India Cranks Out Small Cars for Export

MUMBAI -- India is becoming a small-car manufacturing hub for some of the world's biggest auto makers.
Annual passenger-car exports from India have jumped five-fold in the past five years. Industry analysts predict exports over the next three years will surge nearly 300% to more than half-a-million vehicles a year.
India's homegrown auto innovation -- Tata Motor Ltd.'s $2,500 Nano minicar -- has attracted global attention, but the export wave consists mainly of small cars built in local plants by Japanese and South Korean car makers, including Suzuki Motor Corp., Hyundai Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co.

India's small e-car to hit the road soon

RAJKOT: Makers of electric scooters and bikes under the Oreva brand, Ajanta group of India is all set to roll out its first e-car. First it was India's Tata motors putting on anvil the world's cheapest car called 'Nano' which has hogged headlines for all the reasons, including 100,000 Rupees price tag and the agitation forcing it out of Singur of West Bengal. Now, it is Oreva, the 'green' car becoming talk of Rajkot, The Tata Motors decision to put up 'Nano' car plant in Sanand village of the state coincides with Oreva manufacturing its cars from Morbi, home to its e-bikes. Both the cars have their plants in Gujarat. Ajanta will be rolling out the car from the same unit as had produced e bikes. Without divulging details about the price of the car, Rakesh Nathwani, National Marketing Head of Oreva Group said that the car would be able to run up to 200-250 kilometers in one time charge. "We don't have any competition with 'Nano'. This is our future product as we have seen electric bikes as out future products. We see electric cars also as future products for India and we are working on it. The research and development is going on. This car will go on battery and it will be a completely Indian made battery operated car," said Nathwani. But according to earlier news reports and industry sources, the company aims to price it at Rs 85,000, lesser than the 'Nano' car. Residents who came to take a preview said that they were keenly waiting for its launch. "I will definitely be the first customer," said Pooja, a resident. With oil prices having hit the rooftop this year and the countries focusing on energy security, there is greater pressure on carmakers to develop engines powered by alternate fuels.

Super luxury car makers surpass sales targets

New Delhi, A burgeoning number of high net worth individuals are driving the super luxury car market in India with world’s top brands such as Bentley and Rolls Royce surpassing their annual sales targets ahead of time. Typically, super luxury cars cost Rs 1.5 crore onwards. This year Bentley achieved its annual target of selling 25 cars in just eight months. Similar has been the situation with Rolls Royce. “The Indian market is allotted a quota of 25 cars a year. By August our order book had filled up. And we are requesting Bentley UK to allot some more models for the domestic market,” said Mr Amit Aggarwal, Corporate Sales Manager of Bentley in New Delhi. He was speaking at the sidelines of the launch of Continental Flying Spur that claims to be the world’s fastest car. The Flying Spur is a four door luxury saloon which can run 322 km/hour and will be sold at an approximate price of Rs 2.5 crore. He explained that since the cars are hand-crafted and not assembled by machines, it takes around six months to deliver to a customer after the order is placed. The process also constrains the company from producing more models. Rolls Royce dealership in Mumbai also said a robust demand in the first six months boosted sales of its models. “In the first half of the year, we crossed our target of eight-ten units. Even though the market sentiments seem to be slowing down the sales of super luxury cars, we would still exceed our figures. For the entire calendar year, the company could sell 20 units,” said Mr Sharad Kachalia, Director, Navneet Motors. According to Mr Satya Prakash Bagla, Managing Director, Bentley India, there are 50,000 individuals in the country earning income higher than $1 million. “The market is huge for such cars,” he commented. Last year, a Merrill Lynch report estimated the number of high networth individuals in the country growing by 20 per cent annually.