 13 million cars in the country since it arrived Every second car sold by the company happened to bea City
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
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Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
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Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
Top
Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
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E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
Top
Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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PLEASE NOTE
NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
Indian market is a big advantage when we foray into any global market
This helps us choose the distributor partner In terms of continent we are focussing on various continents and by 2020 we will get asolid idea of the market Then we will be focussing on 12 to 15 markets as they will help us grow Some markets will grow on theirown steam
We believe that we should focus on low hanging fruits in the markets like Latin America and Africa where we can achieve thevolume Unlike the western market especially the US and the South-East Asian markets geographies like Latin America and Africawe do not have to face any complications and no competition from existing established players from Japan Having said that wehavenamprsquot lost focus on global product planning
How do you view the domestic market
Hero MotoCorp finds huge potential from the domestic market as our growth comes from there only We are very much focused onchanges in the customer preference and this is clearly revealed during the last Auto Expo
We find a lot of traction in the premium and high performance products We feel in these segments our market share is very less orwe are entirely missing Also since our domestic two-wheeler penetration is still only around 30 we think there is still growth inthe mass market segment ranging from 100 cc to 150 cc
We are also registering steady growth in the scooter segment We aspire Hero MotoCorp achieve greater market share in thissegment than our current position
How do you view the investment made in RampD
We invested heavily in our new Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) located at Jaipur A lot of design and development workson premium products are currently happening there We have already made it with the new Achiever 150 The next one will beXtreme 200S a premium product which is already showcased at the Auto Expo last year
We want to come up with products that suit each geography as part of our global expansion and the centre will play a key role inthat Till now we donamprsquot have any global product and the CIT will come up with products that are truly global in nature and takeHero MotoCorp ahead of competition
Can you share your take on the growing importance of electric vehicles hybrid vehicles and ride sharing
I believe that ride sharing and electric vehicles will be the next wave The world is really moving in that direction and we are alsocommitted to that Our research activities with electric vehicles are progressing at the CIT The government will have to focus onthis and I believe that we are not isolated in that as they have started their initiatives We have invested in two startups electricscooter startup Ather Energy based out of Bengaluru and ride-sharing bike taxi startup Rapido Cost and affordability will decide thegrowth of the hybrid products We have already displayed hybrid products at the Auto Expo
Startups are the rage of the day What is your take on this
I personally believe that lots of innovation happen in the startup culture Sometimes large companies are not able to do thosethings We also believe that big companies like Hero and other players should provide the ecosystem so that startups can alsoprosperhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596412ride-sharing-electric-vehicles-nexthtml
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Cars SUVs MUVs
2017 Honda City launched in India Prices start at Rs 849 lakh (Ex-Delhi) Ronak ShahThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese car maker Honda Cars India launched the facelift on its 4th generation Honda City 2017 Thepetrol variants of Honda City are priced Rs 849 lakh - 1352 lakh (Ex-Delhi) at and the diesel variants of Honda City costs Rs1075 lakh - 1356 at (Ex- Delhi)
Honda City variant line-up now gets the addition of a new flagship grade ampndash ampldquoZXamprdquo
Honda City facelift now gets a wide-opening bumper design and a new signature front chrome grille with intricate design connectingthe two headlights The LED package including the integrated LED DRL which is now standard across all variants the inline LEDheadlamps LED fog lampsLED RR Combi LED license plate lamps trunk lid spoiler with LED
The car now also gets new diamond-cut and two-tone alloy wheel design for both 15 and 16 inch wheels The new City also hasfirst-in-segment auto-folding door mirrors in V VX and ZX grades
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India Ltd said ampldquoThe Honda City has been ourmost successful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquosmost successful sedan since its launch in 1998 It has also been the industry benchmark for quality and has been ranked No 1 by
the JD Power Initial Quality Study 14 times since its inception in the Indian marketamprdquo
ampldquoWith the launch of a much-enhanced new Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations byoffering amazing value at a very competitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in thesegmentamprdquo he added
Interiors are finished in dual-tone beige amp black trim Honda City also gets a 177 cm touchscreen infotainment system called theDigipad which supports navigation voice recognition Bluetooth and also Wi-Fi support for internet The infotainment system isavailable on the V VX and ZX grades
The car also features a soft-touch dashboard on passenger side and new white illumination in the advanced 3D multi-informationmeter Other important interior feature includes chrome plating on steering switches and chrome plated knobs for rear-aircon ventThe car continues to get the tilt and telescopic steering adjustment StartStop ignition system button fully auto-dimming insiderear-view mirror and LED interior cabin lights
The ZX grade also has both rear-adjustable headrests
The interiors of the new City are beige upholstery with dual-tone beige amp black trims
Honda City continues to get the same 15L i-DTEC diesel engine of Earth Dream Technology series which sheds a power of 100 Psand a peak torque of 200 Nm Honda City diesel claims a mileage of 256 Kmpl The engine is mated to a 6-speed manualtransmission
The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119 ps and a torque of 145 NmIt has been mated with the same CVT gearbox with 7-speed paddle shifters and claims a mileage of 18 kmpl The 5-speed manualtransmission delivers an impressive fuel efficiency of 174 kmpl
Honda is offering dual SRS airbags ABS with EBD as a standard safety features across all its variants The new ZX variant gets 6air-bags automatic headlamp and auto rain-sensing wipers
The new Honda City 2017 is offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades Petrol CVTwill be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
Honda is also offereing 3 accessory packages on the facelifted City
Deliveries of the new Honda City will begin immediately from the HCIL dealer network of 332 facilities in 220 cities across thecountryhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-honda-city-launched-in-india-prices-start-at-rs-8-49-lakh-ex-delhi57141912Honda rolls out new City at starting price of Rs 850 lakhThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newshonda-rolls-out-new-city-at-starting-price-of-rs-850-lakharticle9543447eceHonda unveils much-awaited City 2017The Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautolauncheshonda-unveils-much-awaited-city-2017articleshow57142363cms 2017 Honda City Facelift launched at Rs850 lakhThe Statesman (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthestatesmancombusiness2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-8-50-lakh-1487059835htmlAutocar Indiahttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-849-lakh-404196aspxHonda City facelift launched at Rs 85 LakhAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinessautos140217honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-85-lakhhtmlHonda Introduces City facelift at Rs 85 LakhDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos140217honda-introduces-city-facelift-at-rs-85-lakhhtml
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Honda City 2017 bookings cross 5000 units Pooja ChatterjeeThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese carmaker Hondas newly launched 4th generation City 2017 has crossed 5000 bookings in 12days Out of 5000 70 percent bookings were for petrol variant
Bookings for New Honda City 2017 started from February 3 with an amount of Rs 21000 The car was launched on February 14 forRs 849990 (ex showroom Delhi)
The new Honda City 2017 will be offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades PetrolCVT will be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
The New Honda City 2017 will be available in 5 exterior colours ampndash Modern Steel Metallic (New) White Orchid PearlCarnelian Red Pearl Alabaster Silver Metallic and Golden Brown Metallic
The Diesel City is powered by the 15L i-DTEC engine which delivers maximum power of 100ps3600 rpm with a max torque of
200 Nm1750 rpm The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119ps6600 rpm and a torque of 145 N-m4600 rpm
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India said ampldquoThe Honda City has been our mostsuccessful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquos mostsuccessful sedan since its launch in 1998
The New Honda City 2017 is likely to act as a disruptive product for the carmaker and help it woo back its customers who shifted toMaruti Suzuki Ciaz one of the biggest competitor of the carhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshonda-city-2017-bookings-cross-5000-units57145018Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 cr m-cap hit post Q3Daily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-cr-m-cap-hit-post-q3-2322687
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Honda has no plans for a sub-Rs5 lakh car in India Amrit Rajmint (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Cars India Ltd will look to introduce more premium and bigger automobiles as it seeks to lift sales that havesagged 23 so far this financial year
In the meantime the Honda City sedan and the sub-4 meter notchback Amaze will be the two mainstays of the Japanese carmakerin India
On Tuesday Honda launched a new Honda City priced at Rs85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWe receive a lot of request to launch more premium and bigger carsamprdquo Yoichiro Ueno chief executive and presidentof Honda Cars India said in an interview ampldquoWe launched Accord Hybrid which is quite premium segment as it is a CBU It isreceiving quite good acceptance We are studying the potential for this sort of a bigger marketamprdquo
CBU is short for Completely Built Up and refers to a car that is completely imported
Honda needs to do something to boost sales in India The Japanese carmaker is way off its target of selling 300000 cars per yearin India by March 2017 Even globally Honda has scrapped its sales forecast of achieving seven million units by 2017 amid recallwoes
In India sales of Honda Cars during April-January declined 23 to 124000 units compared with an increase of 9 to 25 millionunits for the broader automobile industry in the same period
To be sure Honda is still a premium brand and its customers seem to be happy with its products It has performed consistently wellin the JD Power survey for customer satisfaction
But the Indian car market itself has changed There are more companies seeking premium playampmdasha phenomenon that Hondapioneered in India At the same time Honda does not have a strong presence in some key market segments
Honda has no plans to introduce a car in the sub-Rs5 lakh category in the near future said Ueno The sub-Rs5 lakh segmentaccounts for about 50 of total passenger vehicles sold in India
It does not have a compact sports utility vehicle eitherampmdashanother hot-selling segment although in March it plans to launch theWR-V a derivative of the Jazz hatchback reminiscent of an SUV The multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio didnamprsquot do too well andnor did the BR-V which Ueno says is a cross between an SUV and MPV
Honda launched the Brio hatchback and the Amaze in 2011 and 2012ampmdashlong after its rivals had entered these segments
ampldquoWe are not a late entrant but careful Weamprsquore careful about Indiaamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBelow Rs5 lakhwe are not launching Maybe it is not our market We are talking about a couple of years In the long term(when) big motorization comes and this sort of small cars become very popular we might consider For a while we arenamprsquotconsideringamprdquo Ueno said
When ampldquobig motorizationamprdquo actually happens Ueno says the Indian market can be as big as 10 million units per annum
As for the demand for SUVs Ueno said that the trend may not last
ampldquoSUV is a boom and we have seen that kind of a boom in many countries It will be there for some time maybe a few yearsWe have seen that in the US there was a big boom and even in Japanampmdashand then it droppedamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBut at some stage of the maturing of motorization SUVs do become popular At this moment many customers are choosingSUVs because of the rough road conditions Improvement of infrastructure is very very fast in India So some customers willcome back to sedans or other segments Always the market trend can be changedamprdquo he addedhttpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesFR2bp58jTndVKeuoPtF75KHonda-eyes-top-slot-in-sedan-segment-with-launch-of-new-Cityhtml
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Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese auto major Honda on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its best selling sedan City in India priced at betweenRs 85 lakh and Rs 1358 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWith the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price
I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo Honda Cars India president andCEO Yoichiro Ueno said
The City competes with Maruti Suzukiamprsquos Ciaz While City had been the segment leader for a long time it was recentlydethroned by the Ciaz The new City is an upgraded version of the 4th generationThe new version will be available in both petroland diesel options
While the petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel variant isavailable in the price range of Rs 1076 lakh to Rs 1357 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessHonda-unveils-new-City-bids-to-trump-Maruti-Ciazarticle17303948ece
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Honda lines up compact SUV Civic Pankaj DovalThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Civic will make a comeback in India as the Japanese car maker looks for a more aggressive play in thepremium-end while staying away from mass-market segment categories that are dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Hondahas been struggling to maintain growth in India and has reported negative numbers for the last 15 months in a row It will also drivein a new compact SUV -WR-V -based on the Jazz platform Yoichiro Ueno MD amp CEO of the Indian subsidiary told TOI here
Ueno said the company had attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with models such as Brio mini butcould not experience encouraging growth due to heightened competition from established players
The brand positioning is thus being scaled up We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning which is a bit morepremium though not luxury So we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai We would like to do that interms of products service and customer experience Petrol-only Civic had been one of the most-recognisable cars from the brandbut was moved out from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel
With petrol gaining traction in the market once again following decontrol of fuel prices the company is now keen to reintroduce thecar here
We are keen but we need some time to study and some period to meet the regulations for India Ueno said when asked aboutplans for the launch of Civic in India The model is expected to be launched within a year Ueno said WR-V will be launched prettysoonhttptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinessindia-businesshonda-lines-up-compact-suv-civicarticleshow57157599cms
Top
Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City Ajay ModiBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese car maker Honda is eyeing a bigger sedan ride from the launch of its fourth generation City which has beenfacing a challenge from rival Maruti Suzukis Ciaz City the best-selling model for Honda ever since it entered India in 1998 andsegment leader for years is now behind Ciaz in volumesSince the Honda brand was established in India with the City as the firstproduct it holds a special place in the company and also among the customers With this relaunch we believe we will regain thesegment leadership said Jnaneswar Sen senior vice-president (sales amp marketing) Honda Cars India
City has been launched at a price beginning Rs 850 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) and the top end variant is priced at Rs 1358 lakh Iam confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segment Honda Cars India President and CEOYoichiro Ueno said The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) So on a price point Maruti still has the edge But Sen said the new City is packed with several new featuresthat will bring buyers back In the last ten days the company has received advance bookings for about 5000 units (petrol and dieselcombined) of the new City
The significance of City is evident from its contribution to Hondas sales in India during the last nineteen years The Japanese automajor has sold approximately 13 million cars in the country since it arrived Every second car sold by the company happened to bea City
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
Top
Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
Top
Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
Top
Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
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E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
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Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
the JD Power Initial Quality Study 14 times since its inception in the Indian marketamprdquo
ampldquoWith the launch of a much-enhanced new Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations byoffering amazing value at a very competitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in thesegmentamprdquo he added
Interiors are finished in dual-tone beige amp black trim Honda City also gets a 177 cm touchscreen infotainment system called theDigipad which supports navigation voice recognition Bluetooth and also Wi-Fi support for internet The infotainment system isavailable on the V VX and ZX grades
The car also features a soft-touch dashboard on passenger side and new white illumination in the advanced 3D multi-informationmeter Other important interior feature includes chrome plating on steering switches and chrome plated knobs for rear-aircon ventThe car continues to get the tilt and telescopic steering adjustment StartStop ignition system button fully auto-dimming insiderear-view mirror and LED interior cabin lights
The ZX grade also has both rear-adjustable headrests
The interiors of the new City are beige upholstery with dual-tone beige amp black trims
Honda City continues to get the same 15L i-DTEC diesel engine of Earth Dream Technology series which sheds a power of 100 Psand a peak torque of 200 Nm Honda City diesel claims a mileage of 256 Kmpl The engine is mated to a 6-speed manualtransmission
The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119 ps and a torque of 145 NmIt has been mated with the same CVT gearbox with 7-speed paddle shifters and claims a mileage of 18 kmpl The 5-speed manualtransmission delivers an impressive fuel efficiency of 174 kmpl
Honda is offering dual SRS airbags ABS with EBD as a standard safety features across all its variants The new ZX variant gets 6air-bags automatic headlamp and auto rain-sensing wipers
The new Honda City 2017 is offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades Petrol CVTwill be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
Honda is also offereing 3 accessory packages on the facelifted City
Deliveries of the new Honda City will begin immediately from the HCIL dealer network of 332 facilities in 220 cities across thecountryhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-honda-city-launched-in-india-prices-start-at-rs-8-49-lakh-ex-delhi57141912Honda rolls out new City at starting price of Rs 850 lakhThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newshonda-rolls-out-new-city-at-starting-price-of-rs-850-lakharticle9543447eceHonda unveils much-awaited City 2017The Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautolauncheshonda-unveils-much-awaited-city-2017articleshow57142363cms 2017 Honda City Facelift launched at Rs850 lakhThe Statesman (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthestatesmancombusiness2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-8-50-lakh-1487059835htmlAutocar Indiahttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-849-lakh-404196aspxHonda City facelift launched at Rs 85 LakhAsian Age (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinessautos140217honda-city-facelift-launched-at-rs-85-lakhhtmlHonda Introduces City facelift at Rs 85 LakhDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos140217honda-introduces-city-facelift-at-rs-85-lakhhtml
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Honda City 2017 bookings cross 5000 units Pooja ChatterjeeThe Economic Times (Web Edition)
New Delhi Indian arm of Japanese carmaker Hondas newly launched 4th generation City 2017 has crossed 5000 bookings in 12days Out of 5000 70 percent bookings were for petrol variant
Bookings for New Honda City 2017 started from February 3 with an amount of Rs 21000 The car was launched on February 14 forRs 849990 (ex showroom Delhi)
The new Honda City 2017 will be offered in 5 grades Petrol Manual Transmission will be available in S SV V amp VX grades PetrolCVT will be available in V VX and the ZX grades The diesel manual City will be available in SV V VX amp ZX grades
The New Honda City 2017 will be available in 5 exterior colours ampndash Modern Steel Metallic (New) White Orchid PearlCarnelian Red Pearl Alabaster Silver Metallic and Golden Brown Metallic
The Diesel City is powered by the 15L i-DTEC engine which delivers maximum power of 100ps3600 rpm with a max torque of
200 Nm1750 rpm The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119ps6600 rpm and a torque of 145 N-m4600 rpm
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India said ampldquoThe Honda City has been our mostsuccessful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquos mostsuccessful sedan since its launch in 1998
The New Honda City 2017 is likely to act as a disruptive product for the carmaker and help it woo back its customers who shifted toMaruti Suzuki Ciaz one of the biggest competitor of the carhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshonda-city-2017-bookings-cross-5000-units57145018Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 cr m-cap hit post Q3Daily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-cr-m-cap-hit-post-q3-2322687
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Honda has no plans for a sub-Rs5 lakh car in India Amrit Rajmint (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Cars India Ltd will look to introduce more premium and bigger automobiles as it seeks to lift sales that havesagged 23 so far this financial year
In the meantime the Honda City sedan and the sub-4 meter notchback Amaze will be the two mainstays of the Japanese carmakerin India
On Tuesday Honda launched a new Honda City priced at Rs85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWe receive a lot of request to launch more premium and bigger carsamprdquo Yoichiro Ueno chief executive and presidentof Honda Cars India said in an interview ampldquoWe launched Accord Hybrid which is quite premium segment as it is a CBU It isreceiving quite good acceptance We are studying the potential for this sort of a bigger marketamprdquo
CBU is short for Completely Built Up and refers to a car that is completely imported
Honda needs to do something to boost sales in India The Japanese carmaker is way off its target of selling 300000 cars per yearin India by March 2017 Even globally Honda has scrapped its sales forecast of achieving seven million units by 2017 amid recallwoes
In India sales of Honda Cars during April-January declined 23 to 124000 units compared with an increase of 9 to 25 millionunits for the broader automobile industry in the same period
To be sure Honda is still a premium brand and its customers seem to be happy with its products It has performed consistently wellin the JD Power survey for customer satisfaction
But the Indian car market itself has changed There are more companies seeking premium playampmdasha phenomenon that Hondapioneered in India At the same time Honda does not have a strong presence in some key market segments
Honda has no plans to introduce a car in the sub-Rs5 lakh category in the near future said Ueno The sub-Rs5 lakh segmentaccounts for about 50 of total passenger vehicles sold in India
It does not have a compact sports utility vehicle eitherampmdashanother hot-selling segment although in March it plans to launch theWR-V a derivative of the Jazz hatchback reminiscent of an SUV The multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio didnamprsquot do too well andnor did the BR-V which Ueno says is a cross between an SUV and MPV
Honda launched the Brio hatchback and the Amaze in 2011 and 2012ampmdashlong after its rivals had entered these segments
ampldquoWe are not a late entrant but careful Weamprsquore careful about Indiaamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBelow Rs5 lakhwe are not launching Maybe it is not our market We are talking about a couple of years In the long term(when) big motorization comes and this sort of small cars become very popular we might consider For a while we arenamprsquotconsideringamprdquo Ueno said
When ampldquobig motorizationamprdquo actually happens Ueno says the Indian market can be as big as 10 million units per annum
As for the demand for SUVs Ueno said that the trend may not last
ampldquoSUV is a boom and we have seen that kind of a boom in many countries It will be there for some time maybe a few yearsWe have seen that in the US there was a big boom and even in Japanampmdashand then it droppedamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBut at some stage of the maturing of motorization SUVs do become popular At this moment many customers are choosingSUVs because of the rough road conditions Improvement of infrastructure is very very fast in India So some customers willcome back to sedans or other segments Always the market trend can be changedamprdquo he addedhttpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesFR2bp58jTndVKeuoPtF75KHonda-eyes-top-slot-in-sedan-segment-with-launch-of-new-Cityhtml
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Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese auto major Honda on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its best selling sedan City in India priced at betweenRs 85 lakh and Rs 1358 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWith the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price
I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo Honda Cars India president andCEO Yoichiro Ueno said
The City competes with Maruti Suzukiamprsquos Ciaz While City had been the segment leader for a long time it was recentlydethroned by the Ciaz The new City is an upgraded version of the 4th generationThe new version will be available in both petroland diesel options
While the petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel variant isavailable in the price range of Rs 1076 lakh to Rs 1357 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessHonda-unveils-new-City-bids-to-trump-Maruti-Ciazarticle17303948ece
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Honda lines up compact SUV Civic Pankaj DovalThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Civic will make a comeback in India as the Japanese car maker looks for a more aggressive play in thepremium-end while staying away from mass-market segment categories that are dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Hondahas been struggling to maintain growth in India and has reported negative numbers for the last 15 months in a row It will also drivein a new compact SUV -WR-V -based on the Jazz platform Yoichiro Ueno MD amp CEO of the Indian subsidiary told TOI here
Ueno said the company had attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with models such as Brio mini butcould not experience encouraging growth due to heightened competition from established players
The brand positioning is thus being scaled up We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning which is a bit morepremium though not luxury So we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai We would like to do that interms of products service and customer experience Petrol-only Civic had been one of the most-recognisable cars from the brandbut was moved out from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel
With petrol gaining traction in the market once again following decontrol of fuel prices the company is now keen to reintroduce thecar here
We are keen but we need some time to study and some period to meet the regulations for India Ueno said when asked aboutplans for the launch of Civic in India The model is expected to be launched within a year Ueno said WR-V will be launched prettysoonhttptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinessindia-businesshonda-lines-up-compact-suv-civicarticleshow57157599cms
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Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City Ajay ModiBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese car maker Honda is eyeing a bigger sedan ride from the launch of its fourth generation City which has beenfacing a challenge from rival Maruti Suzukis Ciaz City the best-selling model for Honda ever since it entered India in 1998 andsegment leader for years is now behind Ciaz in volumesSince the Honda brand was established in India with the City as the firstproduct it holds a special place in the company and also among the customers With this relaunch we believe we will regain thesegment leadership said Jnaneswar Sen senior vice-president (sales amp marketing) Honda Cars India
City has been launched at a price beginning Rs 850 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) and the top end variant is priced at Rs 1358 lakh Iam confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segment Honda Cars India President and CEOYoichiro Ueno said The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) So on a price point Maruti still has the edge But Sen said the new City is packed with several new featuresthat will bring buyers back In the last ten days the company has received advance bookings for about 5000 units (petrol and dieselcombined) of the new City
The significance of City is evident from its contribution to Hondas sales in India during the last nineteen years The Japanese automajor has sold approximately 13 million cars in the country since it arrived Every second car sold by the company happened to bea City
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
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Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
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Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
Top
Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
Top
E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
Top
Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
Top
News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
Top
India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
Top
Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
200 Nm1750 rpm The Petrol variant of the City is powered by 15L i-VTEC engine that delivers a maximum power of 119ps6600 rpm and a torque of 145 N-m4600 rpm
Speaking on the occasion Yoichiro Ueno President and CEO Honda Cars India said ampldquoThe Honda City has been our mostsuccessful model in the country It has brought joy to over 65 lakh customers across the country and has been Indiaamprsquos mostsuccessful sedan since its launch in 1998
The New Honda City 2017 is likely to act as a disruptive product for the carmaker and help it woo back its customers who shifted toMaruti Suzuki Ciaz one of the biggest competitor of the carhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarshonda-city-2017-bookings-cross-5000-units57145018Tata Motors crashes 5 takes Rs 5993 cr m-cap hit post Q3Daily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-tata-motors-crashes-5-takes-rs-5993-cr-m-cap-hit-post-q3-2322687
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Honda has no plans for a sub-Rs5 lakh car in India Amrit Rajmint (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Cars India Ltd will look to introduce more premium and bigger automobiles as it seeks to lift sales that havesagged 23 so far this financial year
In the meantime the Honda City sedan and the sub-4 meter notchback Amaze will be the two mainstays of the Japanese carmakerin India
On Tuesday Honda launched a new Honda City priced at Rs85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWe receive a lot of request to launch more premium and bigger carsamprdquo Yoichiro Ueno chief executive and presidentof Honda Cars India said in an interview ampldquoWe launched Accord Hybrid which is quite premium segment as it is a CBU It isreceiving quite good acceptance We are studying the potential for this sort of a bigger marketamprdquo
CBU is short for Completely Built Up and refers to a car that is completely imported
Honda needs to do something to boost sales in India The Japanese carmaker is way off its target of selling 300000 cars per yearin India by March 2017 Even globally Honda has scrapped its sales forecast of achieving seven million units by 2017 amid recallwoes
In India sales of Honda Cars during April-January declined 23 to 124000 units compared with an increase of 9 to 25 millionunits for the broader automobile industry in the same period
To be sure Honda is still a premium brand and its customers seem to be happy with its products It has performed consistently wellin the JD Power survey for customer satisfaction
But the Indian car market itself has changed There are more companies seeking premium playampmdasha phenomenon that Hondapioneered in India At the same time Honda does not have a strong presence in some key market segments
Honda has no plans to introduce a car in the sub-Rs5 lakh category in the near future said Ueno The sub-Rs5 lakh segmentaccounts for about 50 of total passenger vehicles sold in India
It does not have a compact sports utility vehicle eitherampmdashanother hot-selling segment although in March it plans to launch theWR-V a derivative of the Jazz hatchback reminiscent of an SUV The multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio didnamprsquot do too well andnor did the BR-V which Ueno says is a cross between an SUV and MPV
Honda launched the Brio hatchback and the Amaze in 2011 and 2012ampmdashlong after its rivals had entered these segments
ampldquoWe are not a late entrant but careful Weamprsquore careful about Indiaamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBelow Rs5 lakhwe are not launching Maybe it is not our market We are talking about a couple of years In the long term(when) big motorization comes and this sort of small cars become very popular we might consider For a while we arenamprsquotconsideringamprdquo Ueno said
When ampldquobig motorizationamprdquo actually happens Ueno says the Indian market can be as big as 10 million units per annum
As for the demand for SUVs Ueno said that the trend may not last
ampldquoSUV is a boom and we have seen that kind of a boom in many countries It will be there for some time maybe a few yearsWe have seen that in the US there was a big boom and even in Japanampmdashand then it droppedamprdquo Ueno said
ampldquoBut at some stage of the maturing of motorization SUVs do become popular At this moment many customers are choosingSUVs because of the rough road conditions Improvement of infrastructure is very very fast in India So some customers willcome back to sedans or other segments Always the market trend can be changedamprdquo he addedhttpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesFR2bp58jTndVKeuoPtF75KHonda-eyes-top-slot-in-sedan-segment-with-launch-of-new-Cityhtml
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Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese auto major Honda on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its best selling sedan City in India priced at betweenRs 85 lakh and Rs 1358 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWith the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price
I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo Honda Cars India president andCEO Yoichiro Ueno said
The City competes with Maruti Suzukiamprsquos Ciaz While City had been the segment leader for a long time it was recentlydethroned by the Ciaz The new City is an upgraded version of the 4th generationThe new version will be available in both petroland diesel options
While the petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel variant isavailable in the price range of Rs 1076 lakh to Rs 1357 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessHonda-unveils-new-City-bids-to-trump-Maruti-Ciazarticle17303948ece
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Honda lines up compact SUV Civic Pankaj DovalThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Civic will make a comeback in India as the Japanese car maker looks for a more aggressive play in thepremium-end while staying away from mass-market segment categories that are dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Hondahas been struggling to maintain growth in India and has reported negative numbers for the last 15 months in a row It will also drivein a new compact SUV -WR-V -based on the Jazz platform Yoichiro Ueno MD amp CEO of the Indian subsidiary told TOI here
Ueno said the company had attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with models such as Brio mini butcould not experience encouraging growth due to heightened competition from established players
The brand positioning is thus being scaled up We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning which is a bit morepremium though not luxury So we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai We would like to do that interms of products service and customer experience Petrol-only Civic had been one of the most-recognisable cars from the brandbut was moved out from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel
With petrol gaining traction in the market once again following decontrol of fuel prices the company is now keen to reintroduce thecar here
We are keen but we need some time to study and some period to meet the regulations for India Ueno said when asked aboutplans for the launch of Civic in India The model is expected to be launched within a year Ueno said WR-V will be launched prettysoonhttptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinessindia-businesshonda-lines-up-compact-suv-civicarticleshow57157599cms
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Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City Ajay ModiBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese car maker Honda is eyeing a bigger sedan ride from the launch of its fourth generation City which has beenfacing a challenge from rival Maruti Suzukis Ciaz City the best-selling model for Honda ever since it entered India in 1998 andsegment leader for years is now behind Ciaz in volumesSince the Honda brand was established in India with the City as the firstproduct it holds a special place in the company and also among the customers With this relaunch we believe we will regain thesegment leadership said Jnaneswar Sen senior vice-president (sales amp marketing) Honda Cars India
City has been launched at a price beginning Rs 850 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) and the top end variant is priced at Rs 1358 lakh Iam confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segment Honda Cars India President and CEOYoichiro Ueno said The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) So on a price point Maruti still has the edge But Sen said the new City is packed with several new featuresthat will bring buyers back In the last ten days the company has received advance bookings for about 5000 units (petrol and dieselcombined) of the new City
The significance of City is evident from its contribution to Hondas sales in India during the last nineteen years The Japanese automajor has sold approximately 13 million cars in the country since it arrived Every second car sold by the company happened to bea City
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
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Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
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Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
Top
E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
Top
Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
Top
Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
Honda unveils new City bids to trump Maruti Ciaz The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese auto major Honda on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its best selling sedan City in India priced at betweenRs 85 lakh and Rs 1358 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoWith the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price
I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo Honda Cars India president andCEO Yoichiro Ueno said
The City competes with Maruti Suzukiamprsquos Ciaz While City had been the segment leader for a long time it was recentlydethroned by the Ciaz The new City is an upgraded version of the 4th generationThe new version will be available in both petroland diesel options
While the petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel variant isavailable in the price range of Rs 1076 lakh to Rs 1357 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi)httpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessHonda-unveils-new-City-bids-to-trump-Maruti-Ciazarticle17303948ece
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Honda lines up compact SUV Civic Pankaj DovalThe Times of India (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Honda Civic will make a comeback in India as the Japanese car maker looks for a more aggressive play in thepremium-end while staying away from mass-market segment categories that are dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Hondahas been struggling to maintain growth in India and has reported negative numbers for the last 15 months in a row It will also drivein a new compact SUV -WR-V -based on the Jazz platform Yoichiro Ueno MD amp CEO of the Indian subsidiary told TOI here
Ueno said the company had attempted to enter mass-market segments in the previous years with models such as Brio mini butcould not experience encouraging growth due to heightened competition from established players
The brand positioning is thus being scaled up We now have a strategy to maintain our traditional positioning which is a bit morepremium though not luxury So we would like to target customers a bit different from Maruti or Hyundai We would like to do that interms of products service and customer experience Petrol-only Civic had been one of the most-recognisable cars from the brandbut was moved out from the country around 2012 when the market had shifted to diesel
With petrol gaining traction in the market once again following decontrol of fuel prices the company is now keen to reintroduce thecar here
We are keen but we need some time to study and some period to meet the regulations for India Ueno said when asked aboutplans for the launch of Civic in India The model is expected to be launched within a year Ueno said WR-V will be launched prettysoonhttptimesofindiaindiatimescombusinessindia-businesshonda-lines-up-compact-suv-civicarticleshow57157599cms
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Honda eyes a bigger ride from the new City Ajay ModiBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Japanese car maker Honda is eyeing a bigger sedan ride from the launch of its fourth generation City which has beenfacing a challenge from rival Maruti Suzukis Ciaz City the best-selling model for Honda ever since it entered India in 1998 andsegment leader for years is now behind Ciaz in volumesSince the Honda brand was established in India with the City as the firstproduct it holds a special place in the company and also among the customers With this relaunch we believe we will regain thesegment leadership said Jnaneswar Sen senior vice-president (sales amp marketing) Honda Cars India
City has been launched at a price beginning Rs 850 lakh (ex showroom Delhi) and the top end variant is priced at Rs 1358 lakh Iam confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segment Honda Cars India President and CEOYoichiro Ueno said The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) So on a price point Maruti still has the edge But Sen said the new City is packed with several new featuresthat will bring buyers back In the last ten days the company has received advance bookings for about 5000 units (petrol and dieselcombined) of the new City
The significance of City is evident from its contribution to Hondas sales in India during the last nineteen years The Japanese automajor has sold approximately 13 million cars in the country since it arrived Every second car sold by the company happened to bea City
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
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Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
Top
Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
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E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
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Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
Top
MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
However countrys biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki entered the space with Ciaz in 2014 Ciaz broke the jinx of Marutisunsuccessful experiments with premium segments such as Kizashi and Grand Vitara Both these products failed to deliver desiredvolumes It gained a traction gradually and now sells about 4700 units a month The April-December (FY17) domestic sale of thevehicle stood at 47114 vehicles 23 per cent more than previous years corresponding volume
City on the other hand clocked a volume of 39040 units during April-December down 34 per cent from previous year The declineof City volumes also reflected in the overall car sales of the company During April-December of FY17 the company sold 108552vehicles down 25 per centhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompanieshonda-eyes-a-bigger-ride-from-the-new-city-117021400675_1htmlHonda eyes top slot in sedan segment with launch of new CityFinancial Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompanieshonda-eyes-top-slot-sedan-segment-launch-new-city-194
Top
Honda hopes to regain numero uno position in premium sedan segment with new city Rakesh Bihari JhaThe Pioneer (Web amp Print Edition)
New Delhi Taking head on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz on Tuesday Honda cars launched 4th generation Honda City in an effort to regainleadership position in the premium sedan segment
With the launch of the Honda City 2017 we aim to exceed our customersamprsquo expectations by offering value at a verycompetitive price I am confident that with the new City we will regain our leadership position in the segmentamprdquo said HondaCars India President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno
Maruti Suzukiamprsquos mid-sized sedan Ciaz has managed to race to the top spot in the premium sedan segment this yearNumbers show that the Ciaz has sold 53644 units between April 2016 to January 2017 which is 19 per cent higher than its closestcompetitor Honda City
ampldquoNot only this product will arrest our degrowth in the premium sedan segment but we also expect to report positive numbersvery soon once delivery for the new Honda City normalisesamprdquo Ueno added
The new City will be available in both petrol and diesel options While petrol variant is powered by a 15 litre engine and is pricedbetween Rs 85 lakh and Rs 1352 lakh the diesel option also has a 15 litre engine and is priced between Rs 1076 lakh and Rs1357 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
The City competes with Maruti Ciaz which is available in a price range of Rs 786 lakh and Rs 996 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)
ampldquoSince the launch of Honda city in 1998 we have sold 65 Lakh unitsamprdquo added Ueno
When asked about capital expenditure made by the company in the country Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and DirectorRaman Kumar Sharma said ampldquo The company till now has invested around Rs 8000 crore in IndiaIn the last three and halfyears we have invested Rs 3000 crore in India which shows how important the Indian market is for usamprdquo
Talking about component exports Raman said ampldquo We exported Rs 1100 worth of auto components in 2015 while exported Rs1600 worth of the same in 2016amprdquo
When asked about launch of its compact four metre SUV Ueno said ampldquoVery soon we will be launching compact SUVamprdquohttpwwwdailypioneercombusinesshonda-hopes-to-regain-numero-uno--position-in-premium-sedan-segment-with-new-cityhtml
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Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide sales The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Bangalore The future may well and truly belong to cars running cleaner and greener fuels This was underlined on Tuesday byToyota when the Japanese auto giants announced sale of 10 million units of hybrid vehicles around the world
Toyota was one of the first off the block when the company showcased the Prius hybrid concept in 1995 The car first went on saletwo years later and has been synonymous with hybrid vehicles around the world
ampldquoWhen we launched Prius no one even knew what a hybrid was Today thanks to those early adopters who gave Prius achance hybrids have grown in popularity and have ridden a wave of success out of the unknown and into the mainstream saidTakeshi Uchiyamada chairman of the Board of Directors at Toyota
Over the last 20 years the company has offered as many as 34 hybrid models in 90 countries The most-recent sales figure thencomes as a massive boost for Toyota
This is a phenomenal achievement for Toyota globally as we firmly believe that environment-friendly vehicles can only truly have asignificant positive impact if they are widely used said Akito Tachibana Managing Director Toyota Kirloskar Motor - companys
India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
Top
Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
Top
Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
Top
Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
Top
E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
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Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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India wing
Toyota however is not alone in the drive towards cleaner and more affordable driving technology Most globally recognised automakers are pushing towards hybrid vehicles - many now even looking towards electric cars to help protect the environmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarstoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-sales57148273Toyota hybrid sales breach 10 million mark in worldwide salesThe Times of India (Web Edition)httptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneoustoyota-hybrid-sales-breach-10-million-mark-in-worldwide-salesarticleshow57147318cms
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Haryana police department gets 13 new Maruti Suzuki Ertigas The Economic Times (Web Edition)
Gurgaon Leading car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India today presented 15 new vehicles 11 Ertigas 2 Ertigas with interceptorsand 2 EECO ambulances to the Haryana Police Department Through this the Company aims to assist Haryana Police in improvingthe road safety The vehicles will be used for patrolling surveillance and addressing medical emergencies on highways andexpressways
The vehicles were presented to Sandeep Khirwar Commissioner of Police Gurgaon by C S Raju Executive Director (HR) MarutiSuzuki India
Presenting these vehicles C S Raju Executive Director (HR) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said ampldquoWe at Maruti Suzuki arecommitted to promote Road Safety in the country Together with Haryana Police we intend to reduce road accidents in HaryanaWe have set up Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and Road Safety KnowledgeCentres (RSKC) in the state to promote safe driving By giving these vehicles we are further extending our support to HaryanaPolice for making roads saferamprdquo ampldquoEmergency care is one of the important area of concern when it comes to road safetyThrough the two Eeco ambulances we aim to assist the Haryana Police provide immediate care to accident victimsamprdquo headded
The 13 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga cars are customized to meet the Traffic Police requirement They are fitted with accessories likeBeacon Light Siren Public Address System and Body Graphics Two of these Ertiga cars have interceptors equipped with laserbased traffic speed video systems printers roof-mounted day and night all-weather PTZ cameras LED monitor Roof light bars andpublic address mechanisms
The interceptors are also fitted with breath alcohol analyzers to detect if motorists are drunk Additionally the 2Eeco Ambulanceswill take care of rushing the injured in road accidents to medical aid
Committed to create a long-term stakeholder value and benefit millions of lives through its CSR programmes Maruti Suzukistrategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the society
As part of a well-rounded social strategy it works to address road safety issues create employable force by skilling youth in theautomobile industry and undertake integrated water sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities
Maruti Suzuki has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation education and infrastructuredevelopment By adopting an inclusive and holistic approach the Company believes in implementing sustainable solutions resultingin long-term benefits to the communitieshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvharyana-police-department-gets-15-new-maruti-suzuki-ertiga57144831
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2 months after investing in Ola Ratan wanted Tata Motors to pursue deal with the cab firm Rajesh KurupThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Mumbai Nearly two months after Ratan Tata invested in Ola he had asked then Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to vigorouslypursue a proposal to sell Tata Motorsamprsquo vehicles to the online taxi aggregator
Ratan in a letter which is now part of Mistryamprsquos filing with the National Company Law Tribunal also questioned the slowdecision-making at Tata Motors
In June 2015 Tata had invested in Ola which competes in India with San Francisco-based Uber in his personal capacity Theletter according to sources was sent to Mistry on September 16 2015
Further it also came at a time when Tata Motors was in discussions with Uber for a similar deal
However a Tata group spokesperson said it was incorrect to portray Ratan Tataamprsquos suggestion to engage with Ola as beingon account of his investment in the company
ampldquoAs his letter dated September 16 2015 records the co-founder of Ola Cabs had approached him (Ratan) and mentionedthat he found the response from Tata Motors to Ola Cabsamprsquo proposal to make bulk purchases of taxis to be very slowamprdquothe spokesperson said
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
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E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
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Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
In his letter Tata mentioned his conversation with Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and the companyamprsquos interest to acquire10000 Nanos and Indicas or Indigos
amplsquoNo positive responseamprsquoampldquoHe (Bhavish) mentioned that while Ola was keen to do the transaction with Tata Motors there was no positive responsefrom Tata Motors By contrast Maruti Suzuki was chasing him every dayamprdquo Ratan wrote in the letter adding that it would begreat for the company if proposals from both Ola and Uber could be executed
In the letter Ratan also said that Tata Motors should be pursuing the deal with Ola considering the lack of acceptance of itsthen-launched Bolt and Zest models
Alleging that the decision-making process within Tata Motors was extremely slow Ratan wanted to know why the company was notpursuing the deal
ampldquoTataamprsquos only concern which he voiced to Cyrus P Mistry was that Tata Motors should act swiftly and pursue such aproposal aggressively so as to improve the sales of Tata Motors
In fact his letter clearly states that Tata Motors should endeavour to pursue Uber if it prefers the proposal from Uber It isunfortunate that his concern for Tata Motors would be coloured with a taint of ulterior motives on his partamprdquo the Tata groupspokesperson addedhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-paper2-months-after-investing-in-ola-ratan-wanted-tata-motors-to-pursue-deal-with-the-cab-firmarticle9543422ece
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Crowd of jobless throng after rumours of walk-in interviews at Fordacirceurotrades Sanand plant Virendra PanditThe Hindu Business Line (Web Edition)
Ahmedabad Police and administration officials faced some anxious moments on Monday and Tuesday convincing crowds ofjobless youth that thronged automobile major Fordamprsquos plant at Sanand near here where they were keen to attendampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews
On its part the company described it as a result of ampldquorumoursamprdquo that as claimed in social media suggested that theseso-called ampldquowalk-inamprdquo interviews would take place on Fordamprsquos campus on February 15
In a statement Ford said ampldquoWe would like to inform and clarify that no such event is planned at our Sanand plant or any otherpremises Recruitment of ITI candidates at Ford is done at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and not directly at our premises Fordhas registered a complaint with police on the false advertisement and would advise you not to fall prey to such rumours as theyintend to mislead youamprdquo
It all started on Saturday with social media messages claiming that Ford will recruit 500 youths trained at ITIs in different tradesOnly physically fit males aged 18 to 26 years and trained in those trades were ampldquoinvitedamprdquo to attend theampldquocampusamprdquo proceedings in which a written examination was to be followed by an interview They were also asked tocome equipped with the documents required
The ampldquoinvitationamprdquo also claimed the selected youths would be initially paid a gross salary of Rs 10000 per month for ayear plus other benefits
The administration later issued an appeal to the youth corroborating Fordamprsquos statement that this was just a rumourhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomcompaniescrowd-of-jobless-throng-after-rumours-of-walkin-interviews-at-fords-sanand-plantarticle9542098ece
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Maruti is prosecutor amp investigator Counsel The Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)
Gurugram Concluding his arguments in the Maruti violence case at a lower court here on Tuesday senior advocate of the Punjaband Haryana High Court RS Cheema said that the prosecution had failed to prove that any inflammatory agent was used in thefire at the companyamprsquos Manesar premises and also none of the victims had any burns
Mr Cheema who represents 18 workers in the case He added that the management executives too had not suffered any burninjuries and there were no marks of smoke on their clothes
Mr Cheemaalso argued that the charge of destruction of evidence could not be made as mere setting off the security room on firecould not attract the charge until an intention to do so was proved As for injuries to the management executives Mr Cheema saidthat none of them stayed in the hospital for more than four days
amplsquoFrivolous injuriesamprsquo
Highlighting the nature of ampldquofrivolous injuriesamprdquo in some cases Mr Cheema said that the Medico Legal Certificate of oneof the prosecution witnesses even recorded that the executive got his root canal treatment done during his stay in hospital
He told the court how the injured executives were taken to select private hospitals on the panel of the company and the police
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
Top
Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
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E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
Top
Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
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Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
visited the companys Japanese hostel to record their statements
Mr Cheema said the company was the ampldquoinvestigatoramprdquo and the ampldquoprosecutoramprdquo in the case as the 89accused were arrested based on the list provided by company officials even before they were named by the prosecution witnesses
Though the 18 accused workers represented by Mr Cheema are identified by the witnesses the senior advocate cited law casesbefore the Additional District and Sessions Judge R P Goyal to argue that in case of charges of unlawful assembly each accusedshould be identified by at least two to three witnesses
The defence counsels have now completed their final arguments in the case Besides Mr Cheema senior advocates Rebecca Johnand Vrinda Grover have also appeared on behalf of the accused workers in the case All three advocates appeared pro bono in thecasehttpwwwthehinducomnewscitiesDelhiMaruti-is-prosecutor-investigator-Counselarticle17303211ece
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Burning rubber with Volkswagen GTI Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald
On a hot Saturday the red and white shade Volkswagen GTI looked hot and sizzling Volkswagen one of the worldamprsquosleading car manufacturers recently organised the GTI experiential drive in Bengaluru on the specially created tracks at MecoKartopia on Hennur Bagalur Road which turned out to be an enthralling experience
A two-door variant the Volkswagen GTI which makes a strong connect with youth makes the hottest hatch on the Indian roads
The car is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be delivered as a CBU (Completely Built-up Unit) in India at Rs 2599 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi)
Powered by a 18L 4-cylinder TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG transmission producing a blistering 141 kW (192 PS)of raw power the car hits 0 ampndash 100 kmph in under 72 seconds which makes it one of the fastest hatchbacks globally andcompetitive enough to take on rivals like the BMW Mini and Fiat Abarth 595 in India
The car is also armed with many safety features like ESC (electronic stability control) with driver steering recommendation ABS(anti-lock braking system) six airbags ASR (traction control) EDL (electronic differential lock) and EDTC with many more
The GTI is the perfect combination of a safe and sporty chassis agile and economic engine along with a unique and timelessdesignhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596408burning-rubber-volkswagen-gtihtml
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MDS to promote safe driving in India Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
In a bid to promote safe driving through quality education imparted via special sessions for behavioural training road sense rightdriving technique and etiquettes the countryamprsquos largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) introduced Maruti Driving School(MDS) in 2005 via Bimal Auto Agency
However the companyamprsquos efforts in training dates back to 2000 when MSI set up the first Institute of Driving Training andResearch (IDTR) in association with Delhi government
In an interaction with DH Maruti Suzuki India Senior Advisor Driving Training Mahesh Rajoria said ampldquoDriving training is animportant area of intervention for Maruti Suzuki MDS are neighbourhood driving schools set up in partnership with MarutiSuzukiamprsquos dealer partners Over the years we have gained extensive experience and recognition in the area of quality drivingtraining through our MDSamprdquo
Huge networkAt present over 375 MDS in 182 cities are operational across the country Training covers topics such as basic road signs roadmarkings rules of the road manoeuvring parking etc which are essential for safe driving These are designed to inculcate gooddriving behaviour and sensitise individuals on safe driving habits MDSamprsquo primarily focus on teaching personal car drivingEvery year over 15 lakh people are trained from the MDS facilities
The company has well structured the training programme schedule (see chart)Rajoria explained ampldquoMaruti offers customised training modules that suites learning requirements of a learner to anexperienced driver
Maruti Driving Schools have 4 elements of training Learners Course Advance Course 1 Advance Course 2 Refresher Course andDefensive Driving Course All courses include theory simulator and practicalamprdquo
ampldquoWhether it is a beginner who needs comprehensive training from the scratch or if someone needs a refresher course to gain
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
Top
Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
Top
E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
Top
Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
Top
Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
Top
News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
Top
India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
Top
WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
confidence or one needs to enhance knowledge related to road safety driving and traffic MDS has a training module to addressallamprdquo Rajoria added
GuidelinesampldquoAll courses offered by MDS are scientifically designed and meet the guidelines defined in Central Motor Vehicle Ruleampndash 1989 (CMVR) The rule specifies theoretical as well as practical training starting from basic introduction to automobilefunctioning working of engines manoeuvres (merging and diverging manoeuvres) to reversing (speed control steering in reversegear weaving the amplsquoSamprsquo bend) and parking (parallel angular perpendicular parking facing uphill and downhill) Wefollow a 21-day schedule of training that includes 10 hours of practical trainingamprdquo Rajoria said
ampldquoTheoryclass room sessions focus on imparting knowledge on basic vehicle functioning road rules traffic signs traffic lawsthat are essential for safe driving
All MDS are equipped with simulators making driving training extremely safe and easy Untrained drivers are trained in drivingtechniques skills and speed-of response under safe conditions Practical training in vehicles that are customised for training areused These are equipped with dual control kitsamprdquo Rajoria added
To promote women to learn driving the company claims that over 50 of those enrolled at MDS are women Queen of roadampndash a special promotional programme targeted towards women is observed during the month of March which begins on March5
Bimal Auto Agency CEO Naveen Kumar Sarawgi said ampldquoWe have worked with NGOamprsquos like FICCI FLO and womencentered companies like Taxshe in training their candidates (female trainees) for longer duration with less cost Periodically thereare special offersschemes announced for women trainees which give up to 25 discount on the course fees For example Queenof the Road Womenamprsquos Day offeramprdquo
Humongous challengesRunning a mammoth driving school is not an easy task for the MSI There are humongous challenges faced Rajoria saidampldquoOver 13 crore licenses are issued annually Of this around 15 lakh people get trained in our network of MDS We do notknow where the rest would go for driving Lack of strict laws and easy ways of getting driving license does not make it necessary forpeople to enrol for driving trainingamprdquo
ampldquoWe have the right infrastructure and are expanding as well but very few people see the importance of driving training from agood quality driving school There should be enough awareness created among people to take up driving training seriously
Especially when over 70 accidents take place due to driver faultamprdquo Rajoria addedampldquoAnother issue is finding the right trainer with the required skill set is a challenge There is no formal training or certificationfor trainers and the low income of the trainers does not attract the right kind of talent poolamprdquo Rajoria said
On challenges from a dealer point of view Bimal Auto Agency which has nine MDS in Bengaluru Sarawgi said ampldquoVehicledamages during the training which we have been able to control and minimise this cost by providing periodical training to instructorsand dedicated resource to improve vehicle condition and performanceamprdquo
ampldquoTill date Bimal Auto Agency has successfully trained over 1 lakh customers under various programs under variousplatforms We are leading at the national level in term of number of traineesamprdquo Sarawgi said
Kalyani Motors began MDS in November 2011 has trained over 8000 customers On challenges Kalyani Motors Chief GeneralManager Sales and Marketing S N Shetty said ampldquoMost of the customers prefer learning in there own cars due to parkingproblems in apartments and uphill challenges We do help them in there own cars for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of thecourseamprdquo
Doorstep trainingampldquoWhen practical is a part of training so we have to be care full each time with customers safety car safety and other roadusers safety but still we do have a dual controlled fixed cars and a well-trained instructors but its still a challenging job for ourInstructors on Bengaluru roadsamprdquo Shetty added
The Indian car market is evolving at a breakneck speed Automatic and two pedal technology is fast catching Indiancustomeramprsquos attention
The training modules at MDS are evolving to keep up their relevance with the increasingly complex cars MSI has begun to providetraining in automatic technology as well along with manual transmission
DH News ServiceLearners Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 7 hours (4 days)(ii) Demo ampndash 30 mins(iii) Simulator training ampndash 25 hours (5 sessions days)(iv) On road Practicalsampndash 10 hours (10 days)(v) Evaluation ampndashTheoretical ampndash 60 minsPractical ampndash 30 mins
Advanced Course(i) Theoretical training ampndash 2 hours ( 1 day)(ii) Simulator training ampndash 60 mins (2 sessions days)(iii) On road practicals ampndash 5 hours (5 days)
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
Top
Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
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E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
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Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
This update purports to be a compilation of the top stories for the day in the leading Indian and International dailies websites and other information sources and NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot and does not vouch for their authenticity NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot be held responsible for any loss(es) arising out of or incidental to theuse of this News Update Reproduction or redistribution without express permission of NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd is strictly prohibited and is a violation of the subscriptionagreement Such instances will result in immediate cancellation of subscription to the Service without any refund for the remaining period at the sole discretion of NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
(iv) Evaluationampndash Theoretical ampndash 60 minsampndash Practical ampndash 30 mins
Refresher Course(i) 4 hours of on road practical training(ii) Simulator ampndash Virtual Car for holistic on-road practice and better judgmentshttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596415mds-promote-safe-driving-indiahtml
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Ford TV advt clears the myth on service cost Deccan Herald (Web Edition)
Bengaluru For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth Picking the essence of what John Kennedy once saidthe latest television commercial from Ford India attempts to break the myth-conceptionsstereotypes around its cost of service
The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly followperceptions like amplsquohumans have five sensesamprsquo or amplsquofortune cookies are Chineseamprsquo without knowing the truthampndash just like Ford cars being seen as expensive to maintain despite the annual maintenance of a Ford EcoSport is only Rs1483
Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend Fordamprsquos cost of service campaign ampmdashamplsquoMis-Directionsamprsquo ampmdash will feature well known on-screen amplsquovillainsamprsquo ampndash Singham fame PrakashRaj bad man Gulshan Grover and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran
All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they have also been stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evilappearances in cinema television The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Fordamprsquos continuing efforts in breaking themyth that Ford cars are expensive to maintain by highlighting the importance of being aware than follow half-truths
ampldquoFord believes in delivering differentiated customer experience by bringing in transparency at every step for its customersWe have introduced several initiatives that make Ford cars really affordable to maintain This campaign is to highlight the myths thatare prevalent around maintaining a Ford car being expensive and to reinforce that maintenance of Ford cars is amplsquosurprisinglyaffordableamprsquoamprdquo said Rahul Gautam vice president marketing Ford India
Independent surveyThe cost of service campaign will also draw strength from a Spare Parts Price Study by India leading auto magazine Autocar IndiaAccording to the independent survey Ford has been rated among the most affordable against a formidable set of competitors
Betting big on trust and transparency Ford has introduced several path breaking initiatives like Service Price Calculator and PartsPricing on Ford India website that allows the customer to know their service and parts cost even before walking into the dealership
With over 800 Sub Assembly Levels of Parts Ford has broken an assembly into sub-components and enabled substantial savingsfor customers Not to miss the competitive parts pricing available online longer service schedule (some elements required to bechanged only once a year) and 100000 km of warranty Ford delivers a service cost lower than competition
The TVCs created by Global Team Blue will target key sports channel and will have significant digital and social presencehttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596407ford-tv-advt-clears-mythhtml
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Luxury Cars
Eight things you should know about Mercedes-Benz E-Class LWB The Statesman (Web Edition)
New Delhi Mercedes-Benz is going to launch the extended wheelbase version of the fifth-generation E-Class in the Indian marketon 28 February 2017 While the standard fifth-gen E-Class was first showcased at the 2016 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in January the long wheelbase version was unveiled at 2016 Auto China in April The E-Class is one of the highestselling cars in its segment Here are a few things you should know about the upcoming luxury saloon
1) India is the second market to get the long wheelbase E-Class
Currently the extended wheelbase E-Class is only being sold in the Chinese market This makes India the second country to getthe E-Class LWB and first and only country where the long wheelbase E-Class is being offered in right-hand drive (RHD)configuration The outgoing E-Class started around the Rs 50 lakh mark while the current S-Class has a price tag of around Rs 1crore The E-Class LWB will bridge the huge price difference between the two segments Also the extra wheelbase will help theE-Class stand ahead of its rivals like the Volvo S90 which offers distinguished design and features at a very competitive price Mostof the customers in this segment are chauffeur-driven and will certainly appreciate the extra rear space The bump in the price of thenew E-Class will also allow Mercedes to introduce new cars below this segment
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
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E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
Top
Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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PLEASE NOTE
NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
2) The Standard fifth-gen E-Class will not be introduced now
Mercedes-Benz is only introducing the long wheelbase version of the fifth-gen E-Class (V213) now No information regarding thelaunch of the standard fifth-gen E-Class (W213) is out yet However it is unlikely that the standard model will be introduced in thecountry as that would water down the value proposition of the extended wheelbase variant
3) It has 44mm longer wheelbase than the standard S-Class
The upcoming E-Class LWB has a wheelbase of 3079mm -- this is 44mm longer compared to the 3035mm of the standardS-Class which is currently being sold in India However it is 86mm shorter than the wheelbase offered by the S-Class LWB
4) It has 60 per cent localisation
Instead of directly importing the complete car as CBU unit Mercedes-Benz has tried to keep the costs as low as possible withlocalisation Higher the localisation lesser the price tag While the chassis is being imported from China the doors are importedfrom Germany However the engine is completely assembled in India
5) Unique Features
The E-Class LWB offers a list of features not seen in this segment before It has 64-colour ambient lighting touch-sensitive steeringcontrols a 23-speaker 3D sound system by Burmester a touchscreen tablet in the rear and also offers the same infotainmentscreen as in the S-Class
6) It offers adaptable air suspension
When it comes to comfort air suspension is the best suspension you can bet your money on Apart from the best in segmentcomfort the E-Class LWBs air suspension also features a lift mode which allows you to raise the ground clearance by 15mm Thiswill certainly come handy to tackle the rough roads in the country
7) It will go from 0-100kmph in 66s
The E-Class LWB is being offered with two engine options a 30-litre diesel and a 20-litre petrol While the petrol mill produces187PS of power and 300Nm of torque the 30-litre V6 diesel engine offers more power 262PS 620Nm This enables the dieselversion of the E-Class to go from 0-100kmph in 66s and with a top speed of 250kmph
8) Seven-speed automatic transmission is being replaced by nine-speed automatic
While the engines are being carried forward from the outgoing E-Class the gearbox is completely new The outgoing fourth-genE-Class had a seven-speed automatic transmission However both the diesel and petrol version of the E-Class LWB feature a newnine-speed automatic transmission This would certainly enhance the performance of the new carhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinesseight-things-you-should-know-about-mercedes-benz-e-class-lwb-1487057187html
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Jaguar Land Roveracirceurotrades weak performance impacts margin Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)
Considering the 12 per cent overall wholesale volume growth at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the 9 per cent contraction indomestic medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales volumes during the quarter ended December 2016 ( over the threemonths ended December 2015) Tata Motors was expected to post muted numbers
But the sharp 96 per cent fall in consolidated profit took the market by surprise with the stock dropping almost 7 per centimmediately after the results announcement before recovering later on
Both JLR and the standalone business contributed to the steep drop
Weak operational performance took the wind out of the sails for JLR EBITDA margins pressures were expected to rise at JLR dueto new model launch variable marketing expenses
But it came down by 510 basis points year-on-year to 93 per cent A product mix in favour of Jaguar rather than Land Rovermodels such as the Discovery which are more profitable impacted the margins
Jaguar wholesale volumes saw a 794 per cent rise during the quarter while Land Rover wholesale volumes contracted 159 percent
Unfavourable realised forex hedges brought down the margins to the extent of 80 basis points as well Besides poor support at theoperating level JLR profits were impacted by higher depreciation and unfavourable unrealised forex and commodity hedgerevaluation
Even on the domestic front although the passenger segment recorded a 31 per year-on-year growth in volumes aided by thesuccess of the Tiago CV sales were nothing to write home about
This widened the standalone loss to Rs 1046 crore against a loss of Rs 103 crore in the December 2016 quarter
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
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E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
Top
Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
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Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
Upcoming launches such as the new Discovery in the fourth quarter of this fiscal may give JLR volumes a boost Ramp up of recentlaunches such as Jaguar F-PACE and XF long-wheel base in China will aid better volume growth too
The good run may continue on the domestic passenger car front with the Hexa launched in January 2017 and others such as theTigor and the Nexon (compact SUV) expected to hit the markets soon
On the CV side pre-buying ahead of the BS-IV fuel emission norms implementation in April is expected to rev up MHCV saleshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsjaguar-land-rovers-weak-performance-impacts-marginarticle9543449ece
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Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors kicks-off T1 Racer Programme 20 Umesh M AvvannavarDeccan Herald (Web Edition)
Chennai In line with the companyamprsquos strategic objective of making the profession of truck driving aspirational Tata Motorsrecently announced the second edition of its the truck driver race selection and training program (TRP 20)
Acting as a catalyst to induct drivers into the commercial vehicle profession the T1 Racer Programme will present shortlisted Indiantruck drivers with an opportunity to compete in Season IV of the T1 Truck Racing Championship at Indiaamprsquos globallyrenowned F1 race track ampndash The Buddh International Circuit (BIC) Greater Noida
After as stellar performances by Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna amongst others is a testimony to the success of the Truck RacerProgramme organised for the first time during the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2016
Having being trained for over three months by some of the best race instructors in India roped in by MOMA (MOMA MotorsportManagement) the amplsquoHeroes of the Highwaysamprsquo took home the highest price money ever won in an Indian motorsportsevent held in 2016
A sum of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded to winners who stood first in the two Super Calss races TRP 20 has attracted over 1000applications for Season IV of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship 2017
R T Wasan Vice President (Commercial) Commercial Vehicles Tata Motors said ampldquoAs a leader in the Indian commercialvehicle space Tata Motors has always been at the forefront in introducing first-of-its-kind innovative initiatives and with the truckracing we conceptualized the T1 Racer Programme held last year for Indian truck drivers for the very first timeamprdquo
ampldquoDesigned with the idea of making the profession of trucking and truck driving aspirational TRP will act as a catalyst to inductIndian drivers into the growing T1 family and TRP 20 has over two times the number of truck drivers participating for a race seatover the last year With an overwhelming response and a more robust training programme over last year we are confident that theprogramme will equip shortlisted drivers to excel at Season IV of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2017amprdquo
ampldquoOur customers have played a critical role in making TRP a success We take this opportunity to thank them for theircollaborative efforts and look forward to taking TRP to greater heights in the coming yearsamprdquo he addedhttpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent596406tata-motors-kicks-off-t1html
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Construction amp Agri Machinery
23 Wheelers
2017 Harley-Davidson road king unveiled Asian Age
A dark front end with a big black headlamp is the signature styling of the Harley-Davidson Road King However the 2017 Road Kingfeatures a new 90-inchampndashhigh handlebar that makes for a comfortable riding position and a black 19-inch front wheel coveredwith a low-profile fender The rear wheels are covered with stretched saddlebags which give it a low-slung look
The motorcycle is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine which is new for all the 2017 touring models and provides 10 percent more torque than the engine it replaces It provides higher compression ratio thanks to a four-valve cylinder head with 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity It gets dual spark plugs for each cylinder As the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine weighssimilar to the previous engine the increased performance figures directly contribute towards increased performance It alsoaccelerates 11 per cent quicker than the previous iteration
Harley-Davidson Vice-President of Styling and Design Brad Richards said ampldquoThe Road King Special pounds down the
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
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E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
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Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
boulevard like a gleaming locomotive rolling through a train yard at midnight By exchanging chrome surfaces for black and loweringthe bikeamprsquos profile weamprsquove moved the traditional Road King into a new space thatamprsquos very current in the custombagger sceneamprdquo
Speaking on the styling Harley-Davidsonamprsquos Designer- Stylist Dais Nagao said ampldquoChrome was retained only on somekey engine components The lower rocker boxes pushrod tubes and tappet blocks are finished with chrome to emphasize theV-Twin shape of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine We added a new engine-turned air cleaner insert a finish thatamprsquos alsofeatured on the tank consoleamprdquohttpwwwasianagecombusinessautos1402172017-harley-davidson-road-king-unveiledhtml
Top
E-Bikes
Components
Motherson Sumi plans Rs 8000 crore capex Nandini SenguptaThe Economic Times
Chennai Auto parts maker Motherson Sumi is backing up its aggressive acquisitions with an 8000 crore capacity expansionprogramme spread over four years
The company which is in the process of building 9 plants across the world including three in India has spent nearly 2000 crore peryear on an average for the past two years and will continue to spend similar amounts in FY17-18 and FY18-19 as well
According to company officials 60-70 of the capex outlined will go into building new capacity
And while the group has just announced the acquisition of Finnish truck wire harness maker PKC Group for 571 million euro or4146 crore more may be on the way given that there is enough cash on the balance sheet and a healthy debt equity ratio
Said GN Gauba CFO Motherson Sumi Systems (MSS) Inorganic growth is part of our DNA and vision We will close ouracquisition of PKC by the end of March largely through cash on the balance sheet though we may opt for some long term debt toobut that conclusion will be taken closer to the deal end As of December 2016 the cash on our balance sheet is 2800 crore and onour consolidated balance sheet it is 5500 crore
The company had also raised around 2000 crore through a QIP and around 600 crore through a preferential allotment The net debton the companys balance sheet is 2500 crorehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsmotherson-sumi-plans-rs-8000-crore-capex57148404
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Amtek Auto Q3 net loss widens to Rs 24156 crore PTISee this story in The Economic Times
New Delhi Auto components maker Amtek Auto has reported widening of its standalone net loss at Rs 24156 crore for the quarterended December 2016
The company had posted a net loss of Rs 17536 crore in the same quarter last fiscal
Net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 43840 crore as against Rs 82469 crore in the year-ago quarter the companysaid in a BSE filing
Shares of Amtek Auto ended 084 per cent down to close at Rs 3610 on BSEhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsamtek-auto-q3-net-loss-widens-to-rs-241-56-crore57152344
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Greaves Cotton Q3 PAT down 29 at Rs 44 crore The Economic Times
Mumbai Greaves Cotton has reported revenue of Rs 451 crore for the quarter ended December 31 2016 as against Rs 453 crorefor the quarter ended December 31 2015 informed the company in an official statement
However revenue for nine months ended December 2016 was Rs 1386 crore against Rs 1351 crore for the same period previous
year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
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Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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year
EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31 2016 was Rs 61 crore as against Rs 69 crore for the same period last year
The Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter was Rs 44 crore as against Rs 62 crore for the corresponding period last year and for thenine months ending December 2016 was Rs 134 crore as against 161 crore for corresponding period last year
Nagesh Basavanhalli MD amp CEO said ampldquoDespite tough market conditions amp temporary setback due to demonetisation thecompany has recorded year to date growth of 3 as against corresponding period last year This has been possible due to strategicinitiatives enhancing service quality and entering new geographies
The robust growth in the Aftermarket Farm Equipment Business and the Auxiliary Power business has contributed to the higherrevenue Our efforts on cost controls are sustainable and will continue to improveamprdquo
Basavanhalli added ampldquoOne of our key strengths has been our strong distribution network across the country This has beentraditionally used to supply spare parts and to meet the servicing needs of over 5 million customers Customer centricity has been akey driver and with this Greaves aims to tap the large Service potential across the country with its new multi brand workshops
Stay connected and Serve better has been the motto behind setting up this new service centres which is a one stop solution forquality repairs quick service with genuine spare parts and Company trained technicians at very reasonable price In coming yearGreaves will expand this network to cater a wide base of customers in the last mile transport segmenthttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsgreaves-cotton-q3-pat-down-29-at-rs-44-crore57152629
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Minda Corporation Q3 net profit jumps 573 at Rs 176 million The Economic Times
New Delhi Indian automotive component manufacturer Minda Corporation has registered 573 percent jump in its standalone netprofit for the third quarter ended December 31 2016 and stood at Rs 176 million informed the company in Bombay StockExchange (BSE) filing
Total revenue increased by 69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1919 million Minda Corporations EBITDA increased by 15 percent toRs 232 million during Q3 FY2017
ampldquoOn the backdrop of demonetisation which drastically reduced the liquidity in the market sales volume for the quarter acrossthe automobile sector were down by (40) on a y-o-y basis in comparison to the 191 y-o-y growth in the last quarter Despite asustained pressure on the overall business demand and a slow global recovery our topline during Q3 FY2017 was resilientregistering an increase of 101 on a y-o-y basis Besides the quarter marked continuing addition of new blue chip customersglobally and received additional orders worth Rs 180 crore said Ashok Minda Chairman and Group CEO
We are optimistic of the various pro-reformative measures of the Government being undertaken and also reflected in the recentfiscal Budget augurs well for the auto component sector as a whole in the long term and we expect the automobile market to reviveover the next two quartersamprdquo added Minda
ampldquoThis quarter has been a mixed bag for the Company During the quarter our financial performance was temporarilyimpacted on account of demonetisation high raw material cost adverse product mix and delay in price actualization of one of thesubsidiaries We are also in the process of incurring preoperating expenses towards new greenfield plants at Mexico and Pune andsetting up of the technical centre said DC Sharma Group CFO
However I am pleased to inform you that our credit rating has been upgraded to amplsquoIND A+amprsquo for long term bank facilitiesby Fitch Ratings reinforcing the credit worthiness of the Company We are also closely watching the developments to the full rollout of the GST and continue to be hopeful of its positive implications for the automotive and automotive componentindustriesamprdquo added Sharma
The company has added to new customers - Royal Enfield for lockset parts and Nissin Brakes for die casting During the quarterMinda has received additional domestic orders for Rs 135 crore (including orders worth Rs 52 crore for MCL ampndash Securitydivision) and additional exports orders stood at Rs 45 crore
During the Q3 FY2017 3 patents were filed and during 9M FY2017 a total of 18 patents were filed Total patents filed in FY2016were 11 patents Out of the 3 patents 2 Patents filed by the Minda Corporation ampndash Security Division in 2 wheeler SecuritySystems and 1 Patent filed by Minda Stoneridge ampndash Sensors Divisionhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentsminda-corporation-q3-net-profit-jumps-57-3-at-rs-176-million57143465
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Motherson Sumi Decent results PKC integration key to valuation Vatsala Kamatmint
The proposed acquisition of Finnish auto component maker PKC Ojy is certainly a feather in Motherson Sumi SystemsLtdamprsquos (MSSLamprsquos) cap But apart from that its December quarter performance did not excite investors to sustain the rally
in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
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Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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in the stock since a month ago when the PKC deal was announced
This is not to say that MSSL fared badly No doubt consolidated net revenue of Rs106041 crore was a tad below the Bloombergaverage estimate But it was up 123 from a year ago Revenue from overseas subsidiaries that comprises about 85 of the totalrose by 12 while that of domestic operations rose by a healthier 24
More remarkable is the firmamprsquos sustained efforts at improving profitability The consolidated operating margin at 101 inchedup from 96 in the year-before period while the Street expected it to remain stable This came on the back of a robust 360 basispoints jump in stand-alone margin and a 110 basis points jump in subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Reflectecamprsquos margin tooAnalysts were a bit disappointed by the flat profitability of its subsidiary Samvardhan Motherson Peguform at just 59 whereexpectations were higher
In any case the operating profit measured up to the Streetamprsquos expectation However the reported net profit of Rs4159 crorewhich was 33 higher than a year earlier included some exceptional mark-to-market gain on the funds raised through its recentqualified institutional placement and accounting adjustments due to the new norms under the Indian Accounting StandardsAdjusting for these changes the net profit was quite close to the forecast
However the management in a phone conversation with Mint indicated that some borrowing (debt) might be needed to fund thePKC deal in addition to the existing cash and bank balance This may increase MSSLamprsquos net consolidated debt in the nearterm Fortunately the firmamprsquos robust operating cash flows have kept its consolidated interest cover ratio at a commendable 9
That said the PKC acquisition will fuel revenue growth given that it clocks annual sales of about Rs6100 crore through its globalwiring harness businessampmdashwhich is MSSLamprsquos forte too Besides it has a large global footprint in wiring harness suppliesto original equipment manufacturers
The one hitch is that PKCamprsquos low profit margins could dilute the near-term profitability of MSSL Besides according toIIFLamprsquos report if we extrapolate CY16 financials into CY17 the deal would dilute earnings per share of MSSL More so if theweakness in US trucks continues in CY17
Indeed in the past through smart turnaround of acquired firms MSSLamprsquos net sales and net profit grew at a compound annualgrowth rate of 425 and 28 respectively over a decade sustaining its rich valuation when compared to other componentmakers A similar turnaround in PKCamprsquos profitability for which there is room would be the next lever to push up its stock pricewhich is trading at about 22 times one-year forward earnings estimates by analysts for FY18httpwwwlivemintcomMoney9np0Cc1DfVxVG2VfQA5CoMMotherson-Sumi-Decent-results-PKC-integration-key-to-valuahtml
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Allied Industries
Emissions Environment
Finance amp Insurance
Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels
Crude oil stable on OPEC-led cuts but market remains range-bound ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Singapore Oil prices were stable on Tuesday supported by an OPEC-led effort to cut output while rising production elsewherekept crude futures within the narrow range that has contained them so far this year
Brent crude futures were trading at $5563 per barrel at 0638 GMT up 4 cents from their last close
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $5297 per barrel
This followed a 2 per cent decline in the previous session Both oil benchmarks have remained within a $5 per barrel trading rangesince the beginning of the year
ampldquoThe usually fairly volatile oil price has barely budged for two months the reason being conflicting dynamics in themarketamprdquo said Dutch bank ABN Amro
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia have agreed to cut outputby almost 18 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017 in a bid to rein in a global fuel supply overhang
But undermining these efforts has been rising production in the United States where increased drilling activity especially by shaleoil producers has lifted overall output to 898 million bpd up 65 per cent since mid-2016 and to its highest level since April last year
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
ampldquoOil just appears to be caught in a range at the moment and mainly focused on those supply considerationsamprdquo said RicSpooner chief market analyst CMC Markets in Sydney
Despite an OPEC compliance rate of around 90 per cent with the announced cuts scepticism remains over the end resultpreventing the cut from having a bigger impact on prices traders said
ampldquoOPEC producers want the market to believe they will stick to the agreed production freeze (cut) But lessons from the pasthave made the market deeply suspiciousamprdquo ABN said
Traders said that even at an OPEC compliance of 90 per cent and a much lower rate for non-OPEC members producers wouldhave to accelerate their cuts in the coming months in order to achieve the average daily reduction target agreed for the first half ofthe year
ABN said it had reduced its average Brent oil price forecast for the first half of 2017 ampldquofrom $55 per barrel to $50 per barrelwhile allowing for a possible temporary dip towards $45 per barrel
With oil fundamentals like OPEC cuts and US drilling dominating the markets financial price drivers such as Brents relation with thedollar have been upended at least for now
Oil and the US dollar typically move inversely as a strong dollar weighs on oil prices as it makes fuel purchases by countries usingother currencies more expensive potentially crimping demand
ampldquoThe OPEC production cuts and the US rig count are beginning to outweigh the valuation impact of currencies (onoil)amprdquo said Spoonerhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiescrude-oil-stable-on-opecled-cuts-but-market-remains-rangeboundarticle9541461ece
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News Magazines
All-new Volvo XC40 to take on the Mercedes GLA Autocar India
Volvoamprsquos RampD boss Henrik Green has confirmed that the companyamprsquos crucial new XC40 will be launched internationallylater this year as the first model in an all-new 40-series family The new compact SUV which will rival the BMW X1 Audi Q3 andMercedes GLA was previewed last year by the Concept 401 along with another potential 40-series model the Concept 402saloon
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Detroit motor show Green said the XC40 will be the first model to useVolvoamprsquos modular CMA architecture and the base development work of the car has been completed
ampldquoThereamprsquos a big chance itamprsquoll be one of the most successful cars in our line-upamprdquo he said
Test mules of the XC40 spied on international roads retain the conceptamprsquos angled tailgate and butch nose design suggestingthe small SUV will adopt the conceptamprsquos other features as well including new light designs for both the front and rear It is alsoexpected to sport an unconventional window line which will likely resemble the angled one that was seen on the concept
The SUV will also introduce a new modular 15-litre three-cylinder engine which is derived from Volvoamprsquos existing four-cylinder20-litre diesel and petrol units The engines will come in both diesel and petrol variants with and without turbocharging
Top of the XC40 range will be a petrol-powered plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the T5 Twin Engine This comprises a 182hp petrolversion of the new three-cylinder engine supported by a 75hp electric motor
The front-wheel-drive hybrid will have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox which will also receive direct input from theelectric motor The hybrid will be capable of driving up to 48km in full-electric mode
A V40 replacement will also be spun off of the CMA platform which Volvo has co-developed with Geely its Chinese parent firmGeely plans to use it to underpin a range of models from its new Lynk amp Co brand
This year will also mark the launch of the second-generation XC60 SUV with replacements for the S60 saloon and V60 estate setto follow soon after Volvo will then turn its attention to the launch of its first all-electric model in 2019
ampldquoWe believe strongly in electrificationamprdquo Green said ampldquoWe are working very hard on our first full EV In 2019 it willbe on the road This is not a one-off It will be followed up by more products I see EVs as a significant part of our portfolio a widerangeamprdquo
Despite the predicted rise in EVs and growing pressure on diesel Green said Volvo is continuing to develop diesel engines
ampldquoHow long [diesel has left] is very difficult to sayamprdquo he said ampldquoI believe electrification will start to come and therewill still be a place for diesel next to it Then you argue on the switch Right now weamprsquore developing diesels For how long isone of the questions to focus onamprdquo
The XC40 will give Volvo a third SUV in its line-up but Green isnamprsquot ruling out more in the future ampldquoTo me yes three
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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PLEASE NOTE
NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
SUVs is a very good baseamprdquo he added ampldquoItamprsquos an interesting body styleamprdquo
ampldquoItamprsquos interesting what you can do with SUVs They started as off-roaders then moved to the city What they gavecustomers was good ingress and egress a good overview of traffic and a feeling of being in command These are all attributes wecould give to customers in lots of different shapes and bodies not necessarily traditional onesamprdquo he saidhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsall-new-volvo-xc40-to-take-on-the-mercedes-gla-404146aspx
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India bound Renault Kaptur 5 things to know Autocar India
The Duster set the cash registers ringing for Renault India when it was launched in 2011 but its larger SUV the Koleos failed toentice buyers in our market Hence this time for its SUV placed above the Duster Renault has created the Kaptur The namesounds familiar as Renault sells a model with a similar-sounding name in Europe but itamprsquos spelt with the letteramplsquoCamprsquo ampndash Captur It even looks quite similar to the European Captur but thatamprsquos where it all ends While theCaptur is based on the Clioamprsquos platform the Kaptur is a crossover made using the Duster platform specifically keepingdeveloping nations in mind
Renault revealed the Kaptur for international markets some time back and itamprsquos looking quite positive We are eagerly waitingto have a go at it when itamprsquos launched but you need not wait to know more about it Hereamprsquos a list of five things that youshould know about the upcoming Renault Kaptur
Family lineageThe Kaptur will be built on the versatile BO platform which also underpins the Duster Renault has achieved high levels oflocalisation with this platform in India which will help keep the costs in check There seems to be minimal tweaks to its chassis asthe dimensions are similar to that of the Dusteramprsquos which means it will have similar levels of space inside the cabin
More powerIn Russia the Kaptur will get a choice of two petrol engines ampndash 16- and 20-litre For India though Renault is expected tocontinue with the tried-and-tested powertrains ampndash the 16-litre petrol and the ubiquitous 15-litre K9K motor ampndash but withthe motors tweaked to output more power and torque
Space for sevenWhile the Kaptur internationally is offered as a strict five-seater for India Renault is expected to give the model an extra row ofseats taking the number of seats to seven This will allow the model to better rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500 and therecently launched Tata Hexa
Upmarket fightIn terms of pricing the Kaptur is likely to be positioned between the popular small SUV segment and the more premium soft-roadersegment Its direct rival is the Mahindra XUV500 with the Nissan Kicks expected to join the fray by end-2017 Expect prices to be inthe region of Rs 16 lakh (ex-showroom)
Some time to goThe Kaptur has already been on sale in Russia and in some South American markets Renault has started testing the Kaptur forIndian markets in recent months with a planned market launch expected towards the end of the yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-renault-kaptur-5-things-to-know-402138aspx
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General Motors to sell Vauxhall and Opel brands to PSA Autocar India
General Motors (GM) is said to be in talks for the sale of its European operations including the Opel and Vauxhall brands to thePSA Group the parent company of Citroeumln DS and Peugeot according to reports by Reuters and Deutsche Press Agency (DPA)
The rumoured talks which Reuters describes as being at an advanced stage are said to centre on plans for the PSA Group to takea majority stake in GMamprsquos European subsidiaries Opel and Vauxhall in a deal that could have significant implications for theEuropean automotive industry
GM however has made no official confirmation of the sale
PSA has previously confirmed it was in direct dialogue with GM but indicates its dealings with Opel and Vauxhall have recentlymoved towards the possible expansion of current projects including plans that will lead to various models between the two carmakers sharing common platforms and drivelineshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsgeneral-motors-to-sell-vauxhall-and-opel-brands-to-psa-404198aspx
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Skoda Octavia Onyx edition ready for launch Autocar India
Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
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Skodaamprsquos executive sedan the Octavia will arrive in a facelifted avatar sometime during mid-2017 Before that the carmakerhas planned a swansong amplsquoOnyxamprsquo edition for the outgoing model which it has officially teased on its website
Just like we had earlier brought you details of this special edition hereamprsquos all that sets it apart from the standard OctaviaAvailable only on the fully loaded Style Plus variant the Octavia Onyx edition will come with sporty styling bits like blacked-out16-inch alloy wheels wing mirror housings and front grille and a rear spoiler The interior of the car however will remain unchangedfrom that of the Style Plus versions
Equipment on offer will include 12-way electric adjust driver seat adaptive headlamps and panoramic sunroof to name a few
Mechanically too the Onyx edition is the same as the Octavia and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions The petrolcar will use a 180hp 18-litre turbo-petrol engine that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox while the dieselmodel will be powered by a 143hp 20-litre motor thatamprsquos paired to a six-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox
Only 100 units of the Octavia Onyx edition will be made and the model is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 19000-22000more than the standard Style Plus variants The standard variant is priced at Rs 215 lakh for the petrol and Rs 231 lakh for thediesel (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)
Besides this special-edition Octavia Skoda is also likely to bring in a limited-run Monte Carlo edition for its Rapid sedanhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsskoda-octavia-onyx-edition-ready-for-launch-404160aspx
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Worldacirceurotrades first commercial flying car now on sale Autocar India
The PAL-V Liberty the worldamprsquos first commercial flying car is now on sale Priced around pound425000 (Rs 418 crore) the firstcustomer deliveries are scheduled towards the end of 2018
Dutch manufacturer PAL-V claims its Liberty is fully compliant with existing regulations and says it represents a ampldquopivotal timein aviation and mobility historyamprdquo
The flying car has been launched with the Liberty Pioneer Edition which is priced from around $599000 (Rs 378 crore) beforetaxes on PAL-Vs website This price includes flight instruction sessions power heating and personalisation options Only 90 will besold with around half of them headed to Europe After their delivery the manufacturer will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model
The Liberty Sport model is priced from $399000 (around Rs 252 crore) before taxes on the manufactureramprsquos website
It doesnamprsquot have the same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons whileoptions include power heating and carbonfibre detailingThe Liberty has a three-wheel layout and rotor blades on the roof which fold away Its effectively a gyrocopter aircraft with twoengines Its Rotax engine-based dual-propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying with an unpoweredlarge rotor on top that provides lift while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrustIt has a lowered suspension and a tilting two-person cockpit
Converting the car from drive to fly mode or vice-versa takes around 5-10 minutes according to PAL-V The rotor mast unfoldsautomatically but the driver must pull out the tail section unfold two rotor blades and take out the prop to ready it to fly You alsoneed a license to fly and you canamprsquot just take off and land anywhere PAL-V says the Liberty requires take-off space of around90-200x200 metres without obstacles It says that small airstrips aerodomes glider sites and ultralight airfields will be mostappropriate
The manufacturer says the noise that the Liberty generates in flight will be comparable to a small fixed-wing aeroplane saying it willbe ampldquomuch lessamprdquo than a helicopter The drive-mode engine has 1003hp and a top speed of 160kph with 0-100kphsprint taking 90sec Fuel economy is a claimed 31mpg (1097kpl) with a range of 817miles (1314km) In the air the Liberty canclimb to a maximum altitude of 3500m and its 1997hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (179kph) Its rangeis a claimed 310miles (498km)
The Liberty will be assembled in the Netherlands with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in differentcountries PAL-V collaborated with Italian design agencies for the car and conducted test programmes with concepts in 2009 and2012
Robert Dingemanse PAL-Vs CEO said After years of hard work beating the technical and qualification challenges our teamsucceeded in creating an innovative flying car that complies with existing safety standards determined by regulatory bodies aroundthe worldhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsworld8217s-first-commercial-flying-car-now-on-sale-404197aspx
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2017 Honda City facelift price variants explained Autocar India
Honda has launched the updated Honda City with prices starting at Rs 849 lakh for the base petrol and going up to Rs 1356 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
(ex-showroom Delhi) for the top trim diesel The facelifted car gets revised styling with a new-design grille and bumper up fronttweaked light clusters new-design alloy wheels on the top trim along with tweaks to the cabin as well
The facelifted City gets a new top ZX trim while the S trim now becomes the new entry-level model The previously availableentry-level E and VX(O) trims are no longer available Interestingly the base S trim is available with a petrol option only while thetop ZX trim ampndash available with a petrol and diesel engine option ampndash is not offered as a petrol manual The SV trim now nolonger offers an automatic gearbox option either
Under the hood the facelifted City carries forward using the same 15-litre i-VTEC petrol and i-DTEC diesel engines with the formeroffered with a five-speed manual and CVT gearbox and the latter with a six-speed manual unit only Honda claims that the petrolengine delivers 174kpl when paired with a manual gearbox and 18kpl when optioned with the CVT gearbox On the other hand thediesel City is claimed to return 256kpl
In terms of safety dual airbags ABS and ISOFIX child seat mounting points are offered as standard equipment across all variants
In addition to the above safety systems the base S trim gets (Petrol MT only)LED daytime running lampsIntegrated audio system with USB Bluetooth and Aux connectivityKeyless entryElectric adjust wing mirrorsRear defogger
The SV trim adds in (Petrol MT Diesel MT)Steering-mounted controlsAuto climate controlRear AC ventsCruise controlDriver seat height adjustPower folding wing mirrors
The V trim furthermore gets (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)Fog lamps15-inch diamond cut alloy wheels70-inch Touchscreen infotainment system with voice commandPush-button startRear view cameraAuto folding wing mirrors
Additionally the VX trim features (Petrol MTCVT Diesel MT)LED headlampsLED fog lampsSunroofLeather seats16-inch diamond cut alloy wheelsTelescopic adjust steering
The top ZX trim gets (Petrol CVT Diesel MT)Six airbagsTail-lamps with LED insertsBoot spoilerAuto LED headlampsRain-sensing wipers
The prices of the facelifted Honda City are as follows (ex-showroom Delhi)PetrolHonda City S - Rs 849 lakhHonda City SV - Rs 953 lakhHonda City V - Rs 999 lakhHonda City V CVT - Rs 1153 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1164 lakhHonda City VX CVT - Rs 1284 lakhHonda City ZX CVT - Rs 1352 lakh
DieselHonda City SV - Rs 1075 lakhHonda City V - Rs 1155 lakhHonda City VX - Rs 1286 lakhHonda City ZX - Rs 1356 lakh
With the facelift Honda seems set to create distance between itself and the Maruti Ciaz which over the course of last year outsoldthe City in certain months With the levels of equipment offered the new City could anchor Hondaamprsquos position firmly as thesegment bestseller though with the new premium pricing it remains to be seen if the facelift proves to be as popular as the car itreplaceshttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-news2017-honda-city-facelift-price-variants-explained-403640aspx0
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
Top
Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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International News
General Motors Toyota says US rules limiting self-driving cars need to be eased ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington General Motors and Toyota Motor officials will tell a US House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes toautomotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen said Mike Abelson vice president of global strategy at GeneralMotors in written testimony released Monday It is imperative that manufacturers have the ability to test these vehicles in greaternumbers
On Monday Senator Gary Peters a Michigan Democrat and Senator John Thune the Republican chairman of the CommerceCommittee said in a joint statement they are exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology and hope to propose a joint bill this year
Under current law the US Transportation Department can exempt up to 2500 vehicles in a 12-month period from National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle rules
Representative Debbie Dingell a Michigan Democrat said last month she is preparing legislation that would lift the existing cap
Gill Pratt chief executive of the Toyota Research Institute will tell the committee according to advance testimony It is importantthat the federal government begin looking beyond testing to deployment of these systems and should update vehicle safetystandards to address the handful of standards that are inconsistent with or incompatible with autonomous vehicle technology
According to prepared remarks Lyft public policy Vice President Joseph Okpaku will tell the panel our goal to operate a pilot in amajor city this year that will permit consumers to enjoy for the first time a Lyft in an autonomous vehicle
Anders Karrberg vice president of government affairs for Volvo Car Group a unit of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely HoldingGroup planned to tell the panel its Drive Me pilot testing of autonomous vehicles in Sweden could be extended to the UnitedStates but given uncertainty regarding various US state proposals laws and regulations it is not yet committing
US auto executives told President Donald Trump at a meeting some regulations stand in the way of self-driving vehicles peoplebriefed on the talks said
NHTSA said in March there are few legal hurdles to the deployment of self-driving cars with human controls but potentialsignificant hurdles to autonomous vehicles that have no steering wheels or brake pedals
In September the Obama administration unveiled guidance to states and automakers on self-driving cars In Novemberautomakers urged the Trump administration to review the guidance which hasnt taken effect
Automakers in prepared testimony raised concerns about some states setting restrictive testing rules
Toyota is testing on public roads in Michigan and plans to test in California and Massachusetts But both implemented a morerestrictive regulatory framework Pratts testimony saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspolicygeneral-motors-toyota-says-us-rules-limiting-self-driving-cars-need-to-be-eased57138410
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US senators try to speed up deployment of self-driving cars APSee this story in The Economic Times
Washington In the first major congressional attempt to address the advent of self-driving cars two key senators said Mondaytheyre launching a bipartisan effort to help to speed up the deployment of the vehicles on the nations roads
Republican John Thune of South Dakota the chairman of the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee andDemocrat Gary Peters of Michigan said theyre exploring legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-drivingvehicle technology
The senators counterparts in the House are also gearing up to address the new technology with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday
Automakers cite federal requirements that all vehicles must have steering wheels and brake pedals as examples of regulations thatpresume there will be a human driver and might inhibit the introduction of self-driving cars Congressional action may be needed tomake changes
Without changes to those regulations it may be years before the promise of todays technology can be realized and thousands ofpreventable deaths that could have been avoided will happen Michael Ableson General Motors vice president of global strategy
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
Top
Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee according to prepared testimony
Proponents of self-driving cars say they hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error which theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration says is a factor in 94 percent of all fatal crashes More than 35000 people werekilled on the nations roads in 2015 up over 7 percent from the previous year Traffic deaths surged an additional 8 percent in thefirst nine months of last year
Automakers also complain that states are moving ahead with their own regulations creating the potential for a confusingpatchwork of laws
Our effort will also include a discussion on the existing patchwork of laws and regulations and the traditional roles of federal andstate regulators Thune and Peters said in a joint statement
Safety advocates have urged the government to set standards that specifically address the safety of self-driving cars The Obamaadministration last year issued a voluntary set of safety goals for makers of self-driving cars to meet with the understanding thatenforceable regulations could follow
The Trump administration hasnt yet indicated what approach it will take to the technologyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsus-senators-try-to-speed-up-deployment-of-self-driving-cars57144401
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Fords $1 billion self-driving bet needs careful steer ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
New York Ford is recognizing that the race to develop a self-driving car isnt an autonomous one Americas second-largestautomaker is investing $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup Argo
It could prove to be one of the smarter moves by a traditional industry player to compete in driverless vehicles - as long as Fordmanages to mesh its new partners culture with its own
The Motown manufacturer run by Mark Fields is taking a majority stake in Argo in return for plowing cash into the months-old firmover the next five years The remainder of the stock not already owned by its founders and employees could prove to be a valuableweapon in the war for tech talent
Ford after all currently trades around seven times 2018 earnings - and thats with the United States the industrys most profitablemarket at or near its peak
Parts maker Mobileye whose computer-vision and machine-learning products are most akin to Argos trades at 17 times 2018earnings and is growing fast Google parent Alphabet which owns self-driving firm Waymo commands a multiple of 22 timesexpected net income These are more appealing currencies than Ford stock
Argos co-founders Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander are both alums of Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Centerwhose ranks are routinely raided by companies wanting to compete in autonomous cars They previously occupied senior positionsat Waymo and Uber respectively That ought to give Ford some crucial extra insight into what two of the industrys most activeinterlopers are doing
Theres one more advantage Suppliers have long captured a large slug of the most valuable aspects of the manufacturing chainThats even more of a concern as new technologies proliferate - and helps explain some of the multiple gap between parts makersand their clients Fords Argo deal is one of the few that may secure ownership of some of the core self-driving know-how for anincumbent carmaker
Argo though will take on the staff currently working on Fords own virtual-driver program - and offer them stock Those employedon other parts of the Blue Ovals autonomous-driving project will be left out which means creating a two-tier employment system -and resentment
Managing such clashing cultures is likely to be Fords greatest challenge and one that cant be put on autopilothttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryfords-1-billion-self-driving-bet-needs-careful-steer57148185
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Peugeot might buy GMs European auto business ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
GM in talks to sell European auto business to PeugeotIn a move that could shake up the global auto industry General Motors Co and French automaker PSA Group said on Tuesdaythey are in talks that could result in PSA buying GMs European auto operations
For PSA owner of the Peugeot Citroen and DS brands acquiring GMs Opel and Vauxhall brands would give it a 163 percentshare of the European passenger car market vaulting it into second place in the region ahead of French rival Renault SA and
behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
This update purports to be a compilation of the top stories for the day in the leading Indian and International dailies websites and other information sources and NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot and does not vouch for their authenticity NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot be held responsible for any loss(es) arising out of or incidental to theuse of this News Update Reproduction or redistribution without express permission of NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd is strictly prohibited and is a violation of the subscriptionagreement Such instances will result in immediate cancellation of subscription to the Service without any refund for the remaining period at the sole discretion of NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd
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behind Germanys Volkswagen AG
Any deal would have to overcome financial industrial and political obstacles Germanys industrial union IG Metall on Tuesday fireda warning shot saying that if the companies were discussing the sale of Opel without the unions involvement that would be an anunprecedented breach of all German and European co-determination rights German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it wastotally unacceptable that talks took place on French carmaker PSA Group buying GMs European Opel unit without consultingGerman works councils or local government
The French government which owns 14 percent of PSA could support a deal that would help PSA reach critical mass aneconomy ministry source told Reuters The government will give special attention to the impact in terms of jobs and the industrialimpact of these initiatives the source said France is in the midst of a heated national election campaign
A spokesman for the Peugeot family which holds a matching stake in the carmaker was not immediately available
It was not clear what price GM might want for the loss-making European business or what structure a deal could take
Both companies cautioned in statements that no deal is certain but investors cheered the disclosure sending shares in PSA ownerof the Peugeot and Citroen brands up 37 percent and boosting GM shares by 35 percent in early New York trading
Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV rose 39 percent as investors speculated that one consolidation play could lead to anotherFiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has campaigned for more than a year for GM to combine with his company
Barras Gm Strategy Smaller More ProfitableFor GM selling Opel would be the most dramatic demonstration yet of Chief Executive Mary Barras strategy of putting profitabilityand returns on invested capital ahead of market share
Since taking over as GMs CEO in January 2014 Barra has signed off on decisions to quit markets including Russia and Indonesiawhere GM lost money pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe and slash sales to rental car fleets that long propped up US marketshare with little or no profit
GMs global market share slipped by 03 percentage points last year Selling Opel and Vauxhall which added almost 1 million carsto its sales could mean abandoning the global volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and ToyotaMotor Corp with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year
In 2015 Barra and GMs board quelled an attempt by an investor group to install representatives on the automakers board byagreeing to return more cash to shareholders and to target 20 percent or better returns on invested capital GM executives said thatmeasure drives them to put more money into high profit markets such as trucks and SUVs in the United States or growthopportunities such as developing autonomous cars for ride services and less in low-earning businesses
In 2016 GM said its return on capital was 289 percent
Despite delivering robust profits and promising $9 billion in share buybacks between 2015 and 2017 GM shares are still tradingbelow the $41 a share level they reached in December 2013 just before Barra took over as CEO
GM Europe has been a drag on the automakers global profitability since 1999 the last year Opel and Vauxhall recorded a netprofit GM restructured its European operations over the past six years shutting Opel factories in Belgium and Germany andwithdrawing the Saab and Chevrolet brands from sale Still GM Europe failed to break even in 2016 as Barra had once promised itwould and the company said last week it did not expect profits in the operation until 2018
Going forward GM faces the prospect of heavy investments to comply with European government and consumer demands forcleaner diesel vehicles and to catch up with a rapid shift toward sport utility vehicles
GM had previously discussed a sale of its European auto business to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financialcrisis when GM was heading toward a US government-led bankruptcy But GM pulled the plug on the tentative deal in 2009
GM and PSA have already shared production of commercial vans and developed common vehicle platforms a relic of their lastattempt to forge a broader alliance which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the US carmakers stake in PSA
Selling Opel would free up GM to invest more to develop vehicles for the North American and Chinese markets where it makesnearly all of its automotive profits as well as to expand new businesses
It remains unclear how PSA would cut costs in a combined group Frances PSA has 10 factories in Europe and General Motors has11 plants
Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels ofearnings posting a 68 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last yearhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrypeugeot-might-buy-gms-european-auto-business57152243
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BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in China PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing BMW will recall over 41000 vehicles in China due to defective airbags the countrys quality watchdog has said
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
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Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
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Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
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Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
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Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
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Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
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Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
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Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
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South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
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2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
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Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
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MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
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Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
The recall of 41685 vehicles is set to begin on October 9 in phases the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspectionand Quarantine said
Explaining why the recall is necessitated it said when the driver and front passenger airbags of the affected vehicles inflate the gasgenerators inside may get damaged and cause flying debris posing safety risks to passengers
BMW has promised to replace the defective parts free of chargehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsbmw-to-recall-41685-vehicles-in-china57145316BMW to recall 41685 vehicles in ChinaThe Statesmanhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessbmw-to-recall-41-685-vehicles-in-china-1487061292html
Top
Beijing bans higher emission vehicles to control air pollution PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Beijing has banned high-emission vehicles in a bid to control recurring air-pollution enveloping the city with a population of217 million people
Starting from tomorrow light-duty gasoline-powered cars that fail to meet the National Emission Standard III will be banned fromentering Beijings fifth ring on weekdays
Substandard cars will also be taken off the road through annual inspections or spot checks
The Chinese capital currently requires new cars to comply with the Beijing VI emission standard which is higher than thewidely-used National Emission Standard V and equivalent to the Euro VI standard the strictest in China
The National Emission Standard I was introduced in 1999 and the National Emission Standard II followed in 2004
After weeding out yellow-labelled cars (outdated and heavy-polluting vehicles) vehicles consistent with the National EmissionStandards II and III release most of the pollutants on the roads state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Yu Jianhua chief engineerof the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau
Higher-polluting gasoline vehicles account for less than 10 per cent of vehicles on the road but discharge over 30 per cent ofnitrogen oxide and 25 per cent of volatile organic compounds Yu said
Beijings 57 million vehicles produce 500000 tonnes of various pollutants annually and account for 31 percent of locally-generatedPM 25 a particulate matter associated with hazardous smog making it the prime source of PM 25 according to the environmentalauthority
Plagued by smog over the past decade the capital city has initiated a series of regulations to improve its air quality but the pollutionpersisted sparking public criticism
It has moved out high-polluting industries pulled outdated cars off the road continued to improve the public transportation systemand rolled out policies to support new energy vehicles
Average density of PM 25 in the capital was 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016 down 99 per cent from the previous year theBeijing Municipal Reform and Development Commission said
A new round of air pollution hit Beijing and 20 other cities in eastern China due to unfavourable weather conditions
Apart from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region which is expected to see heavy pollution till tomorrow air quality in more than 20 citiesin provinces such as Shandong and Henan is forecast to deteriorate due to unfavourable weather conditions
A cold front is expected to help disperse the pollution on February 16
The pollution returns to these cities after a fortnight holiday during which most of the factories have been shutdown now resumedproduction affecting the air qualityhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrybeijing-bans-higher-emission-vehicles-to-control-air-pollution57146457
Top
Rolls-Royce reports biggest loss in its history IANSSee this story in The Tribune
London British luxury carmakers Rolls-Royce on Tuesday reported a record loss of pound46 billion ($57 billion) the biggest in thecompanyamprsquos history The loss included a pound44 billion write down on the value of financial hedges that Rolls-Royce uses toprotect itself against currency fluctuations and a pound671 million charge for the penalties the company has agreed to pay to settle
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
Top
Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
Top
Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
Top
Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
Top
Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
Top
Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
Top
South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
Top
2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
Top
Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
Top
MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
Top
Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
Top
WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
Top
India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
Top
Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
bribery and corruption charges with the Serious Fraud Office the US Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities the Guardianreported
However Warren East chief executive of Rolls-Royce insisted the loss did not reflect the underlying health of the businessampldquoThis has no impact on what is really going on in the business and cash it is just an accounting measureamprdquo he said ofthe biggest loss for the company since its co-founder Henry Royce established an electrical and mechanical business in 1884 Thepenalties relate to charges that Rolls-Royce bribed middlemen around the world between 1989 and 2013 to win contractshttpwwwtribuneindiacomnewsbusinessrolls-royce-reports-biggest-loss-in-its-history364155html
Top
Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehicles PTISee this story in The Economic Times
Beijing Shanghai General Motors Automotive Company will recall over 161000 vehicles in China due to gear shift problems thecountrys quality watchdog said today
The recall set to begin on February 28 involves 139168 Buick Excelle manufactured between November 12 2014 and December17 2016 18187 Chevrolet Cavalier produced between July 5 2016 and December 17 2016 and 3926 Chevrolet Lova RV madebetween October 30 2015 ands December 14 2016 the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantinesaid
Defective components in the clutch master cylinder of the affected vehicles could cause an issue when changing gears it said in astatement
Shanghai General Motors promised to check all the affected vehicles and replace the defective parts free of charge state-runXinhua news agency reportedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehicles57152581Shanghai General Motors to recall 161281 vehiclesThe Times of Indiahttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautomiscellaneousshanghai-general-motors-to-recall-161281-vehiclesarticleshow57153467cms
Top
Daimler invests in vehicle finance app AutoGravity ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Daimler said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity a smartphone-based vehicle leasingand financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services
Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models and enables various financial services providers and automotivemanufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financedaimler-invests-in-vehicle-finance-app-autogravity57143944
Top
Dodge Viper is now officially sold out Ronak ShahThe Economic Times
New Delhi Fiat Chrysler owned Dodge announced the end of production for Dodge Viper last year and now the sports car is officialsold out as per many international new agency All the slots for production of the sports car are filled and the production will end onAugust 31 2017
Dodges announcement of the end of production of Viper generated a lot of list-minute bookings that the company had to shutorders for months and go back t suppliers to get more parts
The final edition of the Dodge Viper will roll out with special editions modelsThe Viper 128 Edition ACR GTS-R CommemorativeEdition ACR VooDoo II Edition ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC and ACR and Dodge Dealer Edition ACR commemorate variousViper milestones
In 2016 the company also celebrated its 25 years of Viper production The car was first launched in 1992 as a simple sports carand since then it has been giving its rival Chevrolet Corvette a run for its money The sales of the car have been a worry for thecompany and Dodge is also concerned about meeting emission norms with naturally aspirated V10 engine
Dodge will still have the Challenger and Challenger SRT hellcat in its portfolio and will also be showcasing the Challenger Demon at
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
Top
Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
Top
Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
Top
South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
Top
2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
Top
Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
Top
MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
Top
Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
Top
WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
Top
India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
Top
Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
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PLEASE NOTE
NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
This update purports to be a compilation of the top stories for the day in the leading Indian and International dailies websites and other information sources and NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot and does not vouch for their authenticity NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot be held responsible for any loss(es) arising out of or incidental to theuse of this News Update Reproduction or redistribution without express permission of NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd is strictly prohibited and is a violation of the subscriptionagreement Such instances will result in immediate cancellation of subscription to the Service without any refund for the remaining period at the sole discretion of NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd
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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
the 2017 New York Auto Showhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsdodge-viper-is-now-officially-sold-out57147053
Top
Dubai transport authority agrees to buy 200 Tesla vehicles ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Dubais Road amp Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy 200 electric vehicles from Tesla Inc a day after thecarmaker announced it would open its first Middle East office in Dubai
RTA is buying Model S sedans and Model X SUVs to be used by the Dubai Taxi Corporation which operates taxi services in theemirate RTA said in a statement
Tesla Founder Elon Musk and RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer signed the agreement to buy the cars on the sidelines of a summit inDubai the statement said
Musk spoke at the summit on Monday when he also announced the opening of the Dubai officehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrydubai-transport-authority-agrees-to-buy-200-tesla-vehicles57152501
Top
Opinion Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankensteinacirceurotrades monster Debkumar MitraThe Economic Times
In 2016 a driverless Tesla car crashed killing the test driver It was not the first vehicle to be involved in a fatal crash but was thefirst of its kind and the tragedy opened a can of ethical dilemmas
With autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles there are two main grey areas responsibility and ethics Widely discussed atvarious forums is a amplsquodilemmaamprsquo where a driverless car must choose between killing pedestrians or passengers Hereboth responsibility and ethics are at play
The cold logic of numbers that define the mind of such systems can sway it either way and the amplsquofearamprsquo is thatpassengers sitting inside the car have no control
Any new technology brings a new set of challenges But it appears that creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products isalmost like unleashing the Frankensteinamprsquos monster Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently at the cutting-edge science andtechnology Advances in technology including aggregate technologies like deep learning and artificial neural networks are behindmany new developments such as that Go playing world champion machine
However though there is great positive potential for AI many are afraid of what AI could do and rightfully so There is still the fearof a technological singularity a circumstance in which AI machines would surpass the intelligence of humans and take over theworld
Researchers in genetic engineering also face a similar question This dark side of technology however should not be used todecree closure of all AI or genetics research We need to create a balance between human needs and technological aspirations
Much before the current commotion over ethical AI technology celebrated science-fiction author Isaac Asimov came up with hislaws of robotics
Exactly 75 years ago in a 1942 short story Runaround Asimov unveiled an early version of his laws The current forms of the lawsare 1 A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm 2 A robot must obeyorders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law 3
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Given the pace at which AI systems are developing there is an urgent need to put in some checks and balances so that things donot go out of hand
There are many organisations now looking at legal technical ethical and moral aspects of a society driven by AI technology TheInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) already has Ethically Aligned Designed an AI framework addressing theissues in place AI researchers are drawing up a laundry list similar to Asimovamprsquos laws to help people engage in a morefearless way with this beast of a technology
In January 2017 Future of Life Institute (FLI) a charity and outreach organisation hosted their second Beneficial AI Conference AIexperts developed amplsquoAsilomar AI Principlesamprsquo which ensures that AI remains beneficial and not harmful to the future ofhumankind
The key points that came out of the conference are ampldquoHow can we make future AI systems robust so that they do what wewant without malfunctioning or getting hacked How can we grow our prosperity through automation while maintaining
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
Top
South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
Top
2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
Top
Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
Top
MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
Top
Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
Top
WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
Top
India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
Top
Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
DirectorSapna KulshresthaMobile 9810975257
Production-in-ChargeS K MandalPhone 011-22626650
Editing-in-ChargeGulab Singh YadavMobile 9999132357
Marketing-in-ChargeRashmi ThakurMobile 9958949710
Accounts-in-ChargeVimal ParasharMobile 9910631712
PLEASE NOTE
NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
This update purports to be a compilation of the top stories for the day in the leading Indian and International dailies websites and other information sources and NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot and does not vouch for their authenticity NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot be held responsible for any loss(es) arising out of or incidental to theuse of this News Update Reproduction or redistribution without express permission of NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd is strictly prohibited and is a violation of the subscriptionagreement Such instances will result in immediate cancellation of subscription to the Service without any refund for the remaining period at the sole discretion of NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd
This email is a solicited newsletter We sent you this email because youyour employer organisation signed up for our daily industry updates If you do not wishto receive these email updates in future please contact us at vimalpnurcmedianextcom to unsubscribe
Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
peopleamprsquos resources and purpose How can we update our legal systems to be more fair and efficient to keep pace with AIand to manage the risks associated with AI What set of values should AI be aligned with and what legal and ethical status shouldit haveamprdquo
Ever since they unshackled the power of the atom scientists and technologists have been at the forefront of the movementemphasising amplsquoscience for the betterment of manamprsquo This duty was forced upon them when the first atom bomb wasmanufactured in the US Little did they realise that a search for the atomic structure could give rise to nasty subplot With AI we areat the same situation or maybe worse
No wonder at an IEEE meeting that gave birth to ethical AI framework the dominant thought was that the human and all livingbeings must remain at centre of all AI discussions People must be informed at every level right from the design stage todevelopment of the AI-driven products for everyday use
While it is a laudable effort to develop ethically aligned technologies it begs another question that has been raised at various AIconferences Are humans ethicalhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technologyopinion-creating-artificial-intelligence-driven-technology-products-is-almost-like-unleashing-the-frankensteins-monster57139302
Top
South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims probes BMW Porsche ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Seoul South Korea has sued Nissan Motors South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fueleconomy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan a government official said on Tuesday
The ministry is also investigating BMW and Porsche on a similar matter the official Koh Sung-woo told Reuters
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transportministry a spokesman at the office said
Makers of imported cars which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea have been facing growing scrutinyfollowing Volkswagens emissions-test cheating scandal
Last month the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan BMW and Porsche after the car makers were foundto have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests The models banned include BMWs X5M and Porsches Cayenneand Macan models
The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economytests of the 10 models as well Koh said
Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 34 percent higher than the actual test result
They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better he said
Nissan Korea said it reported some inappropriate problems in certification documents to authorities last year saying the errorswere caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company
We express sincere regret over those issues a spokeswoman said
A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did nothave immediate comments
The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqaidiesel model
Last week a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeatdevice in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular drivinghttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrysouth-korea-sues-nissan-over-mileage-claims-probes-bmw-porsche57143989
Top
2017 diesel Chevrolet Cruze tops all gas or diesel cars at 52 mpg highway General Motors APSee this story in The Economic Times
Detroit General Motors says its new Chevrolet Cruze diesel compact sedan will get up to 52 miles per gallon on the highway thebest mileage of any car that isnt a hybrid or electric vehicle
The 2017 diesel with a six-speed manual transmission and 16-liter diesel engine also gets 30 mpg in the city and a combinedcity-highway mileage of 37 according to government estimates
Diesel engines have gotten a lot of bad publicity of late with the Volkswagen emissions scandal But General Motors says the Cruze
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
Top
Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
Top
MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
Top
Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
Top
WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
Top
India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
Top
Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
DirectorSapna KulshresthaMobile 9810975257
Production-in-ChargeS K MandalPhone 011-22626650
Editing-in-ChargeGulab Singh YadavMobile 9999132357
Marketing-in-ChargeRashmi ThakurMobile 9958949710
Accounts-in-ChargeVimal ParasharMobile 9910631712
PLEASE NOTE
NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
This update purports to be a compilation of the top stories for the day in the leading Indian and International dailies websites and other information sources and NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot and does not vouch for their authenticity NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot be held responsible for any loss(es) arising out of or incidental to theuse of this News Update Reproduction or redistribution without express permission of NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd is strictly prohibited and is a violation of the subscriptionagreement Such instances will result in immediate cancellation of subscription to the Service without any refund for the remaining period at the sole discretion of NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd
This email is a solicited newsletter We sent you this email because youyour employer organisation signed up for our daily industry updates If you do not wishto receive these email updates in future please contact us at vimalpnurcmedianextcom to unsubscribe
Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
complies with all US pollution standards
The Cruze still is bested by many plug-in electric vehicles and two gas-electric hybrids The Toyota Prius Eco gets 53 mpg on thehighway and the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid gets 59
The Cruze diesel starts at just under $24000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecars2017-diesel-chevrolet-cruze-tops-all-gas-or-diesel-cars-at-52-mpg-highway-general-motors57144527
Top
Indonesia January motorbike sales up 138 ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times
Jakarta Motorcycle sales in Indonesia rose 138 percent in January from a year earlier and was the highest annual sales growthsince August 2014 data from an industry association showed on Tuesday
Sales stood at 473879 motorbikes in January up from 416263 sold in the same month last year It was also higher than the437879 bikes sold in December
Motorbikes are hugely popular in Southeast Asias biggest economy and their sales are a key indicator of consumption Sales inJanuary were led by Honda Motor Yamaha Motor and Kawasaki data showedhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewstwo-wheelersmotorcyclesindonesia-january-motorbike-sales-up-13-857144113
Top
MampA hopes drive auto stocks higher as European shares steady ReutersSee this story in Daily News amp Analysis
European shares steadied on Tuesday as gains in the auto sector on news that PSA Group is in talks to buy General MotorsEuropean auto operations and stronger banking stocks offset weaker consumer and pharma stocks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat at 3702 points staying near 13-month highs hit in the previous session when theindex rose for its fifth session in a row
Shares in PSA Group rose 43 percent to an 18-month high after the French car maker said it was in talks to buy GMs Europeanbrands Opel and Vauxhall in a move that could shake up the global auto industry
If the PSA-Opel deal were to go ahead it would certainly fuel additional MampA speculation said JP Morgan analyst Jose Asumendiin a note He mentioned as possible effects of any deal a sale by PSA of Faurecia and a fresh attempt by Fiat Chrysler to mergewith General Motors in North America
Fiat Chrysler rose 41 percent and Faurecia rose 07 percent The auto sector index rose 11 percent making it the biggest sectoralgainer in Europe
Banks were also strong up 1 percent to a one-week high as the sector was supported after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellenstruck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike
The sector was also helped by a 23 percent rise in Credit Suisse as investors cheered to a better-than-expected capital ratio at theSwiss bank
Frozen baked goods maker Aryzta was the top gainer on the STOXX surging 115 percent after the companys chief executive saidhe was stepping down three weeks after the stock had its worst ever day after a profit warning
Consumer staples and healthcare sectors were the biggest weight to the pan-European index Losses in food company Nestle anddrugs firm Roche resulted in the Swiss blue chip index SMI where they are listed to fall by 04 percent
Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce was another weak spot down 4 percent after the company announced an annual 46 billionpound loss hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges
Swedens online gaming firm Kindred Group was up 10 percent after its quarterly profit topped forecasts while German industrialservices group Bilfinger rose 39 percent after it reinstated a dividend and beat expectations for 2016 net profithttpwwwdnaindiacommoneyreport-ma-hopes-drive-auto-stocks-higher-as-european-shares-steady-2323222
Top
Economy
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
Top
WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
Top
India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
Top
Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
DirectorSapna KulshresthaMobile 9810975257
Production-in-ChargeS K MandalPhone 011-22626650
Editing-in-ChargeGulab Singh YadavMobile 9999132357
Marketing-in-ChargeRashmi ThakurMobile 9958949710
Accounts-in-ChargeVimal ParasharMobile 9910631712
PLEASE NOTE
NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
This update purports to be a compilation of the top stories for the day in the leading Indian and International dailies websites and other information sources and NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot and does not vouch for their authenticity NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot be held responsible for any loss(es) arising out of or incidental to theuse of this News Update Reproduction or redistribution without express permission of NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd is strictly prohibited and is a violation of the subscriptionagreement Such instances will result in immediate cancellation of subscription to the Service without any refund for the remaining period at the sole discretion of NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd
This email is a solicited newsletter We sent you this email because youyour employer organisation signed up for our daily industry updates If you do not wishto receive these email updates in future please contact us at vimalpnurcmedianextcom to unsubscribe
Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
Rupee recovers ends 9 paise up PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line
Mumbai After two days of losses the rupee on Tuesday recovered by 9 paise to end at 6693 on fresh selling of dollars by banksand exporters amid weakness in American currency in the overseas market
The rupee opened higher at 6697 a dollar as against Mondayamprsquos closing level of 6702 Later it gained further on strongbouts of dollar selling by banks to 6690 before ending at 6693 a dollar showing a gain of 9 paisehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9540902ece
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WPI inflation up 525 for January 2017 The Economic Times
New Delhi The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo for the month of January 2017 rose by 1percent to 1846 (provisional) from 1828 (provisional) for the previous month
The annual rate of inflation based on monthly WPI stood at 525 percent (provisional) for the month of January 2017 (over January2016) as compared to 339 percent (provisional) for the previous month and -107 percent during the corresponding month of theprevious year
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 531 percent compared to a build up rate of -04 percent in the correspondingperiod of the previous year
The index for primary articles declined by 02 percent to 2557 (provisional) from 2563 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for fuel and power rose by 47 percent to 2012 (provisional) from 1921 (provisional) for the previous month due to higherprice of coking coal aviation turbine fuel furnace oil high speed diesel and petrol bitumen and kerosene
The index for manufactured products rose by 05 percent to 1588 (provisional) from 1580 (provisional) for the previous month
The index for Rubber amp Plastic Products group rose by 01 percent to 1486 (provisional) from 1484 (provisional) for the previousmonth due to higher price of expandable polystyrene polyester film and hdpe bag and plasticpvc shoes and hdpe woven fabric
The index for Machinery amp Machine Tools group declined by 01 percent to 1354 (provisional) from 1355 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of machine tools pump amp assembly and fibre optic cable
The index for Transport Equipment amp Parts group declined by 01 percent to 1398 (provisional) from 1400 (provisional) for theprevious month due to lower price of tractors
For the month of November 2016 the final Wholesale Price Index for amplsquoAll Commoditiesamprsquo stood at 1835 as comparedto 1831 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 338 percent as compared to 315 percent(provisional) respectivelyhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrywpi-inflation-up-5-25-for-january-201757143809
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India Ratings pegs GDP to grow 74 in FY18 Kirtika SunejaThe Economic Times
New Delhi India Ratings and Research a Fitch Group company expects Indian economy to grow 74 in 2017-18 buoyed byconsumption demand and government spending
However the rating agency revised down its GDP growth estimate for 2016-17 to 68 from 79 which is even lower than CentralStatistical Organisationamprsquos advanced estimate of 71
Indias economic growth forecast of 74 by Ind-Ra in 2017-18 is on the upper end of the 675-75 band estimated in theEconomic Survey
On the global front it said imports will get hit because of rising protectionism and that US President Donald Trumpamprsquos tradeagenda and the current direction of European politics both have the potential to ampldquocreate a global economic and marketturmoilamprdquo in 2017
ampldquoTrade growth is below GDP growth which means countries are not as open as they wereamphellipWe will have to look atdomestic demand driversamprdquo said Sunil Kumar Sinha principal economist at India Ratings amp Research while launching theoutlook report for FY18 on Tuesday
Investment concerns Citing weak capacity utilisation of manufacturing sectors and high debt as a constraint in private sector
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
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Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
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NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
DirectorSapna KulshresthaMobile 9810975257
Production-in-ChargeS K MandalPhone 011-22626650
Editing-in-ChargeGulab Singh YadavMobile 9999132357
Marketing-in-ChargeRashmi ThakurMobile 9958949710
Accounts-in-ChargeVimal ParasharMobile 9910631712
PLEASE NOTE
NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
This update purports to be a compilation of the top stories for the day in the leading Indian and International dailies websites and other information sources and NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot and does not vouch for their authenticity NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot be held responsible for any loss(es) arising out of or incidental to theuse of this News Update Reproduction or redistribution without express permission of NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd is strictly prohibited and is a violation of the subscriptionagreement Such instances will result in immediate cancellation of subscription to the Service without any refund for the remaining period at the sole discretion of NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd
This email is a solicited newsletter We sent you this email because youyour employer organisation signed up for our daily industry updates If you do not wishto receive these email updates in future please contact us at vimalpnurcmedianextcom to unsubscribe
Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
investment India Ratings doesnamprsquot expect significant improvement in investment demand in FY18
While the governmentamprsquos investments grew at a CAGR of 116 during 2011-12 to 2015-16 due to a capex push the setbackto investment growth came from the household sector whose investments contracted 22 in the period
ampldquoIt is unlikely that investment will reviveamphellipReviving investment cycle with government capital expenditure alone will notbe of helpamprdquo Sinha added
Real estate ownership of dwelling and professional services and manufacturing together accounted 443 of the total investmentsin the economy
ampldquoThis suggests that a more nuanced approach to policy making is required to revive the investment cycle which is currentlyfocussed on government capexamprdquo the agency saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomnewseconomyindicatorsindia-ratings-pegs-gdp-to-grow-7-4-in-fy18articleshow57149516cms
Top
Closing
Last Financial Closing
Sensex 2833931 (-1231)NSE 879230 (-1275)US$ spot Rs6692US$ Y1143100US$ 6 months RsYen Rs59Euro spot Rs7108
Gold (10gm) Rs29112Silver (1kg) Rs4248000
Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5604 (+045)
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 17545Asahi Ind 1 20125Amara Raja B 1 86030Ashok Leyland 1 9235Bajaj Auto 10 277810Bharat Forge 2 103925Denso 1 Eicher Motor 10 2532000Escorts 10 38460Exide Ind 1 21370Force Motors 10 418410Gabriel India 1 11325Hero Motocor 2 316295Hind Motors 5 1105Hi-Tech Gear 10 30305Jay Bh Maruti 5 35780
Jamna Auto 5 19925JK Tyres amp Inds 10 1126Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 34960Kirloskar Br 2 22475LML Ltd 10 1310LampT 2 149260Lumax Ind 10 112005Lumax Tech 10 43450
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
DirectorSapna KulshresthaMobile 9810975257
Production-in-ChargeS K MandalPhone 011-22626650
Editing-in-ChargeGulab Singh YadavMobile 9999132357
Marketing-in-ChargeRashmi ThakurMobile 9958949710
Accounts-in-ChargeVimal ParasharMobile 9910631712
PLEASE NOTE
NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
This update purports to be a compilation of the top stories for the day in the leading Indian and International dailies websites and other information sources and NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot and does not vouch for their authenticity NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot be held responsible for any loss(es) arising out of or incidental to theuse of this News Update Reproduction or redistribution without express permission of NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd is strictly prohibited and is a violation of the subscriptionagreement Such instances will result in immediate cancellation of subscription to the Service without any refund for the remaining period at the sole discretion of NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd
This email is a solicited newsletter We sent you this email because youyour employer organisation signed up for our daily industry updates If you do not wishto receive these email updates in future please contact us at vimalpnurcmedianextcom to unsubscribe
Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
MampM 5 130185Maruti Suzuki 5 593985Motherson SS 1 35320Minda Inds 2 37740MRF 10 5019520Omax Auto 10 7215Rico Auto 1 5615Sona Koyo St 1 8125
SRF 10 158385Tata Motors 2 48205 TVS Motors 1 41000
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 5510Hindalco 1 18725Hind Zinc 2 30340JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 8805JSW Steel 1 18185Jindal Saw 2 6860National Aluminium 5 6750SAIL 10 6075Tata Steel 10 47240Visa Steel 10 2050
Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 23780Binani Industries 10 7700Birla Corp 10 71615India Cement 10 15740Prism Cement 10 9805JK Cement 10 84145Shree Cement 10 1520170
Top
NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
DirectorSapna KulshresthaMobile 9810975257
Production-in-ChargeS K MandalPhone 011-22626650
Editing-in-ChargeGulab Singh YadavMobile 9999132357
Marketing-in-ChargeRashmi ThakurMobile 9958949710
Accounts-in-ChargeVimal ParasharMobile 9910631712
PLEASE NOTE
NURC Industry Updates contain editedtruncated text of Industry-specific news as it appears in various select dailies and websites These are NOT full stories unless otherwisespecifically mentioned The stories contained herein are informational only and no representation is made or warranty given as to their content reliability truthfulness orusefulness User assumes all risk of use It be clearly understood that NURC updates do not claim to and neither mean to replace the Print or the Internet editions of variousnewspapers whose articles are featured therein For the best and complete news reading NURC urges its readers to read the full text of the stories from the Newspaperswhose credits are given after the headline and visit the related website whose URL is given below the text matter of each news item
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
This update purports to be a compilation of the top stories for the day in the leading Indian and International dailies websites and other information sources and NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot and does not vouch for their authenticity NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot be held responsible for any loss(es) arising out of or incidental to theuse of this News Update Reproduction or redistribution without express permission of NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd is strictly prohibited and is a violation of the subscriptionagreement Such instances will result in immediate cancellation of subscription to the Service without any refund for the remaining period at the sole discretion of NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd
This email is a solicited newsletter We sent you this email because youyour employer organisation signed up for our daily industry updates If you do not wishto receive these email updates in future please contact us at vimalpnurcmedianextcom to unsubscribe
Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions
NURC News Update - AUTOMOBILES
News on Indian Auto Industry Copyright 1999 NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd
This update purports to be a compilation of the top stories for the day in the leading Indian and International dailies websites and other information sources and NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot and does not vouch for their authenticity NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd cannot be held responsible for any loss(es) arising out of or incidental to theuse of this News Update Reproduction or redistribution without express permission of NURC MediaNext Pvt Ltd is strictly prohibited and is a violation of the subscriptionagreement Such instances will result in immediate cancellation of subscription to the Service without any refund for the remaining period at the sole discretion of NURCMediaNext Pvt Ltd
This email is a solicited newsletter We sent you this email because youyour employer organisation signed up for our daily industry updates If you do not wishto receive these email updates in future please contact us at vimalpnurcmedianextcom to unsubscribe
Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions