17 August 2011;dailypioneer.com:Rakesh Bihari Jha:New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India, which has cut production of its model excepting Swift and Dzire this month because of slowdown in the car market, says the company will not have to cut production in September as upcoming festival season and new Swift will drive demands. “Though fundamental problem of high interest rate remain the same, I don’t think we need to cut production beyond August as festival season starts in September and it will help revive demand,” said Maruti Suzuki Managing Executive Officer for Sales and Marketing Mayank Pareek. “We already have booking of 50,000 cars and hope to deliver the same in the next two- three months as we have raised production capacity of Swift from 12,000 to 17,000 units per month in anticipation of great demand as old one was also the best seller in the premium hatchback segment,” added Pareek. Built on an all-new platform, MSI and its suppliers have invested over Rs 550 crore on the new car, which will have over 95 per cent of localised components. Maruti has aggressively priced the new Swift. While petrol model is being offered at an introductory price of Rs 4.22 lakh-Rs 5.53 lakh, the diesel variant is priced between Rs 5.17 lakh and Rs 6.38 lakh. “We have launched the new ‘Swift’ at a time when there was a significant demand for the outgoing model. I am confident that the new ‘Swift’ will create new benchmarks with its improved fuel efficiency, stylish and sportier looks and high performance,” said Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi after launching the new Swift. Country’s largest carmaker is currently facing stiff competition from rivals like Ford’s ‘Figo’, Hyundai’s ‘i20’, Toyota’s ‘Etios Liva’ and GM’s ‘Beat’ and MSI thinks the new Swift will further bolster its position in the segment. ..No progress on synergy between Suzuki and Volkswagen The alliance between Maruti Suzuki’s parent company Suzuki Motor Corp and German auto major Volkswagen does seem to be working out as even after a gap of 21 months nothing has happened. Volkswagen acquired around 20 per cent stake in Suzuki in December 2009 and both the company formed a partnership to cooperate in small car and new technologies. When asked about the progress on synergy between Suzuki Motor and Volkswagen , Maruti Suzuki India Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi said: “I don’t have any idea about the same as the discussion happens between Suzuki Motor and Volkwagen . However, there is no progress on the same.” Volkswagen, which supposedly wants to topple Toyota as the largest car company, needs to have a bigger presence in the small-car markets in India, while Suzuki hoped to gain access to VW’s expertise in diesel engines and hybrid and electric cars. “But even after Volkswagen authorities visiting our plants thrice in the last 21 months no synergy has happended,” said a source who didn’t want to be identified.
Volkswagen launches all-new Jetta starting at Rs 14.12 lakh
17 August 2011;deccanherald.com:Mumbai: German auto major Volkswagen today launched its upgraded version all-New Jetta 2 litre in diesel variant starting at Rs 14.12 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi). The New Jetta will be available in four variants --trendline, comfortline and highline manual and DSG gearbox. It is equipped with four cylinder CRDi engine with a six speed gear box in both manual and automatic transmission. "With the introduction of the New Jetta our entire carline from the Polo to the Passat now offers the latest and the best to our customers," Member of Board and Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India, Neeraj Garg told reporters here. The company had sold 32,000 units across all models in India last year and 45,000 units since last seven months. "We have sold good number of Passat and Jetta in the last seven months. Despite economic slowdown we hope this New Jetta will help to increase our market share in coming days," he said.
16 August 2011;deccanherald.com:New Delhi:Tata Motors on Tuesday said its global sales stood at 85,392 units in July, down six per cent as compared to the same month last year. Sales of luxury brands from Jaguar Land Rover were flat at 19,119 vehicles in July, Tata Motors said in a statement. While sales of luxury sedans of Jaguar brand were down 23 per cent last month to 4,372 units, Land Rover sales were up by 8 per cent at 14,747 units, it added. It said total passenger vehicles sales stood at 38,154 units in July 2011, down 24 per cent from the corresponding period last year. Commercial vehicles sales were up by 16 per cent to 47,238 units from the same month last year, it added. The Tata Motors Group's global sales comprise Tata, Tata Daewoo and Hispano Carrocera range of commercial vehicles, Tata passenger vehicles, along with the distributed brands in India; Jaguar and Land Rover.
16 August 2011;hindustantimes.com:Sumant Banerji:New Delhi:Over two months have passed since India'a largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, was rocked by a 13-day strike at its crucial Manesar plant, but its workers remain as polarised as ever. The Haryana government last week rejected an application for the formation of a second union, Maruti Suzuki Employees' Union (MSEU), but the workers have vowed that they will keep trying, and will file a fresh application later this week. The Manesar factory makes 350,000 cars per annum including the Swift, which is in great demand. It is central to Maruti's medium-term expansion plans (see box). Another strike would be a setback for it at a time when competition is intensifying. Almost the entire 1,100-odd permanent workers at Manesar boycotted the elections for the existing Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union, held last month. management and the labour department are putting pressure on the workers to give up the demand for a separate union but it is our fundamental right and we will keep trying," said Shiv Kumar, secretary to the now defunct MSEU. "Our application was rejected as we are members of the existing union, and also because the strike happened a day after the application was filed. We are looking to make it foolproof." The Maruti management acknowledged that around 950 workers at Manesar had been misguided, and there is a need to close the communication gap. "We have to engage the workers at Manesar more so that they are not misguided," said Shinzo Nakanishi, CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. "It requires a change of mindset. We must be patient." "If they (workers) want any kind of improvement in the long term, it can only happen if the company is prospering and is in a position to give them that," said RC Bhargava, chairman, MSIL. "Confrontation cannot ever help workers."
16 August 2011;timesofindia.indiatimes.com:Nandini Sen Gupta: CHENNAI: India's used car market, which has so far faithfully followed new car sales, is now all set to zoom ahead as a sentiment slowdown hits car sales in autoville. According to industry estimates, the used car market, which is currently around 18 lakh units a year, is expected to clock anywhere between 20% and 25% growth in the next five years, vrooming beyond the 40-lakh mark by 2015. Of this, the organized sector is likely to clock a 35-40% growth. The good news for the used car business is that it is relatively less affected by the sentiment downturn that is now snuffing out growth in the new car market. India's new car sales, earlier expected to clocked anywhere between 13-15% growth this year, is likely to manage single digits, say industry insiders. But that isn't what used car marketers are expecting for themselves. "Currently the new is to old ratio in India is 1:1.1," says Jagdish Khattar, CEO of Carnation, a multi-brand auto sales and service venture. "So the old car market will grow much faster than the new and within that segment the organized sector will grow the fastest to bring the ratio closer to the 1:2.5-3 new versus old cars. That's the norm in developed markets." Khattar says the used car base is still small enough to clock 20-25% growth where the organized sector should trot up 35-40%. Given that the organized sector's share of the market is still very small - around 10-11% - that growth doesn't seem too ambitious. Rival multi-brand used-car retail company Mahindra FirstChoice says the current clip in old cars is already breathtakingly ahead of the new. "The organized part of the used car market is already growing at a 30-35% clip of which the certified organized segment is growing the fastest," says Rajeev Dubey, president, group HR and after-market sector which covers Mahindra FirstChoice, Industry experts admit the old car market will be hit much less than the new in the ongoing sentiment slowdown. "In the US, when new car sale slowed down, used car sales picked up," says Dubey. "In India so far the two have moved in tandem but the magnitude of the impact will be less on used cars. There will be some hit on the demand but since people will hold on to their old cars as they put off buying new ones, the supply side will also dry up a bit and two will neutralize each other," he says. Khattar agrees with that view. "Usually people downgrade themselves in a slowdown. In my outlets I have people paying a full advance for a car but we don't have enough sellers," he says. What may further help the used car market is its consumer demography. "The maximum number of used car buyers are first time car buyers," says Khattar. That and another interesting segment - luxury car buyers - should keep the market buzzing through the slowdown. "A lot of luxury car buyers prefer to make use of the depreciation to pick up a bargain," says Khattar. A 15-month-old Merc or BMW which has done 15,000 km will be available at anywhere between Rs 25-28 lakh, compared to its sticker price of Rs 37-45 lakh. The only spoiler though is that interest rates continue to be 300-400 bps higher than new cars.
15 August 2011;business-standard.com:New York: As a US economic rebound stalls and threatens to spiral into recession, oil demand in the world's top consumer may be slipping into an irreversible decline. Last year's fledgling recovery in US oil usage -- when demand rose 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) -- made up for only a part of the 1 million bpd demand drop during a year of economic turmoil that began in August 2008. Until recently, most analysts believed a healthier economy would push US oil use higher this year and next, before tighter environmental regulations, increased use of biofuels, and tougher fuel-efficiency standards kick in later this decade to lower demand permanently. Instead, a sour economy may turn last year's demand growth into a one-off. With US manufacturing and service sectors slowing, a recent S&P downgrade on US debt, and a series of stock market falls that have rattled consumer confidence, the odds are tilting toward short-term declines as well. Last week, the US Department of Energy lowered its forecast for US oil demand from growth to decline in 2011. It also cut its forecasts for growth in global oil demand, as did the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency. "We see US oil demand falling this year and, later, settling into steady declines after 2015," said Rick Mueller of Boston-based consultant Energy Security Analysis Inc. "It's all about the transportation sector, and the trends point to lower oil use." US mandates require 36 billion gallons of renewables like ethanol be blended into motor fuel by 2022, up from 14 billion gallons this year. The Obama administration has also boosted fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, more than double current standards. GLOBAL APPETITE FOR OIL Limp demand in the United States and Western Europe won't fully offset growth in developing countries like China and India, whose appetite for crude nearly guarantees world demand will keep climbing. Last year's US growth accounted for less than one-fifth of the rise in global oil demand, which was up 2.3 million barrels per day. But with the US still burning more than 19 million bpd -- twice that of No. 2 oil consumer China -- slower demand here could further hammer US oil futures , which have already fallen by one-quarter since hitting $114 a barrel in April. Until the recent slowdown, consensus forecasts saw US oil demand up around 100,000 bpd this year as GDP grew about 2.5%, said Adam Sieminski of Deutsche Bank. "If you take that GDP estimate to 1.5% instead, it could leave no growth in US oil demand." The latest government data shows US oil demand, which looked buoyant earlier this year, slipped from year-ago levels in each of the last four months as pump prices climbed. Gasoline use in July was the lowest on record for the month, according to MasterCard data. Less demand may wrongfoot oil market bulls like Goldman Sachs, which continues to call for oil prices to surpass 2011 highs next year, as demand expands faster than output. "For a long time the premise has been that demand growth will outpace supply, but it might be the other way around," said Tim Evans of Citi Futures in New York. LESS RADICAL THAN 2008 Barring an acute double-dip recession, few analysts expect US demand to repeat the radical declines of 2008 or 2009. Last year, US demand rose for only the first time since 2005 when it peaked at 20.8 million bpd, but had still fallen more than 8% since then. "Demand is reaching a plateau, and is then likely to fall slowly," said Mueller. Higher unemployment since 2007 has cut US vehicle miles travelled by about 2%, said James Coan at Rice University's Baker Institute in Houston. Americans without jobs drive about 55% less, Coan said. Sunoco Inc, the Northeast's top independent oil refiner, has been particularly blunt about the long-term outlook for its main business. "We do not have a bullish outlook on refining," Chief Executive Lynn Elsenhans told investors on an early August conference call. The silver lining for consumers is that retail US gasoline prices are expected to fall further from levels above $4 a gallon earlier this summer. Wholesale gasoline futures have already dropped 19% since late April highs, and the reductions should trickle down to consumers soon. According to Peter Beutel of energy consultancy Cameron Hanover in Connecticut, if recently lower wholesale prices hold, they could amount to savings of $115 billion over a year for drivers. But recent history shows that even sharply falling pump prices can't resuscitate US demand during a downturn. Between mid-2008 and mid-2009, oil use dropped by a million barrels a day, even as gasoline prices cooled by 30%.
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