Auto Industry Halts Expansion
Drop in car sales due to increasing inflation have pushed auto companies to halt their expansion plans. Along with auto players, many auto component manufacturers have also lined up their investments as they don’t want to venture the market during this slowdown era.
Currently, auto manufacturers have no justified reason for expansion. Some of the car manufacturers like Toyota Kirloskar Motors, Maruti Suzuki India and Ford Motor India are rescheduling their equipment orders just because the industry is facing a jinx.
The Toyota Motors is slowing down its launches, whereas the Maruti Suzuki India has pushed the sales target to 2011 fiscal instead of 2010. The Ford Motor India is also planning to revise its expansion strategy. Ford has already announced an investment of around Rs. 2 crore in the Indian car market but is now confused with its own decision of expansion.
Recently, Skoda and its sibling Volkswagen have announced its expansion plan by launching a portfolio of cars in India. Are they still in the thought of expanding in the Indian market? If yes, will they benefit from the currently slowed down market?
India is believed to be an optimistic country, but will this optimism sway away with the current slack phase of the Indian car industry?
Labels: Auto-Industry, Maruti-Suzuki, Skoda
Skoda Plans to Drive a Package of Cars to India
With so many car manufacturers reviving their expansion plans in India, Skoda is also planning to strengthen its presence in the most promising Indian car market.
The company entered the Indian market with its successfully running, Skoda Octavia. Thereafter, it has launched Skoda Fabia, Skoda Luara and Skoda Superb. Now, the company plans to drive in eight new models in the next five years.
The first target for the company is to launch a small cars priced below the tag price of Fabia. The company also has plans to roll out its prominent cars Yeti and Roomster hopefully in a couple of years. The new Skoda Superb is also expected to launch in early 2009 after its great success in Europe.
The cars will be available with different price brackets for all type of customers. Not a bad move! Hope these models to get the same fame and success like other small cars in India.
Labels: New-Cars, Skoda, Small-Cars
Skoda Cars are now Costly
Skoda increases price tags of all its car models! This is nothing new in the car industry. Recently many car manufacturers including Tata Motors, Hyundai Motors, Maruti Suzuki, and Honda Seil India have increased the cost price of all their cars.
With so many car manufacturers raising the car prices due to high input costs, Skoda India, Czech auto manufacturer, also announces an increase in prices of all its car models in India.
The company announces a hike in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 and this hike will be effective from August 2008. Apart from high input costs, the company is also swayed by the surge in freight costs and high cost of raw materials.
Inspite of the high input costs, the company is putting in hard efforts to absorb maximum costs so that the price hike has minimized impact on prospective car buyers.
Will the efforts of Skoda be successful?
Labels: Car-prices, Luxury -Cars, Skoda
Jetta Competes With Laura
Volkswagen Jetta has entered the Indian car market with a competitive approach. The car belongs to the same segment as Skoda Laura, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. The tough competition between Jetta, Civic and Corolla is not a matter of concern but the Indian car market will keep a close watch on the affects that Jetta’s appearance will have on its cousin Laura.
The Indian market has often seen products from two different makes of the same manufacturer enter the fray, but manufacturers were careful not to launch cars in the same segment as their brother or sister concern. Jetta and Laura are cousins that belong to the same segment and are equally priced somewhere between the range of Rs 13-16 Lakh. This is what will give birth to a new competition scenario.
Jetta’s appeal is ordinary for German roads, but the design and style will win over Indian audiences. The car appears to be a better remake of the Volkswagen Passat and can be compared to the last generation European Honda Accord. However, exterior styling is where the similarities end.
Skoda Laura is a classy car based on the A5 platform and comes with high-end technologies and a dynamic design. The car is exclusively customized to meet Indian weather and road conditions. The performance of the car is par excellence. Jetta might cannibalize the sale figures of the Skoda Laura and if that happens, Skoda would definitely not like it.
Labels: jetta, Laura, Skoda, Volkswagen
Volkswagen Plans a Slew of Launches
The race for small car continues!
Volkswagen enters the race and is targeting to produce better and lighter commercial vehicles along with an unnamed small car. The company has plans to roll out a slew of launches in the next two years.
The company desires to gain a bigger market share with the proposed launches. Following this approach, the company recently launched its exciting sedan, Jetta. Jetta is available in three versions priced between Rs 12.97 to Rs 16.67 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi).
Volkswagen Jetta is a tough competitor for the Skoda Laura, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. All these cars belong to the same segment and will definitely race with each other to get the maximum share of the pie. The upcoming small car will compete with the likes and performance of the Swift and Getz.
It is expected that some officials from Volkswagen will drive to India to study the Indian small car market and judge the requirements and demands of Indian consumers. The company is putting in assiduous efforts with a keen desire to make the car India specific.
The company envisions itself creating a benchmark in the Indian car industry with its upcoming models.
Labels: Honda Civic, jetta, Skoda, Volkswagen cars
Fabia precedes Skoda’s other small car
The newly launched
Skoda Fabia small car has been working wonders for the Czech car manufacturer. The Fabia sold out in high numbers since it was introduced to
India in January this year. Skoda posted an 81% rise in sales during the month of April.
Here’s news that will surely bring a cheer to all Skoda fans. Skoda does not seem satisfied with its deeds yet and is already working on a new small car. The new car will first be launched in India and later taken to European markets. It’s not expected anytime soon though and is likely to debut in 2010.
Labels: Car sales, new car launch, Skoda, small cars
Volkswagen ups investment on Skoda Fabia
Volkswagen has decided to hike investments in its subsidiary Skoda for manufacture of the Skoda Fabia. Since its launch, the premium small car has set new standards in small car features.
The Fabia has been very popular and so Volkswagen is expanding its base. Volkswagen’s new car plant at Chakan in Maharashtra will first roll out Skoda Fabia before making way for other Volkswagen car models. Fabia will form a major portion of the plant’s assembly line and it could turn out to be the bread and butter car for Volkswagen in India.
Labels: Car manufacturing, car plant, Skoda, Volkswagen
Volkswagen will participate in Olympics
Volkswagen has become the official car company for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games to be held in
Beijing, China, starting this August. Volkswagen will use its
luxury cars, SUVs, sedans and other vehicles to ferry players, guests and officials. The company will also involve its subsidiaries
Skoda and Audi cars for this purpose. It will supply as much as 6000 of its vehicles for this event.
Car manufactures in India could also be shipped for the event. Volkswagen has already established itself in India and has an impressive line up of cars in India. By involving itself with the Olympic Games, Volkswagen will surely receive a huge boost in all over the world especially in India where large number of people will closely follow every Olympic event. It is time that Volkswagen launched a new car in India to mark the spectacular event.
Labels: Compact luxury sedans, Expansion in business, luxury cars, Skoda, summer olympic games, SUVs, Volkswagen
Skoda Fabia - A success story or just everyday car sales?
The less than one month old
Skoda Fabia has already sold 680 units. Fabia was launched in India at the 9
th Auto Expo, held in New Delhi from January 10 to January 17, 2008.
The figures may not surprise someone who is aware of the car market boom in India, but to those of us who have bought cars in the 90’s, this is indeed a surprising development. The car manufacturers in the early 90’s would brightly display the sales figures if it touched 1000 units in several years and there would be fireworks and celebrations!
By every standard Fabia is a new car to India, but it has already caught the imagination of the country. I believe that if the sales figures crossed 1000 by end of Feb, it would not be accompanied by fireworks and bold advertising like earlier, but just be treated as an everyday target that was successfully met. Definitely makes me feel like I’m living in the past!
Article submitted by Joshi
Labels: Car sales, New launch, Skoda, Submitted Article
Skoda: the saga continues…
Skoda India, the wholly owned arm of Czech-based Skoda Auto, has completed 6 successful years in India. The Indian auto market has provided a lucky boost to Skoda’s fading image elsewhere. The extraordinary success achieved by Skoda is evident from the series of awards won by the company over the past six years. Skoda has taken won accolades in all fields be it performance, styling or technology.
In terms of sales, the company has sold over 47,000 units since its entry and has so far set up 50 dealerships across the country. Much of Skoda’s success can be attributed to them confidently having invested in the production facilities to bring up the capacity of produced cars to 40,000 per year.
Skoda expressed its gratitude to the Indian government and to the city of Aurangabad for providing them with an opportunity to prove themselves in the country’s auto market. Right now Skoda is eagerly looking forward to the launch if its premium hatchback ‘Fabia’ at the ongoing Auto Expo.
Labels: Anniversary, Auto expo, Indian Government, Skoda
Fabia fever: Will it remain after the Expo
As it is,
Auto Expo 2008 has been in the news.
Skoda is set to showcase its premium hatchback Fabia at the Expo. The
Fabia has taken a seat next to Tata’s one lakh car in terms of popularity. An unexpected delay of the model’s launch last year resulted in a long list of news articles and blogs on the Czech-based car manufacturer’s new model. Internet forums buzzed with speculations and rumours about the car. The Fabia has generated a lot of interest in people not because it’s a new small car, but because it will compete not only with other small cars but also with several mid-size sedans.
Whether public interest in the Fabia will continue to remain after the upcoming Auto Expo and the model’s launch is debatable. Honda’s small car ‘Jazz’ which is expected to launch towards the end of the year is already in the news. The long list of cars set for launch this year could also prove to be a distraction.
Labels: Auto expo, New launch, Skoda
Cheap car drives expensive competition
Tata’s cheapest car is certainly not giving cheap competition.
Suzuki Motor is facing threats to its 50 percent of share on India’s auto market. Market analyst hints that it may cut the price of
Maruti 800, the car that was first to bring motorization within the reach of the middle-class.
Though, recently there were reports stating
Škoda,
Maruti and
Honda may raise cost of its few models in India, as prices of car components are on a rise. However, prices of
Honda CR-V and Maruti’s
Grand Vitara would stay put. As we know, manufacturers hike car prices twice a year, in January and June respectively. So, we shall reserve all out comments till then.
It’s time to see
Tata’s people’s car brings motorization to who all’s reach? While it’s already posing threat to Suzuki.
Labels: Honda, Maruti Suzuki, Skoda, Tata Motors 1 lakh car
East or West, Maruti is the best
Ok, am sure that we all know
Maruti Suzuki is the top leading automaker in India. It’s a pretty exciting fact that no matter where you go in India, you can see a
Maruti vehicle. From the last seven years
Maruti Suzuki is the top ranked in JD Power’s India Customer Satisfaction Index study. Continuing in the first position this year
Maruti scored 838 points out of 1000 and the most interesting thing is that
Maruti was the only carmaker to score more than the industry average of 777 points.
According to the JD Power’s India Customer Satisfaction Index study the factors contributing to overall satisfaction are the percentage of problems experienced in a car, service quality, and the user friendly service. Take a look at the maintenance services that
Maruti is providing. I would say it is truly instant, easily accessible, and affordable. Also the problems experienced in Maruti cars are less. I personally have the opinion that
Maruti Services have a very user friendly attitude.
The brands that follow
Maruti in the ranking are
Honda,
Hyundai,
Toyota, and
Ford. These automakers scored 765, 745, 740, and 737 points respectively, making themselves fit in the top four positions after Maruti. Compared to last years score these automakers showed vast improvement in their scores.
Honda,
Skoda, and
Hyundai showed the highest improvement.
Labels: Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Indian car market, Maruti, Maruti Suzuki, Ratings on JD Customer Satisfaction Index, Skoda, Toyota
Behind the scene: Skoda Ambiente
I’m sure everyone has heard of the new
Skoda Laura Ambiente. I wondered what made
Skoda launch a new variant when its two
Laura variants are already in the market and not doing too well because they are pricier than the competitors. Skoda must have realized, because even though the Ambiente variant has better features compared to its sibling Laura variants, it has a lower price tag.
The Skoda Laura is an impressive car. It is luxurious with leather upholstery, 4-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat, 16” alloy wheels, and an automated sunroof. However, in the Indian market, competitive pricing is a big factor to capture market sales.
The new Ambiente lists out more safety features than the existing versions. In my opinion, however, instead of launching the new variant Skoda should have revised the price of the existing variants and improved on their safety and convenience features. Let’s wait and watch to see what awaits the future of the Ambiente.
Labels: Car competition, Economical buy in luxury segment, Indian car market, New variant, Skoda
New Skoda Laura Ambiente for Indian Market
Skoda is considered as one of the
luxury car brands in India. After all, with their price tags, it is difficult for a common man to get behind the wheels of a
Skoda. Here’s today’s big story: Skoda has just announced a new variant called Ambiente for its
Laura series. The unveiling took place last Wednesday in Mumbai.
The car, which looks very similar to the existing
Laura variants, offers more standard safety features. Buyers now have other reasons to buy the new Ambiente besides the superior features. The most fascinating thing about the new Ambiente is the truly affordable price. Your Skoda Laura is now available at a 13 Lakh ex-showroom price tag. Sign up for the new 13-Lakh Ambiente to receive special safety features like two airbags, a traction control system, Rear parking sensors with Parktronic display, and automatic wipers with rain sensors.
Ambiente has started garnering much media attention. If you are planning to get an economically savvy luxurious car, Ambiente is the car for you.
Labels: Economical buy, Indian car market, Launches in India, New variant, Safety features improved, Skoda
Maruti Swift Sedan to run on Indian roads soon
India’s auto major,
Maruti, is very keen to launch the
sedan built on the
Swift platform. This sedan is expected to hit Indian roads in the month of January next year and would compete with its own sibling, the
SX4. Not only this, Maruti Suzuki is also planning to pose a tough tiff to manufacturers like
Skoda and
Honda with models like Splash, Kizashi, and Jimny.
According to the source closely associated with the company, the making of Esteem is almost taken a back-seat. The new Swift sedan will be priced less than the SX4 and is expected in two variants – a 1.3L multi-jet diesel engine and a 1.3L petrol engine.
The diesel variant is built keeping in mind
Tata’s
Indica and
Indigo and
Hyundai’s diesel cars. Maruti has also asked its suppliers to be ready to supply machinery needed for this mega project. Recently, Maruti unveiled a concept car Kizashi at the Frankfurt motor show, which is said to make its second appearance at the Tokyo Motor Show very soon. It is designed to compete with the A4 segment cars from
other manufacturers like
Honda,
Toyota, and
Skoda. Kizashi is expected to come with a price tag of 10-12 lakh.
Labels: car manufacturers, Honda, Hyundai, Indian car market, launch in India, Maruti, Skoda, Tata, Toyota
Volkswagen to launch Polo in India in 2009
After the successful launch of
Passat,
Volkswagen has scheduled its popular vehicle Polo (no it’s not the mint!) to launch in 2009 in India.
Volkswagen, the people’s car (it’s actually pronounced as “Folks wagon”), is likely to set the production plant of Polo by the end of 2009 and the full scale production is expected to start by 2010. After Polo
Volkswagen launches, the small car buyers in India will have fun.
Polo is one of Volkswagens ever
successful car and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. The Polo in India would be a completely new version, but I hope that all the cool stuff about it is not compromised for good mileage. I mean mileage is good, but the Polo is one of Volkswagen's most popular small cars globally as it is.
Volkswagen can definitely do well in the
Indian market even though brands like
Audi and
Skoda are around, coz it is easier to get your hands on – money factor. I mean you can see a few Lamborghinis flying around in India. Volkswagen has inked a deal with the Maharashtra government for producing its cars from Pune.
Posted By Art.Labels: Audi, competition, Indian car market, launch in India, Skoda, small cars, Volkswagen
