Major Developments Major Developments by Calendar Year

Rating agency ICRA said the Japan calamity is unlikely to have an immediate impact on India’s auto and auto ancillary industry. This calamity may not effect Indian automotive industry in immediate term but will surely have a medium and long term effect. A cost push inflation can effect the profits of some original equipment manufacturers. Several challenges that may arise in future includes disruption in supplies of vehicles and vehicle assemblies to India, cost pressures arising from appreciation of the Japanese yen, delays in model launches and delays in investment by Japanese companies in the Indian market.

These challenges adds to the difficulties arising out of increasing trend in the prices of raw materials, especially steel, rise in interest rates and the increase in customs duty on pre assembled engine and gearbox. The Indian subsidiaries and OEM’s of Japan, in the segments of two wheeler and commercials vehicles are found to be moderately dependent on imports. As per the rating agency ICRA, the extent of import dependence in passenger cars is, however, a function of the scale of operations of these OEMs.

Few days after the calamity, the production at the sites of automotive OEMs and auto ancillaries in Japan were stopped, ICRA believes that these events are unlikely to adversely impact automotive production in India in the immediate term as the various Indian importers maintain sufficient stocks. Along with monitoring developments, the Indian auto ancillaries and the OEMs are also checking on alternative locations for sourcing electronic components.

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The Italian car maker Ferrari is planning to enter the Indian market this year with popular models like California, 458 Italia, 599GTB Fiorano and the latest FF. The company had appointed Shreyas group as its official importer in India.

The prices of these models are, California is available at Rs 2.2 Cr, the 458 Italia at Rs 2.56 Cr and the 599GTB Fiorano, tagged at Rs 3.37 Cr. FF is the latest model which was unveiled at Geneva auto show will also be available in India. Its global price is yet to be decided by the company and it is powered by a engine with 6,262 cc naturally aspirated direct injected 65° V12, which produces 660 PS at 8,000 rpm and 683Nm of torque at 6000 rpm. California has 8 cylinder engine and has a top speed of 310 km/h. 458 Italia is powered by a 4,499 cc V8 engine, producing 570 PS and 7 speed transmission. 599GTB Fiorano has 6.0 L, V12 engine which produces a maximum 620 PS, making it the most powerful series production of Ferrari road car.

The first Ferrari dealership will be opened at Delhi and second one is scheduled to open at Mumbai in the second half of 2011. The company has announced that they are going to establish show rooms through out the country according to the needs of customers. An independent Ferrari India office will be set up which consists of experts from the company to assist upcoming dealer network.

The American major auto company General Motors is thinking of rising the prices of its Chevrolet cars in India. The company has already increased the prices in January by two percent and it will be the first time in the history of automobiles a price increase would happen within a span of just two months.

Chevrolet is offering great value in its products like the Spark and Beat which are showing lot of sales because of their price advantage over the competitors and the company’s much advertised ‘Three Year Promise’ plan. The company is also offering other products like Aveo, Optra, Cruze, Tavera, Captiva which are well known as value for money products. The undercutting of the rivals has a great effect on the profits of the company and so the company is forced to consider a price hike for a second time in this year and the other factor is the inflation which is consistently making the prices of the commodities to increase.

It is interesting to watch whether the sales of these models will decrease with rise in the prices. Some of the other automobile companies in India are also planning to increase the prices of their products.

The Indica eV2 is from the series of Indica and it is the successor of Indica V2. This car is the most fuel-efficient car and it has a mileage of 25kmpl along with the ARAI certificate.

The car has a diesel engine with 1396 cc pumping out 70 bhp at 4000 rpm, torque of 140 NM at a lower 1800-3000 RPM, tarter motor protection and reduction in the weight of the car by around 10 kg. The engine is provided with 32 per cent in power, 65 per cent increase in torque and most importantly, 46 per cent increase in the fuel efficiency. This is available in petrol variant also and both engines are BS IV compliant. The diesel version of Indica eV2 is available in the range of Rs. 3.95 lakhs and Rs. 4.77 lakhs and the petrol version in the range of Rs. 2.95 akhs and Rs. 3.58 lakhs.

The car is quipped with advanced technologies like SMART EMS CHIP that perfectly calibrates every minute engine component to optimize functionality, addition to that other features are MAXIMUM CHARGE COMBUSTION, which means a newly designed engine block and piston assembly, DRAG REDUCTION , which means redesigned wheel arches and subtle alterations on the exterior making car more aerodynamic and reducing the drag coefficient. The Tata Motors made the car more luxurious by adding features like Auto Drive Assist and Clutch To Start Systems. The interior features include power windows, key less entry, Blue tooth enabled music system and USB port, 4 spoke collapsible steering wheel, tachometer, rear parcel shelf, 60:40 rear seating, front and rear fog lamps. The exterior features include alloy wheels, attractive decals, a new tail light cluster and rear bumper.

The all new Tata Indica eV2 is available in four different colors and it has a warranty of 24 months or 75000 kilo meters whichever is earlier.