The Indian operations of German automaker, DaimlerChrysler signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Maharashtra to set-up a new manufacturing facility, spread over an area of 100 acres, at Chakan MIDC near Pune. The plant will produce the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, E-Class and C-Class for the Indian market. The MoU was signed by V K Jairath, secretary (Industries), government of Maharashtra and Dr Wilfried Aulbur, MD & CEO, DaimlerChrysler India, in the presence of Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Ashok Chavan (Industries minister), Dr. Thomas Weber (member of board of management of DaimlerChrysler AG responsible for group research & Mercedes Car Group) and Dr. Bharat Balasubramanian (vice president group research and advanced engineering electrical/electronics & information technology, process). Production at the Chakan facility will commence in 2009.

Kinetic Blaze successfully completed the most ambitious journey road trip across the length and breadth of India recently. The journey, called as "The Great Indian Roadtrip", saw the scooter clock 20,000 kms through 570 cities in 26 states and 110 days at a stretch. The riders, a group of young and passionate bikers from India's popular biking portal, www.xbhp.com, started from Delhi on Independence Day, August 15th, and completed the feat on December 15th, with a collection of breathtaking photographs from every nook and corner of the country.

Honda Siel Cars India has announced a price revision on two of its models the Honda City and Civic effective January 6, 2007. 

HSCL attributed the increase, the in two years, to increasing input costs and other inflationary pressures. The increase in the price of Accord will be announced shortly as a new model is expected soon. 

Commenting on the price increase, Jnaneshwar Sen, Senior GM, Marketing, said, “The reasons are obvious - input costs have been rising steadily for the past two years, but we have not passed them on to the customer. At Honda, we don’t like to disturb the prices of products after launch and have absorbed the increase in input costs so far. But now we have to pass on some of the cost increase to the customer.” 

The new prices, ex-showroom Delhi are as follows:

GM India has launched the hatchback version of the Aveo mid size sedan that was launched in March 2006. Targeted at the young urban audience, the hatchback is called U-VA, and is positioned in the premium B-segment, which has participation of the likes of Hyundai Getz and Maruti Swift. Claimed to be more spacious than its competitors, the Uva is powered by a 1.2 litre petrol engine that pumps out 76 bhp. The engine of the Italian-designed hatchback (by Guigario of Italdesign) is from a different family, and not a shrunk version used on the Aveo sedan. 

Currently available with a 1.2 litre engine, GM India sources did not rule out the possibility of putting in a 1.4 litre engine in future. Elegantly designed, with pleasant interiors, GM India has made changes to the fuel management system to take on the engine fuel quality, changes to the suspension to withstand Indian roads, in addition to the higher ground clearance. Cosmetic changes have also been made to the U-VA, like the completely chrome headlamp for India. The price is Rs. 3.99 lakhs, ex showroom Thane with ABS available as option for an additional Rs. 30, 000. 

According to sources, the local content on the U-VA is 40 per cent at the moment, which will be increased to 50-55 per cent in near future. Rajeev Chabba, Managing Director, GM India, said the U-VA reinforced his company’s commitment towards its suppliers. The car is being built at GM India’s Halol facility, which is undergoing expansion from 65,000 to 85, 000 units. 

While the U-VA launch spilled into early 2007, GM India sources claim that two significant launches in 2007 will mark their participation in the Indian auto market. The two launches are expected to be a 2-litre diesel variant of the Optra, and the small car Spark. The Spark will be initially built at the Halol facility, claim industry experts, as the Talegaon facility will take at least two years to commence operations.

Honda Siel Cars India, leading manufacturer of premium cars in India, achieved a major milestone in December 2006 by producing more than 200,000 units since its inception. The company registered a growth of 45.13 per cent in the total cumulative sales for the period April – December 2006, as compared with the corresponding period in 2005. 

HSCI achieved cumulative sales of 43,299 units during the period as compared with 29,834 units sold during April – December 2005. Within six months of its launch in July 06, Honda Civic has crossed the 10,000 units mark. Also, the all new third generation Honda CR-V, launched in late November 2006, has made more than 500 bookings. 

Model wise break-up for Apr-Dec’06: City: 29,527; Civic: 10,813; Accord: 1,714; CRV: 1,245. The company sold 4,105 units in December 2006 as against 4,111 units in the corresponding month last year.

Tata Motors reported a total sale of 48,792 vehicles (including exports) for the month of December '06, a growth of 37 per cent over 35,598 vehicles sold in December last year. Cumulative sales for the company at 4,07,452 nos. are growing by 33 per cent. 

Cumulative sales of commercial vehicles in the domestic market for the fiscal were 2,11,698 nos., an increase of 48 per cent over the corresponding period last year. Cumulative M&HCV sales stood at 1,22,305 nos., an increase of 43 per cent over last year, while LCV sales for the period were 89,393 nos., an increase of 55 per cent over the corresponding period last year. 

Cumulative sales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market for the fiscal were 1,57,010 nos., an increase of 23 per cent over the previous year. The company's sales from exports were 4098 vehicles in December '06 as compared to 3831 vehicles in December '05, an increase of 7 per cent. The cumulative sales from exports in the current period at 38,744 nos. have recorded a 10 per cent growth over the corresponding figures for the previous period.