Post the announcement by Bajaj and Renault to jointly produce a small four-wheeler at Chakan near Pune, new is out that Renault and Nissan will be inking two separate MoUs within a month for setting up two joint ventures for the car, which is slated to roll out by early 2011. While the first JV is claimed to be a 50:25:25 venture between Bajaj, Renault and Nissan, the second JV is said to between Bajaj and Renault for engine and transmission. Bajaj will own 51per cent and Renault, the rest. Interestingly, claim sources close to Bajaj that the engine and transmission venture would be supplying engines to not just the small car that the two partners plan to bring out but also to the commercial vehicle range of Bajaj, which could include a small truck. For the small car, Renault’s design centre and styling studio in Mumbai is expected to play a major role.

The first Airbus A400M military transporter rolled out from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain today, marking a key milestone in the development for this new multi-role airlifter. In a ceremony presided by His Majesty Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, the aircraft was presented to an international audience of 1,500 invited guests, which included hundreds of Airbus employees. The A400M represents the most ambitious military procurement programme ever undertaken in Europe, and the aircraft features electronic flight controls, carbon composite structures and an automated handling system - all which were incorporated to bring new standards of operability and safety for military aircrews. It is a true multi-mission platform, designed for strategic operations, tactical missions and in-theatre aerial refuelling.

The BMW Group and Fiat Group Automobiles are considering the possibility of co-operation in the areas of architectures and components for their Mini and Alfa Romeo vehicles. A Memorandum of Understanding to this effect was signed by Friedrich Eichiner, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Corporate and Brand Development, and Alfredo Altavilla, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Fiat Group Automobiles and CEO of Fiat Powertrain Technologies. “We are currently examining with the Fiat Group possibilities for the joint use of components and systems in Mini and Alfa Romeo vehicles in order to achieve economies of scale and thus cost reductions within the framework of our Strategy Number ONE”, Eichiner said in Munich. “The proposed co-operation with BMW is a significant cornerstone of our strategy of alliances. We are delighted to work with such an esteemed and respected partner in the automotive industry with the clear objective of improving the competitive position of both parties,” Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Group and FGA, said in Turin. The two partners have agreed not to divulge details of the possible collaboration. The results of the cooperation discussions will probably be achieved by the end of the year.

Hero Electric, a 100per cent subsidiary of Hero Group and India’s largest manufacturer of energy-efficient, environment-friendly electric two-wheelers has announced plans to ramp up production while welcoming the tax rebate on electric vehicles announced by the Delhi and other state governments. The Delhi government, to mitigate the rising fuel prices and promote eco-friendly, non polluting means of transport, has recently announced a 15 per cent subsidy on the base price of the electric vehicle (EV) and a 12.5 per cent exemption of VAT. This translates into a subsidy of 24.5per cent on the ex-showroom price of the Electrical Vehicles. Welcoming the Government initiatives, Naveen Munjal, managing director of hero Electric said: “Fuel costs are climbing rapidly making the running cost of Petrol driven two wheelers out of reach of many a customers. Electric two-wheelers make for easier mobility.” To expand the capacity, which involves upgrading and enhancing capacity at its Ludhiana plant, the company will be investing close to Rs 70 crores. The capex is expected to touch 440 vehicles per day and two shifts from the current 220 vehicles per day and singl shift. Hero Electric is also hiking the R&D spend and expanding the product range further. While a new R&D hub is being set up at Delhi other than a design cell, a new model in the high-speed range is scheduled for launch in August 2008. Hero Electric is targeting sales of over 70,000 vehicles this year compared to 21,000 vehicles sold last year. To push the sales the company will adding another 100 dealers to the existing 170 by the end of 2008.

India's Best Group announced it would set up a joint venture with Koki Technik Transmission Systems, one of the leading manufacturers of gear shift components in Europe. The joint venture company, Best Koki Automotive Pvt Ltd, will manufacture gear transmission shifting parts. Best Group has interests in automative control cable manufacturing and engineering design services. Koki Technik and Best Group would invest Rs 400 million each in the new entity. “We will bring in the capital over the course of next three years, our products will be ready for the market by 2009,” Best Group joint managing director Nitesh Jain said. “We have confirmed orders for one upcoming model but I cannot disclose the name. We are also in talks with all major car manufacturers,” he added. Jain said the joint venture company would export 130,000 units to Koki Technik by the end of this financial year. Nico Beltrame, managing director of Koki Technik, added that the company was not using the joint venture for outsourcing its manufacturing to India.

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp's (HSBC) India unit launched a new product, HSBC Direct, for small businesses. “This product, targeted at small businesses and micro-SMEs, will take care of their daily banking requirements with round the clock service available on the internet, telephone and self service machine,” said HSBC India CEO Naina Lal Kidwai. In Asia, India is the first country to introduce this software-based product, she said. HSBC group general manager Margaret Leung said: “We have implemented this system abroad and it has become very successful. In the UK we have more than 94,000 customers.” Customers opting for this product can benefit from zero quarterly balances. Besides, there would be no charges for demand drafts through internet banking and no charges for cash withdrawals up to Rs 20,000 from 23,000 Visa ATMS across India. HSBC India managing director and head of commercial banking Puneet Chaddha said: “There is a new generation of business customers who are tech savvy. HSBC Direct will address the need of small businesses which are the major drivers of Indian economy.”

Banks need to fine-tune their lending processes to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and follow the Reserve Bank guidelines on the subject, a top RBI official said. Despite these guidelines being in place, many banks were observed to have not been following them, Reserve Bank's Deputy Governor, Usha Thorat, said at a seminar organised by the Indian Banks Association (IBA) in Mumbai. Giving an example, Thorat said as per the RBI guidelines, banks were not supposed to insist on collateral security from SMEs for advances to them up to a limit of Rs 5 lakh but only take into account the viability of their projects while granting loans. However, some banks were not adhering to this guideline and were asking for collateral security, Thorat said, adding in many cases banks had not even analysed their SME portfolios properly. “For SME loans up to Rs 5 lakhs, banks are not supposed to ask for collateral security...(but) a few banks are insisting on that...very few banks have analysed their own SME portfolios,” Thorat said. The Reserve Bank had last year asked leading banks such as State Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Canara Bank and Indian Bank to conduct a survey in certain districts to ensure whether banks were complying with its norms.

GM India’s Chevrolet Spark is now available across the nation for an incredible starting price of Rs 2.66 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi) as its new plant gets ready to start operations. 

With global sales of 3,961,629 units in 2007 the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group has emerged as the world's fifth largest automaker moving up from sixth place in 2006, according to Automotive News' 2008 Global Market Data Book published on June 30, 2008. While quantitative growth has been an important objective in the past for the Group, the company’s efforts are now focused on qualitative growth in terms of continuous improvement in corporate social responsibility, profitability, technological innovation and brand power. Hyundai-Kia has the momentum to keep on growing. The Group has seen remarkable growth in the four decades since Hyundai Motor Co. was founded. It ranked as the world's eleventh largest automaker in 1999, the year Hyundai-Kia Chairman Chung Mong-Koo took over the helm as the CEO. Since then, under Chairman Chung's leadership, it has moved steadily up the rankings ladder, accelerating its push to globalize operations by building new manufacturing plants in the United States, China, India, Slovakia, Czech and Russia. Counting the export sales of 185,114 complete knock-down kits which are assembled by overseas partners, the Group's 2007 global sales reached 4,146,743 units. Automotive News’ methodology excludes CKD sales.