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Thursday, 26 November 2009
There is a threat to Tata Nano’s title as the ‘world’s cheapest car’. The challenge is given by EcoCa, a little-known company in London which is all ready to roll out a 340 cc two-seater petrol car for as little as $2,200 (Rs 1 Lakh). Carazoo.com would like to remind its readers that though the Tata Nano is called the ‘one-lakh-rupee’ car, the base variant of the Tata Nano comes with a price of Rs. 1.15 Lakh ($ 2,500). EcoCa is a small engineering and design Taiwanese company based in London. The company kicked off with an investment of around 8 million pounds. This company is setting its eyes on the lucrative Indian automobile market and is hunting for a partnership to foray in it. Moreover, with a price tag of $2,200, the company says that it can still ensure healthy profit margins with its low-cost car, which will be know as the company’s name. EcoCa had plans to make use of India’s low-cost manufacturing base to keep the price down for both global and domestic markets. The company also revealed that some Indian car makers have shown interest to assess the prototype of its car for performance, fuel efficiency and safety standards. The rumour mill says that EcoCa has approached the Indian SUV maker Mahindra & Mahindra for a talk. The EcoCa car is very much inspired by the iconic Volkswagen Beetle and hence comes with convertible roof and automatic gearbox. The prototype of the car is made of lightweight, a high strength ABS plastic, which has good resistance to impact, heat and chemicals. It weighs only 330 kg against Nano’s 635 kg and will be replacing the Nano as India’s lightest car too once it is launched. Besides, it will give a mileage of 27-28 km/L of petrol against Nano’s 23.6 km/L under standard test conditions. But, it has a top speed of 70 km/h, much lower than Nano's 103 km/h. The car has cleared the frontal crash tests in Europe like the Nano and carries options of front airbags. The EcoCa is out to challenge Tata Motor’s small wonder. But only time will decide the winner. Labels: EcoCa, Low-Cost-Car, One-Lakh-Rupee-Car, Tata-Morors, Tata-Nano, World’s-Cheapest-Car
Friday, 13 November 2009
Guess who's next to bring in a lakh rupee car in India!
"Maruti Suzuki?" No.
"Hyundai?" No.
"Is it Honda after a second thought?" No.
"GM or must be Ford?" No, it's our desi clock and home appliances manufacturer Ajanta, which is famous by its brand Orpat.
Well, Ajanta is planning to buy a Chinese electric car company based in the Guangzhou province of China. The renowned quartz clock maker will then launch a sub-one-lakh-rupee car in the Indian market. To add icing to the cake, it is not just an ordinary low-cost car, it’s a low-cost electric car!
Apart from clocks and home appliances, the Rs 1,500-Crore company, which has its headquarters at Morbi in Gujarat, also makes electric bikes. It ventured in the automotive world in 2007 with the two-wheeler electric vehicles, and it manufactures around 10,000 bikes every year at its Kutch facility.
Ajanta has made a layout of Rs 100 Crore to acquire an existing assembly unit of an anonymous carmaker, which can roll out 5,000 units a year. The deal will be finalized within this year. The acquisition will help the company acquire technologies for molding, designs and battery production, among others. Furthermore, it would help in creating and establishing a new market for electric cars in India.
The company is seeking government support so that it can develop low-cost cars for the Indian market. Besides, VAT and excise duty put together make almost a fourth of the total manufacturing cost of the car. Ajanta feels that if the cost is lowered, the company can come out with battery-powered cars at Rs 1 Lakh or less.
Moreover, the clock maker has revealed that it will go with its own 'Oreva' brand for the cars. Oreva is derived from the names of Ajanta’s founder OR Patel and his wife Revaben.
The name is musical enough for the Indian ears and sounds like someone is addressing the REVA, calling it "Oh REVA" in a sing-song way. Carazoo.com feels it has been a good idea to adopt the brand name Overa as the name screams of an eco-friendly car like the REVA.
A prototype of the expected car is being designed and it can run 120 km per one charge of 7 units of electricity that will cost nearly Rs 35 per charge. The company has designed more than 10 battery-powered cars of four-seater and six-seater capacity. The six-seater will cost nearly Rs 1.5 lakh, while the four-seater can be available for Rs 1 lakh. Labels: Battery-Powered-Car, Electric-Cars, Low-Cost-Cars, One-Lakh-Rupee-Car, Two-Wheeler-Electric-Vehicles
Friday, 8 August 2008
It has been too much about the Tata Nano now. The Tata Motors is always in the news for their new developments or acquisitions. Everyone is eagerly waiting to see the Nano in the roads, which is expected to hit the market by this Diwali. This one lakh car has always carried some spicy news either with regards to price, production, booking or its competition with the rivals. This time the Nano has ‘powerful’ reason to be in speculations. It is said that the company will use a diesel engine for the car which is developed by the German powertrain maker FEV. The engine will carry a 2 cylinder CRDi turbocharger and also fuel injection system developed by Bosch. But one has to wait for the Nano with CRDi turbocharger engine as it will make the entry in to showrooms only by 2009 mid. Labels: Diwali-celebrations, One-Lakh-Rupee-Car, Tata-Nano
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
After enlightening the world’s cheapest and smallest car, Tata Motors plans to roll out luxurious and expensive cars. Tata is now targeting the other extreme of the car segment and introduce new upmarket cars in the industry. Tata has taken over the Jaguar & Land Rover and plans to roll out luxury car models under this venture. The Nano is expected to make its debut in India by the end of this year with a price tag of Rs 1 lakh, whereas the venture plans to design and manufacture luxury cars ranging somewhere between, Rs 80-85 lakh, a price at which car buyers can buy around 85 Nanos. With such a high price swing from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 85 lakh, do you think that consumers will go for it? Tata has created its own image of producing the world’s cheapest car and now shifting towards high-end segment. This step towards producing high-end cars is a way to boost up the market for Jaguar & Land Rover and establish the name of Tata as a producer of portfolio of cars in all segments. Labels: Nano, One-Lakh-Rupee-Car, Tata
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
The much hyped 1-lakh car “Nano” made its appearance at the recent Auto expo in New Delhi. It has come as a blessing in disguise to many banks and financial institutions that over the years have helped millions of Indian middle class families to own two- and four-wheelers. Now, many banks are considering special loan schemes for the Nano on the lines of two-wheeler loans. It shouldn’t be a matter of surprise that in the near future, banks and financial institutions will call up prospective customer offering them a loan for the Nano. The loan is expected to cover both the cost of the car as well as its running cost. Public as well as private banks would definitely take this opportunity to expand their business. The only worrying factor among people could be the rate of interest on such a loan because the current interest rates on car loans are very discouraging. According to a survey, it’s confirmed that the rate of interest on Tata’s new small car could be a bit higher than other car loans. For a loan amount as low as 1 lakh for a car, a slight push in interest rates shouldn’t really make a big difference to people eyeing the car. Labels: Car-Loans, One-Lakh-Rupee-Car, small cars, Tata Motor
Thursday, 17 January 2008
It seems that Nano is not only threatening the two wheeler market, but also the three wheeler manufacturers. A Gujarat based Electrotherm India which was planning to launch e-auto rickshaw has been forced to shelve its project. The 780-crore Electrotherm India had moved to producing electric bikes and new brands of three wheelers. The company had conceived a three wheeler with 48 volt battery and can reach a maximum power of 48 kmph. The device could also be fitted in diesel driven Bajaj autos. However the three-wheeler price was said to start from Rs 1.2 lakh. The advent of Nano, the world’s cheapest car has forced the company to drop all further processes. It remains to be seen whether the Nano wave will wash many more such concepts and projects as its advances. Labels: Diesel cars, One-Lakh-Rupee-Car, Ultra cheap cars
Thursday, 27 December 2007
Recent reports in the Western press about Tata motors’ prospective takeover of the Land Rover and Jaguar brands have raised a few disturbing questions. News analysis and blogs seem perturbed by Tata’s bid for the iconic British brands. The Western media raises the phantom issue of brand image dilution at the hands of the Tata’s; a car manufacturer they associate with the world’s cheapest car – the infamous one-lakh car. Their premise is that the image of the big brands that Tata is eyeing may take a beating as a result of this. Does the argument hold water? Another question is whether Western car enthusiasts are really so baffled by the change of ownership that they would overlook the survival of Land Rover and Jaguar. Yet another question is, why such discomfiture on the part of some journalists and bloggers? Do people really have so much idle time as to waste it on such issues? Are vested interests in act here? If not the common people, then who’s writing such obnoxious stuff? The answers to these questions deliver a clearer picture of the situation. As far as the Tatas are concerned, their business credentials are solid. Tata is not just a business conglomerate but a business house that has contributed immensely to the making of modern India. Tatas belong to a generation of conscientious businessmen; a generation of yore who believed in giving back to society from what they got. The Indian Institute of Science and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research stand testimony to their benevolence. In India, the Tatas are clearly seen as ‘businessmen with professionalism’. The conglomerate has always been led by a visionary businessman, be it the founder Jamshedji or the current leader Ratanji. Tata’s business success is a story of India’s rising economic strength. It’s not the question of Tatas winning or losing the bid for Jaguar and Land Rover. They have won many a time and have also lost on a few occasions. The outcome of the bid is by no means a standard to gauge the Indian car maker. It will not mean the world if they win and will definitely not be the end of the road if they lose. But, is there anyone else who has stepped up to the task at hand? Only a handful of companies have actually filed for the bid and now only two remain in the race, one of them being a private equity entity - EquityOne. In this case, what’s really disturbing is the scale of dissemination of such ideology. Would Western car buyers really want to know who made the car they are driving or where it came from? The current views are clearly an indication of restlessness and a result of the propagation of an old belief system pertaining to developing countries. Be what it may, Asia is truly rising. Article submitted by Krishnaraj ShastriLabels: Jaguar, Land Rover, One-Lakh-Rupee-Car, Tata
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