Maruti Suzuki begins Baleno shipments to Japan; launch slated for March

The country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has dispatched the first shipment of its premium hatchback Baleno to Japan where it will be launched next month.

It is for the first time that a model manufactured by Maruti Suzuki is being exported to Japan where its parent company Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) is based.

“I am convinced that the Baleno will be the success story of ‘Make in India’, and the significance of Maruti Suzuki as the global production base will further expand,” said Suzuki Motor Corporation President and COO T. Suzuki, who was here to take part in the Auto Expo.

The first consignment comprised 1,800 units and was shipped from Mundra Port in Gujarat, where SMC is setting up a manufacturing plant to supply cars to its Indian arm.

Maruti also plans to export the Baleno to over 100 global markets. The company and its supplier partners have invested Rs. 1,060 crore in the development of Baleno, which is being manufactured at the company’s Manesar plant.

Recently, around 200 dealers from Japan visited the Manesar plant to closely look at the manufacturing process of the product.

In the domestic market, the car has been well accepted and currently the company has over 80,000 bookings for the model.

It competes with the likes of Hyundai i20, Honda Jazz and Volkswagen Polo and is sold through the company’s new premium network of showrooms, Nexa.

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Maruti Suzuki’s sales dip 2.6% in January

Maruti Suzuki India reported a 2.6 per cent decline in total sales in January at 1,13,606 units as against 1,16,606 units in the same month in 2015.

The company said its domestic sales increased marginally by 0.8 per cent to 1,06,383 units as against 1,05,559 units in January 2015.

Sales of passenger cars declined 1.4 per cent to 87,757 units compared with 89,014 units in the year-ago month, the carmaker said in a BSE filing.

The company said sales of utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara and Ertiga, jumped 26.2 per cent to 8,114 units last month from 6,432 units in the corresponding period last year.

Sales of vans — Omni and Eeco rose 3.9 per cent to 10,512 units last month compared with 10,113 units in the year-ago period.

The company said “domestic sales would have been higher but lesser number of working days in January 2016 impacted overall production and dispatch.”

Exports during the month declined 34.6 per cent to 7,223 units as compared with 11,047 units in January 2015, the company said.

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Sensex soars as February F&O series takes off in style

The benchmark BSE Sensex rallied about 154 points to 24,623.56 in early session on Friday on fresh buying push from investors as the February derivatives series was off to a solid start amid positive Asian cues.

The 30-share Sensex, which lost 22.82 points in the previous choppy session, recouped 153.99 points, or 0.62 per cent, at 24,623.56.

Except banking, all sectoral indices of BSE led by consumer durables, metal and oil and gas were in the positive zone, rising by up to 1.85 per cent.

The NSE Nifty jumped 54.35 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 7,479.

Brokers said build-up of bets following the beginning of the February futures and options (F&O) series led to the rebound.

A firming trend at other Asian markets led by Japan after the Bank of Japan surprised markets by announcing a negative interest rate policy buoyed sentiment here too, they said.

However, shares of ICICI Bank and Maruti Suzuki fell 3.86 per cent 1.72 per cent, respectively, dragged down by muted third quarter earnings announced after trading hours yesterday.

Japan’s Nikkei climbed 3.21 per cent, Shanghai Composite rose 2 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 2.05 per cent in early trade.

The US markets ended 0.79 per cent higher in yesterday’s trade on higher oil prices and strong corporate earnings.

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Mahindra takes on Maruti, Hyundai by introducing KUV100

Automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) has ventured into a new segment with the introduction of KUV100, a compact SUV targeted at the youth.

With the introduction of this product with a petrol engine and aggressively pricing it to attract first time car buyers and even college students, the company has taken on passenger car market leaders Maruti Suzuki for its Swift and DZire models and Hyundai for its Grand i10 and Astra.

The KUV100 combines aggressive styling and an SUV stance and ample space to accommodate even six people including the driver. The vehicle is available at all Mahindra dealers from Friday and has been priced starting Rs. 4.42 lakh (ex- showroom Pune) for the petrol base model and Rs. 5.22 lakh (ex-showroom Pune) for the base diesel variant.

KUV100’s price is cheaper than its competitors in the market. The vehicle is also fuel efficient. The diesel engine provides a fuel efficiency of 25.32 km/l while the petrol engine provides mileage of 18.15 kms/l.

The vehicle has been developed with an investment of Rs. 1,200 crore and it took four years to come out with the final product including an all new petrol engine. This is the first time that Mahindra has developed a petrol engine on it own.

“The launch of KUV100 is a defining moment in the automotive journey of Mahindra. This vehicle is our first foray into ground up petrol engine and with it we are defining a new SUV sub-segment and targeting a new customer group,” said Dr Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

“Yet another ‘Make in India’ product, the KUV100 aptly represents our ‘Rise’ philosophy in action, as our development team used alternative thinking and challenged the limits to deliver a vehicle that is poised to be nothing less than a game changer for us. We are entering a new orbit and hope to deliver yet another icon (after Scorpio and XUV500), yet another dream SUV,” Dr Goenka added.

KUV100 which stands for Compact Utility Vehicle will be available in seven colours and Mahindras are working on a financing scheme to enable college students to buy this vehicle.

“Being a market leader in SUV space it has always been our endeavour to offer breakthrough products like the KUV100. I believe that this vehicle will appeal to the youth and first time car buyers with its aggressive styling, trendy interiors and the whole list of new features,” Pravin Shah, president & Chief Executive (automotive) M&M said.

This is the 9th vehicle to have been introduced by Mahindra in this financial year. With this vehicle Mahindra intends to gain volume and marketshare which it had lost in the past two years amidst steep competition from all passenger car makers.

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E-commerce companies ramp up advertising spending

Leading e-commerce players such as Amazon and Flipkart have raised their marketing and advertising spends by over 57 per cent this year, in anticipation of consumer sentiment turning positive.

In the three-month period from September to November alone, these players spent about Rs 500 crore on advertising on account of the festive season compared with their total ad-spend budget of Rs 600 crore for 2014. As per TAM data shared by media buying and planning agency, Xposure, spends by e-commerce advertisers during the ongoing year stands at Rs 944 crore.

The spending by Amazon stood at whopping Rs 224.15 crore for the three-month period of September to November 2015 as against Rs 64.78 crore in the last four months of 2014. Likewise, for Flipkart, the amount spent stood at 68.59 crore, almost double the Rs 32.53 crore it had spent during the four-month period in 2014.

“The year 2014 was the first year when e-commerce companies started to ramp up spending on advertising and marketing. For the full year, their expense stood at Rs 600 crore. This year, that amount has been spent during just the three months of festive season,” Rajul Kulshreshtha, Co-Founder of Xposure Media told The Hindu.

He added that the huge spurt in spending was expected given that the e-commerce market is growing at a tremendous pace and every player is out to acquire more and more customers.

“The demand was also low in 2013 and 2014. This is year the market looks a lot more positive. Consumers are far more optimistic this year,” Mr Kulshreshtha added.

The spending for Myntra during September-November 2015 stood at Rs 28.8 crore, up from Rs 19.47 crore during September-December 2014. For OLX, however, the spending went down to Rs 55.47 crore as compared to Rs 64.98 crore during the periods under review.

E-commerce firms have also left behind the traditional spenders such as the automobile sector, which is witnessing a slow turnaround after two years of slowdown.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki ramped up its spending to 52 crore in the September-November 2015 from 35.8 crore in September-December 2014, mainly due to the new models – S-Cross and Baleno. Likewise, country’s largest market leader, more than doubled spending to 63.2 crore, up from Rs 22.2 crore in the September-December period last year.

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Maruti launches Swift, Dzire with added safety features

Country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Tuesday said it will offer dual airbags and anti-lock braking system (ABS) as an option in all variants of Swift and Dzire, including the base variant.

The company has launched Swift hatchback with optional package priced between Rs 4.9 lakh and Rs 6.43 lakh while Dzire with added safety features would be retailed between Rs 5.4 lakh and Rs 7.06 lakh.

“Offering driver and co-driver airbags and ABS across all variants of Swift and Dzire, will further strengthen their popularity among customers,” MSI Executive Director R S Kalsi said in a statement.

Swift and Dzire are two of the most popular cars in India and both have played an instrumental role in shaping the Indian automobile industry, he added.

Swift, has been a bestseller through the decade, surpassing its own records year after year while DZire, launched in 2008, is India’s best-selling entry sedan for the last three years.

Together, Swift and Dzire, have handsomely contributed towards enhancing Maruti Suzuki’s market share in the Indian passenger vehicle market, the company said.

In 2014-15, Swift and Dzire maintained an average sale of over 17,000 units each per month.

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Maruti launches WagonR, Stingray with auto gear shift

Country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India on Saturday launched variants of its compact cars, WagonR and Stingray, equipped with auto gear shift (AGS) technology, priced between Rs 4.76 lakh and Rs 5.31 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), respectively.

The auto gear shift transmission will be available in VXi variants of both the models, MSI said in a statement.

Besides, driver and co-driver airbags and anti-lock braking system (ABS) will be offered as an option across all variants, including base versions of WagonR and Stingray, it added.

“WagonR is one of the strongest brands in the Indian car market and it has been one of the top five selling cars in the country. WagonR will be the third brand from our portfolio to get the acclaimed Auto Gear Shift technology,” MSI, Executive Director Marketing and Sales RS Kalsi said.

By introducing the AGS in a popular car like WagonR, the company aims to democratize the technology so that more customers can enjoy the convenience of automatic gear shift without compromising on fuel efficiency and at an attractive price, he added.

“The option of dual airbags and anti-lock braking further strengthens the core proposition of WagonR and Stingray as ‘Smart’ cars,” he added.

AGS also known as automated manual transmission (AMT) is equipped with an intelligent shift control actuator that automatically performs clutch and shift operations.

MSI, at present, offers AGS in Celerio and Alto K10.

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Maruti’s premium hatchback Baleno launched at Rs. 4.99 lakh

Maruti Suzuki on Monday rolled out its premium hatchback Baleno with an aggressive price tag in a bid to cash in on the festive season. The car maker has announced an introductory starting price of Rs. 4.99 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi). The company has provided dual airbags and ABS in all variants.

Baleno’s petrol model, powered by 1.2 litre VVT engine, will be available in five variants with price ranging from Rs. 4.99 lakh to Rs. 6.76 lakh.

The diesel variant, powered by DDiS 190 diesel engine, will come in four variants and will be priced in the range between Rs. 6.16 lakh and Rs. 8.11 lakh.

Petrol model, which also includes a CVT option (Continuously Variable Transmission), promise a fuel economy of 21.4 kmpl, while diesel model promises 27.4 kmpl.

It will be sold in seven colour options — Autumn Orange, Ray Blue, Pearl Arctic White, Granite Grey, Fire Red, Premium Urban Blue and Metallic Premium Silver.

“At the introductory price announced by Maruti Suzuki today, Baleno offers substantially more value to customers and is set to redefine the premium hatchback segment in the country. Baleno will be sold through NEXA, the new chain of premium exclusive automotive retail outlets recently launched by Maruti Suzuki,” said a company statement.

The Company and its suppliers have invested over Rs.1,060 crore in developing the new sub-4 metre Baleno.

The new Maruti Baleno is expected to be positioned in the premium hatchback segment comprising models such as Hyundai Elite i20, Honda Jazz, Volkswagen Polo and Fiat Punto.

The made-in-India Baleno will be exported to over 100 countries.

“Baleno is a real global model, to satisfy our customers not only in India but also across global markets. I am excited that this model will be exported to Japan from India, opening a new chapter in the long history of Maruti Suzuki,” Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki, Mr. Kenichi Ayukawa said.

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