This week in Auto: Nitin Gadkari speaks his mind once again

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari (Image: Reuters)

Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, believes vehicle registration data should be made available by all states to allow for better synchronisation. But certain states are still not onboard which is leading to issues.

Find out more on this later in today’s copy of the automotive wrap, but first here is a complete look at all that made headlines during the week.

Bajaj Auto, KTM to rejig stake

Bajaj Auto confirmed on December 1 to have received the proposal to move its stake in KTM AG to Pierer Mobility AG (PMAG), the parent company of KTM AG, before eventually getting a stake in a new holding company.

The Pune-based company holds 48 percent stake in KTM AG and about 51.7 percent is held by PMAG. PMAG is listed in Vienna, Zurich and Frankfurt exchanges. After the transaction, the stake of PMAG in KTM AG will increase to approximately 99.7 percent, a statement from PMAG said.

Car demand continues to rise

Barring market leader Maruti Suzuki wholesale volumes of the next seven carmakers were higher in November compared to the same month last year on the back of new launches and festive cheer.

The eight passenger vehicle (PV) making companies which control 94 percent of the market recorded a growth of 12 percent to 268,050 units, as per data shared by each carmaker.

Nissan Magnite launched at Rs 4.99 lakh

Taking the fight right to the doorstep of rivals Nissan Motor India launched the Nissan Magnite compact SUV at Rs 4.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) which is cheaper than any other in its category.

Though the prices are introductory and valid till December 31, 2020, the starting price is a full Rs 1.72 lakh less than the Nissan Magnite’s nearest rival Kia Sonet which is priced at Rs 6.71 lakh.

Toyota-Suzuki rejig arrangement

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) on December 3 informed that the Suzuki Brezza will not be manufactured by Toyota at its Bengaluru plant in 2022. Another unidentified model will be produced in its place, the car market leader said.

In March 2019, the board of Maruti Suzuki cleared proposals to partly source the Brezza compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) from Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) as a part of the broader non-equity based agreement signed between Suzuki and Toyota in February 2017.

BMW launches Gran Coupe 2 Series

BMW Gran Coupe 2 Series limited-edition Black Shadow price in India has been set at Rs 42.30 lakh (ex-showroom). This car, however, will be super exclusive with only 24 units and will go on sale from December 7.

The kit, on its own, is valued at Rs 2.5 lakh; however, for buyers of the limited-edition car, the premium will be just Rs 90,000 over the top-spec 220d M Sport variant

When Minister Gadkari speaks

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari is known to speak his mind to get his point across and he has proved this at several of the public platforms in the past. The senior government official, whose ministry has been credited for clearing roadblocks paving the way for speedier development of highways, spoke openly again at a virtual automotive dealer conference where he was the chief guest.

Through the adoption of the Vahan portal by most state governments actual retail data of vehicle sales has become available at a much faster rate than before. State governments upload details such as registration and sales of all vehicles taking place at each of their regional transport offices (RTOs).

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Lakshadweep have still not adopted the Vahan 4 portal for reporting vehicle registrations. As per estimates these markets make up 10-20 percent of India’s total retail volumes.

Automotive dealers were thus requesting Gadkari to intervene and make the state governments to come onboard the Vahan 4 portal. But knowing that this issue falls in the concurrent list Gadkari in turn asked the dealers to voice their opinion and create pressure on state governments to adopt Vahan 4.

“I cannot make anything mandatory to the state government and this is my problem. My question to you is why are you not creating public pressure on the states? Why are you not meeting with public representatives? Talk to the media and create some pressure on the states for the good thing. Meet the NGOs put some pressure on the state governments”, said Gadkari.

A senior functionary of the Federation of Automobile Dealer Association said, “We would request you to empower NIC (National Informatics Centre) so that they don’t allow state governments to make changes the e-Vahan portal which leads to dilution of the entire process of e-registration”.

When Gadkari introduced the road transport and safety bill the minister faced lot of opposition in both the houses from state representatives. The states argued that the bill was aimed at restricting and reducing their rights while also alleging that the penalties proposed in the bill were too high.

“Those decisions that come under me, I can implement them but some of the decisions are in the hands of the state governments. Many state governments opposed me when the road transport and safety bill was introduced because they believed I was attacking their autonomous rights,” added Gadkari.

Dealers were also asking the minister if like Goods and Services Tax (GST) a uniform road tax can also be implemented. Road tax differs from state to state which effects the final price of the vehicle.