Page 2 - Carmakers

Maruti Suzuki adds new line, to boost manufacturing capacity by 4.5%

India's largest carmaker operates three manufacturing plants across the country

Audi India reports 33% increase in retail sales at 7,027 units in FY24

Luxury carmaker Audi India on Tuesday reported 33 per cent increase in retail sales at 7,027 units for the fiscal ended March 31, 2024. The German automaker had sold 5,275 units in the country in 2022-23 financial year. "We have seen a robust growth of 33 per cent in FY23-24 on the back of a diverse portfolio. Our product portfolio continues to witness strong demand and we are poised to overcome supply challenges," Audi India Head Balbir Singh Dhillon said in a statement. He further said: "Despite ongoing growth in the luxury market, which is tapering off on the back of record-breaking sales in 2023, we are confident about the industry's potential to exceed 50,000 cars in 2024." In the March quarter, the automaker said it retailed 1,046 units in the domestic market. The company encountered challenges related to supply chain disruptions during the first quarter which had an impact on sales. The automaker had retailed 1,950 units in the January -March period of last year. Audi sta

Kia recalls 427,000 Telluride SUVs due to defect that they might roll away

Kia is recalling more than 427,000 of its Telluride SUVs due to a defect that may cause the cars to roll away while they're parked. According to documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft of certain 2020-2024 Tellurides may not be fully engaged. Over time, this can lead to unintended vehicle movement while the cars are in park increasing potential crash risks. Kia America decided to recall all 2020-2023 model year and select 2024 model year Tellurides earlier this month, NHTSA documents show. At the time, no injuries or crashes were reported. Improper assembly is suspected to be the cause of the shaft engagement problem with the recall covering 2020-2024 Tellurides that were manufactured between Jan. 9, 2019 and Oct. 19, 2023. Kia America estimates that 1% have the defect. To remedy this issue, recall documents say, dealers will update the affected cars' electronic parking brake software and replace

Centre may reduce import duty for Tesla in lieu of an EV factory in India

Tesla had earlier asked the Centre to reduce the import duty to 15 per cent on its cars for the first two years, in exchange for an investment of up to $2 billion in India

Citroen to add more safety features, plans to come with six airbags

French carmaker Citroen is all set to come with six airbags to meet the safety standards of its product in India. The carmaker will start updating the safety features from July 2024

Maruti Suzuki Q3FY24 result: Net profit rises 33% to Rs 3,206.8 crore

Maruti Suzuki Q3FY24 result: Its revenue from operations was up 14.56 per cent at Rs 33,512.8 crore

Toyota holds lead as world's no. 1 automobile manufacturer for fourth year

Output, which refers to cars off the production line, grew 8.6 per cent to 11.5 million units. VW's deliveries increased 12 per cent to 9.24 million units in 2023

How China's top automobile manufacturer BYD beat Tesla at its own game

The company is able to offer a wide range of affordable EVs at low prices, maximizing sales (if not revenue) while expanding its footprint in new markets

Tesla planning to revamp smash hit model Y from Shanghai plant: Report

Earlier this year, Tesla revamped its six-year-old Model 3 sedan with a sleeker look and longer range to attract customers

Chinese carmaker BYD overtakes Tesla as world's most popular EV maker

Analysts expect BYD to launch its third-generation EVs next year offering more technology, such as automated-driving capabilities

Emission norms: Top carmakers face strict penalties for violation

The stiff penalties stem from the upgrade in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard that went into effect in January of this year

Maruti to boost flexibility in mfg to roll out vehicles as per mkt demand

Maruti Suzuki India is looking to bring in more flexibility in its production processes in order to produce vehicles as per the evolving market scenario, according to a senior company official. The country's largest carmaker is looking to strengthen the production of high selling utility vehicles while curtailing the roll out of the entry level cars. "Diverging demand patterns between utility vehicles and the small car segment is continuing. The company is working on increasing the flexibility in operations to produce vehicles as per the evolving market demand," Maruti Suzuki India Executive Officer Corporate Affairs Rahul Bharti said in an analyst call. He noted that the automaker has discovered that one of the reasons for the recent dip in the margins is because it was producing "some slow-moving cars". "And we did not have sufficient production capacity for the cars that had demand. If we had the flexibility of both, whether it is semiconductor supplies or in-house production, w

India key mkt, will continue investments, accelerate electrification: Honda

Japanese auto major Honda Motor Co Ltd will continue to invest in India, a key market for its future growth strategy while also accelerating electrification of vehicles in line with its global plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, according to top company officials. At the global level, Honda is open for alliances and collaboration with other firms if it offers a "win-win" situation in the wake of new development in the mobility sector, Honda Motor President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe told visiting Indian journalists at the company's headquarters here in an interaction. "Our strategy is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To achieve that, we have milestones set for 2030-35 and 2040...For Honda, the Indian market is a big market and it is the market where electrification is rapidly progressing for both cars and two-wheelers," he said. Underlining the significance of India, Asian Honda Motor Co President & CEO and Head of Regional Operations (Asia & Oceania) Toshio Kuwahara

In a letter, Toyota lobbies Centre to cut hybrid car taxes as much as 21%

India taxes EVs at just 5 per cent, while the levy on hybrids is as high as 43 per cent, just below the 48 per cent imposed on petrol cars

Hyundai, vendors set to line up Rs 10,000 crore for Talegaon plant

Tata Motors and Ford India signed deal for the latter's Sanand unit for Rs 725 cr in 2022

Tata Motors developing new petrol engine to power premium SUV range

Tata Motors is developing a new petrol powertrain which would be utilised in its premium sports utility vehicles -- Harrier and Safari, according to a top company official. The models currently come with a 2-litre diesel engine. In an interaction with PTI, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Managing Director Shailesh Chandra said the engine is being developed and will be featured in the two models going ahead. He noted that the company focused only on diesel powertrain as 80 per cent of the around 2 lakh unit per annum market in the segment, where Harrier and Safari operate, was skewed towards diesel. "Our initial focus was on diesel for a simple reason that 80 per cent of the 2 lakh market for this SUV segment is basically diesel which means customers prefer diesel because of its better torque performance," Chandra said. This is why the auto major always kept the focus of this segment towards diesel, he added. "But we knew that going forward petrol is also going to give aggressive p

Rolls-Royce plans to cut 2,500 jobs as CEO extends efficiency push

Erginbilgic is driving his turnaround effort deeper into the company after already switching some key management positions, including the head of the civil engine subsidiary

Car manufacturers are buying 'green steel' that's far from carbon-free

"Steel made with natural gas is not climate-neutral steel and that is what ultimately matters," he said

MG Motor India exploring options for a second plant, says official

Chinese car maker MG Motor India is exploring the possibility of setting up a second plant in the country, a company official said. Currently, the company has a manufacturing plant at Halol in Gujarat where the production capacity is 1.2 lakh units per annum. "We are exploring the option of putting up a second plant in India. It generally takes two to three years for a new plant to come into stream", Gaurav Gupta, deputy managing director of MG Motor India said on Wednesday evening. The company has not identified so far the location of the possible second plant. Starting operations in India four years back in 2019, the company is presently having five models and selling around 5,000 units per month. Out of the five models, two are electric vehicles (EV), he said. Gupta said the company plans to introduce a new model every year in India, either on the EV or ICE (internal combustion engine) platforms. He said at present, 25 per cent to 30 per cent of the company's sales are coming f

Govt blocks $1 billion bid by China's BYD to set up EV factory in India

The Indian govt dismissed the plan from BYD and Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd. on national security concerns