The Nikkei’s good contacts to Suzuki (CEO Osamu Suzuki occasionally blogs for The Nikkei) did not fail the Tokyo wire. Yesterday it was reported on a rumor basis, today, it is officially confirmed that Maruti Suzuki will restart production at its Manesar factory on August 21, about a month after a mob killed the firm’s human resources manager and burned down parts of the factory. The factory makes the Swift hatchback. Read More >
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Maruti Suzuki “ will likely resume partial production at its violence-hit factory in Manesar, in the northern state of Haryana, by Aug. 21,” says The Nikkei [sub]. The plant remains closed since a mob killed the firm’s human resources manager and burned down parts of the factory. Fifty management personnel and 9 police officers were injured during the clashes. Mass arrests were made. Maruti Suzuki declared an indefinite lockout at the plant on July 21. Read More >
A month after the deadly riots at Suzuki’s Manesar factory in India, Maoist extremists are being blamed for the insurrection. Maruti Suzuki Chairman R.C. Bhargava told The Nikkei [sub] that “left-wing extremists pushed the factory workers to riot.” Read More >
The all new fourth generation Range Rover is around the corner. I have already given you all the (available) details of the new Range Rover along with accurate renderings. Now for the reveal dates. Land Rover will unveil the new Range Rover to the media around the 6th of September. Around the 23rd of August, the company will reveal pictures and more details about the vehicle. These details will be revealed online. The new Range Rover will have its first public outing at the upcoming Paris Motor Show in the last week of September. Read More >
If you have been to India, you will certainly know that big is often considered better. When it comes to cars, the same philosophy holds true. That’s the reason why the Renault Duster took the market by storm when it was launched last month. After China, the Indian car market is said to have the most potential. Naturally car makers are rushing to India, launching all they could to satisfy the growing need of personal transport. But what happens if you want something more than whats on offer?
In my last post on TTAC, I wrote about how Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW are aggressively fighting for leadership in the luxury car market in India. This segment is just 20,000 units a year, but is expected to reach 1,50,000 units a year by 2020. Audi was breathing down the neck of BMW. However, BMW has bolstered its number one position with the launch of the F30 3-Series. The German automaker launched the new 3-Series in style, bringing in all the six generations of the 3-Series for the launch. Read More >
The German trio – Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi – is having an intense battle in India. While the luxury car segment is not really big (20,000 units a year) yet in India, the three automakers are trying their level best to claim the number 1 position. India is regarded “the next China” , nobody wants to get caught napping. What this has resulted in, is an onslaught of vehicles. All three automaker don’t reveal segment wise sales, but are quick to claim that their cars outsold the others. That said, the German automakers will soon feel the heat from Volvo and Jaguar, which are slowly but surely building inroads in the segment. Read More >
The major Indian news operations are pretty much flooding the zone in covering the riot and lockdown at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant. Besides whatever labor unrest there was at play in the Manesar factory riot, internal politics within the state of Haryana or competition with Gujurat state may have had something to do with it, with accusations of conspiracies and outside influences. Here is a rundown of the news. Read More >
Maruti Suzuki locked out the entire workforce of its Manesar factory until authorities finished their investigation of the deadly riots earlier this week. Suzuki said reopening the plant would risk lives of its employees until the workers guilty of instigating a mob are identified. Read More >
Police in India is seeking to arrest the entire workforce of 3,000 at the Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar factory after a Wednesday riot left a manager killed, hundreds injured and the factory torched, Reuters says. Maruti Suzuki’s factory is closed. A lengthy shutdown that could cost $15 million a day is expected. Read More >
Workers at Maruti Suzuki’s factory in Maneshar, India, ransacked and burned the factory, leaving the personnel director dead and many injured, Reuters reports. Read More >
My last post on TTAC was on the Renault Logan, but the vehicle pictured above, also a Romanian derived Dacia, is one that changed Renault’s fortunes in India overnight. After the Logan was licensed to Mahindra, Renault re-started its India innings with the launch of the Fluence and Koleos in 2011. The French automaker launched a re-badged Nissan Micra (called the Pulse) earlier this year. Renault’s monthly sales after the launch of these three cars revolved around 400 odd units, which equates to an yearly figure of around 5000 units. This gives them a 0.24% market share in India and places them in 13th position.
The Dacia Logan is a very famous car. It is one of the cheapest 3-box cars in the world and was developed after Renault bought Dacia. The Logan is an inexpensive no frills car and was made for developing markets, one of them being India. Renault started its India journey with the Logan. However the company had to tie up with Mahindra to reduce costs. The Renault brand was not famous in the country and the price was not as cheap. Tata Motors’ Indigo was available at a cheaper price. The Logan bombed and sales were very low.
Remember DC Designs? It is the same company which made the 3-door Evoque-alike. DC Designs has also developed its own supercar, India’s first and only home-made supercar. Known as the Avanti, the vehicle looks fabulous at the front, just about average at the sides and terrible at the rear. The interiors feature bucket seats, the quality seems to be below average. Read More >
Volkswagen Polo is the German automakers entry level offering in India. It is offered in three engines – 1.2-liter diesel 75 BHP, 1.2-liter gasoline – 75 BHP and 1.6-liter gasoline – 105 BHP. It is by no means a hot hatch, but is positioned as a premium hatchback in India. DC Designs is one of the leading after market car designers in India. He has done various projects, including one-off specials for movies. Recently, he worked on the Volkswagen Polo for a client, transforming the vehicle from a 5-door hatchback to a 3-door crossover. Read More >
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