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. 45
www.a mo n l i n e .i n
31 December 2012
NEWS
24 Pages
`50
SALES ANALYSIS
QOROS UNWRAPS FIRST IMAGES OF GQ3 Pg 10
Pg 16
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Fiat Arm Brings AMT To India Nabeel A. Khan & Jagdev Kalsi New Delhi
M
agneti Marelli, a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Fiat S.p.A, is bringing in Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) to India. AMT is low-cost and a more fuel efficient substitute for Automated Transmission (AT). Since AMT is 20 percent cheaper than AT, it could likely accelerate adoptability going by the cost sensitive nature of the market. Moreover, the increas-
ing number of traffic and poor driving conditions will inadvertently result in higher demand for such products. Although, lately, carmakers have begun offering AT across all segments of vehicles (including with high volume cars like hatchbacks), the steeper price factor of AT has been impacting sales. The volume segment cars that are highly cost sensitive will have high acceptability of AMT in India. The components manufacturing arm of the Italian automobile major is sure of seeing tremendous potential in India.
Will AMT find takers in India? The manufacturers are optimistic.
An AMT is composed of a dry clutch, a gearbox, and an embedded dedicated control system that uses electronic sensors, processors, and actuators to actuate gear shifts on the driver’s command. This removes the need for a clutch pedal while the driver is still able to decide when to change the gear. The clutch itself is actuated by electronic equipment that can synchronize the timing and the torque required to make gear shifts quick and smooth. The system is designed to provide a better driving experience, especially in cities where congestion frequently causes stop-and-go traffic patterns.
DATA MONITOR Top 5 Car Makers Company
Nov-11
Nov-12
Change
Maruti
82,870
90,882
9.67%
Hyundai
35,000
34,751
-0.71%
M&M
19,934
27,439
37.65%
TATA MOTORS
32,829
26,547
-19.14%
TKM
13,956
10,352
-25.82%
Top 5 Car Exporters Company
Nov-11
Nov-12
Change
Hyundai
22,080
21,011
-4.84%
Maruti
8,749
12,213
39.59%
Nissan
8,032
11,721
45.93%
Ford
1,769
4,211
138.04%
TKM
-
1,005
-
* Source: SIAM/ ** Excluding exports/ *** all sub segments considered/ ^ excluding MRPL
One ECU, More Fuels Magneti Marelli is also looking at bringing solutions for flexi-fuelswhich mean one ECU can manage more than two fuel options in an engine. It is a major player in Brazil which is a strong market for ethanol-based fuel. The system is called tetra fuel, which can manage with a single ECU four fuels in a car. In Brazil available fuel options are gasoline, ethanol, CNG and could be a combination of gasolineethanol. This ECU is single. Currently, in India we have dual ECUs managing two fuels in a car.ties where congestion frequently causes stop-and-go traffic patterns. “As an area of expansion we are looking at AMT. Today the demand for AT in India is probably one percent. Although this number is slowly increasing since last year, this is mainly for two reasons. One is the increase in the number of self driving population who consider comfort and convenience in bumper to bumper traffic, and secondly there is also an increase in the number of women drivers,” said Saju Mookken, Country Manager, Magneti Marelli India. “Automatic transmission has not been well accepted in India because it increases the overall price of the vehicle, and running costs. An AMT offers the efficiency of a manual transmission and the benefits of an automatic,” said I V Rao, COO (Engineering), of MSIL. “AMT will be a good solution for India. Indian driving often requires gear shifting so our decision will eventually benefit drivers.” AMT is an OE fitment which provides comfort as well as being fuel efficient. AMTs are successfully used in several countries
globally and in mainly mass segment vehicles. Magneti Marelli also has a JV in China exclusively for AMTs, and it also supplies to many carmakers in emerging markets such as Brazil. The components maker is pitching hard to spread the adoption of this technology to other OEMs in India. It believes that by the end of 2013, it will be common to see cars loaded with AMT running on Indian roads. “You should see the first vehicle on road by end 2013. It will be more on the A, B & C segment,” Mookken said. Elaborating on the cost benefit of the technology, Mookken said, “The incremental cost of fitting in ATs is about `50,000. This also means that the overall price of the car goes up by the same amount. My belief is that we should offer for 20-25 percent lesser than that difference though it depends on the pricing that OEs implement.” There are few carmakers that have full AT solutions. In AMT without changing the basic gearbox, the company will be able to mount an electro hydraulic kit.
Yamaha Adding Muscle To Ray Jagdev Kalsi New Delhi
I
ndia Yamaha Motor Pvt Ltd is introducing a maleoriented version of the Ray scooter in India by mid-2013. For the newer version of Ray, Yamaha plans to offer a beefed up exterior and colour options to distinguish it from the current scooter, which is women oriented. The new scooter is expected to be launched at a higher price than Yamaha Ray by a small mar-
gin of `2,000-5,000. “The male-oriented Ray will come with the same chassis and engine, that too in the same state of tune. Yamaha will mainly rework on the exteriors,” said a source seeking to remain anonymous. The company is gung-ho about the brand considering the response it has received from the market. In November alone, Yamaha sold 10,348 units of Ray, and has touched an overall figure of 26,214 units till date. The new scooter will likely be manufac-
tured at the company’s Surajpur plant in Greater Noida alongside the existing Yamaha Ray. While Yamaha had marketed the Ray as a women’s scooter exclusively, it was the scooter’s paint colours that were predominantly feminine. In future, it will offer a range of colours and nipn-tucked in exteriors, Yamaha has plans to tap the larger (in numbers) male audiences for a firmer footing in the scooter market. Yamaha had also projected its focus to grab a 20 percent share of
the scooter market by 2016 at the Ray’s launch. The male-oriented Ray scooter will be Yamaha’s second step in the automatic scooter market. While Yamaha has managed to grab 4.6 percent share of the market (for November 2012) with the Ray, having three scooters in its portfolio, the segment is currently led by Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India that enjoyed a close to 50 percent market share for the same month as per SIAM data.