Adding fresh excitement to its popular hatchback, Tata Motors has unveiled the 2007 range of Indica V2. The Indica V2 range, including the Xeta, the NA Diesel and the V2 Turbo, now sports a new front bumper with chrome inlaid grille, a set of new dual-tone outer rear-view mirrors, new front fog lamps, stylish dual chamber head lamps and a pair of new bison tail lamps. 

The interiors sport new upholstery, a new instrument cluster, a new centre fascia along with a more contemporary steering wheel. While the Xeta range carries forward its first in class beige interiors, the diesel range wears a new rich black interior. 

The 2007 Indica V2 range is available in four new colours – Arizona Ochre, Amazon Blue, Cavern Grey and Pastel Green. They are in addition to the already popular colours – Arctic Silver, Salsa Red, Mint White and Carbon Black. 

The new Indica V2 Xeta continues to be available in the 1.2 litre and the 1.4 litre engine options, while the diesel range is available in the naturally aspirated, turbo-charged, and turbo-charged intercooled 1.4 litre engine options. 

Indica sales at 1,02,361 nos. for the April – December 2006 period have been growing by 35.8 %. The 2007 Indica V2 Xeta range is available in the price range of Rs.2.55 lakhs – Rs.3.49 lakhs, and the Indica V2 Diesel is available in the prince range of Rs.3.22 lakhs – Rs.4.13 lakhs (both ex-showroom, Delhi).

The Automobile Industry registered a total production of 8.2 million vehicles in April-December 2006 and witnessed a production growth of 15.91 per cent in April- December 2006 compared to April - December 2005. 

If we look at the calendar year, the automobile industry has registered a total production of 10.9 million vehicles in the period January to December 2006 and witnessed a production growth of 16.22% over 2005. This is up from 14.5% growth witnessed in 2005 over calendar year 2004. 

The cumulative growth of overall Passenger Vehicles during April- December 2006 was 20.76 per cent. The cumulative growth of passenger vehicles was 18.45% during the calendar year 2006. This is in contrast to less than 7% growth witnessed in 2005 over 2004. Passenger cars grew at 20.0% compared to 12.4% for utility vehicles and 16.3% in MPVs. 

Overall Two Wheeler market grew by 13.45 per cent during April-December 2006 over the same period last year. Motorcycles grew by 15.81 per cent; Scooters grew by 1.46 per cent and Mopeds grew at 5.21 per cent. 

Overall two-wheeler market grew by 15.4% in January to December 2006 over the same period last year. Motorcycles grew by over 15.8%, scooters by 1.5% and mopeds by 5.2%. Three Wheelers sales grew at 17.94 per cent. Goods Carriers grew by 21.25 per cent and Passenger Carriers grew at 15.64 per cent during the April- December 2006, over the same period last year. 

During January to December 2006, Three Wheeler sales grew at 19.4%. Also passenger 3 wheelers have again picked up momentum and grew at 21% compared to 16% for goods carrier unlike the previous year when goods carrier grew at a higher rate than passenger carrier. Overall Commercial Vehicles segment grew at 37.15 per cent. Growth of Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles was 39.12 per cent. Light Commercial Vehicles also performed well with a growth of 34.44 per cent. 

During the calendar year 2006, commercial vehicles sales grew at 32% with both M&HCV and LCVs showing similar trend (around 32% growth). However, while the goods carriers grew at 36.3%, the passenger carrier segment is not keeping pace with the overall growth and expected to be only around 6%. Overall automobile exports registered 28.74 per cent growth rate in April- December 2006 over the same period last year. Passenger Vehicles Exports grew by 13.97 per cent. 

Two Wheelers Exports grew by 25.76 per cent, Three Wheelers grew by 83.2% per cent and Commercial Vehicles by 27.64 per cent. During the calendar year 2006, overall automobile exports registered a 29% growth over the last calendar year. Passenger vehicles export was 193,810 in 2006 registering a growth of 12.9%. Two-wheelers and commercial vehicles registered 24% and 26% growth in exports during the year while that of three wheelers was 72%.

Having established its leadership in the premium car segment of the Indian automobile market, Honda Siel Cars India has launched the new Accord. The new Accord has a new-look, sporty rear with revamped LED tail lamps and rear bumper garnish that further enhances its stunning exterior styling. 

Adding greater value to the 2.4-ltr model, the new car now has premium wood and leather steering wheel and turn indicators on side-view mirrors, features which were earlier available only in the V6 model. For easy and convenient parking, the new Accord has front and rear Parking Assistance Sensors, which warn the driver of obstacles in his way while parking. 

The Accord V6 now has enhanced safety in the form of Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) technology and also new 10-spoke 16” alloy wheels.The Honda Accord, which has been a popular premium sedan ever since its launch in 2003, will continue to delight the customers with its class-leading performance and luxury features such as leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control and six-CD changer. The new Accord will be available in two new colours – Carbon Bronze Pearl and Alabaster Silver. 

Speaking on the occasion, Masahiro Takedagawa, president and CEO, Honda Siel Cars India Ltd. said, “With the introduction of the global Accord in India, HSCI has revamped its entire product portfolio in the last 15 months. The new Accord comes with a fresh look with a host of new features and enhancements. It is now at par with the international range.”

ICICI Bank, India’s second largest bank and a leader in Retail Banking, has introduced an innovative service “LOTS” (Loan on the Spot) in the Car loan division for its existing saving account customers. 

LOTS is an automated channel to facilitate easy loans and is a convenience offered to the existing savings account-holders of ICICI Bank. A customer can get a pre-approved offer on the swipe of the Debit Card. The Electronic Data Capture (EDC) terminal placed at select automobile dealerships will now be used as an automated channel for delivering pre-approved car loans to the customers. With LOTS there is no need to call up call centre. 

A customer who wants to buy a car moves into the dealer’s shop and chooses a car. If the customer is an existing ICICI Bank savings account holder and holds a debit card, then he/she can check the pre-approved loan offer on the spot by swiping the debit card. The EDC terminal installed at the dealer’s outlet ejects a printed slip which gives offer details along with the unique number generated for the customer. The dealer can use this pre-approved offer slip to obtain a sanction from the bank within an hour. 

In the first phase, LOTS will be available for Car Loans in 10 cities namely Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Ahemdabad, Chandigarh and Jaipur. 

Commenting on the launch, Rajiv Sabharwal, senior general manager, ICICI Bank, said, “Flexible schemes and quick processing of the loans coupled with convenience has always remained the priority at ICICI Bank. We at the Bank constantly innovate and offer the best of schemes/services to our customers.”

Hyundai Motor India has announced an increase in the introductory price of its latest mid size offering the Hyundai Verna. The price increase on the Hyundai Verna will be for both the diesel and petrol models. The price increase varies from Rs 3500 for its base petrol model to Rs 10,000 for its state-of-the-art diesel model.

All prices Ex-showroom, New Delhi

Bajaj Auto, India's leading 2 & 3 wheeler manufacturer, has been conferred the Frost & Sullivan - Super Platinum Award 2006 for manufacturing excellence. With this, Bajaj Auto has become the only Indian automobile manufacturer to win the coveted award. 

The company's Chakan plant has been adjudged the Best Amongst Best in India in the manufacturing industries for the year 2006. Bajaj's Chakan plant had applied for the award for the first time and had competed with 230 companies. Bajaj Auto has not only achieved the feat of becoming the only automobile manufacturer to win the award, it is also the only company across industry groups to be awarded with the highest possible ranking of Super Platinum. 

Commenting on this achievement, Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Auto Ltd, said, "We are proud to receive the manufacturing excellence award for this year. We are happy that Frost & Sullivan has recognized our efforts in this field. This award is a testimony of our manufacturing capabilities." 

The Frost & Sullivan award for manufacturing excellence was instituted in 2004. This award acknowledges the best facilities in India that have achieved and sustained manufacturing excellence. The facilities that are commended, as award recipients are those who have demonstrated the diligence, perseverance, foresight and dedication required to develop a successful manufacturing organization and sustain the same through continuous learning. 

Moser Baer was the first winner of this award in 2004, followed by Lucas in 2005, and now Bajaj Auto.

A new three-step migration program from Rockwell Automation helps manufacturers cost efficiently replace aging DCS systems with the highly flexible, multi-disciplined Logix Control Platform for improved productivity, lower costs and easier access to parts and service. Responding to a market gap created by many vendors no longer supporting their systems, the program provides manufacturers with a phased approach that eliminates many of the costs, risks and complexities involved with migrating legacy DCS systems while providing a single platform for integrating both process and discrete applications. 

Implementing a single control platform across all plant-floor applications provides manufacturers with a number of advantages, including reduced spare parts requirements, more synchronised processes and lower maintenance and training costs. It also improves plant-wide integration by enabling the seamless transfer of real-time data from disparate control systems for improved decision-making\ and increased manufacturing flexibility. 

“The risk of losing existing investments or impacting the production process are real concerns anytime a manufacturer is considering an upgrade to new advanced technology,” said Mike Vernak, program manager for the Legacy DCS Migration Solutions Program, Rockwell Automation. “The three-step program provides manufacturers with a defined DCS migration strategy while laying the groundwork for a smooth transition to a more flexible and scalable information and control architecture.” 

Phase one of the migration plans involves replacing legacy human-machine interface (HMI) consoles with Rockwell Software FactoryTalk View Site HMI infrastructure. In phase two, the legacy process controllers are replaced with Logix controllers, while allowing customers to reuse existing I/O modules to maximize the return on their existing investment. Phase three involves removing the legacy I/O infrastructure and replacing it with the Logix 1756-based I/O platform. 

As part of the program, Rockwell Automation has developed custom field termination unit cable designs that allow the removal of legacy I/O without the need to remove field wires, significantly reducing installation costs and risks associated with I/O replacement. The custom cables plug directly into the legacy field termination units on one end and into the 1756 I/O module on the other. 

The Rockwell Automation migration tools, utilities and services are specifically designed for transitioning from many leading DCS brand-name systems. “Our legacy DCS migration capabilities will continue to expand in the coming years with programs designed to convert the majority of the industry-leading legacy DCS platforms. In addition to solutions available today for Honeywell, ABB and Fisher PROVOX, upcoming solutions will accommodate Westinghouse, Moore and Yokagowa, and other DCS systems,” Vernak said.