SIAM convention 2014 snippets

Remove obstacles for 'Make in India' to happen: global auto cos

Leading global automobile companies ranging from General Motors to Honda and Nissan today said the government should remove 'obstacles' and make policies more business friendly if India has to successfully achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make In India' goal. They highlighted issues such as difficulties in getting business permits to taxation structure, hurdles in infrastructure and logistics, which they said are acting as 'obstacles' in the growth of the auto industry here.

Fumihiko Ike, chairman, Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), said, "There are considerable number of obstacles to doing business in this country. It is hoped that such obstacles will be cleared away under the new leadership of Prime Minister Modi."

Ike urged for the earliest possible introduction of a single, uniform national GST and said: "The investment environment in India for Japanese companies should greatly improve once these complicated taxation problems are resolved."

Nissan Motor Company Senior Vice President and Chairman for Africa, Middle East and India Takashi Hata concurred: "Simplify the vendor duty drawback scheme. This (India) is not the easiest country to get this."

Stefan Jacoby, executive vice-president, General Motors said "policies that are both rational and transparent - such as a GST - will go a long way towards encouraging companies to invest locally for the long term." Jacoby urged the government to look into flexible labour reforms - an area where India lags behind other industrialized economies.

M&M set to launch more petrol vehicles, compact SUV next year

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will increase its range of petrol engine-powered vehicles, starting with a compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) to be launched next year. Pawan Goenka, executive director, M&M, said, "We are developing a 1.2-litre petrol engine for the compact SUV we will launch next year. Also, we have a 1.6-litre petrol engine available from our Korean subsidiary Ssangyong." The company plans to have more petrol vehicles to counter any possible decline in demand for diesel vehicles due to the reducing price differential between petrol and diesel fuel.

Hero MotoCorp to launch three new models early 2015

The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp today said it plans to launch three new models including two new scooters early next year. Besides, it plans to begin the construction of its Gujarat unit soon and operationalise the facility by third quarter of next financial year.

Hero said it is looking at introducing 12 refreshed products during the upcoming festive season. The company said there is some pressure on pricing and corrections may take place.

Hero is looking at entering markets in Argentina, Brazil and United States over the next two years.

The company is researching on introducing a diesel hybrid motorcycles, an electric motorcycle and is also looking at an acquisition in the battery technology space.

Production from HMSI's fourth plant to be delayed

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) today said the commissioning of its fourth unit in Gujarat will be delayed by about a quarter and will start production in the beginning of 2016. Keita Muramatsu, president and CEO, HMSI, said, "Due to the elections earlier this year, there has been a delay in the start of work at the Gujarat plant. We expect to start production at the plant in first quarter of 2016 instead of last quarter of 2015 as planned earlier. " The company is investing Rs 1,000 crore to set up the plant that will have an annual capacity of 1.2 million units. The company will have a total annual production capacity of 5.8 million when the fourth plant at Gujarat goes on full steam.

Ford to launch four models over the next 20 months

Ford Motor Co plans to launch four new car models in India over the next 20 months. Nigel Harris, president, Ford India said, "Within the next 18-20 months we plan to launch four new models in India." Ford had said in 2010 it would launch eight new models, based on its global car platforms, in India by the end of 2015. The company is unlikely to meet this target the company due to the slowdown in the domestic market.

Honda Cars acquiring land for third unit in India

Honda Cars India has started acquiring land in Gujarat for a future manufacturing facility in the country. Jnaneswar Sen, senior vice-president (marketing & sales), Honda Cars India said, "We have 450 acres of land in Tapukara compared to 150 acres in greater Noida. There is scope for expansion in Tapukara. We have started acquiring land in Gujarat for long-term need."

Honda is looking at starting a second shift in its Tapukara unit in November, Sen said, as it raises capacity to meet demand for Mobilio and City, which has a waiting list of three months. The company is looking at re-introducing the current generation Accord in the Indian market in the next financial year.