Automotive companies are hoping for an uptick in retail demand as festive days are round the corner. To cash in on it, one of India’s leading car makers brought back a famous hatchback brand to the market during the week. This was preceded by the launch of an all-new scooter. The highlight of the week, however, was when the Supreme Court cleared the air on BS-VI implementation. Here’s a complete round-up of all the major developments in the auto space during the week.
Hero launches Destini 125 at Rs 54,650
Hero Motocorp has launched its first-ever 125cc scooter Destini 125 at a price starting Rs 54,650 (ex-showroom, Delhi). Showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo as the Duet 125, the scooter gets a few visual and performance upgrades over the concept.
The Destini is powered by a 125cc air-cooled single-cylinder engine generating 8.7 PS power and 10.2 Nm torque. The scooter also gets 10-inch alloy wheels suspended by a telescopic front fork and monoshock at the back.
Bajaj Auto’s market share hits 4-year hjgh
A robust growth in volumes has pushed Bajaj Auto's market share to a four-year high, aided by price drops in two key high-volume models. A fifth of the domestic motorcycle market is now controlled by the Pune-based manufacturer of Pulsar and Avenger.
The company recorded a market share of 20.06 percent by September-end, the highest since October 2014 when it recorded a 20.25 percent share in the domestic motorcycle market.
Hyundai launches all-new Santro
Hyundai Motor India has brought back one of India’s most popular hatchbacks Santro with a pricing of Rs 3.89 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the entry variant. The car will be offered in five variants and seven colours with the top-end petrol manual version being priced at Rs 5.45 lakh.
Hyundai is offering an all-petrol and petrol-CNG option on the car along with three manual and two automatic options (AMT). The automatic version is costlier than the competition, and is priced at Rs 5.18 lakh while the petrol-CNG variant is priced at Rs 5.23 lakh.
Maruti Suzuki to increase CNG car production
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki is ramping up production of its CNG range aided by a robust pick-up in their demand during the past few weeks.
The company saw a 50 percent jump in demand, according to RC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki. In September this year, the government announced plans of spending Rs 70,000 crore in setting up 10,000 CNG filling stations up from around 1450 at present in a decade.
Tata Motors launches Tiago JTP and Tigor JTP
Tata Motors, the country’s fourth-largest car maker, has launched performance variants of the Tiago and Tigor hatchback priced at Rs 6.39 lakh and Rs 7.49 lakh respectively, ex-showroom, New Delhi. Prices are introductory.
The two cars are the first products of the 50:50 joint venture company JT Special Vehicles formed between Tata Motors and Coimbatore-based Jayem Automotives, founded by former race car driver J Anand.
No Bharat Stage-VI vehicles after April 1, 2020
The Supreme Court ruled that every vehicle sold after April 1, 2020 will have to be compliant with the next stage of emission standard Bharat Stage VI (BS–VI).
This means that the inventory of existing BS-IV grade vehicles will have to be exhausted before the deadline and companies will have to switch production to BS-VI much before April 1, 2020.
The ruling has gone against the tradition that allowed companies to exhaust their older inventory even after a new emission standard has kicked in. For instance, when the industry switched to BS-III from BS-II, it was allowed to sell BS-II vehicles after a specified date which mandated production of only BS-III vehicles.
However, during the last year’s switch to BS-IV from BS-III, the apex court disallowed sale of BS-III vehicles after April 1. As a result, two=wheeler, truck and bus manufacturers were stuck with an inventory of over 8.24 lakh units worth over Rs 14,000 crore. Car makers had switched to BS-IV as far back as 2010 itself.
Those manufacturers who rejoiced the Supreme Court’s verdict, such as Pune-based bike specialist Bajaj Auto also said the verdict will prove to be a testament when the industry embraces BS-VI in 2020. Bajaj was one of the handful of companies to switch to BS-IV much before the April 1, 2017 deadline.
This time, a few companies were hoping for a relief of a few months that would allow them to exhaust their stock of BS-IV vehicles. More so because retail demand is expected to dip sharply for BS-VI vehicles due to their high cost. This would lead to lower production at factories leading to dip in profitability.
Automotive companies though appear confident of switching production to BS-VI much before the deadline. Speaking to reporters R C Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki India, said production at his company will switch to BS-VI standard ‘3-4 months before April 2020’.
A senior executive from Tata Motors said though the industry would have welcomed a grace period of a few months, especially for commercial vehicles, the company is ready to meet the BS-VI target date and will comply with the SC order.
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