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Maruti Suzuki posted its highest ever monthly sales in August 2010

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 02:04:04 +0000

Maruti Suzuki posted its highest ever monthly sales in August 2010

During the month, Maruti Suzuki posted its highest ever monthly sales at 1,04,791 units, a 23.56 per cent increase from 84,808 units in August 2009. The company also posted its best figure so far for the domestic market at 92,674 units, a 32.47 per cent increase from 69,961 units in August 2009.

“With economic activities going strong, consumers’ spending powers have increased. It has helped boosting auto sales,” IDFC Securities Director (Research) Ramnath S told PTI. New models by the companies have also created excitement in the market and many of these have witnessed long-waiting periods for delivery, he added.

Homegrown auto major Tata Motors reported a 45.10 per cent increase in its domestic passenger vehicle sales at 25,196 units compared to 17,364 units in the year-ago month.

Another manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra’s sales in domestic market jumped by 27.39 per cent last month at 27,275 units as against 21,410 units in the same month last year.

Carmaker General Motors India saw its sales climbing 33.71 per cent to 7,941 units in August compared to 5,939 units in the same month last year. Honda Siel Cars’ sales stood at 5,532 units, registering 38.75 per cent jump over 3,987 units in the corresponding month last year.

Another auto maker Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported 26.09 per cent jump in its sales at 6,361 units compared to 5,045 units in the corresponding month last year.

India will overtake China as the world’s fastest-growing major economy as early as 2013 as it adds six times more workers to its labor pool than its northern neighbor, according to Morgan Stanley.

India had eight cars per 1,000 people in 2009, compared with 435 in the U.S., 231 in Russia and 24 in China, according consulting firm Ernst & Young said in February.

Source: The Hindu and Businessweek

Interview with I V Rao, Managing Executive Officer, Maruti Suzuki

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:01:35 +0000

Interview with I V Rao, Managing Executive Officer, Maruti Suzuki

India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki created a history of sorts by selling over 1 million cars last fiscal. It was the first Indian automaker to achieve the rare feat of selling over a million units during one fiscal.

With the country’s best-selling model Maruti Alto in its armour, Maruti Suzuki, owned by Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation, eyes sales of 1.2 million units this year. It also plans for a ‘Made in India’ car in the true sense of the term by 2012 for Indian market and another brand new model by 2014 for Suzuki’s global markets.

However, the company’s Managing Executive Officer, I V Rao, who was in the city to launch Maruti Alto K10, an upgraded version of Alto, told Andhrabusiness.com that Maruti would not launch a rival for Tata Nano as such kind of a model would not be viable for it. He also talked about Maruti Suzuki’s Research & Development (R&D) activities, CNG foray and other issues.

Excerpts:

Does Maruti have any plans for a Tata Nano rival? If no, is there any particular reason for keeping away from that niche?

We are very clear on this. Maruti has no plans whatsoever to bring out a model that will compete with Tata Nano. We have decided to refrain from stepping into that territory as it’s not financially viable for us to manufacture and market a model at such a low price. Price factor is the main thing ,as it’s the deciding factor on the overall profitability of a product. So there is no way we are going to do a product like that.

You are saying it’s not viable to launch such a model. But how Tata Motors is able to do that?

I don’t know how Tata Motors is doing it. You have to ask them

There is a view that payment of Royalty and Technical Fees (RTFs) by Maruti Suzuki to its Japanese parent is costing the company dearly. What’s your take on this?

I don’t think it’s true. Increase in the cost of raw material is putting pressure on the margins of the company, as we don’t pass such burdon on to the customer everytime. As raw material costs form major chunk of our production costs, increase in their prices will naturally have an impact on our production expenditure.

You talked about Research & Development (R&D) activities at Maruti Suzuki. Are there any plans to reduce Maruti Suzuki’s dependence on its parent Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) for technology?

Maruti Suzuki is a part of Suzuki Motor Corporation. So, there is no way Maruti Suzuk will be weaned away from its parent in the area of technology. Our R&D activities compliment what SMC is doing in the area of technology development for new models.

For examble, entire upgrades for the Alto K10 are conceived and designed at our R&D centre.

We are also building a test drive at Rohtak in Haryana where a major R&D centre of Maruti Suzuki is coming up on a 600-acre site. The test track, once completed, will give huge fillip to our R&D activities and such facility is essential to design and develop new models.

We are making huge investment into the test track which will be completed by 2012.

Nearly 1,000 people are working for Maruti’s R&D activities and we plan to increase the employee strength to 1,100 soon. Though attrition rate is very low, it’s not easy to get good engineers. It takes nearly four years to properly train an engineer, but unfortunately they leave the profession and go for an MBA or other studies.

How is the work on Maruti’s ‘Made In India’ model going?

We are planning to launch the model in 2012. It will be made in India for Indian market. Nearly 150 engineers are working on it. We have not decided on the price and other details of the proposed new car. As our focus is always on compact car segment, it will be positioned in A2 segment.

How is the Maruti Suzuki’s partnership with Volkswagen going to evolve? Is there any manufacturing contract on the anvil?

As our Managing Director said recently, Maruti Suzuki has no plans to share platforms with the Volkswagen in the country. However, Maruti Suzuki’s parent Suzuki Corporation and Volkswagen are exploring various options of working together in global markets. It will take another fews months for the both companies to work out modalities on this front. However, I don’t think Maruti will share its platforms with the German carmaker.

Why Maruti is launching five CNG variant models on a single day?

Yes, we are launching those models soon. Maruti plans to tap the niche segment effectively. But it’s not an all-India rollout as CNG distribution infrastucture is not available across the country.

The company will focus on those areas where the requisite infrastructure is in place. So, we will concentrate on Delhi, Mumbai and also cities like Vijayawada for our CNG foray.

Source: andhrabusiness.com

Maruti Suzuki to set up third plant at Manesar

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:54:22 +0000

Maruti Suzuki to set up third plant at Manesar

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., maker of half the cars sold in the country, is considering building a new factory after economic growth caused industrywide car sales to jump more than 30 percent this year.

The Suzuki Motor Corp. unit may build a factory with a capacity of between 250,000 to 300,000 vehicles a year at Manesar, near New Delhi, Chairman R.C. Bhargava said today by phone
The report said Maruti Suzuki is considering rolling out 250,000 units a year from its additional unit quoting an unnamed industry source.

Maruti, which has a strong following among India’s growing middle class, is already producing at full capacity and has long waiting lists for some popular models.

“The third plant at Manesar is likely to have almost the same investment and capacity like the second one,” the report said quoting a source as saying at the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) summit in New Delhi on Thursday.
Bhargava estimated the cost of the proposed factory, which would be built at Maruti’s complex at Manesar in the northern state of Haryana, at 17 billion rupees (362 million dollars).
Now Maruti Suzuki India produces 300,000 cars annually at its Manesar plant while its Gurgaon plant makes 700,000 cars a year.

Maruti Suzuki also working on seconde assembly line at second plant at Manesar to add more 250,000 unit to 450,000 by september 2011.by adding the third unit will take its overall capacity up to 1.5 million units beyond 2012.

Shinzo Nakanishi, managing director and chief executive of Maruti Suzuki had recently projected the Indian car market to double to five million units by 2015 and that it needs to be prepared to meet the growing demand to maintain its leadership position.

According to SIAM, the market leader sold 2,82,488 cars during the April-July period this, representing a 47.68 per cent share in the overall 5,92,405 units market. In the comparable year-ago period, MSI had a 53.13 per cent share in the 4,40,069 units car market, with sales of 2,33,811 units.

India car market have chance of a China-like boom,Maruti Suzuki CEO

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:46:19 +0000

India car market have chance of a China-like boom,Maruti Suzuki CEO

Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest car manufacturer, has hinted at limiting its exports to concentrate on the growing domestic market, where it is facing increasing competition from a host of new entrants in the small-car space.

In its 2009-10 annual report, the Chairman, Mr R.C. Bhargava, has said: “Maruti Suzuki as a company should perhaps deliberately not attempt to export a large part of its production, but keep exports at about 15 per cent of output. We should concentrate more on the domestic market.”

Last year, the company’s exports at 147,575 units accounted for 14.5 per cent of the total sales of 10,18,365 cars. Maruti Suzuki exports to more than a 100 countries.

Mr Bhargava has said for the company to retain its market share, “not only should we adequately increase manufacturing capacity, but also remain very aware of the changing consumer tastes and demands and be flexible in making quick adjustments.”

China-like boom

Maruti Suzuki’s Managing Director and CEO, Mr Shinzo Nakanishi, has expressed optimism that India’s car market will double in the next five-six years. “There is even an outside chance of a China-like boom in the Indian car market, though there is no unanimity yet among experts,” he has said.

According to the annual report, the passenger vehicle market size in India is comparable to some of the developed economies and ranks seventh globally. The presence of a number of global players, the introduction of technology, features, styling and regulation indicate that the market is gradually attaining maturity. “While all indicators suggest a good growth path for the market, a number of entrants are eyeing the same market,” it points out.

Maruti Suzuki’s share in the domestic passenger cars and vans market stood at 51.7 per cent at the end of 2009-10. In the previous year, its market share was 46.5 per cent. According to data provided by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, total passenger vehicle sales (cars, utility vehicles and multi-purpose vehicles) were 1,949,776 units in 2009-10 against 1,552,703 in the previous year.

Large investments

Mr Bhargava has highlighted the pressure faced by the component industry to keep up with the rapid growth in automobile sales. Large investments, he says, need to be made to keep up with the growing needs of components. “In addition, the component manufacturers now need to invest in building engineering and R&D capacities. We cannot remain dependant forever on foreign suppliers for component design as this will greatly handicap us in meeting the needs of our customers in reasonable periods of time.”

According to him, the tier-2 and tier-3 vendors will pose problems as their capabilities to invest and improve technology are limited. “The tier-1 vendors have to find a solution to this problem,” Mr Bhargava says and adds that the component industry has the opportunity to move to the next level. According to Mr Nakanishi, the company’s suppliers are working closely with it to expand their management bandwidth and cope with the challenges of scaling up.

source: thehindubusinessline

Maruti Suzuki to focus on R&D, domestic market

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:58:15 +0000

Maruti Suzuki to focus on R&D, domestic market

With Indian passenger car market set to double in the next 5-6 years, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL) has not only decided to boost its research and design capabilities to meet the growing demand and come out with new products, but has also asked its vendors and suppliers to do the same.

India’s largest carmaker has also decided to focus more on domestic market and limit exports to take on growing competition.

“We need to rapidly develop our own capacity to develop and design products. This is an area of priority for us and with the help from Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation, we are investing heavily in R&D,” MSIL Chairman R. C. Bhargava said in the company’s annual report for 2009-10.

As part of the efforts to build R&D capability, MSIL is coming up with a world-class R&D centre at Rohtak (Haryana).

It invested Rs.173.30-crore in R&D in 2009-10 against Rs.91-crore in 2008-09.

To further consolidate its position in the Indian market, MSIL is also considering limiting exports to 15 per cent of its total output to meet its growing domestic requirements.

“Maruti Suzuki, as a company, should perhaps deliberately not attempt to export a large part of its production, but keep its exports at about 15 per cent of output,” Mr. Bhargava said.

“We should concentrate more on the domestic market. To keep our market share, not only should we adequately increase manufacturing capacity, but also remain very aware of the changing customer tastes and demands and be flexible in making quick adjustments,” he added.

MSIL is concerned as its market share has dropped below 50 per cent as it has failed to meet the demand of fast growing car market where other carmakers are now making inroads.

Exports

During April-July this year, the company’s car exports stood at 50,558 units out of a total of 3.35 lakh units produced, which is about 15 per cent of the total output.

It has an installed capacity of producing 10-lakh units annually. For 2009-10, the company exported a total of 1.48-lakh units. The Indian passenger car market stood at 19.5-lakh units last fiscal, while it is projected to touch 22-lakh units this fiscal.

source:The hindu

India Car Sale Report July 2010 By Model

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:45:37 +0000

India Car Sale Report July 2010 By Model.

A-Segment
1.Suzuki Alto 27.639
2.Maruti WagonR 12.677
3.Hyundai i10 11.385
5.TATA Nano 9.001
6.Hyundai Santro 7.122
7.Maruti Estilo 4.175
8.Maruti A-Star 3.072
9.Chevrolet Spark 2.244
10.Chevrolet Beat 1.702
11.Maruti 800 1.680
B-Segment
1.Maruti Swift 11.828
2.TATA Indica 8.606
3.Ford Figo 6.837
4Hyundai i20 6.486
5.Maruti Ritz 4.685
6.VW Polo 2.178
7.Fiat Grande Punto 1.401
8.Nissan Micra 928
9.Honda Jazz 514
10.Skoda Fabia 460

B-Segment Sedan
1.Maruti DZire 8.492
2.TATA Indigo 7.007
3.Honda City 3.565
4.Hyundai Verna 2.217
5.Hyundai Accent 1.570
6.Ford Fiesta 1.304
7.Fiat Linea 900
8.Mahindra Logan 752
9.Hindustan Ambassador 680
10.Chevrolet Aveo 359

C-Segment

1.Maruti SX4 1.860
2.Toyota Corolla Altis 844
3.Chevrolet Cruze 639
4.Skoda Laura 386
5.Honda Civic 371
6.VW Jetta 292
7.Chevrolet Optra 133
8.Mitsubishi Cedia 98
9.VW New Beetle 22
10Toyota Prius 6

D-Segment

click below to read more segment

1.Skoda Superb 376
2.Mercedes Clase C 195
3.Honda Accord 192
4.BMW Serie3 178
5.Audi A4 103
6.VW Passat 102
7.Toyota Camry 34
8.Hyundai Sonata Transform 31
9.Nissan Teana 27

Premium Car

1.BMW Serie5 266
2.Mercedes Clase E 212
3.BMW Serie7 50
4.Audi A6 48
5.Mercedes Clase S 47
6.BMW Serie6 4
7.VW Phaeton 3
8.Volvo S80 1
9.Audi A8 1
10.Audi R8 0

MPV
1.Maruti Ommi 7.819
2.Maruti Ecco 5.798
3.Toyota Innova 4.816
4.Mahindra Xylo 2.753
5.TATA Sumo 2.227

SUV and 4×4
1.Mahindra Scorpio 2.709
2.Toyota Fortuner 1.101
3.TATA Safari 1.024
4.Ford Endeavor 266
5.Chevrolet Captiva 225
6.Mitsubishi Outlander 152
7.Mitsubishi Pajero 79
8.Audi Q5 57
9.Mercedes GL 51
10.Nissan X-Trail 50
11.Honda CR-V 43
12.Toyota Prado 31
13.Maruti Grand Vitara 18
14.BMW X5 13
15.Audi Q7 12
16.Mercedes ML 11
17.Volvo XC90 5
18.Toyota LC200 3
19.BMW X6 3
21.BMW X3 2

Maruti Suzuki SX4 Royale launched

admin — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:55:30 +0000

Maruti Suzuki SX4 Royale launched.

In order to regain its market share in the Indian auto industry, Maruti Suzuki has launched SX4 Royale. With the launch of new cars, Maruti has for the first time ever seen its market share drop below 50% since it was launched.

Maruti Suzuki decided to launch special variant of it’s biggest car that current sell in India,SX4,is the 6th car they have launched this month.

The model has been launched in two variants VXi and ZXi where VXi is a fully loaded model featuring body-coloured door moulding with Silver finished handles, EBD, ABS, Dual SRS airbags, fog lamps, Alloy Wheels, Audio controls on steering wheel and Automatic climate control system.

The ZXi misses some of these features but flaunts new seat covers, gear knob and leather clad steering wheel. There are two new colour options of Oyster Blue & French Eclair which makes the SX4 available now in seven colours.

Features on the Maruti Suzuki SX4 Royale

- Outside rearview mirrors with turn indicator
- Boot spoiler, Reverse parking sensor
- Leather seat covers and leather wrapped steering wheel
- Bluetooth compatible integrated stereo
- Transparent floor mat, Door sill guard, Reading light
- Royale graphics, 4 years of extended warranty
- Rs 8000/- of shopper stop gift vouchers

source:Goa On Wheels

Maruti Suzuki Launched five new models with CNG option

admin — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:08:55 +0000

Maruti Suzuki Launched five new models with CNG option

As it battles rising competition, Maruti Suzuki drove in five new models with CNG option, including its best-seller Alto. The company will offer factory-fitted CNG cars, and the models are priced at a premium of about Rs 50,000 to the petrol-only version. Maruti’s market share slipped below 50% after the launch of compacts from Ford, Volkswagen and GM.

Apart from the Alto LXi (Rs 3.23 lakh), other models to sport CNG option are Estilo LXi (Rs 4.05 lakh) and WagonR LXi (Rs 4.11 lakh), Eeco 5-seater multipurpose (Rs 3.64 lakh) and SX4 VXi sedan (Rs 7.47 lakh).

The CNG variants are priced approximately Rs 50,000 to Rs 90,000 more than their non CNG versions, but it is the first time that the kits are being fitted at the factory. The advantages of a factory fitment are they are safer, covered under warranty and suffer minimal power loss.

“CNG offers lower running cost of up to 60 per cent while it ensures lower import of oil and also lower emission levels,” said Shinzo Nakanishi, managing director and CEO, MSIL.

Maruti Suzuki has unveiled its flagship CNG engine technology dubbed ‘intelligent-Gas Port Injection’ technology’ or i-GPI. This technology will be implemented on five models.

The technology is a dual engine control unit that delivers gas to the engine to ensure improved and consistent performance under a variety of driving conditions. The quantity of compressed natural gas required for different driving conditions is controlled by the dedicated unit which offers more efficient fuel usage.

It also means there is more power when compared to retrofitted compressed natural gas vehicles and there is a peppier ride more reminiscent of a petrol engine.
Each vehicle has passed quality checks and customers will enjoy the full warranty benefits, including an extended warranty.
The Government of India has committed to developing a network of compressed natural gas stations across the country in an effort to reduce the reliance on foreign fossil fuels.

Currently there are 9.4 lakh CNG cars in the country with around 600 outlets, where as other countries such as Pakistan has over 3,000 filling stations and around 50 per cent of all vehicles are run on CNG.

Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 Testdrive Review

admin — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 03:44:27 +0000

Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 Testdrive Review.

Maruti has launched a new variant of its best selling model, the Alto K10. The new variant brings along with it some fresh styling and also gets a new powerplant. The 1-litre K-series engine which is already doing duty in the A-star, Estilo and the new WagonR finds its way into the Alto as well.
The 1-litre K-series engine has replaced the existing 800cc unit in the top variants of the Alto. However, the base variant, LX, will still be available with the older 800cc motor.

On the outside, angular headlights coupled with a bigger grille lend the new Alto a bold, mature look. The restyled rear with new tail-lights looks modern and gels well with the overall design. And the increased length gives the Alto a more purposeful stance.

On the inside, the new steering wheel looks nice and grips your hands well. The dials look more upmarket and are easy to read. The dashboard is unchanged but there’s too much of grey plastics and some of the materials look low-rent. The vibrant seat colour livens up the otherwise drab-looking interiors. While the low seats make getting in and out cumbersome, the new front seats are similar in design to the A-star’s with integrated headrests. While the comfortable seats offer good support, they lack under-thigh support. Seat bolstering isn’t that great and you tend to get thrown around when the driver gets a bit enthusiastic. Despite the increased length, interior space hasn’t increased and the headroom remains poor. The boot is decent considering the car’s size.

The 1-litre twin-cam motor produces a healthy 67bhp and 9.18kgm of torque and is an improvement, despite some vibrations at idle. The throttle responses have improved drastically. The lively, rev-friendly engine is hugely flexible and a thrill to drive. Overtaking on the highway is much easier now and only a shift or two is needed to accelerate with gusto.

The Alto K10 now reaches 100kph in a very brisk 15.46 seconds, 4.92sec faster than the older car. The cable-shift gearbox is slick and precise but the throws are a bit long. The new Alto’s compact dimensions and light steering are terrific for parking in tight spots. All-round visibility is good. Ride at low speeds is decent, and the Alto easily soaks up most road undulations. There’s a fair bit of body roll when you go around a corner in speed, but the car still feels safe. However, the light steering is uncommunicative at high speeds. Stability at high speeds, though improved, isn’t great yet. Fuel efficiency is expected to be class-leading and better than other Marutis sharing this engine, thanks to the Alto’s light kerb weight.

The new Alto LXi is priced at Rs 3.19lakh while the VXi variant, which has power steering, air-conditioning, front power windows, internally adjustable mirrors and body-coloured bumpers retails at Rs 3.32lakh (prices ex-showroom Mumbai). Frugal and fun is what the new Alto is all about.

source: Autocar India

Maruti Suzuki launched automatic variant of the A star

admin — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 03:27:02 +0000

Maruti Suzuki launched automatic variant of the A star

Maruti Suzuki launched an automatic transmission variant of the A-star on 15th August, 2010. auto majors are completely aware of the rising automatic demand . Joining the automatic version of i10 and Santro in the Indian market.

the company is intent to persuite urban slicker and judging by the sales charts, A Star is one of the most popular models in the Indian youth today.

The four speed automatic gearbox is fit with the KB10 engine. according to ARAI data the automatic A-Star is return a mileage of 17 kmpl, which is just a little short of the 19.8 kmpl that the manual offers under ARAI test conditions.

Priced at Rs. 4.35 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), it is one of the most affordable hatchbacks in its segment.

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