Attractions from the Beijing Auto Show
ET Automania gets you the news about the attractions from the Beijing Auto Show. Also this week’s development from Indian and overseas.
By TNN & Agencies |
WOLFSBURG: The Volkswagen Group, Europe���s largest automaker expects to deliver some 5.5 lakh vehicles in April, an increase of 7% compared with April 2007.
The automaker believes that vehicle deliveries during the first four months of the year will exceed the two million mark for the first time. The company expects to deliver 2.12 million vehicles to customers worldwide during this period, also representing an increase of 7% on the previous year.
CHENNAI: Eyeing the growing Indian mining, energy and heavy industries, US-based bearings maker Timken on Wednesday announced the launch of its new bearing manufacturing plant at Mahindra World City Special Economic Zone.
Timken President and Chief Executive Officer James W Griffith said that the economic boom and rapid infrastructure development in the region had prompted the company to establish, Timken India Manufacturing Private Limited, at a cost of $ 25 million.
The company, which concentrates on friction management and energy saving products, would mainly cater to the global demands. With the completion of phase-I manufacturing line by October 2008, the production is expected to touch 3,10,000 bearings annually, he said adding it would touch 4,20,000 bearings under the Phase-II, expected to be completed by 2009.
NEW DELHI: Students of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi have designed a F1 car that will race in the Formula Student category at famous Silverstone circuit, which hosts the British Grand Prix, in July. The car with a 600 cc sports bike engine has multipoint fuel injection facility to help save time during the race. The car also has an electronic control unit with an aero-dynamically designed body.
INGOLSTADT: German auto maker Audi unveiled its Q5 at the Beijing auto show. The company believes that it combines the abilities of a sports sedan with that of an SUV. The Audi Q5 is rolling off the production line in three engine variants, one gasoline engine and two TDI units. All of the engines are direct-injection models with a turbocharger. Measuring 4.63 meters (15.19 feet) long and 1.88 meters (6.17 feet) wide, the Audi Q5 is just 1.65 meters (5.41 feet) high, making it sportier than any of its competitors.
DETROIT: Geoff Polites, the executive who helped Ford Motor Co. sell its Jaguar and Land Rover brands to Tata Motors, passed away Saturday in Australia. Mr Polites, 60, was CEO of both brands and was expected to stay on once the deal closes in June. A statement from Ford issued Sunday morning said Polites died peacefully in Australia. News reports said he had been battling a serious illness for the past two years.
Polites, a 40-year veteran of the auto industry, took over as CEO of Jaguar and Land Rover in 2005. Since then the Land Rover brand has returned to profitability and has set yearly sales records. Jaguar is just now launching the XF, a car that is widely expected to help reverse years of declining sales. ���Geoff���s untimely passing robs his family and friends of a man who was a real inspiration to us all,��� Ford CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement.
The four gasoline engines range from a four-cylinder 115 hp unit to a V6 with 260 hp. The three direct-injection diesels feature a displacement of 2.0 litre and outputs spanning from 110 to 160 hp. Subsequently the Insignia engine line-up will be expanded with an EcoFLEX version offering low CO2 emissions
The automaker believes that vehicle deliveries during the first four months of the year will exceed the two million mark for the first time. The company expects to deliver 2.12 million vehicles to customers worldwide during this period, also representing an increase of 7% on the previous year.
CHENNAI: Eyeing the growing Indian mining, energy and heavy industries, US-based bearings maker Timken on Wednesday announced the launch of its new bearing manufacturing plant at Mahindra World City Special Economic Zone.
Timken President and Chief Executive Officer James W Griffith said that the economic boom and rapid infrastructure development in the region had prompted the company to establish, Timken India Manufacturing Private Limited, at a cost of $ 25 million.
The company, which concentrates on friction management and energy saving products, would mainly cater to the global demands. With the completion of phase-I manufacturing line by October 2008, the production is expected to touch 3,10,000 bearings annually, he said adding it would touch 4,20,000 bearings under the Phase-II, expected to be completed by 2009.
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NEW DELHI: Students of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi have designed a F1 car that will race in the Formula Student category at famous Silverstone circuit, which hosts the British Grand Prix, in July. The car with a 600 cc sports bike engine has multipoint fuel injection facility to help save time during the race. The car also has an electronic control unit with an aero-dynamically designed body.
INGOLSTADT: German auto maker Audi unveiled its Q5 at the Beijing auto show. The company believes that it combines the abilities of a sports sedan with that of an SUV. The Audi Q5 is rolling off the production line in three engine variants, one gasoline engine and two TDI units. All of the engines are direct-injection models with a turbocharger. Measuring 4.63 meters (15.19 feet) long and 1.88 meters (6.17 feet) wide, the Audi Q5 is just 1.65 meters (5.41 feet) high, making it sportier than any of its competitors.
DETROIT: Geoff Polites, the executive who helped Ford Motor Co. sell its Jaguar and Land Rover brands to Tata Motors, passed away Saturday in Australia. Mr Polites, 60, was CEO of both brands and was expected to stay on once the deal closes in June. A statement from Ford issued Sunday morning said Polites died peacefully in Australia. News reports said he had been battling a serious illness for the past two years.
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Polites, a 40-year veteran of the auto industry, took over as CEO of Jaguar and Land Rover in 2005. Since then the Land Rover brand has returned to profitability and has set yearly sales records. Jaguar is just now launching the XF, a car that is widely expected to help reverse years of declining sales. ���Geoff���s untimely passing robs his family and friends of a man who was a real inspiration to us all,��� Ford CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement.
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RUSSELSHEIM: General Motor Europe plans to showcase the Opel Insignia at the London Motor Show in July this year.The Insignia will launch with a broad range of seven engines. All meet Euro 5 emissions standards and come with either manual or automatic six-speed transmissions. The four gasoline engines range from a four-cylinder 115 hp unit to a V6 with 260 hp. The three direct-injection diesels feature a displacement of 2.0 litre and outputs spanning from 110 to 160 hp. Subsequently the Insignia engine line-up will be expanded with an EcoFLEX version offering low CO2 emissions
In a statement GM Europe chief marketing officer Alain Visser, ���The Opel Insignia sets new standards in technology and innovation, this will be obvious right from the launch. But we are keeping several cards up our sleeves when it comes to environmental compatibility, excitement and safety, which we will play strategically overtime.���
The Insignia notch- and hatchback will debut at the London Motor Show and hit showrooms starting in November. The Insignia was developed at GM Europe���s International Technical Development Center in R��sselsheim, Germany, which also is home to its production.
BEIJING: In a bid to tap the first time car buyer in China, General Motors is looking at making small and cheap vehicles for the China market. GM president-Asia Pacific region Nick O���Reilly said, ���Companies like GM can���t sit back and say we don���t want to compete in this lower cost markets. We are working quite hard to be able to compete in these lower cost markets.��� He added that GM had to consider offering vehicles as low as about $4,000 in order to capture the wave of first-time car buyers.
GM, which ranked No 2 by production in China last year, pursued an initial strategy of targeting more upscale Chinese buyers with its Buick brand. The Detroit-based automaker, which is counting on growth in emerging markets such as China to soften the blow of the ongoing downturn in US sales, has also rolled out Chevrolet and Cadillac-branded vehicles over the past two years in China in order to offer a wider price range.
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Mr Reilly said the accepted wisdom has been that the high end of the market, closer to $40,000 per vehicle, was the most profitable segment. But the growth projected at the low end of the market in China was forcing a re-examination. GM���s sales in China rose almost 19 percent last year to top 1 million vehicles. GM has a joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp for passenger cars, including popular models such as the Buick Regal, priced near $20,000. Vehicle sales in China have grown by 20-30 % for the past five years, a boom that has made it the world���s second biggest market behind the United States. Reilly said GM would not compete with the ultra-low cost Nano car being developed by India���s Tata Motors Ltd That car, unveiled earlier this year, is expected to set a new floor for pricing in emerging markets around $ 2,500. In the Chinese market, a vehicle in the $4,000 price range would compete against the likes of the Chery QQ minicar or the Geely Meiri.
MUMBAI: German automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen would be investing Euros 20 million in setting up a manufacturing plant in Pune, Maharashtra. The plant would make commercial vehicle transmissions for heavy trucks and agriculture and construction components for the domestic market," ZF Board Member Wolfgang Vogal said.
The plant would be commissioned by the middle of 2009 and the company is in the "process of acquiring land" in Pune. ZF has many clients in India. They include Telcon, JCB India, BEML, Schwing Stetter, Greaves Cotton, Ashok Leyland, Asia MotorWorks and Force Man.
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These clients were supplied ZF products imported from Germany. "The growth in the Indian auto market has forced us to have a plant for the Indian market," Vogal said. ZF has been operating in India for 25 years supplying steering components, chassis and suspension parts. Globally, the group's turnover in 2007 was Euros 16 million. ZF products are available in 26 countries.
NEW DELHI: The Indian automobile sector has accounted for the lion's share in the total M&A deals made by domestic firms in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal. According to a latest report by industry chamber Assocham, the value of M&A deals in auto sector was recorded at USD 3.13 billion, accounting for more than 30 per cent of the total M&A deals inked by domestic firms in the quarter ended March 31, 2008.
"The Automobile sector saw the maximum number of outbound deals worth USD 3.09 billion with inbound deals valued at USD 42 million for the last quarter of FY'08," Assocham president Venugopal Dhoot said. The recent trend of appreciating rupee and decline in the interest rates in the US has given a major push to the Indian companies to go for big overseas buyouts, he added.
However, with rising input costs, especially that of steel and lack of availability of finance, the sector registered a fall in the domestic demand to over 96 lakh units in 2007-08 from about 1.01 crore units in FY'07, the report said.
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ITALY: Automobili Lamborghini President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann has confirmed the importance placed by Lamborghini on the Chinese market, as the Italian super sports car marque attends the Beijing motor show this week.
"China provides an extremely strong opportunity for market growth: we have an objective to triple our annual sales in the region this year," said Winkelmann.
"We are in the process of establishing and developing our dealer network in China with highly professional and committed partners, ensuring the comprehensive representation necessary in this region to respond to the ever-increasing demand for the Lamborghini marque.
Lamborghini currently operates three dealerships in China: in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, plus a further franchised outlet in Hong Kong where sales are also set to double in 2008.
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TIRUCHIRAPPALLI: General Motors India Private Limited (GMI), a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Corporation, is to enhance its sales outlet and service centres in the country. Inaugurating a workshop-cum-showroom Ankush Arora, Vice President, Marketing, GMI, said before the year end, the company would host 145 sales outlets and 160 service centres.
The automobile major sold 60,000 units in the year 2007 as against 35,000 units in 2006. For the current year, the projection was 90,000 units. The company had registered an overall turnover of Rs 35,000 crore in the year 2007, he said. The company's new manufacturing facility coming up at Taelgaon, near Pune, will start production hopefully by August-September this year, he said. The facility with an outlay of Rs 1,400 crore is coming up over a 300 acre site and would produce 1.4 lakh units to start with.
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On new products and services, he said the company was looking for the installation of roadside assistance centres along major national highways to render after sales service to Chevrolet customers. The company was also planning to enter the used car market, he said.
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