Bollywood stars add glitz to Auto Expo

After small cars hogged the limelight, it was the turn of celebrities, including Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgan and cricketer Sourav Ganguly, to add glitz to the ongoing 10th Auto Expo.

While Khan, the brand ambassador of Hyundai Motors, unveiled the new i10 electric car and sports variant of Genesis, Devgan visited the Mahindra & Mahindra stall and launched a picture booklet of the 'Scorpio', besides unveiling a limited edition of the SUV.

On a hectic day that saw unveiling of over 10 different types of vehicles, a late appearance by Khan threw schedules out of gear. It, however, didn't stop other companies from showcasing their latest offerings.

The other highlight of the day was the announcement of designer Nano, which will cost around Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million), which is hundred times the original price with another Bollywood star Vivek Oberoi lending support.

"The Rs 1-crore Nano will be ready for public unveiling within the next two months. . . we will make one car to begin with but if there is more demand than we will make additional units," DC Designs promoter Dilip Chhabria said.

Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly added the celebrity quotient when he unveiled two bikes from Kolkata-based Vibgyor Vehicles. . . .

Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, is coming to Detroit and will be on display for the United States audience for the first time next week.

Tata Technologies, part of the Tata Group, would put Nano for display on January 14 during a press meet at the Detroit Science Center, where Tata's rivals would display their latest cars at the Detroit auto show.

With regional headquarters in Michigan near Chicago, Tata Technologies would "show the car to highlight its end-to-end vehicle engineering and design capabilities to its auto industry customers".

"The innovative thinking that brought the Tata Nano to market is symbolic of what Tata Technologies has to offer the automotive industry," Tata Technologies' President and COO Warren Harris said.

The announcement came just a day after Tata Group chief Ratan Tata said at the ongoing Auto Expo in New Delhi that the company will consider launching Nano in the US in the next three years.

He had said there was a market for the Nano not only in developing countries but also in developed countries.

Nano was introduced at the Delhi Auto Show in January 2009 and retails for about $2,500 in India. . . .

Italian auto maker Fiat on Friday said it is taking help from its partner the Tatas in developing the small car which it plans to launch in India by 2012.

"Tatas are our front-end partners in distribution. So we are taking a lot of help from them in taking customer feedback and understanding their needs so that they can be incorporated into the small car," Fiat India Automobiles president and CEO Rajeev Kapoor told PTI.

The technical development of the car, however, is being done by Fiat in Italy, he added.

In 2006, Fiat and Tata Motors have formed a 50:50 joint venture -- Fiat India Automobiles -- under which the Italian firm sells its products through the distribution network of its Indian partner, while sharing its manufacturing facility at Ranjangaon in Maharashtra.

The foreign auto major had yesterday announced that it was developing a small car at its home ground to cater to the Indian market.

"The small car is expected to be launched in India by 2012 and it will be manufactured at our Ranjangaon plant," he said.

Kapoor said the car could be similar or smaller than its existing hatchback Palio.

Asked if the car will be sold only in India, he said it is too early to say but exporting to other similar markets like India cannot be ruled out.

The JV had also announced an investment around Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion) in a phased manner at the time of forming the joint venture. . . .

Toyota-Kirloskar Motor on Thursday launched its hybrid car Prius in India priced between Rs 26.55 lakh (Rs 2.655 million) and Rs 27.86 lakh (Rs 2.786 million) -- ex-showroom New Delhi.

"Through the launch of Prius, Toyota is keen to demonstrate its commitment to offer the latest eco-friendly automotive technology to its customers in India," Toyota Kirloskar Motor deputy managing director Sandeep Singh told reporters at the 10th Auto Expo in New Delhi.

This is the third generation Prius with 1.8 litre petrol engine with a battery of 60 kilowatt.

This will have three driving mode --- Power mode, Eco mode and Electric vehicle mode (battery).

The Prius became the world's first mass produced hybrid vehicle in 1997.

"The Prius today is the world's most successful hybrid with cumulative sales of nearly 1.5 million. We will continue to popularise environmentally friendly vehicles in India to further our efforts to help save the environment," Singh said.

Toyota has also launched Altis CNG and also displayed Innova CNG and Camry hybrid at the expo.

Singh said Prius would be imported as completely built-up unit from Japan and Toyota Kirloskar Motors has ordered 200 units from its parent to be sold during March-December this year.

The import duty on the vehicle would be around 85 per cent and we have approached the government to provide some incentives to promote the eco-friendly technology, he added.

"This vehicle will be available only in 10 cities, including the metros and smaller places like Chandigarh, Pune and Ahmedabad.

The waiting period for Prius will be about two months. The booking has begun and delivery would start by March. . . .

German luxury car maker BMW on Friday increased the prices of its various models in India by up to Rs 430,000.

The company said under a revised price list for 2010, the base model of sedan 3 series petrol variant will be priced at Rs 27.3 lakh (Rs 2.73 million) as against Rs 26.9 lakh (Rs 2.69 million) last year, an increase of Rs 40,000.

The top end variant of the sedan will now be available for Rs 33.4 lakh (Rs 3.34 million), an increase of Rs 50,000 from the last year. The petrol base version of the 5 series sedan from the company will now cost Rs 41.1 lakh (Rs 4.11 million), up Rs 60,000 from last year's price.

The diesel variant of the model will come costlier by Rs 50,000 at Rs 37 lakh (Rs 3.7 million).

The highest price hike was seen on the company's 6 series model. The BMW 6 Series 650i convertible will now be available at Rs 89.8 lakh (Rs 8.98 million) as against Rs 85.5 lakh (Rs 8.55 million), a hike of Rs 4.3 lakh (Rs 430,000).

The base version of 7 series petrol variant will now be tagged at Rs 82.9 lakh (Rs 8.29 million) as against Rs 81.3 lakh (Rs 8.13 million) last year, up by Rs 1.6 lakh (Rs 160,000).

Auto companies have been under pressure from rising input costs and already commercial vehicles have started hiking prices. . . .

Japanese auto giant Honda on Thursday said it is likely to start car assembly at its second manufacturing facility in India from 2012.

The company, last year, had partially opened the facility at Tapukara in Rajasthan to produce few components and indefinitely put on hold manufacturing of vehicles due to slowdown in the domestic market.

The company, which is present in India through a joint venture with the Siel group, had committed an investment of Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) to set up the manufacturing facility at Tapukara with an installed capacity 60,000 units per annum.

"We have not decided about the opening of the plant yet but probably after the new small car concept is launched, we can go ahead with it (starting production). It will not start before 2011 and chances are open to roll out vehicles from 2012," Honda Siel Cars India director (marketing) Tatsuya Natsume told PTI at the 10th Auto Expo in New Delhi.

Earlier this week, HSCI had showcased a concept of a new small car, which is likely to hit the Indian roads in 2011.

"At present, in our Tapukara facility, we are producing body panels, crank shafts and connecting rods, which are being exported to Japan," Natsume said adding the company is supplying about 10,000 pieces of components every month to its parent.

The company has a manufacturing facility at Greater Noida with an installed capacity of 100,000 units.

Asked about sales outlook for next fiscal, Natsume said, "As long as the 4 per cent excise rebate given in the stimulus package continues, the industry will continue to grow, but we should be prepared for withdrawal of this benefit as the government has other responsibilities also. Still, we should grow more than the company's sales this year."

HSCI is expecting to close this fiscal with 65,000 units from about 56,000 units in 2008-09.

He said the company would increase its dealership network to 125 by the end of 2010 from its existing 114 outlets and eventually it will be taken to 150 in three years. . . .

Iconic US motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson, which will launch 12 models in the Indian market from April, on Thursday tied up with ICICI Bank for consumer financing of its products that are priced between Rs 6.95 lakh (Rs 695,000) and Rs 34.95 lakh (Rs 3.495 million -- ex-showroom New Delhi.

"The financing options will be for up to 85 per cent of the loan value for five years and attract 11 per cent rate of interest," Harley-Davidson India MD Anoop Prakash told reporters at the 10th Auto Expo. "These options are comparable to those of premier car manufacturers," he added.

Prakash said the company has also established a dealer financing relationship with the bank.

The bookings for motorcycles will open from April at dealerships that are to be announced in five cities -- New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chandigarh. The deliveries will commence from June. . . .

Auto major General Motors India on Thursday said it will commercially launch electric car Spark in October this year which could be priced at around Rs 7 lakh (Rs 700,000).

"We are looking at initially manufacturing 5,000 units of the car (e-Spark). The car will roll out from our Talegaon, Maharashtra facility from October this year," GM India president and MD Karl Slym told PTI.

E-Spark would be produced in technical collaboration with Reva electric car company. Reva would provide battery technology for the e-Spark.

GM India showcased e-Spark in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.