Swaraj Baggonkar Moneycontrol News
As Kerala slowly gets back on its feet after the devastating floods, state authorities and insurance companies get busy taking stock of the damage caused. The calamity hit several small-scale businesses and the fledgling automotive market which had seen a remarkable surge in new car demand in the recent years. Besides this, we also take a look at the government’s continued efforts to incentivize electric vehicle purchases with the roll out of FAME-II scheme. Here is a complete list of all the major developments in the auto space this week.
Hyundai invests in self-drive platform Revv
Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea's largest automaker, partnered with self-drive car sharing company Revv to develop an innovative car sharing service and conduct creative marketing activities in India. This is the first instance of investment by an automotive company in Revv, which only had angel investors earlier.
Mitsubishi launches Outlander, Maruti rolls out facelifted Ciaz
Japanese automotive brand Mitsubishi launched the new-generation Outlander with automatic transmission at Rs 31.95 lakh, ex-showroom, Mumbai. First launched in 2001 this is the fourth generation Outlander.
India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki launched the new Ciaz at a starting price of Rs 8.19 lakh (ex-showroom, India). The sedan is now offered with a new 1.5 litre K15 petrol engine replacing the older 1.4 litre. Also new is the next generation smart hybrid technology with lithium-ion battery on the petrol Ciaz which churns out peak power of 77kW (up by 13 percent).
Mitsubishi to launch mid-size SUV Eclipse in 2020
Japanese automotive brand Mitsubishi will launch a mid-market sports utility vehicle Eclipse in 2020, hoping to gain volumes in the fast expanding segment. The Eclipse is one of the first models to be developed by the Renault-Nissan alliance which Mitsubishi became a part of in 2016 when Nissan bought a 34 percent stake in Mitsubishi
TVS launches 110cc bike Radeon
TVS Motor Company launched a new 110cc commuter motorcycle Radeon at Rs 48,400 (ex-showroom, Delhi) to compete against Hero Splendor, Hero Passion, Hero HF Dawn, Bajaj CT100, Honda Dream Yuga, Honda Livo, Honda CD110 and Honda Dream Neo. This is the third launch by TVS in this calendar year with the scooter NTorq 125 launched in February followed by the Apache RTR 160 4V in March.
Kerala floods wipeout Rs 1,000-cr new car inventory
Torrential rains in Kerala may have possibly wiped out car inventory worth Rs 1,000 crore stocked with dealers as most showrooms remained marooned for more than a week. Earlier this month, the coastal state saw its worst downpour in nearly 100 years leaving 373 dead and thousands others homeless. The state government has estimated a loss of Rs 20,000 crore with several small businesses being severely hit
FAME-II to have a package of Rs 5,500 crore
The government has revived its incentive scheme christened Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) for electric and hybrid vehicles in its second edition promising a package of Rs 5500 crore.
The committed outlay is for a period of five years. Under the FAME –I scheme, which started in 2015 the government doled out a total of Rs 263.9 crore where a total of 227,020 hybrid and electric cars were provided subsidy in the range of Rs 7500 to Rs 61 lakh. These range from a tiny electric scooter to a six wheel diesel electric hybrid bus.
The incentive scheme is the need of the hour for pushing the greener mobility alternative to conventional petrol, diesel, CNG and LPG source. Given the high cost of acquisition, the scheme has helped such vehicles gain traction faster than anticipated.
Data sourced from the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) shows electric car sales doubled in 2017 to 2,000 units from 1,050 units sold in 2016. More than 44,000 electric two-wheelers were sold in 2016-17 more than double than what was sold in the previous year.
As per Assocham and advisory firm EY electric vehicle adoption will see a sustained spurt in the coming years given the reducing prices of batteries and other components of EVs. Also, prices of all vehicles will see an increase from 2020 because of Bharat Stage VI adoption. Given the high fuel prices and BS-VI price impact vehicle buyers are expected to migrate to EVs faster.
As many as 16 two-wheeler manufacturers, five four-wheeler manufacturers and three three-wheeler manufacturers are registered under the FAME scheme to get the subsidy. More companies are set to enter the segment beginning next year including Hyundai, Renault, Maruti Suzuki to name a few.
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