I N D I A ’ S N O . 1 M A G A Z I N E F O R A U T O M O T I V E N E W S , V I E W S & A N A LY S I S
Auto Monitor Vol. 12 No. 04
1-15 March 2012
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INTERVIEW “EUFTA GIVES UNFAIR ADVANTAGE TO FEW OEMS” Pawan Goenka, President, Mahindra & Mahindra Pg 8
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INDIA: THE EFFECTS OF FUEL SUBSIDIES
Kohler to introduce higher capacity engines Abhishek Parekh Mumbai
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u ra ngabad-ba sed Kohler Engines, one of the leading suppliers of light engines to Small Commercial Vehicles (SCVs) segment, is looking to introduce its new generation engines in 1.9 to 2.5 litre range for the CV segment. Kohler is already in the process of launching these engines in Europe and North America under Kohler and Lombardini brands and the company is likely to localise the engines in India so as to benefit from higher volumes and competitive costs. “These bigger engines will allow us to cater not only to commercial vehicles above 3.5 tonne segment but also open up construction equipment and agricultural equipment markets and we would be in a position to offer much wider engine range in India at a competitive cost,” said GM, Kohler, Global Power Group, Lombardini India Pvt Ltd, Sudipto Mukherjee. These high powered and larger capacity engines, manufactured in Europe or North
DATA MONITOR Domestic Top 5 PV-makers Sector
Jan-11
Jan-12
Change
MSIL
100,422
101,047
0.62%
TML
34,688
40,213
15.93%
HMIL
30,306
33,900
11.86%
M&M ^
17,209
22,444
30.42%
TKM
9,185
17,395
89.38%
Domestic Top 5 2W-makers Sector
Jan-11
Jan-12
Change
HML
457,362
506,426
10.73%
BAL
192,026
202,214
5.31%
TVS
142,227
153,104
7.65%
HMSI
118,184
177,159
49.90%
21,974
26,300
19.69%
IYM
Domestic Top 5 CV-makers Sector
Jan-11
Jan-12
Change
TML
35,787
40,171
12.25%
M&M
10,192
11,256
10.44%
ALL
6,880
9,151
33.01%
VECV Eicher
3,357
3,551
5.78%
FML
1,888
1,870
-0.95%
* Source: SIAM/ ** Excluding exports/ *** all sub segments considered/ ^ excluding MRPL
America already have around 50 percent of components sourced from either India or China and hence increasing the localisation to 75 or 80 percent may not pose a major issue.
Expansion & Penetration In addition to exploring new segments within the agriculture and construction equipments, the company is also looking to offer higher capacity genset solutions compared to its existing range. “We are looking to have a deeper penetration in the agriculture segment but our promotional effort has not been aggressive. Tractors and power tillers are growing segments and we are looking to have a major presence in the segment,” said Mukherjee. He added that gestation period between plans and commercial production for tractors is close to around eight months to a year and the company is working with several tractors makers for forthcoming models. It will be commencing supplies to Kerala Agro Machinery, a South India-based tractor and agri-
tion of offerings at various price and feature points in the coming months,” said Mukherjee. He added that small and light commercial vehicle segment is likely to grow faster than the overall commercial vehicle segment as hub and spoke model of good transportation gains currency. The major proportion of the company business comes from SCV segment for gasoline and diesel engines. It recently c om menc e d supplies to construcSudipto Mukherjee tion equipment and cultural equipment supplier for agriculture segments. tractor engines. Additionally, it also caters to “A major proportion of our volfive to 7.5 Kva genset segment in umes will continue to come from the domestic market. SCV segment as it is an underMukherjee added that Kohler penetrated market. The choice would be the only brand visible in terms of features and tonnage in the Indian market even as capacity in the small commercial Kohler has continued with the vehicle segment is very limited. Lombardini brand in some of the We are likely to see a proliferamarkets globally.
Hero MotoCorp to ride on racing track Shambhavi Anand New Delhi
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ith an ambition to expand its presence from commuter segment to sports and powerful high speed bikes suited for markets across the globe, Hero MotoCorp Ltd announced a strategic alliance with Eric Buell Racing (EBR), US, for multiple types of collaboration. After ending its alliance with Honda, HML has signed a technology deal with the US t wo-wheeler ma nufacturer. The Indian manufacturer will also receive design support for future models. “Some of the design and technology aspects of EBR will trickle down to our existing products from as soon as 2013,” Managing Director and CEO, Hero MotoCorp, Pawan Munjal said. The hybrid scooter, Leap, was also developed in collaboration with EBR. Chairman &
CTO, EBR, Eric Buell said, “Our Indian partner has given us some challenging briefs and we are working towards it. We will not bring any of our bikes individually to the Indian market.” EBR is a specialist in customised
superbikes. Through this tieup, Hero MotoCorp will sponsor two teams—Hero and AMSOIL Hero—at Ama Pro Racing National Guard Superbikes Championship. Both these teams will ride 1190RS bikes.
Pawan Munjal, CEO, Hero MotoCorp Does the alliance with EBR mean that Hero MotoCorp will bring in superbikes? The alliance is highly f lexible and we have the f lexibility to explore options. There may be new products but they will only come may be in 2014. But from 2013, some technologies and designs of EBR will show in the existing models of Hero MotoCorp. Will this be the only technology alliance? Will there also be sharing of ownership? No. We will have several alliances. And there will be no sharing of ownership.
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STUDY
What kind of branding will be done if you go to other international markets together? The branding for each market will depend upon the market and its nature. What are the other benefits of this alliance? Such an alliance can help in bringing in hi-end technology to the general commuter bikes.
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Tata Motors plans to sell 5,000 units of Sumo Gold Bhargav TS Chennai
T
ata Motors plans to sell 5,000 units of its newly launched Sumo Gold each month from April this year. Within four months, the company has sold more than 9,000 vehicles and has gained momentum in the SUV segment. Sumo Gold is powered by CR4 engine that is developed by Tata Motors for achieving better mileage and delivers an output of 85Ps, which is the most powerful SUV in its category. According to Head, Utility
Tata Sumo Gold launched in Nov’11
Vehicles Product Group, Tata Motors, Ashesh Dhar, the company aims to be a significant player in utility segment with the help of Sumo Gold. “Currently, Sumo sells about 3,300 units per month. Before introducing the new model, we were selling only 1,100 units. Now we have increased the volumes and we plan to sell 5,000 units in another two months,” he said. The vehicle’s overall weight has been reduced considerably and with the help of CR4 engine Sumo Gold delivers better mileage of 14.3 kmpl. Along with this, the vehicle is also refurbished with new external and internal features, which has helped to reduce the cost by `40,000 when comparing to its existing models. This helped Tata Motors to sell more number of Sumo Golds in a short span. Dhar also indicated that the company will be ramping up its capacity as and when required. Currently, it is producing 3,000 Sumo variants monthly from its Pune plant.