What a drive or ride from India to London entails

What it takes to drive or ride from India to London.

Distance to be covered: 17,000+ Kms
Duration: 61 Nights / 62 Days
Continents: 2
Country count: 20
Time Zones: 8

Terrains: Mountains, Deserts, Forests, Highways, City Riding.

Countries: India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, United Kingdom

Maruti Suzuki set to shake up the vehicle lubricant market, looks to leverage dominance in car market

Traditional vehicle lubricant makers are now facing competition from India’s largest car manufacturer and seller Maruti Suzuki, which has launched its own line of lubricants, ECSTAR.

This is a game-changer. So far, sole lubricant manufacturers faced competition only from their co-branded counterparts (IndianOil makes lubricants for almost all major vehicle manufacturers). For example, Servo, IndianOil’s lubricants and greases brand, has manufacturer approvals for its specific products from two-wheeler companies such as Kinetic, LML and TVS, and four-wheeler majors such as Hyundai and Hindustan Motors. These products, endorsed by vehicle companies, are touted as favourable products at authorised service stations.

Till now, even Maruti endorsed the Servo Maruti Genuine Oil specifically for its entire range of petrol vehicles. But with ECSTAR, things might change, as the vehicle manufacturer has decided to procure the products directly from local suppliers.

“Maruti Suzuki would be giving the specifications and suppliers will offer the product. The lubricants are then packaged and branded under the Suzuki ECSTAR brand,” an industry watcher said.

In its sales pitch, the ECSTAR is supposed to “give you a Suzuki experience that others could not.”

Surfing on the premium claim, the ECSTAR products are also priced higher than their competitors. Lubricant prices vary depending on the quality and requirements, ranging from ₹300 to ₹3,500 a litre.

“Maruti has about 48 per cent market share in passenger vehicles in India, and hence the largest share in the total number of cars serviced at authorised service stations. If they start using their own lubricants, it will negatively impact other lubricant manufacturers like Castrol,” said Rajat Sharma, Founder at Sana Securities and SEBI Registered Investment Advisor.

“Maruti derives up to 20 per cent of its net profit from service income. Engine oil and coolants constitute a major portion of overall service cost, so naturally this will have a positive impact on Maruti’s margins,” he added.

While announcing the product, Maruti Suzuki said that initially the company will offer ECSTAR to its customers at the newly launched NEXA Service workshops and then across its full service network of over 3,000 workshops across the country.

Source: Hindu BusinessLine dated May 07, 2018

Automotive Lubricants industry in India - Part 1

Lubricants mainly find usage in automotive, industrial and marine and energy applications.

India is world’s third largest lubricants market, next only to US and China, with a total consumption of approximately 2.6 billion litres in 2016. The industry in India is made up of over 30 established players, viz Public Sector Undertaking – Oil Marketing Companies (IOCL, BPCL, HPCL) as well as the other players in the private sector (Total-Elf, Shell, Gulf Oil, Mobil, Valvoline, Motul, etc) on tenterhooks.

Break-up of Lubricants consumption in India:
•1.2 billion litres would be automotive lubricants,
•770 million litres would be industrial oils,
•with the remaining being process oils.

The overall India lubricants market is expected to register a CAGR of 4.64%, during 2018-2023. The major factors driving the growth of the market is undeniably the increasing vehicular production.

Overall vehicle sales grew by ~7% during 2017, compared to the previous year. In 2017, commercial vehicle sales increased by 9% overall, while heavy commercial vehicle sales grew by 2%, medium / light commercial vehicle sales (MLCV) by 14% and tractor sales moved up by 15%. Passenger car sales (including utility vehicles) also increased by 9% and two-wheeler sales moved up by ~7%.

Developments in the Automotive sector in 2017-18 FY has been a healthy year for the Indian Automotive industry in spite of a volatile regulatory environment. Total industry volumes grew by around 11.3% over April-December 2017 on a year-on-year basis. The Passenger Vehicle segment went up by around 8.1% and the Commercial Vehicle segment by around 15.2%. The total two- wheeler market grew by 11.8% and its exports at a healthy 13%.


The lubricants market growth (other than industrial and marine & energy) was 3% for 2017 post a recovery in the second half of the year. Other longer term macro-trends in the industry remained largely unchanged.
With Indian households generating higher disposable incomes, there has been a significant boost in vehicle sales for personal mobility, both for two and four-wheelers. First time users of personal mobility vehicles, along with growth in usage of two-wheelers in small towns and the emergence of gearless scooters driven by increasing number of women riders, has also led to a growth in two-wheeler sales.

Mineral oils hold the largest share among all the automotive lubricants used in the country, synthetic and semi-synthetic lubricants are expected to grow at a rapid pace during the period 2018-23.

Problems and prospects in the Automotive Lubricants sector:

Problems: Imports and supply of base oil are primarily controlled by the PSU-OMCs. This has a direct bearing on the pricing of the end product, timely supply and distribution.
With focus on marketing and zero red tapeism, Castrol India has its distinct advantage.

Prospects: The market opportunity across the Automotive Lubricants segments in India:
• Heavy duty automotive diesel engine oils 420 million litres per year,
• 125 million litres per year for passenger cars,
• 235 million litres per year for motorcycle oils and
• 280 million litres per year for transmission & axle oils, across the vehicle segments.

Demand for Automotive Lubricants is driven by the usage of vehicles in the country, while the growth in the market in recent years has been due to the rapid expansion of vehicle population.

OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS

(i) Opportunities
a. Personal mobility: With multiple opportunities in personal mobility, including the growth of first time users, increase in usage in smaller towns and rural areas, as well as a growing number of women riders, the Company is tapping these segments for growth.

b. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) partnerships: The Company works with OEMs to build enduring partnerships, such as its recent tie-up with Maruti for their premium Nexa channel and Piaggio for two-wheelers. It also works with OEMs on product development with new technologies as well as addressing the environmental needs of lower emission and fuel efficiency.

c. Medium / light commercial vehicles (MLCV): While the MLCV segment was moderately impacted by the economic slowdown in the first half of 2017, it is poised for growth due to the last-mile connectivity offered, which enables the Company to continue to focus on this category.

d. Improving technology in trucks: With the advent of stricter emission norms resulting in newer technologies
for trucks, the CI4+ segment is the fastest growing segment in the commercial vehicle category, in which the Castrol India enjoys a strong position.

e. Distribution: The Company has a large distribution network in the retail market. Renewed focus on distribution and customer reach in different market segments will enable future growth.

(ii) Threats
a. Economic uncertainty: After relative stability of low crude prices in the first half of 2016, the Company has seen an upward trend of base oil costs from late 2016, which rose further in 2017. This is likely to continue throughout 2018, based on the current and future market environment estimates.

b. GST: With GST rollout in 2017, there was very low inventory and stocking, and hence, overall production.
The effect started diminishing gradually in the second half of 2017. Also, the Company has been one of the first among lubricant players to transition smoothly to GST and bill customers immediately, post its introduction.
While some uncertainty around GST implementation currently exists, and measures are being taken to iron out these issues, this uncertainty is likely to continue in 2018.

c. Competitive activity: Competition in the lubricants market is intense and most international players have identified India as a focus market. Competitive activity is likely to remain high in the foreseeable future. There is also a trend of some OEMs introducing lubricants under their own brand name, further impacting the competitive landscape.

OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS

(i) Opportunities
a. Personal mobility: With multiple opportunities in personal mobility, including the growth of first time users, increase in usage in smaller towns and rural areas, as well as a growing number of women riders, the Company is tapping these segments for growth.

b. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) partnerships: The Company works with OEMs to build enduring partnerships, such as its recent tie-up with Maruti for their premium Nexa channel and Piaggio for two-wheelers. It also works with OEMs on product development with new technologies as well as addressing the environmental needs of lower emission and fuel efficiency.

c. Medium / light commercial vehicles (MLCV): While the MLCV segment was moderately impacted by the economic slowdown in the first half of 2017, it is poised for growth due to the last-mile connectivity offered, which enables the Company to continue to focus on this category.

d. Improving technology in trucks: With the advent of stricter emission norms resulting in newer technologies
for trucks, the CI4+ segment is the fastest growing segment in the commercial vehicle category, in which the Castrol India enjoys a strong position.

e. Distribution: The Company has a large distribution network in the retail market. Renewed focus on distribution and customer reach in different market segments will enable future growth.

(ii) Threats
a. Economic uncertainty: After relative stability of low crude prices in the first half of 2016, the Company has seen an upward trend of base oil costs from late 2016, which rose further in 2017. This is likely to continue throughout 2018, based on the current and future market environment estimates.

b. GST: With GST rollout in 2017, there was very low inventory and stocking, and hence, overall production.
The effect started diminishing gradually in the second half of 2017. Also, the Company has been one of the first among lubricant players to transition smoothly to GST and bill customers immediately, post its introduction.
While some uncertainty around GST implementation currently exists, and measures are being taken to iron out these issues, this uncertainty is likely to continue in 2018.

c. Competitive activity: Competition in the lubricants market is intense and most international players have identified India as a focus market. Competitive activity is likely to remain high in the foreseeable future. There is also a trend of some OEMs introducing lubricants under their own brand name, further impacting the competitive landscape.

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#IndianRoadieSecondaryResearch,
#IndianRoadiePreferredRoute,
#IndianRoadiePreferredHotel,
#IndianRoadiePreferredHospital,
#IndianRoadieCityMap,
#IndianRoadiePreferredCafe, etc, etc.

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All-new Ford Bronco retro-SUV from Ford is based on the Endeavour platform

All-new #FordBronco retro-SUV from Ford is based on the Endeavour platform. However, no news of this SUV making its way to India:

Ford has been teasing its upcoming retro-SUV the Bronco since quite some time. A first image of the upcoming production-spec Bronco has surfaced on the internet. The source claims the image was clicked at a dealer meeting held by Ford where the company showed a few visuals of its upcoming retro-SUV.

For those who don't know, the Ford Bronco SUV has been an iconic off-roader that was on sale from 1966 to 1996. The company has revived the Bronco name with this new SUV twenty two years since the last Bronco rolled off the production line. While the earlier Bronco range sat on a much larger platform that also spawned popular models like the Ford F-150, the upcoming Bronco will sit on smaller underpinnings that are also shared with the Ford Ranger pickup and the Ford Endeavour (Everest) SUV which is also sold in India and many other markets.

The new Bronco is a five door SUV and not a three door model like its previous iterations. It flaunts the retro-look with some stylish design cues that makes it stand out. Upfront the round LED daytime running lamps are similar in design to the ones seen on the first-gen SUV that came out back in 1966. The grille has "FORD" written on it bang in the centre which also looks to be illuminated on the new SUV. The model's side profile is boxy but has unique character lines and blackened bits to make it look attractive. The SUV gets a contrast white roof and has an upward kink on the shoulder line just aft of its C-pillar. While there are no pictures of the rear, one can get a glimpse of large vertical LED tail lamps in the leaked image. The SUV gets black alloy wheels with chunky tyres and decent ground clearance for its off-road ready nature.

While there is no news on the powertrain options, expect Ford to equip this new SUV with a 2.3-litre EcoBoost turbo-petrol mated to a six-speed automatic sending power to all four wheels. There are chances of a petrol-hybrid version as well.

While there is no news of this SUV making its way to India, Ford is readying a mid-cycle update for the Endeavour which will reach showrooms sometime next year. The company is also working on an all-new SUV that will share underpinnings with the next-gen Mahindra XUV500.

Source:
Text - AutocarIndia
Photo - Off-Road Dot Com dated 13th November 2018.

Indore (MP) to Lucknow (UP) - Indian Roadie Preferred Route

Indian Roadie Preferred Route from Indore (MP) to Lucknow (UP):

Indore - Bhopal - Vidisha - Bina - Malthone - Jhansi - Kanpur - Lucknow.

Leave from Indore by 4 am and one should be in Lucknow by 10 pm.

It is approx a 900 kms drive. Will take 18-19 hours depending upon driving style.

Indore - Bhopal (4 lane).

Bhopal - Vidisha - Bina - Malthone (2 lane single road).

Malthone - Jhansi (4 lane excellent road with lots of stray cattle on road).

Jhansi - Kanpur - Lucknow (usual UP road, in good shape)

The above is a tried and tested route and preferred.
However, one can also drive via Sagar.

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* Preferred Road Route

Jaguar's Incredible Turnaround And How It Got Ready To Pounce On Tesla

Jaguar I-Pace is the first legitimate challenger to Tesla.JAGUAR LAND ROVER

Jaguar's new I-Pace, on display for the first time at this week's Geneva Motor Show, is being billed as the world's first legitimate Tesla-fighter: a premium, battery-electric crossover with a range of up to 240 miles that can hit 60 miles per hour in as little as 4.5 seconds.

A svelte 483 pounds lighter than Tesla's Model X, the I-Pace also comes with a skinnier price tag: $69,500 (before government incentives), $10,000 less than the Tesla SUV's starting price and the same as an entry-level Model S 70 sedan. Since Tesla's access to $7,500 federal tax incentives will wind down starting later this year, the Jag and a wave of plug-ins coming from other players will have an added price advantage.

The I-Pace is certainly more stylish than Model X, which now looks ungainly by comparison. But styling has always been a hallmark of the British carmaker, all the way back to the iconic E-Type sports cars in the 1960s. Jags are among the most beautiful cars on the road.


Underneath the skin, however, the cars have often disappointed, either because they were laden with quality problems or because they lacked key features that consumers demanded.

So how did Jaguar go from being a laughable luxury car maker to Tesla's biggest threat?

The turnaround started under Ford Motor, which owned Jaguar from 1990 to 2008 and worked hard to fix most of the quality problems. But even under Ford, the cars still seemed to miss the mark with consumers. The Jaguar X-Type, pegged as an entry-level "baby Jag," for instance, was just a gussied-up version of Ford's Mondeo sedan in Europe. Critics panned it for not being a "true" Jaguar.

And Ford just didn't have the money needed to keep Jaguar competitive with the likes of Mercedes-Benz and BMW, which were adding all-wheel-drive transmissions, advanced diesel engines and new crossover utilities to their lineups. Not surprisingly, Jaguar sales plunged. By early 2008, a struggling Ford decided to sell Jaguar and its British cousin, Land Rover, to India's Tata Motors for a mere $2.3 billion — half what it paid to acquire them years earlier.

Still, for Ratan Tata, who was chairman of the Indian conglomerate Tata Group at the time, the deal couldn't have come at a worse time. Just months later, the global financial crisis hit, clobbering the auto industry, including Tata Motors, which made trucks and inexpensive cars as well.

Convinced the acquisition would work out in the long run, Tata focused on three priorities at Jaguar Land Rover: manage liquidity through the crisis, cut costs via restructuring, and — most important — invest in new products to support future growth.

"He gave us the opportunity to survive," said Chief Executive Ralf Speth (pronounced "Spate"), a former BMW and Ford executive who joined Jaguar Land Rover in 2010. "He has given us a long leash to deliver the future strategy. He has given us a mid- and long-term perspective. I don’t have to pay a lot of dividends (to the parent company). He really just kept the money in the business."

With Tata's blessing, Jaguar Land Rover's strategy was to invest "proportionately more" in new products, pumping around 14% of annual revenues into research and development and capital expenditures, far outpacing the industry's typical capex ratio of around 5%.

There was a lot of work to do. Land Rover's luxury SUVs were well-suited to changing market tastes, so it bounced back fairly quickly. But everything was wrong with the Jaguar lineup during that period. Models like the flagship XJ sedan and XK coupe were seen as too retro-looking, yet a more modern interpretation of Jaguar, the XF, lacked all-wheel-drive or efficient engines at a time when gas prices were soaring. Jaguar's worldwide sales limped along, barely surpassing 50,000 units from 2009 through 2012.

During that time, Ratan Tata himself — Mr. Tata — crisscrossed the United States in a company plane along with Speth and North American CEO Joe Eberhardt to find out what Jaguar Land Rover dealers were feeling. They got an earful.

"For six months out of the year, Jaguar cars in the north and central part of the country became irrelevant because we couldn't compete with BMW and Mercedes," which had all-wheel-drive, said Andy Vine, owner of a Jaguar Land Rover dealership in Louisville, Ky.

Others complained about the lack of diesel engine options to match the leading European makes, and they lamented that Jaguar's newest car, the XF, was only available with a V8 engine — exactly the wrong powertrain for the times.

To their surprise, Mr. Tata heard their pleas and responded quickly, ordering up more efficient engine options for the XF and XJ. "Things that before we were told would take three, four, five years, by the time Mr. Tata was done, we were seeing in 12 to 24 months," recalled Vine.

By 2013, Jaguar's product reinvestment strategy began to pay off, with sales jumping to nearly 77,000 as new products hit showrooms like the F-Type sports car and the XE, an entry-level Jag worthy of the brand.

The big breakthrough came with the debut of the Jaguar F-Pace, its first SUV, which collected numerous awards including World Car of the Year, and finally put Jaguar into the heart of the luxury vehicle market. The smaller E-Pace, starting at $38,600, is launching now and the electric I-Pace, which goes on sale in the fall, is the beginning of a new electrification strategy from Jaguar Land Rover.

To meet booming demand for its expanding lineup, the company is opening new factories: one more in Britain plus facilities in India, China, Slovakia and Brazil.

While still a relatively small player on a global scale, Jaguar sales have more than tripled since 2009, to 178,601 for the fiscal year ending in March 2017. Together, Jaguar Land Rover sold 621,109 vehicles last year.

Along with higher sales volume, Jaguar Land Rover revenues climbed to nearly $34 billion in fiscal 2017.

But profit margins have been sliding, due to stepped up investments in growth — capex will increase to $6 billion this year from $4.8 billion in fiscal 2017 — as well as competitive pressures, including higher sales incentives.

Its overlords at Tata don't seem terribly worried. "Jaguar Land Rover is an integral part of the Tata Motors group and we are committed to it for the long term," according to a statement from Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the current chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors. "Since its acquisition by Tata Motors, Jaguar Land Rover has delivered a strong performance and we are confident that the business shall deliver sustainable, profitable growth in the future too.”


Source: Joann Muller, Forbes Staff.
She writes about industrial innovation and the global auto industry.

Tata's buyout of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford in March 2008

In a historic deal Tata Motors has purchased Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Company on March 26 at a price of US$ 2.3 billion (Rs 9,200 crore) making this the biggest deal in the Indian auto sector. This highly anticipated takeover, which the two companies have been negotiating for the last several months, is expected to be completed by June 2008. It involves Tata buying the two brands, along with their manufacturing plants and intellectual property rights, with the new company being called ‘Jaguar Land Rover’. The biggest benefit for Tata Motors from this deal will be the acquisition of two prestigious global brands which will help propel it into the big league of global automakers.

This was a result of Ford’s decision to explore strategic options for the Jaguar and Land Rover business in August 2007, as it wanted to focus on its core Ford brand and the 'One Ford' global transformation programme. Once the deal is closed, Ford will contribute approximately US$ 600 million (Rs 2,400 crore) to the Jaguar and Land Rover pension plans to cover their deficits.

Commenting on the agreement, chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors, Ratan N Tata, said, "We are very pleased at the prospect of Jaguar and Land Rover being a significant part of our automotive business. We have enormous respect for the two brands and will endeavour to preserve and build on their heritage and competitiveness, keeping their identities intact. We aim to support their growth, while holding true to our principles of allowing the management and employees to bring their experience and expertise to bear on the growth of the business." He also confirmed that his company will stick to the five-year investment plan for Jaguar and Land Rover’s UK factories in Halewood, Solihull and Castle Bromwich.

Alan Mulally, president and CEO of the Ford Motor Company, said, "Jaguar and Land Rover are terrific brands. We are confident that they are leaving our fold with the products, plan and team to continue to thrive under Tata's stewardship. Now, it is time for Ford to concentrate on integrating the Ford brand globally, as we implement our plan to create a strong Ford Motor Company that delivers profitable growth for all."

Ford continues support

As part of the transaction, Ford will continue to supply Jaguar and Land Rover for differing periods with powertrains, stampings and other vehicle components, in addition to a variety of technologies, such as environmental and platform technologies. Ford has also committed to provide engineering support, including research and development, plus information technology, accounting and other services. In addition, Ford Motor Credit Company will provide financing for Jaguar and Land Rover dealers and customers during a transitional period, which can vary by market, of up to 12 months.

The two companies believe this deal will support Jaguar and Land Rover's current product plans, while providing them with the freedom to develop their own capabilities in the future. Tata also clarified that it will not make any significant changes to the employment terms of Jaguar and Land Rover’s 16,000 employees based in the United Kingdom, which was a key factor in the company being successful at this takeover. Unions representing Jaguar and Land Rover workers are particularly pleased that Tata won’t be cutting jobs and will continue to source engines and transmissions from Ford for the next few years.

Ford executive vice-president, Lewis Booth, said that Ford will help Tata to integrate environment friendly or ‘green’ technology into the Jaguar and Land Rover product ranges. Booth also confirmed that Ford is not maintaining any equity stake in Jaguar and Land Rover, in contrast to the 15 percent holding it maintained in Aston Martin when it sold the company last year. He added, "this is a good agreement. It provides the Jaguar Land Rover management team and employees with the assurances needed to maintain their focus on delivering the best results for the business. I am confident that, under its new owner, Jaguar Land Rover will continue to build upon the significant improvements and product successes it has achieved in recent years.”

According to industry analysts, Ford has made significant progress with both brands in terms of quality and manufacturing technology, but these have not proved to be enough, particularly in the case of Jaguar. However, many of the improvements made by Ford will help Tata as it strives to make a success of these two brands.

Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Geoff Polites, welcomed the formal announcement of the deal by saying, “Jaguar Land Rover’s management team is very pleased that Ford and Tata Motors have come to an agreement today. Our team has been consulted extensively on the deal content and feels confident that it provides for the business needs of both our brands going forward." He added that "we have also had the opportunity to meet senior executives from Tata Motors and the Tata Group. They have expressed confidence in the team that has delivered significant improvements in Jaguar Land Rover’s business performance. We feel confident that we can forge a strong working relationship with our new parent company, and we look forward to a bright and successful future for Jaguar Land Rover."

Benefits to Tata Motors

Tata Motors expects that this takeover will enable it to develop capabilities in vehicle design, technology and distribution which would allow it to compete more effectively in the Indian and global automotive markets. However, analysts and investors have expressed concern about the takeover, since the Jaguar operation is actually making a loss at this time. Another big area of concern is that the US market is slipping into a recession. As a result, the demand for luxury cars and SUVs, like those made by Jaguar and Land Rover, will certainly be negatively affected. Although these concerns are relatively short term, the deal will certainly stretch Tata Motors both financially and management-wise. However, the company is very optimistic about the future prospects of these two brands, particularly since it has already seen the future product pipeline of both Jaguar and Land Rover.

One of the big hopes for Jaguar is its XF saloon which will be launched shortly in the UK and US markets. It has received a very strong initial reaction at motor shows and Jaguar says that it has already got 10,000 booking deposits for this saloon with 3,000 coming from the US and an equal number from the UK. In fact the UK is Jaguar’s largest market, contributing to 31 percent of the company's 60,485 unit total sales in 2007. The US follows closely behind, making up 25.9 percent of sales.

Future challenges

Among the challenges for Tata in the future will be the pressure to reduce the weight, fuel consumption and emissions of Jaguars and particularly Land Rovers as stricter European Union and US regulations come into effect. Hence Jaguar can rely on a new generation of V8 engines and probably Ford’s diesel range, but it will need a new range of Euro 6 emission norm-compliant engines for the future.

While the new brands don’t really have any direct synergies with Tata Motors’ existing line-up, the real benefits are likely to come from areas like shared component sourcing from existing Jaguar Land Rover suppliers. While Tata has said that it is keen to use the technology from its new brands for its existing and future products. This is likely to be a slow and difficult process that would also increase costs.

Critically, Tata Motors needs to start working on new models and powertrains as quickly as possible since the current range of new models that were developed by Ford in the last few years will need to be replaced in the next couple of years. This is going to be very challenging and expensive process for Tata and will be the true test for the Indian vehicle manufacturer. The company also needs to push hard in newer and emerging markets like China and India to ensure the long term growth of both the brands is sustainable.

(Source: Autocarpro.in dated 2008-04-03)

HMSI sales rise 12% to 521,159 units in October 2018

HMSI sales rise 12% to 521,159 units in October 2018:

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has logged a 12 per cent year-on-year growth in sales at 521,159 units in October.

The company had sold 466,552 units in the same month last year.

Domestic sales surged 12 per cent to 490,124 units in October this year, against 437,548 units sold in the same month last year, while exports grew by 7 per cent to 31,035 units, compared with 29,004 units shipped out in the year-ago month, the firm said in a release.
Scooter sales grew by 10 per cent to 322,108 units in October, from 293,117 units in the year-ago month, it said.

The double-digit growth in October came on the back of the festive season demand, the release said, adding the sales of five lakh vehicles was achieved for the fifth time in the on-going year.


Source: Economic Times dated 1st November, 2018




* Indian Roadie Secondary Research

Tata Motors domestic sales in April 2018 up 86% to 53,511 units

Tata Motors April 2018 domestic sales up 86% to 53,511 units:

Tata Motors posted 86 per cent jump in domestic sales at 53,511 units in April 2018, led by strong sales in commercial and passenger vehicle (PV) segments.

The company had sold 28,844 units during April 2017 Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing.

Domestic sales of Tata Motors commercial vehicles in April 2018 grew by 126 per cent to 36,276 units compared to 16,017 units in April 2017.

"Various macro-economic factors, infrastructure growth, improved industrial activities and consumption-led demand contributed to the growing volumes," Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles Business Unit President Girish Wagh said.

Passenger vehicle (PV) sales stood at 17,235 units in April 2018 as compared with 12,827 units in April 2017, up 34 per cent.

While there were challenges in market, strong demand for new generation products like Tiago, Tigor, Nexon and Hexa lead the growth in April 2018.

The company's exports April 2018 stood at 3,010 units, up 41 per cent over April 2017.

Source: Economic Times dated May 01, 2018.

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* Indian Roadie Secondary Research

Ganpatipule (MH) from Mumbai (MH) - Indian Roadie Preferred Route

Indian Roadie Preferred Route to Ganpatipule from Mumbai is as follows:

Mumbai - Pune - Karad - Malkapur - Ambha Ghat - Sakharpa - Hathkhamba - Jakadevi - Chafe - Ganpatipule.

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* Preferred Road Route