Reva to hit Israel Roads

Reva India’s first electric car is all set to roll on the roads of Israel. An Israel-based BDO-121 has granted a franchise to import the battery-operated vehicle. The battery car Reva which is produced by Bangalore-based Maini group has signed a contract with one of Israel’s leading car importers to handle the importing. They are working on with the Indian company and a date for import of the car is expected to be announced where shortly, as said by the sources.

Talking about Reva which is electric car propelled by a battery constructed from eight battery units weighing 30 kg and six hours of charge provides the vehicle with enough power to travel 120 kilometers, making it suitable for urban use. The fully automatic car, which may be charged through a normal electrical outlet, is being currently sold in several metros of India, as well as in foreign cities, including Barcelona, London, Madrid, Athens and Oslo. Reva has being a big success in London that the municipality has adopted it as there project and granted some special benefits to the electric car owners. Also special parking space has being allotted for it by the municipality and congestion fees are called off to its owners.

New local taxes to push up car prices

Car buyers in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan may end up paying more for buying cars despite the 4% cut in excise duty by the Central government. These states are likely to levy new local-level taxes, which would offset the benefit of the excise cut.

These states are expected to follow Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka who had recently increased local levies in the range of up to 3% on all motorised vehicles. As a result, prices of cars in these states had gone up by Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 on different models.   Tamil Nadu has gradually increased road tax from 6% to 8%. Similarly, octroi, a local tax, has been increased to 3% for all cars above Rs 10 lakh and doubled to 2% for car up to Rs 10 lakh in Pune in Maharashtra. Customers in Gujarat will have to shell out an extra 20% surcharge on VAT on all cars.

Potential customers of all car segments have been impacted by these recent changes in state levies. But consumers looking to buy small cars such as Hyundai i10, Maruti A-Star and Chevrolet UV-A were hit harder as the price cut on account of excise relief was lower than the price hike due to higher state taxes.   For instance, the price of Maruti Alto in some states like Karnataka was increased by around Rs 7,000 in October but excise cut resulted into a price drop of Rs 6,593. So net net a customer buying Alto in a city like Bangalore has to pay more today compared to September despite the cut in excise duty.

The incremental burden of state taxes is higher as they are levied on the ex-showroom price of cars, which is much higher than the ex-factory price on which excise duty is imposed. For instance the ex-factory price of Maruti Alto (standard model) the largest selling car in India is around Rs 2 lakh, while its ex-showroom prices in Delhi is around Rs 2.5 lakh.

Honda tops JD power customer retention rankings

According a Study conducted by the J.D. Power and Associates a global marketing information services, Honda had ranked the highest in the automotive industry for retaining the highest percentage of new-vehicle purchases. Its study measures the percentage of new-vehicle buyers and lessees who replace a previously purchased new vehicle with another from the same brand.

Improving by nearly two percentage points from 2007, Honda leads the customer retention rankings (64.7%), followed by Toyota (63.2%) and Lexus (60.4%).As New-Vehicle Sales Continue to Fall, Customer Retention Becomes Critically Important and Honda has succeeded in achieving customers retention. Honda has always being a strong performer when it comes to customer retention, and in 2008 it marks the first time since the inception of the study that the brand has achieved the highest retention rate in the industry and that too at a time where the rest of the manufactures are going through a tough challenge due to the current market conditions which includes the sales decline and tight credit.

The customer retention rates declines slightly to 48 percent in 2008 from 49 percent in 2007. In 2008, 13 of the 36 ranked brands have improved in customer retention rates from 2007, while 18 have declined and five have remained stable. Land Rover posts the greatest improvement in customer retention rates from 2007, improving by 18 percentage points in 2008. This improvement is driven primarily by incentives, attractive sales deals and the look and styling of Land Rover models.

The study confirms that the retained customer’s reason for their repurchasing of vehicles is its
importance of safety, fuel economy and deals/incentives. Fuel economy, ownership/maintenance costs and deals/incentives have the greatest increases in importance since 2007 in their decisions to change brands.

Study has found out that customer retention will become more critical to automakers in the coming years, as new light-vehicles sales in 2009 are projected to decline to below 12 million units. Educating potential buyers about vehicles good fuel economy and low ownership cost will help the manufactures retain their customers and also attract new customers to it.

Mitsubishi Outlander – Pictorial Review

Mitsubishi Outlander – Pictorial Review Exteriors

We all know Mitsubishi as Dakar rally winners and as makers of rugged suv’s like Pajero and Montero but we often fail to understand Mitsubishi is as good as any auto maker in making comfortable sedans. But this story is not about Mitsubishi’s new sedan but about the new Outlander a crossover.

Mitsubishi Outlander: Like CR-V and Captiva, Outlander has a car-based design that translates into pleasing design and a comfortable interiors. Though the wheel arches are flared up there is no prominent shoulder line. The roofline peaks which over the driver slides towards the rear like a coupe. The exterior gets various touches of chrome to liven things up Rear is dominated by the ample glass area and LED tail lamps. The fake LED over the hatch  and fake skid plate are nice styling elements.

Mitsubishi Outlander: Surprisingly there is no diesel powerplant, there is only a petrol unit to power the 2tonne Outlander. The 2.4L MIVEC petrol engine is developed by Mitsubishi in conjunction with DaimlerChrysler and Hyundai. The 2.2L MIVEC engine develops 170PS of maximum power at 6000rpm and 226Nm of peak torque at 4100rpm. Six speed CVT transmission with optional tiptronic mode for conventional driving style. Driver can select between P-R-N-D-DS modes. behind the gear lever. Also, the Formula 1-style magnesium shift paddles mounted on the steering column allows the driver to shift manually. Behind the gear lever is a chunky dial, look carefully you can understand  the vehicle is a All Wheel Control (AWC) drive one.

Mitsubishi Outlander: Turn on the ignition key, the engine starts with ease. Slot the floor mounted gear lever in Drive mode and forget about everything. Floor the acclerator, tacho needle shows 6000rpm and then it starts bottomming out. Outlander is capable of reaching a top speed of 166kmph. But you need little time to get used to CVT if you had driven a manual earlier. Though the engine loves to rev a lot, the insulation is very good to absorb the noise generated. Another feel good about the outlander is its fuel efficieny. It returns a combined mileage of 9kmpl.

Mitsubishi Outlander: Outlander driving dynamics inherits the popular Mitsubishi’s rally DNA. Outlander takes corners with confidence.  MacPherson strut and trailing arm multilink suspension at the fore and aft. Though there is discernable body roll but it is well controlled. The steering is light but slightly vague and tend to torque steer much.

Mitsubishi Outlander: Off the road, Outlander performs better than its peers but remember this is a crossover. We slug the outlander in beach sand in 4WD mode it moved easily, but on serious it caught in the mud and we have to tow the outlander out.  215/70 R16 Yokohama Geolander tyres and on-the-fly four-wheel-drive gives the car traction in slippery conditions.

Mitsubishi Outlander: comes in six attractive colours – river blue,silver dew,cascade white,sunrise yellow,pasture green,new moon black and twilight red with two interior options.

Mercedes offers Rs8 lakh discount on E-class

While the new E-class is very much round the corner (as we reported at http://vicky.in/international/2008/12/10/2009-mercedes-new-e-class-pictures/), Mercedes is aggressively clearing the stocks of the current E-class through incredbile discount offers. Mercedes is offering Rs8 lakhs on current E-class. An additional three percent finance payout option is also being offered for the E-class.

Continental back to India with four-wheeler tyres

It’s a new entry for the tyre market in India. Continental – The German tyre maker on Thursday re-entered Indian four-wheeler tyre market with launching products for passenger cars and utility vehicles. Continental tyres is yet to talk with Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra to be their original equipment suppliers. “The launch is a part of our overall growth strategy and commitment to the Asia Pacific region. With the growth in auto industry here, we believe that we should actively take part in India. We plan to develop a significant market share in India,” stated. The Continental Aktiengesellschaft Executive Vice President (Replacement Asia) Mr Andreas Esser,

Continental today launch tyres for passenger car and utility vehicle (UV) in the country for after-market, which would be imported from their 22 manufacturing facilities across the world, he added. When asked if the company decides to set up manufacturing facilities in India, Esser said: “Currently continental will be importing tyres only as sales are very low. Once it attains a good volume, then we may think of locally producing our tyres.” Mr Andreas Esser, however, refused to comment on the company’s investment in India. On its possible association with Indian OEMs, Esser said: “We are in discussion with Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra for their domestic as well as export vehicles.”

Bajaj auto loses 2nd position to Honda

Bajaj auto which one came close to snatch the no 1 position from Hero Honda is now pushed back to 3rd position.

Dismal performance by Bajaj auto in last several quarters cost the 2nd position.On the other hand, Honda can jump to

its skies, while Hero Honda retains the 50%+ market share, its direct subsidiary Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India

managed to reach the 2nd postion in a period 6 years.

While in September, Bajaj was ahead of HMSI by as much as 72,262 units, the lead narrowed down to just over

10,000 units in October. And in November, HMSI beat Bajaj. Remember Bajaj lost the no 1 position to Hero Honda in 2001.

Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj was quick to dismiss the trend as “premature”. “Corporate sales ranking is never done on a monthly or quarterly basis. Its always on an annual basis. As of now, we are number 2. In my view for this financial year a verdict is premature before April 1, 2009. As for the next year, let’s see who is ahead on May 1, 2009,” Bajaj said.

“The fact that HMSI has emerged Number 2 in November shows that our efforts to reach out to customer are paying off… HMSI has been in India for six years now and we have been expanding our dealer network to reach more customers in smaller cities. Our increased supplier network has also helped us deliver superior products at reasonable price,” M Takedagawa, head of Honda’s south west Asia operations, said.

Tata Motors cuts prices of Indica,Indigo,Sumo and Safari

Tata Motors announced price cut on Indica family, Indigo family, Sumo family and Safari.  The price cut comes into effect from December 08th.The cut in prices are as follows

* Indica and Indigo family – Between Rs. 12,000/- to Rs. 23,000/- depending on the model.

* Sumo family and Safari – Between Rs. 16000/- to Rs. 36000/-, depending on the model.

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

Light Commercial Vehicles: Between Rs. 17,000/- to Rs. 23,000/-.

Medium &Heavy Commercial Vehicles: Between Rs. 30,000/- to Rs. 60,000/-.

Models Old price New Price Savings
Xeta GL Rs.2,63,677 Rs 2,54,820 Rs 8857
Xeta GLS Rs.3,10,006 Rs2,99,509 Rs 10,497
Indica DLE Rs.3,55,117 Rs 3,42,943 Rs 12,175
Indica DLS Rs.3,71,696 Rs 3,58,919 Rs 12,776
Indica Vista Saffire Terra Rs.3,49,401 Rs 3,37,485 Rs 11,916
Indica Vista Quadrajet Aura Rs.4,80,938 Rs 4,64,410 Rs 16,527
Indigo CS GLS Rs.3,94,860 Rs 3,81,354 Rs13,506
Indigo CS LX Tdi Rs. 4,64,574 Rs 4,48,620 Rs 15,954
Sumo Victa GX DI Rs.6,41,888 Rs 6,22,570 Rs 19,319
Sumo Grande Rs.7,93,107 Rs 7,68,912 Rs 24,194
Safari VX 4×2 Rs10,96,863. Rs 10,63,282 Rs 23,582

TVS motors cuts prices of star city,Flame and apache RTR

TVS motors announced a cut in prices of its models – star City, Flame and apache RTR following a 4 percent
reduction in India’s central value-added tax to customers. “The overall range of price cuts varies between 700-2,000 rupees for all scooters and motorbikes,” HS Goindi, senior vice president of sales, said. “We have passed on the benefits (of the excise duty cut) to the customers,” he added. The revised prices have come into effect from Wednesday morning, Goindi said.