With the Renault world car Logan rolling out of the M&M facility at Nasik, the next move from Renault Nissan looks be for the volume oriented A and B-segment. Talking to a select group of media at Nasik, Carlos Ghosn, CEO, Renault, revealed that Renault-Nissan were working on a low cost small car for India. Ghosn said that they would be keen to partner with an Indian company to manufacture the small car, pointing at frugal manufacture. 

"It would be difficult to build a successful low-cost car without an association with an Indian company. We can gain a lot from their skills in frugal product planning and frugal engineering," he added. ‘‘The objective is how do we make a low-cost car, and still make a profit.’’ 

Praising Mahindra & Mahindra’s abilities at low cost manufacturing, Carlos stated, ‘‘There is no point re-inventing the wheel. We want to bring frugal cars and to achieve the goal you need to have partners who are best-in-class." 

Responding to a media query, Ghosn explained, “A car is best engineered from scratch here than bringing a car from Europe and trying to change it”. Indicating a benchmark of US$ 3000 for a low cost small car, Carlos hinted at Nissan choosing a local partner for the two small cars it is planning for India, which they think is most suited. 

The Chennai plant, which is a three-way joint venture between M&M, Renault and Nissan venture, will make 4 lakh cars a year and start with two small car platforms and initially just export these cars according to Ghosn. The Chennai plant will also manufacture the Logan variants. 

The Nasik facility of Logan, according to Ghosn could break even in its second year of operations. The venture where Mahindra Renault is investing $700 million includes a new body shop and assembly line. "I am told we will break even at a 30,000-32,000 cars. 2007 could be a profitable year."

Mahindra Renault, a joint venture between M&M and Renault of France, today launched the Logan in India, at a glittering ceremony in Mumbai in the presence of global media. A spacious, mid segment sedan priced attractively, the Logan is bound to stir the dominant segment in the passenger car market that accounts for 90 per cent of the total automobile sales of over a million units. Launched in 2004, the Logan has proved a global success with sales of almost 450,000 units in 51 countries across 5 continents globally. 

“The Logan is a milestone for us as it marks our entry into the most competitive segment of the automotive market,” said Mr Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman and MD, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. “The global quality platform of the Logan with its unmatched features makes it a landmark for the Indian car industry,” he added. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Carlos Ghosn, President & CEO, Renault SA, said, (Today signals a new step in Renault’s global expansion. It marks the start of Renault sales on the Indian market and sees the first right hand drive version of Logan created to meet the needs of our Indian customers.” 

The Logan is a wide-bodied car with full and comfortable seating for three persons in the rear seat with three separate headrests, the only car in the segment to offer this feature. It is taller, wider and has the biggest boot capacity of 510 litres in its class. The car comes with a choice of three engines: Petrol 1.4 and 1.6 versions and Diesel 1.5 version. And is attractively priced, ranging from 4.28 lakhs to 5.69 lakhs for the two petrol variants and from 4.35 lakhs to 6.44 lakhs for the diesel. 

“The Logan packs in the aspirations of the Indian car lover and sets standards in every aspect – space, safety and engine performance,” said Mr Rajesh Jejurikar, Managing Director, Mahindra Renault Ltd. The entire Logan project was completed ahead of schedule and below the budgeted cost, according to him.

Batliboi Ltd., one of India’s oldest Machine Tool and engineering companies, has announced the 100 per cent equity acquisition of Quickmill Inc., Canada, for a consideration of approx Rs. 22 crores. Ontario-based Quickmill Inc. is a strong technology oriented, growing and profit making Machine Tool company. It is a leading designer and manufacturer of wide range of large area machining centers for customers internationally in heat exchangers, machinery equipment, aerospace, dies & moulds, bridge building machinery and automotive sectors with annual sales of approx Rs. 52 crores. Quickmill enjoys 75 per cent market share in the heat exchanger industry in North America. 

The acquisition marks Batliboi’s first foray into the M&A space as well as a first for any Indian engineering company in the Machine Tool sector. Commenting on the acquisition, Nirmal Bhogilal, Chairman and Managing Director, Batliboi Ltd. said, “The acquisition of Quickmill Inc. supports our goal of becoming an internationally competitive niche player in our various businesses. Our strategy is to support Quickmill’s current management to grow and develop Quickmill as a separate and distinct entity leveraging their technology, strong brand, reputation and expertise. We plan to reap synergies through cross fertilisation of skills, Batliboi’s distribution network and some cost advantages in India through component sourcing & detailed engineering and helping Quickmill grow internationally. Quickmill will support Batliboi’s manufacturing base through its considerable R & D capabilities.”

Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) has introduced the industry’s lowest input voltage DC/DC boost converter, which will enable portable electronic end-equipment to draw power from new energy sources, such as solar and micro-fuel cells. The tiny power circuit can operate with input voltages lower than 0.3 V with high efficiency, allowing designers to overcome the low-voltage design barrier of incorporating these alternative energy sources in applications, such as mobile phones, portable medical devices and media players. 

The new TPS61200 step-up converter with integrated 1.5-A switch supports input voltages of 0.3 V to 5.5 V during normal operation, and continues to manage power down to 0.0 V if the under-voltage lockout pin is connected directly to the output voltage. The converter provides an extremely low 0.5-V start-up capability in any load condition, and can operate with more than 90 percent efficiency. In contrast, today’s best step-up converters can only support an input voltage beginning at 0.7 V with start-up at 0.9 V – good for primary re-chargeable battery cells or main supplies, but not low enough to support new applications using energy harvesting power sources. 

The TPS61200’s ability to operate from a single solar cell eliminates the need for multiple solar cells in series, and eliminates the required protection circuitry associated with series connection. This opens the door to new potential innovative designs, such as a built-in solar-powered cell phone charger that uses indoor ambient lighting to help provide an infinite amount of standby time. 

The TPS61200, which comes in a 10-pin, 3 mm x 3 mm QFN package, offers several features that are critical during low-voltage operation, including output short-circuit protection, programmable under-voltage lockout and a unique “down-conversion mode” that helps protect the device when an input voltage rises higher than the output voltage. In addition, the converter can be disabled to further minimize battery drain. While the end equipment shuts down, the TPS61200 protects the system from receiving any additional power from the battery.