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Proton in talks with Hindustan Motors for Indian contract manufacturing deal – annoucement expected in February?

January 10, 2011 at 11:45 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, India, International News, Proton

More news has emerged about Proton’s anticipated move into the Indian market – the company is said to be in talks with Hindustan Motors, India’s oldest automaker, to sign a contract manufacturing deal in which it will be using HM’s platform to assemble its portfolio cars in India.

Reports indicate that an announcement regarding the tie-up is likely to be made by around end of February, and Proton is expected to use HM’s Chennai plant, which was initially established for the assembly of the Mitsubishi Lancer. It has also been speculated that the new contract manufacturing tie-up might be extended to HM’s ailing plants that are located in Indore and Uttarpara.

The Proton models that are expected to be initially launched in the Indian market are the Saga, Persona, Exora and Emas hybrid models.

According to an Indian daily, Hindustan Motors’ MD Manoj Jha was qouted as saying otherwise recently. “In the automobile business, there are all kinds of discussions with all sorts of companies at all points of time, but the discussions with Proton that you are talking about is not taking place.”

It has been more than a year since Proton has been mulling to enter into a contract manufacturing tie-up with an Indian firm. In previous years, the company had been in talks with the likes of Mahindra & Mahindra and the Hero group.

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CNBC TV: Proton entering India in 2011 with Saga, Savvy and Exora – currently sourcing for diesel engines

December 7, 2010 at 3:04 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, India, Malaysian Makes, Proton

Proton will finally enter India next year with three models, the Saga, Savvy and Exora, CNBC TV18 reports. The Indian business channel’s sources say that Proton is close to announcing the entry.

It adds that Proton will dive into the market on its own without a JV partner, but is likely to use Argentum Motors for contract assembly. One of the men behind Argentum – which has a facility in Surajpur, Noida – is BVR Subbu, the former Hyundai Motors India President that was appointed to the Proton board earlier this year. Subbu will head Proton’s assault on the fast growing Indian market.

According to the news report, Proton is currently re-engineering the cars to suit Indian roads and are in talks with certain OEMs to source diesel engines. Indian market leader Maruti Suzuki uses Fiat diesels for their cars; since the Multijet oil burner is already a known quantity, could it find its way into Proton’s trio? And if this diesel engine partnership (with whoever) takes off, will we be able to buy torquey and economical Protons in the near future? Here’s hoping!

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Proton EMAS to enter India using Nissan March platform?

November 1, 2010 at 3:24 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, India, Malaysian Makes, Nissan, Proton, Proton EMAS Concept

Now here’s something interesting. According to Autocar India, Proton is attempting to enter the Indian market with a small car underpinned by Nissan’s V platform. The magazine’s sources spilled that Nissan may license the said platform to Proton, who could use it for the production version of its EMAS concept.

The V platform (V for Versatile) is used by the latest Nissan March (Micra in some markets) that’s being produced in India and Thailand. Nissan’s alliance partner Renault also have plans to use this platform to spin off a range of compact cars due in 2012. This modern platform’s main advantage is its light weight and the reduction of required parts by around 18%, and as the name suggests, it’s easily adaptable.

We reported early last month on Proton looking for suitable partners for the EMAS, which was unveiled at this year’s Geneva show by Italdesign Giugiaro, and that discussions will be concluded by the end of 2010. This latest piece of news sounds like a progression of that. It’s long known that Proton has India in its sights, and the 3,550 mm EMAS could be the ideal debut car – it’s spacious but comfortably ducks under the four-metre long tax barrier.

“There were discussions in terms of technology, platforms and how we can work with others to source engines to us. The current trend is to come up with cars, including those using hybrid technology, that are fuel-efficient and produce low amounts of carbon emission. As Proton is a competitive company, we will take on this concept and make it a reality,” Proton MD Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin was quoted as saying before.

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Suzuki Alto to be rebadged as a Volkswagen in India?

October 12, 2010 at 3:40 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, India, International News, Suzuki, Volkswagen

Yes, that’s true, according to Autocar India, who revealed that Wolfsburg has identified two models from the Maruti Suzuki range that it wants to rebadge as their own. The magazine’s sources said that Maruti, Volkswagen and Skoda India officials looked at the possibility of putting a VW badge on the A-star (Suzuki Alto to us) and a Skoda emblem on the high roofed WagonR in a meeting.

If you don’t already see the connection, let us connect the dots. Last December, Volkswagen bought 19.9% of Suzuki for US$2.5 billion to start “a comprehensive partnership” with the small car expert. It is without doubt that Suzuki’s huge presence in India – where there’s plenty of scope for growth and Maruti Suzuki holds close to 50% market share – made it an attractive proposition to VW, which has dreams of surpassing Toyota as the world’s top carmaker.

When they announced the deal, VW and Suzuki said they were “focused on achieving synergies in the areas of rapidly growing emerging markets as well as in the development and manufacturing of innovative and environmentally friendly compact cars.”

Autocar India further said that high level cooperation between VW and Suzuki has already begun and an organisation structure has been put in place for regular interactions between teams from Wolfsburg and Hamamatsu to work together. The Germans want the rebadging exercise to start ASAP, targeting for the “new” A-star and WagonR to be in showrooms as early as 2012.

There won’t be a unique dashboard or sheetmetal, just new lights, bumpers and grilles, which means that the Euro badged cars will still look very much like the Suzuki originals. Would the differentiation come under the hood then? Maruti doesn’t have its own diesel engines and currently purchases them from Fiat, but it’s argued that it will be cheaper to continue doing so, even after factoring in license fees, as the Multi-jet is highly localised.

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Maruti Suzuki’s Indian market share dips below 50%, launches A-Star auto and CNG range as response

August 17, 2010 at 3:16 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, India, Suzuki

Maruti Suzuki saw India’s potential long before it became small car central, and is the undisputed market leader in the country of 1.18 billion people. However, homegrown brands and big players like Hyundai are beginning to chip at Maruti’s market share, which has fallen below 50% for the first time ever. It sold 282,488 units from April-July 2010, which is 47.68% of the total market. This is down from 53.13% (440,069 units) achieved in the same period last year.

The downward trend might be reversed come next quarter. This is because the company has boosted its large lineup with a CNG range and the A-Star automatic. Named after the 2008 concept, the latter is what we know as the Suzuki Alto (Alto name is reserved for the fifth-gen Alto, India’s most popular car). Previously only available in manual form, the A-Star auto pairs a 4-speed auto ‘box to the 60 bhp/90 Nm K-series engine. It’s essentially identical to our RM49,888 Alto GLX – so it’s surprising that we got an Indian made car a week earlier than India itself.

Maruti also just introduced compressed natural gas (CNG) tech featuring “intelligent-Gas Port Injection” or i-GPI on five popular models – SX4, Eeco, WagonR, Estilo and Alto. Maruti says that i-GPI cars are safer and offer more power than retrofitted CNG vehicles. All i-GPI cars go through the same quality checks, processes and systems as any car manufactured at Maruti Suzuki plants and get full warranty plus official after sales back up. The CNG cars are about RM3,000 costlier than the normal versions.

i-GPI is a Dual ECU tech that delivers accurate amounts of gas to the engine via separate injectors for each cylinder. Metered CNG quantity is injected into the engine through gas ports, controlled by a dedicated ECU. Each i-GPI model goes through 200,000 km real world tests in addition to over 3,000 hours of bench tests.

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VW Vento “entry level premium sedan” launched in India

August 12, 2010 at 2:47 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, India, Volkswagen

Volkswagen has launched the Vento in India, which is the sedan version of the current generation Polo. Billed as an “entry level premium sedan” the Vento is certainly priced quite “premium” from Rs 6.99 lakhs. For perspective, one can buy a base Maruti Swift for just over Rs 4 lakhs (ex showroom Delhi). The Vento range tops out at Rs 9.24 lakhs for the 1.6L TDI Highline.

The Vento is built at VW’s Chakan plant in Pune, which has an an annual capacity of 110,000 cars. There are two engines available – a 1.6-litre petrol with 104 bhp/153 Nm and a 1.6 TDI, also with 104 bhp but with 250 Nm of torque. The petrol unit can be paired to a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed auto with Tiptronic, while the diesel can only be had with the manual ‘box.

No TSI/DSG combo for India, but both powertrains are well proven units that should be very robust. Remember the cute VW Cross Polo that was sold here? That’s the same engine and gearbox VW is using for the Indian Vento. VW quotes 15.83 km/l and 14.4 km/l for the petrol manual and auto respectively, while the TDI is capable of 20.54 km/l. As with all new cars in India, the engines are Bharat Stage IV (their version of Euro 4) compliant.

Two trim levels are available – Trendline and Highline. Trendline is very basic and can be recognised by its non-body coloured door handles and only two solid colour options – white and red. Highline gets goodies like ABS, dual airbags, front passenger seat that can be adjusted from the rear, CD/MP3 stereo with 4 speakers, electric wing mirrors, Climatronic with rear AC vents and remote control central locking. The Vento’s steering is reach and rake adjustable, which is nice.

For more details on the Vento/Polo sedan, click here. More hi-res images after the jump.
[Read more...]

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Tata reaps rewards from profitable Jaguar-Land Rover, Indian Land Rover assembly starts next year

August 11, 2010 at 1:20 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Jaguar, Land Rover, Tata


Shares of Jaguar-Land Rover’s parent company, Tata Motors, rose to their highest level in almost 19 years after the company posted first quarter profits on strong demand for luxury SUVs and sedans. Tata made 19.9 billion rupees ($430 million) in the three months ending June, compared to a 3.3 billion ($71.26 million) lost last year. Tata Motors attributed the good news to the rebound in luxury vehicle sales.

Preparing for rising sales, chairman Ratan Tata, who is set to retire in 2012, wants to open Land Rover factories in India and China to pacify demand. This was confirmed by JLR CEO Carl-Peter Forster who said that Land Rovers will be assembled in India starting next year. Talks on producing Land Rover and Jaguar models on a JV basis with a partner in China is ongoing.

Jaguar-Land Rover is back into the black with a net income of 221 million GBP ($348 million) in the most recent quarter, a stark contrast to the same time last year, when it lost 64 million GBP ($101.6 million). In the period, JLR sold 57,153 vehicles, more than the 35,947 in 2009. Future plans for the leaping cat include the introduction of an XF estate (see Theophilus Chin’s version here) and a new entry level roadster.

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Ratan Tata planning to retire in 2012 – successor wanted

August 10, 2010 at 1:49 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under India, International News, Tata

Tata Sons Ltd have announced that they will actively be looking for a successor to the throne of company chairman Ratan Tata. Ratan, 72, has once said that he wouldn’t want to go out of the company in a wheelchair, and has arranged to retire at the end of 2012. Hot on the lips of everyone is his possible successor, a position to be decided by a five member committee.

Ratan, who never married, has no children. Indian media have speculated that Noel N. Tata, Ratan’s half-brother and son in law of Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry, who also happens to be the largest shareholder of the company, may be the man groomed for the job. Noel will join Tata International Ltd, the group’s overseas unit, as MD after stepping down from the same post at retail arm Trent Ltd.

The successful candidate will control a huge conglomerate that has 96 companies making cars from the $72,500 Jaguar XJ to the $2,500 Nano, producing steel and growing tea, among other things. The company creates revenue of over $70 billion and accounts for almost 7% of India’s gross domestic profit. Ratan, who is a Cornell University-trained architect, took the hot seat in 1991 and charted Tata’s growth via at least 35 overseas acquisitions, including steelmaker Corus Group Plc and Jaguar Land Rover.

It’s never easy when a family empire passes from one generation to another. Let’s hope that this one goes smoothly!

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Maruti Suzuki RIII MPV due next year, exports planned

June 11, 2010 at 2:42 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, India, International News, Suzuki

Remember the Maruti Suzuki RIII MPV Concept from the Delhi show earlier this year? Reports are out to say that the production version of that concept will be launched as early as Q1 2011 as India’s market leader has already sent out quotation requests to vendors for components to be used in the manufacturing of the MPV.

The RIII, which sits on the SX4/Swift platform but with an extended wheelbase, is likely to be made at Maruti’s Gurgaon plant before production moves to an expanded Manesar plant. As the main production hub, India could export CBU units or knocked down kits to other markets, with Latin America and Eastern Europe being the possibilities. This smells a lot like an MPV for developing markets that could possibly make its way here.

The reports add that Suzuki wants to bring the RIII to Brazil, where big shareholder Volkswagen has a big presence and production capacity.

The RIII, which will be a seven seater (concept had 2-2-2 seating), is also rumoured to carry diesel engines from VW. Since Suzuki has access to only the Fiat Multijet diesel engine from its lone plant in India (already running at full capacity), it makes sense for Suzuki source TDI units from VW. Indian media speculates that this could be the 105 bhp 1.6-litre common rail diesel from the upcoming Vento (Polo sedan). On the petrol front, Suzuki’s 1.6-litre engine from the SX4 is a possible candidate.

Click here for more on the RIII concept and a gallery.

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Hyundai faces persistent labour strikes in India, plans to shift part of i20 production to Turkey

June 10, 2010 at 12:29 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Hyundai, India, International News

First it was Honda in China, now it’s Hyundai in India. The Korean carmaker, No.2 in India after Maruti Suzuki, is the latest to be hit by worker strikes. According to a Hyundai press statement, 150 workers occupied the factory on Monday, forcing a three-day halt to production that has resulted in a loss of 4,000 cars being made and 1.3 billion rupees ($27.7 million).

This is the fourth strike since 2008 at Hyundai’s two adjacent plants in Sriperumbedur, outside the growing auto hub of Chennai, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. But here, it isn’t about money.

The strike was to demand the reinstatement of 67 workers who were involved in violent protests in July 2009. Company spokesman Rajiv Mitra said that they damaged company property and assaulted guards and will not be rehired. “If you take them back, it sets a strong precedent: Anyone can do anything and not get punished.”

The strike has since ended after government intervention. Hyundai will take back 35 of the 67 rogue employees. The others will still have to face legal charges.

Hyundai employs about 10,000 in Sriperumbedur directly and its suppliers hire an additional 40,000 people. Last year Hyundai produced 560,000 cars in India, which is the company’s global small car production hub. Hyundai is also India’s biggest car exporter. However, labour issues are causing Hyundai to reconsider putting all eggs into one basket, as it plans to move some production of i20 superminis from India to an existing factory in Turkey by August.

It’s a smart option, as making i20s in Turkey reduces delivery times and incurs lower taxes for the car’s main market, Europe. Last year, Hyundai exported about 50,000 i20s from India to Europe, more than half of total production for that model. However, i20s for the domestic market and for export to right hand drive markets will still be made in India. No Indians would be fired as a result of the shift, Mitra said.

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