1,625 low-floor buses for DTC

Tata Motors has bagged a Rs.2200 crore order from the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), for 1,625 low-floor buses. The company had previously supplied 650 such buses to the DTC, which is planning to increase its fleet size to 6,000 buses before the 2010 Commonwealth Games. There are currently 3,850 DTC buses running on Delhi roads, out of which 650 are the low-floor kind.

Last week, Ashok Leyland had landed a similar, 875 bus deal with the DTC.

Honda sends legal notice to Maruti over SX4 ad

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) has sent a legal notice to Maruti Suzuki over an SX4 ad published in a newspaper in Chandigarh in November 2008. According to Honda, the ad, which compares the Maruti SX4 with the Honda City, shows inaccurate data to make the City appear inferior to the SX4. The company claims that Maruti has misrepresented both the Honda City’s size and audio system details in the ad, which it says is an unfair trade practice. Maruti hasn’t yet responded to the notice.

Fiat to launch low-cost car by 2012

Fiat India Automobiles Limited (FIAL) is planning to launch a low-cost, small car in India by the year 2012. The car will be produced at Fiat’s Ranjangaon facility near Pune, which also produces the Palio and the Linea. It will have the Tata Indica, the Maruti Suzuki Alto and the Hyundai Santro as competitors. Fiat is also considering adding the 1.6-litre Multijet diesel engine to its Ranjangaon assembly line (along with the already-in-place 1.3 litre Multijet).
The 1.3 litre Multijet diesel engine is currently being used in the Palio, the Linea and the Tata Indica Vista. Also, if reports are to be believed, it will soon be supplied to GM’s Talegaon plant, though Fiat’s representatives have refused to confirm this. Maruti Suzuki is already producing the 1.3L multijet at its Manesar plant as part of a licensing pact with Fiat.

HDFC Bank to lower interest rates on car loans

HDFC Bank has decided to lower interest rates on vehicle loans by up to 150 basis points, starting from today. While passenger car and commercial vehicle loans will be cheaper by 125 basis points, loans on two-wheelers will be cheaper by 150 basis points. The bank has taken the step in an attempt to provide a much-needed push to dwindling car sales.

Honda sends legal notice to Maruti over SX4 ad

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) has sent a legal notice to Maruti Suzuki over an SX4 ad published in a newspaper in Chandigarh in November 2008. According to Honda, the ad, which compares the Maruti SX4 with the Honda City, shows inaccurate data to make the City appear inferior to the SX4. The company claims that Maruti has misrepresented both the Honda City’s size and audio system details in the ad, which it says is an unfair trade practice. Maruti hasn’t yet responded to the notice.

Porsche to bring Cayenne diesel to India

German luxury car maker Porsche is planning to introduce its new SUV, the Cayenne diesel, to India. The Cayenne will be equipped with a 3-litre V6 turbo diesel engine with a horsepower of 240. It is currently being produced in Leipzig, Germany, and talks are underway to bring it to Asian markets soon. The car will initially be available only in selected European markets.

Honda cars to get costlier

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) has decided to hike the prices of some of its car models in response to the weakening of the rupee which has caused imported car parts to get dearer. The three cars which will be most seriously impacted by the move are the Honda CR-V, the Honda Accord and the Honda Civic. The CR-V is imported in India as a Completely Built Unit (CBU), and will see a price hike of Rs. 1.5 lakh while the Accord and the Civic will get costlier by Rs. 30,000-50,000 and Rs. 10,000-20,000 respectively. The price of the new Honda City will remain the same.

Honda ends Civic hybrid price cut

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI), which last week took the auto industry by surprise when it announced a massive price cut on the Civic hybrid, has closed the offer after receiving 235 bookings for the car in 4 days. The Honda Civic hybrid was priced at Rs. 21.5 lakh, before Honda brought it down to Rs. 13.36 lakh. The offer is now closed, the company having already achieved the target it was aiming for.

The Civic hybrid, when it was launched in June 2008, was touted as India’s first hybrid car and received an enthusiastic early response with 52 bookings made in the first month. Further on, however, its sales went down dramatically, possibly because of the heavy price, which was more than double the price of the Civic’s petrol version.

In the four days that the offer was open, Honda received almost four times the bookings it received in the five months since the Civic hybrid was launched. Though auto industry analysts and competitors believe the move was an inventory cleaning exercise by Honda, the company’s representatives have refuted such reports.

Hyundai Motor India announces Special Scheme for Govt. employees

India’s second largest carmaker, Hyundai Motor India Ltd announced a special scheme for the state and central government employees. Under the scheme, there will be special pricing, attractive finance options etc to enable the government employees to own a Hyundai car.

In view of the fact that government employees are due to receive the arrears of their salaries after revision in the Sixth Pay Commission, the arrears can be utilized as the down payment for purchase of the car and the revised salary increment will help them to accommodate their monthly EMI’s. The scheme will be run through October and November, 2008.

Hyundai has tied up with State Bank of India, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank to provide with attractive finance schemes for the government employees for their vehicle purchase.

Announcing the scheme, Arvind Saxena, Sr. Vice-President for Marketing & Sales, HMIL, said: "We are pleased to offer this special scheme to all the government employees’ who will soon be enjoying the benefits of their Sixth Pay Commission arrears. It is an attractive scheme and this will be an added incentive for them to purchase a Hyundai car in this festive season."