Motown India January 2015

VOL-5 • ISSUE-4 • JANUARY 2015

INDIA

WWW.MOTOWNINDIA.COM

Fun on the Go

FIRST DRIVE

DATSUN GO+

FIRST DRIVE

ISUZU MU-7 RIVER RAFTING ON THE GANGES

50

TATA BOLT B2B SECTION Pages 57-82

BAUMA CONEXPO 2014 | INTERVIEW WITH ROHIT SABOO, PRESIDENT & CEO, NEI

2015 LA

UNCHES

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

I

P. THARYAN t’s the beginning of a new year and along with it comes loads of hope and promises. The auto industry is hoping that demand for vehicles picks up during the year and it is also hopeful that the government keeps its promises with regards to infrastructure development, investor friendly policies, fiscal incentives etc. We carry a ten-page report on what cars to expect in 2015.

Going by the looks of it, the Indian consumer is bound to see many new models being introduced in the country.

We have reviewed the Datsun Go+ and the Tata Bolt, both of which will be launched in 2015. The Datsun Go+ from Nissan India is a compact Multi Purpose Vehicle that could see India’s swelling middle class opting for it. It’s a very practical car and can accommodate both people and luggage in good numbers. The Tata Bolt on the other hand could find a lot of buyers among the youth. Both its styling and its performance are top notch.

We also got our hands on the Isuzu MU-7, a sports utility vehicle which sadly does not have a 4 wheel drive option. But the vehicle is incredibly huge and tough and has immense space inside. It is a rock solid car and can be driven in any terrain in the country. We also bid adieu to the Audi TT. The year 2015 will in all probability see a new Audi TT in the Audi dealerships.

In the B2B section we have covered the Bauma Conexpo 2014 (bC India) for off road vehicles used in mining, construction etc. The bC India show was held in Greater Noida and we have done an 11-page report on this mammoth show. There is also an interesting interview with Rohit Saboo of NBC Bearings. Saboo talked about his company’s progress in the bearings industry as well as his fourth plant in Gujarat’s Savli area.

The year 2014 was not a very good one for the auto industry. But the New Year holds a lot of promise. The Modi government is expected to push reforms and help the auto industry do well. We expect the government to continue with the excise relief announced in the previous Budget by the UPA government.

On a personal note, I would like to wish all my readers a wonderful New Year 2015!

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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 (advertising.motown@gmail.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

January 2015 I 3

Contents B2C SECTION

PAGES 6-56

TOPLESS AUDI A3 LAUNCHED IN INDIA FOR 44.75 LAKH

6

ISUZU MU-7

HERCULES ON WHEELS NEWS

MOTORSPORT

36

WHEELZ & ROADZ

6

Jaguar XF 2.2l diesel executive edition for 45.12 lakh

22

Karthik Tharani is JK Tyre VW Polo R Cup 2014 Champion

32

Datsun Go+ - Fun on the Go

8

ICOTY, IMOTY 2015 awards

26

JK Tyre Racing Championship 2014

40

Tata Bolt Revotron XT Bolt & Beautiful

10

The glamour line-up for 2015

30

Brilliant Buemi wins in Punta del Este Formula E race

44

Audi TT S-Line Quattro TT BYE BYE!!

B2B SECTION

PAGES 57-82

NEWS

70

Crash tests mandatory for new vehicles from Oct 1, 2017: Govt panel

70

Major OEMs to be part of 4th Bus & Special Vehicle Show 2015

71

UNO Minda, Toyoda Gosei establish JV for rubber hoses

TECHNOLOGY

76

BorgWarner technology for Lamborghini Huracรกn

77

Continental working on intelligent infrared technology in cars

4 I January 2015

57

LAUNCHES Topless Audi A3 launched in India for `44.75 lakh

Audi was the first luxury car maker in India to bring a 4-door sedan in the compact luxury segment with the A3 earlier this year. It was another first for Audi as they rolled in the A3 Cabriolet into India for 44,75,000/ex-showroom Delhi.

Let us paint a picture for you. You are driving down the road on a bright sunny day, not a drop of rain in sight, but it’s not hot that you need the air conditioner. With the cool breeze swishing past, rolling down the windows doesn’t seem quite enough. So what do you do? Well if you have the A3 Cabriolet, just simply push a button and the roof above your head folds itself into the boot. So you and your 3 mates can enjoy the topless beauty in brilliant weather. Now how about that? Quite brilliant right?

The new A3 Cabriolet is powered by a 1.8 litre, 4 cylinder TFSI petrol engine,the same found in the standard A3 mated to the brilliant 7-speed S tronic dual clutch transmission for seamless gear changes. Just as it does in the hard top, the petrol engine produces 180bhp and 250Nm of torque.

Thanks to the power and torque figures, the cabriolet has a top speed of 242kmph and it reaches 0-100kmph in just 7.8 seconds. Just like the A3 sedan, the cabriolet has an electromechanical power steering with ESC and an electronic limited slip differential as standard with 17 inch 5 spoke aluminium allow wheels. Another great quality about it is that the roof can come down or up on the move, as long as you are below 50kmph while you do it.

Honda CB Unicorn 160 launched for `69,350

Leading motorcycle manufacturer Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Ltd (HMSI) has launched a new CB Unicorn 160 motorcycle at 69,350, exshowroom Delhi) for the standard version. The CBS version is priced at 74,414, exshowroom Delhi.

The motorcycle is powered by a 163cc mid-sized advanced Honda engine. The motorcycle has been conceptualised keeping the youth in mind and is targeted at those in the age group of 25 to 35 years.

Powered by Honda Eco Technology, the engine delivers adequate power and torque even at lower speeds. The bike will be available in six colours which include Imperial Red Metallic, Pearl Black, Sunbeam White, etc.

The new CB Unicorn is Honda’s fourth launch in 2014. Other launches include the Activa 125 scooter, CD110 motorcycle and the Gold Wing cruiser. Keita Muramatsu, President and CEO, HMSI, said the company hoped to carry the momentum into the next year too.

The motorcycle is 2045mm in length and has a height of 1060mm and a wheelbase of 1324mm. It has a ground clearance of 150mm and a kerb weight of 135kg. It has a fuel tank capacity of 12 litres. The 4 stroke, SI engine with a cylinder capacity of 162.71cc delivers 14.5bhp @8000rpm and a peak torque of 14.61 Nm @6000rpm.

With a five-speed gearbox, the bike can do a maximum speed of 106km. The front tyre has a dimension of 80/100-17, while the rear tyre has 110/80-17. The tyres are tubeless. The bike has disc brake in front and drum brake at the rear. The front suspension is telescopic while the rear comprises spring loaded hydraulic type (Monoshock).

Jaguar XF 2.2l diesel executive edition for `45.12 lakh Jaguar has announced the launch of a new edition of Jaguar XF 2.2L Diesel called the Executive Edition at a price of 45.12 lakhs (ex-showroom Mumbai, Pre Octroi). The Executive Edition of Jaguar XF is powered by a 2.2L Diesel engine with a power output of 188bhp @3500 rpm. The car offers an array of features which include 8 Speed automatic Transmission, Navigation system, Full Size Spare Wheel, Full Colour Touch Screen and Jaguar Smart Key system with Keyless start.

It also includes Interior Mood Lighting,

6 I January 2015

Electronic Front Seats and Power-fold Exterior mirrors.

Rohit Suri, Vice President, Jaguar Land Rover India, said, “We are excited to introduce Jaguar XF 2.2L Diesel Executive Edition, at an attractive price point. It will enable us to access a wider audience which consists of discerning and premium Indian customers who have always loved the brand, aspired to own this sedan and be seen in it.” Jaguar Land Rover has a network of 21 dealership outlets across 19 cities in India.

NEWS

Eureka Forbes, a leading player in vehicle cleaning equipment Eureka Forbes, a name synonymous with cleaning products, currently provides a comprehensive cleaning solution for the automobile segment through its lifecycle. Yes, right from the production stage of a vehicle to the end user.

Eureka Forbes Limited has been pioneering the concept of health and hygiene for the past 32 plus years in various fields of business.

Cleaning a vehicle, both from within and outside, requires a specialised approach and the right equipment.

Eureka Forbes has a range of equipment and solutions for the various car workshops.

With the consistent growth in the automotive segment, the section of the market catering to its after sales service too is growing along with it. There has been an ever increasing need to efficient and economical cleaning systems for motorcycles, passenger and commercial vehicles and even public transport vehicles.

BODY CARE: The best and proven way to clean a vehicle from the outside is with water spray and this has been successfully being done by high pressure cleaners with pressures ranging from 160 bars to 230 bars providing that perfect impact required for cleaning. The benefits are immense, like reduced water consumption, reduced labour and highly efficient cleaning.

These equipment could be used with special accessories like under-body lance, a rotating brush or a foam cleaning option.

INTERIOR CLEANING: The cleaning of the interiors like seats and upholstery requires various methods of cleaning. The most prominent are vacuum cleaners, both dry and wet & dry, which help to remove all unwanted foreign particle from the seats, foot mats and

8 I January 2015

Hyundai Elite i20, Harley-Davidson Street 750 grab ICOTY, IMOTY 2015 awards

Bo Shin Seo, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India, Dr Raghupati Singhania, CMD, JK Tyre & Industries and Rakesh Srivastava, Sr VP, Sales & Marketing, Hyundai Motor India

dash boards. As an extension of services, deep cleaning of seats is done by injection extraction methods of by shampooing with dry foam.

Steam cleaning has taken precedence in the interior cleaning job due to time constraints, hard to find and maintain water resources.

This accelerated the cleaning of the fabric and leather seats and also the dash boards. This steam cleaning is also effective to clean the outer body for hard and oily stains on the body and the engine compartment.

AUTOMATIC CAR WASH: THE FUTURISTIC CLEANING SOLUTION There are 7194 workshops of leading car manufacturers in India. Out of this number an estimate 50pc would be servicing an average of more than 25 cars per day. The market potential of this segment is huge as availability of manpower and non -renewable resources like water, fuel and electricity still remains the major challenges of this segment of business.

This is topped up with ever increase customer demands for quality services at affordable prices. Hence this call for an efficient washing system which economically addresses to all the needs of the end user and the customer. There are three variants to this system Turbo wash, Robo Wash and Jet Wash.

The target markets of this range would be car service stations and dealerships, bus fleet owners, Auto OEMs, Gas filling Stations and various State Transport Corporation.

The auto award season got off to a cool start with the Hyundai Elite i20 car and the Harley Davidson Street 750 motorcycle grabbing the 10th Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) and the 8th Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) Awards.

Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Limited along with others presented the Indian Car of the Year trophy to the team of Hyundai Motor India Ltd and the Indian Motorcycle of the Year trophy to the Harley-Davidson team on behalf of the jury. Dr Singhania said, “The automobile and auto-ancillary sector in India is growing at a fast pace.

The consumer is ever-discerning and automakers seek to outperform each other. In such a super-competitive environment of innovation and strategies, JK Tyre supported ICOTY & IMOTY Awards’ endeavour to recognise those who challenge the status quo. The winner of the ICOTY & IMOTY award embodies this very spirit of dynamic leadership and creative engineering, while keeping the needs and the comfort of the consumer upper most in mind. I congratulate the winner of the ICOTY & IMOTY 2015, as well as all the nominees.”

Dr Raghupati Singhania and Anoop Prakash, MD, Harley-Davidson India

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NEWS

THE GLAMOUR LINE-UP FOR 2015 Report: Rahul Kapoor

T

he year 2014 saw car manufacturers from across the world bringing beautiful new cars to India. While the industry struggled to gets its numbers going, the once-upon-a-time champion, the Ambassador car, stopped production. Hindustan Motors suspended the production of the Ambi at its Uttarpara plant in West Bengal.

The year started off with the glitz and glamour of the 12th Auto Expo held in Greater Noida near Delhi in February of 2014. Over a 100 exhibitors participated at the event where 25 cars where showcased for the first time in India and 15 more cars made their global debut. The expo witnessed a footfall of over 600,000 people.

Most of the cars that were showcased at the expo have been launched. The rest may follow in 2015. We take a look at some of the cars that could possibly be launched in the new year.

AUDI In 2014 we saw Audi bring in the A3 sedan and cabriolet, the A8L, the Q3S and Q3 Dynamic and the brilliant RS7. This year we are hopeful that Audi will bring in the all new Q3, the Q7 and the updated TT.

Audi Q3

Audi TT

10 I January 2015

Audi Q7

NEWS BMW At the expo, BMW showed four cars that they planned to bring into India. But through the year, the Bavarians launched for the regular old chaps-- the X3, X5, X6, 3 series GT, Activehybrid7 and the M3, 4, 5 and 6 Grand Coupe for the really rich people, so as the boss of BMW India aptly put, it was really “The Year of the M�. In 2015 will surely see the BMW i8 being launched in India. Also we are expecting a facelifted 3 series to make its way into India.

BMW 3 Series

BMW i8

DATSUN Datsun, part of Nissan India, has been in the news quite a lot this year globally and in the country for a lot of wrong reasons. March 19th saw the launch of the Datsun Go in India and the car made headlines everywhere for better and for worse. We loved the pokey little car when we drove it back in March. As you can tell from the cover report of Motown India magazine, the Datsun Go+ is on its way to India, and we just drove it up north in Uttarakhand at a brilliant location thanks to the brilliant guys at Nissan who arranged it. We can expect the Datsun Go+ to be in showrooms by early 2015. Datsun at the expo showed us the mouth watering concept crossover the Datsun Redi Go; we fully expect it to make it to production and on sale by the end of this year.

Datsun Redi Go

Datsun Go+ January 2015 I 11

NEWS FIAT Fiat launched the all new Punto Evo and the Avventura in India this year both of which were present at the expo. What we motoring enthusiasts are still keenly waiting for is the 500c Abarth and the Punto Evo Abarth which we expect to come to India in 2015.

Fiat Punto Evo Abarth

Fiat 500c Abarth

Ford Figo Sedan

Ford KA Concept

FORD Ford hasn’t really done much in 2014 to bring out brand new products apart from the new Fiesta and maybe injected some Botox into their other models like the Endeavour and the Figo. Ford were major busy in 2014 with their highly successful EcoSport. So much that they stopped taking orders just to meet the demand, and then they called all of them back to upgrade a pipe they though wasn’t good enough for their quality standards.

How nice of them right?

2015 will be a more in your face year for Ford as they will bring in the all new Figo, which is already on sale in Brazil in the name of the Ford Ka. Ford showcased the Figo sedan concept at the expo and we are also hoping that that will make it into production sometime in mid 2015. A new Endeavour is also expected to make it to India.

12 I January 2015

NEWS HONDA Honda has been on a roll this past year. They met with huge success with the new Honda City, and then the Mobilio took the MPV market by storm. Honda also achieved two milestones in India--by selling a total of 100, 000 Honda Amaze cars since its launch, and 100,000 iDtec diesel powered cars in India around the month of September 2014. But what we are really interested in is the all new Honda Jazz which we all saw at the Auto Expo. Honda is expected to launch the Jazz early 2015, while a new Accord and a diesel powered CR-V is also on the cards for next year.

Honda Accord

Honda CR-V Honda Jazz

HYUNDAI

Hyundai ix25

14 I January 2015

Hyundai earlier in the year had launched the brand new Santa Fe, followed by the Xcent and the global debut and Indian launch of the Elite i20. Hyundai is well known for leaving no gaps in price brackets. Hyundai has at least one model for every lakh between 2 to 20. But the Koreans don’t have anything for the ones who want something small in something big. Hyundai doesn’t offer anything in the compact SUV segment. Hence in 2015, we might just see Hyundai bridging that gap as well with either the i20 cross or the ix25. It’s more likely that we see the i20 cross find its way to India. We also suspect that Hyundai is in the work to launch a facelifted Verna in 2015.

This 2015, which exotic would you be in?

New Arrivals

2011 Rolls Royce Ghost

2013 Jaguar F-Type S

2012 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4

2013 Mercedes-Benz S500 Launch Edition

2012 Ferrari FF

sales@bigboytoyz.com www.bigboytoyz.com

NEWS

Jeep Cherokee

Jeep Wrangler

JEEP The Fiat Chrysler group which owns Jeep and many other car companies has been dying to bring Jeep to India. They came really close, but somehow it just didn’t work out. 2015 looks just about right for Jeep to venture into the Indian market as the economy perks up. The models we expect from Jeep are the iconic award winning and WAR winning Jeep Wrangler, as well as the Jeep Cherokee.

JAGUAR

Jaguar XE

LAND ROVER Just as Tata Motors bought Jaguar, they also received Land Rover as a package deal hence the Jaguar Land Rover or JLR. This time we will look at the latter bit of JLR, the LR or Land Rover. Land Rover locally makes the Freelander 2, but globally they are phasing out the Freelander and soon will stop producing it in India. But not to worry, the baby Land Rover is being renamed as the Discovery Sport, and that will make its way into the country in 2015.

Land Rover Discover Sport

16 I January 2015

Jaguar from 2001-2009 produced the X-Type and this was before Tata Motors decided to buy them over. The world is waiting for the successor to the X-Type.

Jaguar has revealed the XE, the welter weight from the United Kingdom is set to compete with the Germans, the BMW 3 series, the Mercedes E class and the Audi A4. Listen up Jaguar, we really want it to come to India and we want it now.

NEWS MAHINDRA At the Expo in February, Mahindra displayed numerous cars and bikes in their hall, but our astrologers tell us that a hybrid version of the XUV500 in the making from Mahindra.

Mahindra’s JV with Ssangyong has plans to bring in the Saangyong Korando Turismo to India this year.

Mahindra XUV500 Hybrid

MARUTI SUZUKI Maruti Suzuki has been leading the pack from the start and this year was no different. Every month of 2014, Maruti has been leading the car industry in terms of sales. Barely a month went by where the company did not sell less than 100,000 units. So this year Maruti brought in the Celerio with the first time in the segment, an automatic transmission. The company followed with the replacement of the SX4 and introduced the Ciaz. For the first time since the Suzuki Esteem, Maruti saw some success in the mid size sedan segment. Maruti upped the ante with another blow to the competition with an all new Alto K10.

Maruti has big plans for 2015. From what we know and can tell, a crossover is on its way based on the Ciaz platform called the S-Cross. We have even spied another vehicle the YRA hatchback being tested on Delhi roads near the company’s manufacturing facility in Manesar. At the 2012 expo, Maruti teased us with the XA Alpha concept, an SUV to replace the Grand Vitara.

But we haven’t heard anything from the company since. But what we have heard is that Suzuki plans to stop producing the Kizashi and the Vitara globally. Our in-house astrologer tells us that we might even see a diesel version of the Celerio roll down the production line in 2015. A Wagon R MPV is also slated for 2015.

Maruti Suzuki S-cross

Maruti Suzuki XA Alpha January 2015 I 17

NEWS MERCEDES-BENZ Mercedes-Benz has been the big daddy of launches this year with the company bringing in 10 cars into India. Mercedes updated almost their entire lineup from the S-class, the E-class, and recently the C-class. The A and B class received similar treatment from the Germans. Mercedes also brought along their compact SUV based in the A class--- the GLA. The lunatics from their AMG division gave us the CLA 45 AMG, and the GLA 45 AMG. Both are powered by the most powerful 2.0L 4 cylinder engine in the world. Along with the GLA and the CLA AMGs, the GL 63 AMG also made its way to India.

What we are certain is that in 2015, Mercedes will cool it down a notch. But it will keep the flame on simmer as at the launch of the CLA 45 AMG, Mercedes said that in January of 2015 the regular CLA sedan will debut in India. We reckon that we might also see the AMG GT make it to India.

Mercedes Benz CLA

Mercedes AMG GT 18 I January 2015

NEWS MINI MINI had showcased the MINI John Copper Works at the Expo, but we still haven’t seen it make it to the dealerships as yet. But when MINI globally brought out the 5-door Cooper, we were sure that it would make it to India as that is exactly what the Indian consumers want. So by November 2014, the 5-door MINI was here with a diesel engine and it also brought along the new regular MINI. So as we still wait for the John Cooper Works versions from MINI, it’s as far as we know and can expect it to be sold sometime in 2015 in India.

MINI John Cooper Works

Nissan GT-R

NISSAN Nissan has been teasing us but telling us the GT-R is coming, but it hasn’t…yet. But we did see the updated Sunny and they decided to go solo with their dealership network rather than letting someone else handle them. Due to unpopular demand Nissan did withdraw the X-Trail and the 370z sports car.

But we might just see the brand new X-Trail from Nissan so keep your fingers crossed.

Nissan was also busy with Datsun so they didn’t really bother that much with the GT-R. But sources say that Nissan is planning to bring in the GT-R to India next year. We also have some information that Nissan might just be working on a small car for India. The company is also expected to bring in an all-wheel drive Terrano (now that the Duster is all-wheel). Nissan has also been working on a small car for India, and probably keeping up with the trend with its alliance with Renault, and Renault’s Romanian counter parts, Dacia, Nissan will probably base their small hatchback on the Sandero. We might even see a similar model from Renault as well.

Nissan X-Trail

RENAULT

Renault Lodgy

The French, with some help from the Romanians and the Japanese, gave us the Duster a couple of years ago. This year we saw it being offered as a full blown hairy chested 4x4. Next year again with some help from the Romanians at Dacia, we might just see another MPV from the Inventors of the MPV to compete with the competition in India. We will see the Lodgy make it to India, or Renault might just fly solo on this and get the Renault Espace. But the JV with Nissan might suggest otherwise. At the Expo this year, all eyes were at the Renault exhibition as they gave us the Renault KWID. A Concept off roader SUV thingy car which actually drives and isn’t made of clay. With two rows of seating and 3 people sitting in each, we want some of that. Unlike other concepts that never make it to production, let’s hope the KWID makes production if not in 2015, then at least 2016.

January 2015 I 19

NEWS SKODA We saw many great things from Skoda in 2014, like the new Octavia, the new Superb was supurb, and the newly designed Yeti. What we also saw which confused a little bit that they launched the Rapid in the old design. So now we have to wait for the new one to follow suit. We also suspect that the Fabia might just get the same treatment in 2015 as the Superb, the Octavia and the Yeti got in 2014.

Skoda Fabia

Skoda Rapid

TATA MOTORS Tata Motors has been developing new engines, new platforms and brand new cars. This year we saw the launch of the Zest and it does show some promise.But the Bolt which we drove recently seems just about right and we believe it might just hit the mark. The Tata Bolt is going to be launched sometime early 2015. But that’s not all, Tata will also launch a new Nano which is even more practical, this time with a boot and power steering called the Nano Twist Active. Some pictures have been flashing about online of Tata testing another car called the Tata Kites. We don’t have any confirmation on that.

Tata Twist Active Tata Bolt Toyota Vios

TOYOTA We have overheard that Toyota is working on brand new versions of the Fortuner and the Innova, while the hugely popular Innova we feel will arrive in 2016. The Fortuner is something that might see the light of day in 2015.

A facelifted Camry is also expected and since we do love to speculate, the Toyota Vios sedan might also make it to India to close the gap between the Etios and the Corolla in India.

20 I January 2015

Vector designed by Freepik.com

NEWS

VOLKSWAGEN Volkswagen as per their German rituals has updated most of their line-up.

The Polo and the Vento got their mid-life crisis trip to the beauty parlour in India, the Jetta and the Passat are in line. We also fully expect the little Beetle to crawl its way back in 2015.

Another scoop on the Germans we have is that the Taigun that had heads turning at the Expo this year might make it to production this year a swell.

VW Beetle

VW Jetta

VOLVO Finally Volvo, the most underrated luxury car manufacturer in India, mostly because they are the safest and we Indians don’t really have a clue of the value of safety. Volvo got the new S60 which we loved, Volvo XC90 an updated S80, and XC60 and the R-Design for the S60 and XC60. We have also heard some gossip that they are working on a new S80. Sounds fun but that won’t see the light of day till at least 2016. What we can tell you is that the XC90, yes the one with the brilliant safety features and hammer shaped headlights will come to India. But the problem with Volvos has always been, as some say, the engine. The 5 cylinder engines was old and needed to be updated, so now with the R-Design it comes with a brand new 4 cylinder engine in the XC60 and the S60. We have also heard some chatter to smack Mercedes’ AMG division in the face that Volvo is working on an even more powerful 2.0L 4 cylinder engine than its German rival with around 450bhp a hundred more than what you get from the measly little AMG.

CONCLUSION So that sums up from what we can positively assure that that maybe we will see these cars on the road in India in a year’s time. But most of us journalists always get it wrong or companies change their plans.

As a New Years present, for our fans of Italian supercars, we have heard some chatter that Ferrari and Maserati are eyeing a re-entry into India. We don’t know when, but some have been saying that they are in talks with the Yadur Kapoor group who own dealerships in Delhi of Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Lamborghini and BMW. Adding Maserati and Ferrari to their portfolio will just be the icing on the cake.

January 2015 I 21

MOTORSPORT

Karthik Tharani is JK Tyre VW Polo R Cup 2014 Champion Report: Rahul Kapoor & Photography: Mohd Nasir & Rahul Kapoor

K

arthik Tharani is the new JK Tyre Volkswagen Polo R Cup 2014 champion, edging past racers Karminder Pal Singh and Bonnie Thomas.

Anindith Reddy finished the final race in fourth and clinched the Polo R Cup 2014 Junior Championship held on December 14, 2014.

Guest Driver Ameya Bafna, won the final race of the season at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida near Delhi. Due to regulations that guest drivers are not entitled for points. The maximum points in the end were

awarded to Tharani after a heated battle in the wet with Bafna throughout the race.

With a slight drizzle leaving a wet tarmac to race on, the drivers went out for the final time in 2014 for the final Polo R cup race driving on wet tyres. Having set two fastest lap times during Qualifying Practice, Tharani started Race 3 of the weekend from pole followed by Lee Keshav in second. After losing the lead to Lee for couple of corners, Karthik regained the top spot and held it all the way till the penultimate lap. Bafna, starting third, came charging in the seventh lap

and overtook Karthik and went on to win the second race of the weekend. Coming home in third was Lee Keshav, distantly followed by Anindith Reddy who won the Junior Championship.

Karminder Pal Singh, who had been leading the championship since Round 3, finished 8th and took enough points to maintain his lead by a single point.

However, with the rule of best 9 finishes being considered for the final championship standing, Karthik inched past Karminder with 11 points and was crowned the Champion with a total of 358 points. Runner-up Champion

Karthik Tharani

Day 1 of the JK Tyre Polo R Cup 2014 saw some crashes as Race 1 began its first lap 22 I January 2015

MOTORSPORT

Karthik Tharani’s winning car

January 2015 I 23

MOTORSPORT

Karthik Tharani (3rd from left) with the championship trophy. Guest Driver Ameya Bafna (centre) won the final race of the season at the Buddh International Circuit Karminder finished off with 347 points. Bonnie Thomas and Anindith Reddy finished off with 296 points each. However, with two victories to Bonnie’s records, he got on to the better side of the battle and clinched the Second Runner-up spot in the championship.

The 2014 Polo R Cup Champion, Karthik Tharani, said “I came to the last round of the season determined to put up the best show and with a win and a second place yesterday, I was even more motivated for today’s race. Ameya and I had a good battle on the last lap but

he proved to be the better one.

Nonetheless, I was happy to earn the most important points which helped me lift the championship today.”

Bonnie Thomas, who finished 3rd in the final championship standings, was awarded the Cleanest Race award by Karcher.

Day 1 of the JK Tyre Polo R Cup 2014 saw some crashes as Race 1 began its first lap. On the first lap, at the first turn Anshul Shah drove off the track and lost his grip, hitting Lee Keshav’s car and toppled. Lee Keshav’s car in turn hit Yatin Magu and as a result, all three were forced to

retire from the race. The safety car was brought in from the second lap till the fourth lap allowing Karthik Tharani to keep his lead safe. As the race restarted, Karthik managed to keep his lead over the remaining two laps and held back an aggressive Anindith Reddy in second. Guest driver Andre Gies crossed the line in third in his first appearance on India’s Formula 1 circuit at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) in Greater Noida on the outskirts of Delhi.

But just before the second race of the day started, the weather conditions changed and a light drizzle forced the drivers to shift to

wet tyres. The delay caused due to the shift forced a rolling start to the Race 2. Guest driver Ameya Bafna owned the race as he finished on the top after starting third on the grid. He made a move on the second lap itself and took the lead which he retained all the way till the end. The hero of the second race however was Race 1 winner Karthik Tharani who steadily moved from eighth position at the start of the race to second position by the second last lap and managed to hold it to the finish line. Angad Singh Matharoo finished off the podium in third position.

JK TYRE VOLKSWAGEN POLO R CUP 2014 – CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING SR. NO.

NAME

FINAL POINTS

1

Karthik Tharani

358

2

Karminder Pal Singh

347

3

Bonnie Thomas

296

4

Anindith Reddy Konda

296

5

Angad Singh Matharoo

292

6

Lee Keshav Gupta

287

7

Ishaan Dodhiwala

211

24 I January 2015

MOTORSPORT 8

Mahatru Mahadev Krishnamurthy

210

9

Yatin Magu

203

10

Utsav Shah

202

11

Anshul Manoj Shah

180

12

Gaurav Anil Mehta

171

13

Raaj Sivaram

144

14

Rajeev Srivastava

136

15

Prabhanjan

124

16

Venkatesh Shreyas

114

17

Amit Mete

112

18

Amlandeep Bora

80

Interview with Sirish Vissa Head of Motorsports, Volkswagen India Report: Rahul Kapoor The 5th season of the Polo R cup has now come to an end, how has the journey been for VW in Motorsports in India?

It’s been a lot of fun and it’s taken a lot of hard work for us at Volkswagen for the Polo R cup to have happened for the past 5 years. But it is our commitment to motorsport in India and that we continue to do this. For us it’s really important to bring the drivers up to the next level. The Polo R cup is also one of the few opportunities where anyone with a driving license can come in and learn how to be a race car driver.

We go through the entire process with them from fitness, teaching them how to drive, how to talk to the media, etc. It’s a complete programme and it’s unique in nature and I’m very proud and happy to be associated with it.

How much talent have you found the last 5 years and how much do you expect to come from India in the future?

Let’s put it this way, I think we have had about roughly a 100 drivers who have gone through the programme, and from those 100, there have been drivers who have gone on to do bigger and better things so it’s a continuous process I should say and we need to try to

find more guys in the future.

We have one point something plus billion people and I’m sure we can find a future F1 driver here but the issue is we need to take motorsport to the masses and we need to give people an opportunity to come and start from nothing.

Karting is one of the best avenues for that and the Polo R cup is another avenue for it. So we are just giving people an opportunity.

So hopefully we are going to find somebody who is going to be the next superstar.

Do you think some of the students from the schools who were in the audience today have been inspired by what they witnessed?

I’m sure they have been inspired because you know racing involves so many different skill sets and the best part about it is that it has the glamour and the speed. So when you have the school kids that had come in and they see how hard we work in terms of the science side of it and that mathematic side of it and everything, definitely it’s a very inspiring thing for them.

Could you shed some light on your driver development programme?

Like I said we are unique in the

way we do this. We take a novice driver, we put them though some basic training in terms of how to drive a race car, we work on their fitness, nutrition and we also teach them the engineering aspects of a car. They then know if we change this, the car will react this way, or the car is doing this then what do you need to do, etc. They have to think and we teach them how to do that. We work with numbers. We have data systems on the car that collects all the data---How much steering input he has, or how much brake input he has, what speed is he at on what part of the track. They are able to take all this back and learn from it. Along with this, we also have Rayman Bannerjee and Aditya Patel who are our driver coaches. They work with all of these drivers, explaining what they are doing and telling them

how they can improve and what they need to improve. If you look at the level of drivers from the first round and compare them to what they are today, you’ll see a big difference because they have improved as a driver through this process.

What is in store for the VW Polo R cup for next year?

2015 is going to be another exciting year I can promise you.

We are going to be doing a lot more and we will be making an announcement very shortly of exactly how and what the programme will entail.

January 2015 I 25

MOTORSPORT JK TYRE RACING CHAMPIONSHIP 2014

Champions emerge despite slippery conditions Report & Photography: Rahul Kapoor

O

A biker escapes unhurt during the JK Superbikes championship race

26 I January 2015

n the final day of the JK Tyre Racing Championship 2014, a series of races were held at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) in Greater Noida, near Delhi. These included the JK Racing Formula BMW 02, the Formula LGB F4 and the JK Superbikes championship. Slippery conditions as a result of constant drizzling, left the circuit wet and slippery.

Vishnu Prasad has won the JK Racing Formula BMW 02 held at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, UP. Prasad won both the FB 02 and the Formula LGB F4 races, but only managed to take home one title as Diljith TS was crowned Formula LGB F4 champion for 2014. JK Superbikes championship title was clinched by Manmeet Singh.

Consistent drizzle had left the BIC track wet and all the drivers and riders struggled to find grip or gain tyre temperature in the weather conditions. Yet they put up brilliant races with terrifying risks and close shaves.

As the cars lined up on the grid, the eyes of the 25,000 people in the Grand Stand were on Vishnu Prasad and Akhil Rabindra. Armaan Ebrahim featured as a guest driver for FB 02 in which he won the race but gained no points as he wasn’t competing for the title. A couple of laps in race 2, Prasad managed to find his way past Rabindra to take a decisive lead. As Vishnu Prasad came up on top behind Ebrahim to finish 2nd as per regulations, he clinched his 2nd win of the weekend in the series. Race 3 saw Ebrahim take his third race win, but due to his non compete, the winner of race 3 was awarded to Akhil Rabindra. Prasad finished 3rd behind Kumar who finished 2nd. But on the final count Prasad was crowned champion for the 2nd time in his career.

Formula LGB saw similar close wheel to wheel racing with even lesser amount of grip available to the drivers. Once the five red lights went out, Diljith TS (Dark Don Racing), Vishnu Prasad (Meco Racing), Karthik Shankar (Team Avalanche) and Sandeep Kumar (Meco Racing) left the rest of the field behind. For the first half of the eight lap race, Diljith, who had already sealed the championship on Saturday (December 13, 2104), opened up a slim lead over the pack behind him. But on lap six, Diljith and Kumar came together, but the former’s car developed a puncture. Once he started falling

MOTORSPORT

The JK Racing Formula BMW 02 race in progress back, Prasad took the lead which laps and then make a decision. he held till the end after fending off They did so and after this all the a desperate lunge from Kumar at riders felt confident and decided to the last corner just before crossing line up on the grid for a short 5 lap the finish line. Shankar was also race. As the 5 red lights went out, forced to fight hard till the flag for Kulwant Singh Monty led the pack his third place. away but only up to the first corner With apprehension and some where he lost control of his bike riders unwilling to race, it was making all other riders behind him certain that in the slippery over cautious. All riders maintained conditions and on slick tyres, the JK Superbikes race wouldn’t take place.

The officials ordered the riders to Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & MD, JK Tyre and go out for Industries Ltd. with Dilijith TS, Vishnu Prasad (on his 3 practice right), and Karthik Tharani

their positions while they struggled to simply finish the race. Manmeet Singh in his BMW crossed the finish line ahead of Vijay Singh

and Aashir Agrawal. Manmeet was crowned as the first JK Superbikes Cup champion for his brave effort with 24 points.

Final championship points standings (Provisional) JK RACING INDIA SERIES (FB 02) 1st

Vishnu Prasad

104 pts

2nd

Akhil Rabindra

88 pts

3rd

Ananth Shanmugam

55 pts

JK FORMULA LGB F4 1st

Diljith TS

98 pts

2nd

Vishnu Prasad

76 pts

3rd

Sudarshana Rao

52 pts

JK SUPERBIKES 1st

Manmeet Singh

24 pts

2nd

Gurvinder Singh

20 pts

3rd

Aashir Agrawal

18 pts

The Formula LGB F4 race in progress

January 2015 I 27

MOTORSPORT

Remembering Colin Chapman, the GENIUS May 19, 1928 - Dec 16, 1982 Report: Rahul Kapoor

C

olin Chapman, an engineer, inventor and businessman is considered one of the greatest all time in motorsport and in the automotive world as a whole. Chapman who died on December 16, 1982 was a genius and his ideas and inventions have great relevance even in today’s automotive world.

Chapman’s revolutionary and controversial ideas changed the car industry with his ground breaking ideas. Chapman founded Lotus cars and Lotus engineering from which he produced road cars and race cars. Chapman even raced in Formula One and was as fast as a driver in a free practice as the reigning champions and best racers of the time. After an incident on track at the French grand prix which was his first outing on a grand prix weekend in 1956, it was also his last.

Chapman then decided to work in the garage for his Team Lotus.

After John Cooper’s rear engine racing car innovations, Chapman took it much further. Chapman realised the lighter the car the faster it will be. So he removed the chassis all together, mounted the engine onto the driver’s tub and linked the suspension directly to the engine. That formula is being used to build every single racing car and road cars even today. Chapman’s key objective in building a fast racing car was “lightweight and simplicity”.

This was the brief given to the engineers in Lotus. The car has to

28 I January 2015

be simple and light.

“Elegant Simplicity” was the philosophy he used to funnel down the throats of his engineers at Lotus.

In his time Chapman created a legacy that still lives today and it’s a timeless formula. Chapman literally shaped the future of road and race cars--the Lotus 25 to the Lotus 77 race cars to the highly controversial Lotus 88. This car was so advanced and ahead of its time due to clever engineering from Lotus that the FIA was forced to ban it from racing as the other teams protested that the car was too sophisticated. The iconic roads cars, to name a few, were the Lotus Elan, Elite and the Esprit, which was even featured as James Bond’s amphibious car of choice in “The spy who loved me” in 1977. Another car worth a mention is the Lotus 7 that is still in production with no more changes than simple styling updates and performance enhancements made to since Chapman’s 1957 design.

It is now produced under the name Caterham 7 by Caterham.

Chapman was quoted saying “Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere”. So Chapman went about rewriting the rule book and history with the thought of the century “Simplify, then add lightness”. He invented the monocoque chassis which he used in his racing cars. This revolutionised the entire car

industry across the world. The unique innovation from Chapman’s Chassis was that it was extremely light and it was where the driver sat. Chapman and his engineers bolted the engine directly on to the tub behind of the driver. The rear suspension bolted directly onto the engine to make the Lotus 25. This gave birth to the first ever mid-engined car. Driven

by Chapman’s best friend Jim Clark, Lotus used this formula to annihilate competition and take the first world championship with Clark in 1963.

As the development of his race cars evolved, Lotus was also the first company to make a car from composite materials, develop a new type of suspension, change the positions of the radiators to the sides instead of the front and to understand and use aerodynamics.

While under Chapman’s reign, Lotus won 6 more titles with this evolving formula in 1965, ‘68, ‘70, ‘72, ‘73 and the last one in 1978.

Lotus also won 6 driver’s title in the same corresponding years apart from 1973. In total, of the 73 Grand Prix victories, Lotus got 102 pole positions and 65 fastest laps.

Some of the greatest Formula one Champions like Jim Clark and Jochen Rindt lost their lives in a Lotus racing car. Rindt is the only driver to date to have won the title posthumous in 1970. The there are racers like Sterling Moss, Graham

Hill, Mika Hakkinen, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nigel Mansell, Mario Andretti, Nelson Piquet and most notably, Ayrton Senna who started their career in F1 with Team Lotus.

Apart from engineering, Chapman brought other revolutionary business ideas into motorsports when he swapped the British racing green for his Lotus 49 and painted it in the colours of the packaging of a tobacco company which were sponsoring Team Lotus. It was the first time anyone had ever used a car as a billboard. Chapman acted like it was the most obvious thing to do. But the irony was that Chapman hated cigarettes, and smoking at Lotus was forbidden.

Another aspect of Chapman was that he argued with people that tax evasion was a crime but he would justify that his Swiss bank accounts were okay and that he didn’t evade taxes. He claimed he had merely “avoided” taxes. He had an off shore account under the name of Grand Prix Drivers where he kept his money to pay the drivers and to run his business.

This would come back to haunt Chapman in the later stages of his life.

Chapman was also known for finding loop holes in the regulations. He would sit for hours and hours trying to find them. This trend has been used

by Formula One teams and every

MOTORSPORT one across the globe. Chapman was a huge believer and supporter of his designs and innovations and he would give everything to defend his company that he arguably named the team after his lover. During an outburst of safety regulations, he even tried to convince the officials that paper was fire proof. So in a way he was also a lawyer.

But the downfall of Chapman was when he was begged into an offer with DeLorean to help build a car against his will. A huge controversy broke out in 1978 which accused Chapman of using British tax payer’s money which was given to DeLorean to develop the car, that was used in the “Back to the Future” movie franchise, and put the money to

his off-shore bank account. The DeLorean scandal was one of the biggest scandals of the time. With the fear of possible prison time if convicted, Chapman’s health gradually started to slump. He withdrew himself from the racing tracks and then the public world all together. Then on December 16th, 1982, Chapman died of a heart attack, before the final verdict of the DeLorean scandal.

Upon the final verdict years later, the accountant at the time for the company was sentenced to prison. The judge who oversaw the DeLorean case reckoned that if Chapman was alive, he would have received a 10 year sentence.

Lotus is still one of the remaining British sportscar companies to have survived

this long and even today is alive and brings out brilliant little cars like the Evora, the Elise and the Exige. These cars are not very popular in the world as compared to the German or Italian cars or even other British car makers like Aston Martin or Jaguar Land Rover. But all of the sports car manufacturers owe something to Lotus and Colin Chapman.

Because almost every car manufacturer from the miniscule Tata Nano to the Swedish God powered Koenigsegg One:1 follow the same principles that was laid out by Chapman many years ago.

Even today the cars made by Lotus using the same philosophy of light and simplicity has given us some of the greatest modern ground breaking cars of the 21st

century use modern Lotus chassis like the Hennessey Venom GT and the Tesla Roadster, to name a few. When talking about India, Lotus had designed the chassis of the Mahindra Scorpio, which is so popular in India, so that it is stable at high speeds.

Chapman made a design of Formula One car whose basic principles remain the same 32 years after his death. If you want to know why your car is as light as it is, or how you get high fuel economy, or how your car corners the way it does, remember the name Colin Chapman and remember the Logo of Lotus with Chapman’s ‘ACB’ initials. Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman will always be immortal thanks to the legacy he created.

Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team for Dakar 2015

C S Santosh becomes first ever Indian in the Dakar Rally

Chennai based TVS Motor Company is now getting aggressive on the motorsport front. TVS Racing, the racing division of TVS Motor Company and Sherco Motorcycles, a French motorcycle manufacturer, specialising in off-road motorbikes have associated to participate in the 2015 Dakar, under the banner of Sherco TVS Rally Factory team. This was stated in a press release issued by the company. TVS Racing began operations in 1984 with 50cc TVS mopeds and soon began winning in every category of racing. Over the years TVS Racing has participated in and won several road racing, motocross and dirt track events. To date, TVS Racing has maintained an average record of 90pc wins in all events the team participates in. The 2015 Dakar is scheduled to be held between January 3, 2015 and January 17, 2015 in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile.

The prestigious and tough Dakar Rally 2015 from January 3 to January 17, 2015 will, for the first time see an Indian participating.

Daredevil, adrenaline junkie, star sportsman – words fall short while describing India’s finest racing champ – C S Santosh. Energy drink major Red Bull has announced that C S Santosh will be the first Indian to participate in the Dakar Rally. The announcement was made during a press meet in Mumbai.

Force Gurkha RFC India 2015 from July 24-31, 2015

Honda’s racer Sarath Kumar has a dream win

After a successful debut event in August 2014, the Force Gurkha Rainforest Challenge (RFC) India is back with its second edition. The motorsport extravaganza will be held in Goa from July 24-31, 2015.

Force Motors Ltd, which was the title sponsor for the launch event, will continue to be the title sponsor for the 2015 edition as well.

The Rainforest Challenge from Malaysia, which is among the world’s toughest off-road events, was brought to India by Delhi-based Cougar Motorsport Pvt. Ltd. The launch edition was held in Goa from Aug 8 to 14. The six day event saw 22 teams battling it out in four competitive legs – the Prologue, the Predator, the Terminator and the Twilight Zone, completing 24 Special Stages (SS). The stages were specially designed by RFC International track experts.

Honda sponsored Indian motorcycle professional racer S Sarath Kumar has become the first Indian racer to clinch podium victory in the Honda Asia Dream Cup Road Racing Championship 2014. The excited winner received the trophy while wrapped in the Indian tri-colour. Honda Asia Dream Cup is an intense 6 round motorcycle racing championship where 18 racers from 10 countries across Asia raced on specially modified CBR 250Rs in Asia’s best race tracks. From winning the Triple Crown in World’s most competitive Moto GP racing Championship, Honda aims to develop motorsport riders across the world.

January 2015 I 29

MOTORSPORT

Brilliant Buemi wins in Punta del Este Formula E race

S

ebastien Buemi of e.dams-Renault clinched his first Formula E victory with a great drive in Punta del Este in Uruguay, holding off an almost defiant Jean-Eric Vergne of Andretti for a well-deserved win.

Vergne started from pole, but lost out to the fast-starting Nelson Piquet Jr of China racing. But as the China Racing driver sought to press home his early advantage he pushed a bit too hard and brushed the wall.

According to an FIA Formula E press release, the damage was minor, but it meant that the handling of his car started to deteriorate. Vergne took the lead with a well-judged lunge into

30 I January 2015

the Turn 8 hairpin and instantly pulled clear as Piquet battled with e.dams-Renault team-mates Buemi and Nico Prost, as well as an ill-handling car.

When Venturi’s Stephane Sarrazin hit a kerb hard and broke his suspension and spun, the Qualcomm Safety Car came out.

Its mid-race timing was perfect and all the drivers darted into the pits. This was especially welltimed for Mahindra’s Bruno Senna, who’d tagged the wall avoiding the spinning Sarrazin. He threewheeled back to the pits, swapped cars and continued.

The caution period came a lap after Vergne had pitted and he lost the lead to Buemi, who had finally found a way by Piquet, during the

stops.

For the rest of the race Buemi had Vergne in hot pursuit. But with four laps to go, the BMW i8 was deployed again, this time after Matthew Brabham slammed his Andretti entry into the wall of the exit of the fast T15 chicane.

At the restart Vergne deployed his FanBoost, and although he closed right in, it wasn’t quite enough to make a pass. It seemed set for an epic final lap battle, only for Vergne to be denied by broken suspension. It was a cruel end to a great debut.

With Piquet too far back to attack, Buemi could relax and score an impressive win.

“I knew he was going to use his FanBoost, clearly we took it

a little bit too safe in the last few laps when he started to catch me because I was still trying to save energy,” he said, adding that “I knew he was going to be fast but I don’t know what happened to him in the end. I’m really happy with today’s result.”

After being denied in Malaysia, Piquet was naturally thrilled to score his first podium finish.

For the third time in three races Lucas di Grassi scored a podium finish, extending his championship lead to 18 points in the process.

“It was a great start, immediate reaction and the car handled very well. On the first lap I attacked the chicane a little bit too hard trying to build a gap and I think I damaged my front suspension,” he

MOTORSPORT for Virgin Racing, Senna took sixth, Prost seventh after being penalised for using too much power. Dragon Racing teammate Jerome d’Ambrosio and Oriol Servia took eighth and ninth, while Nick Heidfeld finally scored his first point in 10th.

The Venturi driver actually came out in the lead during the pitstop, but was penalised for exceeding the minimum time.

He was punished again for using too much power, but on the last lap his used his FanBoost to overtake Antonio Garcia and score a point.

Daniel Abt picked up two bonus points for the fastest lap, but it was not a happy race for the German. His Audi Sport Abt car kept switching itself off, which meant he finally finished 15th, three laps down.

Pictures courtesy FIA Formula E

said, adding “We got a bit lucky to get second place when JeanEric had a problem but we’re all happy.”

Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird remains in second, level on points with Buemi, but it was a race to forget for the Putrajaya winner. He crashed out early on at T2, causing the first of the three Qualcomm safety car periods.

Jarno Trulli scored his first Formula E points after a feisty drive to fourth. The Italian enjoyed race-long battles with the likes of Brabham and Sarrazin.

“It’s a reasonable result for us.

It’s a good result for the team, but I seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time a lot!” he said Jaime Alguersuari was fifth

January 2015 I 31

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

32 I January 2015

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

DATSUN GO+

FUN ON THE GO

Report: P. Tharyan, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

T

he Datsun Go, when I first drove it, excited me because of its several features and its cosy seat arrangement, especially in the front. It is an ideal car in the entry level segment. The Go+ is a bigger car on the same platform. It’s a compact sub 4-metre MPV that can accommodate seven people in a combination of adults and kids. I am sure this would excite the middle class in the country, yearning to buy an affordable car that can accommodate their not-so-small family and loads of luggage. It comes into the segment of compact MPV which does not exist in India. Every other car that labels itself as an MPV or an MUV in the country is in the price range that may be a tad expensive for the real middle class of the country.

The Datsun Go+, to my understanding, may not be that expensive as compared to the others of its kind.

There is no point comparing this car to the Ertiga or the Mobilio or the Innova. This one’s different. The car has been innovatively designed to accommodate more people and yet drive smoothly. I had the opportunity to drive this car some great distance from the Dehradun airport to our base camp in Rishikesh in Uttarakhand. For

January 2015 I 33

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

someone who is spoilt to the hilt with loads of electronic features of all kinds in a car, the Datsun Go+ may prove to be a wee bit disappointing. But where this vehicle will score would be on the practicality front. It offers great storage space (with the last two seats folded there is ample storage), a good driving experience, good styling and solid performance.

As I drove from the airport to the base camp on the banks of the river Ganges, we passed through good roads, bad roads, extremely rough patches and solid sand.

The car stood its ground on every terrain. A 67bhp engine output may not sound all powerful, but surprisingly the car does deliver significantly at different gear levels.

Coupled with that, a peak torque of 104 Nm is more than adequate for the vehicle to take on any rugged journey.

Though it is a sub-4 metre car, it really does look much longer. Since it has been built on the Datsun Go platform, it has been extended to accommodate more passengers and luggage area. Hence, it gets the ‘+’ tag now. The extended area for the last two occupants

34 I January 2015

may not be large to accommodate tow burly adults, but it’s more for those little kids who can keep themselves entertained with their tabs and digital games. Safety belts too are provided for them to keep them safe.

The ‘+’ also has the same D-cut grille like its little brother. The large full integrated three dimensional head light merges aesthetically with the sculpted bonnet. This translates into a strong shoulder line that begins its journey from the front of the car and continues to the rear of the car. The car may be a compact one, but it has a decent ground clearance at 170mm,

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

Engine & Transmission 1198 cc DOHC 12 valves, 3 cylinder petrol / 5 Forward + 1 Reverse

giving it a tall boy feel.

The interiors too are appealing in a subtle way. The three spoke steering wheel, the white and blue coloured large speedometer, a digital tachometer, gear shift guide and fuel computer, etc are just the right features for this car.

Just a couple of more features would have simply brought about more comfort to the driver. These include an ORVM toggle for adjusting the mirrors from inside, both the front door window pane controls on the driver seat, and definitely a volume control knob on the steering wheel.

But then driving comfort is

Power & Torque 67bhp @ 5000rpm 104Nm @ 4000 rpm

enhanced by electric power steering, low turning radius of 4.6m, soft suspensions, well designed seats, leather feel cabin material, Intelligent Wiping System, a unique mobile docking station and not to forget, a solid presence on the road. As for the mobile docking system, this in reality proves really good as your smartphone can enable the driver to access satellite navigation, hands free telephone, USB charger, music player, radio‌.all this by simply syncing the smart phone with the car. The smart phone can be fixed into a holder in the centre of the dashboard.

Fuel Efficiency 20.62 kmpl

Fuel Tank Capacity 35 litres

And just when you thought this compact MPV is too simple to write home about, you realise it even has Follow Me Home lights.

Now with so many unique

Tyres Front/ Rear 155/70R13 + Tubeless

features, comfortable sitting and storing space, solid road presence and a great mileage to boot, why should this car not be a fun car?

It’s simply Fun on the Go!

January 2015 I 35

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

ISUZU MU-7 4X2

HERCULES ON WHEELS Report: Joshua David Luther, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

I

f you close your eyes and imagine a lion with a pink ribbon around its neck, clipped claws, and a trimmed mane it would look nothing more than an oversized pussycat. Most of the offerings in the luxury SUV segment are like the oversized

36 I January 2015

pussycat you just imagined. It would be pointless to own an SUV which you are afraid of taking off-road. The SUVs today have back massagers, GPS navigation, multi-media entertainment and other features which are found on high-end saloons. The whole point

of an SUV is defeated if it is not capable of going off-road and that is exactly what is happening in today’s market. If your SUV gives you a sense of confidence when you are on the road less travelled, then it is worthy of that tag. You don’t call it an SUV just because

it can seat 7 people. When I took the MU-7 for an off-road test it just reminded me of how much fun you could have behind the wheel of a real SUV. For those five hours I forgot I was working, I forgot what office looked like, I forgot about the burdens of life and simply lost

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

In terms of length the MU-7 sits right under the 5 metre mark and the cabin space rivals that of a yacht. When you pop the hood you will find Hercules sitting there.

ISUZU MU-7 4X2

Engine & Transmission 2999cc, 4 cylinder, Intercooled VGS Turbo Diesel / 5-speed Manual RWD 4X2

Power & Torque 161bhp @3600rpm 360Nm@1800-2800rpm

Fuel Efficiency 12.08 kmpl

Fuel tank capacity 76 litres

Price 21.95 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)

my senses to the explorer in me.

I felt like I was on a jungle safari minus the annoying tour guides and drivers, this was the real deal.

Yes, Isuzu entered late into the market but I have fallen in love with their MU-7 because of the freedom it gave me. We took

the MU-7 through a jungle on the outskirts of Delhi. Now if this was any other vehicle I would be sweating like a fat man sprinting through the Sahara desert. The terrain was unforgiving and the slightest mistake would mean being stuck in the middle of a

jungle with no help whatsoever.

Lucky for me I was behind the wheel of an MU-7 because this monster is practically unstoppable.

The MU-7 has a ground clearance of 210mm which is oh so handy when you have rocks to climb over. In terms of length the MU-7

sits right under the 5 metre mark and the cabin space rivals that of a yacht. When you pop the hood you will find Hercules sitting there. Well I’ve taken to calling the 2999cc 4-cylinder Intercooled VGS Turbo Diesel as Isuzu’s Hercules. The engine produces

January 2015 I 37

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

161bhp @ 3600rpm and churns out a blistering 360Nm of torque @ 1800-2800rpm. The MU-7 has the biggest engine amongst its competitors and produces the highest level of torque in its category. The vehicle sits on an independent double wishbone suspension in the front and a rigid leaf spring with gas-sealed, twin tube shocks in the rear. When you are off-road in this SUV you will get thrown around quite a bit but that comes with the territory. The suspension really complements the drive and handling of the MU7. Bumps and potholes on city roads are virtually non-existent thanks to the well engineered shock absorbers. Even at speeds exceeding 80kmph on dirt tracks the vehicle holds its own. The MU-7 has wide 245/ 70 R16 tyres which provide some phenomenal grip and traction while giving the SUV a very imposing stance.

It is quite clear from the room provided under the flared wheel arches that this SUV has been designed and engineered keeping off-road conditions in mind. The MU-7 has a turning radius of 6.2 meters which is slightly more than some of the other contestants in this segment. Another delight on the vehicle is the hydraulic power assisted steering. As most of the industry is moving towards electric power steering its predecessor the hydraulic power steering system has seen some decades of innovation and change. The advantage a hydraulic power steering has over the electric counterpart is feedback. It is quite essential especially while off-roading that the driver has a constant line of communication with the vehicle and that is where the hydraulic power steer beats the electric version. This feedback is essential for gauging maneuvers and resistance from the terrain.

The down side is that the steering becomes partially heavier but if you are an off-road enthusiast this is the way to go.

The MU-7 carries its own panache and has a unique rugged charm about it. Isuzu has used a

38 I January 2015

combination of premium aesthetics as well as raw brawny muscle to give the MU-7 this unique styling quotient. The front has aggressive looking projector headlights and the Isuzu logo rests in the middle of a large toothy grill. The front bumper houses the fog lamps and has sport skirts to reduce wind resistance. On the outside Isuzu has slapped on some hiquality chrome embellishments on the window beadings, door moldings, door handle casing, boot trims and the muffler. It has the longest wheelbase in the segment measuring 3050mm.

Isuzu claims the cabin has bestin-class legroom for front and rear passengers. The interiors resemble business class travel in an airplane with leather upholstery, chrome trims and wooden finish. The MU-7 has a dual air conditioning unit with the second and third rows getting ceiling vents which can be controlled from the second row. The SUV gets ample of storage space for luggage and an easy to fold third row. The SUV

has some smartly tucked cubby holes like a sunglasses holder on the roof above the centre console, a card holder on the centre console, cup holders in the front centre console, a coin holder on the centre floor panel among other smartly packaged cubby holes and bottle holders.

The backlit instrument cluster has an odometer and a dual trip meter apart from instant and average fuel consumption. The infotainment system is a 7” touch screen DVD player by Kenwood. It has functions like Bluetooth streaming, AUX and USB. The audio system

also works as the screen for the rear view camera but I feel the display can be improved in terms of ergonomics and visibility. In the second row you have a roof mounted 9” LCD screen with a remote control and game joystick for entertainment on the go. It is USB and SD card enabled with AV in options. The MU-7 has been packed with some really handy features as well as the capability to conquer the worst of terrains.

The price on the BS-IV version of the MU-7 is 21.95 (ex-showroom Delhi) and it’s not a bargain, it’s a steal.

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

WHAT WE LIKED

WHAT CAN BE IMPROVED

Bold and aggressive styling.

Infotainment display should be placed higher to improve ergonomics and visibility of display.

Engine, performance and handling are exceptional.

Suspension and shock absorbers are very efficient.

The cabin space is more than some hotel rooms.

Off-road capability is better than most in the segment.

Visibility from rear view camera can be improved A knob to control audio volume instead of buttons.

Spare tyre can be placed on the boot door to increase third row legroom.

Seating height is low

January 2015 I 39

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

TATA BOLT REVOTRON XT

BOLT & BEAUTIFUL

Report: P.Tharyan, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

U

sain Bolt may just feel a wee bit jealous of this Bolt. The Tata Bolt hatchback is an incredibly fast car. Well, it’s not just fast; it’s steady too, corners well and has some great interiors. Why Usain Bolt alone? Even the rest of the cars in the hatchback segment in India may feel a wee bit jealous, because the Tata Bolt has a lot to offer to the customer in more ways than one.

I got behind the wheels of the Bolt in the lovely city of Udaipur in Rajasthan.

This was the first major drive organised

by Tata Motors with Mayank Pareek as the company’s bossman of the passenger car division. He is a veteran when it comes to cars and understanding the

40 I January 2015

market in the country. The former Maruti Suzuki official was there to greet us and also brief us about the car during the drive organised by the company.

The car was made months and years before Pareek even dreamt of joining Tata Motors. Now that he has, he has reasons to feel happy, because Tata Motors finally has a product that is sure to be a segment leader. And I am not saying that because I am trying to be nice to the company for some weird reason. It’s because I genuinely feel that the car is absolutely superb.

The one disturbing element about the car is the styling.

No, it’s marvelous, but it

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

TATA BOLT Engine & Transmission 1193 cc Revotron 1.2T, 4 cylinder, Turbocharged MPFi with Multi Drive / TA65 Synchromesh with overdrive, 5 Forward + 1 Reverse

Power & Torque 89bhp @ 5000rpm 140 Nm @ 1500–4000 rpm

Tyres Front/ Rear 175/65 R15 + Tubeless

Fuel Tank Capacity 44 litres

January 2015 I 41

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

brings in the déjà vu element into it. It’s like the old Hindi movies where the lead actor used to disguise himself to hoodwink his girlfriend. Everybody watching the movie would recognise the actor immediately, except the naïve girl! But let that not go against the car. Even though it brings back memories of the Tata family, this one’s built sold, drives solid, accelerates sold, performs solid, looks solid, feels solid and has solid space for its occupants.

I drove the Tata Bolt Revotron (the petrol engine) top end versionXT. I can write an entire book on

42 I January 2015

the Revotron engine. Tata Motors and its team of engineers have worked day and night to create this engine which is undoubtedly the best in the hatch segment in India. Besides, what the car has to offer in terms of features, it leaves competition miles behind. No, I am not exaggerating. It’s my drive experience that is talking.

The petrol engine is the Revotron 1.2T, a turbocharged MPFI. For the first time in the segment in the country, Tata Motors is offering us a multi-drive feature. Thus, you can choose between Sport, City or Eco. It

drives on City when you start (that is the default setting) but then the moment you shift on the fly to Sport, you can feel the engine change performance. It’s like as if the machine has suddenly gobbled up hundreds of energy tablets at one go.

If the engine is a deer in disguise, then the car is like a solid rock you can depend on.

The car has great suspension that keeps it steady and rock solid on

the ground at all kinds of speed.

The smart hatch simply hugs the road even in some of the tightest corners. Tata Motors engineers

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

have done a remarkable job in achieving this. One must keep in mind that the Bolt comes with an electronic power assisted system with ‘Active Return’ function and speed sensitive power steering.

There is also an advance gen ABS for improved braking efficiency and Cornering Stability Control.

Oops I got so carried away with the performance, that I almost forgot talking about the looks and styling of the vehicle.

The exterior design element is both refreshing and nostalgic.

I explained the latter part a little earlier. But the flowing lines finishing on a flat edge of the spoiler, the blacked out C pillar, the floating roof spoiler, the new Tata signature grill, wider air intake and fog lamp bezels, all of this give the car a very sporty exterior.

Look at it from either the front, rear or sideways, the new Tata Bolt is impressive on the styling front. The smoked out projector headlamps merely enhances the looks of the car.

And when you are seated inside, there are more revelations that confront you. The dash looks very chic and modern. The instrument

cluster and the central AC vents are connected in a single wing shaped graphics. There is no dearth of infotainment that the car has to offer. The company has associated with Harman for designing the infotainment and audio acoustics system and with MapMyIndia for next generation navigation and location based services to allow the user to stay connected. And what more does the touchscreen infotainment offer? It supports rich multimedia experience, video playback, smart phone based navigation,

advanced Bluetooth technology, smart voice recognition which understand user commands and advanced smartphone integration, incoming SMS notification and read outs. If that is not enough it even has an inbuilt HVAC controls.

It’s obvious that Usain Bolt has to be jealous of this one. But then at least Mayank Pareek is happy, I know! He knows very well that this car will sell like hot cakes in the months and years to come… As for me, I know he will not be disappointed.

January 2015 I 43

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

AUDI TT S-LINE QUATTRO

TT BYE BYE!!

Report: Rahul Kapoor, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

I

’ll be honest, when I was expecting to drive the Audi TT over the weekend I was ridiculing the car in my mind.

I was telling myself, it’s not a great looking car, and the engine is too small, it doesn’t have any power, it’s more of a boy toy and nothing more. Then when the car was delivered to my doorstep at 6 in the morning, something happened. That burnt orange paint on the exterior, the blackened rims, blackened bottom lip and the black spoiler spoilt every pre conceived notion I had about its looks. With egg on my face, I went back to sleep.

Not long after, I found myself awake and in the driver’s seat with

44 I January 2015

the car egging me on to have a go at it. This time the pre-conceived notion I had about its drivability was right. It’s not very powerful.

In fact, it doesn’t feel powerful at all. The gear box is really slow and the ride is incredibly hard, just what I was expecting it to be. The interior feels old and has a whiff of yesterday. But then it would because this car is as old and “has been” like David Hasselhoff.

Audi has even updated the TT with the 3rd gen for next year which is expected to come to India soon.

But how much better could it be from this? I knew before I drove it that there is a new one out there so this would just be a bench mark. So up until now it’s seems

like a disaster... and old... a bit like the first iPhone, in the modern advanced world, it doesn’t quite cut it. Up until now, it’s only the look that had won me over, but then it would when compared to the first generation that looked like it was struck by the lightning bolt of tragedy.

But hang on a second. It is not entirely that bad. In fact it’s not bad at all. Just because it’s old, it doesn’t necessarily mean that that it’s horrible. Because, it isn’t horrible. It is one of the most fun driving cars you can drive today.

The lack of power plays in its favor.

If you have a car with 500 to 600 horse power, you can’t really use them all the time. You drive along

in the city at snail’s pace and only enjoy the ponies. But in the TT you can enjoy all of them, all the time. You don’t have to be scared of letting them out in case they run away every time you slightly nudge the throttle. In the TT, yes the gearbox is slow, but it’s not the power but how the power is delivered, and the TT delivers power even better than Dominos delivers their pizzas. It’s like the mysterious woman at the ball in beautiful black dress who is playing hard to catch, but you want her so badly, you are willing to make a fool of yourself in public doing it.

What this car really is, is a full 3 course meal cooked by Gordon Ramsay, everything about it is just

WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience

Engine & Transmission 2.0L 4 cylinder TFSI Petrol / 6-speed dual clutch S-tronic Automatic with electrohydraulic control

Power & Torque 211bhp 350Nm

0-100km/h 5.6 seconds

Tyres 245/45 R17

Price 55,15,000/(ex-showroom Delhi)

balanced and works perfectly with each other. But it’s also like the Bee Gees in a confused generation of Justin Bieber. So when the new one finally arrives, I feel it has huge shoes to fill. Apparently, from what I have heard, it is better to drive and even more economical and practical.

But while everyone is crying with Bieber Fever, I had a huge smile on my face as no one could tell by the way I use my walk, cuz im a woman’s man, I have no time to talk… I’m “stayin’ alive”. So now the hardest part … to bid farewell to the woman in black who you never really found the courage to speak to properly, Bye Bye TT!

January 2015 I 45

FEATURES & TRAVEL

RIVER RAFTING ON THE GANGES Report: P. Tharyan, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

J

ust the other day I was telling my friend that journalists are usually pampered by corporates when they are invited for a drive to some exotic locations around the country. But when Nissan invited me for a drive of their Datsun Go+ car, I did not realise they would be cutting me and those of my fraternity off our usual pampered surroundings.

I am not complaining. In fact, it was an experience I shall remember for the rest of my life. For the first time in my journalistic career, rather than the confines of a five star hotel with luxurious surroundings, we were accommodated in tiny tents on the banks of river Ganges with a sleeping bag and a hot water bag each, to keep us warm in the freezing cold. There was enough space for each of us to crawl into our respective tents and get into our sleeping bags and go off to sleep, hugging on to the warmth of the bag.

The tent by itself was tiny but insulated from the cold winds. No mattresses but a thick mat kept us insulated from the cold sand.

I tossed for a while in the pitch dark night and while I was struggling to sleep I heard the faint snoring of my colleague, Mohd.

Nasir. If he could sleep, then I could too. I did sleep after a while and woke up early morning at around 5.30 for the car shoot.

With LEd lanterns in our hands we rushed to the make shift toilets nearby. After the morning ablutions, we went about with our assignments with great gusto.

Later after breakfast, we were asked to report for rafting. Of the 25 journalists in the batch, around 14 had earlier opted for the river rafting exercise. Sadly, only four were left in the end. The rest either developed cold feet or had other valid excuses to opt out. The four of us were introduced to Kalyan Negi our main instructor who would take us on a 20 odd km rafting expedition down the Ganges.

46 I January 2015

FEATURES & TRAVEL

January 2015 I 47

FEATURES & TRAVEL An Englishman Howard too joined us. He was to lead us in his kayak.

He was an instructor from England and it was his first time in the Ganges.

As the four of us got into our body hugging suits, we were given a short safety-cum-instruction lecture by Negi. He told us that we had to follow his instructions to the book and showed us how to hold our paddles, how and where to sit on the raft and what one had to do when one slipped into the river or when the raft capsized. The shot lecture left us a wee bit petrified but we were excited too.

As the raft made its way down the river Ganges, we felt a sense of achievement and joy. And when we began crossing the rapids one at a time, we also realised how beneficial team work is and how a lot can be achieved by doing things together and in tandem.

48 I January 2015

Some of the rapids were really tough and the raft bounced on the waters like clothes in a washing machine. Well, almost! We followed Negi’s instructions perfectly and the raft made it through the journey without any problem.

River rafting is something every individual needs to add on to their “Bucket List”. There is no such fun like rafting Howard (extreme right) Kalyan Negi (Top most) and rs cto tru ins h wit s list rna in the Ganges. When our Jou raft went through placid For the first time I was not waters, Negi instructed I was swimming in this sacred complaining. Yes they pampered us to get off the raft and swim river. Now that I had dipped in the us, but then we enjoyed it in the river Ganges. We did so, Ganges, I thought to myself that all thoroughly too. Staying in tents with a bit of hesitation but it was my sins too had been washed off. without the fluffy beds and the an awesome experience. The The team at Nissan Datsun attached loos, was fun too. River water was freezing cold but then had really come up with this rafting on the Ganges was simply for me it was the first time that unique experience for journalists. the icing on the cake!

FEATURES & TRAVEL

Volvo Lounge at T3 a big hit

I

n the days of yore, journalists used to sit and gossip at the Indian Coffee Shop in Connaught Place. Everything from politics to sports used to be keenly discussed. The coffee shop is no more and neither do journalists sit together any more to discuss anything sensible.

For those covering the automotive beat, the tradition of meeting stills continues, albeit in the cozy confines of the Volvo Lounge at theT3 airport in New Delhi. Volvo Auto India has been generous to several journalists and top leaders of the automotive world, besides its customers, by giving them an all access card to the Volvo Lounge. Thus whenever a journalist has to fly from the T3 airport in New Delhi, he or she makes it a point to step into the lounge to grab a coffee or a sandwich. These are served free.

If time permits (usually flights are late), the journalists also have a whole load of newspapers and magazines to read.

But one suggestion please-do keep more magazines and brochures that have information on the gorgeous Volvo cars near the seats!

Volvo Auto India had launched

its first exclusive Lounge at the Terminal 3 Domestic Departure in March 2014.

The Lounge is located at the entry of the departure concourse next to the information desk, spread over an area of 925 sq ft having a true Scandinavian luxury experience. It focuses at the discerning travellers, helping them

relax before boarding a flight and at the same time informing the customers about the pioneering concepts designed at Volvo Cars.

The Lounge comes with exclusive Volvo Retail Experience (VRE).

Volvo carlines are on public display at the lounge entrance accessible for all the travellers. The entry into the Lounge is only ‘by invitation’.

January 2015 I 49

CAR PRICES

Buyers’ 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

A6

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

TFSI Premium Plus + Sunroof TFSI S Line Cabriolet TDI Attraction TDI Premium + Sunroof Edition TDI Premium Plus + Sunroof TDI Technology Pack + Sunroof TFSI Premium Edition TDI Special Edition TDI Standard Edition TDI Premium Edition TDI Premium Plus TDI Technology Pack TDI Quattro Premium Plus TDI Quattro Technology TFSI Premium Edition

1.8 1.8 2.0

P P D

16.30 16.30 20

30.05 44.75 22.95

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 2.0

P D D D D D D D P

15.64 17.11 17.11 17.11 17.11 17.11 14.94 14.94 NA

31.30 29.45 30.10 35.45 37.71 39.74 55.02 57.82 44.20

50 I January 2015

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 S4

TDI Business Edition TDI Premium Edition TDI Premium Plus TDI Technology Pack TDI Quattro Premium TDI Quattro Premium Plus TDI QuattroTechnology TFSI quattro TDI quattro TDI quattro W12 TDI quattro TFSI TDI TDI Quatrro Premium TDI Quatrro Premium Plus TDI Quatrro Dynamic TDI Quatrro Premium TDI Quatrro Premium Plus TDI Quatrro Technology TDI QuattroTechnology TDI Quattro Premium TDI Quattro Premium Plus TDI QuattroTechnology TDI Quattro Technology FSI Quattro TFSI Quattro V8 FSI V10 FSI V10 FSI TFSI Quatrro

2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 3.0 4.2 6.3 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 3.0

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 P

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 10.30

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.) 52.64

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

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

TFSI Quattro TFSI Quattro S - Line

4.0 2.0

P D

NA 12.40

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.)

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

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 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 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 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 6

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

TCDi LT ABS PS LS LS ABS LT ABS Sail Sedan TCDi PS TCDi LS TCDi LS ABS TCDi LT ABS BS4 OBDII LS BS4 OBDII Spark LT BS4 OBDII Neo 3 -10-BS3 Neo 3 Max -10-BS3 Neo 3 Max -7-BS3 Neo 3 LS-10-BS3 Neo 3 LS-7-BS3 Tavera * Neo 3 LS-7(C)-BS3 Neo 3 LT-9-BS3 Neo 3 LT-8-BS3 Neo 3 LT-7(C)-BS3 * Only available in BS3 cities.

DATSUN D D1 Go A T FIAT Active Fire Dynamic Fire Active Multijet Avventura Dynamic Multijet Emotion Multijet Active Fire Active T-Jet Dynamic T-Jet Emotion T-Jet Linea Active Multijet Dynamic Multijet Emotion Multijet Classic Fire Classic Multijet Linea Classic Classic Plus Multijet Active Fire Dynamic Fire Emotion Fire Active Multijet Punto Evo Dynamic Multijet Emotion Multijet Sport 93 PS FORCE EX 6 Seater LX-ABS 6 Seater Force One SX-ABS 6 Seater SX-ABS 5 Seater Hard Top (4x4) Soft Top (4x2) Gurkha Soft Top (4x4) FORD LXi Duratec CLXi Duratec Titanium Duratec Classic LXi Duratorq CLXi Duratorq Titanium Duratorq Ambiente M/T Trend M/T Titanium M/T Titanium A/T Titanium Ecoboost Ecosport Titanium (O) Ecoboost Ambiente (D) Trend (D) Titanium (D) Titanium (O) (D) 4x2 M/T 4x2 A/T Endeavour 4x4 A/T Ambiente Trend Fiesta Titanium LXi Duratec EXi Duratec ZXi Duratec Titanium Duratec Figo LXi Duratorq EXi Duratorq ZXi Duratorq Titanium Duratorq HONDA E M/T EX M/T Amaze S M/T Sail Hatchback

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

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

6.81 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

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

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

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

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

1.2 1.2 1.2

P P P

18 18 18

5 5.32 5.71

January 2015 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+ 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) Era Magna Magna LPG Sportz Sportz LPG Kappa Era Kappa Magna Kappa Sportz Kappa Sportz (O) Kappa Asta CRDi Era CRDi Magna CRDi Sportz CRDi Sportz (O) 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 January 2015

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

GDI M/T 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 Kappa Base Kappa S Kappa S (O) Kappa S (O) A/T Kappa SX Kappa SX (O) Kappa SX (O) A/T CRDi Base CRDi S CRDi S (O) CRDi SX 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 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

D D

12.08 12.08

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 XF Executive Edition XF XFR Premium Luxury Portfolio Premium Luxury Portfolio XKR Coupe XKR Convertible XKR - S

3.0 3.0 5.0 3.0 5.0 2.0 2.2 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 D P P P D D P P P

NA 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 45.12 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.)

V6 SE 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 Pure Prestige Dynamic Dynamic Coupe SDV6 S SDV6 SE SDV6 HSE SC Autobiography

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 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 5.0

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

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 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.) 55.36 65.47 64.64 NA 1.10 (Cr.) 1.25 (Cr.) 1.43 (Cr.) 1.66 (Cr.)

Plus Non Ac BS4 Plus Ac BS4 Ex Non Ac BS4 Ex Ac BS4 SLE BS4 SLX BS4 ZLX BS4 Getaway 2WD / 4WD C2 C4 C6

2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.6 1.5 1.5 1.5

D D D D D D D D D D D

15.96 15.96 15.96 15.96 15.96 15.96 15.96 15.96 17.21 17.21 17.21

6.54 6.92 6.18 6.57 6.95 7.45 7.60 7.91 / 8.85 6.17 7.01 7.46

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 MAHINDRA

Bolero

Getaway Quanto

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

Quanto Rexton

Scorpio

Thar

Verito

Verito Vibe

XUV 500

XYLO

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 D2 BS IV D2 MAXX BS IV D4 BS IV H4 BS IV / ABS BS IV H8 ABS BS IV / ABS AIRBAG BS IV H9 BS IV

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 2.5 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

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 14.88 14.88 14.88 14.02

7.95 18.91 20.85 22.09 8.40 8.99 / 10.11 10.15 / 10.43 11.32 11.95 / 13.05 4.90 / 5.38 7.49 6.49 6.71 7.38 7.85 5.77 6.04 6.64 10.91 12.15 13.72 14.68 7.86 7.66 8.27 8.53 / 8.77

2.2

D

14.02

9.75 / 10.12

2.2

D

14.02

10.93

E

NA

5.95

E

NA

6.82

P P P P P P CNG

22.74 22.74 22.74 22.74 22.74 22.74 30.46

2.37 2.73 2.94 3.10 3.07 3.25 3.49

MODEL

T01 e2o T2

Celerio

Ciaz

Eeco

Ertiga

Grand Vitara Gypsy Omni Ritz

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

Ritz

Swift

Swift Dzire

WagonR

WagonR Stingray

Electric Motor Electric Motor

Gran Turismo

MARUTI

Alto K10

ENGINE*

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)

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cooper D Cooper D Cooper Convertible One Countryman Cooper D Countryman

1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6 2.0

D D P P D

21.15 21.15 NA NA NA

31.85 35.20 34.80 26.55 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 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

1.5 1.5 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 1.2 1.2

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

19.30 19.30 19.30 19.30 19.30 19.30 19.30 18.44 18.44 19.34 23.08 23.08 23.08 23.08 23.08 19.49 19.49

8.63 9.13 9.92 10.17 10.59 10.84 11.62 4.90 5.53 6.52 5.54 5.88 6.52 6.91 7.15 4.19 4.48

MASERATI

MAHINDRA REVA

Alto 800

VARIANTS

Alto 800 STD Alto 800 LX Alto 800 LXI Alto 800 LXI Airbag Alto 800 VXI Alto 800 VXI Airbag Alto 800 LXI CNG Alto 800 LXI Anniversary Edition Alto K10 LX

0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8

P

22.74

2.98

1.0

P

24.07

3.02

Alto K10 LXI

1.0

P

24.07

3.18

Alto K10 LXI CNG Alto K10 VXI Alto K10 VXI (O) Alto K10 VXI AGS 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 Grand Vitara AT King Soft Top King Hard Top Omni 5 Seater Omni 8 Seater Ritz Lxi Ritz Vxi Ritz Vxi ABS

1.0 1.0 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 2.4 1.3 1.3 0.8 0.8 1.2 1.2 1.2

P P P P 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 P P P LPG P P P P

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 9.24 11.96 11.96 10.90 14.70 18.50 18.50 18.50

3.78 3.34 3.53 3.76 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 24.60 5.79 5.93 2.47 2.40 4.23 4.57 4.80

Quattroporte MERCEDES-BENZ A-Class B-Class C-Class E-Class

GLA-class GL-class ML-class S-class CLS-class SLK-class

AMG

MINI Mini 3-Door Mini 5-Door Mini Convertible Mini Countryman MITSUBISHI Pajero NISSAN

Evalia

Micra

Micra Active

January 2015 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 Active

New Sunny

Terrano

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 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

P P P P D D D

19.49 17.97 17.97 17.97 22.71 22.71 22.71

4.79 6.99 7.74 9.06 8.12 8.74 9.49

1.5

D

22.71

9.77

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 Cayenne Platinum Cayenne S Diesel Cayenne S Hybrid Cayenne GTS Cayenne Tiptronic Cayenne Turbo Cayenne Turbo S 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 4.8 3.0 4.1 3.0 4.8 3.6 4.8 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 P D D P P P P P P D D P D 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 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 79.06 99.92 86.50 1.02 (Cr.) 91.05 1.16 (Cr.) 71.17 1.60 (Cr.) 2.09 (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

Ghost SWB Ghost EWB Ghost V-Specification

6.6 6.6 6.6

P P P

NA NA NA

NA NA NA

MODEL

Boxter

Cayenne

Cayman Macan

Panamera

Phantom Series II Wraith SKODA

Fabia

Octavia

Rapid

Superb Yeti

Aria

Indica

Indigo eCS

RENAULT

Duster

Fluence Koleos

Pulse

Scala

Manza

Nano

Safari Safari Storme

Sumo Gold

Vista Xenon XT

ROLLS-ROYCE Ghost

54 I January 2015

FUEL*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

Phantom Phantom EWB Drophead Coupe Coupe Wraith

6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.6

P P P P P

NA NA NA NA NA

NA NA NA NA NA

Active Plus MPI Ambition Plus MPI Elegance MPI Elegance MPI Active Plus TDI CR Ambition Plus TDI CR Elegance TDI Active TSI Ambition TSI Elegance TSI AT Active TDI CR Ambition TDI CR Ambition TDI CR AT Elegance TDI CR AT Active MPI Ambition MPI Plus Elegance MPI Elegance MPI Black Package Ambition MPI AT Plus Elegance MPI AT Elegance MPI Black Package AT Active TDI CR Ambition TDI CR Plus Elegance TDI CR Elegance TDI CR Black Package Ambition TDI CR Plus AT Elegance TDI CR AT Elegance TDI CR Black Package AT Elegance TSI MT Elegance TSI AT Elegance TDI CR AT Elegance TDI CR 4x2 Elegance 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 1.6 1.6 1.6

P P P P D D D P P P D D D D P P P 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 15 14.30 14.30

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 8.85 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

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 1.3 1.3 2.2 2.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2

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 D P P P P

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 16.70 21.12 13.49 13.49 NA NA NA NA

9.95 12 14.74 4.44 4.85 3.89 4.16 4.92 5.20 5.38 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 9.74 8.50 11.08 12.43 / 13.70 9.93 6.24 6.41 6.50 6.93 7.28 7.55 5.27 5.95 9.51 10.50 4.64 5.25 5.43 5.99

TATA

PREMIER

Rio

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

Zest

Pure LX 4x2 BS IV Pleasure LX 4x2 BS IV Pride 4x4 BS IV ev2 LS BS IV ev2 LX 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 4 Dicor LX 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 Quadrajet LS BS 4 Quadrajet VX Tech BS 4 XT EX 4x2 XT EX 4x4 XE Revotron 90PS XM Revotron 90PS XMS Revotron 90PS XT Revotron 90PS

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

Zest

XE Quadrajet 75PS XM Quadrajet 90PS XMS Quadrajet 90PS XT Quadrajet 90PS XMA Quadrajet 90PS

1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3

D D D D D

NA NA NA NA NA

5.64 6.27 6.45 6.99 6.99

A/T Hybrid JS G G (CVT) GL 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 Non AC 8 Seater E Euro IV Non AC 7 Seater E Euro IV PS 8 Seater E Euro IV PS 7 Seater G Euro IV 8 Seater G Euro IV 7 Seater GX Euro IV 8 Seater GX Euro IV 7 Seater VX Euro IV 8 Seater VX Euro IV 7 Seater ZX Euro IV 7 Seater GX Euro IV 8 Seater Silver GX Euro IV 7 Seater Silver GX Euro IV 8 Seater Bronze GX Euro IV 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 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5

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

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 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31

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 9.97 10.01 10.49 10.54 10.94 10.89 12.50 12.46 14.58 14.53 15.07 12.96 12.91 13.01 12.96

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

1.4 1.4 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 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

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

14.69 14.69 19.33 19.33 19.33 16.96 16.47 16.47 16.47 20.14 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

13.20 14.66 14.65 16.12 18.18 19.02 5.01 5.59 6.09 6.29 6.89 7.39 8 8 7.90 9.35 9.92 7.44 8.02 8.87 8.57 9.19 9.90

TOYOTA Camry

Corolla Altis

Etios

Etios Liva

Etios Cross

Fortuner

Innova

Innova LE Land Cruiser LC 200 Land Cruiser Parado Prius VOLKSWAGEN

Jetta

Polo

Vento

MODEL

VARIANTS

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

Vento

Comfortline AT Highline AT

1.5 1.5

D D

21.21 21.21

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 1247 1585 1690 1690 1690 1690 1690 1690 1801

NA 21.70 21.70 NA 15.80 18.18 17.85 17.85 NA 17.85 13.86 17.85 NA

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

49 50 80 80

0.43 0.51 0.38 0.40

* 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 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

January 2015 I 55

TWO WHEELERS * Prices (Ex-Showroom Delhi) MODEL

ENGINE*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

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

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 Unicorn 160 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 Roadmaster 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 Centuro Rockstar PIAGGIO Vespa LX Vespa VX Vespa S Vespa ELEGANTE ROYAL ENFIELD Bullet 350 Bullet 500 Electra Twinspark Thunderbird 350 Thunderbird 500

56 I January 2015

MODEL

ENGINE*

FUEL EFFICIENCY*

PRICE*

346 499 499 499 535

53.40 53.40 39.35 39.35 NA

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)

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

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

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

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

109 109 109.2 124.9 109 109 109 109 124.7 124.7 149.1 162.71 149.1 149.4 249 998 999 1237 1312 1832

60 60 60 NA 60 70 74 74 65 NA 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 0.69 0.66 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 1811

NA NA NA NA NA

25.50 (Lakh) 28.50 (Lakh) 32 (Lakh) 12 (Lakh) 37 (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

71.5 124.6 124.6 124.6 125 110 106.7 106.7 110

63.25 40 56.25 59.38 59 63 79.40 85.40 85.40

0.34 0.41 0.44 0.45 0.48 0.43 0.39 0.46 0.44

125 125 125 125

62 60 NA NA

0.67 0.71 0.75 0.79

346 499 346 346 500

53.40 NA 53.40 NA NA

0.98 1.42 (Lakh) 1.10 (Lakh) 1.28 (Lakh) 1.63 (Lakh)

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

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

PAGES 57 - 82

B2B SECTION INDIA

BAUMA CONEXPO 2014

CONSTRUCTING INDIA!

Picture courtesy: bC India

January 2015 I 57

COVER REPORT Report: Joshua David Luther, (Inputs: Rahul Kapoor, Jasbeer Kohli, Tripti Singh) Photography: Rahul Kapoor

Picture courtesy: bC India

T

he Bauma Conexpo Show-- bC India, which took place from December 15 to 18, 2014 in the India Expo Centre in Greater Noida on the outskirts of Delhi saw 635 exhibitors from 25 countries taking part in it and around 26,000 visitors attending the show. The show was spread over an area of 120,000 square metres.

The Bauma Conexpo is one of the world’s largest international trade fairs for construction machinery, building material machines and mining machines. A total of seven joint global pavilions were present at the show from China, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Korea, Spain and the United States. The inaugural ceremony was presided over by Dr. Martin Hanz, Deputy Ambassador from Germany and Deputy Chief of Mission, John McCaslin, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, Embassy of the United States of America, Sushanta Kumar Basu, President of BIA (Builders Association of India) and Igor Palka, CEO of Bauma Conexpo India Pvt. Ltd. During the inauguration ceremony, Igor Palka said that the recent move by the government to relax rules for FDI in the realty sector is a welcome step and has evoked a positive response from exhibitors and stakeholders in this sector. Some of the big guns of the industry like Ammann Apollo, Aquarius, Bauer, Caterpillar, Doka, Fayat Group, GMMCO, Haulotte, Herrenknecht, Hess, Kobelco, Layher, Liebherr, Liugong, L&T, Potain, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Peri, Putzmeister, Sany, Schwing Stetter, Terex, TIPL, Wacker Neuson and Wirtgen were amongst the exhibitors of this show and used it as a platform to launch and showcase their new products for the Indian market.

The Bauma Conexpo also hosts the bCIndia Forum which moderates the exchange of ideas and plans related to the industry. On the first day, the forum discussed topics such as skill development of workers in the construction sector and driving growth in a challenging market. The highlight of day two was a conference on Infrastructure Equipment – Re-scripting the growth story which was hosted by ICEMA (Indian Construction Equipment

58 I January 2015

COVER REPORT Manufacturer’s Association). The conference played host to exhibitors, trade organizations and industry associations who gave their assessments of current technologies being used and trends prevailing in the construction market. The conference was also used as a platform to discuss topics such as challenges and visions of the Indian market and future prospects of the equipment industry.

Another organiser of the Bauma Conexpo 2014 was MesseMünchen International which is one of the world’s leading trade show companies. The company organises close to 40 trade shows for consumer goods, capital goods and key high-tech industry equipment. Every year over 30,000 exhibitors and around 2 million visitors take part in these trade shows.

MesseMünchen organises trade shows in Asia, Russia, the Middle East and South Africa. Their business network extends over 90 countries with nine associated companies in Europe, Asia and Africa.

This group also takes a pioneering role in sustainability and has been awarded an energy-efficient certification from technical inspection authorities. Also playing the role of organiser in this year’s Bauma Conexpo was the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). They are a North American based international trade group which represents the off-road manufacturing sector. The headquarters of AEM is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With offices in Washington DC, Ottawa and Beijing this organisation represents more than 850 companies in the agriculture, mining, construction, utility and forestry sectors. AEM is associated with many world class exhibitions and has an ownership/ managerial stake in some including the Conexpo-Con/Agg which is one of the world’s biggest shows of construction and construction materials.

Among the exhibitors of this year’s Bauma Conexpo was the Wirtgen Group which specialises in the production of equipment to develop motorways.

Under the Wirtgen Group four separate divisions operate producing machines for varied applications. The Wirtgen GMBH division specialises in the manufacture of cold milling machines which are used to strip and remove damaged paving, cold recyclers which remove existing road paving and mix them with binding agents, soil stabilisers to mix lime and

January 2015 I 59

COVER REPORT TESTIMONIES “bC India is a very good show and for us it is very important to be here – we have to be here. We had visitors from all over India but also international ones. At our booth were only business visitors, only people who have something to do, like buying or selling. We only had genuine customers – there was no wasting time, they were here for business. I was too busy to meet all the people who came to our booth in order to talk to me. We wanted to meet and network with our customers and showcase our products at bC India and we reached all these goals. Furthermore, we closed some deals.”

- SORAB AGARWAL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ACE, INDIA “bC India as usual came out very well. The participation was very good. The quality and the delivery of bC India is unbeatable. We will definitely participate in every edition of bC India.”

- S. BASKAR BABU, GENERAL MANAGER, SCHWING STETTER, GERMANY, SUBSIDIARY INDIA “For us, bC India was very successful. We had many customers and very serious enquiries. The visitors were very seriously interested in our products. We launched a new product here and in that respect it was very important for us to be here to use bC India as a platform.”

- SANDIP CHOUDHURI, GENERAL MANAGER & HEAD KANSBAHAL WORKS, LARSEN & TOUBRO, INDIA

60 I January 2015

cement into moist soils to increase the load bearing capacity, ancillary equipment for cold recycling and soil stabilisation like slurry mixers, binding agent spreaders from Streumaster for cold recyclers and soil stabilisers, hot recyclers for heated production of bituminous-bound carriageway paving and additive mixing, slipform pavers for paving high-volume carriageways as well as concrete monolithic profiles and surface miners for cutting, crushing, and loading hard rocks and minerals in a single operation without drilling and blasting. The Joseph Vogele AG division produces small pavers,

tracked pavers, wheeled pavers and feeders which provide large paving widths, high compaction performance and outstanding mobility options. Hamm AG produces small and large articulated tandem rollers, rollers with a vibratory and oscillating drum, static rubber wheeled and three wheeler rollers, compactors with a smooth roller drum and compactors with a padfoot drum. Another division under the Wirtgen Group is Kleemann GMBH which produces mobile jaw crushers which operate under the principle of pressure crushing, mobile impact crushers used for crushing soft to medium-hard natural stone

COVER REPORT TESTIMONIES “bC India is one of the best shows.

It’s a quality infrastructure show, very well organised. We had good visitor quality at our booth.”

- E. MOSES EBENEZER, ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT – MARKETING & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, KOBELCO, JAPAN, SUBSIDIARY INDIA “This year we made excellent progress at bC India – we are definitely at the right show here. The people who came are all interesting potential customers for us. It´s very much a trade audience here.”

- GERD GRESSBACH, MANAGING DIRECTOR, WIMAG, GERMANY “We regard bC India now as a fully established trade show. The quality of the visitors is top. Here we met not only our existing customers, but also many new potentials. Overall this was a perfect end to the year.”

- MARCEL HABERS, SALES MANAGER, TOPWERK, GERMANY

crushing and for reprocessing of residual construction materials, mobile screens which are used to separate hard to screen materials in high volume cases and mobile cone crushers for complicated processing sequences.

Another leading manufacturer of motorway paving equipment which was present in the Bauma Conexpo India 2014 was Ammann Apollo. Apollo Construction Equipment Ltd. became a member of the Ammann Group on April 10, 2013. The Swiss based Ammann Group is one of the leading suppliers of mixing plants, machines and services to the

construction industry. At this year’s exhibition they had displayed some of the most advanced equipment in motorway paving like the Hydrostatic Sensor Paver Finishers for asphalt and wet mix paving, Mechanical Paver Finishers, Curb Paver and Bitumen Pressure Distributor. With manufacturing facilities worldwide Ammann Apollo has its presence in India as well. Their Indian manufacturing facilities are located at Khatrej near Ahmedabad and Ditasan near Mehsana in Gujarat. Their pavers have a range of 5.5 meters to 9 meters in width. Apart from road paving equipment Ammann Apollo India

“bC India is very important for the Wirtgen Group. Here in India, bC India is the most professional trade fair. Delhi as a venue is a good choice – all our competitors are here. We had genuine visitors at our booth and lots of customers from the northern part of India. We’ll participate in the next bC India, too.”

- RAMESH PALAGIRI, MANAGING DIRECTOR & CEO, WIRTGEN, GERMANY, SUBSIDIARY INDIA

January 2015 I 61

COVER REPORT TESTIMONIES “We’ve had a lot of productive meetings at bC India 2014 and many of our Indian customers are at the event. Overall customers in India are very receptive to our offering.

It’s clear that India is continuing its development and our impression from bC India is that the construction industry in this country is keen to play a starring role in helping India achieve its growth ambitions.”

- RAMAN JOSHI, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT ASIA-PACIFIC, MANITOWOC CRANES, USA, SUBSIDIARY INDIA “For GMMCO, participating here is very, very necessary. This show is very well organized and it’s a very good venue. The quality of visitors was very high, including good buyers, contractors and the like. bC India is a good opportunity to meet new customers.”

- TANMAY MAJUMDAR, ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT, GMMCO/ CATERPILLAR, INDIA “For us, bC India is a great opportunity to showcase our formwork solutions. The response we received was beyond our expectations. bC India is the international show which attracts quality visitors from all around the world. Hence, we feel this exhibition is the right platform in which to participate.”

- ANIBRATA ROUTH, GENERAL MANAGER (TECHNICAL), PERI, GERMANY, SUBSIDIARY INDIA

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Pvt. Ltd. also manufacture stationary and semi mobile asphalt mixing plants, asphalt batch mix plants, counter flow continuous hot mix plants, drum mix plants and wet mix macadam plants. The company also displayed their articulated tandem rollers in this year’s Bauma Conexpo.

Apollo Inffratech Pvt. Ltd. announced its joint venture with Carmix of Italy for exclusive rights to the Indian market back in 2013.

In this year’s Bauma Conexpo they put on display their 4X4 self loading concrete mixers. Interestingly their 4X4 machines are meant for off-road mobility and to reach remote locations. At the heart of these 4X4 models is a Kirloskar engine which produces 110bhp @2500rpm. These machines are built

on a steel profile which has been specially designed for off-road capabilities. These self loading mixers are claimed to be an easy to operate and a very cost effective solution.

The company operates in over a 150 countries and is now manufacturing in India as well. Two models are produced in India and four models are available on demand.

Another exhibitor providing concrete mixing solutions was Schwing Stetter which was founded by Friedrich William Schwing in the early 1930’s. They manufacture mechanised concrete construction equipments. In 1982 the company took over Stetter which manufactured concrete batching plants and transit mixers. The company’s headquarters are in Herne, Germany with 19 branches

COVER REPORT TESTIMONIES “bC India is a vehicle to convince customers and to sell products.

We are happy with our results, especially on the second day. The quality here in Delhi is substantially better. It’s a very well organized, very well laid out show and that helps a lot to show our products.”

- ASIT PATEL, MANAGING DIRECTOR, AMMANN APOLLO, SWITZERLAND, SUBSIDIARY INDIA

Senior industry officials at the inauguration of bC India 2014. Picture courtesy: bC India across India. Schwing Stetter manufactures portable concrete pumps, horizontal concrete mixing plants, compact batching plants, truck mixers, truck-mounted concrete pumps, concrete recycling plants, separate placing booms, tower cranes, water chilling plants and top shot runners.

When in the construction sector especially in the real estate development business aerial work platforms are an essential cog in the wheel. The JLG group which produces aerial work platforms was one of the exhibitors.

They manufacture articulating boom lifts,

telescopic boom lifts, electric boom lifts, rough terrain scissor lifts, electric scissor lifts, vertical mast lifts, mast-style boom lifts, compact crawler boom lifts, mobile vertical lifts and push-around vertical lifts some of which were displayed at the expo this year.

Their lifts have a reach ranging from 3 meters to 56 meters with varied platform capacities going up to 454kgs. If purchasing an aerial work platform does not seem economical you can also hire one from Manlift India Pvt. Ltd. which provides sales and rental services for aerial platforms. They have global offices

“At bC India we had visitors from all over India at our stand, which is excellent for us. The quality of the visitors was definitely good and even better than last time. An upturn is awaited in India, which is why the timing of bC India is good. It is important that we have bC India here – we need it.”

- JOHANN SAILER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, GEDA-DECHENTREITER, GERMANY “We had a good quantity of visitors from South Asia and India and they gave us good comments about the organization of the show. We were able to close some good contracts.”

- ALEX WU, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SANY HEAVY INDUSTRY, CHINA, SUBSIDIARY INDIA “bauma is a recognized brand in the construction industry and regarded as such by all our clients. It drives us to participate in bC India.”

- ANUPAM KR. SHARMA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, DOKA, AUSTRIA, SUBSIDIARY INDIA

January 2015 I 63

COVER REPORT TESTIMONIES “bC India is the most important Indian construction fair in the current year and bears a special significance for the local construction industry.

Visitors and customers signaled a generally optimistic mood. In the field of concrete mixing technology some sales could be completed during the first phase of the bC India show. In the field of mobile cranes very good talks with highly interested customers took place in the first two days of the show and more are anticipated.”

- DR. THOMAS SCHWANINGER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, LIEBHERR, GERMANY, SUBSIDIARY INDIA “We are very excited about the profile of the customers here at bC India. The customers showed big interest in our products. We had customers coming and buying equipment right off the booth. We also saw new prospective customers who came just to see our new product launch. We had many new customers and definitely quality visitors, especially compared to other shows in India.”

- RAJESH SHRIVASTAVA, GENERAL MANAGER – MARKETING & DEALER DEVELOPMENT, TEREX, USA, SUBSIDIARY INDIA

and construction equipment business and this year’s Bauma Conexpo played host to some heavy weights of this sector like Caterpillar, Terex, SDLG, Sany, ACE, Grove and Potain. While Caterpillar displayed their hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders, motor graders and backhoe loaders their competitors Terex Equipment Pvt. Ltd. displayed their back hoe loaders and in Dubai (UAE), India, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. They skid steer loaders. Terex is a have a comprehensive fleet of 1000 lifts which smaller player in the Indian range from 5 meters to 50 meters. They provide market and own a 5-6pc a variety of telescopic booms, articulated booms, market share but are soon spider lifts, scissor lifts, personal lifts, crawler set to enter the wheel loader mounts, trailer mounts and truck mounts. Their segment with their strategic access platforms are available in diesel powered or tie up with Lonking Holdings Ltd. of China battery powered versions for indoor, outdoor and which incidentally is one of the world’s largest rough terrain use. Some of the brands available manufacturer of wheel loaders. They also with Manlift India are JLG, Genie, Teupen, etc. have a financial program running to facilitate which were displayed at their exhibit this year. purchases of their machines. At this year’s One of the most important players in the Bauma Conexpo they launched their new construction and mining sector is the earth moving ‘TLB740SE’ series of backhoe loaders and

64 I January 2015

expect to capture a market share of 3-4pc with this product alone. Under the strategic alliance of Terex and Lonking the company also declared that they will be selling their ‘CDM 856 & 835’ series of wheel loaders.

Debo Qui, Executive Director, CEO and President of Lonking Holdings Ltd. used the platform provided by Bauma Conexpo

COVER REPORT India 2014 to announce that he was greatly pleased with the “Make in India” policy of the Indian government. He further added that India is one of the most influential countries in Asia and has been attracting a lot of attention from global investors. Lonking is one of the largest construction machinery manufacturers of China and has now come to India hand in hand with Terex India as a response to the appeal of the “Make in India” Policy.

Any construction work cannot be undertaken without the help of lift cranes for transporting or placing heavy construction equipment and other construction materials.

For the construction of metro projects or skyscrapers players like Sany Heavy Industry India Pvt. Ltd. are indispensable. This year they displayed some of their Truck cranes, all terrain cranes, rough terrain cranes, crawler cranes and their rotary drilling rigs at the Bauma Conexpo. Sany provides facilities like delivery of spare parts, engineers for assisting in case of emergencies, once a year free health check up of products and free certified training for operators

on purchase of new machines.

The company has its head office and manufacturing facility in Chakan Industrial area near Pune.

Another major player in the mobile cranes and tower cranes segment is ACE (Action Construction Equipment Ltd.). The company has manufacturing facilities in the industrial townships of Faridabad and Kashipur. These facilities have the capacity to produce 12000 units of construction equipment and 9000 tractors annually. At the Bauma Conexpo they had on display a variety of equipment like mobile and crawler cranes, forklift trucks, tele handlers, concrete placing booms, tower cranes, motor graders, vibratory rollers, backhoe loaders and wheeled loaders.

Another launch at this year’s Bauma Conexpo was the Scania R-580 V8 6X4 series truck which is claimed to be India’s most powerful truck. In a conference with the press, Anders Grundstromer, Managing Director, Scania India and Senior Vice President, Scania Group stated that they were focused on providing mobility solutions using more fuel efficient and environment friendly fuels. He propagated that the use of Ethanol would be a sustainable source of fuel, that Ethanol was easy to produce and would be more fuel efficient than the current diesel versions. Ethanol can be produced from sources like farm waste residue as well as other organic residues which right now are being burnt or disposed off as garbage.

This in turn would provide a mobility fuel option, reduce transport emissions and help in the disposal of organic wastes.

It became clear from this year’s Bauma Conexpo India that a lot of major players in the construction equipment sector have invested heavily in the country and eye it as an emerging global market. With most of the industry heavy weights flocking to set-up shop in India the industrial dream of Indian Prime Minister. Narendra Modi -- “Make in India” ---seems to be coming true.

January 2015 I 65

COVER REPORT INTERVIEW WITH RAJESH SHRIVASTAVA, GM, Marketing & Dealer Development,Terex Equipment Pvt. Ltd. Report: Joshua David Luther Photography: Rahul Kapoor Could you give a brief about Terex and how the company has been doing of late? And what are your products which are popular in the Indian market today?

Terex is a US based company which operates through five verticals and one of the verticals is Terex Construction and that is where our company belongs. We are based out of Greater Noida and what we manufacture here is backhoe loaders and skid steer loaders. The global technology which was available with Terex was indigenised for the Indian market and that’s when the plant was set up here and we manufacture these machines here for the Indian market. So broadly speaking most of the designs are tailor made for the Indian market. There is a stark difference between the backhoe loaders which are operated in India and the ones which are operated in western countries. These are used as utility machines there and they help you accomplish your routine work. Here it is an earning machine, it has to earn for its master. So the whole principle of design then changes. You have to make it more reliable, you have to increase the service life, and you have to focus on issues like lower operating cost as someone has to make a living out of this machine.

Lately we have also been seeing the revival of the mining market, the mining of aggregates, coal, etc and as a result we have tied up with a Chinese multinational corporation which will bring in wheel loaders. They manufacture wheel loaders for the mining market and tomorrow we will announce our strategic tie up with the world’s largest manufacturer of wheel loaders which is Lonking Holdings Limited. We are focusing now on the mining market in the hope that the government will sort out all the mess which

66 I January 2015

happened and the mining market will see a very bright sunrise. As the government is on the right path and the Supreme Court is involved, a whole lot of water has already flown so we are hoping fresh water will start coming in and this would be a right timing for us to bring these products. On the general market side in the backhoe segment we are the number three or number four player in the market after JCB, ACE and Caterpillar. So Terex is number four with a 6pc share in the market. We do about 1000-1200 units a year.

That is very small compared to the size of the Indian market which is about 27000-28000 units, we are about 5pc of that amount. We are inching up our new backhoe model which will be launched tomorrow.

So we hope to get an additional 3-4pc market share out of this new launch. They are a completely new generation of backhoe loaders.

What Terex was making in India has been shifted and the new generation is being brought in now.

It is called the series 70 or the 7th generation of backhoe which Terex has rolled out. I think the market is ready for it, it is a work horse and again as I told you it is designed to earn for the master. As for the backhoe loaders and skid steer loaders which we make, both have a double digit CAGR growth. Last year was a little down, but even in the downturn it had a double digit CAGR. So these are the two exciting segments to be in and Terex is in both of them.

Terex entered the Indian market in 1995 with fierce competition in the market. Most of the players are on the expansion path. So what is your current strategy?

From a corporate perspective, Terex is open to both inorganic as well as organic growth. The last five to six years Terex really

did not look at inorganic growth or even organic for that matter as we were never sure about how the government rules and regulations would change or if they would be in our favor or against us. Now we are very optimistic as the government has acknowledged the fact that there should be policy stability which will make investors feel confident. So now we are planning for acquisitions, inorganic and organic growth.

So the first step is to tie-up with Lonking Holdings Limited. After another 5-6 months down the line, once the framework stabilises and we are very clear about what the government plans to do in the next two to three years we will get into the make in India scheme with Lonking. Then we will follow the make in India policy as well.

Right now we are just carefully sitting and watching how the make in India plan rolls out and the moment it rolls out we will be the first ones to jump in. In fact we have already jumped in – we have announced a tie up with Lonking Holdings, we will keep evaluating the situation every quarter and will immediately jump in the make in India scheme. One is to expand our manufacturing base here and the second is to explore the markets outside of India like the SAARC and ASEAN regions.

ASEAN holds a lot of potential. For the Indian market we are already

present to a large extent and have 53 dealers. The Indian strategy is to strengthen these dealerships.

The real challenge is to make these dealers responsive to the customers. In India as I said the customer profile has gone very rural. It is the rural youth which is now coming up with 5-6 Lakhs of rupees and wanting to invest, they pick up a machine and put it on hire or do some contracting work themselves. So those are the people who are mainly our customers. Until now our network was urban centric. It is a massive shift and we need to train all dealers to become rural centric.

So in India we are focusing on that shift from urban to rural. Markets unfortunately are two steps ahead of us. The markets have already shifted we were the ones who did not realise it. So now we are running full steam to change the focus of our distribution network to become more rural centric. At the same time we are expanding outside India into other neighboring markets. So we have an aggressive plan for ASEAN and SAARC regions. We have already established a very decent market share in Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. We plan to keep aggressively moving on that path as we have a cost advantage unlike these markets which are typically occupied by major Japanese, Chinese and Korean

COVER REPORT players. All three of them are not as cost competitive as Indians are. For India we will redesign the distribution network to be more rural focused as that is where the growth is coming from and that is where the customers are coming from. The immediate plan is to complete the tie up with Lonking Holdings and just wait for another quarter to see how the make in India program rolls out. So we will have the Lonking range of machines manufactured in India soon.

What would you say is the current market condition for CE and what is your forecast for the coming times?

The current condition is that in the last five six months have picked up. There is a sense of optimism.

Last year was absolutely bad, there was no hope but things have changed. Currently the market is picking up and compact equipment sector will probably continue to enjoy an upwards of 15-18pc growth in 2015. That is the minimum expectation we have and if the GDP grows by another 2-3pc this growth would easily go up to 20-22pc. This growth of 15pc is pegged at a GDP of 6pc.

If the GDP goes up to 8pc then we will see an increase of 10pc in our business volumes.

Your company has a financing programme for its products. Could you briefly elaborate on what it involves and what kind of an effect it has had on your products?

We have a vertical called Terex Financial Services, this is not involved in direct funding. It acts as a syndicator between a client and a financial institution.

Our specialisation is to tailor make programmes for these customers, based on their needs. Banks or other institutions don’t necessarily understand every customer. They

understand customers in form of sets. Like a builder or a contractor or a mining operator. Terex Financial Services understands customers on a last and first name basis. We say that Mr. X has Y-business. So we are ten times more deeply penetrated into the customer than a bank or a funder.

With our financial expertise, we are able to tailor make a program for this gentleman and then take it to the bank or an institution, that this is how we want to structure a financial program for him. We ask the bank or the funding institution to come on board and then get the client onboard then we put them together. This is one unique service which no one else offers in India except for Terex that is how deep our customer interaction goes. Maybe in the short run we would probably have our own funding arm as well which will directly fund customers with our own cash. Today we are only providing it as a service. As far as demand is concerned this programme is loved by people who have worked on it. As of now we don’t have much of market penetration of this program so we will work on some selected deals but as you rightly said demand

for specialised products we have been able to increase. Like the demand for Genie products has increase due to the financial services we offer. This service has helped many cases to come on board and the demand for the products have gone up. People are getting attracted towards it. For other retail products like backhoe and skid steers it has not really helped much. So demand for specialised equipment yes we have been able to make a dent.

People who work on specialised projects or high technology projects have been impacted by Terex financial projects.

Could you tell me a little about your R&D center and what it has been doing of late? What are the new products or technology we can expect in the coming times?

Terex has an R&D centre in India which is a global centre for us. It is called the Terex India Research Centre based out of Bangalore.

They do design and engineering work for all Terex companies.

We have manufacturing bases in Germany, UK, US and China so we do all kinds of R&D and engineering work for these guys.

They are engineers on demand,

so if any Terex company needs engineering support they call on these guys. They are a profit centre by themselves. So you pay them and get your work done.

We have a team of 45 highly qualified engineers working on all global projects that Terex companies are doing. They are currently into helping our crane division to develop some of the world’s largest boom cranes.

Which are going to be made out of Germany or UK, we have not decided that as of now. The core team is working on lots of such projects for high mast cranes and they are also to cut cost for group companies by having a global product sourcing program to help local companies develop components for other companies of Terex. An example is that they are working with us in Noida to develop some components for our German plant. At the End of the day it will become a cost out exercise. The German plant will be able to reduce cost and the Noida plant will be able to increase business revenues. That is also one of their big mandates where they try to cost out the cost of production between Terex companies.

Terex stall at bC India 2014

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COVER REPORT Powerful Scania R 580 V8 truck & P410 Tipper launched Report & Photography: Rahul Kapoor

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t the prestigious Bauma ConExpo 2014, Scania Commercial Vehicles India Pvt. Ltd. launched and showcased the most powerful on-road truck, the Scania R580 V8 (6x4) truck and the P410 (8x4) Tipper equipped with 20 cubic meter rock body, in India. The show was held in Greater Noida near Delhi.

On the same occasion, Scania also launched Scanial Oil and enhanced telematics services – Scania Fleet Management. Scania also had their mobile workshops showing Scania’s flexible container concept for service and repairs in remote places.

Anders Grundströmer, Managing Director, Scania India and Senior Vice President, Scania Group said that this season of Bauma Expo was very significant to Scania to launch India’s most powerful on-road Truck R 580 V8 truck, and updating the product portfolio with the Scania P410 Tipper equipped

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with all new 20 cubic meter SSAB body to withstand the toughest mining conditions.

Grundströmer concluded; “Keeping our promise of providing uncompromised service support, we are also launching Scania Oil for the first time in India to give our customers additional advantage in terms of vehicle performance and uptime. Our Fleet Management Service (FMS) was first displayed at the Delhi Auto Expo 2014 and now we are launching it for all our customers in India. With FMS, fleet operators can monitor the vehicle performance in real time, and this gives lot of scope

for enhanced safety, productivity and uptime.”

The Scania R 580 6x4 comes with a powerful V8 engine, making it the most powerful truck in India. The R 580 offers high torque at low speed,

essential for over-dimensional cargo (ODC) transport. The Scania V8 engine is coupled with great characteristics such as excellent drivability, outstanding Total Operating Economy and refined vehicle handling and

COVER REPORT

maneuvering qualities.

The Scania P 410 8x4 Tipper is an existing product which will now be equipped with 20 cubic meter rock body developed by one of the world’s leading producer of high strength steel, SSAB. The Scania P410 Tipper has had its share of success in the Indian mining sector. Equipped with Scania Opticruise, a fully automated gear-changing system for best fuel efficiency and ease of driving, Scania has now fitted it with an option of Idle Shutdown a feature that further strengthens the Total Operating Economy by lowering the fuel consumption.

Also, the complete tipper is significantly lower in weight than current offerings in the market, and with the increased load carrying capacity the customer gets a

significantly higher productivity.

Keeping up with the promise of unmatched aftermarket service through strong service points, Scania will now also make available the genuine Scania Oil to its customers available both as engine oil as well as axle and gear oil. The Scania Oil prevents from the components from sludge and adherence and protects from corrosion and wear, all leading to longer service intervals.

All the Scania products in India also come with market leading productivity, maximized vehicle uptime and outstanding fuel efficiency all leading to what Scania claims “best possible” Total Operating Economy (TOE).

Grundströmer also stated that Scania products are undoubtedly the safest and economical trucks

when compared to anything in the Indian market including Volvos and when compared to completion from local companies, Scania will not even consider entering the light or non premium market just to meet sales figures to compete with other OEMs. Stating that to compete at that level, Scania will need to compromise on quality, and that is something Scania will never consider. Scania is a premium brand with premium quality services and parts and that’s the way it will keep on fighting. As a part of the Volkswagen Group, it will leave other brands from the parent company to compete in that segment.

When asked regarding Scania’s views on alternative fuels, Grundströmer assured that

Scania has plans to introduce bio fuels and develop with political help from the government with vehicles that can run on ethanol to reduce emissions and reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere which is abundant in India. Grundströmer was also furious with the fact that all across the country, traffic laws are violated and there are no checks done in implementing traffic laws which increase risk of accidents on Indian roads.

With the launch these new range of products and services, Scania further expands its offerings, establishing a strong foothold in India. With a vision to change the Indian transportation system, Scania is tapping every opportunity to bring innovative technology and state-of-the-art products and services to India.

January 2015 I 69

NEWS

Crash tests mandatory for new vehicles from Oct 1, 2017 says government panel

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committee constituted by Ministry of Road Transport & Highway (MORTH), Government of India, for creating a New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) on the lines of the Global NCAP has decided that test facilities for Indian vehicles to carry out crash tests should be ready in all respects by December 2015. The Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Picture of Datsun Go failing the Global NCAP crash test. Picture courtesy Global Programme (BNVSAP) NCAP. For representation purpose only Phase-I implementation is to follow this time line, the committee said.

by MORTH on March 25, 2014 and The Minister informed the Giving this information, the above decisions were taken house that India is taking steps Minister of State in the Ministry at a meeting held on December 3, towards harmonisation of national of Heavy Industries and Public 2014. In fact, the committee was regulations of safety standards Enterprises, G.M. Siddeshwara constituted by the government for passenger cars with United in a written reply in Lok Sabha on after the Global NCAP had given National Economic Commission December 23, 2015 noted that a presentation in Delhi, in which for Europe (UN-ECE) regulations. at the committee meeting it was they proved that some of the The Ministry of Road Transport also decided that compliance as cars manufactured in India, when & Highways has formed a per crash standards AIS 098 and subject to Offset Crash Test dedicated panel for introducing AIS 099 shall be mandatory for through crash test, are not safe. safety features in new vehicles the new vehicles from October 1, Meanwhile, the Minister also under ‘Bharat New Vehicle Safety 2017. In case of existing vehicles, maintained that all car companies Assessment Programme’ which the same will apply from October in the country are adhering to will be voluntary from October, 1, 2019. prescribed safety standards in cars 2017 and mandatory by The committee was constituted manufactured by them.

October, 2020.

Terra Motors electric 3-wheelers Terra Motors of Japan will be launching an electric three wheeler in India. In a press release issued by the company, it stated that India is one of the most important countries for the company. It said that there are currently, many e-rickshaw from China without undergoing any homologation.

“We design the vehicle for safety and durability. R6 is now testing in the certificated agency,” it said, The company is aiming to sell around 10,000 units of these electric three wheelers within 2015 in the country. The company is currently developing 2-3 different types of electric three wheelers for the country and these will be priced competitively.

Spyker companies declared bankrupt Netherlands based Spyker car company has been declared bankrupt. On December 18, 2014, the District Court of MiddenNederland, at the request of the administrator, converted the moratorium of payment, granted to Spyker N.V. and its wholly owned subsidiaries on December 2nd, last, to bankruptcy.

Major OEMs to be part of 4th Bus & Special Vehicle Show 2015

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ajor OEMs like Ashok Leyland, Force Motors, General Motors, Isuzu India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Renault, SML Isuzu, Tata Motors and Toyota Kirloskar have confirmed their participation in the 4th Bus & Special Vehicle Show 2015 to be held at the India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, Delhi - NCR from January 15 - 17 2015.

Motown India magazine is one of the media partners to the show.

Component majors like Allison Transmission, Hindustan Petroleum, Innova Rubbers, K B

70 I January 2015

Autotech, Panasonic India, Sidhwal Technologies and several others too have given in their confirmation.

The show is being organised by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) with support from the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India and Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU).

The objective of this show is to showcase latest technological developments, providing manufacturers right platform to

interact with focused customers, more visibility and launch products; better understanding of the requirements of different user segments with one to one interactions.

Products on display will include city buses, intercity buses, luxury coaches, custom made buses, hybrid buses, school buses, special purpose buses, trucks, light trucks, mini trucks, vans, SUVs, MUVs, ambulances, other special vehicles, tyres / tubes, batteries, financial institutions, banks, auto insurance cos., automobile services;

component and accessories for bus and special vehicles sector.

There will also be concurrent events at the Venue. SIAM in association with ASRTU is organising an “Interactive Workshop on Upcoming New Technology in Buses” on January 16, 2015. SIAM is also organising the 2nd SIAM Automotive Logistics Conclave on January 16 and 17, 2015. Entry to the SIAM Bus & Special Vehicle Show will be free of cost. Visitors can just login to www.busnsvshow.in and register themselves for free of cost.

NEWS

UNO Minda, Toyoda Gosei establish JV for rubber hoses

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NO Minda, part of the NK Minda Group, an major Indian automotive supplier has entered into a joint venture with Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. of Japan to manufacture and sell rubber hoses in India.

The collaboration was finalised between Nirmal K. Minda, Chairman & MD, UNO Minda Group and Tadashi Arashima, President, TG Worldwide.

The Joint Venture will be set up with total investment of 853 million ( 85 crore) in phased manner and will have an authorised capital of 54 crore with an equity share of 51pc with UNO Minda, 44pc with Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd and 5pc with Toyota Tsusho Corporation. The new JV Company will be known as Minda TG Rubber Pvt. Ltd and will have a manufacturing plant at Bawal,

Haryana. initially and start of production planned in third quarter of fiscal year 2015.

UNO Minda and Toyoda Gosei have an existing collaboration in India since 2011 for manufacture and sale of safety products (viz. steering wheel with airbags, body sealings etc) with manufacturing facility setup at Neemrana. In addition, UNO Minda had setup a fuel cap division last year with technical support of TG. However to address, the growing market of brake and fuel hoses in India, UNO Minda & Toyoda Gosei expect to achieve additional synergies in areas of product development & technology as well as making substantial inroads into new customer segments, resulting in a larger customer footprint.

On the occasion Nirmal K Minda, CMD, UNO Minda

Group said, “With the rapid technological advancement, customers’ demand for hoses is proliferating. We (L to R) Miyazaki, Exec. Vice President, Toyoda Gosei; wish to further J K Menon, ICS Domain CEO,UNO Minda Group; strengthen our N K Minda, CMD, UNO Minda Group and T Arashima, product portfolio President, TG Worldwide with support of Toyoda Gosei who has comprehensive Minda India Pvt. Ltd. (TGMIN), experience of automotive safety which Toyoda Gosei originally systems, at the same time, established in 2008. It produces ensuring better automotive safety systems such as airbags component solutions to our strong and sealing products such as customer base.” weather strips. The new joint Arashima stated “Since 2011, venture will further strengthen the Toyoda Gosei and UNO Minda partnership between Toyoda Gosei group have been cooperating and UNO Minda Group and help with each other through the both companies expand business joint ownership of Toyoda Gosei in the growing market.”

TOP LEVEL CHANGES IN MOTOWN Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (DICV) together with Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), under the Umbrella of Daimler Trucks Asia (DTA), has announced management changes to take effect in March and April next Year. As of April 1, 2015, DR. ALBERT KIRCHMANN, currently Head of Daimler Trucks Asia, will become Chairman of Daimler Trucks Asia. Marc Llistosella, currently Head of Marketing, Sales &After-sales, Trucks Asia & DICV, becomes new Head of Daimler Trucks Asia (Fuso and BharatBenz) and Michael Kamper, Managing Director Trucks at Mercedes-Benz UK at present, will become new Head of Marketing, Sales & Customer Services Trucks Asia.

Henkel Adhesive Technologies, a subsidiary of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Germany has announced the appointment of MANISH DAVE as the Business Director of Automotive & Metals for Henkel in India. With a career spanning over 20years, Manish has in-depth knowledge and expertise in the automotive industry. As the Business Director for Automotive & Metals in Henkel in India, Dave will be responsible for the Sales and Technical Service. He will be closely working with global teams and Germany to develop and execute various initiatives geared towards sustainable, energy efficient, light weight solutions for the Automotive and Metals market in India.

Manish recently moved to India after spending 23 years in the United States of America. He has been a part of Henkel based in Detroit for the last seven years.

Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) has announced that their Vehicle Test & High Performance Development division will now be headed

by ALBERT BIERMANN who was earlier working as Vice President Engineering BMW M Automobiles and BMW Individual at BMW GmbH, Germany. Biermann will be based at the companies R&D Center in Namyang, Korea and will be responsible for the development of new high performance Hyundai and Kia models, as well as administer engineering projects relating ride and handling, reliability, safety and the reduction of noise, vibration and harshness for all production models. Albert Biermann, will join in his new position with HMG from April 1, 2015 and will bring over 30 years of experience in the development of high-performance vehicles. Biermann joined BMW in 1983 and has played a key part in the development of the companies most acclaimed road and race cars. His Current role, is a position he has held since 2008.

MARTHA DESMOND has been appointed as the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at Apollo Tyres Ltd. Martha has replaced Tapan Mitra, who retires as the Chief of Human Resouces by the end of this year. She will be responsible for all aspects of HR in the organisation, in addition to being a member of the company’s Management Board. Martha’s last assignment was with Genel Energy, where she worked as Human Resource Director based out ofTurkey. Prior to that, she was associated with BG Group as Human Resource Director and later, in Mumbai, as Deputy Managing Director for the group’s Exploration and Production Division. She has also worked with RWE Thames Water, HFC Bank and Resourcing Solutions in various capacities based out of UK, giving her professional expertise in all aspects of HR at senior levels. Martha will be based out of the company’s office in London and will report to Neeraj Kanwar, Vice Chairman & MD.

January 2015 I 71

INTERVIEW

Rohit Saboo

President & CEO, National Engineering Industries Limited (NEI) Report: P. Tharyan, Photography: Mohd. Nasir National Engineering Industries Limited (NEI) is the flagship company of the CK Birla Group. NEI was founded in 1946 by renowned industrialist B M Birla, under the name of ‘National Bearing Company Limited’. The company commenced manufacturing in 1950 with an annual production of 30,000 bearings in 19 sizes. The name of the company was changed in 1958 to ‘National Engineering Industries Ltd.’ retaining its original trade mark NBC. Over the past 60 years, NBC, has grown to be the leading and fastest growing bearings brand in India and currently produces over 100 million bearings in more than a 1000 sizes every year. It has the capacity to develop bearings from 10 mm bore to 2000 mm outer diameter. The product range includes ball bearings, tapered roller bearings, double row angular contact (DRAC) bearings, cylindrical and spherical roller bearings.

The company has specially equipped facilities to manufacture axle boxes for railway applications, cartridge tapered roller bearings, large-diameter bearings for industrial applications and allied engineering products.

The company has production plants at Jaipur, Newai (both in Rajasthan), and Manesar (in Haryana). A fourth plant - a green field project at Savli in Gujarat – is now partly operational but once it is fully operational it will have an annual capacity of around 50million bearings per annum.

You make different kinds of bearings. Which are the industries you primarily cater to?

Approximately 65pc of our turnover comes from the auto sector, another 25pc comes from railways and the remaining 10pc comes from the industrial sector.

Out of the 65pc which comes from auto, 80pc goes to OEMs and 20pc goes to aftermarket producers. Earlier we were more into the aftermarket sector but we are moving more and more into the OEM sector.

Do you continue to have technical collaborations with some companies for a specific kind of bearings?

We have two separate collaborations. One is with NTN of Japan and one is with Brenco of USA. The Brenco collaboration is for a particular wheel bearing used in the railway back ends.

72 I January 2015

All other bearings are covered with NTN of Japan. These are technical collaborations only. The design of the bearings is theirs while all the other development and applications we have do on our own.

You started a plant in September in Savli, Gujarat. Can you tell me its capacity and the kind of bearings manufactured there?

The Gujarat plant will be completed in 2016. It will have a capacity of 50-60 million bearings.

This will add 50pc capacity to our existing capacity. We are currently doing 100 million bearings as of now. The plant was set up with an investment of Rs 500 crores and it will employ approximately 1000 people. It is a fully automated plant. We are trying to cater to the automotive players who are present in Gujarat. We are also trying to make use of the proximity

to the Mundra port and use that as an export hub. Around 40-50pc of our production from there will be exported.

Your company has plants in Rajasthan and Haryana.

Is Gujarat offering you the right industrial climate for Investment? What drew you to Gujarat?

It was not really the Gujarat angle more so it was due to our customers going to Gujarat. The other reason was that we have to be near to our component suppliers like forgings, rings and turning suppliers. One of the hubs is at Jaipur and the other hub is at Rajkot. Another reason was that the proximity to Mundra port for exports. These are the reasons we set up a plant in Gujarat. There was no government angle to it.

Your exports have steadily

increased over the last few years. It is now at 16pc of your revenues. What kind of bearings are being exported and to which market? Are the US and EU markets big for bearings?

This year approximately 20pc of our turnover is coming from exports and we hope to add another 5pc to this by next year. We export a lot of railway bearings, taper roller bearings and ball bearings. Our number one country to whom we export is the US, number 2 is Germany, number 3 is South Africa and number 4 is Brazil. We are present in 26 countries. Those would be fairly small as 74pc of our turnover comes from the four countries I mentioned earlier.

Many component players have been looking at acquisitions abroad. Why is your company not doing that?

INTERVIEW The bearing industry is a fairly small community, especially the high-quality bearing manufacturers. You will find a bearing manufacturer a-dimea-dozen in China but we don’t want to go down that path. The high-quality bearing manufacturers are a very small industry and fairly consolidated so it is difficult to find a good company to acquire.

What are the advantages that you offer, is it the cost or quality? What is your USP? We provide value to our customers. We are a flexible company and we listen to our customers. Our philosophy is that we follow the 4Ds which are Design, Development, Deliver and Dialogue. These are the 4Ds with which we engage with our customers. We are the most flexible manufacturers in the bearing space who listen to their customers and do as they want. We feel that we provide the maximum value to the customers and that is our main strength.

You have partnered with Conmet of USA to manufacture pre set hub assemblies. Is this a value addition? Are there more value additions you are looking at?

It is actually a hub on which the wheel goes. Earlier we were providing only the bearing. Now we are providing the entire hub on the pre set form. Which will give a much better life for the product and it is relatively maintenance free. It is a preset technology patented by Conmet. Therefore the warranty levels are much higher. It also gives a better life and again is relatively maintenance free. These are currently being manufactured in our Jaipur plant. Right now the Jaipur plant is supplying to Indian customers only. The same products are being manufactured

by Conmet in the US. Our present capacity meets demands of Indian customers. We are not thinking at exporting this product. If in the future demand increases we will expand our capacity. We are also looking at other value additions.

We are in talks with some tractor manufacturers where we are providing some value added products because the bearing goes in a sub assembly and this is used in the tractor. So we want to provide the sub assembly to the tractor manufacture so that it can be fit directly into the tractor and don’t have to bother about pressing the bearings and it will save their time. Similarly we are talking to other companies as well for such value added products.

Scope-wise we are trying to find a niche as to what value we can add

dedicated bearings suppliers?

There are three kinds of customers-- one is where we supply directly, the second is where we supply to the aggregate manufacturer where they make the aggregate and then supply it to the OEMs and the third where we supply to companies assembling cars here. As the volumes keep on growing they will have to look at other suppliers. All the companies not buying from us will have to look at other suppliers. We are in touch with them and some day or the other we will supply to them.

growing less than 20pc but the last four years have had a CAGR of 17.7pc. We feel that if we do the right things, approach the customers and get the export market we will be very close to achieving our target. At a situation where we touch the 1 billion dollar mark exports will contribute 25-35pc. By 2016 we will have the Gujarat plant fully operational. After that we will have to look to set up a new plant. We have already bought some land 35kms west of Jaipur which could possibly be our fifth plant. Right

to our customers. For example if the company has to press the bearing in the hub then we do that job for the customer to provide value additions to the customer and help them save on man power, cycle time, etc. I think we are looking at more products like this.

How do you perceive your company’s growth in the years to come? I have noticed that exports have grown considerably since 2009 by almost 7 times. Do you see revenues also growing at a steady pace and what about exports also?

We have envisaged that by 2020 we should be a 1 billion dollar company. We are working towards that and it means that we have to grow more than 20pc in our business. This year we are

now we are not thinking that we will make some huge plant. The Gujarat plant itself is quite big and will produce 50-60 million bearings annually. The new plant will definitely come before 2020.

After 2016 we have to definitely construct a new plant. At this point the capacities have not been determined but hopefully by mid 2015 we will be able to freeze that. We are progressing in a modular form. So we will make one plant, then fill it up, then make another and do the same.

I have seen that you have more or less covered most of the OEMs in India. A few car companies have not been covered. Is there a scope there or do they have their own

January 2015 I 73

INTERVIEW

Shivapada Ray

COO, DSK Motowheels Report: Joshua David Luther What has been your experience with Hyosung in India? But before you tell me that what prompted DSK to buy Hyosung which was previously with Garware Motors?

The person who handles this side of the business is Shirish Kulkarni. He is the son of the D S Kulkarni who is the Chairman of DSK group. Shirish is an avid automobile person, he owns supercars and superbikes.

So his interest was to enter in the manufacturing part of the two-wheeler business. He is quite far sighted, since Garware Motors is Pune based, DSK is also Pune based and the owners know each other, so he bought it over. DSK in some sense has been in the auto industry since 2000. In fact DSK Toyota is the first elaborated showroom of Toyota in India. So in that sense they have had a touch with the auto sector and today they are the biggest dealers of Toyota in India. This year DSK Toyota has won the Platinum Award for the best Toyota dealership in the world. So they knew how to sell automobiles, they knew how to run that business and Shirish is just 29 years old. His aim is to be one of the major players in the next ten years.

What is your strategy to introduce the Benelli brand

74 I January 2015

to India? What kind of a dealer network are you looking at and how many dealerships are you expecting to set up by the end of FY15?

Benelli is one of the oldest Italian brands established in 1911. It is one of those few brands which have seen both the world wars.

Like any other Italian company it has gone through its ups and downs but Benelli has too many firsts to its name like the first six cylinder engine. Benelli was going down till the Qianjiang Group of China took it over. They are just into the management part of the business and fund the operations. When Benelli was looking at expanding operation, they thought the DSK Group was a good partner so they landed up in India. Benelli is an exotic Italian brand and we are going to brand it that way. We are bringing in some exotic Italian bikes which have a racing heritage. In fact Benelli probably holds the most number of trophies in racing for any European two-wheeler brand.

They have the racing culture and pedigree which is now coming to India. The most important part of Benelli being an Italian brand is that it is the only European brand which has a range of bikes from 300cc to 1130cc.

They also have plans to launch two more 250cc

Established in 2012, DSK Motowheels, a part of the DSK Group (Diversified business group with a turnover of over Rs. 5000 crore) forayed into the growing automobile sector by entering the niche segment of powerful and aspirational bikes in association with Hyosung (Part of KR Motors – Korea.).

Shirish Kulkarni, Chairman DSK Hyosung, spearheads the brand‘s operations in India with a primary objective of providing a world class super biking experience.

With a CKD plant in Wai in Maharashtra, the brand enjoys the status of having the strongest most well entrenched superbike network in India. Being a leading super biking brand of global repute, Hyosung is known for its high-end biking experience, extended product line, technology and quality. Hyosung dominates the super biking market in the US, South America, UK, Australia and many Asian countries including India.

In October 2014 DSK Motowheels announced a partnership with well known Italian motorcycling legend – Benelli. Benelli today boasts an impressive range of capable, globally respected Superbikes that marry heritage, innovation, styling and technological prowess. Benelli’s distinctly stylish motorcycles are known for their Italian flamboyance and the ability to provide riders from all walks of life a pure, high performance experience. bikes being next year. There is not a single European manufacturer besides KTM which is not into the CKD part of the business and which can offer you something below 675cc while Benelli will offer three to four products in this category in the next two years.

You also have the 1130cc and the 899cc which are cult bikes. There are models which also go up to 1600cc. So you have Benelli which will sell from 250cc to 1600cc and that is the kind of range which is unimaginable by any manufacturer in the next two years. Then you have Hyosung on one side and Benelli on one side. Though the engine capacity varies the products are chalk and cheese.

Hyosung specialises in V-Twins while Benelli specialises in In-Line engines, Benelli is an Italian brand and Hyosung is a South Korean Brand, we have fully fared bikes, cruisers, sports bikes and naked street bikes. We are increasing the scope of super bikes in India.

When any one wants to buy a super bike whether it is a 250cc bike or an 1100cc bike they would

have to come to a DSK showroom to look at one. We are going to launch 8 showrooms in the third week of January 2015 in Delhi, Bombay, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Kolkata. We also have plans to open 20-25 showrooms by June-July 2015.

What USPs do Hyosung and Benelli have over its competitors?

Benelli has a lot of firsts to its name. It produced the first in-line four which is not there in the 600cc category, you have the first adventurer in the 600cc, the first in-line two in the 300cc and they made an anniversary edition 1130cc in gold. Benelli will introduce the 2015 range which has new decals and new colours.

They would be starting that with India. The bikes which you see today on the net and the ones with us today are not the colours which will be coming to India. The most important part is the price for the Indian market. It is going to be very competitive. We are

INTERVIEW going to make European bikes very affordable in India. Hyosung has also been doing well. As of today we have sold more than 2200 units and we have another four months to go. We are the second best brand in terms of sales and as of today we boast of the largest dealer network. We just opened our 39th showroom day recently and we will be open two more showrooms. Hyosung is going from strength to strength. A lot of people have been asking me what will happen to Hyosung once we start the operations of Benelli in India. They are going to operate separately is the answer. They both are in the race and everything in the front end, the sales team, and the dealerships every aspect will be different except the DSK logo and the DSK service standard however the backend will be the same. We have about 4 years of experience and we have committed some mistakes but we have learnt from them as well. Now we know what goes into making a perfect superbike.

Secondly with shared backend operations our overheads are less.

So we can give a better price to the customers.

What is the current marketing and advertising campaign which you are running to tap into tier 1 and tier 2 cities?

We have witnessed that people get very excited when they see a superbike. We want to take our bikes and show it to as many people as possible. So we took part in the autoexpo and we also display it where the high end customers are. Photographs don’t do justice to these bikes.

Superbikes are a niche category and it is not present in all segments so you cannot go the TV way as it is a wasteful expenditure of money. So we go through auto magazines and auto portals where our target customers are. We are very serious about marketing on social networking sites as that is where customers blog and talk about these bikes.

In the next four months we will

motorcycles are sold. Another concern is that our vendor base has not evolved to make parts for this segment of motorcycles but these companies are investing in R&D and bringing global standards to India.

Who do you see as competitors?

Most of the Indians are not educated about superbikes. They look at the engine capacity and price of a bike. So if it is a 300cc bike they will compare it with a Kawasaki Ninja or a Hyosung.

These bikes are all quite different to each other. Since we are a European brand to start with we will compete with Triumph. Since the configurations of the bikes are more or less similar to each other and they produce more or less the same power, we will compete with Triumph.

be participating in 16-20 displays in Delhi. South Delhi has some high-end customers so we will be displaying our bikes for 15-20 days in some south Delhi malls.

Unless you don’t see the 600i you don’t realise how big it is.

It is bigger than a Z800. People are comparing Kawasaki’s er600 to the 600i. We want to take these bikes to people and show it to them from close quarters.

When you touch it, feel it, sit on it and ride it only then will you understand what it is like. We also have fraternities and clubs for Hyosung and we will have the same with Benelli. We have plans for 2 rides every month which will be done at a dealer level and we will have one grand ride once in every two or three months done at the company level.

Is there a facility which is coming up in Karad in Maharashtra? What is the progress on that facility and will we be seeing a drop in prices of your products once this facility comes up?

A huge part of our price today is custom duties. So when we begin to manufacture locally we will get a good cost and we will not pay extra import duties. At this time we are looking at a 2 year horizon before we start manufacturing locally. However, Benelli is very clear, they are coming for a bigger chunk of the Indian market and a few thousand does not excite them. Vendor partnerships have also started in a small way and as we go forward they will continue to grow. Today in Hyosung approximately 15-17pc of the parts are locally procured in India like tyres, wiring harnesses, switch gear, etc. The reason why we do this is the equipment produced here is better suited for Indian conditions. Like MRF tyres are better suited for Indian roads rather than Pirelli tyres which are on the softer side. So there are a few parts which are locally produced and procured. Some concerns for us are the vendor chains who are more interested in the 150cc-200cc segment as that is the segment where 13 million

What are your plans to extend the current product portfolio?

Which segment do you see scope of growth in?

India being India we are obviously looking at the commuter segment between the 200cc-500cc. So with Benelli we plan to introduce at least 2-3 models in the next year apart from the present plan of 5 models. Benelli has a programme which is developing 4 new models in the 200cc-500cc category. They understand the importance of Asian markets.

The 899cc, 1130cc, 1300cc and 1600cc will always be eye candy but not many Indians can buy it. Your bread and butter come from the low end products. This is where you need to introduce more products and Benelli is the only European brand to bring in this range. In the case of Hyosung we are a little delayed, we should have launched the GT250 earlier but that will come in March 2015.

The faired version of the GT250 will come after two-three months of launching the GT250. So we have two 250cc bikes and a new 300cc cruiser which will come from Hyosung next year. Hyosung will have 3-5 models launched next year.

January 2015 I 75

TECHNOLOGY

BorgWarner technology for Lamborghini Huracán

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orgWarner recently announced the supply of its state-of-the-art (Gen-V) 5th generation, electrohydraulic actuated allwheel drive (AWD) coupling for the new Lamborghini Huracán LP610-4, The Huracan is the successor of the famous Lamborghini Gallardo. BorgWarner’s AWD coupling is an electronically controlled system. The Huracan produces 610hp @ 8,250rpm and churns out a whooping 560Nm of torque @ 6,500 rpm. The intelligent 5th generation coupling will automatically divide power between front and rear axles. It uses a new lightweight-compact

design to reduce vehicle complexity and improves drivetrain integration.

President and General Manager, BorgWarner TorqTransfer systems, Dr. Stefan Demmerle said that they were proud to provide increased traction, stability and handling for Lamborghini’s new Huracan using their latest AWD technology. He further added that this system had been designed for improved reliability and had the technology to with stands the harsh vibrations and thermal environment associated with high performance vehicles.

In order to meet Lamborghini’s demand for improved traction and

handling, BorgWarner has adapted the Gen-V integrated electronic control module to suit the Huracan’s particular driving characteristics. The AWD coupling system put together by BorgWarner has an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch which automatically distributes power between the front and rear axles.

The Huracan will be

able to provide immediate response and high torque accuracy based on data which is provided by the on-board electronics and on the driver’s command. This is possible using the integrated electronic control module.

BorgWarner’s Gen-V AWD coupling can also work independently of the differential speed between the front and

rear axles. The Gen-V can also provide full locking torque at any given time and speed depending on road conditions and vehicle load distribution. The Gen-V AWD coupling has a design which simplifies its integration into the powertrain and reducing the total weight compared with the previous version which was being used. It also provides improved traction, handling and stability. An added advantage of the Gen-V is that it helps improve fuel economy by delivering power only when the driver commands it. The Gen-V AWD coupling has been optimised for nearly all driving situations.

Mazda develops bio-based engineering plastic

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azda Motor Corporation of Japan has announced that, in conjunction with Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, it has developed a new bio-based engineering plastic that can be used for exterior design parts for automobiles. According to a press release, the new plastic will help Mazda to reduce its impact on the environment in a number of important ways. As the plastic is made from plant-derived materials, its adoption will help to curb the use of petroleum resources and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Furthermore, the material can be dyed and emissions of volatile organic compounds associated with the painting process reduced. Dyed parts

76 I January 2015

made from the bio-based engineering plastic feature a finish of higher-quality than can be achieved with traditional painted plastic.

The deep hue and smooth, mirror-like finish of the surface make the newlydeveloped plastic suitable for external vehicle parts with a high design factor.

Mazda will display prototype “Mazda Biotechmaterial” parts made from the bio-based engineering plastic at

Eco-Products 2014. One of Japan’s largest exhibitions of environmental technologies and environmentally-friendly products and services, Eco Products 2014 opens from December 11 to December 13, 2014 at Tokyo Big Sight.

Mazda has been proactively developing technologies in the biomass field for a number of years. To date, under the “Mazda Biotechmaterial”

name, the company has succeeded in developing the automotive industry’s first high-strength heat-resistant plant-derived bioplastic for auto interior parts, and the world’s first biofabric for vehicle seat upholstery made entirely from plant-derived fibre. However, to be suitable for exterior parts, plastics are required to possess not only a high quality finish, but also excellent weather, scratch and impact resistance in order to stand up to harsh environmental factors to which they are exposed.

Achieving this combination of characteristics with bioplastics has posed a technical challenge.

Now, Mazda has succeeded in making a material suitable for both interior and exterior parts.

This has been achieved by optimizing the composition of a newly developed, highly moldable and durable bioplastic base material with additives and colouring agents (patent pending), and optimizing molding specifications.

This will enable the company to produce parts that are as durable as conventional painted ABS plastic parts yet feature a higher quality finish.

This bio-based engineering plastic will be used for the first time for interior parts for the all-new Mazda MX-5 which will be launched globally in 2015.

Moving forward, it will be used for exterior parts in other production models.

TECHNOLOGY

Continental working on intelligent infrared technology in cars

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nternational automotive supplier Continental is working on intelligent infrared technology for future control designs in affordable cars, according to a press release issued by the company. Used in ever-more electronic entertainment devices, multi-touch controls will also be enhancing modern display and control systems in the especially price-sensitive car segment. With “infrared curtains,” Continental developers are opting for an economical alternative to touch sensitive, so called capacitive displays.

“Back in 2011, we showed that an infrared curtain can turn any surface in the car interior into a user interface,” says Fook Wai Lee, display

developer at Continental in Singapore. “We have now developed this technology to the point where it also recognises typical multitouch gestures as input, like swiping, zooming, and pinching,” Lee added.

The technology even extends the recognition possibilities: capacitive touch screens, as known from modern smartphones, cannot be used with standard gloves.

Especially designed types of gloves are necessary for the usage of standard touch screens with gloves. “With our infrared technology, there is no need for special gloves – our infrared curtain is able to detect touch gestures of gloved fingers,” Continental’s infrared curtain is built from an

array of infrared light sources on the sides of the display. While a single row of LEDs was sufficient for one-finger operation, multi-touch gestures require two rows of infrared lights connected together.

If a multi-touch gesture is performed in front of the display, the electronics of the human machine interface (HMI) recognise the finger’s positions from the blocked light.

In addition to having a cheaper production format compared to capacitive displays that recognize gestures electronically, infrared curtains can also be operated with gloves on. “The challenge is in the integration. Our goal is an infrared light source that is sticking out only minimally over the display surface

yet still recognizes all desired multi-touch gestures,” explains Fook Wai Lee. With this technology, the HMI electronics recognise motions like swiping, zooming and pinching.

This makes it easy to move around selection menus or change the chosen section on a map. The technology is ready for series production in 2017.

Continental has five divisions, Chassis & Safety, Interior, Powertrain, Tires, and ContiTech.

In the Interior division, everything revolves around information management

and intelligent transport systems. The wide range of products for various vehicle categories includes instruments, multifunction displays and head-up displays, control devices, vehicle access and tire information systems, radios, infotainment and operating systems, climate control units, telematics solutions and services, software and cockpits--All this for a variety of vehicles.

January 2015 I 77

TECHNOLOGY

3D sound gets into production in Audi cars

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e in India are far too familiar with 3D cinema.

Movies like the Avatar, Transformers (4th edition), Iron Man 3, The Avengers, etc regaled large audience in India and across the world with their 3D effects.

Now sitting in your car you can get to hear 3D music, thanks to the new technology brought in by Audi in its cars.

Yes, 3D sound will shortly be going into production use. This enables the listener to experience spatial height.

The addition of the third dimension makes the acoustic impression even clearer and more vivid.

This rich audio experience redefines the benchmark for in-car listening pleasure, says a press release from Audi.

This latest technology, 3D sound, will be making its debut in the Audi Q7 in 2015. It is available

as a component of the Advanced Sound System from Bang & Olufsen and also of Bose Surround Sound. At its core is a complex algorithm that calculates the control signals for each speaker swiftly and precisely.

Audi developed it for the Bang & Olufsen system in partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits in Erlangen.

In the first stage of the process, the software breaks the data for the music source down into its spatial components.

It does this by using the spatial information contained in the data. For example, when an artist is singing from a stage, the floor, ceiling and walls of the concert hall reflect the sound with different time lapses. It bounces off the floor in just a few milliseconds, while it is only reflected by a wall

40 meters (131.2 ft) away after more than 200 milliseconds. Using these different sonic reflections, the algorithm is able to calculate a mathematical model of any recording room. It is irrelevant whether the audio signal is recorded in mono, stereo or 5.1 Surround Sound.

The data format of the music and its source – such as online streaming, VHF radio or CD – is equally irrelevant.

The second stage of the process involves reassembling the sound portions so that the sound pattern inside the car corresponds to the original recording room.

This calls for intensive calculations. In the Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System, the digital signal processor energizes 11 channels with a total of 23 speakers in such a way that the sound is equally precise and harmonious in

every seat. Four speakers installed in the A-posts and each supplied along their own channels broadcast the portions that generate the spatial height. Newly developed speakers such as a subwoofer enlarged from 200 millimeters (7.9 in) to 250 millimeters (9.8 in) and a new amplifier now with an output of 1,920 watts guarantee listening enjoyment of the very highest calibre. The Bose Surround Sound system, which generates the surround sound with 20 speakers, also features four speakers located higher up to generate the

third dimension.

The year 2005 saw the advent of high-end sound in the Audi A8 with the Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System. The Danish hi-fi specialist’s premium sound reached the compact category in 2012, when it first featured in the third-generation Audi A3. The new Audi TT took a major step towards 3D sound in 2014 with the adoption of Symphoria technology, software again developed in partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute for the processing and reproduction of audio signals.

JLR conducting research on transparent car pillars

O

n December 17, 2014 Jaguar Land Rover launched an R&D project to develop a technology which enables drivers to have a 3600 view of their vehicles. In current vehicles the A, B and C pillars that support the roof interrupt the driver’s view of surroundings. These vehicles will use a screen which will be embedded in the surface of the pillars inside the cars. These screens will take a live video feed from cameras covering the angles outside the car thus removing blind spots. For drivers

78 I January 2015

this means pedestrians, cyclists or other vehicles in the car’s surroundings will be visible. The combination of transparent pillars with an efficient HeadsUp display will highlight the movement of other commuters using a halo moving across the car’s

virtual windscreen.

When a driver will indicate a change in direction or when they move their head back to look before overtaking another vehicle or when the vehicle approaches a cross section, the system will immediately make the left

or right-hand side pillars transparent. The Director of Research and Technology, Jaguar Land Rover, Dr Wolfgang Epple stated that their ultimate aim was to minimise the hazards which caused accidents and try to enhance the drive experience of their customers. He further added that the team at Jaguar Land Rover was developing this technology to increase road visibility for the driver and to give drivers the right information at the right time. The whole idea is centered on providing

drivers with important information regarding their surroundings without distracting them.

To achieve the full potential of the 360 Virtual Urban Windscreen it would have to be connected to a Cloud based system. This vehicle would have the capability to connect with roadside infrastructure and businesses in the urban landscape. This Virtual Urban Windscreen will then be able to present the driver with information ranging from petrol station prices to the availability of parking spaces.

TECHNOLOGY

Rinspeed to unveil “Budii’ concept vehicle at 2015 Geneva motor show

R

inspeed, the Swiss automotive powerhouse of ideas, will be unveiling an electrically powered eye-catcher at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show called the “Budii” concept car.

The electrically powered eye-catcher is intended to become the driver’s “best buddy,” and its autopilot the perfect chauffeur that quickly adapts to the habits and preferences of its “boss.”

The Geneva Motor Show will take place from March 5 through 15, 2015.

The Rinspeed Budii is already the 21st proprietary concept vehicle of the Swiss “company.

Budii will feature a host of innovations, which following a long-standing Rinspeed tradition will revolve around humans and their needs. In addition, it will take data from its environment

and the “experiences” of other vehicles along its route into account. Swiss automotive visionary Frank M. Rinderknecht who is the Founder and CEO of Rinspeed Inc says that the breakneck speed of technical developments “forces us to redefine our relationship with the automobile”. “Until now, what we have primarily associated with auto mobility was freedom and individuality.

And - consciously or unconsciously - we are prepared to pay a high price in many regards for these privileges. We need only look at the accident statistics,” he says.Autonomous driving undoubtedly offers the opportunity to drastically diminish some of the drawbacks of private transport. For example, the number of traffic accidents could drop

worldwide. But although it will be less prone to err than humans, even the best technology will not be perfect. “That is something we will have to accept,” believes Rinderknecht, adding that “We should

not develop a blind, but rather a healthy faith in the new capabilities of the hardware and soft-ware.”

Because in his estimation, cars will do just what we do: “They will keep learning each day, and as a result will get better and better at mastering the complex challenges of modernday private transport.”

The Budii car will feature a host of innovations which will revolve around humans and their needs. In addition, it will take data from its environment and the “experiences” of other vehicles along

its route into account.

The car for the city and surrounding countryside will handle the often inconvenient daily routine trips in-dependently, while the “pilot” will still be able to take the wheel as usual on fun weekend trips.

The ingenious twist: the steering wheel is supported by a state-of-the-art sensitive robot arm, which enables both the driver and the front passenger to steer. And if nobody feels like steering, it is simply parked in centre position.

Rinderknecht is confident that the transition from traditional to autonomous driving will take place in stages.

Consequently, man and machine will still have a few years left to get used to this new form of mobility and the different interplay between people and technology it will entail, time they both will need.

January 2015 I 79

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW PASSENGER VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA

(Total Domestic Sales + Exports in November 2014 = 2,05,316 Units)

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (44.38%) Hyundai Motor India Pvt. Ltd. (26.41%) Honda Cars India Ltd. (6.06%) Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd. (5.75%) Tata Motors Ltd. (5.15%) Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd. (4.66%) Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. (3.53%) Ford India Pvt. Ltd. (1.77%) General Motors India Pvt.Ltd. (1.20%) OTHERS (1.09%) Skoda Auto India Pvt. Ltd. (0.57%) Renault India Pvt. Ltd. (0.26%) Fiat India Automobiles Pvt. Ltd. (0.19%); Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (0.07%);

UTILITY VEHICLES MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA

(Total Domestic Sales + Exports in November 2014 = 63,506 Units) Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (29.95%) Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (23.45%) Ford India Pvt Ltd. (14.35%) Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. (10.86%) Honda Cars India Ltd. (5.84%) Tata Motors Ltd. (5.73%) Renault India Pvt. Ltd (4.56%) General Motors India Pvt. Ltd (2.65%) OTHERS (1.44%) Fiat India Automobiles (0.58%) Hindustan Motors Finance Corp (0.35%) Force Motors Ltd (0.30%) Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (0.10%) Isuzu Motors (0.05%) Ashok Leyland (0.04%) Skoda Auto India Pvt. Ltd (0.02%) Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd. (1.17%)

80 I January 2015

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW TWO WHEELER MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA

(Total Domestic Sales + Exports - November 2014 = 15,29,941 Units)

Hero MotoCorp Ltd. (35.78%)

Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd. (2.18%)

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (Pvt.) Ltd. (24.30%)

Royal Enfield (1.80%)

Bajaj Auto Ltd. (17.12%)

OTHERS (1.15%) Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd. (0.95%) Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (0.15%) H-D Motor Company India Pvt. Ltd. (0.03%) Triumph Motorcycles (India) Pvt. Ltd. (0.01%) Kawasaki India (0.01%)

TVS Motor Company Ltd. (13.79%) India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd. (3.88%)

THREE WHEELERS IN INDIA

(Total Domestic Sales + Exports - November 2014 = 84,074 Units) Bajaj Auto Ltd. (56.27%)

Atul Auto Ltd. (4.53%)

Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (20.92%)

Scooters India Ltd. (1.23%)

TVS Motor Company Ltd. (10.78%)

Force Motors Ltd. (0.07%)

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (6.20%)

January 2015 I 81

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA (Total Domestic Sales + Exports - November 2014 = 36,000 Units)

Tata Motors Ltd. (46.57%)

VECVs - Eicher (2.17%)

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (38.19%)

Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (1.39%)

Ashok Leyland Ltd. (6.95%)

SML Isuzu Ltd. (0.73%)

Force Motors Ltd. (3.83%)

Isuzu Motors (0.17%)

MEDIUM & HEAVY COMMERCIAL VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA (Total Domestic Sales + Exports - November 2014 = 18,865 Units)

Tata Motors Ltd. (56.98%)

SML Isuzu Ltd. (1.43%)

Ashok Leyland Ltd. (27.58%)

Asia Motor Works Ltd. (1.28%)

VECVs - Eicher (10.59%)

VECVs - Volvo (0.63%)

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (1.51%)

82 I January 2015

RNI No DEL ENG/2010/34562