Toyota has launched the Corolla Altis. Replacing the Corolla, the Corolla Altis is wider, dynamic and thus more spacious inside. The doors open wider making ingress and egress easy. The GOA safety structure of the car has seen strengthening of areas around the passenger room whereas the active safety features include ABS and EBD. While the multi-function steering wheel is electrically power assisted, power is had from a 1.8-litre, 4-cylinder DOHC 16-valve VVT-i petrol engine that does 130hp and 17.3Kgm of torque. 

With prices starting at Rs 10.83 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi, the Corolla Altis offers features like 6 CD audio, 8-way power driver seat adjust, auto air-con, tilt steering, HID lamps and abundant storage spaces. A four-speed auto (sequential shift) transmission model is also offered. Toyota is targeting sales of 2000 units per month in the year 2008.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath said that auto exports from India should reach 25 billion dollar in the next decade. He was speaking at the 'Making India a Global Automotive Export Hub' conference at the annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in New Delhi. He said the government will play its part by providing the "enabling policy framework" and added that the auto sector should take advantage of these and leverage their strengths for expanding to other parts of the world. Kamal Nath further stated that by the middle of the next decade, India should be the destination of choice for design and manufacture of automotive components and vehicles in the world. 

The minister said: "The Indian automobile industry today is all about scale. Maruti hopes to have a capacity of one million cars by 2010, Hyundai is looking at 600,000 cars in another year, Toyota is talking about 200,000 cars by the year end, the Nissan Renault venture is planning a capacity of 400,000 cars, General Motors and Honda are setting up new plants, as is Tata for its Nano." 

During his address, he underlined that the employment in the automotive sector would go up three times and exports should go up nine times. "The future challenges for the Indian automobile industry would be to develop a supply base with emphasis on lower costs and economies of scale, develop technical and human capabilities, overcome infrastructural bottlenecks, stimulate domestic demand and exploit export and international business opportunities," he said.

Global auto industry leaders at the 48th SIAM Annual Convention in Delhi stressed upon various challenges and factors driving the industry. Inaugurated by Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Sontosh Mohan Dev, the highlight of the convention was the discussion on small cars and innovation. With the Tata Nano shifting paradigms and challenging existing engineering principles in auto manufacturing across the globe, many auto players are re-thinking strategies and focusing on the small car segment. During a key panel discussion during the convention, a general consensus among panelists seemed to point at the increase in demand for small and medium size cars that the global auto market was witnessing. 

Fritz Henderson, president and COO, General Motors, emphasized that the small car may not be the solution for all geographies. He stated that the US was undergoing a major shift in demand patterns now and that it would seek small and medium segment cars with high technology and safety features and high fuel efficiency. Therefore, there is was need to reconcile cost, technology and power, he added. 

Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Motors, reinforced the need for a small car in developing economies, especially in a country like India. India, he said, will be a dominant market for a low cost small car, while the USA would demand a small car loaded with accessories and packaged efficiently with power and technology. He also stated that the demand for bigger cars will remain in developed markets; though it may marginally reduce. Shen Yang – president, SAIC-GM-Wuling Company, China, stated that the demand in China for small cars was likely to exponentially increase in the near future due to legislation and policy measures being undertaken by the government such as reduction in subsidies for gasoline. He predicted that Chinese demand for small cars could go up by 12.1 per cent year-to-year from now till 2017. 

Dr. Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Group and Automobiles, Italy, said different sub-segments of the small car may have varying profit margins, but overall, small cars do not spell lower profitability. He added that with dead markets such as the USA opening up to small cars and slated to grow, there is promising potential for the segment across the globe. While Henderson added that the key factor for profitability was also getting the right price for the right sub-segment, Tata remarked that the overall issue was not of profitability but that of scale, in a country like India. He said industry players would need to find commonalities across variants in order to optimise scale and therefore margins. However, having said this, he wholeheartedly agreed that India was a bright and potential destination for sales and production of small cars. 

At the convention, SIAM unveiled two new initiatives— Fuel Consumption Consumer Information and Fuel Economy Information brochure. This was announced by Ravi Kant, SIAM president and managing director of Tata Motors. Pointing at the shrinking demand, rising inputs costs, rising fuel prices, inflationary pressures and climate change threats, Kant said though the automotive industry contributed to about 10 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions, the sector was aware of the need for a holistic and an integrated approach to negate its effects. The Fuel Consumption Consumer Information will be displayed at the point of sale of passenger cars and two-wheelers by all SIAM members and this would be supplied to all customers along with the documentation of the vehicle. SIAM hopes to commence this by January 2009.

SB LiMotive Co Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture between Bosch and Samsung, has started operations and would be concentrating on the development, manufacture and sale of lithium-ion batteries for automotive applications. The start of series manufacturing of highly efficient lithium-ion battery systems customised to automotive requirements is planned for 2011 on a global basis. To achieve this, the joint venture partners will jointly invest between US $ 300 and US$ 400 million in the next five years. 

The new company will be led by Youngwoo Park (Samsung SDI), who will be in charge of finance, production, sales, and purchasing, and Dr. Joachim Fetzer (Bosch), who will be responsible for engineering and quality.

Mercedes-Benz has introduced its first luxury intercity coach in India. The coach sports the versatile O 500 R / RF chassis from the Mercedes-Benz stable while the bus body is built by Jalandhar-based Sutlej Motors. Speaking at the launch in Pune, Harald Landman, head of Daimler Buses said, “As the oldest bus maker in the world and market leader in the bus segment, Mercedes-Benz buses will enable people in India to ‘Travel with the Star’. 

The Mercedes-Benz O 500 R / RF is a versatile chassis and has been proven across markets, the world over. Its legendary suspension, reliability and safety will be complemented by the superior dynamics offered by the bus body created locally by Sutlej. We are bullish about the bus business and see this as the beginning of Mercedes’ bus business in India”. 

Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, CEO of Mercedes-Benz India added that the Mercedes-Benz coaches stand for the latest and best of technology, design, comfort, reliability and performance- aspects that have received enthusiastic response from our customers. The first coaches were delivered to Sharma Transports, Neeta Tours and Travels, and Konduskar Travels.