VOL-5 • ISSUE-12 • SEPTEMBER 2015
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INDIA FIRST DRIVE
MERCEDES AMG G63 ‘CRAZY COLOUR’ EDITION
CRAZY ‘G’ FIRST DRIVE
FIRST RIDE
YAMAHA YZF R3
NEW LAUNCH
HONDA CBR 650F
YOLO Chronicles FORCE GURKHA RFC INDIA 2015
FIAT 595 ABARTH COMPETIZIONE
B2B SECTION Pages 53 - 74
FORGING A MAKE IN INDIA GLOBAL PLAN
ON A HI-TECH JOURNEY
AMIT KALYANI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BHARAT FORGE LTD.
PRABHAKAR KADAPA, CEO, AVTEC LTD.
INTERVIEW WITH
DR. RAVI DAMODARAN, PRESIDENT TECHNICAL, STRATEGY & HR, VARROC ENGINEERING LTD.
I
P. THARYAN t’s been one emotional and rewarding journey for the team at Motown India. With the September 2015 issue of the magazine, we now complete full five years of uninterrupted existence in the publishing industry. It was with the October 2010 issue that Motown India began its journey in the world of automotive
publishing. If there is one magazine that stood its ground without the backing of a big business house or a foreign collaboration, it was Motown India. Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister does not have to look far to see a great example of a Make in India product in the auto publishing industry! Like I have always maintained, Motown India is the only magazine in the country that has a fair mix of both the B2C and B2B worlds. On the one hand while we drove the powerful and awesome Mercedes AMG G63, on the other, we have some very special reports on companies like Bharat Forge, Avtec Ltd. and Varroc Engineering. Also, at an event organised in New Delhi we got to interview the top management of Scania Commercial Vehicles India and Volvo Buses India. In the August 2015 issue, Motown India had carried the RFC India 2015 news. In this issue we are carrying a report on the interesting moments experienced by our motorsport correspondent during the week-long event in Goa. We also have some very interesting race track drive and ride experiences on the Fiat 595 Competizione and the Yamaha YZF R3 respectively. I am sure our readers will love going through the pages of this issue of our magazine. Thank you for being with us during our fiveyear journey.
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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 Jisha P - Head-Operations Joshua David Luther - Manager Business Strategy (advertising.motown@gmail.com / +91-9958125645, 9811097399) ------------------------------------------Sheeja Sasindran - Regional Head Ad Sales (Chennai Office - 98849 50491) ------------------------------------------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 74 pages including both covers. ------------------------------------------Editorial Advisors Salil Sharma, Alexander .T & Annie Jacob
www.motownindia.com September 2015 I 5
Contents
FIRST DRIVE: ABARTH 595 COMPETIZIONE - LITTLE MASTER
8
HONDA LAUNCHES CBR 650F FOR 7.3 LAKH
12
FORD FIGO ASPIRE FOR 4.89 LAKH
16
LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR SV ROADSTER GLOBAL DEBUT IN US
26
MERCEDES AMG G63 CRAZY COLOUR EDITION ROAD TEST REVIEW
30
YAMAHA YZF R63 ROAD TEST REVIEW
40
YOLO CHRONICLES: FORCE GURKHA RFC INDIA 2015
22
66
RIGHT HAND DRIVE FORD MUSTANGS FOR UK; INDIA A DEFINITE MARKET
68
INTERVIEW WITH AKASH PASSEY & SURESH CHETTIAR, VOLVO BUSES
70
INTERVIEW WITH ANDERS GRUNDSTROMER, SCANIA CV INDIA
SPECIAL REPORTS
BHARAT FORGE LIMITED: FORGING A MAKE IN INDIA GLOBAL PLAN
AVTEC LIMITED: ON A HI-TECH JOURNEY
6 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
VARROC ENGINEERING PVT. LTD: INTERVIEW WITH DR. RAVI DAMODARAN
INDIA NEWS HONDA launches CBR 650F for 7.3 lakh Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India has launched the CBR 650F superbike in India. The 650F is available as of now at select Honda dealerships at a price of Rs. 7.3 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi. Honda will sell the 650F at select Wing World dealerships across 12 cities in India. With a 16 valve 4-cylinder 650cc engine that screams out 85.8bhp and 62.9Nm of torque with ABS to stop you from crashing more easily with all that power. The motorcycle will be produced in India in CKD format with 5pc localisation. Honda launched the CBR 650F at the Honda Revfest in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi and subsequently in 7 more cities (Bangalore, Mumbai, Indore, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad) at the same time. At the Revfest, Akshay Kumar and Taapsee Pannu, Brand Ambassadors of HMSI were also present at the event. Honda also showcased the CB Hornet 160R (replacement for CB Trigger)
(L-R) Akshay Kumar, Y.S Guleria, Keita Muramatsu, Noriaski Abe and Taapsee Pannu the CBR 250R and the CBR 150R which are the bikes Honda will launch this year in India in the fourth coming months. In association with their MotoGP heritage, Honda also has their RC213V MotoGP bike on display and a fashion show of the Italian casual clothing brand GAS to showcase their limited edition Honda motor-biking clothing and
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accessories line. Keita Muramatsu- President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd, said, “Today, we showcase not only one but a total of 5 new motorcycles. The Revfest is much more than a celebration. It marks the beginning of fun motorcycling in India. The 5 new models introduced today epitomize Honda’s motorsport
DNA and its challenging spirit. The team at Honda has worked very hard to realise a dream of making a 16 Valve, In-line-Four cylinder motorcycle right here in India. The Made in India CBR 650F opens a window of opportunity for us. We are ready for the next level & this is one moment we all are proud of.” Y. S. Guleria, Senior Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd, said, “We at Honda believe that THIS IS IT! It’s time to come out of the base camp, time to connect with vibrant youth of India and rev-up the motorcycle market in India. Our customers will discover the ‘Joy of Riding with 5 new motorcycles across 5 segments – the CBR 650F, CB Hornet, LIVO as well as the new CBR 250R and 150R. You also witnessed the first-look of yet-another motorcycle, our 15th product of the year 2015; all of them are going to drive the next growth-curve for Honda in India.”
INDIA NEWS YAMAHA launches YZF-R3 for 3.25 lakh Yamaha has launched the YZF-R3 superbike in India for an exshowroom Delhi price of Rs. 3,25,000/- which will be sold from select Yamaha showrooms in Racing Blue and Black Lightning colours. With a 321cc liquid cooled, 4 stroke, 2 cylinder, 4 valve per cylinder, fuel injected engine that sends 41.4bhp to the rear wheel with 29.6Nm of torque. The engine is mated to 6-speed constant mesh transmission with a wet multiple clutch. Yamaha has fitted with a telescopic front and a swingarm rear suspension on the R3 superbike with hydraulic single disc brakes at the front and rear. The YZF R3 will be brought in for sale in CKD format. Roy Kurian, Vice President- Sales & Marketing, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd shared, “The YZF-R3 is a model that takes the R-Series technology and know-how Yamaha has accumulated since the original YZF-R1 and brings the world of the “YZF” lineup to the 320cc displacement class. It inherits the high level of riding performance and styling DNA worthy of an R-Series model while also being easy to handle in daily use. The YZF-R3 is expected to attract younger racing enthusiasts looking for their first racing bike. Currently the Supersports segment (250cc to 600cc) is doing around 1000 bikes a month and our plan is to attain a 20pc market share in the segment.”
FCA introduces new Fiat Abarth 595 Competizione for 29.85 lakh Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) India has unveiled the iconic Italian brand, Fiat Abarth 595 Competizione, at the Buddh International Circuit in New Delhi. The price of the Fiat Abarth 595 Competizione has been fixed at Rs 29.85 lakh (ex showroom Delhi). The car will brought into India through the CBU route. The iconic Abarth 595 Competizione is a sports performance coupe with a powerful 1.4 litre T-Jet engine
producing approximately 158bhp and generating 230Nm of torque@ 2750-3000 rpm. FCA India also showcased the all new Punto Abarth which has a 1.4 litre four-cylinder turbocharged T-Jet engine, making it the hottest hatch in the country. The 3-door hatchback 595 Competizione can do a 0-100 kmph in just 7.6 seconds which makes it furiously fast and fun to drive.
10 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
The top speed is estimated to be around 210 kmph. Low ground clearance provides good traction and control for manoeuvring at high speeds with confident driving. The 595 Competizione features large 17 inch alloy wheels to ensure it remains gripped to the road and cut corners with ease. The exterior designing of the Abarth 595 Competizione is inspired from the Fiat 500 Cinquecento. The exterior body is made up of steel and it is a forward wheel drive car. The Abarth 595 Competizione comes with the well acclaimed
perforated and ventilated brake discs which considerably improves the car’s reactivity while stopping. On the features list, the Abarth 595 Competizione is provided with a world class infotainment system, Xenon headlamps, rear parking sensors and Monza exhaust systems taking the overall excitement to another level altogether. The steering wheel is small, leather wrapped with multifunction buttons cladded on y. The bright round dials behind the steering favours sportiness and aggressiveness without compromise. The 595 launched in India comprises AMT transmission with paddle shifts mounted on the steering wheel. It features well contoured hand stitched leather seats, promising comfort and agility at high speeds. Equipped with two driving modes, normal and sport, the car delivers an enhanced driving experience.
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INDIA NEWS FORD FIGO ASPIRE for 4.89 lakh
Ford India has launched its new compact sedan - Figo Aspire for a starting price of Rs. 4,89,990. The Figo Aspire will compete with the likes of the mighty Maruti Suzuki Dzire and the Honda Amaze. The Figo Aspire is available with three engine options – a 1.2L Ti-VCT Petrol, a 1.5L TDCi Diesel and a 1.5L Ti-VCT Petrol. The 1.5L petrol motor will be available only with an automatic gear box. On the safety front the Figo Aspire also comes equipped with Emergency Assistance which uses SYNC and a Bluetooth-paired phone to automatically call emergency services in the event of an accident. Another exciting feature on the Figo Aspire is ‘My Ford Dock’ which offers drivers a unique solution for storing, mounting and charging mobile phones, MP3 players and satellite navigation systems. For greater connectivity Ford is also offering the Figo Aspire with AppLink which enables users to wirelessly connect to the infotainment system of the car. The interior of the car features leather seats with adjustable headrests, ample of legroom, 20 storage spaces, automatic climate control system
and steering mounted controls. The 1.2-liter Ti-VCT petrol engine produces 86.8bhp and returns 18.2km to a litre. The 1.5-litre TDCi diesel mill produces 98.6bhp and has a fuel economy of 25.8kmpl. The 1.2L petrol and the 1.5L diesel are available with a 5-speed manual gearbox. Ford is also offering the Figo Aspire with a 1.5L petrol motor which is available with a 6-speed automatic box. The 1.5L petrol produces 110.5bhp and returns 17.2kms to a litre. The Figo Aspire is available in 7 colours - Ruby Red, Sparkling Gold, Oxford White, Tuxedo Black, Deep Impact Blue, Ingot Silver and Smoke Grey. Nigel Harris, President and Managing Director, Ford India, said “the Figo Aspire breaks all stereotypes and proves that a compact sedan can also have the best of everything – be it stunning design, smart technology, advanced safety and impressive fuel efficiency.” The Figo Aspire will be built in Sanand, Gujarat at Ford’s newest manufacturing facility. The compact sedan also features driver and passenger airbags as standard which is an industry first. The car will also be available with six airbags – including side and curtain airbags.
MERCEDES S63 AMG sedan for 2.53 crore Mercedes-AMG has launched the S63 Sedan following the S63 AMG Coupe, the G63 AMG and the S600 Coupe in India this month. Mercedes has priced the AMG version of the 4 door sedan at Rs. 2.53 crore (ex-showroom Bangalore). At heart of the S63 AMG will be a 5.5 litre, V8 biturbo from AMG that produces 585hp and 900Nm of torque. The result of that is a 4 door limousine that slingshots from a 0-100kmph in 4.4 seconds mated to an AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed sports transmission. With a lightweight construction and performance set as priority, maybe we should talk about fuel economy some other time. Eberhard Kern, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India commented, “The new AMG V8 flagship model in the S-Class is a unique package that has no match in the competitive segment. Path breaking technology like MAGIC BODY CONTROL and a gamut of highend features makes the Mercedes-AMG S 63 one of the most desirable luxury sedans in our range.” To keep the car planted on to the ground while moving, Mercedes has taken a leaf out of the Harry Potter novels with what they call “Magic
12 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
Body Control” feature fitted at the sports suspension from AMG. For that measly price tag, you also get Heads up display, Night View Assist Plus, Seat Comfort Package, COMAND Online, AMG sports exhaust system and many more things. To dampen the screams of the horrified passengers, a 1540 watt Burmester high-end 3D surround sound system is offered as an option.
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INDIA NEWS SUZUKI S-CROSS launched for 8.34 lakh Maruti Suzuki has launched the Suzuki S-Cross in India for a starting price of Rs 8.34 lakh. The S-Cross will be available with only 2 diesel engines-- a 1.6 litre and a 1.3 litre. The S- Cross is a crossover from the Maruti Suzuki stable and will be sold exclusively through NEXA outlets across the country. The DDiS 320 1.6 litre 4 cylinder diesel engine produces 118bhp and 320Nm of torque with an average fuel consumption claimed by Maruti of 22.7kmpl. The 1.6 diesel will be available with a 6 speed manual where as the DDiS 200 1.3 litre 4 cylinder diesel powered motor produces 88bhp and 200Nm of torque mated to a 5 speed manual gearbox. The crossover comes with special features like cruise control, rain sensing auto wipers, all wheel disc brakes, electronic IRVM, self adjusting clutch and fully synchronised reverse gear mechanism and high intensity discharge projector headlamps with auto function, among others. With an 18cm touch panel display for the infotainment system, Bluetooth, smart phone connectivity, navigation system are also
provided in the interior. The interior also hosts many more features like premium meter cluster- high definition TFT screen, rear parking sensor display, adjustable front central arm, automatic climate control, tilt and telescopic leather steering wheel, etc. The vehicle boasts of a boot space of 353 litres which can be increased to 810 litres when the rear seats are folded. It has a 60:40 rear seat split with two step recline. ENGINE
1.3L Diesel
1.6L Diesel
VARIANT
PRICE (EX-SHOWROOM DELHI)
Sigma
`8,34,000
Delta
`9,15,000
Zeta
`9,99,000
Alpha
`10,75,000
Delta
`11,99,000
Zeta
`12,99,000
Alpha
`13,74,000
Isuzu MU-7 gets a DC Design magic ‘DC Design’, a leading automobile design company, has introduced a new exclusive interior design concept for the Isuzu MU-7 Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV). The customised interiors by DC Design offers crafted exclusive features that are not part of standard features of the MU-7, currently. The customisation focusses on a host of features on the interiors covering the dashboard, centre console and seats to give its occupants a feel of sophistication that would make them exclusive. DC Design would offer these packages to MU-7 owners and the modifications would be done at ‘DC Designs’ facilities at Mumbai, Delhi and Pune. This was stated in a press release by Isuzu. DC Design was founded in 1993 with the dual aim of redesigning and modifying mass market cars to create one-of-a-kind automotive beauties for automotive connoisseurs as well as offering design and prototyping services to the OEM automotive sector. Founded by Dilip Chhabria, DC Design offers the discerning aficionado a sense of exclusivity with designs that create a surreal experience. The MU-7 was recently launched with an Automatic variant besides the existing manual variant. Dilip Chhabria, DC Design, noted, “The new design dimension added by DC Design for the MU-7 is exciting and we are sure that MU-7 enthusiasts will now have the choice to experience a new sense of exclusivity.” Interested customers who prefer to appoint their MU-7 with DC Design features will have to first purchase the MU-7 from IMI dealers and then approach DC Design for further refurbishments. The cost for the customised designs will be Rs. 3.45 lakh, approximately.
14 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
GLOBAL NEWS LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR SV ROADSTER global debut in US The Italians know a lot about style. They also know a lot about cars… supercars to be precise. Lamborghini had debuted the Aventador Superveloce earlier this year. Now they sawed off the roof and made a roadster. They call it the Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce Roadster. Probably the longest car name in the world and as it suggests, it gets a 740bhp from a 6.5 litre V12 and sends a total of 690Nm of torque to its 4 wheel drive system. Without the roof it can still do 0-100 in 2.9 seconds and if you don’t throw up by then, it will go on to do its top speed of 350kmph with a jiffy shifting 7 speed ISR transmission Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini said; ‘‘The Superveloce is the purest, most sports-oriented and fastest series production Lamborghini ever. The Roadster version represents our commitment to satisfying our passionate clients with immensely emotional driving dynamics combined with an extraordinary open air experience,’’
What is astonishing is that convertibles are actually heavier than hardtops. But Lamborghini has shed 50kgs of weight from the standard car and squeezed out 50bhp more from the engine making it lighter, more powerful and even more agile than ever before. The SV roadster comes with a two-piece, carbon fibre hardtop which weigh less than 6kgs each can be stored in the luggage compartment. Lamborghini will only make 500 of these and they will cost 375,000 Euros which sums up to around Rs. 2.78cr before you get to the paper work. Lamborghini debuted the car for the first time at ‘The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering’ in California, USA.
World premiere of HONDA BR-V PROTOTYPE; India debut likely in 2016 Honda BR-V Prototype officially made a world debut at the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) 2015. Like all crossovers, this one too has an SUV appearance and handling and great utility. It also has a spacious cabin of an MPV. Powered by a 1.5 litre i-VTEC engine with either a new 6-speed manual transmission or a continuously variable transmission (CVT), it enhances both driving performance and fuel economy. The much-awaited Honda BR-V is scheduled to be marketed first in Indonesia in early 2016, followed by other countries. According to unconfirmed news, this crossover is likely to find its way into India’s growing crossover / compact SUV segment. Already the likes of Suzuki S-Cross and Hyundai Creta have been launched in this space. The BR-V will be competing with not just these vehicles but even other compact SUVs / crossovers from the stables of Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles India, Volkswagen, etc. Honda BR-V will be marketed in Indonesia with a price range from Rp. 230 (Rs 10.82 lakh) to 265 million, and the booking will start from GIIAS onward. The production of Honda BR-V will start at HPM’s Karawang factory in January 2016.
16 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
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MOTORSPORT Karminder Singh on top after Race 2 victory in Vento Cup Karminder Singh has won race 2 of Volkswagen Vento Cup 2015 to claim the top sport in the championship after round 1 of JK Tyre National Racing Championship at the Kari Motor Speedway, Coimbatore. Singh started race 2 from 6th place and moved to the lead in the action packed race, while Polo R Cup 2015 Junior Champion Anindith Reddy walked away with 2nd place. Sahil Gahuri scored his first podium
by finishing 3rd which was only his second race on his debut weekend. Race 1 winner Sailesh Bolisetti started eight on the grid and managed to climb up two positions to finish sixth in the end. Round 2 of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship will be held from September 4-6 at the Kari Motor Speedway before heading to Round 3 and 4 at the Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida later this year.
Formula E : Nick Heidfeld replaces Chandok in Mahindra Racing Mahindra Racing has officially announced that Nick Heidfeld will team up with their existing driver Bruno Senna for the second season for the Formula E Championship. The duo incidentally came in 6th and 7th on the first day testing that kicked off season two at Donington Park in England.Heidfeld who replaced Karun Chandhok, is a Le Mans and former Formula 1 driver for numerous teams. He will drive the Mahindra Racing’s second generation car, the M2Electro in the coming 2015-2016 season of Formula E alongside Bruna Senna.Karun Chandok, after the dismissal has hinted that he might be heading towards Sportscar Racing in the near future.Heidfeld was racing in Formula E for the 2014-15 season with the Venturi Racing team and had a best finish of 12th place out of his 11 starts in the season. The German driver has started work immediately for the
team at the pre season testing at Donnigton Park. Currently both drivers sit in 6th and 7th with Senna leading the way for Mahindra on Day 1 of testing. Anand Mahindra, chairman and managing director of the Mahindra Group said: “Nick’s appointment marks a new milestone in the journey of the Mahindra Racing team. This year, we race not only under the Mahindra brand but in a Mahindra developed and powered car. This is a significant moment in what is proving to be a global showcase for electric vehicle technology and I look forward to seeing Nick take the wheel of the M2Electro in Beijing.” Earlier in the month, the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile approved the homologation of the eight manufacturers that are providing powertrains to the 10 teams competing in the second season of the allelectric FIA Formula E Championship.
FMSCI President R. Bharath Raj passes away In a tragic turn of events, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) President R Bharath Raj passed away late in the afternoon on August 15, 2015. He was only 56 years old. He was also the Chairman of the Karnataka Motor Sports Club. Raj is survived by his wife. Raj was a very successful mine owner by profession but his passion was in motorsport. Raj had taken it upon himself to work for the betterment of motorsport and the KMSC, which he supported and sponsored for many years. He was also the past president of the
KMSC. His company, IMG Sports, has been sponsoring the K-1000 for some time now. Last year, he was full of enthusiasm as the KMSC conducted the 40th edition of the K-1000. In fact, he would personally supervise all preparations for the famed rally. IMG Sports was the promoter of the Indian National Rally Championship for the 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons. His dream was to get the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and World Rally Championship to India and he put in his best efforts on those two fronts.
18 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
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MOTORSPORT Belgium Grand Prix
Pictures courtesy: Lotus F1 team
1-2 for Mercedes & a podium for Lotus
Romain Grosjean and Lotus last stood on the podium in November 2013, in Austin. Grosjean (FRA) celebrates his third position with the team Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes AMG Petronas got his 80th podium at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit for round 11 of the championship, the 2015 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix. Lewis’s win draws him level with the great Ayrton Senna in fourth in the all-time lists. His teammate Nico Rosberg who came in second has 36, in level with two-time champion Graham Hill. Romain Grosjean of Lotus came in third and with that it was his 10th rostrum of his career, but probably the most unlikely. Grosjean and Lotus last stood on the podium in November 2013, in Austin. He couldn’t hide his delight as he stepped out to take the applause in front of a raucous Spa crowd. The biggest cheers were
reserved for Grosjean though, who addressed the crowd in his native tongue, before adding, “It has been an incredible weekend for us. I still can’t believe we are on the podium. These guys work so hard to give us this car. Of course at Spa I still remember Turn 1 in 2012, but I think that made me stronger. For us has the prize of a race win.” Meanwhile, Rosberg admitted that the start cost him. “I completely messed up the start. Then I fought my way through and gave it everything, we were both really on the edge all the time. Lewis did a great job and deserved the win. I gave it everything - but not enough. I’m rushing off - we’re expecting our first child at any moment!” he said immediately
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Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG F1, race after the race. Spa Francorchamps is the longest and most exciting track on the Formula One calendar which includes the iconic Eau Rouge flat out uphill corner that is loved and feared by every driver. With
winner. Picture courtesy: Daimler
new start procedure regulations in place, the race was bound to be exciting and it was. Before the race even began, Nico Hulkenberg of Sahara Force India and Carlos Sainz Jr of Torro Rosso faced the gremlins early on
MOTORSPORT with problems on their cars. The race start was abandoned after Hulkenberg started waving his hands after the formation lap on the grid and had his Force India car pulled into the garage. On the second formation lap, Sainz came into the pits in his Torro Rosso to retire. When the lights finally went out, Hamilton jumped to the first corner with a decent un aided start while Rosberg struggled and dropped down the grid. This gave Sergio Perez (Force India) sitting on 4th on the grid to leapfrog to 2nd and challenge Hamilton through Eau Rouge and onto the Kemmel straight. Perez slipstreamed momentarily to the lead only for Hamilton to out-brake him into the turn and maintain his lead and go on to lead the entirety of the race to take the win. Rosberg fell down the grid due to his poor start but through the race managed to climb up to 2nd. On the second lap however, it was a sad moment for the Colombian, Pastor Maldonado of Lotus who faced engine problems and was forced to retire. The grid was shuffled and
reshuffled due to numerous and brilliant over takes and moves and also pit strategies that didn’t play too much of a factor, but none the less made a difference. The first set of pit stops came from Daniel Ricciardo, who pitted his Redbull to undercut Perez successfully on lap 8. Valtteri Bottas was having a great race until his first pit stop. Williams brought the Finn into the box, and sent him out on 3 soft tyres and 1 medium tyre. The error caused Bottas a drive through penalty, but he soldiered on with the mixed set, took his penalty on lap 14, then continued on with his stint to his next scheduled pit stop as it didn’t make much of a difference. The Aussie Redbull driver, Ricciardo, last year’s Belgian GP winner, was having a fantastic race up to the point where his hydraulics gave in on the 20th lap. This forced the smiling Aussie to walk back to the pits, retiring his RB11 F1 car to the marshals. The second set of stops came in due to the Virtual Safety Car being imposed on the track for the marshals to remove the RB11 off the track and into safety. This
reshuffled the pack even more as many cars dived into the pits. Williams didn’t have an easy day as well as the team was using too much wing which led them to struggle to keep the others at bay. This also gave the spectators a huge show as the battle for 5th to 8th position was fired up and remained until all of them crossed the finish line. On their 900th Grand Prix entry, Ferrari might have some regets from the weekend and would rather forget than celebrate. With problems faced by Kimi Raikkonen in qualifying and a gearbox change that enforced penalty, the Iceman managed a hard fought 7th place while Sebastian Vettel who was 2 laps away from taking the 3rd spot away from Grosjean, suffered a blown tyre on the Kemmel straight 2 laps to the chequered flag. The German, the only competition from another team to Hamilton’s world title could score points after a brilliant race by finishing 12th. Should Ferrari, and could Ferrari had decided to pit Vettel in the given window of opportunity, the German might have walked away with some points rather than
empty handed. After a disappointment from one car retiring early on, Lotus was given a reason to celebrate, despite their internal financial woes when Romain Grosjean came across the finish line 3rd behind both the Mercedes cars for his first podium since the US Grand Prix in 2013. Daniil Kvyat came in 4th for Redbull, while Sergio Perez only finished 5th after a brilliant start to his race. Felippe Massa managed a commendable 6th after holding off Raikkonen in 7th. Max Verstappen lost a place on the final lap to the more experienced Finn to check-in in 8th place. Valterri Bottos in the 2nd Williams finished 9th after his penalty and Marcus Ericsson took the final point of the race with a 10th place finish for Sauber. Felipe Nasr, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button and, the two Manor Marussia cars of Will Stevens and Roberto Mehri were the final ones to finish the race in that order. With Hamilton extending his Championship lead, the party now heads to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix from September 4-6.
Raikkonen confirmed to drive for Ferrari in 2016 Amidst speculation in and around the Formula One paddock if Ferrari will extend Kimi Raikkonen’s contact, Scuderia Ferrari have confirmed that the Finn will remain with the team alongside Sebastian Vettel for another year. The team released a statement signed by Team Principal, Maurizio Arrivabene saying that “Scuderia Ferrari announces that it has renewed its technical and racing agreement with Kimi Raikkonen. The driver line-up next season will consist of the Finnish driver and Sebastian Vettel.” On his contract extension, Raikkonen said that “Ferrari is always my family”. The Iceman went on to say; “What can I say… For me, to be able to stay another year at Ferrari means that the
dream goes on. The Scuderia is my family, as I always said, it’s here I want to end my career. I am more committed than ever and I want to say thank you to the people who gave me this chance. Also, a big thank you goes to all my Ferrari fans, for their continuous support”. The next race will be held from August 21-23 at the Circuit de Spa Francorchamps in Belgium, one of Raikkonen’s favorite tracks on the Formula One calendar. Due to his outstanding performances at the past Grand Prixs at Spa and 4 Belgian Grand Prix victories at the track to his name the Finn has been given the name the “King of Spa”. The race will also mark the 900th Grand Prix entry for
Scuderia Ferrari. The Iceman said “I love racing on this track, it’s very nice and it has all the appeal of the circuits of days gone by. Usually, it’s a very exciting race, with a lot of overtaking, but much depends on the weather and what tyre compounds are available. My best win? Definitely the one in 2009, because we didn’t have a particularly quick car, but thanks to a good start we managed to get a great result”. “The fact we won in Hungary doesn’t change our approach to the next race,” adds Alberto Antonini, head of communications for Scuderia Ferrari. “We didn’t think we were going through a crisis after Silverstone and we don’t believe we are brilliant now. We are keeping our feet
on the ground, as we know we are up against some very strong opposition, but we will give it our best shot as always.”
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FIRST DRIVE ABARTH 595 COMPETIZIONE
LITTLE MASTER Report: JOSHUA DAVID LUTHER / Photography: MOHD. NASIR
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ave you ever imagined yourself to be a race car driver? Have you wanted to feel the adrenaline rush as you walk out of the paddock to the thunderous applause of a million fans? Well I have, ever since I was a little kid all I dreamt of was going faster. When I was called for a track review of the Abarth 595 Competizione you could imagine how elated I would have been. To be honest I was more excited about
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driving on the track, than to be driving the 595. My last stint at the Buddh International Circuit was in a T1 Tata Prima race truck and to be driving the 595 was going to be an entirely different experience. As I walked out of the paddock area and into the pit lane, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This was where I always wanted to be, this was home for me. When I first laid eyes on the 595 it reminded me of a British Bulldog, the typical shape of the snout protruding from a rather
WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience
The ABARTH 595 COMPETIZIONE still carries the distinct horizontal belt line on the sides which run seamlessly from front to back. This car will definitely turn heads and put a smile on your face wherever you go. flat facade. But don’t get me wrong, this does not mean the 595 is boring to look at. The Abarth 595 Competizione is essentially a Fiat 500 Cinquecento but with many improvisations and enhancement which come with the Abarth badge. The 595 has very chic and urban looks, the front sports dual Xenon Projector headlamps. The essential design of the Fiat 500 remains on the 595 with the addition of sportier looking side skirts, front and rear bumpers. The Abarth 595 Competizione still carries the distinct horizontal belt line on the sides which run seamlessly from front to back. This car will definitely turn heads and put a smile on your face wherever you go. The big question in my mind was would the 595 be able to do justice to the Abarth
badge and be track worthy? Powering this little pocket rocket is a 1.4L T-JET motor which produces 158.2bhp @ 5500rpm and churns out a satisfactory 230Nm of torque @ 3000rpm when in sports mode. We got a go at the AMT version of the car and once we left the pit lane I was pleasantly startled. This little car is a master of the track. Not only did the 595 go fast but the grip on tarmac was incredible. I was a bit cautious while leaving the pit lane and did not gun it immediately. But when I eventually opened up the throttle this little British Bulldog turned into a Rottweiler. The flow of power from the T-JET is smooth and the 5-speed AMT version of the 595 comes with steering mounted paddle shifters which make things much more enjoyable. While I did feel the AMT could
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WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience
SPECIFICATIONS
Engine & Transmission 1368cc T-JET, 4 Cylinder, Inline, Petrol / 5-speed AMT
Power & Torque 158.2bhp@5,500rpm 230Nm@3000rpm (Sports Mode)
Wheels & Tyres 205/ 40 R17 Tubeless
Price 29,85,000/(ex-showroom, Delhi)
have been more responsive it is nothing worth complaining about. As we moved through the corners and began testing the car I gained more confidence that this was no ordinary machine. No matter how hard I pushed, the 595 just did not lose traction. The 205/40 R17 tyres seemed glued to the track and would not let go. As we entered the hot lap, I floored the pedal in a bid to overtake Car No. 2 and just before the rumble strips on the first hard right I got ahead from the right and began breaking. I was easily over 140kmph when we entered the curb but not once did the 595 sticks its rear out and slide. The car has self ventilated and perforated oversized discs on all four wheels and they were precise to my inputs. The suspension on the 595 is a combination of a Cofap with Frequency Selective Damping (FSD) technology in the front and Koni with FSD in the rear. The suspension can adjust to the driving mode and road surface. While on the track it was stiff and facilitated great control over the vehicle. The 595 will go from 0-100kmph in 7.4 seconds and has a top speed of 210kmph. By the end of my track review I was more excited that I drove the 595 on the track rather than just driving on the track. The interiors of the Abarth 595 Competizione are just as sporty as the exterior. You get Abarth Corsa fabric racing bucket seats from Sabelt, a 7 inch TFT colour display instrument panel, manual climate control, leather wrapped steering with controls, a Bluetooth handsfree audio system with USB integration, electric sunroof and split rear seats with head restraints. The 595 also features rear parking sensors and will be available in Iridato White, Scorpione Black, Cordolo Red and Campovolo Grey colours. The Abarth 595 Competizione is available in 5 select Fiat dealerships across the country for a price of 29,85,000 (exshowroom Delhi). Yes it is a bit steep but you are not just buying a car, you are buying heritage which has evolved from 10 world records, 133 international records and more than 10,000 track victories left behind by Karl Abarth.
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Engine & Transmission 5461cc V8 bi turbo petrol 7G-Tronic AT
Power & Torque 544bhp@ 5500 rpm 760 Nm@ 2000 – 5000rpm
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Fuel Tank Capacity 96 litres (reserve 14 litres approx.)
Tyres 275/50 R 20
Price 2,17,00,000 (ex-showroom Delhi)
WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience
CRAZY FIRST DRIVE
MERCEDES AMG G63 CRAZY COLOUR EDITION
‘G’
This crazy colour edition of the G63 AMG is the ultimate SUV you can drive on Indian roads, or as a matter of fact, any road or terrain anywhere in the world. What separates the crazy coloured G63 AMG from its ordinary coloured sibling are the several upmarket features that have been incorporated, apart from the crazy colour.
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Report: P.THARYAN / Photography: MOHD. NASIR
ercedes-Benz recently launched the G63 AMG ‘Crazy Colour’ Edition for around Rs. 2 crore plus (exshowroom Delhi). The massive AMG G63 features a 5461cc V8 Petrol mill which produces 544bhp @ 5500rpm and 760Nm of torque from 2000-5000rpm. This beast goes from 0-100kmph in 5.4 seconds and has a top speed of 210kmph (electronically
controlled). Impressed? Nah? Then bury your head in 3 feet of dirty monsoon muck and stay stuck for the rest of your life! This crazy colour edition of the G63 AMG is the ultimate SUV you can drive on Indian roads, or as a matter of fact, any road or terrain anywhere in the world. The SUV we drove came in alien green crazy colour. There are two more of these in solar beam and sunset beam crazy colours. What separates the crazy coloured G63 AMG from its ordinary coloured
sibling are the several upmarket features that have been incorporated, apart from the crazy colour. This is apart from the Rs 1 crore (approximately) difference between the crazy model and the ordinary one. Whatever the crazy colour, you cannot miss the obsidian black finish for the roof, exterior mirror housings, front and rear bumpers as well as the wheel arch flarings and the spare wheel cover ring. The spare wheel cover has a 3D Mercedes star. That’s not all on the looks front.
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The vehicle sports AMG 5-spoke light-alloy wheels painted in matt black paired with AMG red brake calipers. The front too is very impressive with black cooling air intakes, AMG radiator grille in black with chrome surround and “AMG” lettering. Not to miss are the two high-quality running boards on left and right sides in stainless steel along with a stainless steel brush guard (bull bars we call them generally), giving the vehicle a macho look. Don’t waste your time searching for the exhaust tail pipes in the rear. In this AMG it comes side-mounted and in the form of chrome-plated twin tailpipes. The Bi-xenon headlamps in the AMG G63 come with automatic headlight range adjustment and
headlamp cleaning system is standard. The LED daytime running lamps are integrated into the headlamp fascia below the headlamps. The SUV also comes with a sliding sunroof that should be never be used in Delhi’s sticky weather lest you get mauled by the mosquitoes and end up with dengue! Step inside the G63 AMG crazy colour edition and it’s then you realise that the ‘G’ stands for Grand. The top notch stitching on the top notch material inside is done in the colour of the exterior paint finish….it’s simply awesome. This stitching gives a sporty look to the black nappa leather on the seats, centre console and dashboard, as well as on the handbrake and beltlines and grab handles on the doors.
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As for the steering wheel, it is strong to feel when driving and it comes all wrapped in perforated nappa leather with chrome elements and a flat bottom. Sexy? Ooh la, la, la! The seats of the driver and front passenger can be electronically
adjusted with several buttons on the sides of the doors as well as buttons on the sides of the seats. The seats are climatised too which means that small fans are integrated into the upholstery to distribute an even airflow beneath the leather covering of
WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience
the backrest and seat cushion. Then there are these automatic climate control that provides two climate zones and increases individual climate comfort. The G63 AMG is not just a beast to admire. It’s a beast you fall in love with. If you think the engine is powerful and driving the AMG is sweeter than being high on cocaine, then you have got to admire the safety this vehicle has to offer. A plethora of safety airbags like window bags, side bags and pelvis bags makes travelling by the G63 AMG bliss by all means. And then there are these electronically controlled features that should set your mind at ease when you drive the G63 AMG. The vehicle comes with Anti-lock braking system (ABS), Brake Assist system with brake servo assistance, Electronic Traction System 4ETS for all-wheel drive, Acceleration skid control (ASR), Electronic Stability Programme (ESP), Adaptive Brake with HOLD function and Hill Start Assist function and even a tyre pressure monitoring system. On the road, while driving this huge machine, I felt the vehicle was exceedingly planted on the road and drove like a breeze. The engine is mated to the AMG Speedshift Plus 7G-Tronic transmission. The AMG Speedshift Plus 7G-Tronic automatic transmission features steering-wheel shift paddles and the transmission modes “C” (Controlled Efficiency), “S” (Sport) and “M” (Manual). The fun starts the moment you go off-road. Toss it around in slush, mud or gravel and you realise the competence of the permanent all-wheel drive feature with differential gear. The differential locks are 100pc electrically
engageable while in motion on front- and rear-axle differentials. The vehicle can also wade through 600mm deep water and has an 80pc gradient climbing capability. In short, it’s versatile in every way possible. The three electrically engageable 100pc differential locks are a key factor behind the off-road capabilities of the G-Class. Locking all the differentials ensures that the wheels on both axles, as well as each wheel of an axle, have exactly the same rpm. This means that the drive torque is actually directed to those wheels which are able to obtain traction. This was amply demonstrated when we tested it on the rough. While I enjoyed the versatility of the vehicle on some off the road tracks on the outskirts of the Delhi, I must confess I did not bother to play around too much with what lay before me on the car’s console. While the vehicle comes with an instrument cluster in twin-tube design with a 4.5-inch multifunction display, it’s multimedia system that impresses you with its various functions, be it navigation, Bluetooth, Mercedes-Benz Apps for internet connectivity, USB interface and AUX-IN connection (in centre armrest) and a lot more. The AMG 5.5-litre V8 twin-turbocharged engine is truly versatile. Spray-guided direct petrol injection with piezo injectors and twin turbochargers, four valves per cylinder with camshaft adjustment, air-to-water intercooling and the ECO start/stop function blend high efficiency with high output. The brilliant performance is quite evident both on road as well as off road. Crazy ‘G’, by all means!
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FIRST RIDE YAMAHA YZF R3
PRECISELY PERFECT 30 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
WHEELZ & ROADZ A riding experience
The R3 scores more points over the Ninja 300 thanks to a better engine output and a better price point.... It has been engineered from a pedigree of race spec bikes with proven track records and is precisely perfect for its segment striking a fine balance between cost, performance and engineering standard.
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Report: JOSHUA DAVID LUTHER / Photography: MOHD. NASIR
hey say living on the edge is to live dangerously but for me it means to ride at the edge of a rumble strip. For those who don’t get it, it means to corner hard on a race track. One fine August morning, Motown’s bike crew was called out to do a test review of the recently launched Yamaha YZF R3. We were getting a go at this race pedigree bike on the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) in Greater Noida. While it seemed like an excess of adrenaline was pumping through my veins, I maintained my composure. The R3 is Yamaha’s answer to competition in the 300cc segment
Engine & Transmission 321cc, 2-cylinder, liquid cooled, 4 stroke, DOHC, 4-valve engine / 6-speed, constant mesh
Power & Torque 41.4bhp@10750rpm 29.6Nm@9000rpm
and will take on contenders like the much in demand KTM RC390 and the mighty Kawasaki Ninja 300. The R3 is powered by a 321cc liquid cooled, in-line, 2-cylinder engine which puts out 41.4bhp @ 10750rpm and an impressive 29.6Nm of torque @ 9000rpm. The red line begins at 12,500 revolutions per minute and this monster just loves to hit that line. As soon as I hopped on the R3 and hit the ignition, I knew this was no ordinary machine. The exhaust is a two into one pipe with a shorter muffler which makes a distinct low rumble. The in-line, 2-cylinder is a rev happy motor and going through corners was a real treat. We hit a top speed of
Fuel Tank Capacity 14 Litres
Tyres Front: 110/70 R17 Tubeless Rear: 140/70 R17 Tubeless
Price 3,25,000 (ex-showroom Delhi)
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about 168kmph on the back straight at BIC but I’m sure we could have gone faster. The engine is mated to a 6-speed, constant mesh transmission. Shifting is quick and the R3 will go through gears in a jiffy. However the 6th gear is an overdrive gear for a higher top speed. The flow of power on the R3 is quite smooth while this bike felt more oriented for road conditions. Its track performance was admirable. The engine does not jerk too much while down shifting but what you do find missing is a slipper clutch which would have
made things much better. The R3 has been set on a diamond type tubular frame which aids weight reduction. The bike sits on 110/70 R17’s in the front and 140/70 R17’s in the rear. The suspension set up is a non-adjustable telescopic fork in the front and a swingarm in the rear. Braking is facilitated through a single 280mm hydraulic front disc and a single 220mm hydraulic rear disc. The brakes are quite accurate with the front discs rendering precise stopping power. The suspension set up is more on the
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softer side and there is sufficient feedback to determine weight shifting. The MRF Zappers provide good grip on tarmac and we had ample of confidence while going through corners. The rider seat height has been set at 780mm which I felt was quite comfortable for most riders. The bike has a broad split saddle which could take some getting used to but is comfy none the less. The R3 is definitely a head turner but we feel there could have been additional colour options. The Black Lightening version is subtle
WHEELZ & ROADZ A riding experience
and will not really set you apart from the other not-so-performance-oriented sports bikes out there. The Racing Blue version looks much better and would be an obvious choice for most. The bike comes with Split Reverse Slant headlamps which give it an aggressive look while the rear end has a crisp and pointy tail furnished with an LED stop lamp. The fairings add to the aggressive looks of the R3 and optimise aerodynamics of the bike. The switch gear on the bike has been ergonomically designed and is of good quality. The instrument cluster features an analogue tachometer on the left
with a digital speedometer on the right. It also displays an odometer, two trip meters, water temperature meter, fuel gauge, a clock and fuel consumption. The R3 will set you back by Rs. 3,25,000 (ex-showroom Delhi) and in terms of price it sits between the Ninja 300 and the much cheaper RC 390. It definitely has more power than the Ninja 300 but not as much as RC 390. The R3 scores more points over the Ninja 300 thanks to a better engine output and a better price point while we feel it beats the RC 390 in terms of build quality and brand value. The Ninja on the other hand comes with
ABS and a slipper clutch which for some may be worth the additional cost and the RC 390 is cheaper and has better performance figures. The RC 390 however has a single cylinder engine while the R3 has a dual cylinder. After a comprehensive track test we felt that the Yamaha R3 is definitely a strong contender in the market and has a few points over its competitors. It has been engineered from a pedigree of race spec bikes with proven track records and is precisely perfect for its segment striking a fine balance between cost, performance and engineering standard.
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DSG MANIA DRIVEN
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2015 VOLKSWAGEN VENTO TSI
Report: RAHUL KAPOOR / Photography: MOHD. NASIR
ome Indians have a saying “Mujhe Dikki Waali Gaadi Chahiye.” If you asked them to reason, all they respond with is shoulder shrug and an expression of ‘why would you ask such a thing?’. Because of this attitude towards buying a car, the sedan segment in India is very popular. There are many cars in this segment and Volkswagens entrant is the Vento. The Vento has been around for quite a while and Volkswagen decided it needed a facelift and a tummy tuck. That resulted in the Vento that you can buy today. The new one has some extra chrome bits on the outside, new fog lamps, newly designed 15 inch alloy wheels, new updated tail lamps, and ORVMs with turn indicators on them. Inside you get a cooled glove compartment, rear AC vents, and the new interior scheme with piano black finish on the das and the new flat bottomed steering
wheel. With some aero changes and weight reduction in some B areas of the car, the car has become less thirsty than it was before. To drive, the 1.2 litre TSI engine feels much more refined that the one I first drove in the previous Polo GT. There is more of an urgency and obedience from the brilliant 7-speed DSG transmission in addition to the improved throttle response. It isn’t drastically different, but there is a very thin improvement made to everything from the engine, to the gearbox, to the steering and even the brakes feel a bit sharper too. I will admit I have never been a fan of the wooden electric power steering in Volkswagen’s or anything from the same family and its nearly the same with this one. You barely get any feedback at
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all from the wheels. With dual front airbags as standard, ABS, Anti pinch power windows, rear parking sensors, and an improved fuel economy of 18.19kmpl. The new Vento TSI is a very good package for the shoulder shrugging, junk in the trunk loving people in India. Even though I’m not a fan of the steering system, I just love that dual clutch transmission. I would buy a food blender if it came with a DSG gearbox.
WHEELZ & ROADZ A driving experience
DRIVEN TOYOTA PRIUS
HOLLYWOOD HERO
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Report: RAHUL KAPOOR / Photography: MOHD. NASIR
essica Alba, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Miley Cyrus, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Harrision Ford, Matt Damon, Orlando Bloom, Bradley Cooper, Owen Wilson…. The list of Hollywood starts who drive a Toyota Prius is endless. The Toyota Prius is the most beloved car of the Hollywood celebrities who want to make a statement that they are kind to the environment and are making an effort to save the planet. Which is why, in America, there is a huge demand for electric, hybrid and hydrogen powered vehicles. Irrespective of the fact the particular car is actually practical or not or not even a pretty car to look at, watch these celebrities driving around in Hybrids gets the ball rolling for the regular public to buy them in America. The popularity of hybrids and electric cars in India is terrible. But on the other hand the fan following of Bollywood stars is ludicrous in India. There are people who want to be them, there are people who want to be with them, and there are people who worship and pray to them every day. Here they are looked up to as Gods but these Gods of the Indian public don’t drive around in hybrid family cars. They like their luxury and super cars. So that avenue hasn’t been successful in India. But Toyota has been trying persistently to do their bit in every which way they can with their hybrid line up. Toyota makes the Camry which is also available in a hybrid powertrain which we loved as a car and they also ship the Prius
to India from Japan and sell it just about 40lakh rupees thanks to the import tax by our beloved liberal government. The new updated Camry Hybrid has been doing quite well since its launch as expected from the segment, but the Prius hasn’t had many takers. We tried to find out why by driving it. The powertrain is a smaller 1.8L VVT-I petrol engine with the similar Hybrid Synergy System as the Camry. So to drive, the Prius is responsive immediately when you put your foot down. But the Prius just doesn’t seem stream lined as the Camry which makes the Prius less as fun to drive, but the shape of it probably is what lets it down. After the initial response, because of the small engine, there isn’t much after that but over taking with that electric torque makes it easy in normal city traffic. The CVT gearbox changes seamlessly, you never feel a gear change. The ride however is a bit firm and ground clearance isn’t optimized for India. So a reasonable speed breaker will cause the bottom to scrape if you’re not careful. Handling wise it does understeer a bit if you’re on an open highway road with twisty bends and the steering is extremely light and could use a little more feedback and a little bit of weight. The cabin is roomy and airy and the sunroof helps brighten it up even more. The seats are extremely comfortable and wrapped in leather. Storage is key, and there are more compartments that objects in the world to put in them. You have a nice massive storage space ender the centre console with the 16V
electrical port and another compartment under the armrest in the front. The doors have relatively sizeable cubby holes in addition to the dual split opening glove box under the dash but the plastics are quite clunky and could be improved. Though I like the heads-up-display, I would rather have the instrument cluster directly in front of the driver and not advertising it to all the passengers housed in the middle. The rear seats are very supportive with a lot of head room, leg room and knee room, but doesn’t get rear air con vents. As a package it is a brilliant piece of machinery, worth the 40 lakh price tag thanks to the 100pc import tax? I’m not so sure. In the long run, in my opinion, hybrids aren’t the hard and fast solution to the problem of depleting resources and saving the planet. It just isn’t. Mining for nickel is a dirty job and can be hazardous for the environment, but it is one of the very few alternatives we humans have for now. And to popularize it in India, the Government has the FAME scheme, but the policy lacks the vital cause to popularize and sell EVs and hybrids. Bollywood stars need to start driving electric hybrid cars or they will never become popular. FAME has not included “fame” and it needs to take that into consideration for Electric powered cars to be popular in India. Japan and California are the two largest markets for hybrids and electric vehicles in the world and in America it has been popularized by the endless list of celebrities who drive them. The same has to be done in India for it to work as well and I can vouch that it will work. If only it didn’t quite as gopping.
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LONG TERMER MAHINDRA GUSTO VX
A PERFECT RIDE ON BUMPY ROADS Report: Motown India Correspondent
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he word Gusto means “Enjoyment and enthusiasm in doing something”. It’s been three months since we got the Mahindra Gusto and in these three months Delhi experienced severe bouts of rains, extreme hot conditions, terrible humid temperature and also several cool evenings. I must confess I did not get time to ride this scooter for hundreds and thousands of kilometres. I could barely ride around a hundred kilometres in three months. But then each time I took it out for a short spin, I realised how practical this vehicle is when it comes to riding it. First and foremost, the fun starts with the flip key...a la stylish car key feature. This key comes only with the top end variant of
the scooter, the VX model. Now the best part of this key is that it is unique in every which way. I mean it’s not only a flip key, but has three tiny buttons on them, with each having a distinct function. The top one has a small light to it, so in the dark you can see what you are keen to see. The second one activates the find-me lights and the third one screams out to help you identify your scooter in a crowded parking area. Mind you, these functions have immense importance and are not mere cosmetic add-ons to a key. The moment you are seated on this scooter you also realise it has a decent ground clearance. It has the highest ground clearance of 165mm in its segment, with
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scooters like the TVS Jupiter, the Hero Maestro and the Honda Activa having a far lower ground clearance. This scooter is just about perfect to ride but for shorter riders, especially girls, the seats can be adjusted for height. Yes, it comes with a unique heightadjustable seat. Where else among the competition can you find such a scooter? Now practically speaking, I found the scooter a perfect ride on our pot holed roads of Delhi. As I waded through these roads I felt it handled itself well on the rough. The scooter has large tubeless tyres which is not there among of
its competitors. This along with telescopic suspension with air springs helps the scooter to offer some decent ride. Now when it comes to speed, I did not push it much. Being a bit old fashioned in my riding and driving habits, I always believe that the engine must not be tortured till it’s a bit run in. That means for me at least a 1000 km. I was far away from that mark. But yes, the 110cc, 4 stroke, M-Tec engine is quite responsive. In my next review I shall touch upon the fuel average, the little features I wish the scooter had and a few likes and dislikes.
FEATURES & TRAVEL
YOLO Chronicles EXPERIENCING FORCE GURKHA RAINFOREST CHALLENGE INDIA
N
Picture courtesy: Cougar Motorsport
ever in my life had I even imagined my asthamatic self to wheeze my way into off-roading. But ever since I was asked to try out a Polaris RZR, I realised how amazing and adrenaline pumping it can be despite my clumsiness when it comes to a topsy-turvy terrain. Now, off-roading has become my favourite thing to do. Covering off-road events I reckon is the best part about my job which I cherish more than anything. When the guys at Cougar Motorsport decided to introduce Rainforest Challenge India (RFC) last year (sponsored by Force Motors) in 2014, I really wanted to cover the event, but due to my inexperience covering anything last year on my own, I was asked
Report & Photography: RAHUL KAPOOR to sit it out. This year however, when they came back for Season 2, i was sent into the battle field. With just the right luggage, I made my way to Goa.
DAY 1 - THE ARRIVAL We arrived around late afternoon in Goa. At the airport, our driver Badshah was waiting to take all of us, mediawale, to the Goa International Centre where we were going to spend most of our week. It was the place where the officials and the organisers were also putting up. We arrived and headed to our respective rooms. The Driver’s Briefing took place around 5pm after which we just relaxed till we were to head to Bay 15, a night club for the pre event party and dinner. I would like to tell you what happened but everything is
(L-R) Luis Wee, Rahul Kapoor & David Metcalfe
40 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
just a blur, and the second hand information I have from that night is unspeakable. All I can tell you is, Badshah took us to our hotel safely and we did get some sleep or probably just passed out.
DAY 2 & 3 - HUNGOVER PROLOGUE The first day of the challenge was Day 1 of the Prologue stage. We were all set to leave to the location by 10am. Cougar had found a spot right opposite the hotel, a large ground which was converted into 6 special stages. Every driver had to go through each stage once and then move on to the next one. It was my job to find a live stage and run to it without getting on the track and get good pictures for my story. Its sounds relatively easy, but with Wellingtons on my feet, I was just
Luis with team Polaris
begging to sit down somewhere. What made matters worse is that with the camera in my hand, as the most exciting shot was to come into the frame, the heavens opened up. I struggled to shelter myself with the waterproof poncho provided by the Cougar team. As soon as I wore the poncho, the rain stopped. This happened at least 7-8 times that day…and every day thereafter. The competitors had to build bridges, jump over gradients, splash some water, change 37 inch tyres, winch themselves, and climb into a pit, set up a ladder for the vehicle and climb out the other side. Everyone was drenched in rain water and sweat. The boiling sun wasn’t much help either apart from sunburns on every part of our exposed skin. After lunch I stayed back for
FEATURES & TRAVEL
about another hour for some more pictures and decided to call it a day. Then I realised the only way back at that point is to walk. So I started climbing the steep, but well paved road to the hotel. Halfway through, I saw a Force traveller coming my way. It was Badshah to my rescue. I arrived back to the hotel and passed out in my room. Later at night, all of us guys from the media decided to head out for dinner scouting for some Goan fish. We found some, and we came back happily smiling. The second day of the Prologue stage was similar to day one with new and more challenging 6 more special stages. These 12 stages eliminated the weak ones before they were to head to the Predator, Terminator and the Twilight zones in the days to come.
DAY 4 - ALIEN VS PREDATOR Next morning, we were dragged out of the hotel by Juhi and Murchana, the PR team who were responsible for us, to Quepem for the Predator round. Badshah took the wheel for the hour long journey to the location where the alien like 4x4s were already revving up at the start. As he did in the previous stages, David Metcalfe, the Course Master & Designer had set up 6 more mind boggling special stages for the competitors. With inclines and gradients that were as close to 90 degrees up or down hill as possible, Metcalfe made the competitors go through rivers, small valleys, through the ruins of a fort, and anything he could find to challenge and test their skills. This meant we as
photographers needed to get deep inside there as well while gasping for breath, inhaling smoke from burnt clutches and the screaming from navigators losing their tempers. Up until this point Gurmeet Virdi and Kabir Waraich, the two Indian’s led the tables with their respective navigators putting up a fight to the Malaysian teams in the Gurkhas. Once the Predator stage was a go, the Malaysian teams of Tan and Mervyn showed that this is where experience plays a huge part in succeeding at this stage of the competition. On SS7, Gurmeet/Kirpal went first as they were leading the board. The duo met a full 90 degree incline which they needed to use their ladders and winch themselves out. But Kirpal couldn’t manage to find a strong enough anchor.
So they decided to call it quits. Tan and his navigating nephew showed them how it’s done. With his awesome spikey shoes, little Tan (nephew) ran up the 20 foot tall hill opposite the very same spot, tied the winch to the tree, while his uncle throttled out of the obstacle with astonishing ease. Mervyn/Hamizan in the second Gurkha, followed as both cars set blistering times before heading out to the next SS. Walking profusely, running tirelessly, climbing endlessly, eventually it was lunch time. A few of us from the media were so hungry, we arrived before the food was set up and found some bananas. We hogged until they decided to feed us some real food. With our appetites met and satisfied, we went back into the field again for more shots at the
www.motownindia.com September 2015 I 41
FEATURES & TRAVEL other 5 stages. Day 4 was also the first day we had a choice to camp with the officials and competitors. Unsure if I would survive, I decided to head back to the hotel with a massive backache.
DAY 5 – YOU ARE TERMINATED! All fresh to be terminated, the next day we left for Sanguem, South Goa for the Terminator round for 6 more Special Stages. After suffering a million degree burns from the sun on the previous day, I resorted to whatever I could find in my luggage. I found a balaclava and a pollution mask. All geared up and humiliated by my peers from other publishing houses and making it to social media we arrived at the camp site where the teams had camped the night before. Once the stages were live, it wasn’t long for them to be red flagged. The competitors found it so difficult, at one point, 4 out of 6 stages were awaiting recovery. With limited number of cranes available, some teams waited for 3 hours for recovery. This delayed the entire day and hampered its progress. SS19 was the stage where all drivers found it extremely hard. This stage destroyed many cars from the first major obstacle. It was quickly nicknamed the axle breaker. The scariest point on this stage was when Raj Singh Rathore almost ran over his navigator Guhan Shetty in the Polaris S800. Guhan was knocked down to the ground by the spare wheel on the side of the UTV. Luckily, he saw it coming and moved out of the way inches from the driven tyres. No humans were harmed in the execution of the SS. However the same could not be said about the cars. SS20 however became the favorite SS of all. A fast uphill and downhill sprint to the top and back, a stage Team Polaris felt most comfortable on and set one of the quickest times of the stage despite the fact they were wet with barely any illumination after sundown.
I was also ordered for a lead shot for the magazine so I headed to SS22, the pitch back dark gap in the trees that lead to a river and a waterfall. I made my way right into the trees not knowing what I would find. Then I remembered a quote from Dumbledore from Harry Potter. “Happiness can be found in the darkest of times” Literally, what I found there was next to gold. Some of the best pictures I was able to get were from that stage itself. After sun down, the stages were stopped and the remaining cars were to complete the stages the following morning. At this point I had noticed that my fellow peers from the media who camped the night before were still alive. Spontaneously I decided to camp. Unprepared, unaware and with barely any supplies, I thought how hard can it be? With me being the noob, it was obvious I was to get the broken bed of the 4. After some beers, water, food and a lot of pointless meaningless conversations, we went to our tents and tried our best to sleep amidst the smell of stinking feet and the grumble of snores. In my intoxicated state I didn’t notice the side of my tent was completely exposed.
DAY 6 –CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! The next day, I woke up completely drenched in water from the rain from the night before and the terrible stench of wet and dirty socks. But when I climbed my way out of the tent I was welcomed with one of the most beautiful view I could have NEVER imagined. We did out daily routine and headed for breakfast, while the competitors who couldn’t manage to complete all the stages the day before got their times in for the stage. The day was meant to be a rest day for all of us. But Ashish Gupta and his Cougar team decided to have some fun with us Media professionals. They had set up two special stages just for us as a part of what they called the
42 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
“Media Challenge”. By around 1:30pm the stages were set and two Polaris RZR S800 UTVs were ready at each SS. SS2 was my first stage of the group. Going first everyone had a beautiful view of my incompetence and were making notes on what not to do. The start was right at the edge of a cliff. From where I was sitting all I could see were the top of 20 foot high trees. Srivathsan Vallabhan, a veteran marshal was assigned as our navigator for the stage. We had to gingerly head down the hill and into a tight left hander at the bottom. Follow that path to a cross axle right hand and slalom though a series of trees turn around, slalom again through them and back to the start point across the finish line. I handled the first bit well, then hit a rock on my way to the slalom, hit a tree in the slalom, hit the same rock on my way back and climbed up that hill to stop the clock. SS1 was a relatively easy downhill followed by a slush pit which led into a dense trail into the trees with lots and lots of water. With Guhan Shetty as my Navigator, I went in blind not knowing what I would have to do. With Guhan’s life in my hands, and only his instructions as my guide I floored it as the sound of the whistle. With mud all over us from the very first splash, I soldiered on, pinning the throttle completely, batting the torque steer into the gully between the trees. We came to a point of…return, jammed the CVT into reverse, turned the car around and made my way back as quickly as I could across the finish line. My idiotic driving was rewarded with a terrible time on both stages but I was happy that I was not last. I came 8th of the 12 of us who took part. After the Marshals and organisers had their fun watching us make a fool of ourselves, we forced Juhi and Murchana from the PR team to go as passengers. Once we FORCEfully…(terrible pun intended) strapped them in, we called Raj Singh Rathore, from team Polaris to give them a ride of
their life. Needless to say, as we had told them, they came back with brown muddy faces grinning with their glistening white teeth overwhelmed from the experience they witnessed for the first time. By far, it was the best day of my life. I will put my hand on my heart and say that I have never had so much fun in a single day in my life. I can’t speak for everyone there, but I’m sure they would say the same. When the excitement settled, we headed back to our hotel to clean ourselves up.
DAY 6 - TWILIGHT (No Vampires and Werewolves in this story) Day 6 was scheduled to be the Twilight Stage, the real RFC stage. The selected location was a forest in Sattari, Goa that no one had entered in the last 15 years. The start point was marked, a GPS location was provided to the drivers, no marshals will be marshaling, and a time of 10 hours was allotted to them. Starting from 12pm, on the way, they had to ford 4 waterfalls, treacherous paths that they had to carve out from the forest to make their way and drive as the crow flies. I knew I was not physically fit to handle the task for 10 hours to complete it on my own on foot. But with some help of my dear peers from the media, we helped each other through the dense jungle. It was pure camaraderie not just among us photographers and reporters, but also the competitors. Climbing the mountain as the un-treaded path through the forest, with all the knives, sticks and protective gear we could find to prepare for snakes, spiders and anything else mother nature decided to throw at us, I thought to myself if the Virgin Screwdriver I was offered before I left would have helped me survive. Come to think of it… No. So I wheezed my way to the first waterfall with the others. Over there we saw the competitors working together building a path through the waterfall, moving rocks, tying winches, placing
FEATURES & TRAVEL
ladders for each other and helping other competitors with whatever they faced in the jungle. After a few pictures and numerous bottles of water, we decided to head back for lunch and then back to the hotel. We relaxed for the rest of the day. At dinner, all of us from different linguistic backgrounds sat down together and made fun of each other one by one. In short, we just laughed our way through the evening.
DAY 7 - JUDGMENT DAY Next morning, the competitors were on their way back from
Sattari. In the evening, the final results were announced in the prize distribution where all the trophies were handed out. To our surprise, Juhi and Murchana also called every person representing their respective Media houses to come up on stage individually and receive a token of appreciation. It was a first time someone had done something like that. All of us were pleasantly surprised and overwhelmed. Once the prize distribution was over, we went out for the after party at Bay 15, again, where we did some more questionable things. Half way through, suddenly I decided to
walk back to the hotel by climbing up the mountain. Midway I even decided to jog to the hotel for no reason whatsoever and passed out in my room.
DAY 8 - I’LL BE BACK Lucky I wasn’t hungover like I was from last time, I sat down with Luis, the founder of the Rainforest Challenge over breakfast. We had a long extensive conversation which I shall elaborate in a report later. To sum up the week, it was one that I will surely remember, and it was all possible because of Ashish Gupta for hosting the life changing event, Cougar
Motorsport and the Marshals for doing an undoubtedly brilliant job, Luis and his RFC International team for creating such an event and the good memories. A special shout out to Murchana and Juhi, from Greenthumb PR for having us and running the event flawlessly and tirelessly. Anything we needed, anything we wanted to know, they were extremely helpful and deserve a massive round of applause. With that we flew back home and I made a promise to myself, with a year at hand, I will be fitter, I will work smarter and in the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger: “I’ll Be Back.”
www.motownindia.com September 2015 I 43
FEATURES & TRAVEL
Ireland’s Ancient East The Road Less Travelled BY JYOTI BALANI
E
ach year tourists visit Ireland to see the grandeur of Dublin city and to lose themselves in its glamour but not many think of going to lesser known regions of this soulfully beautiful country. In the month of August 2015, I was fortunate enough to visit the south eastern region, a region with unique stories to tell. My first stop was at the National Opera House in Wexford. A tour around the new Wexford Opera House, a beautiful building which hosts the internationally renowned Wexford Opera Festival every October was a great place to start. This was followed by a visit to the Irish National Heritage Park at Ferrycarrig just outside Wexford Town. A tour guide showed me around the park to see how people
lived in ancient times dating back 9,000 years. The history of the county, from the arrival of the Normans in the 11th century right up to its more recent historical connections with the American Presidency was what I explored in the town of New Ross. This is home to the Dunbrody Famine Ship, a recreation of the actual 19th century timber-built ship on which actors re-enact the hardships of transatlantic crossings in the 1840’s following the Great Famine suffered at that time. New Ross is also the ancestral birthplace of John F Kennedy
Kinnitty castle
44 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
and there are many locations in the area which commemorate him and his family. The Dunbrody famine ship is centered on an authentic reproduction of an 1840s emigrant experience. I was shown around this ship, saw costumed performers enacting parts of those who travelled by the ship ages ago. This gave me an insight into the bravery and fortitude with which the Irish faced up to a desperate situation. As one leaves the area, one can overhear the conversations of emigrants, a couple quarrelling over what to pack, a young man reading about a letter from his brother in Detroit.
The plight of these brave travelers is obvious with potato crops failing and food prices soaring, more than a million people are forced to leave their homes for an uncertain future abroad. Once on board, the voyage that lasted over six weeks was like a terrible trial for most passengers. Packed cheek by jowl below decks, the steerage passengers barely even saw the light of the day. Waterford City is Ireland’s oldest city, dating back to the arrival of the Vikings in the 9th century; the history of this ancient port is maintained in its many remarkable buildings around the city. A walking tour in this city led me to the museums of the Viking Triangle, including the Waterford
FEATURES & TRAVEL Museum of Treasures, Reginalds’ Tower and The Bishop’s Palace. While in Waterford City, it is a good idea to visit the Waterford Crystal Visitor Centre where I observed master glasscutters at work in the factory carrying out the intensive job of creating stunning pieces of crystals. My next port of call was the beautiful Kilkenny City, a vibrant medieval city which displays a wonderful Waterford blend of the old and new, dating back minutes away from Kinnitty Castle to the 6th century, with its hotel. These early nomadic men many structures and buildings would have hunted and gathered highlighting the many periods on the edge of the lakes which since then. It is a regular winner of have now turned to peat bogs. Ireland’s tidiest town awards and Renowned for being the birthplace as I walked along the lanes and and early home of legendary Fionn bylanes of this stunning city, all I MacCool along with being the could see was rows and rows of spawning ground of the Salmon beautiful flowers. A crash course of Knowledge which brought with to learn how to play the traditional him the wisdom of the world, the Irish drum, the ‘Bodhrán’, in the Slieve Blooms rolling hills inspire. atmospheric surroundings of The Kinnitty Castle has a long and Kilkenny’s oldest pub, Kytelers colourful history which dates back Inn followed by dinner in Kyteler’s to ancient times. Located on an Inn made for an exciting day. This ancient druidic ceremonial ground, was followed by a concert by Jordi where ley lines cross and mystical Savall who performed with Martin forces are prevalent, the area Hayes and Friends in the lovely St around Kinnitty can be considered Canice’s Cathedral as part of the to be the solar plexus chakra of Kilkenny Arts Festival. Famine ship On the last day of my trip, I visited the iconic Rock of Cashel, one of the most spectacular tourist attractions in Ireland. Cashel’s rich history is reflected in its built heritage, from prehistoric raths to mediaeval monasteries and fortified town houses, a Georgian Cathedral and a 21st century Library which holds regular exhibitions, workshops and concerts. The Georgian quarter also boasts the Bolton Library where you can find the smallest book in Ireland. I stopped at Kinnitty Castle Hotel for lunch before proceeding to the next stop. The earliest evidence of human habitation in Ireland is 6500 BC at Lough Boora, County Offaly just 15
Ireland. After lunch it was time to visit the Castle Demesne of Discovery. The award winning gardens of Birr Castle are rich in amazing rare trees, feats of science and engineering and wonderful wildlife. The Parsons family resides here in a structure that has been created over generations and is an environmental and scientific time capsule. I went on a tour of the Castle which is a family home since the 17th century. I also got to take a look at the largest telescope in the world, for over 70 years, created by the third Earl of Rosse in the 1840s. This world famous telescope has been fully restored and sits in the centre
Kilkenny of the Demesne to be viewed by everyone who visits. My journey into Ireland’s Ancient East- a region steeped in history and natural beauty was food for the soul and will be a memorable one for many years to come!
www.motownindia.com September 2015 I 45
CAR PRICES
Buyers’ Guide * Prices (Ex-Showroom Delhi)
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 lakh/Crore
ASTON MARTIN DB9 Rapide
Vantage
Vanquish AUDI A3
A4
A6 A8 L
Q3
Q5
Q7
RS5 RS6 Avant RS7 R8
R8 Spyder S4 S6 TT BENTLEY MOTORS Continental
Continental
Flying Spur Mulsanne BMW 1 Series
MODEL
6.0 6.0 6.0 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8 6 6.0 6.0 6.0
P P P P P P P P P P P
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
2.90 (Cr.) 3 (Cr.) 3.50 (Cr.) 1.86 (Cr.) 2.20 (Cr.) 2.40 (Cr.) NA NA NA 3.85 (Cr.) 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 35 Tdi Matrix TFSI quattro TDI quattro TDI quattro W12 TDI quattro S Edition 35 TDI Premium 35 TDI Premium Plus 35 TDI TDI Quatrro Premium TDI Quatrro Premium Plus TDI Quatrro Technology TDI QuattroTechnology TDI Quattro Premium TDI Quattro Premium Plus TDI Quattro Technology TDI Quattro Technology TFSI Quattro TFSI Quattro TFSI Quattro V8 FSI V10 FSI V10 FSI Plus S-Tronic V10 FSI TFSI Quatrro TFSI Quattro 45 TFSI Coupe Quattro
1.8 1.8 2.0
P P D
16.30 16.30 20
31.40 44.75 24.56
2.0
D
20
28.55
2.0
D
20
32.22
2.0
D
20
34.06
1.8 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 2.0 4.0 3.0 4.2 6.3 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 4.0 4.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 3.0 3.0 2.0
P D D D D D D D D P D D D D D D D D D D D D D D P P P P P P P P P P
15.64 17.11 17.11 17.11 17.11 17.11 14.94 14.94 NA 9.20 6 NA NA 15.73 15.73 15.73 14.10 14.10 14.10 13.20 12 12 12 11.30 9.20 10.4 10.4 8 7.60 7.60 7.70 10.30 NA 8.30
32.68 29.45 30.10 35.39 38.93 40.79 55.02 57.82 49.50 1.38 (Cr.) 1.17 (Cr.) 1.33 (Cr.) 1.87 (Cr.) 28.99 33.99 37.50 49.46 51.42 56.02 62.95 61.52 67.01 76.88 84.86 1.09 (Cr.) 1.35 (Cr.) 1.40 (Cr.) 1.71 (Cr.) 1.99 (Cr.) 2.31 (Cr.) 2.19 (Cr.) 52.64 95.25 60.35
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 6.38 8 NA
NA 3.28 (Cr.) NA 3.54 (Cr.) NA NA 4.03 (Cr.) NA 3.21 (Cr.) 3.40 (Cr.) 5.55 (Cr.)
118d Prestige
2.0
D
20.58
26.50
46 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
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 lakh/Crore
1 Series Coupe Volante Rapide S V8 Coupe V8 S Coupe V8 Volante V8 N430 V12 S V12 S Roadster Coupe Volante
VARIANTS
3 Series 3 series Gran Turismo 5 Series
6 Series
7 Series
X1 X3
X5
X6 Z4
M i8 BUGATTI Veyron (Sold out) CHEVROLET
Beat
Captiva Cruze
Enjoy
Enjoy
Sail Hatchback
118d Sport Line 320d Prestige 320d Sport Line 320d Luxury Line Sport Line Luxury Line 520d Prestige 520d Prestige Plus 520d Luxury Line 530d M Sport 640d Gran Coupé Eminence 640d Gran Coupé Design Pure Experience 730 Ld Prestige 730 Ld Eminence 730 Ld Signature 750Li Eminence 760Li Eminence ActiveHybrid 7L sDrive20d xLine xDrive20d Expedition xDrive20d xLine xDrive30d M Sport xDrive30d Expedition xDrive30d Design Pure Experience xDrive30d Design Pure Experience (7 Seater) xDrive40d sDrive 35i sDrive 35i Design Pure Traction M3 Sedan M4 Coupé M5 Sedan M6 Gran Coupé i8
2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0
D D D D D D D D D D D
20.58 18.88 18.88 18.88 19.59 19.59 18.48 18.48 18.48 14.69 17.54
29.50 34.90 38.90 38.90 39.90 42.90 44.90 47.90 49.90 59.90 1.14 (Cr.)
3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 5.0 6.0 3.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0
D
17.54
1.21 (Cr.)
D D D P P P D D D D D
16.46 16.46 16.46 11.62 7.46 13.85 17.05 18.56 18.56 15.35 15.35
92.50 1.06 (Cr.) 1.25 (Cr.) 1.46 (Cr.) 1.95 (Cr.) 1.41 (Cr.) 37.90 46.90 51.90 59.90 65.90
3.0
D
15.35
69.90
3.0
D
15.35
72.90
3.0 3.0
D P
15.9 10.37
1.15 (Cr.) 74.90
3.0
P
10.37
75.90
3.0 3.0 5.0 4.3 1.5
P P P P H
10.75 10.75 10.10 10.10 47.45
1.23 (Cr.) 1.25 (Cr.) 1.39 (Cr.) 1.80 (Cr.) 2.29 (Cr.)
Veyron Grand Sport
8.0
P
NA
12 (Cr.)
PS LS LT LT Option PS LS LT LT Option 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
1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 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
P P P P D D D D D D D D D P P P P P P D D D D D D P P P P
18.61 18.61 18.61 18.61 25.44 25.44 25.44 25.44 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
4.20 4.47 4.90 5.41 5.05 5.34 5.77 6.28 25.13 27.36 14.26 15.81 16.86 6.24 6.26 6.83 6.86 7.68 7.70 7.54 7.57 8.02 8.05 8.76 8.79 4.67 5.16 5.39 5.99
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 lakh/Crore
TCDi PS TCDi LS TCDi LS ABS 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 D D1 Go+ A T FERRARI California T Convertible FF FF 488 GTB Coupe Spider 458 Speciale F12 Berlinetta FIAT 500 Competizione Abarth 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 Sail Hatchback
1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.0 1.0 1.0 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5
D D D D P P P P D D D D P P P D D D D D D D D D
22.10 22.10 22.10 22.10 18.20 18.20 18.20 18.20 22.10 22.10 22.10 22.10 16.20 16.20 16.20 13.58 13.58 13.58 13.58 13.58 13.58 13.58 13.58 13.58
5.69 6.20 6.36 7.18 5.50 5.99 6.36 6.84 6.74 7.14 7.45 8.05 3.61 3.88 4.18 7.59 8.47 8.79 9.25 9.51 9.62 10.58 11.03 11.30
1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
P P P P P P P P
20.63 20.63 20.63 20.63 20.63 20.63 20.63 20.63
3.23 3.26 3.59 4.05 3.79 3.82 4.15 4.61
3.8 6.2 3.9 4.5 4.5 6.2
P P P P P P
9.51 6.49 6.96 8.46 8.46 6.66
NA NA NA NA NA NA
1.4 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 P D D D P P P P D D D P D D P P P D D D D
NA 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
29.85 6.44 7.31 7.18 7.95 8.49 7 7.99 9.15 9.67 8.47 9.62 10.09 6.12 7.13 7.69 4.94 5.36 7.18 5.88 6.51 7.14 7.52
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
9.59 14.34 12.70 12.78 8.71 6.42 8.56
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
P P P D D D P P P P P P D D D 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
5.06 5.77 6.58 6.47 6.95 7.68 6.75 7.71 8.70 9.73 9.14 9.70 7.89 8.61 9.60 10.20 22.15 23.73 25.67
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 lakh/Crore
Fiesta
Figo
Figo Aspire
Ambiente Trend Titanium LXi Duratec EXi Duratec ZXi Duratec Titanium Duratec LXi Duratorq EXi Duratorq ZXi Duratorq Titanium Duratorq Ambiente Trend Titanium Titanium+ Ambiente Trend Titanium Titanium+ Titanium (AT)
1.5 1.5 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
D D D P P P P D D D D P P P P D D D D P
25.01 25.01 25.01 15.22 15.22 15.22 15.22 19.99 19.99 19.99 19.99 18.2 18.2 18.2 18.2 25.8 25.8 25.8 25.8 17.2
8.50 9.39 10.18 4.14 4.71 5.04 5.45 5.05 5.62 5.94 6.35 4.89 5.76 6.69 7.24 5.89 6.76 7.69 8.24 7.79
E M/T EX M/T S M/T S MT Plus (i-VTEC) SX M/T VX M/T VX (O) M/T S A/T VX A/T E M/T EX M/T S M/T SX M/T VX M/T VX (O) M/T E M/T EX M/T S M/T V M/T VX M/T VX BL M/T VX A/T VX BL 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 4WD AVN A/T E S SV V VX S CVT V CVT E S SV V VX E S V V (O) E S V V (O) RS RS (O)
1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.2 1.2 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 1.2 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 1.5 1.5 1.5
P P P P / CNG P P P P P D D D D D D P P 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 P P D D D D D P P P P D D D D D D
18 18 18 NA 18 18 18 15.50 15.50 25.80 25.80 25.80 25.80 25.80 25.80 19.40 19.40 19.40 19.40 19.40 19.40 16.50 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 18.7 18.7 18.7 18.7 18.7 19 19 27.3 27.3 27.3 27.3 27.3 17.30 17.30 17.30 17.30 24.20 24.20 24.20 24.20 24.20 24.20
5.19 5.55 5.94 5.99 6.48 6.87 7.32 6.95 7.78 6.20 6.52 6.97 7.39 7.75 8.20 4.21 4.43 4.78 5.12 5.51 5.99 6.31 6.78 7.53 8.19 8.78 9.37 10.34 9.81 11.42 8.75 9.40 9.94 10.55 11.53 21.09 22.85 25.09 5.30 5.94 6.44 6.79 7.26 6.99 7.85 6.49 7.14 7.64 8.09 8.59 6.75 7.80 9.06 9.75 8.19 8.93 10.09 10.77 11.19 11.87
L S SX+ L LS S+ SX SX+ SX+ A/T SX (O) S M/T
1.6 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.8
P P P D D D D D D D P
15.29 15.29 15.29 21.38 21.38 21.38 19.67 19.67 17.01 19.67 16.30
8.59 9.57 11.19 9.46 10.42 11.45 11.59 12.67 13.57 13.6 14.43
HONDA
Amaze
Brio
City
CR-V
Jazz
Mobilio
HYUNDAI
Creta
Elantra
www.motownindia.com September 2015 I 47
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 lakh/Crore
Elantra
Eon
Elite i20
Grand i10
i10
i20 Active
Santa Fe
4S Fludic Verna
Xcent
SX M/T SX A/T L M/T S M/T SX M/T SX A/T D-Lite D-Lite+ Era+ Era+ Lpg Magna+ Magna+ LPG Magna+ Kappa Magna+ (O) Sportz Kappa Era Kappa Magna Kappa Sportz Kappa Sportz (O) Kappa Sportz Special Edition Kappa Asta Kappa Asta (O) CRDi Era CRDi Magna CRDi Sportz CRDi Sportz (O) CRDi Sportz Special Edition CRDi Asta CRDi Asta (O) Kappa Era Kappa Magna Kappa Magna (LPG) Kappa Sportz Kappa Asta Kappa Asta A/T Kappa Asta (O) CRDi Era CRDi Magna CRDi Sportz CRDi Asta CRDi Asta (O) Era Magna Sportz Sportz LPG Kappa Base Kappa S CRDi Base CRDi S CRDi SX 2WD M/T 2WD A/T 4WD A/T Base S S (O) S (O) A/T SX CRDi Base CRDi S CRDi S (O) CRDi SX CRDi SX A/T Kappa Base Kappa S Kappa S (O) Kappa SX Kappa SX (O) Kappa SX (O) A/T CRDi Base CRDi S CRDi S (O) CRDi SX CRDi SX (O)
1.8 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.0 0.8 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 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 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4 2.2 2.2 2.2 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1
P P D D D D P P P P/LPG P P/LPG P P P P P P P P P P D D D D D D D P P P/LPG P P P P D D D D D P P P P/LPG P P D D D D D D P P P P P D D D D D P P P P P P D D D D D
16.30 14.30 22.70 22.70 22.70 19.10 21.10 21.10 21.10 21.10 21.10 21.10 20.30 20.30 21.10 18.60 18.60 18.60 18.60 18.60 18.60 18.60 22.54 22.54 22.54 22.54 22.54 22.54 22.54 18.90 18.90 18.90 18.90 18.90 18.90 18.90 24 24 24 24 24 19.81 19.81 19.81 19.20 17.19 17.19 21.19 21.19 21.19 14.74 13.01 13.01 17.01 17.01 17.01 17.01 17.01 23.50 23.50 23.50 23.50 19.08 19.10 19.10 19.10 19.10 19.10 16.90 24.40 24.40 24.40 24.40 24.40
15.71 16.79 14.87 15.65 16.97 18.24 3.01 3.31 3.45 3.71 3.75 4.02 4.05 4.18 4.04 5.34 5.88 6.39 6.74 6.69 6.97 7.16 6.45 6.99 7.54 7.86 7.84 8.09 8.28 4.62 4.82 5.25 5.22 5.48 6.23 5.81 5.49 5.68 6.08 6.35 6.67 4.17 4.41 4.70 4.98 6.38 7.10 7.63 8.34 8.89 26.65 27.86 29.95 7.69 8.79 9.32 10.05 10.09 8.90 9.93 10.52 11.39 12.12 4.96 5.64 5.90 6.58 6.84 7.59 5.85 6.54 6.80 7.47 7.74
D-Max Single Cab D-Max Space Cab Flat Deck D-Max Space Cab Arched Deck BS4 4x2 MT BS4 4x2 MT HI Pack BS4 AT Premium
2.5 2.5
D D
NA NA
5.89 6.09
2.5
D
NA
6.99
3.0 3.0 3.0
D D D
12.08 12.08 NA
20.20 22 23.90
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
3.0 3.0 5.0 3.0 5.0 2.0 2.2 2.2 3.0
P P P P P P D D D
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
1.25 (Cr.) 1.37 (Cr.) 1.87 (Cr.) 1.52 (Cr.) 1.79 (Cr.) 50.23 50.55 46.72 58.86
MODEL
MU-7
XF XJ
XF
48 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
FUEL*
FUEL EFFICIENCY*
PRICE*
XFR Premium Luxury Portfolio Premium Luxury Portfolio
5.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0
P P P D D
NA NA 9.4 NA NA
NA NA 95.97 94.80 1.02 (Cr.)
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 5 Door Pure 5 Door Dynamic 5 Door Prestige 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 2.2 2.2 2.2 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 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 NA NA NA
1.10 (Cr.) 1.19 (Cr.) 41.61 45.42 47.03 51.02 1.81 (Cr.) 2.06 (Cr.) 2.46 (Cr.) 2.53 (Cr.) 2.61 (Cr.) 2.18 (Cr.) 2.56 (Cr.) 2.67 (Cr.) 2.74 (Cr.) 59.49 67.80 67.50 NA 48.73 52.40 56.21 1.15 (Cr.) 1.31 (Cr.) 1.50 (Cr.) 1.74 (Cr.)
Plus Non Ac BS4 Plus Ac BS4 Ex Non Ac BS4 Ex Ac BS4 SLE BS4 SLX BS4 ZLX BS4 C2 C4 C6 C8 RX5 MT RX6 MT RX7 AT S2 S4 S4 / S4 4WD S6 / S6 PLUS S8 S10 AT DI 2WD DI 2WD PS DI 4X4 4x4 CRDE D2 D4 D6 ABS D6 ABS EXECUTIVE D2 D4 D6 W4 FWD W6 FWD W8 FWD W8 AWD Xclusive Edition D2 BS IV D2 MAXX BS IV D4 BS IV
2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.5 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.5 2.5 2.5
D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
15.96 15.96 15.96 15.96 15.96 15.96 15.96 17.21 17.21 17.21 17.21 11.18 11.18 11.18 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 20.08 20.08 20.08 20.08 20.08 20.08 20.08 15.10 15.10 15.10 15.10 15.10 14.88 14.88 14.88
6.88 7.27 6.50 6.90 7.30 7.82 7.99 6.41 7.28 7.75 8.26 19.83 21.87 23.17 8.69 9.29 9.70 / 10.83 10.48 / 10.79 11.68 13.13 5.21 5.45 5.96 8.25 6.72 6.95 7.65 8.13 6 6.27 6.89 11.20 12.47 14.07 15.06 14.49 / 14.65 8.07 7.86 8.49
H4 BS IV / ABS BS IV
2.2
D
14.02
8.96 / 9.20
2.2
D
14.02
10.23 / 10.62
2.2
D
14.02
11.47
E
NA
7.19
E
NA
7.67
P P P P P
22.74 22.74 22.74 22.74 22.74
2.52 2.89 3.11 3.27 3.25
LAMBORGHINI Aventador Huracan LAND ROVER Discovery 4
Freelander 2
Range Rover
Range Rover Evoque
Range Rover Sport MAHINDRA
Bolero
Quanto
Rexton
Scorpio
Thar
Verito
Verito Vibe
XUV 500
XYLO
H8 ABS BS IV / ABS AIRBAG BS IV H9 BS IV MAHINDRA REVA
JAGUAR
F-Type
ENGINE*
* Engine in Litres | Fuel - Petrol (P), Diesel (D), CNG, LPG, Hybrid (H), Electric (E) | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakh/Crore
ISUZU D-Max
VARIANTS
T2 e2o T20
Electric Motor Electric Motor
MARUTI
Alto 800
STD LX Lxi LXi Airbag Vxi
0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8
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 lakh/Crore
Alto 800
Alto K10
Celerio
Ciaz
Eeco
Ertiga
Gypsy Omni
Ritz
S-Cross
Swift
Swift Dzire
Swift Dzire
WagonR
WagonR Stingray MASERATI Ghibli
VXi Airbag LXi CNG LX Lxi LXi CNG Vxi VXi (O) VXi AGS Lxi LXi AGS Vxi VXi AGS Zxi ZXi (O) Zxi AMT LDi Vdi Zdi ZDi (O) GREEN Vxi Vdi VDi Plus VXi VXi Plus VXi Plus AT ZDi ZDi (O) ZDi Plus ZXi ZXi AT ZXi Plus 5 Seater 5 Seater Ac 7 Seater Flexi Green Flexi Green 5 Seater Non Ac Green 5 Seater Ac Lxi Vxi VXi ABS ZXi LDi Vdi Zdi LXi CNG VXi CNG King Soft Top King Hard Top MPI E LXi VXi VXi ABS VXi AT ABS ZXi Mc LDi Mc VDi Mc VDi ABS Mc ZDi Sigma Delta Zeta Alpha Delta Zeta Alpha LXi LXi (O) VXi ZXi LDi VDi ZDi LXi LXi (O) VXi VXi AT ZXi LDi VDi ZDi Mc Lx Mc LXi LXi CNG Mc VXi Mc VXi ABS LXi VXi VXi (O)
0.8 0.8 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 0.8 0.8 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2 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
P CNG P P P P P P P P P P P P P D D D D CNG D D P P P D D D P P P P P P CNG P CNG CNG P P P P D D D CNG CNG P P LPG P P P P P P D D D D D D D D D D D P P P P D D D P P P P P D D D P P CNG P P P P P
22.74 30.46 24.07 24.07 24.07 24.07 24.07 24.07 23.10 23.10 23.10 23.10 23.10 23.10 23.10 27.62 27.62 27.62 27.62 31.79 26.30 26.30 20.73 20.73 19.12 26.30 26.30 26.30 20.73 19.12 20.73 15.10 15.10 15.10 20 20 20 20 16.02 16.02 16.02 16.02 20.77 20.77 20.77 22.80 22.80 11.96 11.96 10.90 14.70 18.50 18.50 18.50 17.16 18.50 23.20 23.20 23.20 23.20 23.65 23.65 23.65 23.65 22.70 22.70 22.70 20.40 20.40 20.40 20.40 25.20 25.20 25.20 19.10 19.10 19.10 19.10 19.10 23.40 23.40 23.40 20.51 20.51 26.60 20.51 20.51 20.51 20.51 20.51
3.43 3.68 3.19 3.36 3.98 3.52 3.72 4.01 3.96 4.46 4.26 4.76 4.56 5.02 5.06 4.71 5.01 5.31 5.77 4.92 8.31 8.92 7.23 7.81 8.94 9.76 10.12 10.37 8.51 9.64 9.09 3.15 3.46 3.32 4.21 3.443 3.82 4.18 5.99 6.86 6.93 7.66 7.48 8.12 8.78 6.68 7.45 6.01 6.15 2.57 2.56 4.45 4.85 5.09 6.09 5.45 5.53 5.85 6.04 6.44 8.34 9.15 9.99 10.75 11.99 12.99 13.74 4.64 4.78 5.40 6.24 5.84 6.31 7.28 5.16 5.28 5.94 6.73 6.89 5.99 6.94 7.9 3.7 4.02 4.56 4.28 4.59 4.21 4.49 4.78
Ghibli
3. 0
D
NA
1.1 (Cr.)
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 lakh/Crore
Quattraporte Gran Turismo Gran Cabrio Gran Cabrio
Quattraporte Quattraporte GTS Gran Turismo Gran Turismo Sport MC Stradale Gran Cabrio Gran Cabrio Sport Gran Cabrio MC
3. 0 3.8 4.2 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7
P P P P P P P P
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
1.5 (Cr.) 2.2 (Cr.) 1.8 (Cr.) NA NA 2.0 (Cr.) NA NA
180 Sport Standard Edition 180 CDI Standard Edition New 180 Sport New 200 CDI Sport 200 CDI 200 Sport 200 CDI Sport 180 Sport 180 CDI 180 Sport Facelift 200 CDI Sport Facelift 200 Avantgarde 220 CDI Style 200 CDI Avantgarde 220 CDI Avantgarde 200 CDI Avantgarde 250 CDI Avantgarde 350 CDI Avantgrade V6 Cabriolet 200 CDI Style 200 CDI Sport 200 Sport 350 CDI 250 CDI 350 CDI 350 CDI 500 500 Coupe 600 Coupe 600 Guard 250 350 350 CLA 45AMG GLA 45AMG C 63 AMG E 63 AMG GL 63 AMG G 63 AMG Crazy Colour Edition ML 63 AMG SLK 55 AMG S 63 AMG Coupe S 63 AMG Sedan
1.6 2.1 1.6 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.1 1.6 2.1 1.6 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.1 3.0 3.0 2.2 2.2 2.0 3.0 2.1 3.0 3.0 4.6 4.6 6.0 6.0 2.2 3.5 3.5 2.0 2.0 6.2 5.5 5.5
P D P D D P D P D P D P D D D P D D P D D P D D D D P P P P D P P P P P P P
15.50 20.06 NA NA 17.90 15.04 17.90 14.91 18.98 NA NA 14.74 19.27 19.27 19.27 13.82 14.21 NA NA 17.90 17.9 NA NA 14.80 8.70 NA NA NA NA 8.8 NA 9.26 NA NA NA NA NA NA
26.53 25.61 27.45 28.45 31.50 35 35.90 28.84 27.75 29.45 30.45 41.70 39.90 42.90 37.90 48.50 50.70 59.90 78.50 31.31 34.25 36 77.50 56.60 67.90 1.13 (Cr.) 1.44 (Cr.) 2.00 (Cr.) NA 8.9 (Cr.) 76.50 91.90 71.90 68.50 69.60 1.07 (Cr.) 1.29 (Cr.) 1.70 (Cr.)
5.5
P
NA
2.17 (Cr.)
5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5
P P P P
10.41 NA NA NA
1.50 (Cr.) 1.26 (Cr.) 2.60 (Cr.) 2.53 (Cr.)
Cooper D Cooper S Cooper D Cooper Convertible CooperD
1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 2
D D D P D
21.15 21.15 21.15 NA 16.57
32.65 34.65 36.10 36.70 36.5
Sport 4x2 A/T Sport Di-D 4x4
2.5 2.5
D D
13.5 13.5
24.98 25.28
XE XE+ XL XL (O) XV X (O) SV XL XL Comfort XV CVT DCI XE DCI XL DCI XL Comfort DCI XV DCI XV Premium Active XL Active XV Active XV S XE XL XL CVT XE D XL D XV D XV D Premium Safety XV D Premium Leather XL XE D XL D
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 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.5
D D D D D D D P P P D D D D D P P P P P P D D D D D P D D
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 19.49 17.97 17.97 17.97 22.71 22.71 22.71 22.71 22.71 13.24 20.45 20.45
9.14 9.67 10.51 10.77 11.22 11.48 12.22 5.16 5.82 6.93 5.74 6 6.62 7.10 7.47 4.38 4.70 5.02 7.40 8.19 9.55 8.60 9.25 10 10.29 10.50 10.15 10.13 11.17
MERCEDES-BENZ A-Class
CLA-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
New Sunny
Terrano
www.motownindia.com September 2015 I 49
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 lakh/Crore
Terrano
XL D PLUS XL D THP XV OPTION D THP XV OPTION D THP Premium
1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
D D D D
20.45 19.01 19.01 19.01
11.45 11.64 12.60 12.92
Careera Careera S Careera 4 Careera 4S Careera Cabriolet Careera S Cabriolet Careera 4 Cabriolet Careera 4S Cabriolet GT3 Turbo Turbo S Targa 4 Targa 4 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 3.8 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 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 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.) 1.59 (Cr.) 1.78 (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 CRDi
1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
P P D D D
15 15 13 13 20
4.71 5.16 5.64 6.10 6.70
RXE RXL 85 PS RXE 85 PS RXL 85 PS RXL Plus 85 PS RXL Option 110 PS RXL 110 PS RXL AWD 110 PS RXZ AWD 110 PS RXZ Plus 110 PS RXZ Option E2 E4 4x2 MT 4X4 MT 4X4 AT 85 PS 85 PS RxE 85 PS RxL 85 PS RxZ 110 PS RxL 110 PS RxZ (7 Seater) 110 PS RxZ Stepway RxZ 110 PS 8 seater Stepway RxZ 110 PS 7 seater 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 2.0 2.0 2.0 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 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 D D D D D D D D D P P P P D D D
13.24 13.24 19.87 19.87 19.87 19.87 19.64 19.64 19.64 19.64 19.64 20.04 20.04 17.15 16.26 14.56 21.04 21.04 21.04 21.04 19.98 19.98 19.98 19.98 19.98 23.08 23.08 23.08 16.95 16.95 17.97 17.97 21.64 21.64 21.64
8.30 9.63 9.07 10.10 10.80 11.39 11.10 12.40 13.55 12.37 12.42 14.73 16.31 23.48 26.68 27.75 8.19 8.99 9.59 10.89 10.09 11.79 11.49 11.99 12.29 5.04 6.11 6.80 7.44 8.23 9.41 10.34 8.58 9.10 10.02
Ghost SWB Ghost EWB Ghost V-Specification Phantom Phantom EWB Drophead Coupe Coupe Wraith
6.6 6.6 6.6 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.6
P P P P P P P P
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
2.50 (Cr.) 3.05 (Cr.) NA 3.34 (Cr.) NA 4.01 (Cr.) 4 (Cr.) NA
Ambition TSI Elegance TSI AT Ambition TDI CR Ambition TDI CR AT
1.4 1.8 2.0 2.0
P P D D
16.80 14.70 20.60 19.30
16.25 19.66 17.87 18.55
MODEL
Boxter
Cayenne
Cayman Macan
Panamera
Octavia
Rapid
Rapid
Superb Yeti
Aria
Bolt
GenX Nano
RENAULT
Duster
Fluence Koleos
Lodgy
Pulse
Scala
Indica
Indigo eCS
Manza
Safari
Safari Storme
Sumo Gold
Vista Xenon XT
ROLLS-ROYCE Ghost Ghost Phantom Series II Wraith SKODA Octavia
FUEL*
FUEL EFFICIENCY*
PRICE*
Elegance TDI CR AT Active MPI Ambition MPI Plus Elegance MPI Elegance MPI Black Package Elegance Plus MPI 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 Plus AT Elegance Plus Black Package AT Elegance TSI MT Elegance TSI AT Elegance TDI CR AT Elegance TDI CR 4x2 Elegance TDI CR 4x4
2.0 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6
D P P P P P P
19.30 15 15 15 15 15 14.30
20.60 7.55 8.43 8.88 9.01 9.22 9.87
1.6
P
14.30
10.34
1.5 1.5 1.5
D D D
21.66 21.66 21.66
8.80 9.48 9.87
1.5
D
21.66
10
1.5 1.5
D D
21.66 21.66
10.83 11.18
1.5
D
21.66
11.31
1.5
D
21.66
11.52
1.5
D
21.66
11.65
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
21.65 23.30 26.25 20.10 21.80
Pure LX 4x2 BS IV Pleasure LX 4x2 BS IV Pride 4x4 BS IV XE Revotron 90PS XM Revotron 90PS XMS Revotron 90PS XT Revotron 90PS XE Quadrajet 75PS XM Quadrajet 75PS XMS Quadrajet 75PS XT Quadrajet 75PS XE XM XMA (AMT) XT XTA (AMT) 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 Safire GEXL Quadrajet LS Quadrajet LX Quadrajet VX Quadrajet EX Quadrajet EXL Dicor EX BS 4 Dicor LX BS 4 Storme LX BS 4 Storme EX Storme VX 4x2 Storme VX 4x4 CX BS 4 CX - PS BS 4 EX 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 XE Quadrajet 75PS XM Quadrajet 90PS XMS Quadrajet 90PS XT Quadrajet 90PS XMA Quadrajet 90PS
2.2 2.2 2.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 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 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.3 1.3 2.2 2.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3
D D D P P P P D D D D P P P P P D D P/CNG P/CNG P P D D D P/CNG P/CNG P P P P P D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D P P P P D D D D D
15.05 15.05 15.05 17.57 17.57 17.57 17.57 22.95 22.95 22.95 22.95 23.6 23.6 21.9 23.6 21.9 25 25 NA NA 15.64 15.64 25 25 25 NA NA 13.70 13.70 13.70 13.70 13.70 21.02 21.02 21.02 21.02 21.02 11.57 11.57 14.1 14.1 14.1 14.1 15.30 15.30 15.30 15.30 16.70 21.12 13.49 13.49 17.57 17.57 17.57 17.57 22.95 22.95 22.95 22.95 22.95
10.42 12.56 15.43 4.45 5.16 5.40 6 5.50 6.12 6.35 7 1.99 2.29 2.69 2.49 2.89 4.44 4.85 3.90 4.16 4.93 5.21 5.38 5.57 5.95 4.88 5.15 5.97 6.20 6.61 7.59 7.61 6.16 6.93 7.59 8.58 8.51 10.20 8.90 9.99 11.60 13.02 14.35 6.56 6.74 7.28 7.93 5.28 5.97 9.96 10.99 4.85 5.49 5.69 6.27 5.87 6.55 6.75 7.31 7.25
A/T Hybrid JS G
2.5 2.5 1.8 1.8
P P P P
12.98 19.16 14.05 14.05
26.62 31.20 13.06 14.58
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 lakh/Crore
PORSCHE
911
VARIANTS
Zest
Zest
TOYOTA
50 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
Camry Corolla Altis
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 lakh/Crore
Corolla Altis
Etios
Etios Liva
Etios Cross
Fortuner
Innova
Land Cruiser LC 200 Land Cruiser Parado Prius
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 A/T 4x4 A/T 4x2 M/T (TRD Sportivo) 4x2 A/T (TRD Sportivo) 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
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 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 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 D D D D D D D D D D D D
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 11.88 NA NA NA 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31 13.31
15.88 16.22 17.73 13.93 14.50 15.90 17.54 6.03 6.33 6.73 7.35 7.13 7.43 7.83 8.45 5 5.17 5.67 6.18 6.83 6.18 6.36 6.70 7.21 7.19 6.23 7.63 7.41 7.71 24.17 25.49 25.17 26.49 24.35 25.35 10.51 10.55 11.04 11.08 12.58 12.53 13.15 13.10 15.16 15.12 15.81
VX 200 Premium
4.5
D
9.65
1.19 (Cr.)
Parado VX-L
3.0
D
11.13
88.80
Z5 Z6
1.8 1.8
P P
23.91 23.91
38.10 39.80
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 Trendline Comfortline Highline Comfortline DSG AT Highline DSG AT Trendline Comfortline Highline Comfortline DSG AT Highline DSG AT
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 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.5 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 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 16.93 18.19 18.19 20.64 20.64 20.64 21.5 21.5
14.15 15.67 15.31 17.24 19.14 20.17 5.33 5.95 6.47 6.68 7.30 7.82 8.48 8.48 8.37 7.85 8.67 9.42 9.87 10.62 9.1 9.92 10.67 11.12 11.87
D3 Kinetic R-Design D3 Inscription T4 Petrol T6 Petrol D4 Kinetic D4 Momentum D5 Summum R-Design D4 Summum D5 Summum D4 Kinetic D4 Momentum
2 2 2.0 1.6 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.4 2.0 2.0 2.4 2.0 2.0
D D D P P D D D D D D D D
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
24.75 27.7 32.50 27 40.25 32.40 35.25 38.35 40.25 42.58 46.20 43.50 46.60
VOLKSWAGEN
Jetta
Polo
Vento
VOLVO V40 V40 Cross Country
S60
S80 XC60
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 lakh/Crore
R-Design D5 Inscription D5 Inscription D5 Momentum
XC60 XC90
2.0 2.4 2.0 2.0
D D D D
NA NA NA NA
52 50.20 65 72
OFF-ROAD VEHICLE PRICES SEGMENT
MODEL
ENGINE (CC)
PRICE (RS.)
Outlaw 50 Phoenix 200 RZR 170 Sportsman 400 H.O Sportsman 500 H.O Sportsman 570 EFI Sportsman 850 H.O Sportsman Big Boss 800 400 Crew 500 EFI Crew 800 Ranger Diesel Ranger EV RZR S 800 RZR XP 900 RZR XP4 900 Widetrak LS Multix
49 196 169 445 498 567 850 760 455 498 760 904 NA 760 875 875 488 NA
2.64 lakh 4.89 lakh 5.29 lakh 7.25 lakh 7.67 lakh 7.94 lakh 14.72 lakh 15.35 lakh 11.14 lakh 13.97 lakh 18 lakh 20.48 lakh 12.82 lakh 22.85 lakh 21.13 lakh 24.10 lakh 10.86 lakh 2.32 lakh
POLARIS
ATV & Youth Mode
Ranger
Ranger RZR Snowmobile Eicher Polaris
TWO WHEELER PRICES MODEL
ENGINE*
FUEL EFFICIENCY*
PRICE*
99.27 102 94.38 102 124.6 124.6 144.8 144.8 144.8 134.66 149 178.6 199.5 200 200 220 219.89
90 96.90 91 84 76 76 NA NA NA 68.10 65 58.10 58 NA NA 54.20 49.80
0.39 0.44 0.46 0.48 0.51 0.53 0.54 0.57 0.61 0.63 0.70 0.74 0.91 1.18 (Lakh) 1.30 (Lakh) 0.86 0.81
1170 1170 1170 1170 1293 1293 999 1170 1649 1649 1649
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
24.13 (Lakh) 29.73 (Lakh) 29.73 (Lakh) 25.96 (Lakh) 27.25 (Lakh) 29.41 (Lakh) 29.41 (Lakh) NA 34.35 (Lakh) 37.04 (Lakh) 44.79 (Lakh)
300 600 600 898 1131
NA NA NA NA NA
2.83 (Lakh) 5.15 (Lakh) 5.62 (Lakh) 9.48 (Lakh) 11.81 (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)
803 803 803 821 821 1198 1198 821 821 1198 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
* Engine in CC | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs
BAJAJ AUTO Platina 100 Platina 100 ES Discover 100 Discover 100 M Discover 125 M (Drum) Discover 125 M (Disc) Discover 150 S (Drum) Discover 150 S (Disc) Discover 150 F Pulsar 135LS Pulsar 150 DTS-i Pulsar 180 DTS-i Pulsar 200 NS Pulsar RS200 Pulsar RS200 ABS Pulsar 220 Avenger 220 DTS-i BMW MOTORRAD R 1200 R R 1200 GS ADV 0A02 R 1200 RT R 1200 X (RnineT) 0A06 K 1300 R K 1300 S S 1000 RR HP2 Sport K 1600 GT K 1600 GTL K 1600 GTL Exclusive 0603 DSK BENELLI TNT 300 TNT 600i TNT 600 GT TNT 899 TNT R DSK HYOUSUNG GT 250R Aquila 250 GT 650R GT 650N Aquila PRO ST7 DUCATI Scrambler Icon Scrambler Classic Scrambler Full Throttle Monster 821 Monster 821 Dark Monster 1200 Monster 1200 S Hyperstrada Hypermotard Multistrada Multistrada S White Multistrada S Red
www.motownindia.com September 2015 I 51
TWO WHEELERS * Prices (Ex-Showroom Delhi) MODEL
ENGINE*
FUEL EFFICIENCY*
PRICE*
* Engine in CC | Fuel Efficiency in kmpl/kmpkg | Prices in lakhs
Diavel Dark Diavel Carbon Red Diavel Carbon Star White Diavel Titanium (LE) Panigale 899 Panigale 1299 Panigale 1299 S Panigale R Panigale R F015 HARLEY DAVIDSON Street 750 Super Low Iron 883 Forty - Eight Night Rod Special Street Bob Fat Bob Fat Boy Heritage Softail Classic BreakOut Street Glide CVO Limited HERO MOTOCORP Pleasure Maestro HF Dawn HF Deluxe HF Deluxe Eco Splendor+ Splendor NXG Splendor PRO Splendor ISMART Super Splendor Passion Pro Passion XPro Glamour Glamour PGM - FI Ignitor Achiever CBZ Xtreme Xtreme Sports Hunk Impulse Karizma Karizma ZMR HONDA Dio DLX Activa DLX Activa i Activa i DLX Activa 125 Activa 3G Aviator Aviator DLX Lvio Livo (Disc) Dream Neo Dream Yuga CB Shine CB Unicorn CB Unicorn 160 CBR 150R CBR 250R CBR 650F CB 1000R CB 1000RR VT 1300 CX Gold Wing- GL 1800 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
MODEL
ENGINE*
FUEL EFFICIENCY*
PRICE*
150.82 199.89
NA NA
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
0.35 0.43 0.46 0.47 0.49 0.45 0.39 0.48 0.43
125 125 125 125
62 60 NA NA
0.67 0.71 0.75 0.79
346 499 346 346 500 346 499 499 499 535
53.40 NA 53.40 NA NA 53.40 53.40 39.35 39.35 NA
0.98 1.42 (Lakh) 1.11 (Lakh) 1.28 (Lakh) 1.63 (Lakh) 1.18 (Lakh) 1.51 (Lakh) 1.53 (Lakh) 1.60 (Lakh) 1.85 (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 675 675 800 800 800 800 1215 1699 1699 2294
18.12 18.13 NA NA NA 16.37 16.37 17.56 17.56 17.56 17.56 15.93 NA NA NA
5.99 (Lakh) 6.97 (Lakh) 7.18 (Lakh) 7.91 (Lakh) 11.06 (Lakh) 10.69 (Lakh) 12.14 (Lakh) 10.50 (Lakh) 11.60 (Lakh) 12.70 (Lakh) 12.14 (Lakh) 18.75 (Lakh) 13.95 (Lakh) 16.19 (Lakh) 21.29 (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
66 66 66 75.74 70.03 71.50 NA NA NA NA NA 62.40 NA 50.81 NA NA NA NA NA
0.50 0.48 0.49 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
1198 1198 1198 1198 899 1285 1285 1198 1198
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 1801
NA 21.70 21.70 NA 15.80 18.18 17.85 17.85 17.85 13.86 17.85 NA
4.32 (Lakh) 6.32 (Lakh) 7.22 (Lakh) 8.82 (Lakh) 22.02 (Lakh) 10.37 (Lakh) 13.03 (Lakh) 15.08 (Lakh) 16.45 (Lakh) 16.30 (Lakh) 29.91 (Lakh) 49.23 (Lakh)
102 109 97.2 97.2 97.2 97.2 97.2 97.2 97.2 124.7 97.2 109.1 124.7 124.8 124.7 149.1 149.2 149.2 149.2 149.2 223 223
49 50 80 80 80 81 81 81 NA 83.10 79 60 81.10 NA 52.40 68 65.10 65.10 65.10 55 48.50 51
0.43 0.51 0.38 0.40 0.44 0.43 0.43 0.44 0.47 0.51 0.47 0.47 0.53 0.59 0.57 0.58 0.66 0.72 0.66 0.69 0.78 0.97
109 109 109 109 125 110 109 109 109 109 109 109 124.7 149.1 162.71 149.4 249 650 998 999 1312 1832
60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 74 74 74 74 65 NA NA NA 30 NA NA NA NA NA
0.47 0.46 0.46 0.46 0.55 0.49 0.5 0.56 0.52 0.59 0.49 0.5 0.55 0.63 0.72 1.22 (Lakh) 1.58 (Lakh) 7.30 (Lakh) 11.81 (Lakh) 15.21 (Lakh) 13.99 (Lakh) 28.50 (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
1.35 (Lakh) 1.87 (Lakh) 1.85 (Lakh) 2.05 (Lakh)
149.56 147.55
NA NA
0.40 0.45
52 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
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 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 T100 Thruxton A2 Street Triple ABS A2 Speed Triple ABS A1 Daytona 675 ABS Daytona 675 R Tiger XR 800 Tiger XRx Tiger XCx Tiger 800 XC Tiger Explorer Thunderbird Storm Thunderbird LT 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
BHARAT FORGE LTD.
SPECIAL REPORT
AMIT KALYANI, Executive Director, Bharat Forge Ltd
BHARAT FORGE LTD.
Forging a MAKE IN INDIA Global Plan Report: : P. THARYAN
www.motownindia.com September 2015 I 53
SPECIAL REPORT
BHARAT FORGE LTD.
80 MT Loco Crankshaft
F
or the Baba Kalyani controlled Kalyani Group, ‘Make in India” has been a way of life. For long, this group which has business interests in the fields of automotive, energy, rail, marine, aerospace, defence and construction & mining, ‘Make in India’ has just been one part of its growth strategy. ‘Making for the World’ has been the other critical part of its strategy. Bharat Forge Ltd (BFL) is the flagship company of the Kalyani Group and is amongst the largest forging companies globally. The company is entering into the 50th year of operations, and according to Baba N Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director, BFL, “the best is yet to come”. For the financial year 201415, the total revenue of BFL stood at Rs 4548.10 crore with profit after tax of Rs 719 crore. The Company is India’s leading exporter of value added safety and critical powertrain and chassis components for automotive and industrial applications. Powertrain components include crankshafts and connecting rods, while chassis components include front axles and steering knuckles. It has four manufacturing facilities in India, four in Germany and one each in Sweden and France. Critical components for several sectors
include those for commercial and passenger vehicles, oil & gas, aerospace, rail and marine, energy (across renewable and nonrenewable sources), construction, mining and general engineering. In the last one year it made an entry into the Aerospace segment with 4 marquee customer contracts and also expanded manufacturing footprint in Europe with acquisition of Mécanique Générale Langroise, France. BFL also manufactures transmission parts and other automotive products like pistons, rockers arms, control arms, swivel hubs, wheel carriers and brackets According to Kalyani, BFL is extending its expertise in the automotive business across other industrial verticals. In order to do so, it is exploring further opportunities in high value, high growth sectors like Oil & Gas, Power & Nuclear, Thermal, Wind, Hydro, besides Rail, Marine and Aerospace. In the automotive segment, BFL’s global customers include the likes of Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, Toyota, Volvo, Renault, Dana, ArvinMeritor, Caterpillar, Cummins, and Iveco. The Kalyani group, through the company Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd (KSSL) has now undertaken a key initiative in the field of Artillery Gun Systems. The group hopes to realise the aim
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of becoming a leading defence player in the world. The Indian Gun Programme (IGP), one of KSSL’s star projects in the defence sector, is its key initiative in the field of Artillery Gun Systems.
BUSINESS PROSPECTS FOR BFL Bharat Forge’s business in the domestic market spans the full spectrum of the automotive industry (excluding two-wheelers), diesel engines, construction & mining, power, oil & gas, tractors and the general engineering space like sugar, cement and steel, among others. Around 43pc of BFL’s domestic revenues are contributed by the commercial vehicles. From financial year 201011 to 2013-14, it was a challenging period for the Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicle (M&HCV) segment, with volumes declining from the peaks of 384,801 units in FY 2011-12 to 221,699 units in FY 2013-14 due to several macroeconomic headwinds such as decline in GDP from 8.9pc in FY 2010- 11 to around 6.9pc in FY 2013-14, halt in mining activities in Karnataka and Goa, sharp reduction in infrastructure capex, increase in interest rates and fuel price among many other factors, notes the company. In FY 2014-15, the industry trend of the past three years reversed with volumes increasing
21pc to 268,553 units. This increase in demand was a result of culmination of various factors such as decreasing fuel prices, decline in Interest rates, lower excise duty, and resumption of mining activity in Karnataka and initial signs of recovery in the Indian economy. Though the CV market volumes grew by 21pc, the revenues of BFL from this grew by 25pc mainly on account of the growing customers and increased penetration in the existing customers. The passenger vehicle segment also witnessed positive demand in FY 2014-15 after almost two years of sluggishness. The return of the first time buyer and a positive sentiment in the urban markets resulted in the passenger vehicle volumes increasing by 4pc. Revenues for the company from the passenger vehicle segment grew by 5.3pc compared to FY 2013-14, says the company’s Annual Report 2014-15. Unlike the commercial vehicle sector which witnessed positive demand growth in FY 201415, the same was not visible in the industrial sector. Decline in infrastructure-related capex, sluggish IIP (Index of Industrial Production) numbers through FY 2014-15 impacted the sector across all major segments. BFL’s presence across many sectors and its relationship with key marquee OEMs enabled domestic industrial
Bharat Forge Ltd.
revenues to grow despite a challenging demand environment, says the company. The recent steps taken by the Government to revive the capex cycle in India by way of allocation of coal blocks, resumption of Iron ore mining, focus on public sector investment in the Road and Railways sector augurs well for the Commercial Vehicle sector and also for the resurgence of the capital goods sectors. Says Amit Kalyani, Executive Director, Bharat Forge Ltd, “ These measures coupled with the Government’s ‘Make in India’ programme, aimed at creating a vibrant manufacturing sector and an import substitution market opens up a potentially huge opportunity for technologyfocused manufacturing companies” . As a part of the ‘Make in India’ programme, focused efforts and activities have been undertaken to address the programmes of the Government in the Rail, Power, Defence and Aerospace sectors. “BFL’s focus on technology, innovation along with a strong R&D approach should assist in positioning it at the forefront to address these new opportunities,” adds Amit Kalyani. Amit Kalyani also serves on the Boards of several group companies such as Kalyani Steels Limited, BF Utilities Limited, Automotive Axles Ltd., Khed Economic Infrastructure Pvt.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel with Baba Kalyani, Chairman & MD, Bharat Forge during the joint walk at the Industrial trade fair Hannover Messe in Germany Limited (KEIPL), among others.
Global markets With the US auto industry showing signs of revival and the country registering a robust economic growth, the year gone by has been good for BFL. The class 8 truck (The Class 8 trucks are those with gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) exceeding 14969 kg) production volumes grew by around 20pc while the Passenger Vehicle segment also witnessed growth. In the November 2014 to February 2015 period, a sharp uptick in Class 8 trucks net orders was witnessed, causing a jump in production backlog from normal levels of 100,000 units to around 190,000 units. European car sales in 2014 rose for the first time in seven years, but the sales gains were
primarily driven by discounting, state-backed incentives, fleet sales and change in consumer spending pattern rather than a genuine recovery of consumer confidence as consumers needed to replace their cars regardless of economic conditions. The overall CV market also showed marginal growth because the strong growth in the LCV’s was negated by a 7pc decrease in M&HCV volumes. The auto sector contributes around 50pc of the total exports of BFL. The revenues from the auto segment in the export markets in FY 2014-15 grew as compared to FY 2013- 14 mainly on account of new customer addition and a ramp up in the passenger vehicles orders. According to the BFL report, in 2015-16, growth in the auto industry is expected to be led by
special Report
the NAFTA region, strong orders, long backlogs, better freight volumes, a healthy economic outlook, an old playing fleet, rising profitability of fleet operators and the sharp plunge in crude prices can be the contributing factors for a sustainable year forward, if not better. Looking ahead, the expected continuation of Eurozone economic recovery bodes well for the automotive industry. “We expect the Heavy Truck segment volumes to grow by 2-5pc over the next two years. We expect to continue to grow our export business on the automotive side by focusing on new product development, working on providing solution such as light weighting, fatigue enhancement, increasing our market share with existing customers while simultaneously working on adding new customers and markets,” says Amit Kalyani. The Company’s presence in the international industrial segment extends across three verticals namely Energy (Oil & Gas, Power across sources), Transportation (Aerospace, locomotive & Marine) and Materials (Construction and Mining). The year 2014 was a difficult year for the oil and gas sector with crude oil prices rapidly declining from peak levels of US$ 120 per barrel to as low as US$ 55 per barrel in the span of few months. “The Company made
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SPECIAL REPORT tremendous progress in its journey of further developing the industrial business. In the aerospace sector, BFL has achieved all the requisite approvals. The Company has entered into relationship with four global OEMs to develop a portfolio of products over the next few years,” says Kalyani. As part of its latest acquisition, BFL’s German subsidiary, CDP Bharat Forge GmbH, has acquired 100pc equity shares of Mécanique Générale Langroise (MGL) for EUR 11.8 Million. MGL, based in Saint Goesmes, France, is focused on precision machining and other high value added processes. MGL primarily caters to global Oil & Gas industry and supplies turnkey components for drilling application. The acquisition further consolidates BFL position in the Oil & Gas space by enhancing service offerings and geographical reach.
INNOVATION AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR) BFL strongly believes that the next round of growth will be propelled by creating opportunities through
BHARAT FORGE LTD.
innovation. “Innovation is at the heart of everything BFL does. Our in-house R&D team has been committed to work on various projects including developing technologies to minimise carbon footprint and manufacture light weight products that result in lower energy consumption. Innovation is a continuous on-going process in the Company which has helped us explore new ideas and deliver solutions for transformation consistently. Innovation for new products is being carried out by the Company not only for products in the automotive space, but in the non-automotive space as well,” points out Amit Kalyani. Bharat Forge has endeavoured to develop fossil free technologies that aim at providing greener technologies that its automotive clientele can capitalise on. Innovative application of latest technologies has helped the Company develop critical and high value added products for the non-automotive sector. Today, BFL is an indigenous supply source for some of these products which were largely imported earlier.
“With innovation at its heart, BFL continues its endeavour of venturing through diversification and manufacturing of high-quality products that drive change and sustainability,” notes Amit Kalyani. In his address to shareholders of BFL, Baba Kalyani says, “...Using our state-of-the-art Research & Innovation centre, and a talented resource pool, I am happy to inform that in FY 201415, your Company has completed the requisite quality homologation process to supply forgings. Our progress has been rewarded — your Company has successfully entered into relationships with four global OEMs. We are working on developing a roadmap to transform this relationship from single product to a portfolio of products over the next few years. Goal 2018: 2X 2014 Your Company has charted out an ambitious plan to double the standalone operations topline from Rs 3,400 crore achieved in FY 2013-14 to about Rs 7,000 crore by FY 2017-18, a growth of 20pc CAGR over the defined period. Your Company plans
to achieve this through several growth initiatives led by improving market share and creating a broader product offering in industries we currently serve. Your Company’s in-house Innovation & Technology Centre will be a key catalyst in almost all the growth initiatives. “...Advanced manufacturing encapsulates a wide spectrum of activities and processes. Your Company’s focus with regards to advanced manufacturing centres on four key activities namely 3D printing, Electron Beam Welding, laser welding and nanotechnology. All these activities will be carried out at our world class Technology Centre, KCTI. I am happy to share with you that we have already started making prototypes using both plastic and metal while the other activities are at an early stage and will ramp up over the next few months and quarters.” Baba Kalyani’s words are obviously music to the ears of the company’s shareholders, for they know the company has in the past weathered many a storm and come out unscathed.
KALYANI STRATEGIC SYSTEMS LTD The Kalyani group has formulated a new defence holding company under the name of Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd (KSSL). The Indian Gun Programme (IGP), one of KSSL’s star project in the defence sector, is its key initiative in the field of Artillery Gun Systems. KSSL is a one stop solution for Artillery systems, offering comprehensive solution which includes processing of raw material (special grade ESR steel), cross disciplinary domain knowledge across verticals like metallurgy, material science, mathematical modeling, servoelectrical, hydraulics, electronics, etc, design & engineering capabilities, state of the art barrel manufacturing plant, fabrication facility, assembly, integration and testing.
BHARAT 52 KSSL’s state-of-the-art Bharat-52 is a long-range 155mm/52 calibre gun. It is the first indigenous solution of its kind designed and developed in India. Bharat-52 is a futuristic towed gun, providing a highly maneuverable field artillery solution. It has been designed for accuracy, stability and reliability during moving and firing maneuvers, and is based on the requirements of the Indian Army. Bharat-52 is capable of a range exceeding 40km and utilises selfpropelling capability and automatic laying mode. The Anti-backlash drive for elevation and traverse make it a truly unique system and a robust solution for superior battlefield operation. It is designed to operate as an all- weather system and has superior all-
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terrain mobility. Extremely easy to deploy, it takes a team of six crew members to deploy the system within one minute during day time and 1.5 minutes during night time. Bharat-52 in self-propelled mode is capable of achieving a mobility of 30kmph using its own diesel engine and electronic steering system. GARUDA 105 Garuda 105 is ultra-light gun system which utilises the high end Soft Recoil Technology. This allows the weapon (gun) to
be placed on light vehicles and nonstandard platforms, including aircraft and coastal and river patrol watercraft. BEAS BEAS is a 130mm M46 to 155mm/45 calibre gun which has been designed and developed by with proven track record of Elbit Systems.
AVTEC LTD.
SPECIAL REPORT
PRABHAKAR KADAPA, CEO, Avtec Ltd
AVTEC LTD.
On a Hi-Tech Journey Report: : P. THARYAN / Photography: MOHD. NASIR
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SPECIAL REPORT
A
vtec Ltd, among the several brilliant companies of the CK Birla Group, has got several formulas ready for engineering a massive growth in the near future. But the common ingredient that will make all these formulas fool proof and successful is evidently very simple—“Make in India”. Having become an expert on the heavy engineering front by producing powertrain aggregates, the company has put together a handful of strategies to emerge as a major force to reckon with in not just powertrain aggregates but also high-precision engine and transmission components for the automotive and off-highway Industry, besides the Indian
AVTEC LTD.
Railways. All this with the aim of becoming a Rs 3000 crore company in the next few years. “The company’s growth has been a bit slower in the last two years as compared to the earlier years. But now we are poised for a greater growth. In the year 2012 when we came out with a strategy we were treating Avtec as one company. We came out with an SBU (Strategic Business Unit) structure that had Automotive, Off Highway, Components and our overseas division of Assag. We now have four different SBUs. That really helped us to focus on growth and especially the products we decided to get into,” says Prabhakar Kadapa, CEO of Avtec Ltd in an exclusive interview with Motown India. Avtec currently undertakes proprietary and contract
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manufacturing of petrol and diesel engines and transmissions for passenger cars, SUVs and light and medium commercial vehicles. Flexible manufacturing capabilities allow a mix of process- and product-based layouts, for both batch and high volume production. The company’s automotive offerings are also backed by R&D capabilities in India and Switzerland. Avtec expanded its global footprint by acquiring Assag, a Switzerland-based company that is into face gear technology. Assag is the world leader in crown gear technology and a leading enterprise for drive systems. Assag , with headquarter in Dudingen, Switzerland, has a big engineering team for R&D of face gears. It also encompasses assembly line for gears with varying diameter,
prototype building, testing and validation. The Switzerland based company has a sophisticated face gear manufacturing unit in the Netherlands. With modern machinery and comprehensive measurement systems, the Netherlands unit is capable to provide high quality gears with shorten delivery time. Meanwhile, back in India, Avtec’s manufacturing units in Pithampur near Indore and Hosur in Tamil Nadu, are engaged in the proprietary products and contract manufacturing of engines and transmission aggregates for some of the renowned global OEMs’ such as Ford, GM, Renault-Nissan and Daimler, to name a few. The company had set up a capacity of putting together 200,000 units of transaxles per annum initially in Hosur for Ford India. But when
AVTEC LTD.
Ford India went on an expansion drive into Gujarat, Avtec too set up an adjoining facility for another 250,000 units per annum. Put together, Avtec is capable of assembling 450,000 transaxles and each transaxle is completely tested as per international standards. “The USP of the Switzerland based company is that it has got a lot of Intellectual Properties. There is a technology called face gear. We are the global patent holder for this particular gear profiling or gear designing. Hitherto they were only producing customised gear box, using only the technology. The proliferation of this technology is a little slow because the way we were manufacturing, cost competitiveness was little difficult, given their cost structure. So what we decided as part of our strategy
is that we are having a big plan to do the manufacturing in India to offer a cost effective solution to the design of Switzerland so that the combined revenue between Avtec and Assag would go up multi-fold. That is one strategy,” says Kadapa. Kadapa notes that the second strategy is that “they are very competent in creating gear boxes for varieties of applications. That is another area we are working very closely. Third is that supporting Avtec here, a couple of design programmes are given to them so that they design and give it to us and Avtec will do the piloting, validation and testing for the customers. All this will help us to harness their intelligence competency in the design field. All these three put together will support the Avtec growth plan of
SPECIAL REPORT
Rs 3000 crore before 2019-20. We want to grow to a Rs 3000 crore company”. Kadapa stresses that Assag has a larger role to play in product development. For its various clients Assag will give design solutions and Avtec will do the manufacturing. “As for the customers of Assag, the latter will do the design and we shall manufacture for them. In other words, there will be a seamless integration of the parent company and the acquired company,” he adds. The Hosur plant of Avtec manufactures both automatic and power-shift hauling transmission for domestic and global offhighway enterprises. It follows a cellular manufacturing approach, which supports a broad product mix and a faster response. Another
plant, located in the Madras Export Processing Zone (MEPZ), Chennai is a completely export oriented unit caters to the global demands.
MANUFACTURING CAPABILITIES OF AVTEC Avtec’s manufacturing units in Pithampur, Hosur and Chennai are equipped with some of the best of international machines like Liebherr, Gleasen, Hyundai, Mori Sekie, Reishauer and Escofier. Globally it had acquired Assag of Switzerland. According to the company, ‘Cylkro’ Gear Production B.V (CGP), in Hengelo, the Netherlands, is a 100pc subsidiary of Assag equipped with sophisticated manufacturing facility for face gears. With modern machinery and comprehensive measurement system, CGP can
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SPECIAL REPORT provide high quality face gears with shorter delivery time. Avtec has also formed a joint venture with Russian local engine manufacturer ZVD under the name AZ Powertrain. The company is setting up a plant in the Togliatti region for the manufacture of engine and transmission for a Sports utility vehicle in Russia. Production is expected to begin by the end of 2015. Avtec has now decided to focus a lot on components. The range of components manufactured by Avtec includes: • 5 ‘C’s of Engine: Cylinder head, Cylinder blocks, Crank shaft, Connecting rod and Camshaft - Complex Casting Parts: Exhaust & Inlet manifold Flywheel, Rocker cover • Transmission components for Automotive & Off-highway • High precision Gears & Shafts • Transfer case • Planetary gear drive
AVTEC LTD.
• Double synchro pack “Where aggregates are concerned, I am seeing more of a domestic market demand. But then I also see that my customer is exporting his products. In the global market, for aggregates, the companies would prefer that their customer is near them in terms of location. We are seeing a lot of potential for exports in the speciality components segment. We are very competitive when it comes to high technology, high complexity component systems and sub systems. The RFQs (Requests for Quotation) I have received for these type of components are enormous and I am forced to say that this is a high growth area. Today 12 to 15pc of revenues come from exports which largely comprises of components. In the next three to four years, it would go up to at least 25 to 30pc and this would primarily be components and sub-systems,”
A worker at the Hosur plant in Tamil Nadu informs Kadapa. The components manufactured by Avtec are not limited to only off highway and on highway segments. The company has had an opportunity to work with the Indian Railways which was till recently importing parts from the US; Now Avtec is able to give them an import substitution solution. “Year on year we are getting more orders from them and
newer parts are getting added,” Kadapa says gleefully. . Kadapa is clear of the strategy for the next three years for his company. “We want to grow organically. Inorganic growth could happen after three years. Today the Make in India programme is coming very strongly. It is going to provide a lot of manufacturing in India for hi tech components,” he concludes.
A transmission assembly in progress 60 I September 2015 www.motownindia.com
AVTEC LTD.
SPECIAL REPORT
INTERVIEW WITH PRABHAKAR KADAPA Avtec has been a major supplier of engine and transmission aggregates to several OEMs in India. Is it fair to assume that your overall business has grown in India, keeping in mind the launch of several new vehicle models in the country? We at Avtec look at a long term strategy of what we do and how we want to do things. We have a process of creating a strategy document for a three years period. Every year we revisit it. Then we see whether we are there as per this strategy document and decide on the steps we need to take. The company’s growth has been a bit slower in the last two years as compared to the earlier years. But now we are poised for a greater growth. In the year 2012 when we came out with a strategy we were treating Avtec as one company. We came out with an SBU (Strategic Business Unit) structure. We came out with a structure that had Automotive, Off Highway, Components and our overseas division of Assag. We now have four different SBUs. That really helped us to focus on growth and specially the products we decided to get into. Thus, we were able to come out with good product planning. That helped us to move into a faster track with regards to growth. The commercial vehicle segment has been in the doldrums for the last couple of years. Are you seeing an increase in orders from this segment? This segment has got different product classes when it comes to capacities. The Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) segment has grown fairly well. In between for a year or two the growth was a bit subdued here. Rather than going to a subone tonne segment the market is moving to a one tonne to 3 tonne segment. That gives them more goods carrying capabilities. I see a lot of products coming in this
segment in the future. Probably in the next two years we could witness a good growth in the CV segment. We are also into off-highway transmissions. Two things are happening here, a lot of private mines are coming and a lot of them are being allotted and many more are in the offing. Iron ore mining has also restarted in the country. These two are going to kick start a lot of mining related equipment sales. In this segment, players are moving to higher engine capacity vehicles.
very competitive when it comes to high technology, high complexity component systems and sub systems. The RFQs (Requests for Quotation) I have received for these type of components are enormous and I am forced to say that this is a high growth area. Today 12 to 15pc of revenues come from exports which largely comprises of components. In the next three to four years, it would go up to at least 25 to 30pc and this would primarily be components and sub-systems.
On the engines and transmissions front, is the demand primarily from the domestic market or are exports too an area of growth? Where aggregates are concerned, I am seeing more of a domestic market demand. But then I also see that my customer is exporting his products. In the global market, for aggregates, the companies would prefer that their customer is near them in terms of location. We are seeing a lot of potential for exports in the speciality components segment. We are
What led you to get into specialised components? Actually if you are an aggregate player you do manufacture components for this aggregate. You hold accountability for the quality at the component level as well as the system level. What we have seen is that exporting an engine or gear box of varied sizes is more difficult from the market point of view. The heart of the gear box consists of components. The customers want components to be provided to them built to the print and then they would
be able to assemble it. They want it assembled near to their plant. When we observed this change, we decided we have all the competencies, the machinery and the people who understand this subject very well, why not we become the component manufacturer. Then we started being aggressive in the market. We have acquired lot many customers in the last six months. We are also working with a large number of RFQs and probably in a year or two I would be able to give you more numbers in terms of customers. We are definitely in the right direction. The Hosur plant manufactures both automatic and powershift hauling transmission for domestic and global offhighway enterprises. Now is this area showing signs of increased demand, both in the domestic as well as global markets? When I started in 2009-10, this plant was a much smaller plant but with a very large area. It was only into mining and construction equipment gearboxes. The generic
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SPECIAL REPORT talk was that this plant could only produce batch production, small order production and the people here are content giving their best. During the meeting with employees, we got to know they wanted to learn more, want to produce more products, and the opportunities that lay before them. That made me realise that this plant has the capability to host the other set of products. One of our customers for whom we have been loyal suppliers for 14-15 years, proposed to us whether we could set up a facility in Chennai which would be next door to them. They were going in for a major expansion in India. We told them we would set up a facility in Hosur which is four hours away from Chennai and I would be able to supply all the goods that you talked about. We also told them that simultaneously we would offer them a cost advantage because coming to Chennai would mean that I would have to have a place, have management bandwidth, etc. We told them we have everything ready here in Hosur and it would be like a plug and play facility. They agreed and that was a turning point for us. We set up a capacity of 200,000 units per annum initially. In the meantime our esteemed customer had set up a plant in Western India and gone for an expansion in the country. We have set up an adjoining facility which is another 250,000 units per annum. Put together we are capable of assembling 450,000 transaxles and each transaxle is completely tested as per international standards. That’s a success story there. Built up on that, we set up a component plant here because this part of the region there are a lot youngsters who are professionals. We were thus able to pick the right talent here and train them from quality and price point of view. We were able to offer a value to the customer. That’s where the component park has come. There is no limitation as to the components are to be made only for off highway or on highway. We
AVTEC LTD.
have had an opportunity to work with the Indian Railways. Hitherto they were importing parts from the US, now we have been able to give them import substitution solution to them. Year on year we are getting more orders from them and newer parts are getting added. Since your company is into highly engineered products, how much of emphasis do you give on R&D? Can you give us details on that? Initially we used to have a normal product engineering cell. We were into high tech mechanical engineering super laced with electronics and controlling. We thought this could be in close proximity to Bangalore. We started this tech centre in 2012. We have around 50 engineers working here and in the plant we have around 12 such people. The total strength here is around 62 people. We also have around 10 to 12 very qualified engineers working in Switzerland. In a year’s time we hope to increase this total number to around 100 from the present level of 72. A lot of testing is done in the respective plants. Basically the development, machining and other things like prototype building is all done at the respective plants. The engineers based in Hosur will coordinate with the ones working in other plants. The conceptualisation, design and development are all done here in Hosur. Your business depends a lot on contract manufacturing, especially when it comes to engines and transmissions. But with OEMs too investing big in this area, what do you think is the scope for this activity in the coming years? Our business model is as follows. We do contract manufacturing. If an OEM has a proven design they want us to manufacture. Our capability of indigenisation, sourcing, assembling and providing the right quality comes into picture. This constitutes around 65pc of the business.
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As far as the remaining 35pc is concerned, we develop products, we have IP rights, and we produce the quality product and supply the product. These two are not competing with each other. In fact they are complimentary to each other. When we talk to our customers, they want our early involvement in the development of the product. In fact our design capabilities are also helping us to get an order on the contract manufacturing as well. When a customer envisages a large volume, they may want to do it in-house. There are exceptions there. Some customers want to outsource engines, some believe in outsourcing transmissions, and some believe that below 50,000 volume, they leave it to a good vendor. The vendor is not just a supplier but a business supplier or a business partner. All in all one requirement which predominantly comes is that we need to be good at design. The days are gone where you just build it to the print. There is huge value addition possible today. We are having the design which promotes our contract manufacturing. A simple manufacturing company is less preferred than a company which has engineering skills coupled with manufacturing skills. For us it is very complimentary to have a design. In other words it is essential to have a design. Our Switzerland based company which essentially designs and prototypes want to transform themselves into a volume producer using Avtec in India as a backend. Thus, we are capable of designing. If a customer has a design, we can even deliver to his print. The USP of the Switzerland based company is that it has got a lot of Intellectual Properties. There is a technology called face gear. We are the global patent holder for this particular gear profiling or gear designing. Hitherto they were only producing customised gear box, using only the technology. The proliferation of this technology is a little slow because the way we were manufacturing cost
competitiveness was little difficult, given their cost structure. So what we decided as part of our strategy is that we are having a big plan to do the manufacturing in India to offer a cost effective solution to the design of Switzerland so that the combined revenue between Avtec and Assag would go up multi-fold. That is one strategy. The second is that they are very competent in creating gear boxes for varieties of applications. That is another area we are working very closely. Third is that supporting Avtec here, a couple of design programmes are given to them so that they design and give it to us and Avtec will do the piloting, validation and testing for the customers. All this will help us to harness their intelligence competency in the design field. All these three put together will support the Avtec growth plan of Rs 3000 crore before 2019-20. We want to grow to a Rs 3000 crore company. They have a larger role to play in product development. For our clients Assag will give design solutions and Avtec will manufacture. As for the customers of Assag, the latter will do the design and we shall manufacture for them. In other words a seamless integration of the parent company and the acquired company. Will you take an organic or an inorganic route for growth? The strategy for the next three years is very clear. We want to grow organically. Inorganic growth could happen after three years. Today the Make in India programme is coming very strongly. People have already seen it at a distance. But if you see it closely, it is going to provide a lot of manufacturing in India for hi tech components. We are seeing an organic growth in the fields where we are there. We are also seeing a huge business opportunity in the powertrain field in the defence sector. All in all put together I would see that organic is the first strategy of the company. Inorganic comes later on.
SPECIAL REPORT VARROC ENGINEERING PVT LTD.
INTERVIEW WITH
DR. RAVI DAMODARAN
President- Technical, Strategy & HR, Varroc Engineering Pvt Ltd.
Report: P. THARYAN / Photography: MOHD. NASIR
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SPECIAL REPORT Varroc makes a diversified portfolio of products for the two wheeler industry and is perhaps the largest supplier in the two wheeler industry. Is this portfolio more or less complete or is the company exploring newer products? Varroc has probably the most diverse portfolio of products for the two wheeler industry ranging from plastics to electrical, electronics and metallic products for powertrains. We even make catalytic converters. We are in the process of transforming ourselves from a component supplier to a system supplier and this means two things. There will be a continuous churn of products as well as consolidation of products. For example we make electronic control systems for ignition as well as metallic transmission assemblies. The future belongs to electronically controlled transmissions for IC engines. With our control technologies and knowledge of transmission products, this would be a natural metamorphosis. Besides we are discussing future products based on the market trends and moves and these will add more product lines. Hybrid and electric vehicles will be very disruptive to existing suppliers to IC engine two wheelers and we are preparing for this changeover as well. The Triom acquisition helped you both in India and overseas. What were the obvious rub-offs, post this acquisition? The impact of Triom acquisition for both our Indian and overseas business has been very slow to take shape since we expect most of
VARROC ENGINEERING PVT LTD.
the benefits to impact engineering capabilities in India and addition of Japanese OEM business in Vietnam. Both of these as you know are long lead items and these are taking shape. We should be able to see visible impacts in terms of customer wins or new product launches next year. What is the current share of the two wheeler business in your total business pie? Two wheeler business is roughly 35pc of our overall business and it has been so for the past two years as we continue to grow both our passenger car
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and two wheeler business at the same rates, despite them being in different markets and regions. In early 2015 you entered into a technical collaboration with Scorpion Automotive. What has been the progress till now, both for the two and four wheeler segments? The technical collaboration with Scorpion Automotive was to develop security systems for the Indian market. As you know the Indian market has seen launches of bike locators by two OEMs
last quarter which is the first step to putting full-fledged security systems in a bike. It is interesting to understand this launch. Bike locators by themselves are of use in crowded parking areas, which is increasingly common in parking lots. These use pretty much the same wireless technologies as in an immobilizer. Normally bike locators are a feature on security systems. Bike thefts on the other hand are a common disease in India and surprisingly OEMs have not put a solution in
VARROC ENGINEERING PVT LTD.
SPECIAL REPORT
place although these exist in the passenger car market today. We have developed prototypes of full-fledged security systems with RFID immobilizers, alarms and bike locators for technology demonstrations and have already engaged with major OEMs to spread awareness on the utility of these systems. We would be focusing entirely on the two wheeler segment for this product since on the passenger cars, security is covered generally as part of other systems such as engine management system. Your company has targetted an ambitious 20,000 crore turnover by 2020...up from around 8,000 crore.....Has the company zeroed in on any targets for the inorganic route? Our strategy for 2020 in terms of products, geographies we have to expand to are pretty much in place and we have been continuously evaluating targets. The broad areas to expand obviously are in the field of electronics, fuel efficient powertrains and exterior lighting. We have not narrowed down on any targets yet as the field is large and none meet our criteria in totality as of today. The process is slow and we are being cautious and choosy about it. World class technology acquisition in these fields is an element we do not want to compromise with and so we are prepared to wait for the right opportunity to come along. In the two wheeler space, are you exploring business with the makers of superbikes? If yes, elaborate. We do supply transmission gears to Harley Davidson in India and Ducati in Italy even today. Besides, we supply lighting to superbikes in Italy and are developing lighting solutions for superbikes in India also. So the thought process is very much there in our scheme of things. I talked about future products such as electric vehicles, hybrids, electronically control transmissions and products such
Automotive lighting products from Varroc as security systems some of which are at a testing stage with many OEMs. Our penetration strategy for some of these may include superbikes as a natural entry point. This is something we are evaluating as we prefer to be a supplier to the mass market and a niche market entry is not alien to us. Within your product portfolio, which are the ones where the company will see a lot of action in terms of technological challenges and also increased production? I think the technology challenges are there in both our proprietary as well as the build to print parts such as polymer and metallic products. This is more so because of the aggressive targets we have set for ourselves to build technology capability ahead of market demands. Transitioning
from build to print parts to art to part is a challenge for polymer and metallic products. We have already moved along in air filters where we are not developing our own designs for production programs with major OEMs. Transmission and valvetrain designs are also on the block and these will be much longer lead times. For electric and electronic parts the challenges are driven by the disruption that we expect from the introduction of electric and hybrid vehicles driven by the newly launched FAME initiative. To be an indigenous supplier of control systems and motors to EVs and hybrids is a great opportunity for us, but the building of technology capability is not going to be easy. We are glad that we have started on that journey. Are you on track to fulfilling the company 2020 vision plan?
Yes. On the revenue front we have grown two and a half times in the past 3 years and we have to repeat that in the next five years. On the financial front we continue to show healthy performance to enable consistent investments in all the regions of the world where we have operations. The major achievement of turning around our VLS operations in Mexico is a tribute to the way our teams handle our business. Having a strategy in place surely helps us prepare. The softer aspects of building the talent pool of skilled workers for automated production systems, engineering talent for building innovation factories and management bandwidth to handle the scale and complexities that come with the growth are something that we have recognized 4 years back and is quite challenging in the Indian businesses.
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GLOBAL NEWS Right hand drive Ford Mustangs for UK; India a definite market Almost 2,000 Ford Mustang orders have been taken in the UK since January 2015 as the first righthand drive cars begin to roll off the production line at Flatrock Assembly Plant in Michigan, North America. The right-hand drive Mustang is available to order in the UK from £29,995 (EcoBoost) (Rs 31.50 lakh approx.) and £33,995 (V8) (Rs 35.70 lakh) and features a Thatcham Category One alarm as standard. The Ford Mustang – introduced in the U.S. more than 50 years ago – has excited fans across the globe, but has never been available to order with right-hand drive, until now. The first UK customer deliveries are expected from November 2015, with extra supply secured to meet the greater than expected demand. The car is expected to hit the Indian shores too but the company has made no announcement on the front. Reliable sources have confirmed that the Mustang is definitely headed for India but when, is the million dollar question. With India’s penchant for fast cars and the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi doing well, it is obvious
that the Mustang will have several takers among the Indians. So far, 80 pc of UK customers have opted for the fastback body style over the convertible and 70 pc have specified the 416PS 5.0-litre V8 engine over the more fuel-efficient 317PS 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine. Mustang’s six-speed manual transmission is the slightly more popular choice (55pc) over the six-speed automatic, which comes
with sporty SelectShift paddle control, according to a company press release. Over half of UK Mustangs have been specified with the Custom Pack which includes satellite navigation, a Shaker Pro 12-speaker audio system, heated and cooled front seats, a rear view camera, Luster Nickel silver alloy wheels and extra chrome detailing on fastback models.
Race Red is the most-popular exterior colour among UK buyers, with 23 per cent of Mustang orders. Magnetic Silver and Shadow Black are joint second choice with 16.1 per cent each and Deep Impact Blue (10.7 per cent) and Triple Yellow (8.6 per cent) complete the top five. Ebony Black is the top pick for interior colour, selected by more than 75 pc of customers.
Volvo Cars acquires control of its China joint ventures for SEK2.2bn Volvo Cars has taken control of its three joint venture operations in China for SEK2.2bn in order to more accurately reflect its growing presence in the world’s largest car market. Volvo Cars now owns 50 per cent of its China joint ventures alongside Geely Holdings. These joint ventures include its car manufacturing facilities in Chengdu and Daqing, its engine manufacturing facility in Zhangjiakou and its research and development centre in Shanghai. The move allows Volvo to fully consolidate its China joint
ventures, providing a more accurate financial and operational picture of the company as it continues to expand in China. The company’s interim financial results announced on August 19, 2015 are the first to incorporate the China joint ventures. “The incorporation of the Chinese entities is an important step towards the long term objectives to capture the growth and sourcing potential in China,” said Hakan Samuelsson, President and Chief Executive. Volvo Cars has been under the
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ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding) of China since 2010. It formed part of the Swedish Volvo Group until 1999, when the company was bought by Ford Motor Company of the US. In 2010, Volvo Cars was acquired by Geely Holding. Volvo Cars head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars head office for China is located in Shanghai. The company’s main car production plants are located
in Gothenburg (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium) and Chengdu (China), while engines are manufactured in Skövde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou (China) and body components in Olofström (Sweden).
INDIA NEWS More states under BS IV emission norms; April 1, 2017 deadline for entire country Even though Bharat Stage IV (BS IV) emission norms have come into effect in many of the cities and towns of India, the norm will be applicable to all four wheelers across the country only by April 1, 2017. BS IV grade fuel has already been made available in the NCR and the cities of Mumbai, Kolkatta, Chennai, Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad including Secunderabad, Kanpur, Pune, Surat, Agra, Lucknow and Sholapur with effect from April 1, 2010. An additional 20 cities were added from October, 2014 and 30 more cities from April 1, 2015 were added. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has now issued a notification for publication that only BS-IV compliant four wheeler vehicles will be manufactured on and from October 1, 2015 in States of Jammu and Kashmir (except Districts of Leh and Kargil), Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and districts of Hanumangarh and Sri Ganganagar in the State of Rajasthan and in the districts of Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar,
Bijnaur, Jyotiba Phule Nagar, Rampur, Muradabad, Aligarh, Badaun, Bareilly, Mathura, Mahamayanagar, Etah, Agra, Firozabad, Etawah, Mainpuri, Pilibhit, Shamli, Sambhal, Farrukabad, Kannauj, Auriya and Kasganj in the State of Uttar Pradesh . From April 1, 2016 this norm will be effective in the States of Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Odisha and the Union territories of Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, districts of Mumbai, Thane and Pune in the State of Maharashtra and districts of Surat, Valsad, Dangs and Tapi in the State of Gujarat. From April 1, 2017 the mass emission standards for Bharat Stage IV shall come into force all over the country, a release from PIB noted. With this only those newly manufactured four-wheeled vehicles, which are complaint with the BS-IV standards will be allowed to registered and move on roads with effect from the notified dates in the notified areas.
Honda Activa crosses 10 million unit sales landmark The company that rekindled the scooter mania in the country, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) has set a new record. The company’s iconic Activa has become the first scooter in India to achieve a phenomenal 10 million (1 crore) unit sales landmark. Since its 2001 debut as the first two-wheeler launched in India by Honda, Activa has reactivated the dying Indian automatic scooter market and redefined convenient mobility for the entire family. The scooter has features like a four-stroke engine, Honda Eco Technology (which delivers a dream mileage of 60kmpl as per Honda mode which is close to actual riding conditions), V-matic (gearless) transmission, durable all metal body, convenient Lift-up Independent Cover (CLIC) mechanism, tubeless tyres and combi-brake system. Activa, Honda made the steep climb from 55,000 units in first year (2001) to becoming the market leader in just three years. Since then, Activa has grown to sell over 2.1 million units in FY’2014-15 and Honda 2Wheelers is now the undisputed market leader with
59pc market share in the scooter segment. Keita Muramatsu – President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, “This achievement is more significant since Activa (an automatic scooter) has gained the trust of one crore happy families in India. From reactivating the scooter segment in India in 2001 to leading the Scooterization of industry today, Honda’s iconic Activa has changed the way Indians ride to fulfill their dreams. We thank our valued customers and families who have made Activa the most preferred choice of families for commuting in India.”
Only 30,000 for your ten-year-old diesel car? Nah!!! Your ten your old diesel vehicle, whether it is a BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz or a Maruti Suzuki or Hyundai car, could fetch you a financial incentive of maybe up to Rs 30,000 in case you are staying in the National Capital Region (NCR) and are keen to give it up to be shredded and recycled. While the National Green Tribunal is sticking to its decision to ban diesel vehicles that are more than 10 years old in the NCR, the government is working on a proposal to offer financial incentives of up to Rs 30,000 for surrender of diesel cars that are
more than ten years old and Rs 1.5 lakh for old trucks in order to check pollution and address road safety concerns. This was stated by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping while inaugurating an International Conference and Exhibition on Public Transport Innovation in New Delhi. “A proposal to formulate the new incentive policy for surrendering old vehicles is being worked out and would be soon sent for the finance ministry’s approval,” Gadkari stated. The event was
organised to mark the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Association of State Road Transport Undertaking (ASRTU) which was established on August 13, 1965. The vehicles that are surrendered would then be shredded at an auto-shredding plant and a certificate of scrappage (COS) would be given to the owner with which he or she can avail excise duty reimbursements, discounts and lower rates of interest on loans. This scheme, according to Motown India experts, is unlikely
to find too many takers because ten your old diesel cars today fetch much more that Rs 30,000 and could run up to several lakhs of rupees, depending on the model and make of car and the kilometres plied. Obviously, people would prefer to sell such cars outside the NCR through agents and brokers. The Minister also stated that the Government is committed to improve the safety of Indian roads. He said a bill adopting the best practices in the world in road transportation and safety standards will be brought soon.
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INTERVIEW
Akash Passey & Suresh Chettiar Senior Vice President – Business Region International, Volvo Bus Corporation / Vice President and Head – Commercial, Volvo Buses India. Report: : P. THARYAN / Photography: MOHD. NASIR
“In the last few years we have been exporting to South Africa and the team has also been preparing over the last three-four years which has resulted in us announcing last month that we will, beginning early next year, start exporting buses to Europe.”
Akash Passey (L) & Suresh Chettiar Volvo Buses has been in India since 2001 and you are the first company in the CV segment to bring a true bus chassis concept, the low floor city bus concept, the multi-axle coaches, among a host of other technologies & concepts. Can you briefly describe how has this journey been for you company? AKASH PASSEY (AP): First of all I have had the privilege of being the first bus employee in India
way back in 1997. Suresh came around the same time in trucks. Sometime in 2005 he moved on to Volvo Buses. For us it’s been a long journey. When we started out with our first commercialisation on buses in India in 2001 the concept was front engine, built on a truck chassis. Manufacturers would only sell a chassis and you would have had to go to an external body builder to build a body. With Volvo coming in these were the key things that changed. We
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bought in rear engines, brought in bus chassis, and we brought in a complete bus concept. The effect of that was very positive in the initial years especially in the long distance segment where we started from and then over a period of time in 2006 we moved to low floor air conditioned city buses. This was a revolution as all city buses were built on a high floor concept where you had to climb three steps to get into a bus and again they were front
engine city buses. To sum up we have around 5000 Volvo buses on the road. In the long distance segment our buses are touching almost every town in India. The city buses we started ten years back we have a presence in over 30 cities in India. In 2014 you unveiled the UD Buses brand as part of the company’s strategy to foray into the value segment in growth markets. How has progress
INTERVIEW been on this front? AP: As we went about our journey a number of other things happened. We started off as a chassis manufacturer for a short while. We built up India’s first complete bus company in 2007 as Volvo Buses India Pvt Ltd. We brought in our global manufacturing practices into our plant here where we again invested heavily from 2011 onwards in order to have a much broader role in India. With that one thing was clearly visible. Our customers in the private space as well as those in state and city corporations were fairly vocal about the fact that we like your buses and we have our support when it comes to big premium brands but we would also like you to take the next step and bring something of a higher volume base in the value segment. And that’s where the though process started three to four years back. We got into action and in 2014 we announced we would introduce UD as a local brand in India primarily targeted at the value segment. This means that in large cities there would be an option where you find premium buses running in the centre, we could compliment this with value buses on the outskirts of the city. In B category cities, these value buses could become the main mode of transport. It is with that thinking we started UD. SURESH CHETTIAR (SC): This year we shall put the first UD buses on the road. At this point of time we have decided to start the commercial roll out with some trials with some customers and the first is being done so in Bangalore. The first two buses given to Bangalore have been with them for two months. Given the fact that these are first prototypes, we have so covered an extremely good journey so far. The buses have been appreciated a lot by the passengers. There have been no technical glitches at all. Later this year we shall start the commercial roll out. AP: These buses will be high on
performance and will have high levels of safety and will have environment norms in place. UD does stand for reliability. India has an excellent opportunity, especially in the city segment where the government has been taking of the smart city concept. With the smart city concept coming in, along with Make in India and swachch Bharat, I think we as a company fit in well. With buses already made in India, we have different kind of products both for the city and the long distance segment. You buses are produced in Hoskote near Bangalore, how many of these buses are made at the plant, what is the current capacity and also what are the levels of capacity utilisation and also the level of localisation? AP: India is an important part of the international business I manage. Prasad (VRV Sriprasad is Managing Director, Volvo Buses India) and team have done a good job with the local operations in India. We have invested heavily in expansion in the last three to four years here. On a single shift basis our capacity for both inter-city and city buses is 1500 units per annum. Then it is always easy to make it a double shift if the requirement comes in. The facility is like any other Volvo facility anywhere in the world. The facility has been built keeping exports in mind and the facility has been exporting in the last could of years. We are in the start up of our export journey. In the last few years we have been exporting to South Africa and the team has also been preparing over the last three-four years which has resulted in us announcing last month that we will, beginning early next year, start exporting buses to Europe. When our buses are exported they are done so as Completely Built Units as we do domestically in India. The Volvo Electro Mobility Programme is into hybrid and electric buses. Volvo has sold
more than 5000 such buses across 20 odd countries in the last few years. With the Indian government talking the electric and hybrid language, do you hope to see such vehicles in India? AP: The Volvo group in 2007 put in seven different types of technologies over and above the diesel technology like CNG, ethanol, hybrid, electric and so on and so forth. In Europe, going forward we debated what the most efficient mode of transportation is, keeping the operator and the passenger in mind. It came out fairly clearly that electro mobility will be the path forward. While other technologies will prevail, they will have challenges like they had in the last 30 years to scale up. Thousands of hybrid buses are running across the world. They have been very well received. For the last year and half we have started to focus on Asia. We are already bringing in our hybrids to Australia, Singapore etc. We are playing a big role in China. It’s also good to see that while the government is talking about scaling up from Bharat Stage IV to V and VI, they are also looking into electro mobility. Among the top five manufacturers in the world, Volvo probably is the only company which is so well invested in electro mobility. We launched our first electric bus in Gothenburg in Sweden this year. They are running fine and they are zero emission pollution free. Coming to India, the roadmap will very much start from hybrid buses. We are working very closely with regulatory authorities and with FAME coming in the government is offering good subsidies. We see a lot of interest from select state and city corporations which want to go that route. Very soon you will hear from us on the hybrid space. The buses in India have now to adhere to a new bus code beginning August 2015. For Volvo it must have been easy implementing this code?
SC: To put things in perspective, we started to invest on what would be the next level of inputs into the bus. The fact that there was a good industry and authority engagement in it, also gave us a lead in which direction we need to work. So when the demands on us were to implement the same from April 2015, I think we were the first company to be ready. Many of them we did willingly without waiting for the code to happen. We are extremely proud of the fact that we did the job first. The buzz words are Make in India and Smart Cities, does Volvo Buses see a mega opportunity and a grand commitment there in India? AP: At the cost of not being humble at this moment for a moment, it was Volvo Group the first western global manufacturer to take that step nearly 17 years back with trucks and 15 years back with buses. We are happy to see that other global manufacturers seeing this success are also following the same route over the last year or two. That builds a kind of combination where we all can together promote and bring more international and latest solution to India. India is second largest in the world by way of population heading very soon to be the largest, from that perspective of you look at the availability of public transport, in comparison to the averages in different countries, India has one of the lowest averages. There is enormous opportunity and the Volvo group is very well invested here to take care of that opportunity. The last two to three years have been challenging on the economic front. We now see both the central and state governments are taking a number of actions. What they are stating and wanting companies to do, Volvo has already done that and I think we are looking forward to see or reap the fruits of this success and very much contribute with different technologies in India.
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INTERVIEW
Anders Grundstromer Managing Director, Scania Commercial Vehicles India & Senior Vice President, Scania Group Report: : P. THARYAN / Photography: MOHD. NASIR
“...And now more and more states are understanding the importance of producing bio fuel from waste, either agro waste or household waste or sludge. It is a good thing for India. We say it’s a local waste, to local fuel for local transportation. I think it is a win, win, win! And the bus keeps moving on waste.”
In March this year you inaugurated your bus plant in Narasapura near Bangalore. In 2013 you had inaugurated a truck facility at the same place. Will this facility serve as an export hub also? What we do today is that we produce for India. We are rapidly ramping up our production and we are also rapidly ramping up
our indigenisation of our products. We want to indigenise without losing quality. The buses are 100 pc localised but the chassis are roughly 18pc localised in India. The mining trucks are typically 40pc localised in India. Our target on the complete level of localisation is around 60 to 65pc without losing quality. At the moment we cannot export
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because India is taking all the volumes. Are you confident of reaching your 2017 target of 2500 units of buses and 5000 units of trucks? Today we have a capacity of 2500 trucks and 1000 buses. We have to double that by 2017-18. We need that by then. As soon as we reach a peak in India which I hope
will not take many years, then we hope to export also. We are targeting South East Asia, Middle East and Africa out of India. We shall export CBUs as well as knocked down units. But it will be made in India. The Narasapura facility accommodates a bio gas unit that produces alternative fuels
INTERVIEW locally. You also assemble ethanol buses. How do you foresee the demand for these ethanol buses coming up? We feel there is a market for ethanol buses in India. As I speak we are participating in the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Association of State Road Transport Undertaking (ASRTU) and we had the Transport Minister here and the Minister of Urban Development and they said that India must be decarbonised. The way forward with decarbonisation is by using bio fuels in connection with hybridisation and electrification. That is the way to decarbonise the transport industry. I think the Indian government has really understood that. They are on to the game and are determined to reach the target they have set up. To reach 10pc bio fuel fleet vehicles by 2023. This is a huge challenge. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said why not 50pc by 2030. The Indian public, the government transport undertakings and our customers
understand that we need to decarbonise this industry. Is demand for your haulage and mining trucks seeing an upturn? Are things getting better in the Indian economy, especially the CV segment? The mining industry is picking up in India. This year has been particularly good for the mining industry with the government giving 12 concessions on new mines. It’s been a record of sorts since 2009. This segment will pick up very strongly. We expect another 12 this autumn which means 24 in a year. You have not seen such a thing since the beginning of the 21st century. But also with the infrastructure development and the introduction of the GST, there will be improved flows in India. We travel with a much higher speed than the local products but we are at a disadvantage today because of all these stops at borders and inefficient handling as a result of the existing taxation structure and
bad infrastructure. If this is solved then I see a very bright future for the on road business. The premium segment will definitely grow and once this segment grows the economy will grow. What’s been the progress with your Metrolink buses? Which are the markets in India where you have been successful with it? Also can you talk about these buses in terms of its quality? The Metrolink is an intercity coach. It is doing its debut in STUs (State Transport Undertakings).We have sold 100 of these buses to private operators. We have sold 35 to KSRTC and 35 to the MSRTC. We are now opening up to the STUs. This bus has been very much appreciated. All our products can run on bio fuels. This is the safest bus in the market fulfilling the rollover demands, and it’s a very modern and safe coach running in a very environmentally friendly way. The feedback we have been
getting from the passengers in the bus is very good. Good quality bio fuel is now available in Gujarat, bio gas and bio ethanol is available in Maharashtra, and now more and more states are understanding the importance of producing bio fuel from waste, either agro waste or household waste or sludge. It is a good thing for India. We say it’s a local waste, to local fuel for local transportation. I think it is a win, win, win! And the bus keeps moving on waste. Lastly, the Indian government has an ambitious plan to build around 100 smart cities in the country and I am sure companies like Scania would like to be part of this growth story. What is your take on it? I think it means good business for everyone, for Indian companies as well as foreign investments into India. An infrastructure growth demands a lot of cement and other materials for building. Everyone will benefit a lot from Make in India campaign.
Scania buses on display during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Association of State Road Transport Undertaking (ASRTU) in New Delhi
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INDUSTRY OVERVIEW PASSENGER VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA
(Total Domestic Sales + Exports for the month of July 2015 = 2,13,741 Units)
UTILITY VEHICLES MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA
(Total Domestic Sales + Exports for the month of July 2015 = 68,843 Units) Maruti Suzuki India (28.27)% Mahindra & Mahindra (21.75)%
Maruti Suzuki India (47.84)%
Ford India (15.55)%
Hyundai Motor India (20.35)%
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (10.23)%
Honda Cars India (8.48)%
Hyundai Motor India (10.04)%
Nissan Motor India (7.16)%
Tata Motors (6.16)%
Volkswagen India (5.96)%
Renault India (2.22)%
Tata Motors (4.09)%
Nissan Motor India (1.97)%
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (3.11)%
General Motors India (1.69)%
OTHERS (1.22)% Skoda Auto India (0.60%) Fiat India Automobiles (0.41%) Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (0.14%) Renault India Pvt. Ltd. (0.07%)
Honda Cars India (1.60)% OTHERS (0.52)% Force Motors Ltd (0.27%) Hindustan Motors Finance Corp (0.18%); Isuzu Motors (0.06%); Skoda Auto India Pvt. Ltd (0.01%)
Ford India (1.13)% General Motors India (0.66)%
TWO WHEELER MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA
(Total Domestic Sales + Exports for the month of July 2015 = 15,38,165 Units)
THREE WHEELERS MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA
(Total Domestic Sales + Exports for the month of July 2015 = 83,434 Units)
Hero MotoCorp (31.69)% Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (25.32)% Bajaj Auto (18.36)% TVS Motor Company (13.53)% India Yamaha Motor (4.89)% Royal Enfield (2.65)% Suzuki Motorcycle India (2.35)% OTHERS (1.21)% Mahindra Two Wheelers (0.98%) Piaggio Vehicles (0.16%) H-D Motor Company India (0.05%) Triumph Motorcycles India (0.01%) Kawasaki India (0.01%)
LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA
(Total Domestic Sales + Exports for the month of July 2015 = 34,650 Units)
Bajaj Auto (57.29)% Piaggio Vehicles (19.09)% TVS Motor Company (12.32)% Mahindra & Mahindra (5.64)% Atul Auto (4.45)% Scooters India (0.99)% Force Motors (0.22)%
MEDIUM & HEAVY COMMERCIAL VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA
(Total Domestic Sales + Exports for the month of July 2015 = 25,844 Units)
Mahindra & Mahindra (40.82)%
Tata Motors (52.26)%
Tata Motors (39.41)%
Ashok Leyland (34.06)%
Force Motors (6.51)%
VECVs - Eicher (9.11)%
Ashok Leyland (6.40)%
Mahindra & Mahindra (2.05)%
VECVs - Eicher (3.74)%
SML Isuzu (1.99)%
SML Isuzu (1.55)%
AMW Motors (0.35)%
Piaggio Vehicles (1.22)%
VECVs - Volvo (0.18)%
Isuzu Motors (0.35)%
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RNI No DEL ENG/2010/34562