Imagine going to an automotive dealership and using a menu card for ordering what you actually want to pay for. This colour with that windshield or that colour and trim with a diesel engine. Automotive companies have taken the process of vehicle buying to another level of personalisation. Find out more about this in today’s wrap of the week. But first here is what made headlines during the week.
Tata Motors looking for a partner for Jaguar
The race for electric vehicles is hotting up. Tata Motors, the parent company of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), is searching for a partner.
It needs help to move Jaguar to a new product architecture, which aims to transform the brand into an all-electric luxury brand from 2025.
Toyota plant employees end strike
Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) on March 4 asked all workers to resume work at the Bidadi plant in Karnataka by March 5, a day after the employees' union 'ended' a labour strike that started in November 2020 over the suspension of some employees.
According to the company, the TKM's workers union signed an undertaking and officially called off the strike on March 2
India woos Tesla for factory
India is ready to offer incentives to ensure Tesla Inc's cost of production would be less than in China if the carmaker commits to making its electric vehicles in the south Asian country, transport minister Nitin Gadkari told Reuters.
Gadkari's pitch comes weeks after billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla registered a company in India in a step towards entering the country, possibly as soon as mid-2021. Sources familiar with the matter have said Tesla plans to start by importing and selling its Model 3 electric sedan in India.
Delhi Govt withdraws Nexon EV subsidies
The Delhi government has delisted the electric version of the Tata Nexon car from its subsidy scheme for electric vehicles following complaints that the model failed to meet the specified range on a single charge, officials said on Monday.
Delhi Transport minister Kailash Gahlot on Monday said several users had complained of the "sub-standard" driving range offered by the Nexon electric vehicle (EV).
No more visit to the RTO for a driving license
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, on March 4, launched Aadhaar authentication based contactless service for its citizens. Citizens would no longer need to visit the RTO office for the renewal of a driving license, duplicate license, registration application, etc.
The use of Aadhaar as an identity document would simplify the government delivery processes and bring in transparency and efficiency.
Lamborghini sales cross 100 units in India
Italian super-luxury car maker Lamborghini on Tuesday said its SUV Urus has crossed the 100 unit sales milestone in India since its launch in India in September 2018.
The model, which is priced from Rs 3.15 crore (ex-showroom) onwards, has been the mainstay of the company in India ever since it hit the roads, contributing over 50 percent of sales.
Auto sales continue to soar
India's top10 car makers who produce 97 percent of the total domestic sales clocked 24 percent growth in domestic volumes in February at 298,694 units as against 241,533 units sold in February 2020.
Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest carmaker, recorded an 8.3 percent increase in domestic sales during February while Hyundai Motor India, the country’s second-biggest carmaker, clocked a 29 percent increase
The days of Made-to-order are here
While festive days are long over two automotive companies – Tata Motors and Royal Enfield - are still struggling to increase supplies as demand continues to outpace. This has resulted in long waiting periods some of which are stretching to four months.
The two companies are thus producing only those units for which there are confirmed orders from the dealers. In other words, models with specific trims in specified colours are getting built as per the consumer’s choice instead of mass-scale production and dumping of inventory on the dealers.
Customers list out their choices, even extra fitments, and customise them to their liking before and paying the booking amount and going ahead with their purchase. This results in the customer getting exactly what he paid for. This is much like ordering a customised dish to the last detail at a restaurant.
Vinod Kumar Dasari, CEO of Royal Enfield & Whole Time Director, Eicher Motors said, “If you go to a restaurant and order something, which is something customized and personalized for you, he doesn't take extra-long. He just continues -- just picks the right amount of spices and right amount of ingredients to make it right just for you. And that's how we do it”.
For Tata Motors, the continued demand surge meant the Nexon SUV being on the waiting period for 2-4 months. There are more than 30 variants of the Nexon made available by the company, perhaps the higher number across all models of the industry.
Shailesh Chandra, president, passenger vehicle business unit, Tata Motors said, “We started from body-in-white (the stage in car making when only the car’s frame is ready) where it had to be ensured that it was backed by demand from the dealer. It could be about a certain trim, colour, and model. This ensured that the dealers are not locked with mismatched models. It was important that there is such an alignment between production and retail”.
Royal Enfield’s newly launched model Meteor is taking up all the limelight. It is the first bike that can be customised to great detail. According to the company there are 500,000 permutation and combinations on the Meteor for customisation.
Siddhartha Lal, MD, Eicher Motors said, “We know every single bike that we need to produce. And therefore, we produce only what is required by customers in the market, not what a dealer is ordering on us. So, it changes the entire dynamic. Our inventories, our cost, everything becomes much better, and we're able to personalize.”
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