The Future of Mahindra-Renault Joint Venture

It appears Renault’s joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra is going through hard times. The companies have now decided to sit down and decide what their future plans are. It seems the companies are now trying to find a solution for a problem that has been haunting them for long.

The companies have not yet come to a final decision. The most important problem that persists is the unsuccessful sales of Logan. Logan is the only car that has been launched of the joint venture between the two companies.

Let us hope that Renault will not take a decision that is not favourable for the company. At this phase when the Indian car market is in a growing stage Renault will continue its tenure in the country. And it is also expected that the company might come up with new launch plans.

Renault holds a 49 per cent stake and Mahindra & Mahindra 51 per cent. Anyways, in a few days time we will come to know the future plans of the companies.

Renault’s Indian Plans

Renault, the French carmaker seems to be having an unpleasant time. The company is having a tough phase in the Indian car market. The most adored model of the car manufacturer, which it is producing with a Mahindra & Mahindra partnership, Logan, does not seem to bring the car company enough booty. And now the company has launched a new Logan Play to boost its sale during the festival season.

The ultra-low cost (ULC) car project, which the company has planned with Bajaj Auto and the Renault-Nissan combine also, does not seem to have any progress. The information still available is that there is a long way to go before the car finally gets launched.

The company has announced its plans to build a compact car, which will share its platform with the Nissan compact car. And this sharing of platform by Renault is to save on the money spend on product development. This would be a great helping hand for Renault and let us hope that this generous act by Nissan will help Renault regain its lost glory in India.

Americans Choose More Indian and Chinese Cars

More than the Korean and Japanese cars, it is now the Indian and Chinese cars that are interesting for the American car buyers. A survey conducted by an American agency recently exposed this interest for Americans for the Asian Brands, especially Chinese and India.

It is true that the American car market is not as strong as it was before but the country is slowly recovering from the poor economical conditions and as a reason this could be seen as an apt time to form a strong stand in the country’s car market. And the Indian and Chinese carmakers will have to wait for some time before they find themselves in a relaxed position in the American car market.

Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra will be the two main car brands that will be representing India in America while the Chinese car market has so many car models to its credit. Now is the time for both the Chinese and the Indian carmakers to make a global impression. As America being the world’s largest car market in the world, both the car markets will get acceptance worldwide if accepted in America

India to See More of CNG Cars

Indian car market is to witness the launch of more CNG-driven cars. It is believed to one of the most popular automotive fuels of the future. The key factor driving the popularity of CNG is the fact that the supply of natural gas is to increase to 200 mmscmd (million metric standard cubic metres per day) with about 80 mmscmd flowing from the Krishna Godavari basin of Reliance Industries.

Currently, Maruti is developing engines that run on CNG and is also planning to roll out CNG-driven cars from all the segments. Following the footsteps of Maruti, car manufacturers like Mahindra, Hyundai, and Nissan are also exploring lucrative opportunities in this area.

Car manufacturers were even planning to introduce more of LPG cars. But aware of the fact that the running cost of CNG-driven cars is lower than the LPG cars, all the car manufacturers shifted to CNG. This eco-friendly and cost-efficient fuel is definitely to set new benchmarks in the Indian car industry.

M&M Service Camp Began

Scorpio and Bolero owners accelerate your car to go the service camp introduced by the M&M. The nationwide camp with customer-centric service will take place at all M&M dealership across the country from February 10th -25th in Mumbai.

Inaugurated by the Arun Malhotra, senior vice-president, Sales and Customer Care, Automotive Sector at the company’s NBS International dealership in Mumbai.

This special service camp is an extend hand of company’s With U Hamesha campaign that assures to offer the best of its service to the customers. In these camps your Scorpio or Bolero will get the complete attention ensuring the top condition of the vehicles. Apart from a detailed check ups , the customers will also avail of discounts on labour, spare parts and accessories and advice on maintenance.

Another bonus that is offered at the camp is the special exchange facility through X-mart which will provide a free evaluation for cars visiting the camp.

M&M expansion plans

Mahindra & Mahindra, Indian SUV manufacturer is planning to expand it used car business First Choice Wheels with an investment of Rs 2 billion in the next five years.

According to CEO of First Choice Wheels, Vinay Sanghi ‘along with the expansion plans the company is also looking at an IPO in three years time.’ Currently M&M has 70 outlets in 40 cities and by 2013; it aims to have 300 outlets in 92 cities.

For its expansion plan program, the company raised Rs 800 million through private placement and preferential allotment.

M&M sales boost up

The demand for cars in India is raising everyday and the car manufacturers are having a boost in their sales. During last year Mahindra & Mahindra who sells its famous SUV’s Bolero and Scorpio had good sales in the domestic market.

Both domestic and export sales grew by an approximate 56 per cent in April with total sales of 20,030 vehicles. The company’s joint venture with French automaker Renault- Logan also saw good sales.

Mahindra’s biofuel plans

Fuel emission has been a topic of discussion for a while now. India’s top utility vehicle maker, Mahindra & Mahindra is set to invest around Rs 1.01 billion on improving engine emission, according to official of a company.

“We have spent about Rs 200 crore to bring M-Hawk engine in production … we will be spending about one billion rupees on further emission improvement,” Pawan Goenka, president of Mahindra’s automotive unit, as quoted by reporters.

In the lines of Honda, M&M is also launching a range of biofuel cars to meet the demands of “green” vehicles. Even Scorpio and Bolero would include its new biofuel engine. The company is really going green.

 

Scorpio in the world of ‘Mummies’

Mahindra & Mahindra is shining to success globally with the launch of its SUV, Scorpio in Egypt in partnership with Bavarian Auto group. This is the first time the Scorpio’s assembling taking place outside India.

At present Scorpio is available in Europe, Africa, Asia, Gulf, South America and Australia and with the recent launch in Egypt is the clear indication of its raising growth. The latest version of the of Scorpio called ‘mHawk’ was also unveiled at the 2008, Auto Expo. The 2.2L ‘mHawk’ is all aluminum high -tech engine with four valves per head and will help the Scorpio to meet the toughest emission norms. The beauty is highlighted with slight changes in the exterior and interior. Looks like M&M with its new version and exporting vehicles is all set to dominate the SUV market not only domestically but also globally.