Motown India December 2014

VOL-5 • ISSUE-3 • DECEMBER 2014

WWW.MOTOWNINDIA.COM

B2B SECTION Pages 57-82

50

INDIA R `1.19 BMW M3, M4 COUPE FO

CR., `1.21CR.

OR VARIANT MINI LAUNCHES NEW 5-DO FOR `35.20 LAKH

Picture courtesy: Daimler

HERO AVIOR AMX

FIRST RIDE

HAMILTON ROCKS LEWIS HAMILTON WINS 2014 FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP

COMMERCIAL VEHICLE SPECIAL | MAHINDRA GETS READY WITH 3 NEW PLATFORMS

National Engineering Industries Ltd., Khatipura Road, Jaipur – 302006 CIN: L29130WB1946PLC013643 | Phone: +91 141 222 3221 | Fax: +91 141 222 1926 | E-mail: neisales@nbcbearings.in

P. THARYAN

M

otorsport saw a lot of action in the month gone by with Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes AMG Petronas team winning the last race of the 2014 season in Abu Dhabi. By winning this race, he also won the coveted F1 crown. We have a detailed report on Lewis’ win and also a short brief on him. The report has been done by

our correspondent Rahul Kapoor, an expert (and a fan) of motorsport, especially Formula One. We are indebted to Daimler for making available some great pictures of the race in their media room for us to use for editorial purposes. The 2014 race was a well fought one between Lewis and his teammate Nico Rosberg. It deserves a cover report in any motoring magazine. Moreover, for Mercedes team, it was an equally important season as they were the Constructors’ Champion.

The December 2014 issue of Motown India magazine contains all the regular pages of road tests, launches and some very interesting industry news. We have a special report on the commercial vehicle industry in India compiled together by our analytical correspondent Joshua David Luther.

But the high point of November 2014 was the short visit made by Pankaj Dubey, bossman of Polaris India (ATV and motorcycle makers), to our office. Those present in the office were glad to meet a down to earth CEO who so easily mingled with everyone in the office. His humility and smile bowled all of us over.

As we move into the beautiful Christmas season, let me wish my readers a wonderful Christmas and an even more wonderful New Year!

The lucky few with Mr.

s India

Pankaj Dubey of Polari

www.facebook.com/MotownIndia @MotownIndia

Editor

EDITOR P. Tharyan -----------------------------------News Coordinator Jisha P Senior Photographer Mohd. Nasir Correspondents Joshua David Luther, Rahul Kapoor S. Madhavan, Tripti Singh, Jasbeer Kohli Web Correspondents Avdesh Kumar, Seema Paul ------------------------------------------For Editorial contact editorial@motownindia.com editorial.motown@gmail.com ------------------------------------------For Marketing & Sales contact Head-Operations Jisha P (sales@motownindia.com / +91-9958125645) ------------------------------------------For Accounts Contact Ankit Sharma (ankit@motownindia.com / +91-9654005547) ------------------------------------------For Circulation & Subscription Contact Dalip Singh Bagdwal (subscription@motownindia.com / +91-9811305822) ------------------------------------------Editorial Delhi Office 145 B/9, First Floor, Kishangarh, Next to United Free Church, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110070, Tel: 011-26122758/59, Tele Fax: 011-26122757 ------------------------------------------Distributed By Central News Agency, New Delhi ------------------------------------------EDITORIAL CONTENT The publisher makes every effort to ensure that the contents in the magazine are correct. However, he can accept no responsibility for any effects from errors or omissions.

Any unauthorised reproduction of Motown India content is strictly forbidden.

------------------------------------------Motown India is printed, published, edited and owned by Punnoose Tharyan and published from 4058 / D-4, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070.

Printed at Pearl Printers, C-105, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi.

------------------------------------------This issue of Motown India magazine contains 84 pages including both covers.

------------------------------------------Editorial Advisors Salil Sharma, Alexander .T & Annie Jacob

December 2014 I 3

Contents B2C SECTION

PAGES 6-56

MINI LAUNCHES NEW 5-DOOR VARIANT FOR 35.20 LAKH

NEWS

6

BMW M3, M4 Coupe for 1.19 crore, 1.21 crore

8

HERO AVIOR AMX

ELECTRIC GREEN

MOTORSPORT

32

WHEELZ & ROADZ

16

Sam Bird wins Putrajaya ePrix in Malaysia

36

Volkswagen Polo GT TDI & TSI - Sexy Twins

8

New Porsche Cayenne for 1.04cr onward

20

Interview with Shreyas Kumar M, COO, Karcher Cleaning Systems Pvt. Ltd.

40

New Volkswagen Vento 1.5 TDI - Smartly packaged

10

Honda Gold Wing- GL1800 launched for 28.5 lakh onward

24

Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 Formula One Championship

44

Skoda Yeti 4X4 - Well endowed

B2B SECTION

PAGES 57-82

NEWS

70

Mahindra gets ready with three new platforms for 2015

72

No policy initiative to encourage electric vehicle makers, admits Government

74

Modern inspection system for vehicles soon, says Minister

COMMERCIAL VEHICLE SPECIAL

TECHNOLOGY

78

Mercedes-Benz lights up our world, bright and smart

79

GKN produces world’s first two-speed eAxle for hybrids, EVs

4 I December 2014

57

CAR LAUNCHES

BMW M3, M4 Coupe for 1.19 crore, 1.21 crore The all-new BMW M3 and the all-new BMW M4 Coupé were launched in India at a price of 1,19,80,000 and 1,21,80,000 respectively. The cars were launched at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida by erstwhile cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. He flagged off the cars during an exclusive event at the F1 circuit. Philipp von Sahr, President, BMW Group India was also present at the event.

The BMW M3 and BMW M4 Coupé are available at BMW dealerships across India as CBU

(Completely Built-Up) units. The BMW M3 and M4 Coupé are fitted with a straight six-cylinder engine.

The cars’ appearance is expressed in specific BMW M design features such as the distinctive M double-bar kidney grill with M emblem and flared wheel arches. Aerodynamics features such as Air Curtains and M gills with Air Breathers on the front wings, an integrated rear spoiler and diffuser in the rear apron, add to the styling of the cars.

Both the models come with M

Carbon roof which gives them a lower-slung look, reduces overall weight and lowers the centre of gravity – for even sportier driving.

The muscular power dome defines the contours of the turbocharger engine and the extended bonnet is the beginning of an athletic coupé line that exudes pure sportiness.

The M seats come with their bucket-style character and the M leather steering wheel, ensure perfect ergonomics and command of the vehicle. The interiors of both the BMW M models are dominated

by numerous hallmark BMW M elements such as M entry sills, M footrest, M gearshift lever, M circular dials. The M sports seats for the driver and front passenger have a one-piece shell at the back which was derived from the bucket seats used in motor racing.

The M emblems positioned at shoulder height in the backrests light up when entering the car, providing a special visual highlight.

The highly contoured, lightweight rear backrest for both models has an asymmetrical 60/40 split as standard.

New BMW M5 launched for 1.35 crore BMW has launched its highperformance sedan M5 in India.

The new BMW M5 is available in a petrol variant at an all India exshowroom price of 1,35,40,000.

The car will be sold as CBU (Completely Built-Up) unit thereby attracting three digit import duty.

The car has a dynamically modelled front with large air inlets via the aerodynamically optimised M wing mirrors. A particularly striking innovation is the M kidney grille featuring the M5 logo between the Adaptive LED Headlights. The LED rear lights are another dynamic highlight.

6 I December 2014

The car is driven by the M TwinPower Turbo eightcylinder petrol engine. This is the most powerful of all the BMW production engines and is distinguished by its enormous performance, outstanding power delivery, running smoothness and free-revving character. And when the new BMW M5 accelerates, with its torque of up to 680Nm, it delivers an output of 560 hp. The boost in performance pushes the new BMW M5 from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.3 seconds.

The seven-speed M dual-clutch transmission with Cruise Control

provides higher shifting and driving comfort through finely tuned gearing and seamless gear changes.

The hallmark M feeling is also conveyed by the M leather steering wheel, whose new design likewise takes visual cues from the double-spoke wheels.

The interior has also gained an increase in volume of the storage compartment under the armrest in the centre console area. The Control Display of the standardfitted iDrive operating system now features chrome trim on the sides.

The shift paddles on the M

leather steering wheel put the seven gears of the M Double Clutch transmission with Drivelogic right there at your fingertips – for absolute control.

Further, the Active M Differential at the rear axle and suspension technology precisely tuned to the performance curve with racing know-how guarantee outstanding dynamic driving performance.

CAR LAUNCHES

Mini launches new 5-door variant for 35.20 lakh Mini from BMW launched its new 3-door and 5-door variants in India on November 19, 2014. This is the first time in the company’s history that a new Mini is represented with a 5-door variant in the small car segment in India.

The new Mini Cooper D 3-door will cost 31,85,000 (ex-showroom Delhi) while the 5-door variant will cost 35,20,000 (ex-showroom Delhi).

Both of the new variants are now available at Mini dealerships across the country as CBU (Completely Built-Up) units from November 19, 2014. However the new Mini Cooper S 3-door variant will be made available at their dealerships across India as a CBU only in the first quarter of 2015. The new Cooper D variants will be available in eleven colours

to choose from---Two nonmetallic colours - Pepper White, Volcano Orange and nine metallic hues - Moonwalk Grey, Blazing Red, Electric Blue, British Racing Green, Iced Chocolate, Thunder Grey, Deep Blue, White Silver and Midnight Black. You can also customise the cars further by adding an extra Aspen White or Jet Black roof option.

The new Mini has been designed to make it look compact, agile while carrying forward the brands legacy.

The new Mini 3-door has a completely redesigned front grille which boasts of large air intakes while the Cooper S gets a black honeycomb-patterned grille. Giving the new vehicles a signature Mini look are the newly designed headlights and

taillights with full-LED headlights also available as an option. The sides have new graphics and insert options as well. The new 5-door variant is the second body variant which the company has launched of the new Mini design.

The 5-door variant reflects the car’s historical roots as well as the contemporary concept of the vehicle. The 5-door variant has a slightly longer wheelbase giving the car some added space.

The new Minis get a revamped dashboard which hosts all driving related displays such as the speedometer and the rpm indicator which are placed behind the steering wheel. The centre speedometer has now been replaced by a new infotainment central display. The interior space has been increased and has a

foldable rear backrest with an adjustable tilt angle increasing the functionality of the cars. The new Minis get a Twin Power Turbo engine which makes the car faster and lighter on fuel. The new Mini Cooper D 3-door and the new Mini Cooper D 5-door have a 1.5 litre 3-cylinder Mini Twin Power Turbo diesel engine delivering 270 Nm of torque and 114bhp of power. The cars have a top speed of 200 km/h and will go from 0 to 100 km/hr in just 9.2 seconds.

The car has a standard six-speed automatic transmission which improves efficiency, enhances shift comfort and increases shift dynamics. The engine has an auto shut off function idling in traffic to avoid unnecessary fuel consumption. The new Mini returns almost 21 km to the litre.

New Porsche Cayenne for 1.04cr onward The new Cayenne is finally here with 4 trims on offer - the Cayenne Diesel, the S Diesel, Cayenne S and the Turbo. Prices start from 1.04cr (ex-showroom Delhi). A 3.0L V6 engine in the Cayenne Diesel produces 245bhp with 550Nm of torque and has a fuel consumption of 13kmpl. The massive SUV can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 7.6 seconds and has a top speed of 218kmph. The Cayenne S Diesel with the 4.2L V8 engine produces 385bhp and torque of 850Nm. From a standstill, it reaches 100kmph in only 5.4 seconds. Top speed is 252kmph with fuel consumption of

8 I December 2014

12.5kmpl.The all-new 3.6L V6 biturbo engine of the Cayenne S gives a fuel economy of 10.2kmpl while developing 420bhp and 550Nm of torque. The engine is mated to the standard eight-speed Tiptronic S transmission. The Cayenne S accelerates from 0-100kmph in just 5.5 seconds, 0.4 seconds faster than the previous Cayenne S and has a top speed of 259kmph. The most expensive of them all is the Cayenne Turbo, powered by a 4.8L bi-turbo V8 that produces 520bhp and 750 Nm of torque. This lets the Cayenne Turbo accelerate from 0-100kmph in a mere 4.5 seconds.

The top speed of the Turbo is 279kmph.

With some minor facelifting, the Cayenne remains as big and bulky as it previously was. The exshowroom Delhi prices in detail are as follows:Cayenne Diesel - 1,04,00,000,

Cayenne S Diesel - 1,21,00,000, Cayenne S - 1,18,50,000, Cayenne Turbo - 1,78,00,000

LAUNCHES Mercedes C-class launched in India for 40.9lakh New Pajero Sport Automatic for 23.55lakh

Another new Mercedes makes its way to India. The all new C-Class is now available in India priced at 40.90 lakh ex-showroom Delhi. The C-class is the 10th car from Mercedes to be launched in India this year.

Bad news for some practicality minded people is that only the C 200 petrol engine is available. The diesel will follow soon in 2015.

But the good news is that the 2.0L 4 cylinder turbocharged petrol engine gives 14.75kmpl and the C-class ups the ante by churning out 181bhp @ 5500rpm with a max torque figure of 300Nm between 1200-1400rpm.

This makes it the most powerful engine in the segment and with a 0-100kmph figure in 7.3 seconds, it the fastest as well. Just like every other Merc, the standard 7G-TRONIC PLUS transmission will be mated to the engine with paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

Mercedes claims to have reduced the overall weight of the C-class by 100kgs from the previous W204. The new W205 is lighter thanks to high aluminium content as it has the lightest body shell in the segment. The weight of the engine has also been reduced. The result of all this is a top speed of 235kmph.

The suspension is specially designed for India which makes everything soft and gooey and

the car has a higher ground clearance.

The car has a driver mode selector called AGILITY SELECT which lets you choose between Comfort, ECO, Sport and Sport+. it also lets you set the car up individually from the engine, transmission and steering.

A creature comfort and vital feature is Cruise control with SPEEDTRONIC. The exterior gets the signature Mercedes AVANTGARDE exterior design treatment with the “sports grille with twin louvres”. All new head lamps with the LED eyebrow DRLs and dynamic LED headlamps with LED Intelligent Light system with newly designed modules are the other features. The tail lights also have a twin-torch-effect design with LEDs. For the first time the rear fog lamp is integrated in the tail light cluster.

The inside of the C-class is as elegant and luxurious as ever. With sumptuous ARTICO leather everywhere and soft fluffy seats, sensuous flowing design shapes, everything in the vehicle is of high grade materials.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) has launched the all new Pajero Sport in India.

With subtle face lifted changes to the exterior and interior, the 4X2 Pajero Sport will be available with an automatic transmission priced at - 23.55 lakh and a 4X4 manual transmission for - 25.80 lakh. Both prices are ex-showroom Delhi. Powered by the same 2.5litre turbo diesel engine as the previous Pajero Sport, it is now mated to an all new 5-speed automatic gearbox with paddle shifters with sport mode. The engine produces 175bhp but in the automatic it produces 350Nm of torque and when mated to the 5-speed manual transmission it gives 400Nm. The automatic transmission is only available as a 4x2. If you want a full blown 4x4, the manual transmission package does exactly that. Some of the noticeable changes on the exterior are the new chrome front grille, newly shaped front bumpers with fog lamps and built-in turn indicators on the ORVMs.

Honda Gold Wing- GL1800 launched for 28.5 lakh onward It is raining big bikes in India. Now it is the turn of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. to flex its big muscles. The company has introduced its touring motorcycle- Honda Gold Wing in India. Considered as the world’s best touring motorcycle, Honda Gold Wing offers the riders a unique luxurious, powerful, balanced and fully featured machine ready for every journey.

To mark the 40th anniversary of this motorcycle, Honda also announced the 40th Anniversary Edition-Gold Wing Audio Comfort for India which would be available in Dual Tone Candy Prominence Red at a price of - 28.50 lakh. The Gold Wing Airbag will be available in Pearl Glare White at a price of- 31.50 lakh (prices ex-showroom-New Delhi). Incidentally, the company has already made delivery of the Gold Wing Airbag at its exclusive Wing World in New Delhi.

Honda Gold Wing is powered by a six-cylinder 1832cc power plant. The enhanced design and dynamic styling of the Gold Wing makes it an aerodynamically refined touring powerhouse. The lightweight and rigid twin-spar aluminium frame and single-sided Pro-Arm swingarm delivers stability neutral and responsive handling. With the warmth to take the sting out of even the longest winter rides, the five-position heated grips, independently adjustable heated seats and foot-warming system make touring a year-round possibility.

10 I December 2014

let’s go FURtHeR oN oNe lItRe oF FUel. We must learn to use energy more efficiently. For 25 years, the Shell Eco-marathon has supported teams worldwide who explore ways to maximise fuel economy. Last year’s winner was capable of travelling 3,771 km on the equivalent of one litre of fuel. This spirit epitomises our relationship with car manufacturers, finding ways to make cars more efficient. And is typical of our ambition to help build a better energy future. Let’s go. www.shell.com/letsgo www.shell.com/ind.html

NEWS

Bloodhound SSC Show Car unveiled in India The British Council a division of the British High Commission, unveiled the Bloodhound SSC Show Car as part of the ‘Great Britain’ campaign on November 11, 2014 in New Delhi. The show car is meant to display UK’s capabilities in world class engineering and innovation expertise. The Bloodhound SSC has been designed to achieve speeds just over 1600kmph (1000mph). The show car was unveiled by Richard Everitt

(Director Education, British Council of India), Iain Gray (CEO, Innovate UK) and Wing Commander Andy D. Green (Bloodhound SSC Pilot) at the British Council in New Delhi.

This supersonic car has been developed using a mix of car and aircraft technology. The front of the car is made of carbon fibre monocoque like a race car while the rear of the car is made of a metallic framework and panels like an airplane. The previous version of the Bloodhound SSC was called the Thrust SSC which was also piloted

by Wing Commander Andy D. Green. On October 15, 1997 Andy Green set the world’s land speed record

L -R: Gill Caldicott, Director, Operations, British Council India, Ian Gray, Chief Executive Officer of UK’s Innovation agency-Innovate UK, Wing Commander Andy Green, Bloodhound SSC pilot aichard Everitt, Director Education, British Council India at Black Rock Desert, Nevada in the Thrust SSC. The Thrust SSC broke the sound barrier and achieved a top speed of 1,227kmph. The Bloodhound SSC has three power plants to propel it forward – a Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet from a Eurofighter Typhoon, a cluster of NAMMO hybrid rockets

and a 650hp race car engine which will drive the rocket oxidizer pump.

The combined power produced by the Bloodhound SSC is 1,35,000bhp which is equal to the power produced by 180 F1 cars.

Over 250 global companies are involved in the project while 180 of them are SMEs.

Continental launches premium car tyres in India Leading international tyre manufacturer and automotive supplier Continental AG has launched the “ContiMaxContact MC5” and “ContiComfortContact CC5” premium passenger car tyre lines in the Indian market.

Continental has established a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for PLT tyres at its existing tyre plant at Modipuram with an initial capacity of 800,000 tyres p.a. with further expansion potential.

Continental Executive Board member Nikolai Setzer who is in charge of the Tires Division noted at the launch in Mumbai that Continental is known for both its German Engineering and high technological expertise in the production of high performance tyres globally which is confirmed by its significant presence in the Original Equipment business for the premium passenger cars and

12 I December 2014

a high share in the replacement market, too.

He said that investing into production capacities is part of the company’s global strategy Vision 2025 to further improve its global manufacturing footprint and expand business in growing markets, such as India. All together Continental has invested more than two billion EUR into the construction of new production facilities in Russia, China and the US alongside to the extension of the existing plants since 2011.

“Now we are more than happy to present our production facility in India for radial car tyres”, said Setzer.

Targeting high efficiency right from the start, Continental brought experienced staff from some of its international production sites to India in order to train local staff on handling the new machinery and production techniques. Also,

more than 100 local employees were sent abroad to various international production sites in Germany, Romania, China and Malaysia for comprehensive training in radial car tyre production and technology.

“It is a great occasion for us to launch our new tyre lines “Conti Max Contact MC5” and “Conti Comfort Contact CC5” in India which is a market with promising future growth potential. The new tyre lines have been especially designed for the Asia Pacific region and are further customised for delivering the required performance to Indian car drivers.

Manufactured in our Indian plant and distributed through our Indian market organisation, these new tyre lines will help Continental become a partner of choice for both the tyre replacement and Original Equipment business,” stated Antonio Lopes Seabra,

Executive Vice-President and Head of the Business Unit Replacement Asia Pacific for PLT tyres at Continental.

Nikolai Setzer

NEWS GUEST ARTICLE

Choosing the right motor oil for your vehicle AKHIL JHA Vice President Technical (Lubricants), Shell India Markets Private Limited Choosing the right motor oil that can perform under different conditions is critical for your vehicle. To ensure minimal wear on the engine, gearbox, transfer box and front and rear differentials, it is important to select an oil that maintains viscosity and stays in grade throughout the oil-change interval, to help provide maximum engine protection.

For planning your next adventurous ride or off-road trip in challenging conditions, here is a quick checklist that will help you understand how significant role motor oil plays for your vehicle and what you should consider while selecting one.

WHY MOTOR OIL IS IMPORTANT Lubricate: The main function of a motor oil is to make it easier for moving surfaces in the engine to slide over one another, reducing friction and wear, and helping to save energy, thereby improving fuel economy.

Clean: Cleansing agents in the motor oil (dispersants and detergents) help prevent dirt particles sticking together to form sludge, varnish and other deposits, helping to keep the engine clean.

Protect: The motor oil and its anti-wear additives coat metal

surfaces in the engine, to give both a physical and chemical barrier that helps to prevent wear and corrosion.

Cool: Motor oils are circulated around the engine to transfer heat from a hot area such as the piston undercrown to release that heat into the sump or an oil cooler.

Fuel Economy: By reducing friction between moving parts of the engine, additional fuel efficiency is provided.

Emissions: Engine oils are formulated to minimize their impact on emission devices such as three-way catalysts and diesel particulate filters, allowing these devices to operate with high efficiency.

HOW TO IDENTIFY A HIGH QUALITY MOTOR OIL Industry specifications – Consult your owner’s manual to determine the proper oil viscosity grade and quality level. The label of the motor oil bottle should confirm that it meets the requirements of your engine maker and thus is suitable for use in your vehicle.

Manufacturer approvals– High quality oils will also feature approvals from vehicle manufacturers. This indicates that they have been tested and approved the oil for use in their engines. Be sure that you are

using the required specifications found in your owner’s manual.

Viscosity (oil thickness) – Check your owner’s manual for the correct viscosity grade for your vehicle.

Quality – Always use the oil quality

level prescribed by your owner’s manual. However, all oils meeting the same standard are not the same. As such, you should look for specific performance claims which indicate that the oil exceeds the minimum performance level.

A car registration number for 5.04 crore!

In India, personalised car registration numbers have seen celebrities, conmen, businessmen and smugglers vying for a unique number that would set their car number plate different from the ordinary. Lakhs of rupees have been spent in the past by individuals seeking to grab a unique car registration number . So is the trend abroad. According to a press release,

14 I December 2014

DVLA Personalised Registrations has set a new British record for a personalised registration sold by the Agency after 25 O was bought for more than £500,000. In fact, John Collins, who, as owner of Talacrest, is regarded as one of the world’s leading collectors and dealers of classic Ferraris, , bought 25 O for £518,000 ( 5.04 crore crore approximately or 50444032.69) less

than three hours after successfully buying 250 L for a staggering £130,320 ( 1.26 croreapprox.)

You might be wondering why 25 O? Well, 25 O will sit on the world’s most exclusive car, the Ferrari 250 SWB once owned by the rock singer Eric Clapton, while 250 L will head onto another exclusive car, a rare 1964 Ferrari Lusso owned by Collins.

MOTORSPORT

Sam Bird wins Putrajaya ePrix in Malaysia

S

am Bird of Virgin Racing flew to victory in the 2014 FIA Formula E Ycapital Management Putrajaya ePrix. He beat championship-leader Lucas di Grassi of Audi Sport ABT and Sebastien Buemi of e.damsRenault who came in 2nd and 3rd respectively. The Virgin Racing driver crossed the line to pick up the full 25 points and clinch his maiden ePrix win.

Bird also dedicated his win to former GP2 team-mate Jules Bianchi, who was severely injured in the Japanese Grand Prix.

Bianchi who raced for Marussia sustained fatal head injuries in an F1 race in Japan. He is still in a coma and has been shifted to Nice in France. “I have to dedicate this win to a good friend of mine who is very ill. It’s very sad what’s happened to him and this one is for Jules. The weekend went really well, we were quick from the first outing and we were quickest in practice. Qualifying didn’t quite go our way as I think we were not in the best group for doing a fast lap time but we put that right in the race. The first stint I was able to get a very good gap which meant we could take it easy and not make any silly mistakes, do some lift and coasting, and coast to the finish,” he said. Lucas di Grassi and Sebastien Buemi both managed to fight their way through the field to stand on the podium despite starting at the back of the grid, said a press statement from FIA Formula E. Meanwhile, India’s Karun Chandhok of Mahindra Racing Formula E team had a mixed day on the streets of Putrajaya, Malaysia after a pit stop problem cost him a podium position.

Chandhok finished in 6th position after fighting back from 11th in an eventful race that saw him running in 3rd position for the first half of the race. Chandhok has

16 I December 2014

moved up to 3rd position in the Championship after completion of two rounds of the inaugural FIA Formula E series. Chandhok’s teammate Bruno Senna crashed out of fourth place with just a few corners remaining.

Chandhok, who started 5th on the grid, made the most of a slow starting Daniel Abt to make his way into fourth place while Senna also made up a place passing the Abt car. Two separate incidents on the opening lap created the need for the safety car as debris were cleared from the circuit.

At the restart both Mahindra Racing cars remained in contention with Chandhok holding onto fourth, before making his way into third place by pulling off a great move on pole sitter Oriol Servia into turn 1. Chandhok was in third place putting pressure on 2nd placed ex-F1 driver Jarno Trulli for the first half of the race.

Unfortunately a delay in the pits lost Chandhok 14 seconds and positions as he slipped back to 11th place as he exited the pits. Senna meanwhile had also swapped to his second Mahindra car, and was ninth.

Senna crashed on the last lap when following third placed man Sebastien Buemi closely and made heavy impact with the barriers while Chandhok meanwhile had done well to recover to sixth place.

The Mahindra Racing Formula E team will be back in action in three week’s time for round three of the season at the Punta Del Este, Uruguay. Chandhok is supported by long term supporters JK Tyre, as well as Tag Heuer, Sidvin and the AVT group.

FIA Formula E Championship – Putrajaya ePrix (Rd 2) – Results: 1. Sam Bird, Virgin Racing, 51:11.979 2. Lucas di Grassi, Audi Sport

Pictures courtesy FIA Formula E

Karun Chandhok of Mahindra Racing Formula E team finishes 6th

ABT, +4.175s 3. Sebastien Buemi, e.damsRenault, +5.739s 4. Nicolas Prost, e.dams-Renault, +9.552s 5. Jerome d’Ambrosio, Dragon Racing, +13.722s 6. Karun Chandhok, Mahindra Racing, +17.158s 7. Oriol Servia, Dragon Racing, +18.621s 8. Antonio Felix da Costa, Amlin Aguri, +19.926s 9. Jaime Alguersuari, Virgin Racing, +20.053s 10. Daniel Abt, Audi Sport ABT, +45.663s 11. Ho-Pin Tung, China Racing,

+55.833s 12. Stephane Sarrazin, Venturi, +56.626s 13. Matthew Brabham, Andretti, +1:05.036s 14. Bruno Senna, Mahindra Racing, +1 lap 15. Franck Montagny, Andretti, +1 lap (penalty) 16. Katherine Legge, Amlin Aguri, +3 laps (penalty) 17. Jarno Trulli, Trulli, +3 laps (penalty) 18. Nelson Piquet Jr, China Racing, DNF 19. Michela Cerruti, Trulli, DNF Nick Heidfeld, Venturi, excluded (penalty)

MOTORSPORT

Lee and Prasad take home double gold from JK Tyre Racing Championship at BIC

Polo R-Cup race in progress

A

weekend full of fuel burning, tyre smoking and adrenaline pumping motorsports came to a close at the conclusion of Round 3 of the JK Tyre Racing Championship with 8 races and 6 different winners racing in 4 different classes of cars and bikes.

Lee and Prasad took home double gold from JKTRC at the Buddh International Circuit.

FB02 Day one on November, 8th, the sole race of the FB02 class on the day was won by Akhil Rabindra, but on day two (November, 9th), Vishnu Prasad came home with gold in both races after flawless drives on both occasions thus bringing him back into title contention. Vishnu suffered a jumpstart on day one, made up for his penalty on the second day after he overtook pole-sitter and Race 1 winner Akhil Rabindra as he fell behind midway through before fast-pacing Vishnu caught up with those ahead and pushed to the front. In the third race of the FB02 category, Vishnu raced ahead of Rabindra and maintained

18 I December 2014

distance to eventually win. Ananth Shanmugam eventually finished third.

POLO R CUP Day 1 of the event saw two Polo R cup races where on both occasions Lee Keshav Gupta was crowned victorious.

Race 2 saw some drama from the Luxembourg International driver, Dylan Pereira who after a tussle with Angad Singh Matharoo was eventually disqualified from 1st after the race was over. This left runner up driver Lee Keshav Gupta to take the top spot again as Angad Singh took the second and Karminder Pal Singh was eventually promoted to 3rd place.

On Day two, Dylan Pereira came to the track and meant business.

The guest driver got a great start and was amongst the top 3 racers from the beginning of the race.

The turning point in the race was on lap 4 when two of the drivers collided at the final corner leaving Matharu Krishnamurthy with a puncture on the left front tyre, body damage and what seemed like a broken suspension or steering thus ending his race. With

the stationary car on the track, the safety car was summoned which closed in the gap between the cars. This played right into the hands of Dylan who by lap 7 had already taken the lead and eventually the victory as well.

Dylan Pereira commented on has victory by saying that India was an amazing experience and is happy to have raced against such talented drivers. After gauged the level of competition yesterday, he was determined to give his best today. Aiming to be amongst top 3 and then make use of every possible opportunity, with a golden chance on the 7th lap to overtake Karthik and take the lead. Dylan concluded; “I am very happy with my performance today and I take back home a lot of learning.”

Unfortunately the winner of the previous two Polo R Cup events Lee Keshav Gupta and Angad Singh Matharoo, the two top performers of the season, retired in the initial stages of the competition.

A driver that showed the most amounts of improvement over the weekend was the 22 year old Utsav Shav driving the Polo R Cup

car No.5 for Karcher. Shah finish 14th in the first race and then 12th in the second, then in the third race, Shah found himself in 8th place to finish in the top 10.

FORMULA LGB4 De-boarding his BMW FB02 racecar and strapping himself into his No. 66 Meco Racing Formula LGB4 race car, Vishnu seems most likely to win as he started from pole. But unfortunately, Diljith TS from Dark Don Racing pipped him to the chequered flag. As Vishnu finished 0.329 seconds behind in 2nd and Raghul Rangaswamy finished third.

Diljith’s second victory in three races now gives him a good cushion to push for the championship title during the final round later this year.

SUPERBIKES CUP Home boy Kulwant Singh Monty finished first in the 1000cc Superbikes Cup race followed by Gurvinder Singh in second and Bhupinder Singh third.

The final Round of the JK Tyre Racing championship is to be held from December 12 to 14, 2014.

MOTORSPORT

Interview with Shreyas Kumar M.

Chief Operating Officer, Karcher Cleaning Systems Pvt. Ltd. Report: Rahul Kapoor What is your presence in India?

Any plans to manufacture products in India?

We have an outsourced manufacturing for a couple of our products. Karcher is a company with more than 3000 products in its range. So that’s a lot of products and for them we have 18 manufacturing facilities around the world. India is a target, but when, we aren’t very sure yet.

India has been a big market for our professional range. The consumer range is lesser known and that is

something we expect to grow in the near future.

Is the Indian automotive market exciting for you?

In India, the growth still remains in the automotive industry, though in other parts of the world, it might

be at a slight decline. But we will continue to grow with the market.

Maybe the growth won’t be as smooth and fast as it would have been a few years back, but the growth is there and we expect to be a part of this growth.

Is this Karcher’s first association in a motorsport event in India?

In India, yes. But we have always been associated with the Dakar Rally in Argentina for a very long time. We sponsor them, and we wash the vehicles competing in the rally all the time.

We do this even in other places in the world. In India, it’s our first time. Last year we were a part of “Tour of Nilgiri”, it’s a cycling tour.

We sponsored them and we washed their bicycles. We do this every year.

It’s also India’s largest cycling rally.

In motorsport, yes this is our first time in

Karcher was one of the sponsors of the JK Tyre Polo R-Cup race and even sponsored a driver in the race.

20 I December 2014

India so far.

What do you expect to gain from the Polo R Cup? There are two parts of this event that we can be present, the garages and the manufacturers which is the professional side, where they need to wash large number of vehicles every day, like in Volkswagen where we have the “Auto Car Washware” wherein cars just drive in and are cleaned, and in the garages we have washing equipment which are for professional uses in large number of volumes. Then we have the personal users, the home and garden users for which we see a lot of huge potential growth in India. We are looking to target more of that and we are planning to set up our car washing units here during the races.

Your driver, Utsav Shah finished

in the top 10 today, how do you feel about that?

It feels good to improve all the time. We hope for a podium soon.

Do you see yourself again next year in motorsport in India?

I think this is a good market for us.

We are one of the largest players in the automotive sector in terms of garage washers. Worldwide, we are the largest manufacturer of high pressure washers. In fact the “hot water high pressure washer” was invented by Alfred Karcher the founder of the company himself.

We will continue to be in the auto sector in the future as well as in Motorsport.

www.elof ic.com

Growing With Green Ideas

Filters & Lubricants

MOTORSPORT

How different is the Polo R Cup car?

Report: Rahul Kapoor Photography: Mohd. Nasir

H

ow different is the Polo R Cup car from your everyday average Polo car you get to buy at dealerships across the country? Well for starters, the Polo R Cup car has gone through a huge weight loss programme. All the plastics inside the car have been removed, including all of the seats, accessories, head liner, floor mats, spare wheel, and it now weighs only 1195kgs.

Fitted with VWs Dual clutch DSG gear box, the Polo R Cup car has a 1.4Litre Turbo charged and supercharged petrol engine.

Most other dimensions remain more or less the same, but a few body kits have been added to help with aerodynamics. Technically, the Polo is nothing like a Polo anymore. The engine now has 180bhp sent to a limited slip differential with 250Nm of torque. The battery has been replaced for a bigger one and moved to the spare wheel tub at the back for better weight distribution. Apart from the dashboard, everything has been stripped and removed.

The steering has been replaced with a lighter racing wheel from Momo with paddle shifters.

Then there is a racing seat for the driver with integrated head protection with a 6 point harness prepped for HANS device, safety net for the driver with electrical power windows at the front. The Polo R cup Race car is fitted with additional telemetry data gathering systems for driving style comparison, and an onboard camera. There is also a button system which also gives the driver a drink to keep him/her hydrated during the race. The brakes have racing ABS and have been replaced with bigger discs at the front and new discs to replace the old drums from the standard car.

The same ECU is present as the standard car but has been remapped. The suspension on the R Cup has been improved and stiffened, Other changes that are visible to the naked eye are, a rear spoiler for added downforce, air vents on the bonnet for better cooling of the engine, a slightly modified bottom grille for better intercooler efficiency and side skirtings.

The stripped out inside of the Polo R Cup car is filled with some scaffolding. The FIA approved roll cage is added for safety, along with a fire extinguisher with an internal and external release (near the windscreen wipers) and an electrical cut-off system.

22 I December 2014

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24 I December 2014

MOTORSPORT

Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 Formula One Championship

HAMILTON ROCKS Report: Rahul Kapoor & Pictures Courtesy: Daimler

L

ewis Hamilton from England became the 2014 F1 world champion when he outpaced all others to win a spectacular race at Abu Dhabi Yas Marina circuit on November 23, 2014. But the world had seen it coming almost two decades back when in 1995, a ten year old boy ran up to Ron Dennis (McLaren team boss) to ask for his autograph. While Dennis signed his name in the child’s autograph book, the boy exclaimed “One day I want to race your cars.” To which Dennis replied, “Phone me in 10 years time; we will sort something out then.” But that never happened. Because three years later, Dennis phoned the little boy to call him to drive him on his own. Dennis saw potential in this young lad from Hertfordshire so he signed him up for McLaren’s driver development programme. The contract included an option for a future F1 seat in McLaren. The boy signed his name on the paper “Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton”.

He was the youngest driver ever to get a contract which secured an F1 seat in the future.

Ron Dennis, a highly respected man world over, had found a gem for McLaren and the sport when he discovered Hamilton’s talent. Lewis had already won Karting championships, but he also went on to win everything but the kitchen sink! In 2000 he was crowned European champion, 2005 saw him take the Formula 3 gold, 2006 he took home the championship in GP2. In just a short span of time in 2007, he found himself in a McLaren F1 car racing alongside the greats and sharing a garage with the two time world champion Fernando Alonso.

December 2014 I 25

MOTORSPORT

In his first season, Hamilton showed the world he cannot be classified as a rookie. Up until the last race in Sao Paulo, Hamilton led the driver’s standings and was just piped by the Iceman Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari who won the title by one single point at the very last minute. This gave the Iceman his first title and stopped Hamilton from creating a bigger name for himself. The British driver didn’t give up. The following season in 2008 it all came down again to the final lap in Sao Paulo.

Ferrari driver [at the time] Felipe Massa, won the race and was crowned champion as Hamilton was about to finish 6th and he needed 5th to win the title. At the final corner, Hamilton was able to get past Timo Glock’s Toyota to finally live his dream that was denied to him the year before, in return denying Massa his title victory. Hamilton was crowned the world champion of 2008, the first British driver since Damon Hill in 1996 to win the driver’s title.

On December 31, 2008, it was announced that Hamilton was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by

26 I December 2014

the Queen for his contribution to the sport. Hamilton spent 4 more years in McLaren, but gained little success finishing no higher than 4th in the subsequent years.

At the end of 2012, a bomb was dropped in the paddock that Lewis will leave McLaren and is off to drive for Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team for 2013 to replace the seat vacated by the legend Michael Schumacher who retired for the 2nd time from Formula One. Lewis was paired with Mercedes’ existing driver and Hamilton’s best friend since the karting days, Nico Rosberg, the son of former world champion Keke Rosberg. The pairing was a dream come true for both the childhood mates. The first year, the two failed to make much of an impact on Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing, but the team did manage 2nd in the constructor’s.

THE RACING The year 2014 brought in new rules, engines and cars. Mercedes seemed to dominate the sport throughout the season leading the pack by more than a second a lap at almost every race. At the

early stages of the season, it seemed that Mercedes will take the title without much struggle as both cars finished on the top two steps of the podiums in almost all races. But the competitiveness of the two best friends started to take its toll. In Monaco, Rosberg set the fastest time in qualifying and locked up on one of the corners on a hot lap, stopped on track bringing out the yellow flags thus leaving him as the pole sitter for raceday as no other driver could set a fast time. Hamilton cried foul as he blamed Rosberg that he did it intentionally, but Rosberg denied it and said it was a genuine driver error. Rosberg went on to win the race as Hamilton claimed

“something had gotten into my eye” in the final stages of the race, but finished second. Incidentally it was in this race that Jules Bianchi brought home Marussia in 9th to score 2 point, the first ever championship points for the team in history. Unfortunately, Bianchi

MOTORSPORT is battling for life after an accident while racing in Japanese Grand Prix earlier this year.

In Canada, Mercedes were plagued with reliability issues for the second time during the season, as Hamilton retired again since Australia, but Rosberg was determined to finish the race with lack of power which he did finish 2nd behind Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull who took his first victory of his career. As the battle raged on, the biggest threat to Mercedes came from Williams as Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas were always up their noses through the season. Almost every race, the Williams locked out the 2nd row of the grid right behind the two Silver Arrows. When the party arrived in Austria at the Red Bull Ring, Williams this time locked out the front row as the design of the Mercedes cars didn’t seem to keep up with the Williams at the track. But despite the struggles, Rosberg and the Mercedes strategy proved to be superior when they took advantage as the Williams were harder on their tyres in race pace compared to the Silver Arrows.

The rivalry between Rosberg and Hamilton seemed to gradually flare up as the races progressed.

The paddock at Silverstone was jam packed as always, the race started and on the first lap, calamity struck, this time for Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari. Going over the curb to avoid collision with Jules Bianchi’s Marussia, the ice cool Iceman lost control and had a massive crash with an armcone and ricocheted across the track colliding with the Marussia he was avoiding in the first place and taking out Felipe Massa with him as well. The Finn was seen walking away from the crash but did report that he was a bit sore from the impact. The race was red flagged to fix the arm-cone which took ages upsetting Niki Lauda quite a bit where he was quoted saying “Formula one is over regulated” for wasting time repairing the arm-cone. Eventually Hamilton was victorious.

In Germany, at the pre-race

press conference, Raikkonen was asked what had happened at Silverstone, to which he simply replied; “I crashed”. During Qualifying Hamilton had a brake failure at the Sachs Kurve and ended up in the tyre barriers in Q2 and had to start from 16th. Come race day, a determined Hamilton drove a perfect race and finished 3rd behind Rosberg the winner and Bottas the Runner up at Hockenhiem.

The following race weekend in Hungary would be a race Hamilton would rather forget. With a blown fiery engine, Hamilton didn’t manage to set a time and was out of the 107%. But the FIA did let the Brit along with Kevin Magnussen from McLaren to start from the pit lane. Hamilton again finished 3rd as Daniel Ricciardo took his 2nd victory of the season and his career. Alonso for the first and only time this season gave Ferrari a podium by finishing 2nd.

Just as the tension wires between Hamilton and Rosberg seemed to gain some slack, Rosberg yanked at them in Spa, Belgium in an overtaking maneuver on his team mate, taking out Hamilton’s front wing and damaging the Brits car leaving him to retire by lap 38. At the post-race de-brief; Rosberg confirmed he did it on purpose, much to Hamilton’s annoyance. Ricciardo, the seeker of opportunities took his chances and brought home his 3rd victory of the season as the Mercedes drivers kept on arguing with each other.

For the rest of the season, the atmosphere in the Mercedes Garage had a whiff of stale air as both drivers let the championship get in the way of their longtime friendship. A rage filled Hamilton took charge and won the subsequent races in Italy, Singapore and Japan.

The Singapore Grand Prix, the 2nd night race, of the season everything seemed to work out for Rosberg but just as he was to head towards the starting grid to his pole spot, disaster struck.

Another reliability issue with his throttle saw him leave the grid just

Lewis Hamilton receives a well deserved kiss from his girfriend, singer Nicole Scherzinger as quickly as he arrived. Hamilton took the opportunity to take a blistering victory to extend his lead.

But the race in Japan had a cloud of darkness over it. Raceday not only had dark overcast skies but events on the day changed Formula one to be safer as torrential rain poured down and drivers struggled to find grip in the wet. Adrian Sutil decided to have a crash as he lost control.

The zone on the track was double yellow flagged and the safety car was deployed. But the medical car zipped past it to reach the crash site. No one but the marshals and the spectators of the area knew what went down at the corner.

Later on, it was revealed that Jules Bianchi at the same Dunlop Curve lost control moments after Sutil went off and went and collided with the recovery vehicle which was on track to

recover the German’s Sauber. The Frenchman collided at 212kmph with the recovery vehicle lifting the crane with the Sauber in the air and the Marussia slid under it, impacting Bianchi’s head and knocking him out unconscious.

Jules was then transported by road to Mie General Medical Centre in Yokayashi where he was rushed into intensive care in a medically induced coma.

Recently it was reported that Bianchi is out of coma and is breathing unaided and has been transferred to Nice (France) which is closer to his home. All drivers were more interested in Jules’ condition following the incident.

Massa was the first driver to reach the bedside of the injured driver in hospital after the crash. It may have brought back memories to Massa of an incident that occurred to him years ago when he was driving for Ferrari.

December 2014 I 27

MOTORSPORT All thoughts were with Jules when the teams headed to Sochi, Russia for the inaugural Grand Prix. In respect to Jules, Marussia decided to run only Max Chilton’s car in Sochi and prepped Jules’ car for the race but the whole weekend, it never left the pit garage. This would be the last race Marussia would race in all together as the weeks that led up to the United States Grand Prix, Marussia and Caterham went into administration. Hamilton took his 3rd victory on American soil. The Brazilian Grand Prix saw Rosberg dominate the race completely on the newly laid asphalt in Sao Paulo to keep his chances alive for the championship.

As Caterham resorted to crowdfunding selling off everything they own just to make it to Abu Dhabi, the team raised over a million pounds and with a lot of help from F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone, they managed to pull it off.

Marussia on the other hand made huge efforts to reach Abu Dhabi, but unfortunately, the team had to face bitter disappointment and did not race at all during the weekend.

The final round of the 2014 season in Abu Dhabi beckoned.

With a 17 point lead Hamilton needed to finish 2nd, even if Rosberg finished first. Rosberg needed to finish first, and hope Massa or Bottas could hold Hamilton off in 3rd, or finish 5thif Hamilton didn’t finish in the points at all. Saturday’s qualifying saw Rosberg on pole ahead of Hamilton beside him in 2nd.

Rosberg seemed to have the upper hand but still needed a lot of luck to help him win. As the 5 red light went out, Hamilton reacted within 0.2 seconds with a perfect start leaving the rest of the pack behind him rendering all others out of his league, literally driving off into the sunset.

Rosberg who was hoping for luck did receive it, but not in the way he hoped. Nothing went right for the German/Finish hybrid national driver whose Mercedes Hybrid system gave him everything but luck. The gremlin had got

28 I December 2014

to his car with ERS issues and Rosberg kept losing out. By the end of it after giving it all, he gave up, but when the team asked him to retire his car, Rosberg showed true sportsman ship and brought the car home to finish the race in 14th not scoring a single point.

Thus Hamilton was crowned champion once again.

STATS, FACTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS With the 2nd champion under his belt, Hamilton rewrote the history books of the sport. For Mercedes as a constructor, has won 2 championships in 1954 and 1955 with Juan Manual Fangio who is still regarded as one of the greats. But after a fatal crash that killed a Mercedes driver at Le Mans, Mercedes pulled out of all motorsport at the end of 1955, including Formula One. Mercedes returned to the sport in 2010 after it bought a stake of the 2009 world championship winning team Brawn GP and dragged out Michael Schumacher out of retirement and signed Nico Rosberg to be the 2nd driver. The team faced minimal success till 2012. At the end of the year, Michael Schumacher retired from the sport for the 2nd time.

Niki Lauda the ambassador for the team, and Ross Brawn one of the greatest aero designers and the team principal of Mercedes AMG F1 team at the time, persuaded Lewis Hamilton to leave McLaren to driver a Silver Arrow, which he did from 2013. Mercedes finally showed some pace to match the Red Bulls in that year and managed to finish 2nd in the constructor’s standings.

In 2014, Mercedes outpaced every team on the grid to take their first ever Constructors title [in 1954 & 1955, no constructors championship was awarded; only driver’s title was for contention].

Hamilton on the other hand joins the club with Graham Hill (1962, 68 champion) Jim Clark (1963, 65 champion) and Jackie Stewart (1969, 71, 73 champion) as the fourth British driver to win multiple Formula 1 championships notably

in 2008 and now in 2014. This title victory also marks the first time since 1971 that British driver took a 2nd title after Sir Jackie Stewart.

Hamilton was also able to manage 11 victories in 19 races, more than any other British driver has ever achieved in the sport. Fleet Street [the British national press] predicts that he could possibly be the greatest British driver ever. Some even say he could even be richer than, former England football team captain, David Beckham.

PADDOCK CHATTER With Mercedes dominating the whole season leaving very little for other driver’s and teams to do anything, more drama seemed to take place off the track in 2014 than it did on-track. One of the major news involved Ferrari in most parts. With Ferrari’s parent company the Fiat Chrysler group had seen enough of Ferrari’s struggles, big daddy decided to reshuffle the management thereby the biggest shock came when, in April Ferrari Team Principal, Stefano Domenicali resigned from his position after giving 23 years to the team ever since he graduated from Bologna University in 1991. It’s been said that he has been hired by Audi, rumour has it that he is the man behind Audi’s entry into Formula 1 in 2016. Another bombshell was dropped on September 10th when Ferrari President and Chairman Luca di Montezemolo, also a huge supporter of Scuderia Ferrari, stepped down from his position.

Montezemolo had worked alongside Enzo Ferrari himself, it’s been that long since Luca had been with the company.

Marco Mattiacci was appointed to take Domenicali’s place as Ferrari Team boss, but after the final race, big daddy replaced him as well after the final round of the season with Maurizio Arrivabene. Mattiacci and Ferrari driver and former 2 time world champion Fernando Alonso didn’t get along well. This left everyone to speculate that he would be leaving the team at the

end of the season as a clause in his contract allowed him to dude to Ferrari’s position in the Championship. Soon after Alonso hinted his departure, Sebastian Vettel told Christian Horner, Red Bull Team Boss, around the time of the Singapore Grand Prix that he had enough, and wanted change. Horner the following day announced that Vettel was leaving and even went on to say he was Headed to Ferrari. Ferrari up until

MOTORSPORT

Lewis Hamilton gets a hug from well wishers the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix made no statement of either Alonso leaving, nor did they announce that Vettel was to drive for them from 2015.

At the pre-race Press Conference, Alonso stated that “from Monday, I will be a fan of Ferrari” to finalize that the Spaniard would be leaving the team. Following the race, Ferrari announced that Vettel had signed a 3 year deal with the Maranello team. Kimi Raikkonen who doesn’t care about anything

that happens off the track or team politics, did say that it could help the team in 2015.

Now Alonso has not yet confirmed what he plans to do from next year though he did say that he will only sign with someone for a long term contract.

Alonso has shown keen interest in the Audi LeMans team garage.

Especially with Domenicali being in Audi, the Spaniard may take a sabbatical year, and enter into

the sport with Audi, but McLaren who will race from next year with Honda engines, haven’t yet confirmed their drivers. Alonso has been linked with the McLaren team as well.

Jenson Button, the driver for McLaren finished 8th in the driver’s standings in 2014 with 126 points for the team, and a former World Champion, is left without a drive. Button stated he it might be his last Grand Prix in

Abu Dhabi. When asked if he had done enough, the Brit stated the obvious, that he had done enough in his career to prove his worth. A single race, or one season makes no difference to it. Mclaren is the only team apart from Caterham and Marussia to confirm their driver line up for 2015.

Torro Rosso had announced in August that in 2015, they would be replacing Jean Eric Vergne and bringing in the youngest

December 2014 I 29

MOTORSPORT ever driver to drive an F1 car at the age of 17, Max Verstappen. Then with Vettel leaving Red Bull, they promoted Danil Kvyat to Red Bull to fill in the seat. Finally Torro Rosso stated that they would keep JEV in the team, but JEV announced the he wouldn’t drive for them anymore and pulled himself out of contention for the Torro Rosso seat for 2015. Torro Rosso has now confirmed that Carlos Sainz Jr. will race alongside Verstappen in 2015. The Spaniard was crowned the youngest ever Renault World Series title winner.

Force India confirmed that Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg will continue to drive for the team. On 27th of November, Hulkenberg thanked team Principal and owner Vijay Mallya for his support to let him also drive for Porsche in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) for Porsche for their third car, along-side former F1 driver Mark Webber, who made his debut with the team last year. It’s the first time in years since we can’t even remember that a driver will drive for two different teams in two different world level series in the same year. If it could be done, it’s probably “The Hulk” who can actually pull it off in such a modern competitive environment.

Sauber announced at the US GO in Austin that they had signed Marcus Ericsson from Caterham for 2015. Ericsson terminated his contract with Caterham on 12 November. Sauber have also confirmed Felipe Nasr as their 2nd driver for 2015.

Williams had one of the best seasons so far for quite a while, finishing 3rd in the constructors beating Ferrari. Even though no victories for either drivers the whole season, the only constant threat to Mercedes came from Williams. Both drivers, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas have been confirmed to drive for the team in 2015. The team also confirmed Susie Wolff as their test driver to replace Felipe Nasr who will now drive for Sauber. Wolff was the first woman to drive at a grand prix weekend since Giovanna Amati in 1992 who made 3 unsuccessful qualifying attempts. Wolff drove in 2 practice sessions at the British and German Grand Prix in 2014.

Lotus F1 Team has confirmed to retain Romain Grosjean for 2015, but has yet to comment about Pastor Maldonado’s future.

Apart from driver changes, these are possibly the only confirmations that have been made. But Lotus F1 Team has made a deal with Mercedes for the former to

30 I December 2014

supply engines to the team from 2015.

Honda will also make an entry into the sport with McLaren for the first time as an engine supplier. The last time Honda raced was back in 2008. Following end of the 2008 season, Honda pulled out due to the down turn of the economy so now they finally decided to return with McLaren. Both entities have huge history and success together. So what better way to make an entry than that?

Another rumour in the paddock is that at the Russian Grand Prix, the organizers of the Indian Grand Prix, the Jaypee Group, had talks with Bernie Ecclestone to bring back India in to the F1 calendar from 2016 after the contract with Sochi where the Russian Grand Prix is being held ran out.

The future of Marussia and Caterham are still uncertain. Marussia folded just before the Brazilian Grand Prix, leaving 200 people redundant. Whereas Caterham though made it to Abu Dhabi, it still remains to be seen if they will make it to the grid in 2015 with a car.

2015 will bring slight changes in regulations, mostly in terms of safety and reliability but not much has been confirmed by the FIA. Ayrton Senna, Lewis Hamilton’s hero growing up died on track in 1994, Senna won 3 world titles, and Hamilton’s only wish is to equal his hero, or do 1 up. With two titles under his belt, he is a step closer to making it happen for himself. It is to be seen whether Hamilton will dominate again next year to finally live his childhood dream. Or can Rosberg stop him to take his first title? With 20 races confirmed for next year, as Mexico returns to the calendar, we will have to wait and see. The season kicks off in Melbourne, Australia in Albert Park again from March 12-15, 2015. Enough time for Lewis to bask in his victory and his spoils!

AWARDS DRIVER OF THE YEAR - Lewis Hamilton.

(11 race wins) QUALIFIER OF THE YEAR – Nico Rosberg (11 poles) BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR – Daniel Ricciardo (3 race wins) ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Danil Kvyat BIGGEST THREAT FOR 2015 – Valterri Bottas MOST PROMISING DRIVER ON THE 2014 GRID – Jules Bianchi (out qualified Kimi Raikkonen Silverstone, scored first ever points for Marussia)

MOTORSPORT

Victory parade

December 2014 I 31

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

HERO AVIOR AMX

ELECTRIC GREEN Report: Rahul Kapoor, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

I

magine for a moment that Batman was Indian and that he didn’t inherit all that money from his parents and he was to still run about being a vigilante in New Delhi. He wouldn’t be able to afford the Tumbler nor would he have the Bat Pod or even the Bat. Would he own a car? In congested cities like we have here in India and the number of bottlenecks that outnumber the population of the Luxemburg, a car isn’t really practical to solve crime in.

He would be stuck in traffic the whole time. A motorcycle? Maybe.

But how about something even cheaper, discreet and silent. Like a cycle. But he would be panting at the crime scene once he arrives. Unless he had Hero’s new electric cycle, the Avior AMX. Maybe then he wouldn’t, or would he? I decided to find out.

Firstly, the Avior AMX is an electric powered bicycle. It’s powered by an extremely heavy and sealed AGM VRLA 9Ah battery. It feeds 250 watts to the rear wheel, which runs the electric motor to power the cycle. Like a conventional motorcycle, it has a throttle on the right handle and like a normal electric scooter, Hero claims this cycle too will go the distance of 25km per charge. It would take Batman 4-5 hours to charge it to its max. The left side of the handle bar has two buttons--one for the LED headlamp that illuminates just about the path ahead of you and a one for a horn that even dogs with infrasonic hearing abilities can’t hear. I blame that on the high noise levels on our streets! It also comes with 26 inch wheels with a wheel base of 1080mm and disc brakes at the front and Servo brakes at the back. The seat is adjustable to height and the battery housing at the back has an integrated red tail lamp that glows all the time

32 I December 2014

with the electric motor so that it can flatten the batteries much quicker. So it isn’t really what Batman would buy after all and we haven’t even gotten it moving yet.

Riding with the electric motor isn’t that bad actually when you first set off with full charge. The suspension is brilliant I have to say. Going over bumps was really comfortable. When it was launched, Hero said that it’s for people who want to get fit. Well if you have an electric motor, you’re not getting fit at all actually. But it does help with the cardio though, when you are pedaling. On the roads with speeding cars zipping by, a lonely bump comes along you think you can go over it, so you do. When you do go over it and find a small pot hole the front wheel falls, you clear it, then the back wheel falls in and it unsettles the cycle so badly because of the massive weight of the batteries, you almost have a massive heart attack. Going over a small little pebble could do it sometimes as well.

So you have to be very careful where you tread. You also feel the weight when you try to lift it in a narrow path when you can’t turn it around. When I lifted it, I almost pulled a hernia.

Batman doesn’t look quite happy about it. Again, I do not blame the cycle, I blame our roads. We really do not have cycle tracks. Cycles are not meant to take pot holes.

Pedaling is actually a bit difficult to drag the massive weight of the battery but the 6-speed shimano gears do help. The unsettlement at the back will still remain. But if you do have a smooth road and not too much of a gradient, you’ll be fine. Yet on a decent amount of incline, the electric motor does struggle quite a bit. But here is the problem. I was riding it all wrong. The perfect way to ride it is to

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

December 2014 I 33

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

HERO AVIOR AMX

Electric power AGV VRLA 9Ah Battery. Charging time: 4.5-5.5 hours

Power 250W

Top speed <25kmph

Claimed Range 25Km per charge

Price 19,290

34 I December 2014

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

assist the cycle with the hybrid system of electric and organic power to move along. You can use the electric motor and on a hill climb assist it by pedaling, or the other way round, pedal all the way and when you need to, use the motor to make it simpler for yourself.

Mind you, you can only go so far with it. If you have full power, the electric motor is brilliant. But get it half way empty and it all starts to go all scary again. As the juice starts running out you begin to realise the problem with every electric vehicle out there.

It doesn’t really work practically in the real world. The cycle struggled to do even 8kms to the charge when we tested it.

We didn’t drain it completely, but we doubt it would have done any more than 10. The rear servo brake did as little to stop the vehicle as Manmohan Singh did to stop inflation. So you have to rely on the front discs completely for any amount of stopping power. But its safe thanks to the heavy battery at the back, the rear won’t lift when you do stop suddenly. There are also build quality issues. It just keeps falling apart as we rode along. The LED head light kept rattling and loosened as I ride along. It’s a similar story with the bell. It just keeps falling off and just like the gear selectors, is way too far off from the handle.

The stand is flimsy and it doesn’t serve the purpose of making the cycle stand in any way what so ever. It’s ok on hard surface, but it’s still dodgy. After just a little while of riding, gradually and slowly, the tyres started to

deflate on their own and soon afterwards one of the pedals just fell off.

I was actually interested in getting one for myself actually, but it somehow doesn’t make me want to anymore. Plus you would need to change the battery every 12 to 18 months and will cost you two grand to replace. Hero is confident to make this a success, but it can be if you think about it.

What Hero needs to work on are the overall build quality and the target market. Hero wants to sell it to people who want to upgrade from a cycle. But unfortunately, they have it all wrong. Someone who uses a cycle as a primary vehicle would not be able to afford this and maintain it. In fact the person who would want to buy it would be someone like me, a guy who has a car, lives close to work, but hates taking his car every day and waste fuel and burn money--Someone who wants a cheap and affordable alternative, which would give more benefits than drawbacks to leave his car at home. It’s a brilliant piece of engineering and I appreciate the hard work from the Hero engineers and I respect them.

But it’s just not built with care as it should have been. The idea and the concept are brilliant, but the execution wasn’t what we were expecting it to be. It misses the mark by a long way unfortunately. So yes, Batman would be panting and what’s worse he would probably never make it to his destination in the first place, at least in a pot holed city like New Delhi.

December 2014 I 35

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

VOLKSWAGEN POLO GT TDI & TSI

SEXY TWINS

36 I December 2014

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

Report: Rahul Kapoor, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

O

ne major problem with the Indian car market is that there aren’t enough hot hatchbacks. In fact there aren’t any at all. The Fiesta ST, the Golf GTI, the Renault Clio, the Suzuki Swift Sport or even the Honda Civic Type –R, none of these brilliant little cars are available in India. But there is a toned down alternative from Volkswagen which seems to come close--The sexy twins-- the Polo GT TDI and TSI. But how toned down are they?

And which comes closer to being a proper hot hatch? I needed to drive them and ascertain.

Let’s start with the TDI. It seems like the perfect recipe for a proper hot hatch. But it has a

diesel engine, a 1.6L Turbo Diesel mated to a manual 5-speed transmission with no driver aides and electronics to stop you from doing anything you want with it.

The engine churns out 103bhp and 250Nm of torque. Put your foot down and you barely get time to think. It’s instant acceleration.

There is just no turbo lag what so ever. You just don’t feel anything holding it back. With a slightly stiffened suspension, in the corners, you can give it the beans and it holds steady through the corner no matter how hard you make it go. Turning hard into a sharp corner at 100kmph in 3rd gear just seems natural for it.

Barely any roll or flex from the chassis. It does feel like a typical

hot hatchback. In fact it’s exactly what a hot hatchback should feel like--small, nimble, powerful and fun.

The TSI on the other hand is a bit different. It costs the same as the TDI, but it is a bit less economical as it would be thanks to the Turbo charged petrol engine.

The 1.2L TSI screams out the same 103bhp, but with 175Nm of torque, it lacks 75Nm from the diesel. The engine is mated to a 7 speed Dual Clutch DSG Automatic transmission which is one of the greatest transmissions ever engineered. The gear shifts are like eating a red velvet cupcake--it’s so smooth you don’t realise you’ve eaten it, until you end up biting your hand. It’s similar with the

gear shifts. You don’t even realise when you change gear. Unless you take your eyes off the road and on the instrument cluster that tells you the selected gear as you watch it climb. Pushing it through corners is just as fun as the TDI, but it does feel a bit restricted because of the traction control. Even with it turned off, it’s like an annoying and overly possessive ex-girlfriend, it just won’t let you do what you really want to and when you want to, it just keeps cutting in. The current GT TSI shares the same anatomy as the previous one, the new one just feels a bit better than the old one, I don’t know how, and don’t know why. But it just does.

You feel a significant difference in sport mode in the new one

If I had to choose between the two it’s like choosing which of your two kids you like better. You love them both dearly and you can’t pick just one.

December 2014 I 37

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

GT TSI Engine & Transmission 1.2L 4 cylinder TSI Turbo Petrol / 7-speed DSG Automatic which I feel sort of lacked in the previous GT TSI. The sequential gearbox on the other hand is just as responsive as it was in the old one. I also had the privilege to max this one on the expressway in a pre-assessed condition all the way up to 190kmph.

From the outside, both the cars look exactly the same. The exterior is almost identical to the old one, with a nose job, a tummy tuck, and butt implants. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the same story inside. As the standard Polo was updated, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the same treatment for the GT that the standard variant received back in the summer.

Other than these subtle changes, everything is almost just the same.

Some changes from the old one are the front bumper just like the standard one, but the GT gets black door mirrors, as opposed to body coloured. But the most significant change visible is the GT badge which was on the right is now on the left on both cars. On

38 I December 2014

Power & Torque 103bhp 175Nm

Fuel Efficiency 17.21 kmpl

Fuel Tank Capacity 45 litres

Price `8 lakh

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

the Inside it’s just the same as the regular one, some piano black finish here, a dash of chrome there and that’s about it. But the bottle holders on the door in front are useless.

They just keep tipping over.

If I had to choose between the two it’s like choosing which of your two kids you like better. You love them both dearly and you can’t pick just one. But I would make a terrible dad, so I would pick the TDI over the TSI only for two different reasons. Yes the TDI is more practical, its make more sense to have a diesel to get better fuel economy, yet both have 4 stars for Adult safety and 3

starts for child occupants with front airbags as standard, but that’s not why I chose it. As I stated above, India lacks hot hatchbacks and these are the only ones that come remotely close to them. So why I chose the TDI is because it behaves when you tell it to, none of that traction control nonsense and what I liked most about it is because of that, it still feels like something natural, analogue, feels organic. It sort of reminds me of the MKI Golf GTI. The GT TDI just feels more of natural than the TSI. But the two are hot, no denying that, though I would like to add that they are sexy too!

GT TDI Engine & Transmission 1.6L 4 cylinder TDI Turbo Diesel / 5-speed Manual

Power & Torque 103bhp 250Nm

Fuel Efficiency 19.78 kkmpl

Fuel Tank Capacity 45 litres

Price `8 lakh

December 2014 I 39

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

NEW VOLKSWAGEN VENTO 1.5 TDI

SMARTLY PACKAGED

40 I December 2014

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

Engine & Transmission 1,498cc, TDI turbocharged diesel, in-line, 16V DOHC / 7-speed automatic (DSG)

Power & Torque 103 bhp@ 4400rpm 250 Nm@ 1500-2500rpm

Fuel Efficiency 21.21kmpl (AT)

Fuel Tank Capacity 55 litres

Price Highline - 10,94,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi) Comfortline 10,49,000 (ex-showroom Delhi)

Report: Joshua David Luther, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

O

ver the years I have witnessed auto OEMs bringing out models of cars and adding new features to them as the generations have progressed. Only a few of these additions have ever made sense to me. When I got the new Vento TDI 7-Speed DSG I did not expect to find something out of the blue to woo me but quite a pleasant surprise was coming my way.

The people at Volkswagen have got it spot on with this new offering. The new Vento is not really packed with some extra ordinary features to make you feel like itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a space ship but rather has the simplest innovations to enhance your drive and comfort in the car. The new Vento is being offered in a variety of specs and trims but we drove what I feel is the best of the lot. The difference is the 1.5 litre TDI DSG (Dual Shift Gearbox). Skipping the technical jargon the transmission has two clutches â&#x20AC;&#x201C; one clutch deals with the odd gears and the other deals with the even gears and the reverse gear. The advantage of the DSG is that shifts between gears are so smooth it can barely be felt by the passengers. The fuel efficiency of the engine is significantly improved and in terms of performance DSG does its little bit to improve the turbo lag associated with automatics. This version of the car is available in the highline and comfortline trims.

The 1498cc turbocharged, in-line, DOHC diesel engine produces 103bhp @ 4400rpm and churns out 250Nm of torque @ 15002500rpm. In short the Vento is zippy and fast.

In terms of performance the 7-speed DSG does its job effortlessly with smooth gear shifts in traffic and returning a good 20-21 km to the litre. When you do want a little more speed and floor the accelerator the response is a bit slow.

The down shift comes after about a second or so, after which there is an exceptional surge of power. If you find yourself to be in a sporty mood you can shift manually as well but the DSG will not allow you to redline much less sustain such revs. Personally I feel redlining is quite pointless and the automatic up-shift is quite helpful. On the highways the Vento remains planted firm to the ground even at

December 2014 I 41

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

higher speeds. This spec of the Vento has ABS and ESP which keep the car quite stable and the drive quite pleasurable. At this point I will simply make an observation that this is a gentlemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s car and not meant for some tattooed petrol head.

The new Vento is a true blooded Volkswagen living up to its name and the German build quality. This is not one of those Japanese made

42 I December 2014

sedans which will begin to rattle in a few years. When you are driving over bad roads or good roads you know you are seated on some high quality engineering simply because of the way this car handles on the different terrains our country has to offer. The front has a MacPherson Strut suspension while the rear has a semi-independent trailing arm.

Handling and breaking on the new Vento is exceptional with some

added assistance from integrated technologies. The Vento has 185/60 R15 tyres which give the car a good profile and enhance the handling of the vehicle.

The Vento has a minimum turning radius of 5.4 meters which is quite decent and has a ground clearance of 165mm. The design of the car has been carried over from the previous versions of the car with additions like new

dual beam headlamps and 15â&#x20AC;?

Spokane alloys. On the inside there is a new flat bottom multifunction steering wheel with pianoblack finish. Volkswagen has also made front passenger and driver airbags as standard in this car.

The real joy is on the inside of this car with little innovations which comes in handy on a day to day basis. The interiors are a dual tone beige and black with leather

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

upholstery. The soft plastics and quality of materials used on the inside give a great feel to the car.

The centre console houses the infotainment system which is Bluetooth, AUX and USB enabled.

The cup holder under the centre console has a foldable holder – so if you need more space you can fold back the cup holders and you have a larger cubby hole. The seat belts are height adjustable and the co-driver’s seat has a little lever at the back for the rear passenger to adjust the front

seat from the back. There are centre foldable armrests both in the back and the front. The front arm rest has storage space for phones or other pocket sized items. The new Vento also comes with rear ac vents which also have a foldable cup holder below it – folds out when you need it, fold it back when you don’t. The new Vento also has footwell lights which light up when you open the door to exit. This car has so many little features tucked in different places which enhance

your convenience and comfort while driving or being chauffeured around in this gentlemen’s saloon.

The fact that you have something that resembles the quality, features and technology of a luxury sedan available at the price tag of 10,94,000 (ex-showroom Delhi) is a game changer. The reason why the new Vento is one up on its competitors is the quality and convenience which has been so beautifully packaged to give this segment a new luxury standard.

December 2014 I 43

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

SKODA YETI 4X4

WELL ENDOWED Report: Joshua David Luther, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

W

hen you talk about the SUV market in India there are so many players and so many varieties to choose from that one can simply sit and drool for hours on end.

From the compact SUV segment to luxury SUVs you name it and there is a choice. The big question is where does Skodaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Yeti 4X4 fit in?

The Yeti is big on space. There is no doubting that but is still only a fiveseater which coolly would want to fit only four very large adults. Yes I am talking about snob value! This is not really one of those blundering beasts out there on the Indian roads. It is a fine tuned machine which has been carefully engineered to perfection in every aspect it has to offer. The Yeti was launched back in 2010 and at that point was perhaps ahead of its time. In its own right the Yeti is the first real compact SUV in the Indian market but on making that statement

44 I December 2014

the obvious question arises why so expensive? A simple fact of the matter is that what Skoda has to offer in the Yeti no other compact SUV will offer for a better price. This is not really an SUV for the commoner, not because of its price but because of the utility and features this vehicle has to offer.

The Yeti is predominantly a soft roader but has decent off-road capabilities and when you add a Haldex AWD coupling to the Yeti it transforms into a mighty dust buster.

The Yeti uses 2.0 litre turbo charged, 4 cylinder, liquid cooled engine which makes 138bhp @ 4200rpm and churns out a whopping 320Nm of torque @ 1750-2500rpm. Skipping the numbers the Yeti is true to its name--a mythical beast resembling the cross of a man and a bear. It is not only tuned to be powerful on and off the road but has some of the most useful features one could

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

Engine & Transmission 1968cc 4 cylinder, High pressure direct injection, DOHC, 16V, Turbocharged Diesel, Liquid Cooled / 6-speed Manual 4X4 with automatic torque distribution

Power & Torque 138bhp @4200rpm 320Nm@17502500rpm

Fuel tank capacity 60 litres

Fuel Efficiency 17.67 kmpl

Price 20.54 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)

December 2014 I 45

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

desire on an SUV. The Yeti comes in two variants a 4X2 (5-speed) and a 4X4 (6-speed) both are manual transmissions while the 4X2 variant is tuned differently and delivers less power compared to the 4X4 variant which we drove.

The Yeti feels effortless to drive on highways and is very quick through the gears. Over taking is easy and it handles like a dream on the road. The Yeti is quick through corners as well and driving it on winding roads is a treat. Even when you do decide to go off-road or encounter harsh terrain while on a weekend adventure, rest assured that this SUV is not one which will fail to amuse you with its capabilities. Be it a steep hill climb or descent or inclines of any sort Skoda’s Yeti will conquer it all with an intelligent traction distribution system. The tricky part is that for city use it is a tad bit cumbersome to drive. The Yeti is not really bulky but the clutch feels heavy and in the traffic of a metro like ours you may end up with a sore knee.

46 I December 2014

When you get inside this SUV you will not encounter raw macho manliness but rather will find subtlety and finesse oozing out of every aspect of the cabin. The build quality of the SUV keeps up with the Skoda brand and the quality of materials used is top of the line. The Yeti has a re-designed three spoke steering wheel which looks edgy and bold. The SUV comes with a touch screen infotainment system with Bluetooth, AUX and USB integration. The Yeti has steering mounted controls which enable access to some of the audio and infotainment features. It comes in one trim – Elegance which carries a host of features like 12-way electrically operated seats with 3 programmable memory functions, tyre pressure monitor, a drive off road assist, hill hold control, hydraulic brake assist, anti-slip regulation, traction control system, electronic differential lock, parktronic sensors and central infotainment display are some

features apart from the usual ABS, EBD, 6 airbags and under carriage protection. The ORVMs and interior rear view mirror also come with an automatic dimming function while the front fog lamps have a cornering function to add to enhanced driver assistance on road. The Skoda Yeti now comes with Bi-Xenon headlamps which have retractable washers and DRLS as well. The tail lamps are also LED with the new distinct C-Design carried on all the new Skoda vehicles. The Yeti comes with a host of chrome linings on the radiator grille, infotainment system, steering wheel, gear shifter, door handles, instrument cluster and the side mouldings have chrome inserts.

The ORVMS have turn indicators and an electronic retraction function. There is a dual zone air conditioning unit on the Yeti with a dual climatronic display. It also has rear ac vents under the front seats and on the rear centre console. The boot space in the

Yeti is 416 litres and is enough to hold your weekend getaway baggage. The Yeti has been designed ergonomically to suit your convenience and has a lot of smartly placed cubby holes for storage.

The ride is comfortable and sound proofing of the cabin has been done well. The suspension is moderately stiff and doesn’t feel that bumpy on the inside. The steering is very responsive and accurate. The best part about the drive is that just by the simple push of a button you have at your command a host of features to ensure the vehicle performs up to the mark, when you go off road simply hit the off-road button on the centre console and the throttle map changes to suit road conditions, the ESP is not so intrusive but does its job well.

The AWD system enhances the feel of the drive with generous amounts of traction. The hill ascent and descent control, electronic differential lock and

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

traction control all come to the drivers aid when you simply push the off-road button enabling the driver to move forward without really worrying about how many wheels are grounded or what terrain they are moving over. All of this at a price of 20.54 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi) is not a bad bargain. The Yeti does come at a hefty cost but is completely worth it. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a beast, no doubt, but a well endowed one!

December 2014 I 47

FEATURES & TRAVEL

JUST CHILLING WITH A MAHINDRA GUSTO

Report: P. Tharyan, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

I

was bugged with all kinds of deadlines...Deadlines for paying my bills, deadlines for filing my reports, deadlines for getting funds, deadlines for paying my income tax, et al. I was tired too. I was tired of listening to lies, tired of false promises, tired of calls from PR agencies trying to sell me a story idea, tired of begging for vehicles to test drive and also tired of my 20 something correspondent Joshua David Luther telling me I was getting old. I had to rush out and scream....I had to rid myself of this monotonous, boring and dreary lifestyle I was leading. I had to break myself free from the shackles of boredom. It was then I remembered that I had the new Mahindra Gusto scooter lying at my place.

Joshua had done a test ride of this scooter at Khimsar in Rajasthan. There was no point reviewing it again. I rushed home and cleaned the scooter and got it back to its shining self. It had hardly been parked for a couple of days and it was covered in a thick layer of dust. Now it was ready to move and ride me out of my mundane thoughts.

I inserted the key in its slot. The electric start button got the two-wheeler purr to life. Off I went to a place I knew.

I cut through the traffic with ingenuity like a fleet footed athlete. The scooter was beginning to impress me with its manoeuvring abilities and its torque. No gears to change and no super hot engine to burn a hole in your thighs.

Effortlessly I rode on unmindful of the distance. I could see my lens man Mohd Nasir capturing every moment with his Canon EOS 7D. For him it was an assignment he could not afford to miss.

I felt my youth rushing back. I lifted my tired legs and giggled like a kid in senior school. I kept my helmet on.

A stickler for rules, I never compromise on safety. While there are all kinds of four letter words we use in our life time, there is one I dread the most--- “COMA”. Jules Bianchi, Michael Schumacher....driving accidents can really mess up your life, better safe than sorry, they say.

Mounds of gravel lying by the side of the road triggered my passions further. Youthful fervour gripped me like two strong arms around a slender waist. I rode the scooter on top of the mound. Just like that. No real purpose but to satisfy my child like cry. It was fun at its best. I saw

48 I December 2014

Nasir clicking away furiously. He had never seen his Editor bitten by this strange bug. But he was enjoying it. He too, I presumed was bored to death with his mundane shots... panning, tracking, interiors, exteriors, one-third, twothirds. This was different, no matter how silly or juvenile or mad it looked or felt. Here was a machine and man in absolute tandem. This was not a straight line ride, this one was all over at one go.

The all new Mahindra Gusto is an indigenous scooter built by Mahindra Two Wheelers. It’s stylish in every aspect. It’s great for every youth, or anybody with a heart beating as fast as a youth.

At the heart of this scooter is a powerful aluminum M-Tech 110cc 4-stroke, air cooled engine which produces 8bhp @ 7500rpm and churns out 9Nm of torque @ 5500rpm. This peppy little 4-stroke has been designed and engineered in Mahindra’s very own R&D facility in Pune. The Gusto is light and zippy even though it has one of the longest wheel bases in the segment at 1275mm.

I made full use of the strength of the telescopic air suspension in the front and hydraulic long stroke suspension in the rear. This was a Mahindra product that comes from the very same family that has studs as strong as the XUV 500, the Scorpio and the Thar. It comes from the same family that has a purposeful baby like the Mahindra Reva. It comes from the same family that scores best with its Centuro. I did my cornering at speeds above 50kmph. It stood its ground, the brakes too behaved perfectly. Both its brakes are 130mm mechanical drum brakes. They say a front disc brake variant is in the offing.

In front I noticed a small storage box than can best keep your mobile phone safe. I wish it had a lid over it to cover it from rain. In case of pouring rains, one can keep your wallet and mobile in it and ride on. Thankfully, it was not raining and I made the best use of the November weather in Delhi. It was not hot, neither was it cold. It was perfect to cut through the wind and experience the youthful days for a fleeting moment. The Gusto does that to you, it helps you discover your past, your youth and vigour and brings back loads of fun times, all wrapped up in great nostalgic flavour. Imagine what a simple ride can do to your life?

FEATURES & TRAVEL

December 2014 I 49

CAR PRICES

Buyersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Guide * Prices (Ex-Showroom Delhi)

OFF-ROAD VEHICLE PRICES SEGMENT

MODEL

ENGINE (CC)

PRICE (RS.)

POLARIS

ATV & Youth Mode

Outlaw 50

49

2.64 (Lakhs)

Phoenix 200

196

4.89 (Lakhs)

RZR 170

169

5.29 (Lakhs)

Sportsman 400 H.O

445

7.25 (Lakhs)

Sportsman 500 H.O

498

7.67 (Lakhs)

Sportsman 570 EFI

567

7.94 (Lakhs)

Sportsman 850 H.O

850

14.72 (Lakhs)

Sportsman Big Boss 800

760

15.35 (Lakhs)

400

455

11.14 (Lakhs)

Crew 500 EFI

498

13.97 (Lakhs)

Crew 800

760

18 (Lakhs)

Ranger Diesel

904

20.48 (Lakhs)

Ranger EV

NA

12.82 (Lakhs)

RZR S 800

760

22.85 (Lakhs)

RZR XP 900

875

21.13 (Lakhs)

RZR XP4 900

875

24.10 (Lakhs)

Widetrak LS

488

10.86 (Lakhs)

Ranger

Ranger RZR Snowmobile

CAR PRICES MODEL

VARIANTS

ENGINE*

FUEL*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

* Engine in Litres | Fuel - Petrol (P), Diesel (D), CNG, LPG, Hybrid (H), Electric (E) | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs/Crore

MODEL

ASHOK LEYLAND Stile ASTON MARTIN DB9 Rapide Vantage Vanquish AUDI

A3

A4

LE - 8 Seater LS - 7 Seater LX - 7 Seater

1.5 1.5 1.5

D D D

20.07 20.07 20.07

7.49 8.49 8.99

DB9 Rapide S V8 Vantage V8 Vantage S V8 Vantage N430 V12 Vantage S V12 Vanquish

6.0 6.0 4.8 4.8 4.8 6.0 6.0

P P P P P P P

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

1.8

P

16.30

30.05

2.0

D

20

22.95

1.8 TFSI Premium Plus + Sunroof 2.0 TDI Attraction 2.0 TDI Premium + Sunroof Edition 2.0 TDI Premium Plus + Sunroof 2.0 TDI Technology Pack + Sunroof 1.8 TFSI Premium Edition 2.0 TDI Special Edition 2.0 TDI Standard Edition 2.0 TDI Premium Edition 2.0 TDI Premium Plus 2.0 TDI Technology Pack 3.0 TDI Quattro Premium Plus 3.0 TDI Quattro Technology

50 I December 2014

2.0

D

20

27.05

2.0

D

20

31.05

2.0

D

20

33.05

1.8 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0

P D D D D D D D

15.64 17.11 17.11 17.11 17.11 17.11 14.94 14.94

31.30 29.45 30.10 35.45 37.71 39.74 55.02 57.82

VARIANTS

ENGINE*

FUEL*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

* Engine in Litres | Fuel - Petrol (P), Diesel (D), CNG, LPG, Hybrid (H), Electric (E) | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs/Crore

A6

A8 L

Q3

Q5

Q7 RS5 RS7 R8 R8 Spyder

2.0 TFSI Premium Edition 2.0 TDI Business Edition 2.0 TDI Premium Edition 2.0 TDI Premium Plus 2.0 TDI Technology Pack 3.0 TDI Quattro Premium 3.0 TDI Quattro Premium Plus 3.0 TDI QuattroTechnology 4 .0 TFSI quattro 3.0 TDI quattro 4.2 TDI quattro W12 TDI quattro 2.0 TFSI S 2.0 TDI 2.0 TDI Quatrro Premium 2.0 TDI Quatrro Premium Plus 2.0 TDI Quatrro Dynamic 2.0 TDI Quatrro Premium 2.0 TDI Quatrro Premium Plus 2.0 TDI Quatrro Technology 3.0 TDI QuattroTechnology 3.0 TDI Quattro Premium 3.0 TDI Quattro Premium Plus 3.0 TDI QuattroTechnology 4.2 TDI Quattro Technology 4.2 FSI Quattro 4.0 TFSI Quattro V8 4.2 FSI V10 5.2 FSI V10 5.2 FSI

2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 3.0 4.2 NA 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.2 5.2 5.2

P D D D D D D D P D D D P D D D D D D D D D D D D P P P P P

NA 17.60 17.60 17.60 17.60 14.50 14.50 14.50 9.20 6 NA NA 9.89 17.3 15.73 15.73 15.73 14.10 14.10 14.10 13.20 12 12 12 11.30 9.20 NA 8 7.60 7.70

44.20 39.90 46.52 48.29 51.91 55.80 60.78 63.13 1.33 (Cr.) 1.14 (Cr.) 1.23 (Cr.) 1.81 (Cr.) 27.40 25.49 32.54 36.80 38.40 47.16 49.46 53.44 60.11 61.35 66.59 72.35 80.94 1.05 (Cr.) 1.33 (Cr.) 1.66 (Cr.) 1.95 (Cr.) 2.14 (Cr.)

CAR PRICES * Prices (Ex-Showroom Delhi) MODEL

VARIANTS

ENGINE*

FUEL*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

* Engine in Litres | Fuel - Petrol (P), Diesel (D), CNG, LPG, Hybrid (H), Electric (E) | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs/Crore

3.0 TFSI Quatrro 4.0 TFSI Quattro 2.0 TFSI Quattro

3.0 4.0 2.0

P P D

10.30 NA 12.40

52.64 89.95 55.15

GT W12 GT V8 GT Speed W12 GT V8 S GTC W12 GTC V8 GT Speed Convertible GT V8S Convertible Flying Spur V8 Flying Spur W12 Mulsanne

6.0 4.0 6.0 4.0 6.0 4.0 6.0 6.0 4.0 6.0 6.8

P P P P P P P P P P P

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

116i Prestige 118d Prestige 118d Sport Line 118d Sport Plus 320d Prestige 320d Sport Line 320d Luxury Line 328i Sport Plus 320d GT Luxury Line 520d Prestige 520d Modern Line 520d Luxury Line 525d Luxury Plus 530d M Sport 640d Convertible 650i Convertible 640d Coupé 650i Coupé 640d Gran Coupé Eminence 730 Ld Eminence 730 Ld Signature ActiveHybrid 7L 750Li Eminence 760Li Eminence sDrive20d Expedition sDrive20d Sport Line sDrive20d xLine xDrive20d Expedition xDrive20d xLine xDrive30d Expedition xDrive30d Design Pure Experience xDrive30d Design Pure Experience (7 Seater) M3 M4 Coupe M5 M6 Gran Coupé sDrive 35i sDrive 35i Design Pure Traction

1.6 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 5.0 3.0 5.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 5.0 6.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0

P D D D D D D P D D D D D D D P D P D D D P P P D D D D D D

16.28 20.58 20.58 20.58 18.88 18.88 18.88 14.59 19.59 18.48 18.48 18.48 17.09 14.69 17.54 10.86 11.23 18.18 17.54 16.46 16.46 13.85 11.62 7.46 17.05 17.05 17.05 18.56 18.56 NA

22.65 25.60 28.55 32.50 34.30 37.90 37.90 42.50 42.75 46.90 49.90 49.90 55 59.20 NA NA NA NA 1.11 (Cr.) 1.03 (Cr.) 1.22 (Cr.) 1.35 (Cr.) 1.40 (Cr.) 1.87 (Cr.) 30.75 36 36 44.90 49.90 64.90

3.0

D

15.35

69.90

3.0

D

15.35

71.50

3.0 3.0 5.0 4.3 3.0

P P P P P

10.75 10.75 10.10 10.10 10.37

1.20 (Cr.) 1.22 (Cr.) 1.35 (Cr.) 1.75 (Cr.) 71

3.0

P

10.37

72

Veyron Grand Sport

8.0

P

NA

12 (Cr.)

1.2 PS 1.2 LS 1.2 LT 1.2 LT Option 1.0 PS 1.0 LS 1.0 LT 1.0 LT Option 1.2 LS LPG 1.2 LT LPG LT LTZ LT (MT) LTZ (MT) LTZ (AT) 1.4 LS - 8 Seater 1.4 LS -7 Seater 1.4 LT - 8 Seater 1.4 LT - 7 Seater 1.4 LTZ - 8 Seater 1.4 LTZ - 7 Seater 1.3 TCDi LS - 8 Seater 1.3 TCDi LS -7 Seater 1.3 TCDi LT - 8 Seater 1.3 TCDi LT - 7 Seater 1.3 TCDi LTZ - 8 Seater 1.3 TCDi LTZ - 7 Seater 1.2 PS 1.2 LS 1.2 LS ABS 1.2 LT ABS 1.3 TCDi PS 1.3 TCDi LS

1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.2 2.2 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3

P P P P D D D D LPG LPG D D D D D P P P P P P D D D D D D P P P P D D

18.61 18.61 18.61 18.61 25.44 25.44 25.44 25.44 13.30 13.30 14.60 12.12 17.30 17.30 NA 13.70 13.70 13.70 13.70 13.70 13.70 18.20 18.20 18.20 18.20 18.20 18.20 18.20 18.20 18.20 18.20 22.10 22.10

4.01 4.27 4.68 5.17 4.82 5.10 5.52 5.94 4.53 4.97 23.75 25.85 13.79 15.28 16.30 5.81 5.83 6.36 6.38 7.16 7.18 7.05 7.08 7.50 7.52 8.20 8.22 4.41 4.88 5.10 5.77 5.38 5.88

S4 S6 TT BENTLEY MOTORS

Continental

Flying Spur Mulsanne BMW 1 Series

3 Series

5 Series

6 Series

7 Series

X1 X3

X5

M

Z4 BUGATTI Veyron CHEVROLET

Beat

Captiva Cruze

Enjoy

Sail Hatchback

MODEL

VARIANTS

ENGINE*

FUEL*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

* Engine in Litres | Fuel - Petrol (P), Diesel (D), CNG, LPG, Hybrid (H), Electric (E) | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs/Crore

Sail Hatchback

Sail Sedan

Spark

Tavera

1.3 TCDi LS ABS 1.3 TCDi LT ABS 1.2 PS 1.2 LS 1.2 LS ABS 1.2 LT ABS 1.3 TCDi PS 1.3 TCDi LS 1.3 TCDi LS ABS 1.3 TCDi LT ABS Spark 1.0 LS LT Neo 3 -10-BS3 Neo 3 Max -10-BS3 Neo 3 Max -7-BS3 Neo 3 LS-10-BS3 Neo 3 LS-7-BS3 Neo 3 LS-7(C)-BS3 Neo 3 LT-9-BS3 Neo 3 LT-8-BS3 Neo 3 LT-7(C)-BS3

1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.0 1.0 1.0 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5

D D P P P P D D D D P P P D D D D D D D D D

22.10 22.10 18.20 18.20 18.20 18.20 22.10 22.10 22.10 22.10 16.20 16.20 16.20 13.58 13.58 13.58 13.58 13.58 13.58 13.58 13.58 13.58

6 6.81 5.19 5.71 6 6.48 6.39 6.78 7.07 7.65 3.45 3.72 4 7.34 8.19 8.32 8.95 9 9.10 10 10.44 10.69

D D1 A T

1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2

P P P P

20.63 20.63 20.63 20.63

3.12 3.15 3.46 3.79

Active Fire Dynamic Fire Active Multijet Dynamic Multijet Emotion Multijet Active Fire Active T-Jet Dynamic T-Jet Emotion T-Jet Active Multijet Dynamic Multijet Emotion Multijet Classic Fire Classic Multijet Classic Plus Multijet Active Fire Dynamic Fire Emotion Fire Active Multijet Dynamic Multijet Emotion Multijet Sport 93 PS

1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3

P P D D D P P P P D D D P D D P P P D D D D

14.40 14.40 20.50 20.50 20.50 15.70 15.70 15.70 15.70 20.40 20.40 20.40 14.90 19.50 19.50 15.80 15.80 15.80 21.20 21.20 21.20 21.20

5.99 7.05 6.89 7.65 8.17 7 7.45 8.54 9.03 8.17 9.29 9.74 5.88 6.86 7.40 4.56 5.12 6.66 5.27 6.21 6.83 7.20

EX 6 Seater LX-ABS 6 Seater SX-ABS 6 Seater SX-ABS 5 Seater Hard Top (4x4) Soft Top (4x2) Soft Top (4x4)

2.6 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.6 2.6 2.6

D D D D D D D

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

9.38 14.02 12.41 12.49 8.51 6.27 8.36

LXi Duratec CLXi Duratec Titanium Duratec LXi Duratorq CLXi Duratorq Titanium Duratorq Ambiente M/T Trend M/T Titanium M/T Titanium A/T Titanium Ecoboost Titanium (O) Ecoboost Ambiente (D) Trend (D) Titanium (D) Titanium (O) (D) 2.5L 4x2 M/T 3.0L 4x2 A/T 3.0L 4x4 A/T Ambiente Trend Titanium LXi Duratec EXi Duratec ZXi Duratec Titanium Duratec LXi Duratorq EXi Duratorq ZXi Duratorq Titanium Duratorq

1.6 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.5 3.0 3.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4

P P P D D D P P P P P P D D D D D D D D D D P P P P D D D D

14.09 14.09 14.09 19.68 19.68 19.68 15.80 15.80 15.80 15.60 18.90 18.90 22.70 22.70 22.70 22.70 12.67 10.70 10.70 25.01 25.01 25.01 15.22 15.22 15.22 15.22 19.99 19.99 19.99 19.99

4.89 5.58 6.36 6.20 6.67 7.36 6.46 7.31 8.27 9.29 8.66 9.19 7.44 8.17 9.17 9.71 20.32 21.76 23.54 7.99 8.83 9.57 3.87 4.41 4.72 5.11 4.83 5.38 5.70 6

E M/T EX M/T S M/T

1.2 1.2 1.2

P P P

18 18 18

5 5.32 5.71

DATSUN Go FIAT

Avventura

Linea

Linea Classic

Punto Evo

FORCE Force One

Gurkha FORD

Classic

Ecosport

Endeavour

Fiesta

Figo

HONDA Amaze

December 2014 I 51

CAR PRICES * Prices (Ex-Showroom Delhi) MODEL

VARIANTS

ENGINE*

FUEL*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

* Engine in Litres | Fuel - Petrol (P), Diesel (D), CNG, LPG, Hybrid (H), Electric (E) | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs/Crore

Amaze

Brio

City

CR-V

Mobilio

SX M/T VX M/T S A/T VX A/T E M/T EX M/T S M/T SX M/T VX M/T E M/T EX M/T S M/T V M/T VX M/T VX A/T E M/T S M/T SV M/T V M/T VX M/T SV CVT VX CVT EMT SMT SVMT VMT VXMT 2WD M/T 2WD A/T AWD A/T AWD A/T AVN E S V V (O) E S V V (O) RS RS (O)

1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.0 2.0 2.4 2.4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

P P P P D D D D D P P P P P P P P P P P P P D D D D D P P P P P P P P D D D D D D

18 18 15.50 15.50 25.80 25.80 25.80 25.80 25.80 19.40 19.40 19.40 19.40 19.40 16.50 17.80 17.80 17.80 17.80 17.80 18 18 26 26 26 26 25.10 13.70 13.70 12 12 17.30 17.30 17.30 17.30 24.20 24.20 24.20 24.20 24.20 24.20

6.25 6.64 6.72 7.55 5.97 6.26 6.71 7.13 7.49 4.06 4.25 4.60 4.94 5.33 6.13 7.20 7.83 8.41 8.97 9.91 9.41 10.96 8.38 9.01 9.55 10.11 11.05 20.25 21.25 22.88 24.36 6.49 7.51 8.77 9.46 7.89 8.60 9.76 10.45 10.86 11.55

S M/T SX M/T SX A/T L M/T S M/T SX M/T SX A/T D-Lite D-Lite+ D-Lite+ LPG Era+ Era+ Lpg Magna+ Magna+ LPG Magna+ 1.0L Kappa Sportz Kappa Era Kappa Magna Kappa Sportz Kappa Sportz A/T Kappa Asta Kappa Asta A/T Kappa Asta (O) CRDi Era CRDi Magna CRDi Sportz CRDi Asta CRDi Asta (O) 1.1 Era 1.1 Magna 1.1 Magna LPG 1.1 Sportz 1.1 Sportz LPG 1.2 Kappa Era 1.2 Kappa Magna 1.2 Kappa Sportz 1.2 Kappa Sportz (O) 1.2 Kappa Asta 1.4 CRDi Era 1.4 CRDi Magna 1.4 CRDi Sportz 1.4 CRDi Sportz (O) 1.4 CRDi Asta 2WD M/T 2WD A/T 4WD A/T GL Plus GL Plus LPG GLS GLS LPG

1.8 1.8 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.0 0.8 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 2.2 2.2 2.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1

P P P D D D D P P P/LPG P P/LPG P P/LPG P P P P P P P P P D D D D D P P P/LPG P P/LPG P P P P P D D D D D D D D P P/LPG P P/LPG

16.30 16.30 14.30 22.70 22.70 22.70 19.10 21.10 21.10 21.10 21.10 21.10 21.10 21.10 20.30 21.10 18.90 18.90 18.90 18.90 18.90 18.90 18.90 24 24 24 24 24 19.81 19.81 19.20 19.81 19.20 18.60 18.60 18.60 18.60 18.60 22.54 22.54 22.54 22.54 22.54 14.74 13.01 13.01 17.92 13.45 17.92 13..45

12.92 14.13 15.10 13.37 14.09 15.27 16.24 2.88 3.16 3.41 3.29 3.55 3.59 3.84 3.87 3.86 4.42 4.60 4.98 5.70 5.25 5.96 5.55 5.27 5.45 5.83 6.10 6.40 3.99 4.19 4.46 4.47 4.74 4.99 5.51 6 6.34 6.56 6.10 6.62 7.14 7.45 7.67 25.60 26.41 28.41 3.75 3.95 4 4.15

MODEL

Eon

Grand i10

i10

Elite i20

Santa Fe

Santro Xing

52 I December 2014

ENGINE*

FUEL*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

* Engine in Litres | Fuel - Petrol (P), Diesel (D), CNG, LPG, Hybrid (H), Electric (E) | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs/Crore

Sonata

Verna

Xcent

2.4 GDI M/T 2.4 GDI A/T GL CX EX SX SX A/T SX (O) CRDi GL CRDi CX CRDi EX CRDi SX CRDi SX A/T CRDi SX (O) CRDi SX (O) A/T 1.2 Kappa Base 1.2 Kappa S 1.2 Kappa S (O) 1.2 Kappa S (O) A/T 1.2 Kappa SX 1.2 Kappa SX (O) 1.2 Kappa SX (O) A/T 1.1 CRDi Base 1.1 CRDi S 1.1 CRDi S (O) 1.1 CRDi SX 1.1 CRDi SX (O)

2.4 2.4 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1

P P P P P P P P D D D D D D D P P P P P P P D D D D D

13.04 12.35 17.43 17.43 17.01 17.01 15.74 17.01 23.50 23.50 22.32 22.32 19.08 22.32 19.08 19.10 19.10 19.10 16.90 19.10 19.10 16.90 24.40 24.40 24.40 24.40 24.40

18.75 20.78 7.39 8.29 8.35 8.79 9.51 9.73 8.56 9.49 9.64 9.98 10.68 11.01 11.73 4.73 5.39 5.64 6.36 6.29 6.54 7.26 5.62 6.28 6.53 7.18 7.43

D-Max Single Cab D-Max Space Cab Flat Deck D-Max Space Cab Arched Deck BS3 4x2 MT BS3 4x2 MT HI Pack BS4 4x2 MT BS4 4x2 MT HI Pack

2.5 2.5

D D

NA NA

5.89 6.09

2.5

D

NA

6.99

3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0

D D D D

NA NA NA NA

19.69 21.65 19.99 21.95

F-Type Coupe F-Type S Coupe F-Type R Coupe F-Type V6 S Covertible F-Type V8 S Covertible XF 2.0 XF 2.2 XF 3.0 XFR 5.0 2.0 Premium Luxury 2.0 Portfolio 3.0 Premium Luxury 3.0 Portfolio XKR Coupe XKR Convertible XKR - S

3.0 3.0 5.0 3.0 5.0 2.0 2.2 3.0 5.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 5.0 5.0 5.0

P P P P P P D D P P P D D P P P

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 9.4 NA NA NA NA NA

1.22 (Cr.) 1.34 (Cr.) 1.82 (Cr.) 1.49 (Cr.) 1.75 (Cr.) 49.08 49.39 57.51 NA NA 93.76 92.62 99.21 NA NA NA

LP 700-4 LP 700-4 Roadster LP 610-4

6.5 6.5 5.2

P P P

6.3 6.3 NA

3.69 (Cr.) 4.77 (Cr.) 3.43 (Cr.)

3.0 V6 SE 3.0 V6 HSE TD4 S BE TD4 SE TD4 SE Sterling Edition TD4 HSE TDV6 HSE TDV6 Vogue SDV8 Vogue SE SDV8 Autobiography V8 SC Autobiography TDV6 Vogue LWB SDV8 Vogue SE LWB SDV8 Autobiography LWB V8 SC Autobiography LWB

3.0 3.0 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 3.0 3.0 4.4 4.4 5.0 3.0 4.4 4.4 5.0

P P D D D D D D D D P D D D P

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

1.05 (Cr.) 1.14 (Cr.) 39.74 43.38 44.92 48.72 1.73 (Cr.) 1.97 (Cr.) 2.35 (Cr.) 2.43 (Cr.) 2.50 (Cr.) 2.08 (Cr.) 2.44 (Cr.) 2.56 (Cr.) 2.63 (Cr.)

ISUZU D-Max

MU-7 JAGUAR

F-Type

HYUNDAI

Elantra

VARIANTS

XF

XJ

XK LAMBORGHINI Aventador Huracan LAND ROVER Discovery 4

Freelander 2

Range Rover

Range Rover Evoque

Range Rover Sport

Pure

2.2

D

NA

55.36

Prestige Dynamic Dynamic Coupe

2.2 2.2 2.0

D D P

NA NA NA

65.47 64.64 NA

SDV6 S

3.0

D

NA

1.10 (Cr.)

SDV6 SE SDV6 HSE SC Autobiography

3.0 3.0 5.0

D D P

NA NA NA

1.25 (Cr.) 1.43 (Cr.) 1.66 (Cr.)

Plus Non Ac BS3 / BS4 Plus Ac BS3 / BS4 Ex Non Ac BS4 Ex Ac BS4 DI Non Ac BS3 / 4WD Non Ac BS3 DI Ac BS3 SLE BS3 / BS4

2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5

D D D D

15.96 15.96 15.96 15.96

6.27 / 6.54 6.64 / 6.92 6.18 6.57

2.5

D

15.96

6.02 / 6.44

2.5 2.5

D D

15.96 15.96

6.28 6.81 / 6.95

MAHINDRA

Bolero

CAR PRICES * Prices (Ex-Showroom Delhi) MODEL

VARIANTS

ENGINE*

FUEL*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

* Engine in Litres | Fuel - Petrol (P), Diesel (D), CNG, LPG, Hybrid (H), Electric (E) | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs/Crore

Bolero Getaway Quanto

Rexton

Scorpio

Thar

Verito

Verito Vibe

XUV 500

XYLO

SLX BS3 / BS4 ZLX BS3 / BS4 Getaway 2WD / 4WD C2 C4 C6 C8 RX5 MT RX6 MT RX7 AT S2 S4 / S4 4WD S6 / S6 PLUS S8 S10 / S10 4WD Thar DI 2WD / 4WD 4x4 CRDE D2 D4 D6 ABS D6 ABS EXECUTIVE D2 D4 D6 W4 FWD W6 FWD W8 FWD W8 AWD W8 FWD SPORTZ D2 BS III / BS IV D2 MAXX BS III / BS IV D4 BS III / BS IV H4 BS IV / ABS BS IV H8 ABS BS IV / ABS AIRBAG BS IV H9 BS IV

2.5 2.5 2.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.5 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.5 2.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.2

D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

15.96 15.96 15.96 17.21 17.21 17.21 17.21 11.18 11.18 11.18 NA NA NA NA NA 18.06 18.06 20.08 20.08 20.08 20.08 20.08 20.08 20.08 15.10 15.10 15.10 15.10 15.10 14.88 14.88 14.88 14.02

7.30 / 7.45 7.46 / 7.60 7.91 / 8.85 6.10 6.94 7.38 7.87 18.91 20.35 21.59 8.40 8.99 / 10.11 10.15 / 10.43 11.32 11.95 / 13.05 4.83 / 5.31 7.37 6.42 6.64 7.31 7.77 5.71 5.97 6.57 10.83 12.05 13.63 14.68 13.85 7.72 / 7.86 7.52 / 7.66 8.14 / 8.27 8.53 / 8.77

2.2

D

14.02

9.75 / 10.12

2.2

D

14.02

10.93

MODEL

T01 e2o T2

E

NA

5.95

E

NA

6.82

0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8

P P P P P P CNG CNG CNG

22.74 22.74 22.74 22.74 22.74 22.74 30.46 30.46 30.46

2.37 2.73 2.94 3.10 3.07 3.25 3.10 3.31 3.49

Grand Vitara Gypsy Omni

Ritz

Swift

Swift Dzire

WagonR

Alto 800

Alto K10

Celerio

Ciaz

Eeco

Ertiga

Grand Vitara

Alto 800 STD Alto 800 LX Alto 800 LXI Alto 800 LXI Airbag Alto 800 VXI Alto 800 VXI Airbag Alto 800 STD CNG Alto 800 LX CNG Alto 800 LXI CNG Alto 800 LXI Anniversary Edition Alto K10 LX Alto K10 LXi Alto K10 VXi Alto K10 VXi (O) Alto K10 VXi (AGS) Alto K10 LXi (CNG) Celerio LXI Celerio LXI AMT Celerio VXI Celerio VXI AMT Celerio GREEN VXI Celerio ZXI Celerio ZXI (O) VXi VXi Plus ZXi ZXi (O) VXi Plus AT ZXi AT VDi VDi Plus ZDi ZDi (O) Eeco 5 Seater Eeco 5 Seater Ac Eeco 7 Seater Eeco Flexi Green Eeco Green 5 Seater Non Ac Eeco Green 5 Seater Ac Ertiga LXI Ertiga LXI CNG Ertiga VXI Ertiga VXI ABS Ertiga VXI CNG Ertiga ZXI Ertiga LDI Ertiga VDI Ertiga ZDI Grand Vitara MT

0.8

P

22.74

2.98

1 1 1 1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 2.4

P P P P P P/CNG P P P P CNG P P P P P P P P D D D D P P P CNG CNG CNG P CNG P P CNG P D D D P

24.07 24.07 24.07 24.07 24.07 24.07 23.10 23.10 23.10 23.10 31.79 23.10 23.10 20.73 20.73 20.73 20.73 19.12 19.12 26.30 26.30 26.30 26.30 15.10 15.10 15.10 20 20 20 16.02 22.80 16.02 16.02 22.80 16.02 20.77 20.77 20.77 10.40

3.06 3.22 3.38 3.57 3.8 3.82 3.76 4.14 4.05 4.43 4.68 4.34 4.79 6.99 7.55 8.24 8.59 8.65 9.34 8.04 8.63 9.45 9.80 2.98 3.27 3.15 4 3.62 3.97 5.80 6.40 6.56 6.64 7.14 7.35 7.22 7.85 8.49 22.68

FUEL*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

WagonR Stingray

Grand Vitara AT King Soft Top King Hard Top Omni 5 Seater Omni 8 Seater Ritz Lxi Ritz Vxi Ritz Vxi ABS Ritz Vxi AT ABS Ritz Zxi Ritz Mc Ldi Ritz Mc Vdi Ritz Mc Vdi ABS Ritz Mc Zdi Swift Lxi Swift Lxi (O) Swift Vxi Swift Zxi Swift Ldi Swift Vdi Swift Zdi Swift DzireLxi Swift Dzire Vxi Swift Dzire Vxi AT Swift Dzire Zxi Swift Dzire Ldi Swift Dzire Vdi Swift Dzire Zdi WagonR Mc Lx WagonR Mc Lxi WagonR Mc Lxi CNG WagonR Mc Vxi WagonR Mc Vxi ABS WagonR Duo LPG Stingray Lxi Stingray Vxi Stingray Vxi (O)

2.4 1.3 1.3 0.8 0.8 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

P P P LPG P P P P P P D D D D P P P P D D D P P P P D D D P P CNG P P LPG P P P

9.24 11.96 11.96 10.90 14.70 18.50 18.50 18.50 17.16 18.50 23.20 23.20 23.20 23.20 20.40 20.40 20.40 20.40 25.20 25.20 25.20 19.10 19.10 17.40 19.10 23.40 23.40 23.40 20.51 20.51 26.60 20.51 20.51 14.60 20.51 20.51 20.51

24.60 5.79 5.93 2.47 2.40 4.23 4.57 4.80 5.76 5.15 5.27 5.59 5.76 6.15 4.42 4.49 5.08 5.90 5.56 6 6.95 4.85 5.44 6.34 6.31 5.78 6.51 7.32 3.48 3.79 4.31 4.04 4.34 4.13 4 4.28 4.55

Gran Turismo Gran Turismo Sport Gran Turismo MC Stradale Gran Cabrio Gran Cabrio Sport Gran Cabrio MC Quattroporte S Quattroporte S Q4 Quattroporte GTS

4.2 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 3.0 3.0 3.8

P P P P P P P P P

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

A 180 Sport A 180 CDI Style B 180 Sport B 180 CDI C 200 Avantgarde C 63 AMG CLA 45AMG CLS 350 E 200 CGI Avantgarde E 250 CDI Avantgarde E 350 CDI Avantgrade E 63 AMG G 63 AMG GL 350 CDI GL 63 AMG GLA 200 CDI GLA 200 Sport GLA 200 CDI Sport GLA 45AMG ML 250 CDI ML 350 CDI ML 63 AMG S350 CDI SLK 350 SLK 55 AMG

1.6 2.1 1.6 2.1 2 6.2 2.0 3.5 2.0 2.1 3.0 5.5 5.5 3.0 5.5 2.2 2.0 2.2 2.0 2.1 3.0 5.5 3.5 3.5 5.5

P D P D P P P P P D D P P D P D P D P D D P D P P

15.50 20.06 14.91 18.98 14.74 NA NA 9.26 13.82 14.21 NA NA NA NA NA 17.90 NA NA NA 14.80 8.70 10.41 NA NA NA

26.56 25.64 28.87 27.75 40.90 1.07 (Cr.) 68.50 91.90 46.33 48.47 58.50 1.29 (Cr.) 1.85 (Cr.) 74.90 1.70 (Cr.) 32.75 36 36.90 69.60 54.80 65.80 1.50 (Cr.) 1.09 (Cr.) 71.90 1.26 (Cr.)

Cooper D Cooper D Cooper Convertible

1.5 1.5 1.6

D D P

21.15 21.15 NA

31.85 35.20 34.80 26.55

MASERATI

Gran Turismo

MARUTI

ENGINE*

* Engine in Litres | Fuel - Petrol (P), Diesel (D), CNG, LPG, Hybrid (H), Electric (E) | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs/Crore

MAHINDRA REVA Electric Motor Electric Motor

VARIANTS

Quattroporte MERCEDES-BENZ A-Class B-Class C-Class C 63 AMG CLA45 AMG CLS-Class E-Class E63AMG G 63 AMG GL-class GLA-class GLA45 AMG ML-class ML 63 AMG S-class SLK-class MINI Mini 3-Door Mini 5-Door Mini Convertible Mini Countryman

One Countryman

1.6

P

NA

Cooper D Countryman

2.0

D

NA

28.55

Sport 4x2 A/T Sport Di-D 4x4

2.5 2.5

D D

13.5 13.5

23.55 23.80

Evalia XE Evalia XE+ Evalia XL Evalia XL Option Evalia XV Evalia XV Option Evalia SV Micra XL

1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.2

D D D D D D D P

19.30 19.30 19.30 19.30 19.30 19.30 19.30 18.44

8.63 9.13 9.92 10.17 10.59 10.84 11.62 4.90

MITSUBISHI Pajero NISSAN

Evalia

Micra

December 2014 I 53

CAR PRICES * Prices (Ex-Showroom Delhi) MODEL

VARIANTS

ENGINE*

FUEL*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

* Engine in Litres | Fuel - Petrol (P), Diesel (D), CNG, LPG, Hybrid (H), Electric (E) | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs/Crore

Micra

Micra Active

New Sunny

Terrano

Micra XL COMFORT Micra XV CVT Micra DCI XE Micra DCI XL Micra DCI XL COMFORT Micra DCI XV Micra DCI XV PREMIUM Micra Active XL Micra Active XV Micra Active XV S New Sunny XE New Sunny XL New Sunny XL CVT New Sunny XE D New Sunny XL D New Sunny XV D New Sunny XV D Premium Safety New Sunny XV D Premium Leather Terrano XL Terrano XE D Terrano XL D Terrano XL D PLUS Terrano XL D THP Terrano XV OPTION D THP Terrano XV OPTION D THP Premium

1.2 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

P P D D D D D P P P P P P D D D

18.44 19.34 23.08 23.08 23.08 23.08 23.08 19.49 19.49 19.49 17.97 17.97 17.97 22.71 22.71 22.71

5.53 6.52 5.54 5.88 6.52 6.91 7.15 4.19 4.48 4.79 6.99 7.74 9.06 8.12 8.74 9.49 9.77

1.5

D

22.71

1.5

D

22.71

9.97

1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

P D D D D D

13.24 20.45 20.45 20.45 19.01 19.01

9.68 9.63 10.66 11.02 11.26 12.20

1.5

D

19.01

12.50

Careera Careera S Careera 4 Careera 4S Careera Cabriolet Careera S Cabriolet Careera 4 Cabriolet Careera 4S Cabriolet GT3 Turbo Turbo S Boxter S Cayenne Diesel Cayenne S Diesel Cayenne S Cayenne Turbo Cayman S Turbo S Diesel Panamera Panamera Diesel Panamera 4 Panamera GTS Panamera Turbo

3.4 3.8 3.4 3.8 3.4 3.8 3.4 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.4 3.0 4.2 3.6 4.8 3.4 3.6 3.0 3.6 3.0 3.6 4.8 4.8

P P P P P P P P P P P P D D P P P D D P D P P P

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 13 12.5 10.2 NA NA 10.80 15.80 NA NA NA NA NA

1.29 (Cr.) 1.51 (Cr.) 1.42 (Cr.) 1.61 (Cr.) 1.47 (Cr.) 1.68 (Cr.) 1.57 (Cr.) 1.78 (Cr.) 2.14 (Cr.) 2.20 (Cr.) 2.67 (Cr.) 92.02 1.04 (Cr.) 1.21 (Cr.) 1.18 (Cr.) 1.78 (Cr.) 94.51 1.09 (Cr.) 98.18 1.20 (Cr.) 1.23 (Cr.) 1.22 (Cr.) 1.61 (Cr.) 2 (Cr.)

GX GLX DX LX Multijet

1.2 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.5

P P D D D

15 15 13 13 20

6.31 6.59 7.02 7.30 6.70

RXE RXL 85 PS RXE 85 PS RXE Adventure 85 PS RXL 85 PS RXL Plus 85 PS RXL Option 110 PS RXL 110 PS RXL Adventure 110 PS RXL AWD 110 PS RXZ 110 PS RXZ AWD 110 PS RXZ Plus 110 PS RXZ Option E2 E4 4x2 MT 4X4 MT 4X4 AT RXE RXL RXZ RXL RXL ABS RXZ RXE RXL RXL CVT RXZ CVT RXE RXL RXZ

1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

P P D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D P P P D D D P P P P D D D

13.24 13.24 20.64 20.64 20.64 20.64 20.64 19.01 19.01 19.72 19.01 19.72 19.01 19.01 20.04 20.04 17.15 16.26 14.56 18.06 18.06 18.06 23.08 23.08 23.08 16.95 16.95 17.97 17.97 21.64 21.64 21.64

7.86 9.12 8.70 9.26 9.69 9.99 10.93 10.80 11.91 11.89 11.39 12.99 11.86 11.91 13.99 15.49 22 25 26 4.46 5.19 5.77 6.16 6.34 6.99 7.24 8.02 9.16 10.07 8.35 8.86 9.75

MODEL

Boxter Cayenne Cayman Macan

Panamera

PREMIER

Rio

Fluence Koleos

Pulse

Scala

54 I December 2014

FUEL*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

ROLLS-ROYCE Ghost

Phantom Series II Wraith SKODA

Fabia

Octavia

Rapid

Superb Yeti

Ghost SWB Ghost EWB Ghost V-Specification Phantom Phantom EWB Drophead Coupe Coupe Wraith

6.6 6.6 6.6 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.6

P P P P P P P P

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

Active Plus 1.2 MPI Ambition Plus 1.2 MPI Elegance 1.2 MPI Elegance 1.6 MPI Active Plus 1.2 TDI CR Ambition Plus 1.2 TDI CR Elegance 1.2 TDI Active 1.4 TSI Ambition 1.4 TSI Elegance 1.8 TSI AT Active 2.0 TDI CR Ambition 2.0 TDI CR Ambition 2.0 TDI CR AT Elegance 2.0 TDI CR AT Active 1.6 MPI Ambition 1.6 MPI Plus Elegance 1.6 MPI Elegance 1.6 MPI Black Package Ambition 1.6 MPI AT Plus Elegance 1.6 MPI AT Elegance 1.6 MPI Black P ackage AT Active 1.5 TDI CR Ambition 1.5 TDI CR Plus Elegance 1.5 TDI CR Elegance 1.5 TDI CR Black Package Ambition 1.5 TDI CR Plus AT Elegance 1.5 TDI CR AT Elegance 1.5 TDI CR Black Package AT Elegance 1.8 TSI MT Elegance 1.8 TSI AT Elegance 2.0 TDI CR AT Elegance 2.0 TDI CR 4x2 Elegance 2.0 TDI CR 4x4

1.2 1.2 1.2 1.6 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.8 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.6 1.6 1.6

P P P P D D D P P P D D D D P P P

16.4 16.4 16.4 14.8 21 21 21 16.80 16.80 14.70 20.60 20.60 19.30 19.30 15 15 15

5.03 5.43 6.29 6.60 6.24 6.65 7.51 14.68 15.68 18.98 16.31 17.31 18.31 20.21 7.22 8.32 8.72

1.6

P

15

8.85

1.6 1.6

P P

14.30 14.30

9.30 9.68

1.6

P

14.30

9.81

1.5 1.5 1.5

D D D

21.66 21.66 21.66

8.39 9.40 9.74

Pure LX 4x2 BS IV Pleasure LX 4x2 BS IV Pride 4x4 BS IV ev2 LS BS III / BS IV ev2 LX BS III / BS IV emax GLS BS IV emax GLX BS IV GLX BS IV GVX BS IV LS LX VX emax GLS emax GLX Safire GLS Safire GLX Safire GVX Safire GEX Quadrajet LS Quadrajet LX Quadrajet VX Quadrajet EX Nano STD Nano CX Nano LX New Nano CX New Nano LX Nano Twist XT Nano CX CNG Nano LX CNG Dicor EX BS 3 / BS 4 Dicor LX BS 3 / BS 4 Storme EX BS 4 Storme VX BS 4 (4x2 / 4x4) Storme LX BS 4 CX BS 4 CX - PS BS 4 LX BS 4 EX BS 4 FX BS 4 GX BS 4 LS BS 3 LX BS 3 Quadrajet LS BS 4

1.5

D

21.66

9.87

1.5 1.5

D D

21.66 21.66

10.50 10.84

1.5

D

21.66

10.97

1.8 1.8 2.0 2.0 2.0

P P D D D

13.10 13.70 17.20 17.72 17.67

20.91 22.48 25.39 18.99 20.53

2.2 2.2 2.2 1.4 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.4 1.4 1.3

D D D D D P/CNG P/CNG P P D D D P/CNG P/CNG P P P P D D D D P P P P P P P/CNG P/CNG D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

15.05 15.05 15.05 25 25 NA NA 15.64 15.64 25 25 25 NA NA 13.70 13.70 13.70 13.70 21.02 21.02 21.02 21.02 25.34 25.34 25.34 25.34 25.34 25.34 NA NA 11.57 11.57 14 14 14 15.30 15.30 15.30 15.30 15.30 15.30 22.30 22.30 16.70

9.95 12 14.74 4.17 / 4.44 4.52 / 4.85 3.89 4.16 4.92 5.20 5.04 / 5.38 5.39 / 5.57 5.95 4.87 5.14 5.92 5.95 6.34 7.28 5.96 6.70 7.35 8.30 1.41 1.86 2.10 1.96 2.21 2.34 2.33 2.58 9.32 / 9.74 8.29 / 8.50 11.08 12.43 / 13.70 9.93 6.24 6.41 6.50 6.93 7.28 7.55 4.82 5.26 5.27

TATA Aria

Indica

Indigo eCS

RENAULT

Duster

ENGINE*

* Engine in Litres | Fuel - Petrol (P), Diesel (D), CNG, LPG, Hybrid (H), Electric (E) | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs/Crore

PORSCHE

911

VARIANTS

Manza

Nano

Safari Safari Storme

Sumo Gold

Vista

CARS/TWO WHEELERS * Prices (Ex-Showroom Delhi) MODEL

VARIANTS

ENGINE*

FUEL*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

* Engine in Litres | Fuel - Petrol (P), Diesel (D), CNG, LPG, Hybrid (H), Electric (E) | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs/Crore

Vista Xenon XT

Zest

Quadrajet VX Tech BS 4 XT EX 4x2 XT EX 4x4 XE Revotron 90PS XM Revotron 90PS XMS Revotron 90PS XT Revotron 90PS XE Quadrajet 75PS XM Quadrajet 90PS XMS Quadrajet 90PS XT Quadrajet 90PS XMA Quadrajet 90PS

1.3 2.2 2.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3

D D D P P P P D D D D D

21.12 13.49 13.49 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

5.95 9.51 10.50 4.64 5.25 5.43 5.99 5.64 6.27 6.45 6.99 6.99

2.5 A/T Hybrid 1.8JS 1.8G 1.8G (CVT) 1.8GL 1.8 VL A/T D4-DJ D4-DJS D4-DG D4-DGL J PS G V VX D-4D JD D-4D GD D-4D VD D-4D VXD J PS G V VX TRD Sportivo D-4D JD D-4D GD D-4D VD D-4D VXD D-4D TRD Sportivo Cross G Cross V D-4D GD D-4D VD 4x2 M/T 4x4 M/T 4x2 M/T (TRD Sportivo) 4x2 A/T 4x2 A/T (TRD Sportivo) G Euro IV 8 Seater GX Euro IV 8 Seater VX Euro IV 8 Seater E Euro IV / Euro III Non AC 8 Seater E Euro IV / Euro III Non AC 7 Seater E Euro IV / Euro III PS 8 Seater E Euro IV / Euro III PS 7 Seater G Euro IV / Euro III 8 Seater G Euro IV / Euro III 7 Seater GX Euro IV / Euro III 8 Seater GX Euro IV / Euro III 7 Seater VX Euro IV / Euro III 8 Seater VX Euro IV / Euro III 7 Seater ZX Euro IV / Euro III 7 Seater GX Euro IV / Euro III 8 Seater Silver GX Euro IV / Euro III 7 Seater Silver GX Euro IV / Euro III 8 Seater Bronze GX Euro IV / Euro III 7 Seater Bronze

2.5 2.5 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.2 1.5 1.4 1.4 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.0 2.0 2.0

P P P P P P P D D D D P P P P D D D D P P P P P D D D D D P P D D D D D D D P P P

12.98 19.16 14.05 14.05 15.22 14.05 15.22 21.45 21.45 21.45 21.45 16.78 16.78 16.78 16.78 23.59 23.59 23.59 23.59 17.71 17.71 17.71 17.71 16.78 23.59 23.59 23.59 23.59 23.59 17.71 16.78 23.59 23.59 12.55 12.55 12.55 11.88 11.88 10.35 10.35 10.35

25.84 30 12.40 13.92 15.22 15.56 17.07 13.25 13.82 15.22 16.86 5.74 6 6.44 7.06 6.84 7.14 7.54 8.16 4.76 4.93 5.43 5.94 6.57 5.94 6 6.46 6.97 6.95 5.95 7.35 7.13 7.43 22.25 23.52 22.88 23.25 23.88 10.20 11.59 13.70

2.5

D

13.31

9.97 / 9.72

2.5

D

13.31

10.01 / 9.76

2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5

D D D D D D D D D

13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31

10.50 / 10.25 10.54 / 10.29 10.94 / 10.69 10.89 / 10.64 12.51 / 12.26 12.46 / 12.21 14.58 / 14.33 14.53 / 14.28 15.07 / 14.82

2.5

D

13.31

12.95 / 12.71

2.5

D

13.31

12.91 / 12.66

2.5

D

13.31

13 / 12.76

MODEL

Corolla Altis

Etios

Etios Liva

Etios Cross

Fortuner

Innova

Innova LE

Land Cruiser LC 200 Land Cruiser Parado Prius

2.5

D

13.31

12.96 / 12.71

VX 200 Premium

4.5

D

9.65

1.13 (Cr.)

Parado VX-L

3.0

D

11.13

84.57

Z5 Z6

1.8 1.8

P P

23.91 23.91

36.63 38.27

TSI Trendline TSI Comfortline TDI Trendline TDI Comfortline TDI Highline TDI Highline A/T Trendline Comfortline Highline Trendline (Diesel)

1.4 1.4 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.5

P P D D D D P P P D

14.69 14.69 19.33 19.33 19.33 16.96 16.47 16.47 16.47 20.14

13.20 14.66 14.65 16.12 18.18 19.02 5.01 5.59 6.09 6.29

VOLKSWAGEN

Jetta

Polo

ENGINE*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

FUEL*

PRICE*

* Engine in Litres | Fuel - Petrol (P), Diesel (D), CNG, LPG, Hybrid (H), Electric (E) | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs/Crore

Polo

Vento

TOYOTA Camry

VARIANTS

Comfortline (Diesel) Highline (Diesel) GT TSI GT TDI Cross Polo Comfortline AT Highline AT Trendline Comfortline Highline Trendline Comfortline Highline Comfortline AT Highline AT

1.5 1.5 1.2 1.6 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

D D P D D P P P P P D D D D D

20.14 20.14 17.21 19.78 22.07 16.93 16.93 15.04 15.04 15.04 20.34 20.34 20.34 21.21 21.21

6.89 7.39 8 8 7.90 9.35 9.92 7.44 8.02 8.87 8.57 9.19 9.90 10.49 10.94

D4 Kinetic D4 Summum D4 Summum R-Design D5 Summum D4 Summum D5 Summum D3 Cross Country D4 Kinetic D4 Summum D4 Summum R-Design D5 Summum D5 Summum

2.0 2.0 2.0 2.4 2.0 2.4 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.4 2.4

D D D D D D D D D D D D

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

32.65 35.70 40.55 38.70 42.90 46.90 32.50 42.70 45.95 51.90 49.90 56

VOLVO S60

S80 V40 XC 60 XC 90

TWO WHEELER PRICES MODEL

ENGINE*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

99.27 94.38 102 102 124.6 124.6 124.6 124.6 144.8 134.66 149 178.6 199.5 220 219.89

90 91 76 87 82 82 72 77.10 72.30 68.10 65 58.10 58 54.20 49.80

0.37 0.44 0.46 0.48 0.48 0.50 0.55 0.52 0.52 0.59 0.67 0.70 0.85 0.82 0.77

1170 1170 1170 1170 1293 1293 999 1170 1649 1649

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

24.13 (Lakh) 27.15 (Lakh) 27.79 (Lakh) 29.73 (Lakh) 27.25 (Lakh) 29.41 (Lakh) 29.41 (Lakh) NA 34.35 (Lakh) 37.04 (Lakh)

803 803 1078 1078 803 1078 1078 992 1198 1198 1198 1198 1055 1055 1198 1198 849 1198 1198

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

749 883 883 1202

NA 21.70 21.70 NA

4.30 (Lakh) 6.10 (Lakh) 6.99 (Lakh) 8.80 (Lakh)

* Engine in CC | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs

BAJAJ AUTO Platina Discover 100 4G Discover 100 M Discover 100 T Discover 125 DTS-i (Drum) Discover 125 DTS-i (Disc) Discover 125 ST Discover 125 T Discover 150 DTS-i Pulsar 135LS Pulsar 150 DTS-i Pulsar 180 DTS-i Pulsar 200 NS Pulsar 220 Avenger 220 DTS-i BMW MOTORRAD R 1200 R R 1200 GS R 1200 GS ADVENTURE R 1200 RT K 1300 R K 1300 S S 1000 RR HP2 Sport K 1600 GT K 1600 GTL DUCATI Monster 795 Monster 796 Monster 1100 Monster 1100 S Hypermotard 796 Hypermotard 1100 Evo Hypermotard 1100 Evo SP GT 1000 Multistrada 1200 Multistrada 1200 ABS Multistrada 1200 S Multistrada 1200 T Streetfighter Streetfighter S Diavel Diavel Carbon 848 1198 1198 S HARLEY DAVIDSON Street 750 Super Low Iron 883 Forty - Eight

December 2014 I 55

TWO WHEELERS * Prices (Ex-Showroom Delhi) MODEL

ENGINE*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

* Engine in CC | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs

Night Rod Special Street Bob Fat Bob Fat Boy Fat Boy Special Heritage Softail Classic BreakOut Street Glide CVO Limited HERO MOTOCORP Pleasure Maestro HF Dawn HF Deluxe HF Deluxe Eco Splendor+ Splendor NXG Splendor PRO Splendor ISMART Super Splendor Passion Pro Passion XPro Glamour Glamour PGM - FI Ignitor Achiever CBZ Xtreme Hunk Impulse Karizma Karizma ZMR HONDA Dio DLX Activa DLX Activa i Activa 125 Aviator CB Twister Dream Neo Dream Yuga CB Shine CBF Stunner CB Unicorn CB Trigger CBR 150R CBR 250R CB 1000R CB 1000RR VFR 1200F VT 1300 CX Gold Wing- GL 1800 HYOUSUNG GT 250R Aquila 250 GT 650R GT 650N Aquila PRO ST7 INDIAN MOTORCYCLE Chief Classic Chief Vintage Chieftain Scout KAWASAKI Ninja 300 Ninja 650 R Ninja ZX 10R Ninja ZX 14R Ninja 1000 Ninja Z800 Ninja Z1000 ER-6n Z250 KTM KTM 200 Duke KTM 390 Duke KTM RC 200 KTM RC 390 LML NV SPL NV LS STAR EURO 150 STAR EURO 200 MAHINDRA 2 WHEELERS Kine Flyte Duro DZ Rodeo RZ Rodeo UZO Gusto Pantero Centuro

56 I December 2014

MODEL

ENGINE*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

* Engine in CC | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs

1247 1585 1690 1690 1690 1690 1690 1690 1801

15.80 18.18 17.85 17.85 NA 17.85 13.86 17.85 NA

21.86 (Lakh) 10.35 (Lakh) 13.01 (Lakh) 15.06 (Lakh) 15.78 (Lakh) 16.43 (Lakh) 16.28 (Lakh) 29.70 (Lakh) 49.23 (Lakh)

102 109 97.2 97.2 97.2 97.2 97.2 97.2 97.2 124.7 97.2 109.1 124.7 124.8 124.7 149.1 149.2 149.2 149.2 223 223

49 50 80 80 80 81 81 81 NA 83.10 79 60 81.10 NA 52.40 68 65.10 65.10 55 48.50 51

0.43 0.51 0.38 0.40 0.44 0.43 0.43 0.44 0.47 0.51 0.45 0.47 0.53 0.59 0.57 0.58 0.66 0.66 0.69 0.78 0.97

109 109 109.2 124.9 109 109 109 109 124.7 124.7 149.1 149.1 149.4 249 998 999 1237 1312 1832

60 60 60 NA 60 70 74 74 65 NA NA NA NA 30 NA NA NA NA NA

0.45 0.46 0.44 0.53 0.47 0.48 0.42 0.44 0.47 0.56 0.63 0.73 1.17 (Lakh) 1.52 (Lakh) 11.81 (Lakh) 15.21 (Lakh) 17.63 (Lakh) 13.99 (Lakh) 28.50 (Lakh)

249 249 647 647 647 678.2

NA NA NA NA NA NA

2.89 (Lakh) 2.74 (Lakh) 4.63 (Lakh) 3.73 (Lakh) 5.08 (Lakh) 5.79 (Lakh)

1811 1811 1811 1131

NA NA NA NA

25.50 (Lakh) 28.50 (Lakh) 32 (Lakh) 11.99 (Lakh)

296 649 998 1441 1043 806 1043 649 249

26 33 14 18 15 18 15 NA NA

3.60 (Lakh) 5.14 (Lakh) 16.40 (Lakh) 17.66 (Lakh) 12.87 (Lakh) 8.13 (Lakh) 12.87 (Lakh) 4.78 (Lakh) 2.99 (Lakh)

200 373 200 373

NA NA NA NA

1.31 (Lakh) 1.81 (Lakh) 1.60 (Lakh) 2.05 (Lakh)

149.56 147.55 150.82 199.89

NA NA NA NA

0.40 0.45 0.47 0.53

71.5 124.6 124.6 124.6 125 110 106.7 106.7

63.25 40 56.25 59.38 59 63 79.40 85.40

0.34 0.41 0.44 0.45 0.48 0.43 0.39 0.46

Centuro Rockstar PIAGGIO Vespa LX Vespa VX Vespa S Vespa ELEGANTE ROYAL ENFIELD Bullet 350 Bullet 500 Electra Twinspark Thunderbird 350 Thunderbird 500 Classic 350 Classic 500 Desert Storm Classic- Chrome Continental GT SUZUKI Access 125 Lets Swish 125 Hayate Slingshot GS 150R Gixxer Inazuma Bandit 1250 SA Intruder M800 Intruder M1800R Intruder M1800R B.O.S.S Hayabusa GSX - R1000 V- Storm 1000 TRIUMPH MOTORCYCLES Bonneville A3 Bonneville T 100 Thruxton A2 Street Triple ABS A2 Speed Triple ABS A1 Daytona 675 ABS Daytona 675 R Tiger 800 XC Tiger Explorer Thunderbird Storm Rocket III Roadster TVS Scooty Pep+ Scooty Streak Wego Zest Star Sport Star City Jupiter Phoenix Apache RTR 160 Apache RTR 180 YAMAHA Alpha Ray Ray Z Crux YBR 110 YBR 125 SS 125 FZ FZ-S FZ Version 2 FZ-S Version 2 SZ-RR SZ-S FAZER FAZER F1 Version 2.0 FZ 1 YZF R1 YZF R15 VMAX

110

85.40

0.44

125 125 125 125

62 60 NA NA

0.67 0.71 0.75 0.79

346 499 346 346 500 346 499 499 499 535

53.40 NA 53.40 NA NA 53.40 53.40 39.35 39.35 NA

0.98 1.42 (Lakh) 1.10 (Lakh) 1.28 (Lakh) 1.63 (Lakh) 1.18 (Lakh) 1.51 (Lakh) 1.53 (Lakh) 1.60 (Lakh) 1.84 (Lakh)

124 112.8 124 112.8 124 149.5 154.9 250 1255 805 1783 1783 1340 999 1037

50.22 63 51 72 68.50 55.70 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

0.49 0.43 0.48 0.45 0.51 0.69 0.72 2.09 (Lakh) 10.75 (Lakh) 10.05 (Lakh) 15.95 (Lakh) 16.45 (Lakh) 15.95 (Lakh) 15.95 (Lakh) 14.95 (Lakh)

865 865 865 675 1050 675 675 800 1215 1699 2294

18.12 18.13 NA NA NA 16.37 16.37 17.56 15.93 NA NA

5.85 (Lakh) 6.75 (Lakh) 6.95 (Lakh) 7.65 (Lakh) 10.70 (Lakh) 10.30 (Lakh) 11.75 (Lakh) 12 (Lakh) 18.15 (Lakh) 13.50 (Lakh) 20.70 (Lakh)

87.8 87.8 109.7 109.7 99.7 109.7 109.7 125 159.7 177.4

65 65 62 62 87.70 83.90 62 67 NA NA

0.42 0.44 0.47 0.42 0.40 0.42 0.44 0.50 0.69 0.73

113 113 113 106 106 123 123 153 153 150 150 153 153 153 149 998 998 1498 1679

NA 53 53 75.74 70.03 71.50 NA NA NA NA NA 62.40 NA 50.81 NA NA NA NA NA

0.48 0.46 0.48 0.38 0.45 0.51 0.55 0.71 0.73 0.77 0.79 0.61 0.58 0.78 0.84 10.72 (Lakh) 15.60 (Lakh) 1.17 (Lakh) 25.65 (Lakh)

To advertise with us call 9958125645 or write to us at sales@motownindia.com

PAGES 57 - 82

B2B SECTION INDIA

CV SPECIAL EMERGING OUT OF THE WOODS Report: Joshua David Luther, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

Picture of Volvo tipper. For representation purpose only.

December 2014 I 57

CV SPECIAL

Fuso trucks are exported from the DICV India plant. Picture for representation purpose only.

T

he commercial vehicle industry in India comprising medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCVs) and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) has been the life line for trade in the country. Beyond the boundaries of trade, these commercial vehicles ferry millions of Indians across the country, in some of the most dilapidated ramshackle vehicles to worldclass ultra comfortable luxury buses. In the last few years the industry faced one of the worst slowdowns. But there is a glimmer of hope for the industry with the new government in place. Over the past few years, growth has

58 I December 2014

been stagnant with trend lines remaining relatively flat. The commercial vehicle production has seen a period of growth from 2009 to 2012 after which the slowdown began. The year 2012 was, however, very significant with commercial vehicle production crossing the 10 lakh mark and combined sales in domestic and international markets almost equaling the amount of production.

The year 2012-13 saw the M&HCV bearing the brunt of slowing industrial activity, weak investment sentiment and the impact of significant fleet capacity addition over the past three years, especially in the heavy duty

categories of the trucking market.

Within the M&HCV segment, while demand for buses had not been affected significantly compared to the previous year on back of healthy off take from private segment and improved order flows from State Transport Undertakings, the contraction in demand for the higher tonnage of trucks such as tippers, tractor trailers and multiaxle vehicles was the sharpest, said a Review Report by ICRA Research Services in early 2014.

The ICRA report further stated that demand for LCVs, which is predominantly driven by Small Commercial Vehicles (SCVs) has largely been driven by non-

urban markets as improving road network is enabling better connectivity in tier III and IV cities. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The growth will be led

by SCVs which are increasingly being favoured over their threewheeler counterparts and costlier LCVs on ground of better power, maneuverability and cost economics,â&#x20AC;? the report said.

The financial year of 2013 saw a 9 pc drop in production of commercial vehicles. The sales figures remained relatively the same with a drop in sales by 3 pc approximately. The period of 2012 to 2014 witnessed a decrease in domestic sales figure by a margin of 22.2 pc approximately

CV SPECIAL Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2025 On the eve of the 65th International Motor Show for commercial vehicles in Hanover, Germany, Mercedes-Benz presented the Future Truck 2025 (FT 2025). This Future Truck has the capability of autonomous driving, reducing emissions, increasing road safety and improving the level of networking in road safety. Claiming this feat of innovation as more than a mere vision Mercedes-Benz has claimed the truck should be on roads in a span of ten years. The Future Truck 2025 was demonstrated on a section of the A14 motorway in Magdeburg, Germany where it drove autonomously independent of any other vehicle on the road. The FT 2025 does not need to have any form of integration or communication with other vehicles on the road to drive autonomously as it uses a highway pilot system, which resembles the auto pilot system of an aircraft. A host of sensors aboard the FT 2025 are integrated through a network and the data

while exports of commercial vehicles have declined by 16 pc approximately. The average monthly production of commercial vehicles in the previous fiscal was 66,000 units per month approximately while the current average production of commercial vehicles in this FY 2014-15 has been 64,000 units per month on an average of a seven-month period.

“The rising per capita consumption and infrastructure, industry and mining in India will continue to contribute towards growth of the CV market in the country,” said a Frost & Sullivan Automotive & Transportation Industry Analyst, adding that the “CV market is expected to get a significant boost in the second half of FY 2015 and early on in FY 2016. Thus, lucrative opportunities will emerge for CV manufacturers

during this period”.

The role of the Modi government in re-establishing the economic strength will drive the economy at higher growth rate compared to last few years, the analyst noted. It is expected that the sale volumes of CV will go up from 0.6 million in FY 2014 to 0.9 million in FY 2020. The Frost & Sullivan analysis covers the light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles in the passenger and goods segments.

From 2014 to 2020, LCV sales will grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1pc owing to urbanization, which is a key mega trend impacting the LCV sales positively. Medium and Heavy CV sales will expand at 7pc CAGR during this period due to the revival of the manufacturing industry and increased activity in the infrastructure, industrial and

is then processed in the trucks central computer which provides a complete image of the surroundings of the truck. All moving and stationary objects in the trucks vicinity are registered. Also integrated in the Highway Pilot systems is the Predictive Powertrain Control system which operates on the basis of a 3-D map of the terrain and topography of the roads resulting in improved fuel economy. Another feature on this truck of the future is a Blind Spot Assist system which uses radar sensors to monitor the sides of the truck and alert the driver to the presence of other commuters on the sides of the truck who may not be immediately visible. The cabin of the truck has been designed to also play the role of an office space to the driver, the drivers chair can swivel by 45 degrees and also convert into an easy chair. A tablet is used for communications as well as other routine office tasks like scheduling or adding a destination for the truck.

mining sectors.

Even while the traditional CV players continue to dominate the Indian CV market, a new segment which hitherto never got its due recognition, has come to light. This is the CV pickup segment which has seen a spurt in demand with Isuzu Motors of Japan bringing in its powerful D-Max pickups into India. Pickups have been in India for some time with the likes of Tata Xenon, Mahindra Genio, etc, but Isuzu seems to have created a lot of interest among new buyers of pickups in India.

THE CV INDUSTRY IN LAST FIVE YEARS The commercial vehicle segment has been divided into categories as per their tonnage and purpose of use, forming four subcategories -- Medium and Heavy – Passenger

Carriers, Medium & Heavy – Goods Carriers, Light – Passenger Carriers and Light – Goods Carriers.

The medium and heavy passenger carrier segment represents 6 pc of the volumes in the industry. Most of the volumes are coming from heavy weights like Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors. Production of vehicles in this segment peaked in FY 201011 after which growth fell by 24.5 pc over a span of four years. The sale of vehicles in this segment peaked in FY 2011-12 over a five year period. The segment registered a growth of 14.6 pc in sales but after FY 2011-12 to FY 2013-14 sales figures dropped by 21.6 pc. Exports of Passenger carriers in the medium and heavy commercial vehicles segment have grown by 17 pc in a span of

December 2014 I 59

CV SPECIAL five years.

For the medium and heavy commercial vehicles goods carrier segment production rose from FY 2009-10 to FY 2011-12 by 62 pc and ever since to FY 2013-14 fell by 45 pc. This segment represents 29 pc of the total volumes produced in the commercial vehicle segment. During the same period sales grew by 48 pc and then from FY 2011-12 to FY 201314 fell by 45 pc. Over a five year period the exports in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle

goods carrier segment has grown by 16.4 pc till FY 2013-14.

In the light commercial vehicle passenger carrier segment the financial years of 2011 and 2012 have witnessed large scale growth in production and sales but the same numbers began falling as soon as the slowdown set in.

This segment represents 5 pc of the market volumes. Sales in this segment saw an initial growth of 43.4 pc from FY 2009-10 to FY 2011-12 but as soon as the economic slowdown set in these

figures fell by a margin of 13.3 pc

by FY 2013-14. The exports in this segment have fallen by 16.7 pc over a five year period from FY 2009-13 however the financial year of 2014-15 has witnessed more exports in this segment than the previous financial year in a span of seven months leading to the belief that growth is expected to return soon.

The goods carrier sub-segment in the light commercial vehicles segment saw the highest sales over a span of five years in

FY 2012-13 with sales figures crossing the 4,75,000mark. The growth registered from FY 2009 to FY 2012 was by a margin of 89 pc.

Owing to the slowdown that set in during that period and affected sales throughout the commercial vehicle segment sales fell by 18.3 pc at the end of FY 2013.

The average sales in FY 2013 was 32,442units per month while the current average units sold per month in FY 2014 is 28, 125.

Exports of light commercial vehicle good carriers have fallen by 14.5

Longest Mercedes-Benz bus

The new articulated bus from Mercedes-Benz is an imposing 21 m long and provides space for up to 191 passengers as standard. In India, that could mean almost double of that, because here in our land we believe in getting close in every sense!

This bus consumes well below 0.5 l/100 km per passenger and has only minimal emissions: The CapaCity L high-capacity articulated bus makes an important contribution towards counteracting the transport problems in inner cities.

Not only is the CapaCity L large, it is also clean. Its engine, a six-cylinder in-line unit with a displacement of 10.7 l compliant with the Euro VI emissions standard, has an output of 360hp or 394hp. Optimum consumption is not only the name of the game for the engine and the automatic transmission adapted for the CapaCity L, but also for all the ancillary components. According to a press release, the

60 I December 2014

new CapaCity L is anything but on the usual scale: at 21 m in length, it is around three metres longer than conventional articulated buses. It is therefore the answer to current transport problems, since frequently used bus lines are reaching their limits as passenger numbers continue to rise. With the CapaCity L, transport operators can carry far more passengers with the same number of buses.

Whether new shopping centres, residential areas or industrial estates, they can all be served quickly and cost-effectively with the CapaCity L without the need forhigh investment – all the high-capacity bus needs is a road. The CapaCity L is therefore ideally suitable for BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) systems.

“The CapaCity L makes an important contribution towards reducing the volume of traffic in inner cities. It is the longest European bus with just one articulated turntable. Plus it is environmentally friendly – no other bus with

a diesel engine has lowerCO₂ emissions per passenger,” explains Hartmut Schick, Head of Daimler Buses. The CapaCity L is exactly what the transport operators want. Ulrike Riedel, member of the executive board responsible for human resources and operations at Hochbahn, states the following in this regard: “We are pleased about increasing passenger numbers. At peak times, we cannot further increase the frequency at which our buses are running in many cases, so high-capacity buses such as the new CapaCity L are a very appealing option for us.” Hamburger Hochbahn will this year become the first transport operator to trial the new MercedesBenz CapaCity L under real operating conditions. For this purpose, the high-capacity bus is being used on Metrobus Line 5, from the city centre to the university quarter in the north west of the city. It is Western Europe’s busiest bus line.

CV SPECIAL INTERVIEW WITH SHAMPRASAD PONKSHE Executive Vice President (R&D), AMW Motors Ltd Report: Rahul Kapoor With 30 years of experience in the CV industry, working for companies like Tata Motors and Mahindra, could you take us briefly through some of the highlights of your career?

I was fortunate to have been associated with several automotive projects in different capacities. These include products covering scooters, cars and multiple ranges of commercial vehicles. Especially, the CV ranges taught me a lot on platform management and usage of modularity. The need for being first time right has always been underlying principle for all these programmes.

Coming to the process in R&D , what goes into making a successful next generation truck from a concept to production?

Our product development process encompasses aspects that impact all stake holders. It starts from need identification and progresses through major milestones such as Concept Development, Detailed Engineering, Robust Validation, Launch Readiness, Piloting and Serial Production. At each signoff, AMW signature parameters viz. Reliability, Ruggedness and Fuel Economy take centre stage thus resulting in a lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

The Matrix Organisation and Platform Approach, with pc by the end of FY 2013-14.

The three wheeler goods carrier segment has a share of 12 pc in terms of production volumes and has witnessed a growth of almost 9 pc in production over a five year period. However the sales of three wheeler good carriers have not grown by the same margin with a rise of 4.4 pc. Exports have grown

extensive use of Modularity, ensure delivery of wide range of applications with lowest complexity at aggregate levels. The agility of our lean organisation helps in quick decision making leading to shorter product development cycles.

The New Generation Truck configurations have been arrived through in-depth cost-benefit analysis of various parameters and features. The initial customer clinics have gone a long way into reaffirming robustness of our offering. This range will hit the market sometime early next year.

The Cowl product range from AMW was introduced by you, could you brief us about the process of the product?

How long did it take? What did it cost? What unique feature does it bring to the CV industry?

A Cowl option is a must for any CV player for ensuring 100pc market addressability. As such it was obvious need for us to develop the same.

The decision was made in April 2010 and the first model, 6x2 Haulage, was piloted in flat 12 months. This was followed up with launches of Tippers and Haulage variants between 16 to 40 Tons capacities over another 9 months. The complete range was available by end 2011.

We went through an extensive by 151 pc but accounts for only 1.8 pc of total three wheeler goods carriers sold. The average monthly sales of three wheeler goods carriers for FY 2013-14 was 7,892 but in FY 2014-15 this amount has increased to an average of 8,018 units per month.

“As total cost of ownership is the important purchase criterion

survey of customer preferences all over India to arrive at AMW’s Cowl configuration. The survey included stakeholders like drivers, mechanics and owners.

Our Cowl boasts a flat floor, ensures feasibility of spacious cabin, provides better under flap serviceability and has a rugged structure that meets all the regulatory norms. The range has been well accepted by customers for its performance and reliability.

With significant in-house design and development, the costs were at a benchmark low level.

We are at advanced stage of development of BS-IV models and will be able to meet the proposed introduction calendar.

With a strong engine partner like Cummins, we foresee no challenges on this front.

Emission norms are now being taken seriously and are getting stricter by the day in India. How is AMW’s R&D team working to develop vehicles to meet these norms?

When we moved from BS-II to BS-III, the industry witnessed performance deterioration due to preference for cost effective mechanical engines. On the contrary, migration to BS-IV, with all electronic engines, will see improved performance due to better torque curves. The after treatment allows room for engine optimisation to achieve improved fuel economy. Availability of plethora of electronic features will be icing on the cake.

Glancing at the data from the past 5 years provided by SIAM, sales figures aren’t quite motivating at all for the CV industry, what are your expectations from the future?

The recent policy reforms by government and opening up of new projects in Infrastructure, Power generation and Mining sectors will put the CV Industry back on track. In addition, Regulatory changes like restricting 15 year old vehicles in big cities will further enhance the demand for new trucks.

With this we see an upsurge in Commercial Vehicle demand across the segments in times to come.

for an Indian customer, next generation value trucks in the LCV, MCV and HCV segments are in a sweet spot to shape current consumer preferences, “ said the Frost & Sullivan analyst. “The likes of Tata Motors Ultra, VECV Pro Series, Ashok Leyland Boss/ Partner and U series, along with new players such as Bharat Benz

are going to lead the charge in shaping of the value truck segment in the market,” the analyst added.

THE OEMS OPERATING IN INDIA TATA MOTORS: Leading player in the Indian CV space, Tata Motors, recently celebrated 60 years of

December 2014 I 61

CV SPECIAL manufacturing in November 2014 at its Jamshedpur plant. The assembly line at Jamshedpur rolls out a truck every 5 minutes. The plant caters to the manufacture of more than 200 models while the engine assembly shop is capable of producing 300 engines per day. Even though this global brand has a footprint in many major countries, the slowdown has affected sales numbers. In the medium and heavy commercial

vehicle passenger carrier segment, sales fell by a margin of 29.7 pc from FY 2009-10 to FY 201314. Over a five year period the exports in this segment of the company peaked in FY 2010-11 but by FY 2013-14 these figures fell by 62 pc. The medium and heavy commercial passenger carrier segment contributes to 4.4 pc of the volumes produced

by Tata Motors while the medium and heavy goods carrier segment

contributes 35.8 pc. The medium and heavy goods carrier segment sales peaked in FY 2011-12 but by FY 2013-14 these figures fell by a margin of 32.6 pc. In this financial year however there is a hope that growth will return as sales figures crossed 62.5 pc of the sales of the previous financial year, by the beginning of the third quarter.

The light commercial passenger carrier segment contributes to 4.6 pc of the volumes produced

by the company. The sales in this segment however saw a drop of 20 pc in FY 2013-14 from FY 2011-12. By the beginning of the third quarter of FY 2014-15 Tata Motors has sold 54 pc of the volumes it sold in the last financial year in this segment, giving rise to the expectations that the performance this year would either flat line or be slightly better than the previous year. The sub segment which comprises of the

JCB India inaugurates two new factories in Jaipur Chief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje along with Lord Bamford, Chairman, JCB Group inaugurated two new manufacturing facilities in Jaipur on November 14, 2014.

The new facilities in Jaipur are JCB’s fourth and fifth plants in India and is their single largest manufacturing footprint in India.

The factory space covers an area of 1 million sq. feet in a 115 acre campus. The inauguration ceremony was attended by many government dignitaries along with Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, C. S Rajan, Chief Secretary of Rajasthan, Graeme Macdonald, Group CEO of JCB and Vipin Sondhi, MD & CEO, JCB India.

JCB has been present in India since 1979 and this once small family business now employees over 5000 people across the country with thousands more in the supply chain. The plans for investing in two new facilities came in 2012 when the economy was in a slump. The two new facilities in Rajasthan have come up in record time with the active participation and help of the Rajasthan Government. The facility is located 35km from Jaipur city and currently employs 160 people. JCB top management estimate the plant will be operating at full scale in the next four to five years and will employ a total of 1000 employees apart from the indirect jobs created on a ratio of one is to seven. Currently the plants at Jaipur are catering to the fabrication requirements of the Ballabgarh facility and by next year the production of telescopic handlers and skid steer loaders will begin. The Jaipur facilities will also provide an additional backhoe loader capacity from 2015. Lord Bamford, stated that Rajasthan is a big market for backhoe loaders and their current expansion plans are in this state itself.

62 I December 2014

At present JCB is exporting 20 pc of its total volumes from India and have invested 500 crores in the facilities at Jaipur.

The investments that JCB has made in India since their start in the country in 1979 have been to the tune Chief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje along with Lord Bamford, of 250 million Chairman, JCB Group and Vipin Sondhi, MD & CEO, JCB India Pounds ( 2,416 crore approx.) excluding the investments made in Jaipur.

On a global basis the company The three other manufacturing facilities manufactures 300 products and has many include the world’s largest backhoe loader focused manufacturing facilities all over the manufacturing factory and the their diesel world. The facility in Pune employs around ecoMAX engine manufacturing facility 350 engineers who design, develop and located at Ballabgarh near Delhi and test JCB’s concept products which are then two factories in Pune for manufacturing launched at a global scale. JCB plans to fabrications and components which majorly promote their all-loader product and have contribute to the company’s exports from envisioned it as the product of the future.

India. These plants also manufacture JCB’s The company is said to have been built on heavy equipment which includes their family values ushered in over the generations large excavators, wheeled loading shovels and consider it their duty to promote and compaction equipment. JCB is the gender equality in their facilities. The engine market leader for construction equipment manufacturing line in Ballabgarh is an manufacturing in India and operates from a example of this ideology where 30 pc of the 60 dealer – 600 outlet network in India. JCB manpower are women who have engineering has 11 manufacturing facilities in UK, 5 in diplomas. In a statement Graeme Macdonald India with others in Brazil, China and North stated that their best welder is a girl named America. The facilities in India manufacture Jasudevi from Nagaur and that their best 25 different products in seven product lines inspection crews comprise of women. JCB like backhoe loaders, wheeled loading top management has estimated that growth shovels, tracked excavators, vibratory should return by the first quarter of the next compactors, telehandlers, skid steer loaders fiscal year and have reported that exports are and pick & carry cranes. growing at a rapid scale.

CV SPECIAL maximum volumes produced by Tata Motors is the light commercial goods carrier segment which contributes 55 pc to the volumes produced by Tata Motors. The peak of sales in this segment over a five year period was in FY 2012-13 which fell by 32 pc in the following fiscal. In the beginning of the third quarter of this financial year sales in this segment are not even 50 pc of what was sold in the previous year.

ASHOK LEYLAND is India’s second largest commercial vehicle manufacturer and is based out of Chennai. Over the past five years Ashok Leyland has produced more passenger carriers in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle segment than Tata Motors.

The company produces 19-seater to 80-seater buses and their truck range starts from 7.5 tons

to 49 tons. Ashok Leyland saw a peak in sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicle passenger carriers in the financial year of 2011-12 over a five year period from 2009-14. The sales of commercial vehicles in the medium and heavy passenger carrier segment have fallen since by 27.5 pc while exports have fallen by 15.6 pc.In the medium and heavy goods carrier segment sales figures increased by 53 pc in FY 2010 but by the end of FY 2013-14 these numbers have fallen by 41 pc. However, by

The Traveller from Force Motors. the beginning of the third quarter of FY 2014 Ashok Leyland had sold 70 pc volumes compared the units sold the previous year in the

medium and heavy commercial goods carrier segment. Exports in this segment have increased over a five year period by 13 pc. In the

JCB GT crowned the fastest digger on earth With all the digging that takes place in India round the clock, this vehicle will truly be appreciated in the country. The world-famous JCB GT was crowned as the fastest digger on earth after reaching speeds of more than 70 miles an hour in Australia.

The JCB GT - originally designed to perform high-speed wheelies at racing events – made the attempt in front of independent record officials at Bathurst, near to Sydney. Guinness World Records confirmed that the powerful JCB digger was officially the fastest backhoe loader in the world with a speed of 72.58 mph (116.82kmph).

To celebrate the win the JCB GT went on a tour of Sydney and took a bow for photographers in front of other world-famous icons – the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, according to a JCB press release.

The latest record is not the only one that JCB’s backhoe holds: the machine has been the world’s biggest selling backhoe loader for 14 consecutive years. The company has made more than half a million backhoes in the past 61 years since inventing the machine in 1953.

Fab Carrettin, Managing Director of JCB Pacific, said: “The JCB GT has always been regarded as the fastest backhoe around and

now it’s official. It’s fantastic to have achieved this record and underlines the world-class engineering, power and performance our customers demand from the JCB backhoe.”

Glenn McLeod, backhoe product manager for JCB dealer JCB Construction Equipment Australia (CEA) added: “The 116.82 km/h we achieved was actually higher than the 110 km/h benchmark set for us by the Guinness World Records. We couldn’t be happier with the results.”

JCB Demonstration Driver Matthew Lucas - nicknamed ‘The Dig’ during the attempt - was the man who steered the JCB GT to its world record title. Matthew, 43, of Werrington, Stoke-on-Trent, said: “It was great to be involved in such an exciting project and a real honour to be behind the wheel when we achieved the record.”

The JCB GT first made its debut in 1988, was made of fibreglass and aluminium and powered by a V8 Chevvy engine. It was driven by long-serving employee Malcolm Grindey, who spent two years at the wheel of the JCB GT, demonstrating its capabilities all over the world – including an appearance at the Formula One Australian Grand Prix in 1990.

Malcolm, 61, of Marston Montgomery, near Rocester, said: “I have very fond memories of putting the JCB GT through its paces in the Australian Grand Prix so it’s great news that it’s secured the title as the world’s fastest digger on Australian soil nearly 25 years later.”

Normally based at JCB’s HQ in Staffordshire, UK, the latest JCB GT has a loader and digger end made completely out of aluminium. It went to Australia to perform at car events, including the Deni Ute Muster in Deniliquin, NSW and the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in Bathurst, NSW. With a light weight steel chassis and JCB Fastrac tractor rear axle, the JCB GT was originally designed to do wheelies to thrill crowds at motor racing drag strips in the USA.

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Isuzu D-Max pickups are much in demand in the southern part of India. light commercial passenger carrier segment sales figures have fallen by 94 pc over a period of five years till FY 2013-14 however in FY 2014 these figures have grown by 381 pc. The light commercial passenger carrier segment of Ashok Leyland represents 1 pc of the total volumes the company

produces. The light commercial goods carrier segment represents 16.5 pc of the total volumes produced by Ashok Leyland. In this segment sales figures peaked in FY 2012-13 and fell by 21 pc approximately in FY 2013-14. By the beginning of the third quarter of FY 2014-15 Ashok Leyland

had sold 49 pc of the volumes it managed to sell in the previous financial year.

SML ISUZU was formed in 2010 out of the Swaraj Mazda Company when Mazda pulled out of the venture and the Swaraj name was sold to Mahindra when their

tractor division (Punjab Tractors) was sold off. Currently Sumitomo Corporation and Isuzu are jointly manufacturing licensed products under the SML Isuzu brand name.

Within the first financial year of Isuzu and Sumitomo Corporation taking over Swaraj Mazda, the company registered a growth in

Varroc Group gets aggressive on CV front The 7000 crore Varroc group, a leading auto component player in the country, is currently working on the developing different cabin components for one of the leading commercial vehicle manufacturer in India. For the commercial vehicle space, the company manufactures polymer components, engine valves, connecting rods, crank shafts, cam shafts and lighting solutions.

Some of the heavyweights of the commercial vehicle industry like Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV), Mahindra and Mahindra, Piaggio, Volvo, Daimler, IVECO etc. are ardent patrons of Varroc’s products. The company is currently providing lighting solutions and cabin parts to VECV – Eicher for their Pro truck series goods carrier. To Mahindra and Mahindra, they cater to Maximo and Geo series from the Polymer division. The company is also producing wheel arch components and other extruded components for Ashok Leyland’s Captain model. From the metallic

64 I December 2014

division, products such as engine valves, connecting rods and 4,6 cylinder-crankshafts are supplied to the likes of Tata Motors and Thyssen Krupp India. The metallic division also exports heavy weight forged and machined components to automotive industry.The lighting division started its offering to CV segment with Tata motors Prima series with advanced technology lighting solutions.For VECV Pro- series all models, headlamps are of Varroc lighting. Further, future pro series will have varroc lighting solutions too. Exports will be starting in 2016 for Volvo global platform.

Lighting division has complete design and development capabilities across LCV, M&HCV and HCV segments.

With signs of revival starting to crop up in the commercial vehicle space, the company has beefed up production of engine valves from 26 million units per annum to 43 million units per annum. The company also anticipates a growth in the demand of crankshafts and are

expecting more customers to add on. At Varroc, technological advancement is considered the way forward and this is done while keeping in mind the trend of the industry leading towards light-weighting, improved safety and lower emissions. For every OEM, the company carefully designs their products in close consultation with the OEMs and as per their specification and budget. The company currently has almost 350 engineers engaged in the testing of different materials for production. They also test the durability and ensure the product is light weight as well as easy to assemble.

Founded in 1990 under the guidance and leadership of Tarang Jain, Managing Director Varroc Group, the Group is one of the most diverse suppliers in the Indian auto component sector.

Spread across many locations, the Group has 5 divisions which include Polymers, Electrical & Electronics, Metallic, VLS (Varroc Lighting Systems) and Triom twowheeler lighting. Varroc’s Polymer

business caters to the production of plastic interiors and exteriors, mirror assembly, air filters, seat assembly and under body parts.

The Metallic division of Varroc caters to production of forgings, engine valves, crank shafts and single cylinder cam shafts. The Electrical and Electronics division of Varroc produces motors, magnetos, switches, sensors and handle bar assemblies basically to 2W. Triom caters to the lighting requirements of the Global topend two-wheelers OEMs. The Varroc Group has made many acquisitions over the years like Triom and Visteon. Varroc Group is currently operating at a global scale with plants located over the world. The group has 35 manufacturing facilities and 8 technical & development centers which have been spread across ten countries. The group has set an aim to push their turnover past the 20,000 crore mark by FY 2020-21.

The Group is evolving as one stop solution to the CV segment and is aggressive on the go.

CV SPECIAL sales in every sub segment except the light commercial goods carrier segment which comprises of 14 pc of the volumes. In the light commercial goods carrier segment sales figures have dropped by 42.6 pc over a period of five years.

Exports in this segment have fallen by 79 pc ever since it was taken over by Sumitomo Corporation and Isuzu in 2010. The company sold 75 pc of the volumes it sold the previous year in this segment by the end of the second quarter of FY 2014-15. In the medium and heavy goods carrier segment sales figures have fallen by 57 pc since FY 2011-12 after experiencing a growth of 26 pc since Sumitomo Corporation and Isuzu took over.

However by the beginning of the third quarter of FY 2014-15 the company has sold 54 pc of the volumes it sold in the last financial year in this segment. In the light passenger carrier segment sales peaked in FY 2011-12 growing by 73.5 pc over FY 2009-10. These figures did not sustain and by FY 2012-13 fell by 27 pc. In the financial year of 2013-14 however sales in this segment has been on a growth path and has risen by 23 pc. In the present financial year as well there is hope that this growth trend will continue as the company has sold 74 pc of the sales volumes it did last year by the beginning of the third financial quarter of FY 2014-15. In the medium and heavy commercial passenger carrier segment FY 2012-13 saw a growth in sales by 111 pc. These figures fell by 13 pc in FY 2013-14 but 69 pc of the volumes sold in the previous financial year have been sold by the beginning of the third quarter of this financial year.

VECV (Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles) is a 50:50 partnership between Volvo Group and Eicher Motors Limited. This partnership became active in the month of July 2008 and both companies are manufacturing under this brand name, while Eicher Motors produces commercial vehicles in the medium and heavy segment

66 I December 2014

Scania bus that runs on ethanol as well as the light commercial vehicle segment, Volvo manufactures only trucks in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle segment. In 2013 Eicher Motors recorded its highest ever income of Rs. 7,400 crores. The medium and heavy passenger carrier segment of Eicher Motors represents 9 pc of the volumes produced by the company.

From FY 2009-12 sales of the company in this segment grew by 139 pc but in FY 2013-14 the same figures fell by 19 pc.

The company has managed to sell approximately 64 pc of the volumes it sold last year by the beginning of the third financial quarter this year. Exports in this segment have risen over a five year period by 328 pc but exports represent only 8 pc of the volumes sold over a period of five years.

In the medium and heavy goods carrier segment sales peaked in FY 2011-12 by a margin of 74 pc.

This segment is the cash cow for Eicher Motors, contributing 66 pc to the total volumes produced by the company over a period of five years. Despite the growth experienced in FY 2011-12 the sales figures in this segment have ever since been falling and

by the end of FY 2013-14 had fallen by a margin of 38 pc. The silver lining in this case would be exports of products sold in this segment as the company has recorded the highest export figures by the end of the second quarter of FY 2014-15 over a period of five years. By the beginning of the third quarter of FY 2014-15 Eicher Motors had sold 56 pc of the volumes it did in FY 2013-14 under this segment. For Eicher Motors the light commercial passenger carrier segment has been a beacon of hope as sales figures have been on a continuous growth path since FY 2009-10 and has grown by 138 pc all though this segment accounts for only 9 pc of the volumes produced by the company. By the beginning of the third financial quarter of FY 2014-15 the company had sold 72 pc of the volumes it did in the previous financial year giving assurances that the growth trend for the company in this segment will continue despite the economic slowdown. Exports in this segment have also grown by 50 pc over a period since FY 2009-10 to the beginning of the third financial quarter of FY 201415. The light commercial goods

carrier segment contributes to 15 pc of the volumes produced by the company. Sales of products under this segment followed the trend of the industry and peaked in FY 2011-12 growing by 63 pc since FY 2009-10. The sales of the company in this segment fell in FY 2012-13 by 19 pc and again rose by 5 pc in FY 2013-14. By the beginning of the third financial quarter of FY 2014-15 the company has sold 57 pc of the volumes it did in the previous financial year.

Exports in this segment have fallen since FY 2011-12 by 49 pc till the third financial quarter of FY 2014-15 however export figures this year will exceed that of the previous year as the company has managed to export 94 pc of the volumes it did in the previous financial year. Volvo Trucks India is also incorporated under the VECV brand name and has been synonymous in the industry for providing highly efficient and innovative solutions for the mining and construction industry. The company has been pioneering new and innovative technologies in the industry and recently introduced their I-Shift automatic transmission system for their trucks to improve

CV SPECIAL fuel efficiency and drive comfort leading to better up-time of drivers. Volvo Trucks India has its presence in the medium and heavy commercial goods carrier segment. The sales in this segment peaked in FY 2010-11 but ever since has fallen by 27 pc to FY 2013-14. In the beginning of the third financial quarter of FY 2014-15 the company had sold 67 pc of the volumes it did in the previous financial year.

VOLVO BUSES INDIA has been synonymous with luxury travel since its inception in 2001 in India.

The company has introduced many industry firsts like multi axle buses, low floor city buses, true bus chassis concept among others which have led to the evolution of the Indian bus market and has establish a name for itself in the industry. Volvo has its state-of-theart facility in Hosakote, Bangalore.

The company has its presence only in the medium and heavy passenger carrier segment which has seen some turbulent times over the past five years. The sales figures peaked in FY 2011-12 over a period of five years and then gradually fell by 78 pc till FY 2013-14.

ASIAN MOTOR WORKS is a home grown company which was established in 2002 by Anirudh Bhuwalka. It has a two million square meter plant in Bhuj. The investments made in this facility have been to the tune of 20 billion and the plant itself has a capacity to produce 50,000 units in a single year. The company caters to a civilian as well as defense market and has its presence in the medium and heavy goods carrier segment.

Over a period of five years the company’s sales have peaked in FY 2011-12 registering a growth of 154 pc after which sales figures have fallen by 54 pc till FY 201314. By the beginning of the third quarter of FY 2014-15 however sales have been sluggish with the company selling only 40 pc of the volumes it sold in the previous

financial year.

FORCE MOTORS based in Pune has its presence in the light commercial vehicle – goods and passenger carrier segment. In the light commercial passenger carrier segment the company’s sales performance peaked in FY 2012-13 where sales grew by 197 pc from FY 2009-10. Sales fell in FY 2013-14 by a miniscule 5 pc. In the beginning of the third financial quarter of FY 2014-15 the company has sold 64.5 pc of the volumes it did in this segment.

In the light commercial goods carrier segment the company’s sales peaked in FY 2010-11 growing by 41 pc. This however did not sustain and the sales of the company rapidly fell by a margin of 64 pc till FY 2013-14. The current sales figures up to the beginning of the third financial quarter of FY 2014-15 are not even 50 pc of

what the company had sold in the last financial year.

MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA started manufacturing commercial vehicles under the Mahindra Navistar brand name in 2005 when it entered into a joint venture with Navistar International. After purchasing the Navistar stake in the company the division of Mahindra Trucks and Buses (MTBL) was formed which was later demerged into Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. as a separate division in order to maintain a greater synergy. The company is present in the medium and heavy commercial vehicles segment, the light commercial vehicle segment as well as the three wheeler goods carrier segment. In the medium and heavy passenger carrier segment company sales peaked in FY 2013-14 and by the beginning of the third financial quarter of FY

2014-15 the company has already sold 58 pc of the volumes it did in the previous financial year in this segment. In the medium and heavy goods carrier segment sales peaked in FY 2011-12 registering a growth of 313 pc in sales over the previous financial year. Since then sales figures have fallen by 34 pc till FY 2013-14.

The company has sold 62 pc of the volumes it did in the last financial year by the beginning of the third quarter of FY 2014-15.

In the light commercial passenger carrier segment sales figures have been on a downward trend since FY 2009 and have fallen by 45 pc over the past five years.

By the beginning of the third financial quarter of FY 2014-15 the company had sold 58 pc of the volumes it sold in the previous financial year under this segment.

The light commercial goods carrier segment is the cash cow

Mahindra truck on display at the 2014 Auto Expo December 2014 I 67

CV SPECIAL for Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and contributes to the maximum volumes the company produces.

Sales figures in this segment have been on a growth trend since FY 2009-10 and have grown by 91 pc. By the beginning of the third quarter of FY 2014-15 the company had sold 55 pc of the volumes it did in the previous financial year under this segment.

ISUZU MOTORS INDIA: In India, the pickup truck segment is one of the largest and fastest growing segments in Commercial Vehicles (CV), accounting for 35pc of the total CV market. Maharashtra is the biggest pickup truck market in India and an integral part of Isuzu’s growth strategy. Isuzu Motors India is the latest entrant into India’s commercial pickup truck segment.

At present, Isuzu has a contract manufacturing agreement with Hindustan Motors (HML) under which HML is contract assembling CKD kits of Isuzu’s sports utility vehicle MU-7 and pickup truck D-Max, at its Thiruvallur, Chennai plant. Isuzu began civil works on its proposed manufacturing plant site in SriCity, TADA, Chitoor, AP. The company had acquired 107 acres of land in 2013 after signing an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh State Government in order to start automobile manufacturing

operation in India. This new facility is likely to commence commercial operations by early 2016, with the initial production capacity at 50,000 units per year. Isuzu will scale up the production capacity to 120,000 units per year, with the accumulated investment of 3,000 crore, the facility is expected to generate 2000-3000 jobs. Isuzu Motors India plans to achieve 100pc localisation within three years of commencing production in 2016.

DAIMLER INDIA COMMERCIAL VEHICLES PVT. LTD. is a 100pc subsidiary of Daimler AG, Stuttgart, Germany. DICV produces medium and heavyduty commercial vehicles for the Indian volume market, under the brand name – BharatBenz at its plant at Oragadam, near Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu. The plant is spread over 400 acres and it includes a modern test track designed to simulate Indian conditions – making it one of its kind in Asia. DICV has a total dedicated investment of over 4400 cr.

Though DUCV does not share its sales figure with SIAM, it reported early this year that it had crossed the sale of its 10,000th truck, since its market launch.

Adding to this milestone, the

company also sold 1,000 units in a month, for the first time in March 2014. Sale of BharatBenz trucks grew over 67pc in the 1st quarter of 2014 (2,203 units) as compared to the same period in 2013 (1,316 units) with a market share of 5.3pc in addressable markets above 9T segment, while the overall truck market >9T decreased by another 22pc in the same period.

Marc Llistosella, Managing Director and CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), said, “The year 2014 began well for us and it underlines some key developments in the company.

The sale of the 10,000th truck is a remarkable achievement for us, given the fact that we have made it in just 18 months of operations in the country. Another notable aspect is that these trucks were sold with transparent pricing without any discount.”

DICV launched its Heavy-duty trucks in September 2012 and followed it by the launch of its Medium-duty range in February 2013. In January 2014, it launched its Tractor and Construction Mining models, covering the entire range of trucks in the medium and heavy duty segments. DICV has gained a substantial market share in the Southern region and has been registering a steady growth in other markets of West, North

and Central.

On the exports front, DICV along with Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) made significant inroads into the African market with the launch of DICV-made FUSO trucks in Tanzania, besides Kenya and Zambia as part of Daimler’s Asia Business Model.

In July 2014, the company announced that it had achieved another milestone it rolled out its first Left-Hand Drive (LHD) FUSO trucks for the export markets at its Oragadam facility. The first heavy-duty truck - the FUSO FJ (equivalent to a 2528C), was first to be launched in markets like, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Egypt, and in the mid-term was to be rolled out in further markets in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

With this, Daimler Trucks Asia strengthened its portfolio of new FUSO trucks for the non-Asian markets as well, adding thrust to its export strategy. A variant of the new DICV-made FUSO LHD was showcased at the IAA Hannover show in September 2014.

As part of the first wave of Export-markets DICV-made FUSO trucks are already exported to markets like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Brunei.

Apollo Tyres launches India’s largest loader tyre Apollo Tyres launched AWL 822, the largest loader tyre produced in India, at the ongoing 12th International Mining and Machinery Exhibition (IMME) 2014 in Kolkata. The company also introduced ALT 188 TX tyre with the industry’s first traction tread design at the exhibition. AWL 822, used for loaders and dozers in high-abrasion conditions, is manufactured using 1300 kg Rubber, 700 kg Carbon Black & Silica, 200 kg Nylon Fabric and 300 kg of other rubber chemicals. With a size of 45/65-45 L5, the tyre has a special tread design with stone ejectors for protection & trouble free service and side protector for improved resistance to shoulder and sidewall cuts.

ALT 188 TX is a unique and innovative

68 I December 2014

traction tread design introduced in bias construction segment for slurry and muddy conditions. It has a customised tread compound which provides excellent performance in varying mine conditions, wider grooves towards the shoulder which reduce the chances of stone entrapment and superior and enduring carcass for high load carrying capacity & exceptional structural stability under extreme conditions. AWL 822 and ALT 188 TX are being cured at Apollo’s Limda plant, in the state of Gujarat, which has one of the biggest curing presses available in Southeast Asia. International Mining and Machinery Exhibition (IMME) is India’s largest trade

fair dedicated to the mining industry, which is organised by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

CV SPECIAL JK Tyre showcases the largest tyre in India JK Tyre & Industries has announced the commercial launch of the biggest ever tyre in India at this year’s 12th International Mining & Machinery Exhibition in Kolkata.

The company also launched 18.00-25 VEM Smooth tyre underlining company’s aggressive approach to enhance presence across industries and geographies.

VEM 045 which stands at 12 feet height and weighs 3.7 tons, is specifically built for India’s biggest Rigid Dump-truck having nominal payload capacity of 240 tons. The giant marks the tyre maker’s aggressive strategy to ride on the expected growth across the mining and infrastructure sectors in the coming months.

Devesh Dabas, Head of Off-the-road Business at JK Tyre & Industries Limited said, “JK Tyre is the only Off-The-Road tyre

SCANIA INDIA Scania has been represented in the Indian market since 2007, when a partnership was initiated with Larsen & Toubro (L&T). After successfully establishing Scania’s trucks and services , L&T currently operates about 11 Scania service workshops at various mining sites in the country and continues to be a trusted partner for off road including mining trucks.

In 2011, Scania established the company Scania Commercial Vehicles India Pvt. Ltd. in order to boost its presence through sales to additional segments of the Indian commercial vehicle market.

Since then Scania has launched a range of on-road haulage truck models specially adapted for the Indian market - the R 500 6x4, the G 460 6x4 and the P 410 6x2 and also the off-road P 410 8x4 mining tipper.

In the beginning of 2013 Scania launched a new bus range, especially for the Indian market. The new bus range is purpose-designed for luxury intercity or charter travels. Scania also launched the company’s engines range in India. Scania has been establishing a network of dealers across the south and western regions of India covering

manufacturer with widest range of customised product-solution for Industrial and Mining applications.

With better days in the offing, the mining industry holds great potential and we are ready to make the most of it.”

The second product launched by JK Tyre , the 18.00-25 VEM Smooth, is a specialised product for reachstacker application to improve life and productivity. Its massive tread is designed to optimised tread wear giving an exceptional longevity and mobility.

JK Tyres is the only company running CRM Programme for fleets in the Indian Tyre Industry. It has been providing Customised Tyre Management Solutions to Off-the-road Customers as well, another first for the Indian

its business areas to support the customers with the best parts and service availability.

The company inaugurated its Industrial Facility in Narasapura in the state of Karnataka in October, 2013. With an investment of 300 crore, this facility serves as the centre of the company’s commercial operations in the country. Scania’s ambition is to sell about 2,500 trucks and 1,000 buses per year in the Indian market within the next five years and employ more than 800 people at this facility.

In October 2014, the company the company delivered it 150th Scania P 410 8x4 Tipper to one of India’s largest mining contract companies, BGR Mining and Infra Private Limited, Hyderabad.

A few months prior to this, the company handed over India’s first ethanol-fuelled city bus to Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) for trial run in Nagpur. Anders Grundströmer, Managing Director, Scania Commercial Vehicles India and Senior Vice President, Scania Group and Sivakumar V, Director Sales, Scania Commercial Vehicles India handed over the bus keys to Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Rural Development,

tyre industry.

In the OTR tyre segment, JK Tyre has always had a dominating presence. It is now producing an entire range of ultra-large OTR tyres in India at its new state-of-the-art facility at Mysore.

Government of India.

OMAX AUTOS LTD Around May 2014 Omax Autos Limited, aleading tier one supplier to OEMS in critical assemblies like frame assembly in CV segment, announced its foray into truck assembly. The company was awarded an initial order of 20 Vehicle assemblies from a renowned truck OEM. Omax Bangalore facility rolled out its first truck assembly in March 2014. Kishor Karnataki, President & CEO – PC & CV said, “A focussed assembly cell has been created in Bangalore plant, where the truck is assembled in 3 stages starting from frame assembly, engine & power train dropping & third stage as cabin assembly with tuning.

Upon completion of initial batch successfully, Omax will work with the customer to invest for developing, a focussed infrastructure for high volume assembly line. Omax is currently having two CV focussed plants in Lucknow, Pantnagar and its Bangalore facility has expanded its CV business with more leading OEMs in south region adding to its prestigious customer base.”

Currently Omax is the

largest chassis assembly tier 1 manufacturer in India with a peak volume catering to 45 thousand vehicles per year. The company is targeting an annual volume of 10,000 vehicles in three years JBM MOTORS, the bus division of JBM Group, an auto components manufacturer, launched a low floor bus ‘Citylife’ in early 2014 that has been especially designed for intra-city travelling India. Backed by a total investment of Rs.500cr, the bus will be manufactured in technological partnership with European bus-maker BredaMenarinibus (BMB).

Being manufactured at the company’s facilities in Faridabad, Haryana and Kosiin Uttar Pradesh, these plants have the capacity to manufacture 2000 buses annually.

The bus has been designed keeping in mind Indian traffic and weather conditions. Some unique features include a monocoque structure to ensure maximum strength and minimum weight, matching European standards for safety in case of front/side collision and rollover accidents. Additional safety is provided through five large diameter detachable cylinders with an automatic valve close in case of leakage.

December 2014 I 69

NEWS

Mahindra gets ready with three new platforms for 2015 Report P. Tharyan

I

f you think Mahindra & Mahindra has been outsmarted by the new entrants in the compact SUV segment in the country, then think again. The country’s leading player in utility vehicles is planning some mega surprises in the coming times.

In 2015 the company will be introducing three new platforms.

Of this two will be in the personal vehicle space and one would be in the commercial vehicle space. “These three products are coming up very well,” said Praveen Shah, Chief ExecutiveAutomotive Division & International Operations –AFS & Member of Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra.

In a candid interview with Motown India recently, Shah said that the compact SUV segment in the country came into play only two years back. “Before that it did not exist and we have products lined up in that space. Mahindra has the DNA to make true blooded SUVs. Keeping that DNA of Mahindra in mind we will come up with a compact vehicle which will have its own local standing, have its own segment and surely will find its own place in that segment,” he affirmed.

Shah pointed out that the company lost a single digit volume due to competition interest rates and other such factors. He noted that when the company brought out the Quanto, a compact SUV, the market saw a rush of new vehicles in that segment and as a result the Quanto was unable to carve a share for itself in the segment.

“There came new products and they came at a price for which I don’t know how long they were able to sustain themselves as we have witnessed over a short period of time prices have gone

70 I December 2014

Praveen Shah, Chief Executive-Automotive Division & International Operations –AFS & Member of Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra. up. Unfortunately the Quanto was not on the new platform it was so to say a variant which got created to cater to the market quickly,” he said.

SCORPIO-- MAHINDRA’S SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT About the Scorpio, Shah noted that it faced a lot of competition from several products but then at the end of the road, their volumes dropped to lower than the Scorpio level. “What the Scorpio has to offer in terms of overall package, in terms of the look and style, the driving experience, the go anywhere attitude and its capabilities, it’s a lot. To add to that it has become a status symbol to the people who really want true SUVs and can’t afford the other prices. This vehicle meets the aspirations of people and is easy on the pocket. It has many first technologies like the first talking car, the microHybrid technology, the CRDe engine, the most refined mHawk technology and apart from that it provides

seating options of 6-7-8 as compared to other products which can hardly seat five. Those vehicles can only travel on city roads whereas this product can take you anywhere. The look and feel is such that it can give you a very good driving position. When you sit on the driver’s side you feel like you are the king of the road where as in other products it looks like you are sinking. The Scorpio has its own characteristics apart from that it has the required safety, power and style,” said Shah.

On the export front too, the Scorpio is doing well. Mahindra has sold cumulatively more than 74,000 vehicles on the Scorpio platform. The Scorpio platform went to the export market only two years after it was launched.

The vehicles were exported to European nations, to South and Central America, the 20 plus African market, Malaysia and even in Australia and New Zealand.

“The product even in the current form and shape has its own value proposition and prospect.

Regarding the new technology which we have fitted into this product, we will see how much of it can be adapted in the export markets. The technology which we put in is generally at 1/10th of the price and that’s where we don’t lose the value proposition and at the same time delight the customer. In a true sense it becomes a true value for money,” Shah added.

The recently launched new Scorpio platform has been used

by Mahindra to demonstrate and house all future technologies and that’s why, Shah said, “We call it the New Generation Scorpio which has all the futuristic technology in terms of electronics, ride and handling, the engine and gear box which have been refined in terms of providing better value for money”.

Shah also concluded that the there is a huge potential for growth in the Indian passenger car industry. “The number of cars per thousand is so small in India and the way the Indian

NEWS economy is changing, developing and turning for better with the disposable incomes going up and the infrastructure improving and peoples affordability increasing, the auto industry has a room to grow much faster,” he said.

“I strongly believe that the traditional segments will disappear and basically people would define their needs. Each family has a different need while some families

have a basic need of commuting, some families have a need to go for touring and adventure commuting according to their lifestyle. So with these changing dynamics the needs of customers are changing and the evolution of different product offerings in the market place is a combination of what auto companies can offer as you see it. Most of the global brands try and bring their products

from the other markets. They don’t get developed specifically for India but a brand like Mahindra which is a home grown brand understands the customers much better and understands their needs and demands. We try and come up with a product segment which will meet the unmet demands of the customer and the wishes of the customer. We try and put technology or comfort or basic

requirements which are new to the market. The products which are developed for other markets and come to India will surely be far from meeting these expectations of the customer and will bring only two things – prices to start with and provide some form of brand value. Other than that, once the initial euphoria is over, they have difficulty with their volumes,” signed off Shah.

Spyker files for voluntary financial restructuring

D

utch automobile car reorganisation plan to resolve electric aircraft, the exciting new maker Spyker N.V., its temporary operational and sustainable technology of which together with its wholly liquidity issues. will find its way into future Spyker owned subsidiary Spyker Motown India had in an automobiles” said Victor R. Automobielen B.V. (collectively exclusive report in 2013 reported Muller, Spyker founder and Chief “Spyker” or the “Company”), filed that Spyker had plans to enter Executive Officer. “After careful a voluntary petition on December the Indian market with its cars. consideration of all available 2, 2014 for financial restructuring Later this magazine reported the alternatives, the Company’s in an effort to address certain company plans to bring in their Directors and Management short-term operational and cars into India in 2014. Now this Boards determined that a liquidity challenges. According too is unlikely as the company has voluntary petition for temporary to a company press release, filed for financial restructuring. moratorium of payment was the District Court of Midden”Over the past few years, a necessary and prudent step Nederland in Lelystad, the Spyker has faced a number of and the best way to secure and Netherlands (the “Court”) granted Spyker’s voluntary petition for temporary moratorium of payment (“surseance van betaling”), the Dutch equivalent of the American Chapter 11 proceedings, and has appointed an administrator who, together with the Board of Management, bears final responsibility for management of the company as long as the B6 Venator from Spyker. Picture for representation purpose only moratorium of payment status is in force. The serious difficulties and challenges use the financing necessary to Court’s ruling to grant a temporary resulting from, among others, maintain operations and allow moratorium of payment protects the legacy of the F1 era and the for a successful restructuring the Company from its creditors acquisition of Saab Automobile of the Company. We expect to throughout the duration of the AB. Our Management and Board emerge from this restructuring moratorium. The Company’s have been working very hard in the a stronger, more innovative wholly owned subsidiary Spyker last 12 months on a restructuring company that is well positioned Events & Branding B.V. entered plan that includes the execution of for growth and profitability. We temporary moratorium of payment Spyker’s B6 Venator programme, are proud of the consistent high a month ago. an entry-level luxury sports car quality of our automobiles and The Company’s key operations which will give a larger audience our valued customer and partner are expected to continue access to the Spyker brand, relationships,” he said in a throughout the temporary and the merger with a US based statement. moratorium while it executes its manufacturer of high performance In conjunction with the voluntary

petition, the Company is in the process of securing a loan facility arranged by independent financiers which intends to provide an immediate source of funds to the Company, enabling it to satisfy the customary obligations associated with the daily operation of its business, including the timely payment of employee wages and other obligations.

The temporary moratorium of payment and following settlement with creditors is the next step in Spyker’s restructuring process. During the temporary moratorium of payment, suppliers should expect to be paid for postpetition purchases of goods and services in the ordinary course of business.

“On behalf of the entire management team, I would like to thank our customers, dealers and suppliers for their continued support during this process. I also want to recognise our dedicated employees, whose continued support and commitment are crucial to the future success of our company.

We are all dedicated to making this financial restructuring a success. Since 2000, the year we were established, we have always lived by our company’s axiom “Nulla Tenaci In Via Est Via” ( Latin for “For the tenacious no road is impassible” ) and we will most certainly continue to do so” Victor R.Muller concluded.

December 2014 I 71

NEWS

No policy initiative to encourage electric vehicle makers, admits Government

H

ats off to companies like Mahindra Reva and Hero Electric for pursuing their dreams to bring about a greener world and encourage the use of electric vehicles in India. Because the government has admitted that it has not implemented schemes/ policy initiatives to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles.

This information was given on December 2, 2014 by Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises G.M. Siddeshwara in a written reply to Lok Sabha question.

Mahindra Reva e2o is not only the greenest car available in India today but it also an initiative by the Mahindra group to encourage the use of electric vehicles in the country. Similar is the case with Naveen Munjal controlled Hero

Picture for representation purpose only Electric that manufactures electric motorcycles and cycles in the country. Both these companies have been fighting all odds to ensure that their products are accepted by people. This is despite the fact that the Indian government is doing almost nothing to encourage their use.

The Minister said in his reply that a Scheme for Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles In India, under the National Electric Mobility Mission 2020 has been proposed. The scheme envisages to encourage progressive induction of reliable, affordable

and efficient electric and hybrid vehicles (xEV) in the country that meet consumer performance and price expectations, through Government-Industry collaboration for promotion and development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities, required infrastructure, consumer awareness and technology; thereby helping India to emerge as a leader in the xEV Two Wheeler and Four Wheeler market in the world by 2020. The Mission aims at providing a clean transportation system to the people that is not dependent on gasoline based fossil fuel, he said. But the Minister also admitted that the scheme is only on paper no policy initiative has been undertaken to encourage these brave hearts among the Indian corporates.

Government plans crash test norms for cars

I

ndian cars may now become safer now that the government is planning to ensure that each of the cars pass the frontal and side impact crash test.

Currently, there is no regulation in terms of crash tests for any vehicle manufactured in India for domestic use.

Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Pon. Radhakrishnan informed the Rajya Sabha on December 1, 2014 during the winter session of Parliament that the Government is planning to mandate the offset frontal crash test and side impact crash test norms for passenger cars. The Minister said that for this, requisite test facilities are being built under National Automotive Testing and Research and Development Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) initiative. Once these facilities are ready, the regulations will be implemented.

72 I December 2014

To meet these regulations, majority of car manufacturers will require to use several safety devices, including air bags.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures (SIAM) are the members of the Standing Committee on the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, which decides the implementation issues.

Automobile manufacturers provide their viewpoints from time

to time in this forum along with other stakeholders.

The announcement from the Minister comes at a time when Indian passenger cars made in the country failed crash tests conducted by the Global NCAP. In fact its Chairman Max Mosley even wrote to Nissan Chairman and CEO, Carlos Ghosn, calling for an urgent withdrawal of the Datsun Go from the Indian and

Picture of Datsun Go failing the Euro NCAP crash test. Picture courtesy Euro NCAP. For representation purpose only

related markets. Global NCAP is an independent charity registered in the United Kingdom.

Recently, the latest crash test results released by Global NCAP showed that while Nissanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Datsun Go received a zero-star safety rating and the Maruti Suzuki Swift scored zero stars for adult occupant protection and just one star for child occupant protection. In January 2014, the first-ever independent crash tests of some of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s popular and important small cars had shown a high-risk of life threatening injuries in road crashes. All the cars selected by Global NCAP for testing in a frontal impact at 64km/h received zero-star adult protection ratings.

The models tested included Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best-selling car, the Suzuki-Maruti Alto 800, the Tata Nano, Ford Figo, Hyundai i10 and Volkswagen.

NEWS

ACMA report outlines business opportunities in China

T

he Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), the apex body of the Auto Component Industry in India has in its recent findings identified specific export opportunities, estimated at USD 20 billion, for auto components to select OEMs in China. These findings were part of its study – ‘Export Opportunities for Made-inIndia auto components for China’.

The study, partly funded

by Ministry of Commerce, Government of India was conducted by Avalon Consulting.

The study focussed on understanding the buying behaviour and the market dynamics of the Chinese automotive market as also competitiveness of the Chinese auto component manufacturers and thereby ascertaining the feasibility of venturing into the Chinese market.

The report has been compiled after a rigorous analysis of macroeconomic and trade

data with research in India and China and through numerous meetings with Indian and Chinese automotive and auto components companies.

Arvind Mehta, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India said that he was glad that ACMA and its members have overcome the apprehension that India cannot be competitive vis-a-vis China and have identified it as a target market. “This initiative will be step forward in bridging the significant trade imbalance between China and India,” he said Vinnie Mehta, Director General, ACMA said that “Auto component is one of India’s traditional export strengths however, India’s trade deficit in auto components with China has also grown substantially; China’s auto components exports to India stood at USD 2.6 billion in 2013-14, contrasted with India USD 300 million, and this trend

has remained unaltered for the last three odd years.” He said increasing labour costs in China, coupled with improved design capabilities and value addition

by Indian auto component manufacturers presents a favourable opportunity for Indian auto component manufacturers to explore the Chinese market.

Some of the key highlights from the report are: •Export opportunity for ‘Made in India’ components has been estimated at USD 20 billion, of

this, the ‘addressable opportunity’ is about USD 7.5 billion.

•Components such as pistons, con rods and other small engine hardware, cam and crankshafts, lighting and signalling equipment, shock absorbers etc. feature in the ‘addressable opportunity’ list.

•Some of the Chinese OEMs ( Lifan – Two wheelers; Beiqi Foton – Commercial Vehicles , Great Wall – Passenger Car , WeiChai – Engine manufacturer ) have evinced keen interest in made in India products.

Delphi, Ottomatika offer solutions to automated driving

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elphi Automotive, a leader in advanced driver assistance systems, will partner with Ottomatika, Inc., a company started by Carnegie Mellon University, which provides advanced automated driving software, to jointly develop technology that will help accelerate automated driving.

Ottomatika, Inc. is a leading vendor of software and systems for advanced driving assistance and human-in-the-loop vehicle automation systems. Ottomatika is a spin-off from Carnegie Mellon University and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA. Delphi, the company that first introduced automotive radar systems, will integrate its active safety technologies with Ottomatika’s automated driving

software. According to a press release, the combination of the two creates a technology platform that enables a vehicle to make human-like decisions when driving in the city or on the highway. The platform is flexible and can be expanded and upgraded as the software is updated. It will also support vehicle-to-environment (V2X) communications.

“Dealing with highly complex real-world decisions is a limitation for much of the current technology in the market,” said Jeff Owens, Delphi’s chief technology officer, adding that “This partnership with Ottomatika will represent a significant step forward in making automated driving a reality. Your car just got a lot smarter.”

Using their individual strengths, Delphi and Ottomatika have

developed a vehicle platform that can instantaneously make complex decisions, like stopping and proceeding at a four-way stop, timing a highway merge or calculating the safest maneuver around a bicyclist on a city street.

Delphi is supporting the collaboration by making an investment in Ottomatika.

Together, the two companies will design a short- and long-term roadmap of steadily increasing vehicle automation in the coming years.

“Ottomatika leverages ground-

breaking expertise and long-term experience in vehicle automation,” said Raj Rajkumar, co-founder and CEO, Ottomatika, Inc. “Delphi and Ottomatika working together have the potential to solve the automated driving challenge, which makes roads safer for everyone,” he said in a press release issued by Delphi.

December 2014 I 73

NEWS

Modern inspection system for vehicles soon, says Minister Radhakrishnan

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. Radhakrishnan, Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, has stated that his ministry has decided to put in place a suitably designed Inspection and Maintenance System for vehicles and has sanctioned 10 model automated Inspection and Certification Centres. These centres will be in the States of now in Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, U.P and Delhi on a pilot basis during 11th Plan. The Minister added that the work relating to these centres is in progress and that some of the centres will be operational within this financial year.

The Minister was speaking at a two-day international symposium in New Delhi that began on November 20, 2014.

The International Symposium on Inspection & Certification (iSIC-2014) was organised by the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), a division of National Automotive Testing Research & Development Infrastructure Project (NATRIP), in association with Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), Government of India.

The symposium was inaugurated by P. Radhakrishnan in the presence of Ambuj Sharma, Additional Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Dinesh Tyagi, DirectorICAT and M.J. Singh, ConveneriSIC- 2014. This seminar also provided a closer look to the States / UTs and the transports department to understand the importance on Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance in India which shall go a long way in setting up and operating the I&C centres in the different states. The two-day deliberations would bring out learning’s which should help in

the smooth implementation of the Inspection and Certification centres.

This International Symposium on Vehicle Inspection and Certification on “Roadworthiness through Inspection” allowed speakers to discuss and present international papers on topics such as Challenges of emerging Technology for Technical Inspection/ Certification & Maintenance, Periodic Technical Inspection (PTI)/ Road safety Inspection (RSI), International Strategies/ Developments in improving Roadworthiness Inspection, Mobile Stations for Road and Enforcement, etc.

P. Radhakrishnan, Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways receiving a memento from Dinesh Tyagi, Director- ICAT, in the presence of Ambuj Sharma, Additional Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises (extreme left) and Norman Van Oudtshoorn, MD, TUV Rheinland

Continental opens new R&D extension building in Singapore

I

nternational automotive supplier and tyre manufacturer Continental has opened a new extension building to expand its R&D capabilities in Singapore.

With a total capital investment of S$29.7 million (EUR 18.3 million), the extension aims to meet the demand of growing engineering requirements in view of Continental’s worldwide business expansion and the growth of the automobile industry in Asia, said a press release issued by Continental. The new extension building accommodates around 450 employees and provides a total floor space of 5,000 square meters. Continental is currently one of the best positioned automotive suppliers and industry partners in the world. In Asia the company operates 29 R&D centres. Already in operation as a Continental subsidiary since 2007, Continental Automotive Singapore Pte Ltd is one of the company’s three largest Asian R&D centres.

UNO Minda inaugurates 4th centre of Samarth Jyoti

O

n November 2, 2014, the Uno Minda group inaugurated its fourth centre of Samarth Jyoti, the company’s CSR wing, in village Nawada Fatehpur, Manesar.

Samarth Jyoti is an initiative spearheaded by Suman Minda to inspire and facilitate a transformative change in disadvantaged sections of the society.

To provide impetus to various skill and competency development among the youth and women,

74 I December 2014

Samarth Jyoti was set up in 2012 under Shadi Lal Minda Charitable Trust (SLMCT). S.L. Minda, the founder of Minda Industries Ltd. was actively involved in running a number of charitable and social organisations under the aegis of Moga Devi Minda Charitable Trust. The Group started Minda Bal Gram & Minda schools with a vision to provide food, shelter, medical facilities & education to underprivileged children.

Similarly, Samarth Jyoti dreams of reaching out to the

disadvantaged sections of society through creating conducive environment for an improved quality of life.

It has 3 existing centres at village Naharpur (Haryana), Pune (Maharashtra) and Pant Nagar (Uttrakhand).

Nirmal Kumar Minda, CMD, UNO Minda, at the Samarth Jyoti event The training centres provide vocational training in Computer Education and

by NIOS (an “Autonomous Cutting and Tailoring trade to the Organisation” in pursuance of youth of the area and also run National Policy on Education, a Balwadi. The various courses under Ministry of HRD, Govt. of of Samarth Jyoti are accredited India.)

NEWS

Shell seminar on technology superiority in synthetic lubes

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hell Lubricants, the global market leader in finished lubricant solutions organised a National Synthetic Lubes Seminar to showcase its technological superiority in synthetic lubricants. The company had organised a similar event last year. The seminar brought together OEMs, customers and industry experts on one platform to discuss the latest developments and trends in the industry and deliberate on the challenges faced by them.

This year’s seminar provided an opportunity for the participants to discuss the challenges they face in terms of lubrication in different environment as per individual requirements. Some of the key trends like GTL technology, synthetic technology in open gear lubrication, synthetic gear oil technologies, technology trends in gearbox maintenance & lubricant practices etc were discussed by panelists including Felix Guerzoni, Shell Global Product Application Specialist and Ian Martin, Asia Key Account and Competence Development Manager, Greases.

Nitin Prasad, Managing Director of Shell Lubricants, Shell India, commented that the focus has

always been to provide valuable patrons with solutions that help improve performance, productivity and profits. “The product innovation is put to work by Shell’s world-renowned industry specialists who create the world’s best performing solutions. As a part of this seminar, the main aim is to provide a platform that allows Shell’s experts to showcase solutions that suit customer’s needs while ensuring uninterrupted growth,” he said.

Akhil Jha, Vice President Technical (Lubricants), Shell India Markets Private Limited said, “We are investing enormously on R&D to develop market leading products and solutions for our OEMs & customers across sectors.”

Felix Guerzoni, Shell Global Product Application Specialist, the key developer of the turbine oil ‘Shell Turbo T’ said “Innovation, Product Application and technical partnerships are at the heart of Shell Lubricants.”

He continued that Shell aims to help in finding practical solutions to the challenges faced by their customers by working closely with them with a commitment to develop and provide next generation of lubricants that will

(L-R) Nitin Prasad, Managing Director, Shell Lubricants, Shell India , Felix Guerzoni, Shell Global Product Application Specialist and Akhil Jha, Vice President Technical (Lubricants), Shell India Markets Private Limited deliver improved energy efficiency for customers without any compromise.

At the seminar, Ian Martin and Felix Guerzoni, justified that their synthetic lubricant solutions are a smart investment for any customer and they are made of newly created molecules, which are designed to meet demanding specifications. These solutions also added clarity to the many questions raised by OEMs and industry experts that Shell

Lubricants can help to safeguard capital investment by protecting the equipment from wear and corrosion, even under the most severe condition while offering the longest life oils and greases in the Shell range. They further pointed out that by extending lubricant life it saves money by cutting maintenance costs and reducing product and energy consumption.

Shell Lubricants with continue with a similar initiative in 2015 also.

TOP LEVEL CHANGES IN MOTOWN SUNAM SARKAR, President and Chief Financial Officer, Apollo Tyres has been redesignated as President and Chief Business Officer of the company and has been relocated to Singapore. In his new assignment Sunam will oversee Corporate Strategy, Integrated Supply Chain including Raw Material Sourcing, Production Planning and Logistics Operations, Information Technology, Greater China Operations, Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Communications. This was stated in a press release issued by the company. Sunam joined Apollo Tyres in 1999 to head the Marketing function and has since successfully undertaken stints in Corporate Strategy, Operations and Finance. He joined the Board of Directors in 2004 and continues as an Executive Director. He will continue as the CFO of the company until a replacement is announced, the release added.

Effective January 1, 2015, RALPH LAUXMANN will take over as Head of Systems & Technology in the Chassis & Safety division headquarters in Frankfurt, at international automotive supplier Continental. In this role, he will report directly to Frank Jourdan, Head of the Chassis & Safety division and member of the Executive Board of Continental AG and functionally to Christian Senger, Head of Automotive Systems & Technology. Lauxmann joined Continental from Knorr-Bremse SfN GmbH, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of brake systems for commercial vehicles, where he coordinated development activities worldwide and was responsible for central engineering for almost three years. Before that, he spent 17 years at Bosch, enabling him to amass extensive experience in advanced driver assistance systems and electronic brake systems.

He joined Continental at the start of 2014 as Head of Strategy Customer Programs Chassis Electronics in the Vehicle Dynamics business unit. Lauxmann, 50, was born in Stuttgart and studied mechanical engineering.

December 2014 I 75

INTERVIEW

Felix Guerzoni

Shell Global Product Application Specialist

Mansi Madan Tripathy

Chief Marketing Officer, Shell Lubricants, India

Report & Photography: Rahul Kapoor Felix, you spent 19 years of your career in Shell. As a veteran in the oil industry, how has the journey been for you so far?

Felix Guerzoni (FG): The area that excites me and continues to excite me about working for Shell and motivates me is that the continual drive for technology innovation.

I’m a technologist by heart and training and the commitment that Shell as an organisation has shown in terms of innovation, research and development over those years and really trying to understand the customer needs

76 I December 2014

and the translate that into benefits, is a part of our offer. So that’s what really makes me tick. As a veteran I think I entered as a much younger individual, but now I’m one of the older ones and so it’s also the continued investment in both people as well as assets.

The people in our organisation are our strength and we spend a lot of time continuing to develop individuals and provide them the tools and the opportunities to grow.

From a technology aspect, I have been in the technology centre

SHELL LUBRICANTS INDIA Shell is one of the most diversified international oil company in India’s energy sector with nearly US$1 billion invested. It is a major private sector supplier of crude products and chemicals to India. With over 3000 staff in the country, Shell has a significant Technology center, a financial business services center and operates an LNG receiving and re-gasification terminal. It also has a downstream business marketing fuels, lubricants and specialty products. Shell Lubricants’ customers in India include Wartsila, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Ford and Thermax.

in Houston, Texas (US) and when I first joined I was there for seven years and was one of the youngest individuals, but we had a progressive plan to bring in new staff and to develop our new technology centre in Shanghai. We are seeing that model again and we are hiring highly motivated individuals who are coming from universities and strong academic backgrounds.

Now part of my role as a veteran is to help them understand the

industry and also how that we can work more closely with our customers.

You are also the father of Shell’s most prominent turbine oil, the ‘Shell Turbo T’. How did that come about and where has the development of the oil reached today?

FG: I have been fortunate enough to be the product developer for

our global turbine oil programme in our research center in the UK between 1998 and 2001. During that time, one of the projects that I was working on was the development of the Shell Turbo T. Also at the time I was involved with a lot of aviation turbine engine oil development. I’m very proud of the achievements of the Turbo T. It’s still a great product in the market. I’m still actively involved with the product formulators and developers in trying to understand how we can improve as technology changes, as we have new demands from the markets.

With emission norms being taken more seriously now in India and globally getting stricter, how can Shell help OEMs to reach their targets and what is the way forward?

FG: Very much of our foot print and strategy is working very closely with the OEMS and partnership in understanding the pressures that they are under. And obviously with new legislation, we are also actively involved with a number of the industry bodies in terms of developing those specifications as well. It’s really about understanding what pressures that will bring to the OEMs in terms of not only their individual products but also fuel economy in its broader sense. Not just from an OEM perspective but from an engineer’s perspective in what this would mean to broaden the energy mix going forward. But it’s also about the communication of how operators can drive their vehicles more economically. It’s not just a product, it’s they can train operators in the importance of your foot [using throttle pedal].

So it’s translating some of these technical messages to a level that our OEM partners or the end consumers can understand and put that into practice.

Mansi Tripathy (MT): What I’ll add on for the Indian scenario is that we are doing two things at the same time. Which is ‘what exists today’ and ensuring that

we are partnering to be the best.

But then we are also being the proactive voice of our OEMs to say what will the future look like.

Helping them because we have the expertise, we know what is happening, what are the products available to meet the Euro 6 and plus to let them know the way forward because the technology cycles take a bit of a longer time to co-develop and engineer. To start having those conversations earlier on, and in some cases even before the OEM has started thinking about it. I feel very proud that Shell is really pioneering those conversations and then spearheading with their set of vendors to see how we all come together to produce something which can meet the needs of the future. The good news is that the government has now started to get much more stringent, which in return helps us for both, the manufacturing and end consumer aspects, because they are all moving towards lower carbon emissions, better fuel efficiency, better utilisation of the energy, etc. So the fact is that it’s a winwin-win for everybody if we move towards these stricter regulations.

What is Shell’s growth strategy for India?

MT: On the lubes business itself, we are very bullish in terms of the market potential as well as the role Shell can play. Given our life stage, we are aggressively going after the value market while also the volume ensuring that we are continuously growing our market share. Our core areas of focus are firstly the OEM partnership, because we truly believe in collaborating and co-developing and taking it forward. The second is that we really want to be aggressive in our consumer brands, which is all our indirect business, to ensure that we are reaching out to the end consumer to improve their life with improved fuel efficiency as a particular platform we are going after. The key influencers are the mechanics and retailers.

Shell has also been the pioneer,

Picture courtesy - Shell

INTERVIEW

globally and in India to have a programme called ‘Shell Samridhi’ programme which is tailored to mechanics. Now we have a database of 55,000 mechanics in India, which no other in the country has. The vision is that we will not only help them but improve their life by training, insurance, health and take that end to end look as well. The third plan is going after our really big sectors.

Both the auto components and general manufacturing but some of the local sectors like agriculture and construction, we will focus on them. We will grow with their growth as we move forward.

Lastly, to ensure that our entire value chain, be it B2B or the B2C, what are we really providing to them, so those are our main focus areas with 8pc of our attention.

Looking at what we have delivered in the last 12 months, it’s working for us and we are continuing to believe that that is the right path for us.

This is the 2nd edition of Shell’s seminar. What has been your learning and what have you achieved?

MT: Our biggest learning is that what is really being appreciated and worked upon is the common confluence OEMs, industry

suppliers, distributers, media, some of the academia and all of that coming together under one platform. Most of the time these seminars are for a very specific sector/people. We feel that it gives networking opportunities as well. It has really worked for us in having those conversations that help everyone. Secondly, if you look at it from a development point of view, where it is in India, it’s is still at a very baby stage. We are just about 2pc of the entire market.

But companies like Shell have to play that pioneer role to get the concept of why synthetic. How is it helpful? What are the advantages?

I think that the barrier of price we have to debunk, because the advantage that you get in terms of total cost of ownership, efficiency, downtime and all the inefficiency it removes as some of independent studies of our products have shown. So we have to play that role in both educating because currently, people are not aware, so we have to play that pioneering role of establishing the category and we are really happy to be doing that. A lot of the speakers at the seminar are not from Shell, but they speak of the role of lubrication and synthetics in general. So we want to play that pioneering role.

December 2014 I 77

TECHNOLOGY

Mercedes-Benz lights up our world, bright and smart

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ercedes-Benz has always been offering some great headlights for its cars, not just in terms of design but also in terms of luminosity. Now, instead of the 24 LEDs of the gridded high beam module in the CLS headlamp, around 84 LEDs per headlamp will soon be providing for even better light quality and even greater safety at night. As many as 1024 pixels per LED will enable optimum illumination of the road at every speed and in all traffic conditions.

And not to worry, this would not dazzle the oncoming traffic. All this will be done without dazzling other road users.

One can recall that around 500 LEDs attended to all the lighting functions on a car for the first time on the S-Class in 2013.

In 2014 the Multibeam LED headlamps on the new CLS-Class raised the benchmark once again with their precision LED light grid modules. It’s very much proven that precision lights have prevented accidents at night. Five times as many pedestrians are killed on country roads as during the daytime.

Although night-time driving on country roads accounts for only 20 percent of total mileage, 40 percent of all fatal accidents occur in Germany during the night, according to BASt, the German Federal Office for Roads and Traffic.

“Enabling ideal visibility in all driving situations without dazzling other road users has always been

78 I December 2014

our credo in developing new light systems,” said Uwe Kostanzer, head of light systems development at Mercedes-Benz. “We are pursuing the further development of LED technology to this end,” Kostanzer added.

Multibeam LED technology is now gaining popularity as compared to static high beam systems.

This technology also supports the driver when there are other vehicles in the field illuminated by the headlamps. By means of totally independent control of the individual LEDs of the gridded light source, the Multibeam LED headlamp is able to mask other road users out of its light distribution in a fraction of a second, thereby enabling high beam to remain on. This assures the driver of the best possible light performance at all times, without dazzling other road users.

According to a press release, in the near

future, Mercedes-Benz will be incorporating an additional High Range LED high beam into its LED headlamps. This additional high beam employs state-of-the-art high-performance LEDs to provide high beam ranges of over 600 m in driving situations without any oncoming traffic or vehicles ahead. In contrast to the current “laser headlamps”, LED technology achieves this performance at markedly lower costs and with a manageable degree of complexity. At the same time, it also enables Mercedes-Benz to exploit the legally permissible level of illumination in Europe virtually to the full. This applies irrespective of the light source employed in the headlamp for all manufacturers.

In 2014 MercedesBenz introduced the innovative Multibeam LED headlamps in the CLSClass . These are fitted with 24 individual highperformance LEDs. Each

one of these LEDs can be individually electronically controlled. “Gridding” the light in this way allows the light distribution from the right and left headlamps to be controlled entirely separately and adapted to the traffic conditions with a high level of dynamism.

This enables the individual areas of the road surface to be illuminated in a very specific manner.

The headlamp control technology combines the gridded light source with the proven mechanical technology of the LED Intelligent Light System, and the high-performance LEDs provide for a range of 485 m.

It was way back in 1991 that Mercedes-Benz premiered the xenon headlamps with gas discharge lamps in the Mercedes F 100 research vehicle. This was followed in 1995 with xenon headlamps with dynamic headlamp range control in the E-Class. The year 1999 saw the premier of

bi-xenon technology in the CL-Class and four years later in 20013 the company had a world premiere of the active light function in the E-Class. In 2004 came the world premiere of the bi-xenon headlamps with active light function and cornering light function in the CLS-Class and a year later the premiere of Active Night View Assist in the S-Class. Intelligence set in 2006 with world premiere of the Intelligent Light System in the E-Class.

In 2009 it was the world premiere of the Intelligent Light System with Adaptive Highbeam Assist in the E-Class and in the same year it was the premiere of Active Night View Assist Plus in the S- and E-Class. One year later it was the world premiere LED High Performance headlamps incorporating all the light functions of the Intelligent Light System in the CLS-Class and a year later in 2010 it was new xenon burner with 20 percent higher colour temperature, and thus even closer to daylight, in the S- and E-Class. In 2011 Mercedes-Benz started series production of the spotlight function (world premiere) and in 2013 the new E-Class came fitted as standard with energyefficient LED low-beam headlamps (34 watts/ vehicle). In 2013 the new S-Class becomes first car to be fitted exclusively with LED headlamps as standard. In 2014 was born the Multibeam LED headlamps in the new CLS-Class.

TECHNOLOGY

GKN produces world’s first two-speed eAxle for hybrids, EVs

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KN, the world’s leading supplier of automotive driveline components and systems, has produced the industry’s first two-speed eAxle. This new technology has already entered production on the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car.

According to a press release issued by GKN, giving the electric motor an additional gear ratio improves acceleration and pure electric range, benefiting both driving dynamics and CO2 emissions. GKN’s twospeed eAxle also enables the motor and all its associated systems to be downsized, reducing mass and further increasing efficiency.

The eAxle technology enables automakers to produce “axle-split hybrids”. A conventional or hybridised engine provides the primary power to either the front or rear wheels, with the other axle driven by an eAxle module. The technology responds intelligently to deliver an instant high-torque allwheel drive experience, a useful pure electric range or a refined, efficient parallel hybrid mode. No other hybrid architecture offers such a strong combination of efficiency, traction, dynamics and packaging.

Until now electric and axle-split hybrid vehicles have used single-speed transmissions. Using a fixed ratio limits electric drives in terms of either acceleration or top speed as they must disconnect at

certain speeds to prevent the motor overspinning.

GKN’s two-speed eAxle is the first to enable the electric drive to boost the vehicle’s performance across its entire speed range.

Designing the twospeed eAxle for a highperformance sports car application placed tight packaging requirements on GKN’s development team. To achieve high torque density in a package that weighs just 27kg and measures less than 325mm by 562mm by 313mm, some remarkable design decisions were made.

To make the system narrower, the shift mechanism sits on the input shaft instead of the intermediate shaft in the middle of the transmission. Even with the input shaft spinning at up to 11,400rpm, GKN’s precise software control of the eMotor and the synchroactuation achieves a smooth gearshift in all conditions.

GKN Automotive CEO Andrew ReynoldsSmith said that GKN’s customers aren’t just looking to make their next car more efficient; they want to create new driving experiences. “Our expertise in driveline efficiency, torque vectoring and electric drive systems is enabling automakers to connect drivers to the road in new ways. We are

developing the systems that are helping bring a new generation of electric drive vehicles to life, ” he said, Theodor Gassmann, GKN Driveline’s Vice President Product Technoloy eDrive Systems, said: “Being the first Tier One to deliver a two-speed eAxle demonstrates GKN’s leadership in electric drive

“Gear shifts are completely transparent to the driver,” said Gassmann. “The smooth electromechanically actuated shift between the synchronised ratios has enabled our eAxle to set new benchmarks for comfort and NVH. The eAxle combines superior efficiency of 97% with high gear shift comfort

to production in just 24 months,” said Gassmann.

“Going forward, pairing electric powertrains with multi-speed transmissions is enabling GKN to supply downsized eDrive modules for future hybrid and electric vehicles. The technology also enables more radical future eMotor downsizing strategies.”

GKN technologies

technologies and hybrid driveline systems. Twospeed eAxles will help manufacturers enhance hybrid and electric drivetrains and support the trend to downsize eMotors to reduce weight and cost. With the technology proven in a highperformance vehicle with high levels of refinement, significant savings in CO2 are possible.”

and low gear noise. And yet the shift mechanism is a proven technology with components already in series production, providing a robust and cost-effective solution,” he added.

“By drawing on all the expertise and knowledge within GKN’s global engineering network, we were able to take the eAxle from concept

help drive 50% of the world’s vehicles. As cars and commercial vehicles hybridise to improve fuel economy and CO2 emissions, the company is extending its leadership.

GKN has invested more than £50 million in the development of key technologies to support customers hybridising and electrifying global platforms.

December 2014 I 79

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW PASSENGER VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA

(Total Domestic Sales + Exports in October 2014 = 2,02,499 Units)

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (42.80)% Hyundai Motor India Pvt. Ltd. (27.61)% Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd. (5.92)% Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd. (5.76)% Honda Cars India Ltd. (5.15)% Tata Motors Ltd. (4.83)% Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. (3.49)% Ford India Pvt. Ltd. (1.65)% OTHERS (1.41)% Skoda Auto India Pvt. Ltd. (0.64%) Fiat India Automobiles Pvt. Ltd. (0.50%) Renault India Pvt. Ltd. (0.16%) Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (0.11%) General Motors India Pvt.Ltd. (1.38)%

UTILITY VEHICLES MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA

(Total Domestic Sales + Exports in October 2014 = 67,479 Units) Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (30.47)% Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (25.65)% Ford India Pvt Ltd. (12.26)% Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. (9.85)% Tata Motors Ltd. (6.18)% Renault India Pvt. Ltd (5.12)% Honda Cars India Ltd. (4.72)% Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd. (2.34)% General Motors India Pvt. Ltd (2.17)% OTHERS (1.24)% Fiat India Automobiles (0.53%) Force Motors Ltd (0.40%) Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (0.17%) Ashok Leyland (0.05%) Hindustan Motors Finance Corp (0.03%) Skoda Auto India Pvt. Ltd (0.03%) Isuzu Motors (0.03%) 80 I December 2014

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW TWO WHEELER MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA

(Total Domestic Sales + Exports - October 2014 = 16,76,455 Units)

Hero MotoCorp Ltd. (34.30)%

Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd. (2.19)%

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (Pvt.) Ltd. (22.49)%

OTHERS (1.56)% Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd. (0.98%) Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (0.15%) H-D Motor Company India Pvt. Ltd. (0.02%) Triumph Motorcycles (India) Pvt. Ltd. (0.01%) Kawasaki India (0.01%)

Bajaj Auto Ltd. (20.09)% TVS Motor Company Ltd. (13.84)% India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd. (3.98)%

Royal Enfield (1.55)%

THREE WHEELERS IN INDIA

(Total Domestic Sales + Exports - October 2014 = 87,633 Units) Bajaj Auto Ltd. (56.02)%

Atul Auto Ltd. (4.91)%

Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (21.07)%

Scooters India Ltd. (0.92)%

TVS Motor Company Ltd. (10.33)%

Force Motors Ltd. (0.10)%

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (6.65)%

December 2014 I 81

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA (Total Domestic Sales + Exports - October 2014 = 38,899 Units)

Tata Motors Ltd. (44.47)%

VECVs - Eicher (2.12)%

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (40.93)%

Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (1.41)%

Ashok Leyland Ltd. (6.44)%

SML Isuzu Ltd. (0.81)%

Force Motors Ltd. (3.65)%

Isuzu Motors (0.17)%

MEDIUM & HEAVY COMMERCIAL VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA (Total Domestic Sales + Exports - October 2014 = 20,372 Units)

Tata Motors Ltd. (56.80)%

SML Isuzu Ltd. (1.16)%

Ashok Leyland Ltd. (28.66)%

Asia Motor Works Ltd. (1.10)%

VECVs - Eicher (10.93)%

VECVs - Volvo (0.16)%

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (1.19)%

82 I December 2014

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