The Price of Linea and Punto to Increase From 2010

The Fiat Linea and Grande Punto have constantly been actually good value plans for the Indian car buyer - but rising input costs mean that they will be valued from next year.

Fiat will boost the price of the cars by 2-2.5%, which turns to a Rs 15,000-25,000 boost in price, depending upon the alternative. Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, President & CEO, FIAT said, “Together the Linea and the Grande Punto have received a fabulous rejoinder in the Indian market and clocked extremely remarkable numbers. The initial pricing of both the cars was a starting offer so as to allow more customers to practice these products.” The price boost will be effective from the first of January, 2010.

Bajaj Going to Upgrade the Pulser and the Dicover Bikes

The upcoming months will see new forms of Pulsar and Discover stepping up out the Bajaj plant. At the same time, there is equal spirit in phasing out of existing models as the company has already locked the handbars of 4 models in just 4 months. The reason mentioned is the less demand for these models- Platina 125, XCD 135 belonging to administrative segment of 110cc -135cc and this heralded the phasing of XCD 125 and Pulsar 200 models some months before. As a result there won’t be any variety in XCD brand taking the current portfolio to 8 bikes and a scooter.

In a few days, Kristal scooter and Platina 100 will also find their egress from the market. This is in sharp contrast to the market leader Hero Honda who has 15 models ranging from 100cc – 225cc along with automatic scooter Pleasure. To hold a stable market for it, Bajaj intends to focus new brands of Pulsar and Discover- economy bike 100cc, executive bike 135cc respectively. Superior versions of Pulsar 150,180 and 220 will also be focused.

Bajaj insists that the new Pulsar 135 will be superior to Platina 125 or XCD 135 in terms of style and brand image. Bajaj had faced a tough time with the Platina 135 and XCD 135 in sales compared to Pulsar or Discover both procuring better margin for the company. XCD 125 was targeted 50000 units a month but could obtain sale of just 20000 units a month.

The fall came by means of cannibalization from Pulsar and from other bikes of other companies. The phasing, though, is points as a temporary measure to push the Pulsar ranges, said an official of the company. The target for Bajaj’s Pulsar ranges in 2010-11 is one million units of which nearly 45% will be derived from the new range.

Electric Version of Hundai i10

Korean auto colossal Hyundai today said it will expose the electric edition of its compact car 'i10' during next month's Auto Expo in Delhi.

The company will also exhibit its existing range of products and its notion vehicles with advanced technology during the event starting at January 5 2010, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) said in a report.

"Hyundai i10 Electric is a zero-emission vehicle that settles motoring with the environmental targets of customers looking for a vehicle with the best possible environmental footprint," it said.

The company had instigated the i10 in the country with internal ignition engine in 2007.

HMIL, the country's largest car exporter and second largest car manufacturer, currently has a line up of alternate fuel technology vehicles like the CNG and LPG versions of its small car Santro, its sedan Accent and the i10 CNG.

"Hyundai Motor India's pavilion will also display its futuristic technology in the form of concept vehicles to emphasize the better and advanced technology that the company has forged," it added.

HMIL is the wholly-owned secondary of South Korea's Hyundai Motor Company.

New automobile sales likely to rise in 2010 for 1st time in 6 years

Sales of brand new automobiles in Japan next year are expected to rise 4.1% from the figure expected for 2009 to 4,798,400 units, marking the first upturn in six years, an industry body said. The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association recognized the expected increase to the government’s tax breaks and financial backing for environmentally friendly vehicles as well as a recovery in personal utilization.

However, new automobile sales are expected to remain below 5 million units for the second consecutive year in 2010, which will see sales at the second-lowest level, after 2009, since 1978 when they totaled 4,682,000 units. Yoshiyasu Nao, vice chairman of the association, said the market hit bottom in 2009 and sales are expected to pick up in and after 2010 remaining to the government’s support measures.

Jaguar Land Rover Recruiting 100 graduate jobs

Jaguar Land Rover, one of the largest companies based in the northwest, has pronounced that it is to offer 100 graduate jobs and placements next year.

The group, which is owned by Indian firm Tata Motors, plans to hire some of the industry's brightest young intellects to develop new models in its leading ranges.

It said people interested in joining the company in 2010 have until December 31st 2009 to submit an application for a graduate scheme.

"Jaguar Land Rover is looking to employ obsessive graduates to join the business and help to develop our next generation of world-class products," said Des Thurlby, HR director of the group.

The news comes after Jaguar Land Rover exposed that it had seen a 23 per cent rise in sales across its brands in the third month of the year.

Demand was found to be particularly strong for new models of its Land Rover, Range Rover Sports and Discovery 4 vehicles.

China makes second effort to drive into Indian auto market

China will take its baby steps in the world’s second fastest growing auto market soon, share the credit on Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation Group’s joint scheme with General Motors India, two decades after the country first attempted to penetrate the Indian market.

SAIC drives eight joint-ventures in China and covers four GM brands — Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet and Saab — and would primarily bring two or three compact cars to India. It independently owns Chinese auto maker Nanjing Automobile company and Korea’s fourth largest auto maker, SsangYong Motor Company.

“We would be leveraging our individual brands and joint ventures in China to introduce competitive products in India,” company chairman Hu Maoyuan said in a statement. The firm recently picked up 50% stake in GM India — wholly owned subsidiary of American auto major General Motor Corp — to form a 50:50 joint-venture, and is expected to utilise its own Roewe platform to bring GM’s best-selling Buick brand to the Indian market.

GM to suspend Saab after deal talks crumple

General Motors Co. said Friday it will wind down Saab after talks to sell the brand to Dutch carmaker Spyker Cars collapsed.

GM said in a news release that problems arose during the sale talks that could not be resolved.

“In spite of the best efforts of all involved, it has become very clear that the due attentiveness required to complete this complex transaction could not be executed in a reasonable time,” GM Europe President Nick Reilly said in a statement. “In order to continue operations, Saab needed a quick resolution.”

GM was planned to provide more details during a discussion call with reporters Friday morning. The Detroit automaker said it will continue to honor Saab customer warranties.

GM first required a buyer for Saab in January as part of its restructuring, which included plans to downsize its brands to four from eight. It was previously in talks to sell Saab to a conglomerate led by the Swedish sports car maker Koenigsegg Group AB, but it turned to Spyker after Koenigsegg withdrew from the talks in November.

Speculation has since been rampant on the future of Saab. Earlier this week, GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre told reporters he had “a sense it’s possible” that the sale to Spyker would go through, but conceded the brand would close by the end of the year if the talks fell apart.

On Monday, China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings — originally part of the Koenigsegg consortium — announced it had agreed to buy some powertrain technology from Saab. It gave no details of costs or timing of that purchase.

European fresh car market increased by 26.6 percent in November

According to statistics released on December 15 by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), in November a rise of 30.6 percent in new car registrations was recorded in Western Europe and a drop of 16.7 percent seen in new car registrations in the new European Union member states, resulting in an overall increase of 26.6 percent in the European new car market. All comparisons are on year-on-year basis.

In the January-October period of this year, new car registrations in the European market shrunk by 2.8 percent year on year, amounting to 13,406,382 units.

In Western Europe, new car registrations totaled 1,116,845 units in November, rising by 30.6 percent compared to the same month last year. In November, British new car registrations expanded by 57.6 percent, Spanish registrations by 37.3 percent, German figures by 19.7 percent, French figures by 48.3 percent, while Italian registrations mounted by 31.2 percent, all compared to November 2008.

In the first eleven months of the present year, new car registrations in Western Europe declined vaguely by 0.7 percent year on year, reaching 12,628,319 units. A rise of 25.4 percent was recorded in Germany, a rise of 7.6 percent was observed in France and an increase of 7.9 percent was seen in Austria. In the meantime, the demand for new cars decreased by 20.8 percent in Spain fell by 8.8 percent in the UK and was down 1.4 percent in Italy.

In the new EU member states, new car registrations dropped by 16.7 percent year on year in November. Only the Czech Republic and Slovenia posted growth in the given month, with 31.5 percent and 3.7 percent respectively. Elsewhere, the downturn ranged from 23.9 percent to 84.9 percent.

In the January-November period, the generally decline in new car registrations was 27.4 percent for the new EU member states, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

Electric vehicles

Electric vehicles (EVs) purchased in or after 2010 may be eligible for a federal income tax credit of up to $7,500. The credit amount will vary based on the capacity of the battery used to fuel the vehicle.

This credit replaces an earlier credit for EVs purchased in 2009.

Small neighborhood electric vehicles do not qualify for this credit, but they may qualify for another credit.

Requirements

The be certified for the credit, the vehicle must meet the following requirements:

• The vehicle must be made by a manufacturer (i.e., it doesn't include conventional vehicles converted to electric drive).
• It must be treated as a motor vehicle for purposes of title II of the Clean Air Act.
• It must have a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of not more than 14,000 lbs.
• It must be propelled to a significant extent by an electric motor which draws electricity from a battery which
  • has a capacity of not less than 4 kilowatt hours and
  • is capable of being recharged from an external source of electricity.

The following requirements must also be met for a certified vehicle to qualify:

• The original use of the vehicle commences with the taxpayer.
• The vehicle is acquired for use or lease by the taxpayer, and not for resale. (The credit is only available to the original purchaser of a new, qualifying vehicle. If a qualifying vehicle is leased to a consumer, the leasing company may claim the credit.)
• The vehicle is used mostly in the United States.
• The vehicle must be placed in service by the taxpayer during the 2009 calendar year.

Phase Out & Termination

The credit begins to phase out for vehicles once the manufacturer produces 200,000 eligible plug-in electric vehicles (i.e., plug-in hybrids and EVs) as counted from January 1, 2010. IRS will announce when a manufacturer exceeds this production figure and will announce the subsequent phase out schedule.


Claiming the Credit

For vehicles acquired for personal use, report the credit from Form 8834 on the appropriate line of your Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.

Unlike the credit for plug-in electric vehicles purchased in 2009, this credit can be used toward the alternative minimum tax (AMT).

If the qualifying vehicle is purchased for business use, the credit for the business use of an electric vehicle is reported on Form 3800, General Business Credit.

Crash Sensors in Car

Air Bag Basics

• Crash sensors collect the data necessary to make decisions about air bag deployment.

• Crash sensors measure how quickly a vehicle slows down in a frontal crash or accelerates to the side in a side-impact crash. Some vehicles are equipped with a sensing system designed to detect the onset of a rollover crash.

• Frontal crash sensors may be located in the front of the vehicle near the engine, in the passenger compartment, or sometimes in the electronic control unit (ECU).

• Side-impact crash sensors may be located in the ECU, the door, the doorsill, or between the front and rear doors.

• Rollover crash sensors may be located in the ECU or at the vehicle's center of gravity.

• Severe or panic braking alone cannot cause an air bag to deploy; air bags deploy only in crashes.

Ruia Group Get Hold of the German Auto Sealing Maker

Ruia Group, which have Dunlop Tyres in India, today declared that it has acquired German sealing system maker Henniges Automotive, which had gone into bankruptcy in 2008 during the global financial calamity.

Ruia Group has taken over 60% through a special point vehicle routed through a Mauritius-based investment company, Wealth Sea. The enduring 25% is held by German court appointed administrator for Henniges Wolf Von Der Fecht and 15% by presented director Juregen Hein.

Ruia said the group has the option to acquire 25% after three years from the administrator and the remaining 15% after five years from the director.

The Ruia Group will pay for the 60% in three payments over as many years. Group chairman Pawan K Ruia said the group was looking forward to having an automotive sealing company in India using expertise of global leaders.

Henniges is the second acquirement in the global sealing segment after Schlegel Automotive of UK by the Group. Henniges is structured in a exclusive fashion in which the four original equipment manufactures offered credit line of 30% of the takeover evaluation against adjustment for supply.

Fecht said “all the four OEMs have base in India and were ease with Ruia Group’s business model. They can go on to get supplies of sealing components in India.”

Henniges German unit is a main supplier of automotive sealing systems to global majors like Daimler, BMW, Audi and Volkswagen.

Though, the new company is debt free as the acquisition was without legal responsibility, Fecht said a sum corresponding to one-third of the total acquisitions cost has to be repaid to existing creditors in the next three years.

The Group outbid 28 international companies to acquire Henniges Automotive Grefrath GmbH, now renamed as DRAFTEX

“Aspiring to be a global major in the business of manufacturing automotive sealing systems and an important player in the auto ancillary business, we have reached a milestone by taking over the German company,” Ruia told reporters here.

For 2010, the turnover projection for Henniges was pegged at €45-50 million and with Schlegel the combined turnover would be €82 million.

Henniges turnover had hit €50 million from €84.9 million in 2008.

With 400 highly-skilled employees on its roll, Henniges aims to increase business with a secure order book from the existing OEMs for the next four years.

Scrappage scheme sells 50,000 new cars

• Government hails commercial and environmental success
• Foreign manufacturers and dealers are biggest winners


More than 50,000 new cars have been sold under the government's "cash for bangers" car scrappage scheme but the main beneficiaries are foreign car manufacturers and dealers.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said the scheme was "a great success", boosting commerce and meeting environmental criteria by being concentrated around smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Car dealers report a surge in people visiting their showrooms, while manufacturers such as Kia and Hyundai from South Korea, and Suzuki of Japan are said to be doing well – as is BMW, which builds the Mini in Oxford.

The scrappage scheme, under which new buyers should be able to win a £2,000 discount – half of which is underwritten by the government – came into force on 18 May and detailed figures are still difficult to obtain, say government and industry.

But an investigation by the Guardian suggested that buyers can find better deals by scouting on internet sites rather than visiting their local forecourt, and that some scrappage discounts are not being passed on.

Britain's best-selling car, the Ford Focus, was offered at one outlet in Hertfordshire for £14,500 for a three-door 1.6 litre Zetec model. The sales manager said he would take off the full £2,000, bringing the total down to £12,500.

However, a quick search on a respected online broker site, drivethedeal.com showed the same vehicle could be snapped up for nearly £1,200 less.

Comment pages elsewhere on the internet display buyers' frustrations at a lack of proper discounts. One dealer in Hatfield was offering the same car for £5,945 if scrappage was taken and £6,900 if not.

Experian, a marketing analysis company that tracks consumer trends, said people approaching retirement age were most likely to be attracted to the scheme, with BMW and Mercedes-Benz likely to benefit most. Website traffic monitored buy Experian in April after the scrappage scheme was first announced showed the most popular manufacturing sites visited were BMW, Ford, Audi and Volkswagen.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which reported a 25% fall in new UK vehicle registrations last month compared with the same period 12 months ago, said it was too early to say which companies would benefit most.

But a spokeswoman for the SMMT said that anecdotally it appeared purchasers were going for smaller cars, allaying fears of some environmentalists that "cash for bangers" would be used on even bigger gas guzzlers.

Suzuki said it had taken 2,100 new orders already. "Our dealers are reporting greatly increased showroom traffic and some are experiencing a fourfold increase in orders," said David Seward, UK sales and marketing director at the company.

Nissan, another Japanese-owned company, has rehired 150 staff on four-month contracts, and said it would be taking on a further 100 to cope with increased demand in Britain but also from scrappage schemes in France, Germany and Italy.

"The short-term spike in demand being delivered by all the scrappage incentives is providing a valuable shot in the arm during a difficult period," said Kevin Fitz¬patrick, deputy managing director of Nissan's Sunderland plant.

The government said the scrappage scheme was doing just what it was designed to do. A spokesperson said: "So far, the scrappage scheme has been a great success, with orders under the scheme reaching close to 50,000 since the announcement of the scheme in April.

"The scrappage scheme has been welcomed by dealers and manufacturers alike with increased demand for vehicles benefiting the industry as a whole at a time when it is needed most. The scheme is time-limited and has a finite budget; any consumers interested in taking part in the scheme need to make their orders sooner rather than later."

The "cash for bangers" initiative will run until 28 February or when the government's £300m funding runs out.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Announces Intensive Holiday Drunk & Impaired Driving Crackdown & Advertising Blitz

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, today kicked off the "Over the Limit. Under Arrest" national drunk and impaired driving crackdown involving thousands of law enforcement agencies during the holiday season. In addition, Secretary LaHood announced new data showing states with the best – and worst – improvement over the last year in addressing drunk driving behavior.

“Drunk driving is a major public safety threat that still claims thousands of lives every year,” Secretary LaHood said. “Many states continue to step up their efforts to get drunk drivers off our roads, but the numbers tell us we have to do more. Drinking and driving is dangerous and unacceptable, and I’m asking law enforcement to stay vigilant during this busy holiday season.”

“Like alcohol, drugs impair perception, judgment, motor skills and memory. These effects can be dangerously magnified when drugs are consumed with alcohol, even in cases where a driver's blood alcohol level is below legal limits,” said Director Kerlikowske. “Driving while impaired, from alcohol, drugs, or both, puts us all at risk and must be prevented.”

According to research by DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), five states have shown great reductions in alcohol-impaired driving fatality rates from 2007 to 2008. Those include Vermont, Wisconsin, Maine, Nebraska and Minnesota. The states with the least progress are Idaho, Rhode Island, Wyoming, Kansas and New Hampshire. Driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher is illegal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

“My message to drivers is this: if you decide to drink, find a safe and sober ride home or your chances of arrest are extremely high,” said Secretary LaHood. “Law enforcement officers will be out in full force during the upcoming holiday, especially at night and on the weekends, looking for the drunk drivers that put the rest of us at risk.”

Prior NHTSA research has consistently shown that more people are killed in crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver on the weekends and at night – when most of the holidays occur this calendar year. In 2008 alone, 58 percent of drivers and motorcycle riders were killed in crashes that took place over the weekend and at night were alcohol-impaired

This holiday enforcement crackdown is being supported by more than $7 million in national TV and radio advertising and runs from December 16 to January 3.