What looks like a populist budget aimed at gathering image for the upcoming elections, the budget has brought smiles to the auto sector with the reduction in excise duty and Cenvat Duty on auto components. 

According to GMI president and managing director, Karl Slym, “The budget is encouraging due to its focus on agriculture, irrigation, education health care and power”. Expressing unhappiness over the excise duty cut limited to small cars and hybrids, Slym adds that the auto industry is one of the growth drivers of economy and reduction on excise duty for all cars would have contributed to the exchequer. 

K J Rao, CFO of Ceat is of the opinion that the budget has been positive to the tyre industry. Stating that the reduction in excise duty structure would facilitate higher demand for cars and for tyres, Rao adds that his company has decided to pass the entire 2per cent benefit to its customers. 

B N Kalyani, chairman and managing director of Bharat Forge says that from a manufacturing industry perspective some of the most significant points of this budget are reduction in excise duty on small and hybrid cars as well as buses; reduction of CST from 3per cent to 2per cent; reduction in customs duty on project imports and critical input material like steel melting and aluminium scrap; reduction in cenvat rate from 16per cent to 14per cent and allocation of Rs750 crores for upgradation of 300 ITIs. 

Ravi Pandit, Chairman & Group CEO, KPIT Cummins Infosystems is of the view that the budget is focused on the common man and has a lot to offer. "With great emphasis on agriculture the budget provides some indirect impetus to information technology industry. The emphasis on education in general and science & technology in particular is helpful, because over the long run, it will address the supply side issues", adds Pandit. 

Rishi Bagla, joint managing director of Bagla Group opines that a duty cut on the finished product or a cut in import duties on aluminum and steel would have been more apt in proving a thrust to the auto component sector. Bagla remarks that the budget has ignored labour reforms, prioritise power reforms and the need to promote investment in the auto sector by introducing an incentive structure similar to that prevalent in some competing countries like China and Thailand. Commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland has welcomed the reduction in excise duty in respect to buses and chassis as well as green technology.

JK Tyre & Industries has reduced the prices of its tyres. This is consequent to reduction in Cenvat Duty on tyres/tubes/flaps as pronounced in the Union Budget 08-09 by the Finance Minister. The reduction is applicable for entire range of products—truck bias, truck radial, LCV radial, LCV bias, car radial, car bias and farm tyres. The reduction is effective from 1 March 08.

With the cut in excise duty on small cars, Hyundai Motor India has reduced the prices of the Santro, i10 and Getz. The reduction is in the range of Rs 15,0000 to Rs20,000. The highest is the Getz CRDi at Rs 19,419. The Hyundai range now starts at an attractive Rs 261,631 for it flagship model – the Santro and goes up to Rs 351,482. The newly launched, segment defining, i10 sports a new price tag of Rs 330,686 making it one of the best priced cars in this segment.

The 500 Abarth has debuted at Geneva. The car was developed by the Fiat Group Automobiles Style Centre with the spirit of the 500 Abarths of the 1960s. In addition to the road version prepared with the conversion kit, it will also be offered with a racing outfit, the 500 Abarth SS Assetto Corsa. The 500 Abarth will be marketed by the Abarth network starting July 2008. The 500 Abarth displayed at the Geneva show is equipped with a FIRE 1.4 16v Turbo petrol engine which delivers a maximum of 99kW at 5000 rpm and peak torque of 206 Nm at 3000 rpm in 'Sport' mode (in 'Normal' mode torque is reduced to 180 Nm at 2500 rpm). Like the regular Fiat model the engine is derived from, the new model will respect future Euro 5 legislation. 

The new model also adopts the new TTC (Torque Transfer Control) system, which improves the transfer of drive torque to the wheels, but, above all, ensures that the car behaves impeccably on bends. Compared to the basic body, the Abarth optimises aerodynamic behaviour both with the roof extension and a large winged spoiler, and with a 'slide' that links up to the underbody, optimising the airflow output, and involving much of the rear bumper. On the side, sideskirts envelop the curves of the car creating a more vertical profile, which improves the Cd. 

But it is the front that announces that the new model has the equipment of a true GT; the 'triptych' of air intakes consists of a central inlet, which is larger than on the basic model, with a much broader upper slit (above the number plate); the two 'nostrils', positioned symmetrically at the sides of the bumper, correspond to the position of the two identical intercoolers, which are just visible through the 'nostrils', guaranteeing airflow in and out. The nose with its trim has been 'pushed forward' to create the space necessary for the turboblower.

Apollo Tyres has announced a manufacturing facility for off-road (OTR) tyres at the cost of Rs 1 billion. The facility, which will be exclusive to the manufacturer of off-road tyres will be located at Vadodara. 

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the facility, Onkar S Kanwar, Chairman and Managing Director, Apollo Tyres said, "Buoyancy in the mining and construction industries globally, has led to a demand-supply gap in OTR tyres, including in India. We will begin production with the conventional cross-ply tyres, which are used in India. Over the next two-odd years, we will manufacture radial OTR tyres, which are currently not produced in India. Various earthmover equipment manufacturers have shown eagerness to get into agreements with us that allow them exclusive access to our OTR production." 

The first set of tyres is expected to roll out in the next 15 months. The sizes produced here will begin from 25 inches (diameter) and go up to as much as 57 inches. The first phase investment of Rs 1 billion will go into the production of cross-ply OTR tyres. Additional investments will be made for radial production. Radial OTR tyres are currently not manufactured in India and are imported primarily in the size range of 50 inches and higher, for vehicles used in the mining sector.

After displaying the Sumo Grande, Tata Motors has announced the commercially availability of the stylish utility vehicle in metros and select large cities followed by a phased launch across the nation. Combining the looks of an SUV with the comforts of a family car, the Sumo Grande sports an all new styling with clean chiselled looks mating with flowing contours. 

With a longer wheelbase of 2550mm compared to the one it replaces, the Sumo Grande sports comfortable 3 row seating with the best-in-class third row seating. Beige interiors are complimented by fire and stain resistant fabric upholstery, dual HVAC with roof integrated louvers, power steering, power windows, motorised ORVMs, height adjustable driver's seat and a state of the art CD/MP3 music system. The vehicle is powered by the new generation 2.2-litre direct injection common rail (DICOR) engine, fitted with a variable geometry turbocharger creating a perfect blend of performance and fuel efficiency. 

Available in 3 variants, Lx, Ex and Gx, all of which have two seating configurations - 6+1 and 7+1, the Sumo Grande is priced in the range of Rs6.55 lakhs to Rs7.49 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi).

As part of the Ferrari Magic India Discovery drive the two 612 Scagliettis (one red, the other cream-colour, both sporting a specially designed livery) are touring the country. Flagged off on 25th February, 2008, at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai by Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group and John Elkann, Vice Chairman of the Fiat Group.

The tour will cover more than 13,000 kilometres, touching 57 cities in over 74 days. Ending in Mumbai on 7th May, 2008, the two flagship GT cars with a prancing horse logo and an elephant logo with Indian motifs as a symbol of India's regalness, power and majesty, are accompanied by a specially prepared Iveco truck, Fiat 50 and Bravo and five Tata Safaris. 

Speaking on the occasion of the start of the drive, David Kluzer, head of the Ferrari Press Office, said that the two cars here are 100 per cent sock except for an underbody protector made from 4 mm duraluminium rather than plastic and higher ground clearance. Kluzer added that the drive should not be mistaken as Ferrari's entry into India. 

Acknowledging the fact that there are Ferraris in India already, Kluzer expressed that Ferrari is looking at the Indian market and is yet to decide on when it will enter. Stressing on Ferrarri's association with TCS, Kluzer added that Ferraris are hand-built at Maranello and have to be ordered. The Ferrari Magic India Discovery drive follows Ferrari's similar drive across China covering 15,000 miles and in 2006, a drive of the Americas.

The Automotive Designers Show, scheduled from April 7-9, 2009 at Fiera Milan Congressi, Milan, Italy is a tradeshow for OEM and independent automotive design professionals 

Whilst there are numerous specialist exhibitions on automotive engineering this exciting new event is concerned purely with the initial design process – the talents, new technologies and studio work required in order to transform a rough concept sketch into a prototype ready for testing. The Automotive Designers Show is for those professionals involved in this part of the automotive manufacturing process – the exterior design and the interior layout. This much needed event will include an exhibition and a conference both of which will be free to attend however the event will not be open to the general public. 

Within the exhibition hall will be an open conference area, which will allow visitors to sit in on those sessions of most interest whilst still being able to meet with exhibitors. Over the three days some 40 or so speakers will outline the latest developments, trends and ideas in relation to future concepts, design trends, studio technology, design services and new materials, technology and components. 

Also within the show will be a limited number of workshops where tutorials on subjects such as clay modelling and sketching will take place. It is sensible that the show should have a recruitment element to it as well. A designated booth or area within the show will allow freelance or student designers to register their details or links to design portfolios. This information will then be made available to all exhibiting and visiting companies after the show. (To book a stand contact: Robert Hull - (44) 1903 219688. E-mail: robert@automotivedesign-expo.com)

DE-STA-CO, the worldwide leader in robotic tooling, workholding and flexible industrial automation solutions, has announced that it will be holding an open house at its new state-of-the-art facility in Pune, India. The event will take place from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on March 10 and will offer an inside look into the processes required to maintain rigorous quality standards. 

A wide variety of products will be produced at the new facility, including industrial automation components along with manual and pneumatic clamps. The establishment of a presence in India is a continuation of the Team DE-STA-CO philosophy of providing globally consistent excellence in products and services. 

"Our new facility in Pune, India will play an exciting role in our efforts to increase global support of our customers," commented Pat Carroll, President of DE-STA-CO. “DE-STA-CO serves a wide variety of companies doing business in every corner of the world. We are dedicated to establishing the resources to efficiently support our customers regardless of where they are located." 

[Those interested in attending should R.S.V.P. to Shirish Athawale, Area Sales Manager (North & West) at +91 93704 68182. For more information on DE-STA-CO products, please call +91 80 22211961, 22275533 or e-mail india@destaco.com]

PTC, which specialises in PLM, content management and dynamic publishing solutions and a provider to more than 50,000 companies the world over held its user conference for the year 2008 at Pune recently. At the conference the company announced Pro E Wildfire 4.0 with new industry leading capabilities to drive process improvements. The Wildfire 4.0 is a major release of integrated 3D CAD/CAM/CAE software and a key component of the PTC product development system (PDS). With the introduction of Wildfire 4.0 the company has expanded its solution spread by delivering new capabilities to help customers to optimize key global and electromechanical design processes. The Pro E Wildfire 4.0 offers powerful new capabilities and usability enhancements like innovative new auto round technology, improved large assembly performance, enhanced 3D drawings, advancements in surface editing including faster surface removal, new tolerance analysis, new feature recognition tool, enhanced import data-doctor and improved data exchange. 

The newest from PTC includes CoCreate, which comes with the acquisition of CoCreate Software GmbH in October 2007, which is sued for the designing of products with very short life cycle. Speaking to a select group of media on the eve of the user conference, James (Jim) Heppelmann, executive vice president of software solutions and chief technical officer at PTC, said that his company has a definite global acquisition strategy. “PTC has done 3 acquisitions last year and they are part of a strategy to build complete systems, and optimize products”. Elaborating on PTC’s acquisition strategy, Jim added: “Our aim is to acquire companies and merge technologies into integral solutions. We have done 14 acquisitions in the past 4 years. We have a small and medium enterprise acquisition strategy". 

Even as Jim stressed on PTC’s emphasis on becoming an integral solution provider for many companies and on customer satisfaction, and that the strategy is working well, Peter Schmidt, senior vice president (emerging geographies) at PTC stated that his company’s focus is on India, Russia and Brazil in terms of emerging geographies. He expressed that India is PTC’s No 1 investment market after China, and will be followed by Russia. 

“PTC will heavily invest into India from all respects” stated Peter. “We have 650 engineers in India, at Pune, starting from 2004. PTC is one of the first companies to start software development in Pune and in terms of revenue can achieve US $ 80-100 million in India. The overall market size is much bigger than that”. Rafique Somani, country manager (India) of PTC remarked that India is one of the fastest growing markets with 20per cent of the business coming from SMEs. While PTC is investing in India for strategic partners and regional partners to increase its market reach in India, it is also appointing authorized training partners for better reach. PTC expects to start 8 such centres by the year end. PTC is also tying-up with educational institutions and donating softwares to engineering colleges and saw its solutions being used for chassis and powertrain development of the Nano.

Following the announcement of marketing the Bravo and 500 as CBUs at the Auto Expo, Fiat India recently rolled out the two cars at its plant at Ranjangaon near Pune. Also a part of the Ferrari Magic India Discovery drive, the Bravo according to Rajeev Kapoor, CEO, Fiat India Automobiles, costs Rs 16 lakhs and the 500, Rs 12 lakhs. Flagging off the two cars on their journey to Mumbai to join the Ferrari Magic India Discovery drive, Kapoor mentioned that the 500 and Bravo will be sold through 30 outlets”. Kapoor added that the sales of the Palio are up and the Palio 1.3 Multi-Jet diesel will hit the market soon. 

Work on the Ranjangaon plant, which is a 51:49 joint venture between Fiat and Tata is also progressing at a high pace. Nearly 95per cent of the machines at the power train facility, which will have a capacity to produce 200,000 diesel engines and 100,000 petrol engine from the FIRE family, is expected to go on full-stream in the next two-to-three months. While sources at Fiat claim that the three FIRE family engines—1.2 8V, 1.4 8V, 1.4 16V and a 1.3 Multi-Jet diesel engine, the powertrain facility employs flexible machining to cater to differing future needs. The powertrain shop has three main machining lines—cylinder head, crankshaft and cylinder block other than the assembly line. 

Fiat, which is also eying to export engines built at Ranjangaon, is said to be planning the manufacture of the pick-up version of the Palio at the 178 facility of the Ranjangaon plant for export to South Africa. Sources at Fiat say that a total of 160,000 units are expected to be produced at Ranjagaon. This would include 80,000 Grande Punto/Linea units, 10,000 Palio units and 70,000 units of the X1 sedan. Fiat Group, other than the Fiat brand of cars, is looking at extending its legendary sports brand, Alfa Romeo, to India. While the Alfa 159 and Spider are said to be the probable candidates for India, according to Rajeev Kapoor the decision would soon be taken.