29 Oct 2010;timesofindia.indiatimes.com:Ratna Bhushan & Chanchal Pal Chauhan:NEW DELHI: The people's car is a hit with the corporate swish set. Among the 67,000 Tata Nano owners are corporate chieftains who otherwise ride on cars whose four wheels alone could buy the people's car. At the Lutyens' Delhi residence of Anand Burman , the chairman of Dabur India, a champagne-coloured Nano rubs bumpers with a Mercedes S-Class, a Bentley and a Range Rover. When he got his Nano two months ago, a Dabur employee recalls, a gushing Mr Burman dragged his colleagues outside for a look-see. "It's cute and convenient," he says. It's a reaction the Rs 1-lakh car has been evoking among people who otherwise, in their choice of cars, don't seem to give a fig about price, fuel economy and the like. Captain Krishna Nair, chairman of Hotel Leela Ventures, is a proud owner of a Nano. As are K Mahesh, CMD of Sundaram Brake Lining; Vinoo Mammen, CMD of MRF Tyres; and VC Burman, former Dabur India chairman. While they marvel at the Nano's affordable positioning, it was the intangible that made them travel the distance from admirers to owners. "It's the pride of India," says VC Burman, high commissioner of the Nicaraguan embassy. Ratan Tata promised India and the world a car for Rs 1 lakh — about half the price of an entry-level car — and delivered. While VC Burman uses the Nano to do personal work in the capital, he gets a greater thrill knowing visiting foreign delegates at the embassy will see this made-in-India, game-changing car. Yet, there's a dash of irony in the neo-rich, who mostly move in vehicles that are anything but an advertisement for value, plumping for the Nano. Never previously has a small car been embraced in high society like this. Santosh Desai, adman and social commentator, puts it down to branding. "The Nano allows its users to be what other small cars don't," he says. "It's Indian and is a mark of innovation. And the Tata tag gives it respectability." Captain Nair liked the courage of Ratan Tata's endeavour so much that he ordered a Nano when it first opened for bookings in March 2009. And when he got it, the 89-year-old hotelier wrote a complimentary letter to Mr Tata. Captain Nair and his 78-year-old wife, Leela, use the Nano to drive around the surroundings of the Mumbai airport, where his company has done extensive landscaping work. "We have almost stopped using the BMW and, sometimes, even the Rolls Royce for our long evening drive," he says. "Leela loves it." While Captain Nair relates to the Nano on a nationalistic plane, Mr Mammen is a financial stakeholder in the car. His company, MRF, makes the different-sized tyres in the Nano work. "We were involved with the project from the beginning," says Mr Mammen. "So, there was a natural curiosity." Mr Mammen, who has a chauffeur, has since dropped his E-Class Mercedes for the Nano. "It's light and flexible. And it's easy to get in and get out." Mr Mahesh of Sundaram Brake Lining is also angling to become a stakeholder in the Nano. The company has been cleared by Tata Motors to supply auto parts for the car. Mr Mahesh, who drives himself, likes the car's drive quality. "It has good headroom for a six-footer like me and amazing sedan-like comfort," he says. Nano's emergence in India as a preference or statement — of whatever — has precedents elsewhere. For instance, in Hollywood, the Toyota Prius , a hybrid sedan, is a big hit. Its owner-fans include Cameron Diaz , Leonardo DiCaprio , David Duchovny and Rob Reiner. George Clooney and Dustin Hoffman make their statement with another hybrid, the Tesla Roadster. In India, for now, it's the Nano that is doing the rounds.
28 Oct 2010;business-standard.com:Mumbai: State-owned Bharat Petroleum today said that its oil block in the Brazil offshore, discovered hydrocarbons. "The block SEAL-M-426 witnessed the first ultra deep water drilling, and identified hydrocarbon presence. The well is still under drilling and likely to meet older reserves before termination," BPCL said in statement to the stock exchanges. The data obtained so far is enough to prove the discovery of a new oil province in the Sergipe Alagoas basin, the company said. Log data indicate the presence of light hydrocarbons in the well. The drilling of older sediments by the well, could show presence of more hydrocarbons in deeper sections. BPCL owns 40 per cent participating interest in the block, while Brazilian state owned oil major Petrobras owns 60 per cent, and is also the operator of the block.
Bugatti drives in India's most expensive car at Rs 16 cr
28 Oct 2010;business-standard.com:New Delhi: The benchmark for luxury cars in the country just got higher with Volkswagen Group company Bugatti Automobiles today launching its super premium sports car 'Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport', with price starting at Rs 16 crore, the most expensive car to hit the Indian roads. "Bugatti has been doing well in America, Europe and the Middle East. Now we see India as an emerging market for us, hence we have decided to bring the car to India," Bugatti Automobiles Sales Market Manager (Middle East, Europe and India) Guy Caquelin told reporters here. The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, priced at Rs 16 crore onwards, will be distributed by the company's Indian dealer Exclusive Motors. So far, the most expensive cars in India have been the Rolls Royce Phantom and the Maybach, which are priced around Rs 5 crore. "The price of the car will be subject to foreign exchange fluctuation and the levels of customisation that a buyer demands," Exclusive Motors Managing Director Satya Bagla said. He, however, said that with the Indian luxury car market growing at about 25 per cent there is an opportunity for such expensive cars. "The Bugatti Veyron is four times more expensive than what's being sold in the India. So we are currently testing the customer response," Bagla said, when asked if there has been any order for the car. He said delivery would take about 6-8 months from the date of order. Caquelin said Bugatti is aiming between 60 and 80 units of the car to be sold across the globe this year and there have been queries from 3 to 4 Indians globally. The company claims that the Bugatti Veyron is also the fastest car on production that is allowed to drive on normal roads in the world with a top speed of 407 km/hour with an acceleration of 0-100km/hour in 2.7 seconds. The car, which uses components made of special materials like titanium, carbon fibre and magnesium is powered by an 8 litre engine with 16 cylinders and is assembled by hand at the company's hand headquarters Molsheim in France.
BMW to launch bikes in India by Dec; price Rs 18 lakh onwards
28 Oct 2010;economictimes.indiatimes.com:NEW DELHI: German auto major BMW today said it will introduce its premium range of motorcycles in the Indian market by December this year, which are likely to be priced from Rs 18 lakh onwards. " BMW Motorrad starts its sales activities in the Indian motorcycle market with two official importers as of December, 2010," the company said in a statement. Globally, the firm's motorcycle venture is known as BMW Motorrad and it will initially sell its products at three outlets in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. BMW Motorrad's superbikes will be imported into the country by two dealers, Deutsche Motoren and Navnit Motors. Some of the models that the company is planning to bring into the country include the R 1200 GS, S 1000 RR and bigger K series bikes with 4-cylinder engines. According to a BMW India spokesperson, the motorcycles could be priced at Rs 18 lakh upwards. BMW will produce these bikes at its Berlin facility and they will be imported to India as completely built units. Commenting on the development, BMW Motorrad General Director Hendrik von Kuenheim said: "The BMW Group has already established itself very successfully in India with a local BMW automobile production and a sales network for BMW Group automobiles. Now the market for premium motorcycles is beginning to develop too." "We are confident our motorcycles will swiftly become established in timely preparation for the growing market," he added. This is the second time after the mid-90s that BMW has firmed up plans to enter the country's motorcycle segment. It had earlier planned to enter the Indian two-wheeler market in partnership with Munjals-promoted Hero Motors with the launch of a mid-sized single cylinder motorcycle. However, despite a positive market study, the project was shelved due to the small size of the Indian market for superbikes at the time. During recent years, many global manufacturers have come to India with their high-end motorcycles. Ducati, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha have all launched superbikes, the prices of which run into several lakh rupees.
Nano gone, but ancillaries in Rs 1000cr Singur biz plan
28 Oct 2010;timesofindia.indiatimes.com:Udit Prasanna Mukherji:KOLKATA: Singur's dreams need not die with Nano driving off to Sanand. Even as Tata Motors keeps the guessing game going over a possible comeback, as many as 10 ancillaries that made a beeline to the former Nano site along with the automaker have decided to stay put and set up alternative projects there. Two big ancillaries, of which one is the UK-based Caparo Group owned by Swraj Paul, have already submitted alternative project plans to the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC). The two together have about 130 acres in their possession. "Some big vendors like Caparo Engineering, Supreme Treves, Lumax are interested in setting up projects in Singur because of the locational advantage of the land," sources close to the vendors said. It is learnt that the combined investment of these projects could be more than Rs 1,000 crore. Caparo Engineering, which has 21 acres, was supposed to set up a sheet metal unit for Nano. Lumax is a leader in head and tail lamps. Supreme Treves has expertise in plastic auto parts. A majority of the 54 ancillaries that accompanied Tata Motors are reportedly putting pressure on the automaker to come clean on Singur so that they can go ahead with individual projects. At least 10 have initiated talks with the WBIDC and only two have so far asked for refund against surrender of their land allotment.
Hero Honda explores export opportunities in Africa: report
27 Oct 2010;business-standard.com:Johannesburg: India's largest two-wheeler maker Hero Honda is understood to be planning to export its flagship bike Splendor to Africa. According to media reports, the joint venture company between India's Hero Group and Japan's Honda Motor Co, has sent two marketing executives to Tanzania to conduct a feasibility study. "India's Hero Honda company is considering exporting motorcycles to Tanzania which are more suitable for rural farmers," the online edition of Tanzania's 'Daily News' said. The report quoted Hero Honda Chairman B M Munjal, who addressed a team of African journalists in the company's one of the plants in India recently. Quoting Munjal, the report said Hero Honda "dispatched two marketing executives to Tanzania to study the market and look into the possibility of exporting our number one brand, Splendor there". Repeated attempts to get a comments from Hero Honda officials did not fructify. Daily News said that Munjal had, however, ruled out possibility of establishing a plant in East Africa at this moment until a comprehensive study is done in the market. "We have been in this business for the past 25 years, but there are some parts that we still import, little as they are, they are very costly and so it is a long way before setting up a plant but the thought is there," he has been quoted. Hero Honda's move to explore export opportunities in Africa assumes significance, as it comes in the midst reported plans of Honda to exit the JV. The Indian auto market has been abuzz with speculations that the two partners, who hold 26 per cent stake each in the company, are looking to part ways, with the Hero Group reportedly seeking help from private equity players to buy out Honda's stake. Exports by Hero Honda is one of the contentious issues between the Hero Group and Honda Motor Corp. The Japanese firm is reportedly against exports by Hero Honda as its own two-wheeler arm is present in many countries. Hero Honda, however, exports to some of India's neighbouring countries. So far this fiscal, it has exported 64,920 units of two-wheelers, as against its domestic sales of 24,55,063 units.
Petrolstop is a division of Car Fuel Info Solutions, LLC Petrolstop.com is a registered trademark owned by Car Fuel info Solutions, LLC Website Design by Onazari Technical Solutions
