Indian Auto Industry Update · Indian Auto Industry Update 31 May 2017 Industry Mahindra & Mahindra...

Indian Auto Industry Update

31 May 2017

IndustryMahindra amp Mahindra posts PAT of Rs 725 crore up by 199 in Q4 FY17

MampM plans Rs 12000 cr spend to fuel growth

MampM Tractor sales help beat Street estimates

Tata Motors aims to provide skill development training to 40000 people in three years

Hindustan Motorsamprsquo accumulated losses of Rs 25217 lakh by March end

Interviews amp FeaturesWe hope the thrust on electric vehicles is for real MampM MD Pawan Goenka

This year we can see double digit growth coming through Bharat Madan Escorts

SsangYong G4 Rexton review Bigger but will it be better

Cars SUVs MUVsMampM lines up Rs 600-800 crore for EV development

Twitter introduces Anand Mahindra to a special Thar used by Rajnikant

Isuzu MU-X V-Cross undergoes price cut by up to Rs 15 lakh

Petextrians and distracted driving pose major safety issues on roads Ford

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Select Plus launched in India at Rs2888 L

These car makers will not take part in the Auto Expo 2018

Maruti model can drive defence production

Luxury CarsJaguar Land Rover vehicles to cost less by up to 12 effective immediately

Fiat Automobiles to roll out Jeep Compass on June 1

Put a Formula One V6 in a road car and the Mercedes AMG Project One is what one gets

Commercial VehiclesCourt restrains KSRTC from processing tender for 3000 buses

Ashok Leyland tweaks technology to be BS-VI ready

Construction amp Agri MachineryFarm equipment unit provides the heft

23 WheelersHonda CB Shine races past Hero Passion in April

Hero MotoCorp discontinues Xtreme and Hunk motorcycles

Bookings for 2017 Triumph Street Triple started

E-BikesComponents

Piramal Finance to invest Rs 565 crore in auto component space

Pricol Limited reports bottom line growth of 411 in FY17

Promoters might lose control of Amtek Auto

Allied IndustriesEmissions EnvironmentFinance amp Insurance

Sundaram Finance reports 139 rise in Q4 profit

Oil Lubricants amp Alternative FuelsOil dips as ongoing glut outweighs strong start to summer driving

News MagazinesBMW Z4 concept to be revealed at Pebble Beach

BMW M8 set to crown 8-series line-up

Electric Tata Tiago in the works

Mercedes-AMG plans two-model strategy for small cars

Can India go all-electric by 2030

Mahindra XUV500 to get a bump in power output

India-bound Nissan connected cars launch soon

TVS Apache RR 310S new details emerge

Mercedes-AMG reveals Project One powertrain details

2017 Maruti Baleno RS review road test

2017 Volvo XC60 review test drive

International NewsVolvo Cars first to benefit from Chinas One Belt One Road trade initiative

Volvo wagon fanatics prepare for new V90 Station Wagon

Volkswagen-owned Wolfsburg faces cost cuts despite Bundesliga survival

Tesla Fighting misconceptions with marketing

Rolls-Royce Sweptail revealed priced at $128 million

Skoda Superb gets additional safety features globally

EconomyRupee dips further to touch 6466

Sensex ends marginally higher Adani Ports NTPC stocks spurt

ClosingLast Financial Closing

Industry

Mahindra amp Mahindra posts PAT of Rs 725 crore up by 199 in Q4 FY17 The Economic Times (Web amp Print Edition)

New Delhi Home Grown auto major Mahindra amp Mahindras profit after tax (PAT) for the fourth quarter of FY 16-17 has grown by199 percent at Rs725 crore compared to the same quarter a year the company said in filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange

In F2017 MampM recorded gross revenues and other income of Rs 48439 crore a YoY increase of 89 percent PAT after exceptionalitems was of Rs 3956 crore a YoY rise of 234 percent

The Groupamprsquos consolidated gross revenues stood at Rs 89713 crore a YoY increase of 108 percent PAT afternon-controlling interest was Rs 3698 crore a YoY increase of 175 percent

Gross revenues of all the group companies taken together for the full year F2017 were Rs 127233 crore

The outlook by MampM for 2017-18 is robust with a favourable domestic and global backdrop The economy is set to experience agrowth recovery and may grow at about 8 percent Monsoon is forecast to be normal pushing demand recovery upward

Moreover the ongoing remonetisation process and lagged effect of past rate cuts along with a further reduction in bankamprsquoslending rates will aid discretionary consumer spending and growth recovery says the statement Focused expenditure especially onthe rural economy and affordable housing roll-out of GST and steps to attract higher FDI will also be supportive of growth

Notwithstanding initial challenges implementation of GST entails sustained positive gains for the economy in the long-run On theglobal front too demand backdrop is expected to be favourable with more forecasts pegging global output and trade higher in 2017and 2018 compared to the recent past

Mahindra and Mahindra has seeked nod from the companys board members and share holders to appoint Anand Mahindra asExecutive Chairman for a period of five years with effect from 12th November 2016 to 11th November 2021 the company said in aBSE filing

The company will also decide on appointing Dr Pawan Goenka as Managing Director for a period of four years from November2016 to November 2020

These key appointments will be decided in the companys 71st Annual General Meeting scheduled on 4th August 2017 post the

approval from shareholdershttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrymahindra-mahindra-posts-pat-of-rs-725-crore-up-by-19-9-in-q4-fy1758910409Tractor sales drive MampM net up 26 in Q4 to Rs 874 croreThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newstractor-sales-drive-mm-net-up-26-in-q4-to-rs-874-crorearticle9716271eceMahindra amp Mahindra Q4 profit rises about 20The Hindu (Web Edition)httpwwwthehinducombusinessIndustrymahindra-mahindra-q4-profit-rises-about-20article18638468eceMahindra net up 20 vehicle sales flat in Q4Financial Chronicle (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwmydigitalfccomcompaniesmahindra-net-20-vehicle-sales-flat-q4-763MampM Q4 net up 20 to Rs 725 crore eyes more UV market shareDaily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacombusinessreport-mm-q4-net-up-20-to-rs-725-crore-eyes-more-uv-market-share-2455972Mahindraamprsquos Q4 profit-after-tax grows 20 at Rs 725 croreHindustan Times (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwhindustantimescombusiness-newsmahindra-s-q4-profit-after-tax-grows-20-at-rs-725-crorestory-Vt9lwuoeq8AG9P9xZ5EcCLhtmlMahindra Q4 profit rises 263 to Rs874 croremint (Web Edition)httpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesCdBGxyYO4Us00TInj8kX4KMM-Q4-profit-rises-263-to-Rs874-crorehtmlMahindra amp Mahindra reports increase in PATAsian Age (Web Edition)httpwwwasianagecombusinesscompanies300517mahindra-mahindra-reports-increase-in-pathtmlMahindra Q4 PAT up 20 per cent at Rs 725 croreDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinesscompanies300517mahindra-q4-pat-up-20-per-cent-at-rs-725-crorehtmlMampM net profit up 20 in Q4 at Rs 725 croreDeccan Herald (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanheraldcomcontent614529mm-net-profit-up-20htmlMahindra and Mahindra Q4 standalone net up 20 at Rs 725 crThe Financial Express (Web amp Print Edition)httpwwwfinancialexpresscomindustrymahindra-and-mahindra-q4-standalone-net-up-20-at-rs-725-cr693826Mahindra Q4 net profit rises 26Business Standard (Web Edition)httpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompaniesmahindra-q4-net-profit-rises-26-117053100031_1html

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MampM plans Rs 12000 cr spend to fuel growth Lalatendu MishraThe Hindu (Web amp Print Edition)

Mumbai Mahindra amp Mahindra Ltd (MampM) will invest Rs 12000 crore in the next three years to ensure that its growth momentumcontinues

While Rs 7500 crore would be invested in new product development and capacity expansion for Mahindra range of vehicles Rs4500 crore would go towards investments in group companies as well as for acquisitions said VS Parthasarathy group chieffinancial officer MampM

ampldquoEvery year we will invest about Rs 4000 crore and this includes Rs 2500 crore for capex and Rs 1500 crore forinvestmentsamprdquo he said

The company which is facing a tough challenge in its utility vehicles and sports utility vehicles business from a dozen players isfocusing on retaining its market share with new products as well as having a first mover advantage in the electric vehicles business

It also decided to build a strong portfolio in its farm equipment business through overseas acquisition and focus on export marketsMampM is also working on setting up a second home base outside India either in one of the ASEAN countries or in Africa

Electric vehiclesDr Pawan Goenka managing director MampM said the company would invest Rs 600 crore to Rs 800 crore in its electric vehiclesbusiness to ramp up production in line with the governmentamprsquos push for electric vehicles in the country ampldquoThis excludesthe investment to develop a high end electric vehicle through Pininfarinaamprdquo he said

MampM on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3698 crore up 175 for the year ended March 31 2017 During theyear consolidated gross revenue increased by 108 to Rs 89713 crore

For fiscal year 2016-17 MampM along with its subsidiary Mahindra Vehicles Manufacturers Ltd (MVML) reported profit after tax ofRs 3889 crore up 163 on gross revenue and other income of Rs 48125 crore which was 95 more than the previous year

On a standalone basis MampM reported profit after tax of Rs 3956 crore up 234 on gross revenue and other income of Rs48439 crore up 89

For the fourth quarter ended March 31 2017 MampM and MVML combine reported profit after tax of Rs 874 crore up 263 ongross revenue of Rs 12289 crore which was up 52 compared with the year-earlier period

Vehicles sales in the domestic market on a year-on-year basis remained flat at 130778 units However domestic tractor sales rose133 to 46583 units

The ban on the sale of BS- III vehicles from April 1 2017 affected it adversely as it could not sell 13000 BS-III vehicles it said Theimpact on this head has been estimated at Rs 171 crore During the current year the company will introduce a brand new SUV andtwo refreshed versions of existing models

For the year the board recommended a dividend of Rs 13 per share

Commenting on the results Deven Choksey MD KR Choksey Shares and Securities said ampldquoDespite tough businessenvironment the company has reported good growth in profitability The farm equipment division gave better profits The results areon expected linesamprdquohttpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businessmm-plans-rs-12000-cr-spend-to-fuel-growtharticle18662779ece

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MampM Tractor sales help beat Street estimates Ram Prasad SahuBusiness Standard (Web amp Print Edition)

Mahindra amp Mahindraamprsquos (MampMamprsquos) March quarter (Q4) performance was along similar lines of previous quarters withthe tractor business showing strong volume growth and gaining market share while the utility vehicle (UV) business struggleddespite the industry growing at a robust pace Driven by a 155 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in tractors and higherrealisations revenues grew 43 per cent to Rs 10612 crore which was better than consensus estimates which pegged it at Rs10573 crore

Despite the fall in volumes in the segment by 18 per cent the company managed to improve its revenues in the segment due tohigher realisations While profit for the auto segment before interest and tax fell 24 per cent those in the tractor segment improvedby 30 per cent due to operating leverage as well as cost efficiencies Overall operating profit margins for the quarter came in at 117per cent which was 100 basis points lower than the year-ago quarter The company indicated the impact of unsold BS-III inventoryand lack of excise benefits at the Haridwar plant dented the operating performance Adjusted for the Rs 171-crore impact due toBS-III margins according to the company would have been higher at 132 per cent up 50 basis points over the year-ago quarterReported net profit was up 263 per cent due to higher other income at Rs 294 crore and one-time exceptional gains of Rs 94 crore

Despite the slowdown due to demonetisation a favourable monsoon led to improvement in tractor demand for FY17 The companyended FY17 gaining 18 per cent market share to 43 per cent The management expects tractor growth for the current financial yearto be 10-12 per cent driven by good monsoons and a pick-up in rural growth

Analysts expect the sector to end FY18 at volumes over 635 lakh units last seen in FY14 This augurs well for the market leader aswell as the tractor segmentamprsquos margins at over 17 per cent are much higher compared to the auto segmentamprsquos marginsat 71 per cent

Going ahead the company expects passenger vehicle growth to be at 8-10 per cent while that for UVs is expected to be at 10-12per cent in FY18 Given that the companyamprsquos UV volumes were flat y-o-y and the sector grew at 30 per cent in FY17MampMamprsquos market share has shrunk by over 700 basis points to 30 per cent The company continues to lose ground to rivals asthe trend of lower UV sales continues with April volumes down 15 per cent y-o-y To arrest the decline in market share thecompany has lined up new launches and refreshes during the year A lot will depend on the response to multi-purpose vehiclecalled U321 to be launched later this yearhttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticleopinionstrong-tractor-outlook-masks-weak-uv-prospects-for-mahindra-mahindra-117053001766_1html

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Tata Motors aims to provide skill development training to 40000 people in three years PTISee this story in The Economic Times (Web Edition)

New Delhi Tata Motors is aiming to train up to 40000 people in the next three years in skills associated with automobile industry aspart of its programmes to provide technical and vocational education for unemployed youth a senior company official said today

The company has already started training programmes in collaboration with Automotive Skill Development Council (ASDC) at itsdifferent manufacturing plants various dealerships and services centres

It is focusing on 10th and 12th class dropouts youth from rural areas and small towns scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduledtribes (STs) besides women under the initiative to make them industry ready workforce at the end of courses which can take up tothree years to complete

Tata Motors which will witness retirements of around 300-500 a year in its plants like Jamshedpur and Pune from 2018 is not onlylooking at preparing a ready supply of workforce for its plants but is also looking to play its part in Skill India Mission company ChiefHuman Resource Officer Gajendra Chandel told PTI

We need to build skill and competency of our workforce and besides that in some of the areas like electric vehicles and connectedsystems there is a gap in skills at the moment in the industry which needs to be filled he said

The idea is to impart various training on skill sets required for the automobile industry ecosystem from shop floor to service centreswith ASDC certifying the course he added

Sharing companys vision on skill training Chandel said Our aim is that in the next three years we should be able to trainanywhere between 30000 to 40000 people When they pass out they should be absolutely industry ready

While Tata Motors by itself will be able to absorb only a small portion he said the industry will have a lot of requirement for skilledworkforce going forward considering the kind of growth it is expected to achieve

India is slated to become the third largest automotive market in the world by 2020 after China and the US Currently it is the fifthlargest

It is also not just about our company but for the entire ecosystem The need for skilled workforce for service network will be muchhigher than manufacturing requirements he added

By next year the first batch of around 400 trainees will pass out Chandel said adding we started with a small batch and at presentaround 4500 are under straining

While the average age of trainees is between 18-20 years of age he said For women we take even older The aim for us is tohave 50 per cent of trainees from backward underprivileged sections SCs and STs

Chandel said Tata Motors has been conducting focused initiatives such as LEAP (Learn and Earn Program) over the years It hasassociated with 135 ITIs across 19 states for skill development

The company has been awarded the HR Innovation of the Year award for contribution to skill development at the Asia PacificExcellence Awards 2016 by Communication Director a global magazine for corporate communications and public relationshttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustrytata-motors-aims-to-provide-skill-development-training-to-40000-people-in-three-years58912359Tata Motors aims to provide skill training to 40000 in 3 yearsThe Indian Express (Web Edition)httpindianexpresscomarticlebusinesscompaniestata-motors-aims-to-provide-skill-training-to-40000-in-3-years-4681198 Tata Motors awarded for contribution to Skill India MissionDaily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacombusinessreport-tata-motors-awarded-for-contribution-to-skill-india-mission-2456018

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Hindustan Motorsacirceurotrade accumulated losses of Rs 25217 lakh by March end The Economic Times (Web Edition)

New Delhi Operating results of Hindustan Motors have been adversely affected due to the adverse market conditions Theaccumulated losses of the company as on 31 March 2017 stand at Rs 25217 lakh against the share capital of Rs 10441 lakh Alsocurrent liabilities exceed current assets by Rs 13591 lakh

Hindustan Motors had declared suspension of work at its Uttarpara plant from 24 May 2014 and lay off at its Pithampur plant from 4December 2014 The management is in the process of rationalizing expenses as well as considering ways to generate revenues

Due to low productivity growing indiscipline shortage of funds and lack of demand of products the management declaredsuspension of work at Uttarpara and has not paid salary and wages during this period

The wholly owned immaterial foreign subsidiary Hindustan Motors Limited USA having no transaction during the year has beendissolved on 16 February 2017 as per the laws in USA

Further the application made by the company to the Reserve Bank of India seeking permission to write-off its entire investment inHindustan Motors Ltd USA is under considerationhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryhindustan-motors-accumulated-losses-of-rs-25217-lakh-by-march-end58906799

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Interviews amp Features

We hope the thrust on electric vehicles is for real MampM MD Pawan Goenka Ronojoy Banerjeemint (Delhi Print Edition)

Mahindra and Mahindra (MampM) was one of the first large Indian automobile makers to place its faith in electric vehicles (EV) buyingelectric car maker Reva in 2010 Now the company is planning to set up EV plat in Chakan near Pune When the returns from EVinvestments start coming in it will be ampldquoin bucketsamprdquo said Pawan Goenka managing director of MampM in an interviewThe Rs 600 crore that MampM has invested in the EV business is a relatively small sum Goenka said

Edited excerpts

The government is looking at EVs now in a very significant way Would you agree that perhaps electric vehicles is now at a turningpoint here in India

Always nice to talk about EVs This is the subject that I can talk about forever We have waited for long time We have had supportfrom government of India in the past also but what is happening in the last three-six months is a very strong focus and thrust comingfrom government of India and that makes me believe that now we are just about ready for a take-off on electric vehicles Somethingthat we have been hoping for quite some time So yes I am very excited about the developments that have happened in the lastthree-six months

Talk specifically about your EV plans going forward because some of your investors maybe a little concerned thinking that MampM isonce again investing an additional Rs 150 crore talking about setting up perhaps a three-wheeler plant in a business that is notgiving returns how would you allay their concern

Let us put it this way that as far as any auto original equipment manufacturer (OEM) anywhere in the world is concerned todaynobody can ignore EVs because whether it is India China USA Western Europe Korea any country ampndash everybody today allgovernments are supporting EVs and in fact there are a lot of nonautomotive players which are coming into the fray with a view ofthe EVs Therefore for anyone to think that Mahindra should not invest in electric vehicle will be a very shortterm view

Having said that it is also true and clear that EVs is not where anybody is going to make money very quickly It is going to take a lotof investment a lot of waiting which we have been saying all along Before we can make money in EVs and in many ways theinvestment that we have put in in the EVs in the last six-seven years is very small compared to what you see in terms of globalcompanies investing in EVs and that is partly because of the frugal approach that Indian companies and Mahindra has

So I would not consider Rs600 crore or so that we have invested so far as a large investment that the investors need to beconcerned about and that something that the returns will come in and when they start pouring in it will be coming in buckets is whatI am expecting

But I am still saying that we are still few years away in spite of the interest that is being shown now by all stakeholders in EVs Weare still few years away before there is financial return What will happen first is the market return the volume return where we willstart seeing some numbers clocking on the board and only after that we will start seeing financial returns

That is your message to larger investors also to say that EVs is the whole new game altogether Therefore one needs to be patientwhen it comes to assessing the financial returns on the investments that you have been making in the last seven years

Absolutely and again like I said that Rs600 crore that we have invested is a very small sum compared to the overall investment thatwe make in our business in the last five-six years and very small compared to investments that are being made by many globalOEMs

Tell me then what will you do differently now We are calling it Mahindra EV20 in a sense you are trying to do something you aretrying to restart the engine once again what do we expect Mahindra to do differently now going forward vis-agrave-vis what you havedone in the past

There are three tracks on which the EV usage will happen we believe in future in the passenger segment there is a commercialsegment also

On the passenger segment I believe that the biggest fastest ramp up that will happen will be on the use of EVs by fleet operatorsand aggregators where they will put a vehicle on use on road to run 150200 kilometres per day and that will give a very good returnbecause more you drive more you save since per kilometre cost is much lowerTherefore I would expect a very steep ramp up to happen and Mahindra already has two products in that segment and we will bedoing more over the next 12-18 months and that will be our part one which is still remaining at the low volt 72 volt technology andserving the need of fleet taxis segment

The second will be the same kind of vehicles being used for personal segment and I believe that once more and more vehiclescome on the road you will see more personal buyers becoming interesting in EVs because the virtues of EVs are many where wehave concern is in range in new technology and therefore little bit of wait and watch

What we have to do in this segment to make it happen is we have to cut cost by about 20 I cannot expect the government ofIndia to increase their subsidies of EVs What we have through the new GST rate that has been announced is what we need tocount on not expect something more than that

So that is happening that is one focus on how to bring down the cost of current technology how do we increase the range from 110to 140 kilometres that we have to maybe 170-180-200 kilometres and make it an affordable mass transport product This is wherethe large volumes will come from in India I believe for at least for the short-term to medium-term

On the other hand what we are calling EV 20 is the technology for the high end where we will be bringing in batteries with 360 voltspower with 50 kilowatts-hour of power than the 11-12 kilowatts-hour that we have today and get a range of 300-350 kilometres ofperformance of 4-5 seconds 0 to 100 so more performance car more for personal use more for high-end costing perhaps 25-30lakh price point is the EV 20 where we will have the latest cutting-edge technology and latest performance and high range but that Ido not expect in India to become the high volume game because for that to become affordable subsidies required are very high pervehicle and I do not think that government of India would and should put in so much money into the high end The money that theyneed to put in in my opinion is right what they have done today which is putting in at the level which will support the entry level themass market affordable vehicles

In addition to that right now we do not have enough capacity to ramp up because we cannot put in a lot of capacity without volumewe can make maybe 400 vehicles per month right now even that is not tested because the maximum that we have done so far is150 vehicles a month We have already started work on increasing capacity to about 1000 vehicles a month which will happen in

the next threefour months and then we have taken a leap of faith to invest for capacity as high as 5000 vehicles a month and thatwork has just about started on investment for 5000 and we are hoping that this time the thrust that is coming on electric vehicles isfor real and we are going to see increase in volume overall in India and that Mahindra will play a key role in it

Undoubtedly today we are the only players but when the volumes will start coming in more and more players will come into thiselectric vehicles we certainly expect that and we welcome that because right now we are the only ones who is trying to sort of clearthe road for EVs we would like to see more and more players to come in and clear the path for EVs

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This year we can see double digit growth coming through Bharat Madan Escorts The Economic Times (Web Edition)

In a chat with ET Now Bharat Madan Escorts said that We have been able to move up the market share by about 05 so inwhich terms the markets in north and central India the share has gone up by about 1 last year Edited excerpts

ET Now Can you first walk us through the entire supply-demand scenario just ahead of monsoon are you getting a sense that thistime around demand is strong because last year was good monsoon hopefully this year we will get a good monsoon and two yearsof good monsoon will change the dynamics of the rural economy completely

Bharat Madan Yes I think you are right The sentiment on the ground look pretty strong as of now and if the monsoon really as thepredictions are happens to be good and well spread out so we expect probably it will be a good and buoyant year for the industryand we can see again double digit growth coming through

ET Now Can you outline for us that what was the growth which you have witnessed from your tractor business and from thenon-tractor business just for the benefit of our viewers

Bharat Madan So tractor market I think our growth has been close to 24 last year against the industry growth of 18 and in thenon-tractor business and our construction business has grown about 30 last year and the railway business has given about65-7 growth So I think across all sectors we were talking the growth momentum continuously So we think going forward also weexpect next year we should see good growth pattern emerging across all three sectors

ET Now Tell me a little bit more about your construction equipment business and what really is the demand scenario on groundwhere do you see this segment actually headed and what sort of volume growth have been clocking

Bharat Madan So like you said the last year we have seen the growth happening in the construction equipment for the tune of 30and as we had predicted so company has been able to turn around that business in the last quarter and the business deliveredminute positive EBIT margins But again I think in the last year the growth had come actually on the basis of of de-growth Soobviously the base has already moved up now slight a bit but still we expect 10 to 15 growth can continue going forward also innext two-three years

ET Now What about the railway division because that also we understand is going pretty strong what sort of growth are you seeingthere currently and what sort of numbers are you pencilling in in the next two-three quarters

Bharat Madan Railway last year the order execution was slightly slow though the order book has been pretty strong We are sittingon almost Rs 155 crores of order book as of now We expect that business can again where we deliver a double digit growth soanywhere between 15 to 20 growth is looking feasible in next year as well So that is something which will also drive themargins for our railways business

ET Now Your tractor sales year on year are up more than 20 but sequentially there is a decline Is this largely because of theinventory level manamgent

Bharat Madan No this is a seasonality actually The festive season was actually in the Q3 and this is a normal trend Q1 and Q3 arenormally the good quarters for the industry and Q2 and Q4 are slightly subdued So I do not think there is anything surprising reallyagain in the trend which we have witnessed so this is a normal trend in the industry

ET Now The right way to understand the agriculture demand does it happen before monsoon or the real demand only happensafter a successful monsoon

Bharat Madan Post harvesting there is a money available in the hands of the farmers and before the sowing season starts you seethe demand picking up So that has been the trend Like recently we have seen rabi harvesting has happened so people farmershave money in the hands to the kharif sowing starts this happened with the first onset of monsoon so we will see the demand fortractor sales really picks up during this period and same thing happens in the time when kharif sowing kharif harvest happens therabi sowing starts It used to be somewhere in October

ET Now But do you think that for FY18 the industry growth could be significantly better than what we have seen in previous yearsbecause the feel on the ground at least is quite robust I mean consumers are feeling happy they want to spend so we are startingthe year with the assumption of a 17-18 growth but what are the chances that that could be an upside risk to that assumption

Bharat Madan We did not say it will be 17-18 growth next year too Last year we have witnessed 18 growth but again like sincethe base has gone up and we are seeing the industry which was peaked up by 634000 units somewhere in 2013This year we willbe able to break that peak and reaching new peak for the industry but I think our assumption the industry can give somewhere

between 12 to 15 if the monsoon is good

ET Now What do you say is your current market share in the tractor industry

Bharat Madan We have been able to move up the market share by about 05 so in which terms the markets in north and centralIndia the share has gone up by about 1 last year In southern and western markets the market share went up by 05 so overallwe ended the year with 108 market share

ET Now I was reading an media interview of Mr Nanda on one of the media wires and he is talking about the fact that the next threeyears Escorts is on a verge of transformational growth So what could be the factors that play which could take Escorts thecompany to a different level up until now the introduction of Escorts is that a company which is getting business from tractor andconstruction division those are good businesses but there is nothing spectacular about them For you to transform into a differentleague you will have to either invest in new businesses or change the way you do business so what are the plans in place

Bharat Madan If you look at the last two yearsamprsquo trajectory our main focus has been driving profitability for the company Somost of the focus has been really cutting down on the cost side and improving the margins which we have seen happening on bothin the tractor business as well as in other businesses So I think that momentum is continuing so the focus will be on this businessbut we are looking at doubling the margins doubling the EBITDA levels from where we are today and where will we see it down theline I think it will be combination of both the cost as well as the revenue led initiative which will be taken and besides obviouslycompany is open looking at many other opportunities but obviously within the existing businesses space so we are not goingbeyond these business spaces in the next three years timehttpeconomictimesindiatimescommarketsexpert-viewthis-year-we-can-see-double-digit-growth-coming-through-bharat-madan-escortsarticleshow58910046cms

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SsangYong G4 Rexton review Bigger but will it be better Hormazd Sorabjeemint (Web amp Print Edition)

This is the latest iteration of the Rexton Mahindra-owned Korean car-maker SsangYongamprsquos flagship SUV in India Workstarted on a clean sheet and it looks nothing like the previous-generation model that was briefly on sale in India SsangYong isbetting big on it but does it have what it takes to give popular SUVs like the Fortuner and the Ford Endeavour a run for theirmoney

Built on an all-new high-strength steel body-on-frame chassis the new Rexton is lighter and tougher than before The styling maystill be a bit conventional but itamprsquos a massive step-up from the rather unimpressive last-gen Rexton It has much betterproportions and a more mature design And to top it off measuring 18m in height and 48m in length this is one massive SUV

Like the exterior there is nothing remarkable about the interior design but everything feels quite nicely put together The dashboardfeatures several horizontal elements which accentuate the width of the cabin The steering wheel instrument panel andbutton-festooned centre console look smart But what you canamprsquot ignore is the massive 92-inch high-definition infotainmentscreen which is the largest in class It packs in Apple CarPlay Android Auto navigation maps and a 360-degree camera which issure to come in handy when parking this hulk of an SUV Thereamprsquos also a key-sensing auto-locking and tailgate-openingfunction So you can simply walk away with the key in your pocket and the car locks automatically Come back with your hands fullof shopping bags and the tailgate opens on its own too Top-end versions will also get a 10-speaker Infinity sound system

The Rextonamprsquos cabin exudes top-class quality The plastics have a nice soft feel to them and the Nappa leather with a quiltedpattern used all around the cabin feels rich Itamprsquos safe to say that the new Rextonamprsquos cabin is best in class

Like most body-on-frame SUVs getting into the Rexton is a bit of a climb the slim running board will be an essential featureespecially for elderly passengers Settle into the comfortable seats and youamprsquoll be hugely impressed with the space on offerThereamprsquos ample head- and leg-room in both rows and the high-set rear seat makes for a very comfortable seating positionThe G4 Rexton is a five-seater but a seven-seater variant is also planned for India

The power comes from a 22-litre diesel developing a healthy 187hp and 420Nm of torque This motor comes with two gearboxoptions one being a six-speed manual and the second a traditional seven-speed torque converter automatic Itamprsquos the latterwe took for a spin on the test track at SsangYongamprsquos Pyeongtaek factory in South Korea

The first thing you will notice is how quiet this engine is for a diesel Noise levels in the cabin are impressively low and the overallrefinement is quite commendable This engine however lacks the punch that is expected from diesels in big brawny SUVs It pullsquite well but in a rather sedate manner It also feels quite strained when you try to rev it hard Sadly the impressive power andtorque figures donamprsquot translate into much on the road and we suspect the Rexton will struggle to match up to rivals in itsperformance The Rexton cruises quite well though and the seven-speed auto has been trained to select the highest-possible ratiowhich is good for efficiency too So if you donamprsquot rush it the Rexton will do the job in a relaxed sort of way

Also the Rexton has a soft suspension so it leans and wallows quite a bit when going around bends Whatamprsquos nice though isthat the steering is quite light and that makes it quite easy to drive

It will be a while before you can buy it here in India though Mahindra plans on producing it locally at one of its plants to keep pricescompetitive And thatamprsquos because if it is to stand a chance against established rivals like the Endeavour (around Rs2490 lakhex-showroom New Delhi) and the Fortuner (around Rs2592 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi) the Rexton should be pricedsignificantly lower by around Rs4 lakh

Mahindra is likely to bring the Rexton to India at the 2018 Auto Expo What remains to be seen however is whether it will hit Indian

shores as a SsangYong or a badge-engineered MahindrahttpwwwlivemintcomLeisureLVWqzbftxxUpkucVCBDE2LSsangYong-G4-Rexton-review-Bigger-but-will-it-be-betterhtml

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Cars SUVs MUVs

MampM lines up Rs 600-800 crore for EV development Shahkar AbidiDaily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)

Auto major Mahindra amp Mahindra (MampM) which is betting big time on electric vehicles (EVs) will be investing around Rs 600-800crore in next few years to increase the capacity of its battery assembly plant The company has already spent around Rs 600 crorein the sector since the time it first acquired Bengaluru-based Reva Electric car company in 2010

This investment will be different from the product development which the company is doing with its Italy-based partner Pininfarinaand Korea-based SsangYong Motors both the foreign companies in which it has invested in earlier years

MampM managing director Pawan Goenka during the announcement of the companys financial result for quarter ending March 31which was held on Tuesday said the Board in a meeting held on Tuesday has asked the management not to have a conservativeapproach towards EVs

MampMs push for EVs comes on the backdrop of governments push on the segment in a big way as it expects around 5 million of itto be sold by around next 15 years As per a report released by Centres think tank Niti Aayog earlier this month the acceleratedadoption of electric and shared vehicles could save about $ 60 billion in diesel and petrol costs while cutting down as much as 1gigatonne (gt) of carbon emissions for India by 2030 This would result in an annual diesel and petrol reduction of 156 million tonneof oil equivalent making a net-fuel cost saving of approximately Rs 39 lakh crore

Mahindra Electric the electric-vehicle manufacturing arm of Mahindra Group has assembled around 400-500 battery at itsBengaluru plant The company wants to increase it to 1000 units per month within the next six months further escalating it to 5000units per month within the next two-three years for which the company is investing in its Pune plant Goenka had earlier said

The company on Tuesday reported 1993 increase in its standalone profit-after-tax (PAT) at Rs 72516 crore for the fourth quarterended March 2017 The company had posted a PAT of Rs 60463 crore during the same period a year ago

Its total income from operations during the fourth quarter rose to Rs 1231964 crore up 404 from Rs 1184047 crore a yearearlier MampM said in a regulatory filing The companys vehicle sales remained flat at 130778 units during the fourth quarter It sold46583 tractor units during the period under review up 133 from the same period a year ago

The company in its filing also pointed an impact of Rs 171 crore loss on implementation of BS-IV vehicle which has to be incurredon account of giving last-minute discounts conversion to BS-IV vehicle and exports of BS-III vehicle The company was left withover 13000 units of BS-III vehicle after the Supreme Court decision to ban the BS-III vehicle sale from April 1 this yearhttpwwwdnaindiacombusinessreport-mm-lines-up-rs-600-800-crore-for-ev-development-2456246

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Twitter introduces Anand Mahindra to a special Thar used by Rajnikant The Economic Times (Web Edition)

New Delhi Anand Mahindra Chairman of Mahindra Group was on a seach mission to find a special Mahindra Thar used none otherby superstar Rajnikant in one of his upcoming movies

The poster of Rajnis next movie Kaala Karikaalan shows the Chennai based actor sitting on the Mahindra Thar Anand Mahindrafirst tweeted When the legend superstarrajni uses a car as a throne it becomes a legend Thar referring the Throne toMahindra Thar

But this did not stop there Anand Mahindra also expressed his intentions to acquire this Thar to display it for Mahindras automuseum

The production houseWunderbar films making the moview was quick to respond Wunderbar films is owned by none other thanRajnikants son-in-law and actor Dhanush

Dhanush has assured Anand Mahindra that vehicle will reach him post the completion of the shoot

This is not the first time Anand Mahindra has acquired a modified or a special vehicle for the museum Earlied he exchanged aMahindra Supro LCV for a rickshaw with modification which looked liked Mahindra Scorpiohttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvtwitter-introduces-anand-mahindra-to-a-special-thar-used-by-rajnikant58904144

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Isuzu MU-X V-Cross undergoes price cut by up to Rs 15 lakh The Economic Times (Web Edition)

New Delhi Following the trend Isuzu Motors India has announced that it will pass on the benefits of GST to its customers and havedropped the prices of its vehicles from Rs 60000 to up Rs 15 lakh on ex-showroom price

The newly launched Isuzu MU-X SUV now costs between Rs 224 - 244 lakh (Ex-Delhi) as against Rs 239 - 259 lakh (Ex-Delhi)priced during the launch earlier in May 2017

Also read GST effect Mercedes-Benz India drops car prices by up to 9 effective immediately

The pick up vehicle Isuzu V-Cross has also undergone a price cut and now costs Rs 127 lakh (Ex-Delhi)

GST has come as a boon to SUV and premium car buyers as the it has bought down the prices of the vehicles down by 12

Indian arm of the American Car maker Ford has also dropped the prices of its vehicles by up to Rs 30000httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehicleuvisuzu-mu-x-v-cross-undergoes-price-cut-by-up-to-rs-1-5-lakh58906350

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Petextrians and distracted driving pose major safety issues on roads Ford The Economic Times

New Delhi One pedestrian is injured in a motor vehicle crash every eight minutes a number thatamprsquos been on the rise in recentyears The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has equated this increase in injuries to a global influx ofampldquopetextriansamprdquo pedestrians who simultaneously walk and text This combined with the rise of distracted driving due tosmartphones has created a massive new safety problem for drivers and pedestrians alike according to a report on Ford MotorCompanyamprsquos website

To combat this prevalent issue Ford has created the pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection technology for the 2017 FordFusion The technology utilizes radar and camera technology to scan the roadway ahead of the vehicle for collision risks

If a risk is detected the vehicle will provide a visual and audio warning to the driver along with muting the driveramprsquos audiosystem If there is no reaction from the driver to any of these warnings the technology will apply the vehicleamprsquos full breakingpower to reduce the severity of and potentially eliminate a frontal collision

ampldquoWe were startled to see how oblivious people could be of a 4000-pound car coming toward themamprdquo said Aaron Millsa Ford safety engineer ampldquoIt was a real eye-opener to how distracted people are todayamprdquo After becoming aware of thisissue Aaron and his team helped gather a wide variety of test data to create pre-collision assist and to help the vehicle recognize awide variety of human sizes and shapes

Along with the safety team utilizing 240 terabytes of test data we used 12 vehicles and conducted over 500000 miles ofdevelopment testing on this technology spanning the world Through this pre-collision assist was able to record 3 million scans ofroadside objects vehicles and pedestrians across both highway and non-highway roads

As of now the technology only works in daylight and clear weather conditions at speeds up to 50 miles per hour but testing iscurrently being conducted to improve the versatility of the technology Not content with just pre-collision assist the company hasalso developed a variety of driver-assisting technologies including lane-keeping assist blind spot information system withcross-traffic alert adaptive cruise control and hands-free parallel and perpendicular parking

While all of this technology is extremely handy especially in unexpected situations it of course does not replace the necessity of analert driver

The evolution of this new technology marks a bold step forward into the future of autonomy for Ford By identifying the problem thatpetextrians pose to drivers and creating a new technology to combat and prevent this issue it is contributing its bit to making theroads safer for everyonehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-technology-petextrians-and-distracted-driving-pose-major-safety-issues-on-roads-ford58909107

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Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Select Plus launched in India at Rs2888 L IANS See this story in The Statesman (Web Edition)

New Delhi The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport is one of the oldest cars in its segment in India While all of its rivals like the Toyota Fortunerand the Ford Endeavour have been updated the Japanese automaker is yet to introduce the new generation Pajero Sports in theIndian market

However in an effort to keep up with the competition Mitsubishi has now silently launched a new variant of the Pajero Sport calledthe Select Plus with some cosmetic changes and added features While the manual version of the Select Plus variant is priced atRs2928 lakh the automatic variant has a price tag of Rs2888 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi)

The new Pajero Pajero Sport Select Plus comes with dual-tone exterior colours but unlike the standard dual-tone model the SelectPlus has a black roof and black pillars It is available in four colour combinations Black and White Black and Red Balck and Yellowand Black and Silver

The front grille is also black and the front bumper wheel arches and doors sport black body moulding While the 17-inch alloywheels are also black in colour the door handles and wing mirrors are finished in chrome

When it comes to equipment the new Pajero comes with additional features like cruise control LED daytime running lamps (DRLs)electric folding ORVMs a chiller box DVD players in the front seat headrests for the rear passenger Illuminated Scuff Plate andhigh-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps

far as dimensions are concerned the Select Plus variant is same as the stock Pajero Sport 4695mm in length 1815 mm in widthand 1840 mm high with a wheelbase of 2800 mm The new variant comes with the same 25-litre four cylinder diesel engine asthe standard Pajero Sport It produces 178 PS of power and 350 Nm (AT) 400Nm(MT) of torque It is available with both a 5-speedmanual transmission and a 5-speed automatic transmission Not only does the manual transmission version offer more torque but italso transmits the power to all four wheels unlike the automatic transmission variant which only powers two wheels

Since there are no mechanical changes the new variant has similar off-roading capabilities as the standard Pajero Sport 215mm ofground clearance a departure angle of 25 degrees and an approach angle of 36 degrees combined with a 4WD power train thePajero Sports Select Plus can easily get out of tricky situations and is a very capable off roader in its segment

Due to the cosmetic changes and added features the Select Plus variant is now a more attractive package But will it help boostMitsubishi Indias sales Well that remains to be seenhttpwwwthestatesmancombusinessmitsubishi-pajero-sport-select-plus-launched-in-india-at-rs-28-88-l-1496131633html

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These car makers will not take part in the Auto Expo 2018 The Financial Express

Auto Expo is held every two years in India which is organised by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and businesschamber CII at Greater Noida Every year most car manufacturers in the country participate in the auto show and display their newconcept and special vehicles for the audience

The 2018 Auto Expo will also be held at Greater Noida in the month of February next year and will see many automakersshowcasing their production and concept stage vehicles However it is said that Volkswagen Audi and Skoda will not participate inthe Auto Expo next year The reason stated by the car manufacturers is that they dont get any investment returns as well as theeffectiveness of participations as it is held on the outskirts of central Delhi which is 25-30 km away This led the car maker toreconsider its decision to take part in the auto show Volkswagen Group also said that they will hope to join the Auto Expo in thecountry in 2020 but will depend on the brands promotion strategy reported ET Auto

The mentioned Volkswagen brands are expected to be joined by Nissan Royal Enfield Bajaj Auto Ford and General Motors (GM)For GM the reason is likely due to its announcement of the decision to withdraw Chevrolet from the domestic car market in India by31st December 2017 There are some other companies too that are considering to not participate in the Auto Expo 2018 butrequested their names to not be disclosed till a concrete decision is taken

Talking about the 2016 Auto Expo car manufacturers like Skoda Bajaj Auto Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV)(BharatBenz and Fuso) Royal Enfield and Harley Davidson skipped the auto show In fact Royal Enfield did not participate at the2014 Auto Expo as well

New entrances in the Indian auto market like Kia Motors a South Korean automobile manufacturer SAIC-owned MG (MorrisGarage) a British sports carmaker (opened its office in New Delhi) SWM Motorcycle an Italian-based motorcycle brand andPeugeot that will make its entry into the country with CK Birla Group are expected to make its debut at the 2018 Auto Expo filling upthe gap created by the absence of other companieshttpwwwfinancialexpresscomautocar-newsvolkswagen-group-to-skip-auto-expo-2018-more-companies-might-join-the-list692530

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Maruti model can drive defence production Ajay ShankarThe Tribune (Web amp Print Edition)

The natural expectation is that government should do what it takes to achieve a breakthrough in defence manufacturing Every newpolitical executive discovers the strength of tradition and of the constituencies in favour of the status quo as well as the inherentlyconservative nature of all bureaucracies which are comfortable only with incremental changes Fortunately a strong governmentenjoying continuing popular support with a growing nationalistic fervour should be able to take big decisions and implement themThere are complex issues to grapple with and difficult decisions to be taken

In most technology and capital-intensive segments only one national entity can be supported to become strong enough to giveautonomous capability In the case of Europe countries chose to consolidate their national air industries in European AeronauticDefence and Space Company (EADS) After many years and considerable public spending EADS succeeded in developing a realcompetitor to Boeing in the Airbus In the Eurofighter they developed a world-class military plane

Hence taking a clear view of the optimal industry structure 10 to 15 years down the road and the future of the present set ofordnance factories and the defence PSUs in different segments is unavoidable Since the economic reform process began largePSUs have ceded space to new private sector entrants and become white elephants where now they can neither be privatised asthey have no value nor can they be closed because of the large workforce Air India and BSNL are good examples Is it desirable toreplicate this Is corporatisation of ordnance factories doable Is greater professionalisation and empowerment along with gradualdisinvestment to create say an equivalent of BoeingDassault in HAL an option worth pursuing Is strategic divestment to suitableIndian private firms with proven manufacturing ability a viable option and if so in which segments Would having private strategicpartners for a few platforms while leaving the rest of the system untouched as seems to be under way now the best way to goforward Would it not be prudent to choose strategic partners only with proven manufacturing abilities or this is not relevant if thereis sufficient financial depth What safeguards if any are required in the eventuality of non-performance by chosen strategicpartners There are no easy answers Taking a hard-headed view on these questions is necessary and is the intrinsic burden ofleadershipThe implication of having private sector entry and at the same time continuing with the public sector for the same platforms needs tobe thought through To illustrate having many aircraft and helicopter manufacturing facilities where only final assembly controlledby foreign technology providers is undertaken in India without any real technological ability to develop new models growing in oneorganisation to become a world-class national player would not serve the real purpose There may be some less capital-intensivesegments where genuine competition over time may be feasible and desirable A rational calculated view needs to be taken onweapon systems where India should try and have one world-class player and where it can afford two players This is equallyrelevant for sub-assemblies and components which are the actual building blocks and usually do not get the attention they deserve

Then there is the widely prevalent view in the Armed Forces that the DRDO has not yet given them weapons that they would reallylike to use whether it is the LCA or the battle tank In any case whatever has been developed is an assembly of primarily importedengines sub systems and parts So does it make sense to write off whatever has been done and accept failure Or is the ability todesign and develop a weapon platform even with imported sub-systems not a significant enough achievement which should giveconfidence that succeeding rounds of development of newer versions are bound to be better Does it not then make sense tocontinue from what has been achieved and see what more is needed to produce newer versions which appear good enough to thearmed forces Should such development not be funded and undertaken continuously to develop systems which may be equivalentto what is being used by the forces now and as a potential supplement in the first instance Is the present system of having acentralised DRDO responsible for technology and system development with production enterprises making only modest efforts inresearch and development optimal Or having different verticals with responsibility for both platform development and productionas is the case with all western defence firms a better model with the advantages of clear focus accountability incentives andrewards Could not the successful experience of ISRO and Atomic Energy of working in genuine development partnerships withIndian firms to develop almost all that they needed to overcome the handicap of the international technology denial regime bereplicated Should PPPs in system and technology development as well as manufacturing be pursued Could the armed forcesmoderate their expectations by lowering the bar to have not the best in class in the world but what is good enough for what ournorthern and western neighbours possess (From this perspective many have argued that even the present LCA is good enough)Willingness to lower the bar also increases competition as well as the ability to seek a higher degree of technology transfer for newsystems needed now and which have to be necessarily procured internationally Since the procurement system is tied to procedureand paranoid about any deviation from what is set out in the beginning negotiating the best terms for technology transfer is notpermitted As a result India is unable to even begin making full use of the window of opportunity which is now there with the USmaking India a major defence partner for technology transfer Every procurement process should have the bjectives of getting whatthe forces need and maximise national technological ability and reduce future import dependence

A good Indian experience to recall is that of Maruti Through a search and negotiation process Suzuki was chosen as thetechnology and equity partner A smaller player it was willing to go the farthest in technology transfer and genuine partnershipMaruti selected vendors in a fair manner very quickly but not through the rigid price-bidding process the only permissible routetoday Vendors were helped with technology tie-ups and became long-term partners and suppliers with periodic negotiated pricerevisions Maruti like other global car companies undertook only final assembly The outcome exceeded expectations India wasable to evolve a globally competitive private sector national auto-component industry It is now a leading global hub for competitivesmall car manufacturing On the international scene many firms with frontline platforms critical sub-assemblies ormaterialscomponents do not see much of a commercial future with declining defence budgets in their countries They may bewilling to part with technology go in for genuine joint-venture partnerships and even be available for acquisition ampmdashpresenting an opportunity for technological leapfrogging An empowered bold leadership acting strategically to create medium-termnational capabilities is required to take a holistic view of procurement for specific needs along with technology development andacquisition An altogether different paradigm of decision making needs to be put in place Without this it is unlikely to makeprogress in defence manufacturing at the speed that is needed and also possible (Concluded)(The writer is former Secretary DIPP Govt of India)httpwwwtribuneindiacomnewscommentmaruti-model-can-drive-defence-production415135html

Top

Luxury Cars

Jaguar Land Rover vehicles to cost less by up to 12 effective immediately The Economic Times (Web Edition)

New Delhi Tata Motors owned Jaguar Land Rover has now announced an estimated price reduction on three Jaguar sedans andtwo Land Rover SUVs in India thanks to GST the company said in a media release

On select stock Jaguar Land Rover has decided to pass-on the benefits to its customers from 1st July 2017 effective immediatelySuch benefits which will vary from state to state and will be in the range of Rs 2 Lakh to Rs 57 Lakh on Jaguar XE and will go upto Rs 4 to Rs 109 Lakh on Jaguar XJ On Land Rover models ie Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque the benefits will vary

from Rs 33 Lakh to Rs 75 Lakh

On the two SUVs the cost benefits are between the range 7-12 and are higher than the Jaguar sedans So far this is the biggestprice cut amongst the premium car makers

Rohit Suri President and Managing Director Jaguar Land Rover India commented ampldquoImplementation of GST is a historicalmoment for India which will not only benefit consumers but is also expected to make the whole tax regime simpler and moretransparent

In support of this initiative from the Government of India and in line with Jaguar Land Roveramprsquos Customer First philosophy ofalso being transparent and dependable we are pleased to proactively pass on benefits linked to the expected price reduction to ourcustomers with immediate effectamprdquo he added

Jaguar Land Rover currently produces five name-plates in India ampndash three Jaguar name-plates XE XF and XJ and two LandRover name-plates Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoquehttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryjaguar-land-rover-vehicles-to-cost-less-by-up-to-12-effective-immediately58911838JLR cuts select model prices by up to Rs 109 lakhDaily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacombusinessreport-jlr-cuts-select-model-prices-by-up-to-rs-109-lakh-2455765Jaguar Land Rover passes GST benefit to customers prices down by up to Rs 109 lakhHindustan Times (Web Edition)httpwwwhindustantimescomautosjaguar-land-rover-passes-gst-benefit-to-customers-prices-down-by-up-to-rs-10-9-lakhstory-7gfApMY5DeTGnDVOb9Xf9HhtmlJLR slashes select model prices by up to Rs 109 lakh to offer GST benefitsBusiness Standard (Web Edition)httpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompaniesjlr-slashes-select-model-prices-by-up-to-rs-10-9-lakh-to-offer-gst-benefits-117053001421_1html

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Fiat Automobiles to roll out Jeep Compass on June 1 PTISee this story in The Economic Times (Web Edition)

Mumbai Fiat India Automobiles Pvt Ltd (FIAPL) said it will roll out its first ever Made-in- India Jeep Compass production vehiclefrom the assembly line in Ranjangaon near Pune on June 1

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will roll out the first ever Made in India Jeep Compass production vehicle from theassembly line at Ranjangaon on Thursday a company statement said

This development comes 23 months after Fadnavis along with a high level delegation met senior Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)officials in June 2015 at the companys headquarters in Auburn Hills Michigan in the Unites States

The delegation discussed FCAs investment strategy in Maharashtra and reaffirmed the state governments interest in strengtheningties with FCA besides offering full support to the companys manufacturing said the statement

FCA has invested USD 280 million towards localisation of the Jeep Compass and has enhanced the facility to world standard TheRanjangaon facility has become a significant manufacturing and export hub for FCA joining Brazil Mexico and China on the globalproduction map

FIAPL will be FCAs sole manufacturing facility that will supply Jeep Compass SUVs to all international right-hand drive markets itsaidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomindustryautonewspassenger-vehiclecarsfiat-automobiles-to-roll-out-jeep-compass-on-june-1articleshow58914259cmsFiat Automobiles to roll out Jeep Compass on June 1Daily News amp Analysis (Web Edition)httpwwwdnaindiacombusinessreport-fiat-automobiles-to-roll-out-jeep-compass-on-june-1-2455942

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Put a Formula One V6 in a road car and the Mercedes AMG Project One is what one gets Dipayan DuttaThe Financial Express

The concept of building a road car around a formula one engine has been around for some time Ferrari tried it with the F50 whichwas -- at best -- undrivable Yet every time we hear about one we canamprsquot help but get excited This time is Mercedes AMGwho recently announced that they will be building a record smashing Hyper Car codenamed the Project One

Mercedes AMG recently announced that the Project one will get it petrol powered heart from a ampldquoroad-adaptedamprdquo versionof the 16 litre V6 used in the Mercedes W08 EQ Power Plus Formula one car Which will be assisted by the MGU-K and MGU-Hmotor generator units because -- you know-- green Although ampldquoRoad-adaptedamprdquo Formula one engine sounds in a hypercar sounds a bit like ampldquoPotty trainedamprdquo Pet Lion

The Project One will also get its transmission from a Formula One car although it will make it to the cockpit through an automated

manual setup

Mercedes also say that they will -- like Tesla -- place their Lithium ion batteries low and towards the front to bring down the centerof gravity and balance out the weight in the back This should ensure that the Project One will corner like a bat out of hell

The target weight is 1300 kg and is expected to put out 1014 hp at the crank Putting it square in in contention with the HyperCarholy trinity -- the Mclaren P1 the Porsche 918 Spyder and Ferrari LaFerrari -- although we suspect it might be a little quicker overall Considering that it will find its roots in formula one car and may have a little more than filtered down DNA (we hope)

Straight up like the P1 it sheds all pretense of being green and polar bear friendly with an electric range of only 30kms We alsonow know that the front wheels can be driven individually using wizardry called AMG Torque dynamics that controls the torquedelivery Although this technology on the SLS Electric Drive already exists and is a torque vectoring technology like no otherThe super rare -- only 275 will ever make it to road --Project One will hit showrooms in 2018 and we first get to batt eyes on it at the2017 Frankfurt Motor Show this September However if you want to see one in the flesh youamprsquod better be in Frankfurt inSeptember as Mercedes expects all of them to be spoken for before the actual launchhttpwwwfinancialexpresscomautocar-newsput-a-formula-one-v6-in-a-road-car-and-the-mercedes-amg-project-one-is-what-one-gets692278

Top

Commercial Vehicles

Court restrains KSRTC from processing tender for 3000 buses KrishnaprasadThe Hindu Business Line (Web amp Print Edition)

Bengaluru The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday passed an interim order stating that the further process of a tender invited by theKarnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) for procuring around 3000 buses with BS-IV engines would be subject tofinal outcome of a petition challenging the tender process

Justice AS Bopanna passed the interim order on the petition filed Tata Motors Ltd

Questioning KSRTCamprsquos decision of qualifying another company Ashok Leyland Ltd for supply of the buses the Tata Motorshas claimed that the KSRTCamprsquos action was ampldquoarbitraryamprdquo as it had disqualified the petitioner for aampldquominoramprdquo technical flaw but accepted Leylandamprsquos bid despite many ampldquomisrepresentation and technicallapsesamprdquo in their bid documents

Tata Motors was not qualified for the main reason of not uploading a certificate from the Automotive Research Association of India(ARAI) though the company submitted a copy of the required certificate

However it has been alleged in the Tatasamprsquo petition that Leylandamprsquos bid had many ampldquomisrepresentation andtechnical lapsesamprdquo like faulty computation of HP of the engines incomplete specification of fully built midi buses incompleteuploading of documents etc which are contrary to the terms of conditions of the tender

Also it has been alleged in the petition that the ampldquomisrepresentation and technical lapsesamprdquo in Leylandamprsquos bidamounted to ampldquofraudulent practicesamprdquo as defined in the tenderamprsquos terms and conditions for rejection of a tender

Pointing out that Leyland has quoted one per cent Tax Collection at Source (TCS) though law does not mandate TCS for Statetransport undertakings Tata Motors has claimed that if the KSRTC entertains TCS that its [Tataamprsquos] quotation would havebeen cheaper than that of Leylandsamprsquo and thus the petitioner-company would have become the lowest bidder

It has also been pointed out in the petition that the KSRTC despite Tataamprsquos communication on lapses in Leylandamprsquos bidand tender process has ignored the objection raised Tata Motors has sought a direction from the court to quash the present tenderprocess and direct the KSRTC to issue a re-tenderhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-otherstp-varietycourt-restrains-ksrtc-from-processing-tender-for-3000-busesarticle9716242ece

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Ashok Leyland tweaks technology to be BS-VI ready PTISee this story in The Economic Times (Web Edition)

Kolkata Leading automobile manufacturer Ashok Leyland was currently developing its own technology for meeting the BS-VIemmission norms to come into force from 2020

We are developing our own technology for complying the BS-VI emmission norms required by 2020 It will be combination of SCR(selective catalytic reduction) and EGR (exhaust gas reduction) technologies Anuj Kathuria president of Global Trucks divisiontold reporters here today

Kathuria said that as far as BS-IV was concerned the company had done away with the SCR technology as it was found notsuitable for the Indian conditions

We have developed the `iEGR technology which would both reduce nitrous oxide and particulate matters he said

Talking about the medium and heavy commercial vehicles division of the company Kathuria said that Ashok Leyland was having 32per cent market share in the domestic market and the number 12th player globally

In the global market we want to be within top 10 in three years time he said






In the global market we want to be within top 10 in three years time he saidhttpeconomictimesindiatimescomindustryautoashok-leyland-tweaks-technology-to-be-bs-vi-readyarticleshow58911278cmsAshok Leyland tweaks technology to be BS-VI readyDeccan Chronicle (Web Edition)httpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinesscompanies300517ashok-leyland-tweaks-technology-to-be-bs-vi-readyhtml

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Construction amp Agri Machinery

Farm equipment unit provides the heft Parvatha Vardhini CThe Hindu Business Line

Mahindra and Mahindraamprsquos 24-per cent growth in standalone revenues to Rs 12012 crore in the quarter ended March 2017was predominantly supported by the farm equipment division

While automobile segment revenues at best remained flat during the quarter (over the same period last year) the farm equipmentsegment which contributes to about one-fourth of the companyamprsquos topline posted a 15 per cent growth in revenue

Even as volumes in the auto segment plunged in January and February and managed only single digit growth in March farmequipment unit recorded 6-32 per cent growth The company has seen steady pick-up in tractor sales after the sharp plunge involumes in November 2016 following the demonetisation announcement This was helped by a good Rabi crop and governmentthrust on rural and agriculture sectors in the Budget Topline growth for the company could have been slightly better had it not takena Rs 171-crore hit due to discount sale of BS III vehicles towards the end of the quarter

Despite lacklustre topline growth and pressure on the operating margin the company managed a 20 per cent growth in net profit toRs 725 crore It was helped by a 170 per cent increase in other income to Rs 308 crore Besides it also made an exceptional gainof Rs 94 crore on the sale of long-term investments Adjusting for this profit growth came in at 55 per cent over the March 2016quarterhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newsfarm-equipment-unit-provides-the-heftarticle9716265ece

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23 Wheelers

Honda CB Shine races past Hero Passion in April Deepanshu TaumarThe Economic Times

New Delhi Indias two-wheeler leader-board is witnessing a silent revolution Brands that had established Hero Moto-Corp as thefrontrunner of the pack are beginning to trail those introduced by its erstwhile Japanese partner The latest to yield space is thePassion which saw Honda Motorcycle and Scooter Indiaamprsquos CB Shine edge past it in April

HMSIamprsquos commuter bike Shine sold 100824 units of CB Shine in the month making it the fourth-largest-selling two-wheelervehicle In absolute terms the growth was 51 over the 66691 units sold in April 2016

By contrast the passion appears to be fading for the Hero MotoCorp top-seller Hero Passion one of Indiaamprsquos best-sellingmotorcycles sold 80053 units with sales skidding 19 from 98976 units in the same month last year

A year ago three of the top four selling brands belonged to Hero MotoCorp although the top-selling brand came with a Hondabadge A year later the honours are even HMSI and Hero share two slots each HMSIamprsquos Activa remains the countryamprsquosbiggest two-wheeler brand

Apex industry body the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has predicted moderate growth in the motorcyclesegment Expansion in the scooter segment will likely be in double digits according to SIAM

Both Shine and Passion cost about the same Rs 50000-Rs 60000 (Ex-Showroom Delhi) Yet design performance and powerappear to help burnish Shineamprsquos allure Honda CB Shine gives a better performance with a 125 cc engine while the HeroPassion comes with a 100 cc engine

The top three brands Activa Splendor and HF Deluxe retain their last yearamprsquos positions Despite a fall in its sales HeroGlamour retained the sixth position at 62713 units compared with 66756 units in April last year

Apart from Activa Jupiter is the only scooter in the list of top 10 two-wheelers It sold 58527 units with sales expanding 35 from43256 units in the same month last year TVS XL Super the only moped posted negative sales and was pushed three ranks downto the eighth position Bajaj Pulsar and CT stood at the ninth and tenth positionshttpeconomictimesindiatimescomtwo-wheelershonda-cb-shine-races-past-hero-passion-in-aprilarticleshow58917371cms

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Hero MotoCorp discontinues Xtreme and Hunk motorcycles The Financial Express

Hero MotoCorp has discontinued its two motorcycles in the 150cc segment the Xtreme and Hunk The company has also removedboth the motorcycles from its official website The reason behind the discontinuation of Xtreme and Hunk has not been confirmedbut it is expected that the company might launch the BS4 version of both these motorcycles later Earlier this month themanufacturer had discontinued three commuter segment motorcycle- Hero HF Dawn Hero Splendor iSmart amp Hero Splendor ProClassic

The Xtreme and Hunk is powered by a 1492cc engine producing 156 hp of power and 135 Nm of torque mated to a 5-speedgearbox The Xtreme was available in two variants- single disc and double disc while the Hunk was offered with disc brakes

This raft of discontinuations by the company seem to be in sync with its larger plan of moving away from Honda-derived enginetechnology and develop its own technical know-how instead Hero MotoCorp is planning to launch 6 new models by 2018 and willinvest Rs 2500 crore in the coming years The investment will be made for new product development phase-wise capacityinstallation and expansion at its Gujarat facility and the upcoming manufacturing plants at Andhra Pradesh amp Bangladesh Inaddition the company also invested Rs 850 crore for a Research and Development (RampD) facility known as Centre of Innovationand Technology (CIT) at Jaipur some time back

Hero Xtreme200S was showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo and is expected tobe the first self-developed product with a 2018 launchtimeline The Xtreme 200S will be powered by a 200c single-cylinder engine that could churns out around 19 hp of power and 17Nm of torquehttpwwwfinancialexpresscomautobike-newshero-motocorp-discontinues-xtreme-and-hunk-motorcycles692683

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Bookings for 2017 Triumph Street Triple started Deccan Chronicle

Triumph introduced the Street Triple in the international market for the first time in 2007 Even though it was after six years themotorcycle did make its way to India with subtle changes And now as the segment is too competitive the bike has started to showits age However upcoming 2017 version of the Street Triple comes with a host of changes It is offered in three different trims theStreet Triple S Street Triple R and the Street Triple RS in the American market According to our sources the Street Triple S islikely to be launched in India in the second week of June The bookings for the upcoming motorcycle have already started for atoken amount of Rs 1-2 lakh depending on the dealership Also the top variant the Street Triple RS is expected to arrive by theend of this year

The new Street Triple retains the same design language as the older model but comes with a host of improvements in terms ofpowertrain equipment and dynamics The new bike is powered by a bigger 765cc engine which is a bored-out version of theDaytona 675 Ramprsquos heart In the amplsquoSamprsquo trim the in-line 3-cylinder engine produces 113PS of power at 11250rpmand 73Nm of torque at 9100rpm For optimum performance Triumph has blessed this bike with top cycle parts The front end usesShowa 41mm inverted Separate Function Forks while the rear is suspended by a Showa monoshock with a piggyback reservoirBraking duties are taken care of by twin 310mm discs with twin-piston Nissin callipers up front while the rear is anchored by a single220mm disc with a single piston Brembo calliper

The seat height of the new Street Triple is up by 10mm over the previous version and now stands at 810mm The new bike is also

2kg lighter tipping the scales at 166kg (dry) It is speculated that the new Street Triple will be priced between Rs 9-925 lakhon-road which makes it around Rs 25-50000 more expensive than the existing modelhttpwwwdeccanchroniclecombusinessautos300517bookings-for-2017-triumph-street-triple-startedhtml

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E-Bikes

Components

Piramal Finance to invest Rs 565 crore in auto component space The Economic Times

Mumbai Piramal Finance Limited a subsidiary of Piramal Enterprises has financed RSB Group to the extent of Rs 275 crore andIndoshell Mould Limited with Rs 290 crore the company said in a media statement The investments were made through theCorporate Finance Group (CFG) erstwhile Structured Finance Group of Piramal Finance Limited

The statement said that the CFG has diversified over time both in terms of sector and offerings CFG is now sector agnostic andoffers capital across the risk curve including senior debt acquisition finance promoter finance private equity exits alongside itsprevious focus on mezzanine investments

Khushru Jijina Managing Director Piramal Finance Limited said ampldquoThe auto component space has been on our radar as afocus area for a while now As is standard practise across our platform we committed to an in depth study of the sector over thepast few quarters which has culminated in announcing these first two transactionsamprdquo

ampldquoThe industry has grown at a 15 CAGR over the last decade which is significantly higher than the OEMs themselves BothRSB and Indoshell have long standing relationships with major OEMs and command higher wallet share of their respectivecustomer set We look forward to more such transactions as we further scale up our investment focus towards this sectoramprdquoHe added

Financing started with focus on infrastructure which includes roads and renewables but over the last two years has fundedcorporates across cement entertainment security management packaging etc

CFG typically targets borrowers who face constraints from traditional channels owing to the current stress in the banking system

RSB manufactures auto engineering products like propeller shafts gears axles amp machined products for engine components andconstruction equipment aggregates

Company has strong domestic presence with 11 manufacturing facilities spread across major auto clusters and caters to all themajor OEMs in the commercial vehicles passenger cars construction and farm equipment

RK Behera Chairman and Managing Director RSB Group said ampldquoWe are pleased to have partnered with an organisation ofsuch repute as being a funder of choice in the market today This investment has provided us with a long-term solution to our capitalrequirements Going forward we believe the auto component demand would be fuelled by stable government framework andincreasing economic activityamprdquo

Indo Shell is a two-wheeler focussed precision cast supplier and has a well-diversified customer base The company has beenconsistent in producing high quality engine cylinder blocks at competitive costs and consequently enjoys a healthy order book frommarque two-wheeler OEMs

Balaji Jagadeesan Managing Director Indo Shell Mould said ampldquoThis tranche of funding from the Piramal Group has helped ussolve a cash flow mismatch situation and further enables us to meet the incremental demand from two wheeler OEMs In additionwe are now well placed to cater to our export clients in the commercial vehicle segment through our new state-of-the-art exportoriented facility situated near Coimbatoreamprdquohttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financepiramal-finance-to-invest-rs-565-crore-in-auto-component-space58909390Piramal Finance invests Rs 565 crore in two auto component makersThe Hindu Business Linehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-newspiramal-finance-invests-rs-565-crore-in-two-auto-component-makersarticle9716272ecePiramal puts Rs 565 cr into auto parts The Hinduhttpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businesspiramal-puts-rs-565-cr-into-auto-partsarticle18662780ecePiramal Finance invests Rs 565cr in two auto component firmsDaily News amp Analysishttpwwwdnaindiacombusinessreport-piramal-finance-invests-rs-565cr-in-two-auto-component-firms-2455916Piramal Finance invests Rs565 crore in auto component firms RSB Group Indoshell MouldminthttpwwwlivemintcomCompaniesUgKCgS4UAwnX35uqptycRIPiramal-Finance-invests-Rs565-crore-in-auto-component-firmshtml

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Pricol Limited reports bottom line growth of 411 in FY17 The Economic Times

Coimbatore Auto-components manufacturer Pricol Limited announced that its standalone revenues for this year (FY 2016-17)stood at Rs 12684 Million and earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at Rs 136258 MillionThe company recorded a bottom line growth of 411 in FY17

Pricols total revenues stood at Rs 1481574 million as against Rs 1258081 millon in FY16 registering a growth of 177 Profitfrom operations before exceptional items and tax grew by 411 y-o-y at Rs 62438 million

Vikram Mohan Managing Director Pricol Limited said ampldquoOur constant efforts towards productivity improvement and costsaving has resulted in a substantial increase in standalone bottomline of 411 y-o-y to INR 62438 Million During FY 2016-17 wehave successfully completed the amalgamation with Pricol Pune Limited We have also inaugurated the state-of-the-art Greenfield

Manufacturing facility in Pune and commenced production in February 2017 which will yield an additional revenue of INR 1000million in the next 2 years continuing our performance from the previous financial year we have retained our standalone totalrevenue at INR 1268427 Million in FY 2016-17 despite market fluctuations We are positive about the upcoming year (FY2017-18) and looking forward to cross key milestones in line with our Vision 2020 he added

The Board of Directors have recommended a dividend of INR 1 per equity Share of Rs 1 each heldhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-componentspricol-limited-reports-bottom-line-growth-of-41-1-in-fy1758916273

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Promoters might lose control of Amtek Auto Ajay ModiBusiness Standard

New Delhi The control and management of debt-ridden automobile component maker Amtek Auto might slip out of the hands of itscurrent promoters as they seek large investments in the company to bring down debt

Amtek founder Arvind Dham and his family own a 524 per cent stake in the company saddled with a debt of over Rs 13000 crore

The companyamprsquos board in a meeting on Tuesday re-affirmed the process of seeking substantial investments through issuingshares the extent of which might result in a change in ampldquocontrol and managementamprdquo of the company it told the stockexchanges The process will be supervised by the lender banks including the State Bank of India ICICI Bank and Axis Bank

A person familiar with the development said the promoters might end up having a smaller stake than the investors once the processis completed over the next few months Accordingly the current management might have a smaller representation in the boardampldquoIt will depend on the price at which the sale of shares takes placeamprdquo he added The promoters may later acquireshares from the open market to regain a majority

The Amtek management is learnt to have planned a merger of some group companies including that of Amtek Auto and MetalystForgings (both of which are listed) and ARGL before the stake sale This is being done to create a bigger entity and reduceoperational and administrative costs

For more than a year Amtek has been in the process of bringing down its debt through the sale of Tekfor a German forgingcompany which it acquired in 2013 Tekfor which generates an annual revenue of $700 million could be valued at the sameamount The money from this and sale of some non-core domestic businesses will go to the banks Once the sale of assets iscompleted and banks get the proceeds these investors are expected to pick up a stake in the merged entity This money will alsogo to banks

Amtek has been making losses for the past few quarters due to a high interest burden It reported a loss of Rs 1316 crore in theApril-December period of FY17 The company did not declare the Q4 and FY17 results on Tuesday the scheduled date It said theboard could not approve the accounts due to migration to IND- AS and sought 15 days to report the numbershttpwwwbusiness-standardcomarticlecompaniespromoters-might-lose-control-of-amtek-auto-117053002057_1html

Top

Allied Industries

Emissions Environment

Finance amp Insurance

Sundaram Finance reports 139 rise in Q4 profit PTISee this story in The Economic Times

Chennai Non-banking finance company Sundaram Finance has recorded a 139 per cent rise in its fourth quarter net profits endingMarch 31 2017 at Rs 139 crore

The city-based company had clocked net profits at Rs 122 crore during the corresponding quarter of previous year a top officialsaid

For the full year ending March 31 2017 the net profits stood at Rs 495 crore

The profit for the year ending March 31 2017 is not comparable to previous year which includes a one-time profit of Rs 4064crore arising from the sale of equity shares in its subsidiary BNP Paribas Sundaram Global Securities Operations Pvt Ltd

Net profits for the year ending March 31 2016 stood at Rs 477 crore

The disbursements during the January-March 31 2017 quarter grew to Rs 3413 crore from Rs 2893 crore registered during sameperiod of previous year

Total disbursements for the year ending March 31 2017 grew by 15 per cent to Rs 13196 crore as compared to Rs 11444 croreregistered during same period of last year

The Board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 650 per share Along with the interim dividend of Rs five per share the totaldividend for 2016-17 is Rs 1150 per share

We have achieved a healthy growth in both top and bottom line notwithstanding the difficult market conditions - impacted by weakreplacement buying uncertainty surrounding the implementation of BSIV emission and demonetisation Sundaram Financemanaging director TT Srinivasaraghavan told reporters here

The company foresaw the bumpy ride ahead of the Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicle sector and planned on broad-basedgrowth which helped overcome the sluggishness in the segment

Last year a lot of disbursements growth came from LCVs tractors and construction equipment What is particularly heartening isthat it has been quality growth he said

He said the contribution of tractors and construction equipment segments went up to 11 per cent in 2016-17 as compared to 9 percent in the previous year

For 2017-18 he said we see growth opportunities in construction equipment space driven by the Governments push on ruralspending and building roads

On the demerger of non-financial services investments of Sundaram Finance Ltd he said the company obtained a no-objectionletter from the National Stock Exchange and also received approval from Competition Commission of India

Necessary steps are being taken to file an application with the National Company Law Tribunal for approval he said

Following the demerger Sundaram Finance Holdings Ltd would be listed on the stock exchange and all the shareholders of theSundaram Finance would receive one share of SFHL free of cost for every share held in SFL

The entire process is expected to be completed by second quarter of this year he saidhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsauto-financesundaram-finance-reports-13-9-rise-in-q4-profit58913739Sundaram Finance Q4 net rises 14The Hinduhttpwwwthehinducomtodays-papertp-businesssundaram-finance-q4-net-rises-14article18663857eceLCVs tractors boost Sundaram Finance netThe Hindu Business Linehttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecomtodays-papertp-money-bankinglcvs-tractors-boost-sundaram-finance-netarticle9716244ece

Top

Oil Lubricants amp Alternative Fuels

Oil dips as ongoing glut outweighs strong start to summer driving ReutersSee this story in The Hindu Business Line

Singapore A run by US oil prices towards $50 a barrel ran out of steam on Tuesday as persistent concerns of oversupplyoutweighed signs of a strong start to the American summer driving season

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed above $50 per barrel in early trading on Tuesday but dipped back to$4977 by 0336 GMT down 3 cents

ampldquoWTI spot (front-month) did attempt a move higher in thin trading but failed at the $5000 level before slipping back saidJeffrey Halley senior market analyst at futures brokerage OANDA in Singapore

Analysts said the early price boost came from indicators that US summer driving had a strong kick-off

US demand for transport fuels such as gasoline for cars diesel for buses and jet fuel for planes tends to rise significantly as familiesvisit friends and relatives or go on vacation during the summer months The so-called summer driving season officially started onthe Memorial Day holiday at the start of this week

ampldquoThe start of the US driving season boosted confidence in the market that stockpiles would start to fall in comingweeksamprdquo ANZ bank said on Tuesday

The American Automobile Association (AAA) said ahead of Memorial Day that it expected 393 million Americans to travel 50 miles(80 km) or more away from home over the Memorial Day weekend the highest Memorial Day mileage since 2005

Despite this traders said that ongoing concerns of oversupply were weighing on prices

US drillers have added rigs for 19 straight weeks to 722 highest since April 2015 and the longest run of increases ever accordingto energy services firm Baker Hughes

The ongoing glut was also reflected in global markets where benchmark Brent crude futures were at $5209 per barrel down 20cents or 04 per cent from their last close

OPEC-led production cutThe main factor for Brent is whether a decision led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to extend apledge to cut production by around 18 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of the first quarter of 2018 will significantly tightenthe market to end years of oversupply

An initial agreement which has been in place since January would have expired in June this year and the production cutback hasso far not had the desired effect of substantially drawing down excess inventorieshttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketscommoditiesoil-dips-as-ongoing-glut-outweighs-strong-start-to-summer-drivingarticle9715669ece

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News Magazines

BMW Z4 concept to be revealed at Pebble Beach Autocar India

BMW is set to showcase the Z4 concept at the upcoming 2017 Pebble Beach Concourse damprsquoElegance in August

Currently in its final stage of construction the new open-top concept will offer an early glimpse of the new third-generation Z4 whichis planned to go on sale internationally in late 2018 as part of what BMWamprsquos head of sales and marketing Ian Robertsondescribes as the most comprehensive new model push

Codenamed G29 the new Z4 is being developed in a joint engineering program between BMW and Toyota which will sell a coupeacuteversion as the Supra Both cars have been seen testing in development form on public roads for several months and will beproduced alongside one another at Magna in Austria

BMW is said to have retained the Z4 name for its future model rather than using Z5 as previously rumoured because Z5wonamprsquot fit with its naming structure which uses even numbers for performance models This is backed up by internalcorrespondence relating to the G29 project which all refer to the car as the Z4

The production Z4 will arrive three months after the new 8 Series which is due in 2018 and is previewed by the 8-series concepthttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsbmw-z4-concept-to-be-revealed-at-pebble-beach-405011aspx

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BMW M8 set to crown 8-series line-up Autocar India

BMW has confirmed the M8 for production along with its endurance racing counterpart ampndash the M8 GTE

The M8 will sit above the recently confirmed 8-series that was previewed by the new 8-series concept Itamprsquos likely to bepowered by a more highly stressed version of the next M5s 44-litre twin-turbo V8 engine and share the same M xDrivefour-wheel-drive system BMW announced that the M8 will have Mamprsquos signature quad exhaust pipes larger brakes anduprated air intakes although further details have not been given

M divisionamprsquos president Frank van Meel said ampldquoThe conception and development of the standard BMW 8-series andthe M model run in parallel The future BMW M8 will build on the genes of the 8-series and augment its DNA with added track abilityand generous extra portions of dynamic sharpness precision and agility It all flows into a driving experience that bears the familiarBMW M hallmarks and satisfies our customersamprsquo most exacting requirementsamprdquo

ampldquoWe have been involved with the wider 8-series project from the very beginning van Meel told our sister publication AutocarUK Our challenge as engineers was actually to ensure that the standard car wasnamprsquot too sporty for its customers becausewe wanted the M8 to feel like a proper step up Also because not all 8-series customers want an M caramprdquo

Insiders suggest the 8-series and M8 will use the same platform as the 7-series and 5-series and that the big M car will share muchof the engine and drivetrain of the forthcoming four-wheel-drive M5

The next M5 itself is expected to have more than 624hp ampldquoWe certainly want to make a statement with this car It will sit at thevery top of our model range and for now we have no confirmed plans for any series production model above it so we understand itmust have a specification suiting its position in our hierarchyamprdquo said van Meel

The M8 GTE racing car also announced at the Nuumlrburgring 24hr endurance race will be given its racing debut at the Daytona 24Hours in January next year before marking the return of a factory BMW effort to the Le Mans 24hr endurance race in 2018 for thefirst time in six years The standard M8 is likely to be revealed ahead of this the 8-series goes on sale internationally in the secondhalf of next year although no reveal date has yet been provided for eitherhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsbmw-m8-set-to-crown-8-series-line-up-404707aspx

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Electric Tata Tiago in the works Autocar India

Tata Motors is developing an electric version of the Tiago hatchback and it is understood the model could be the first ofTataamprsquos electric models to go on sale The carmaker has been working on battery electric vehicles for some time now withUK-based Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) leading the charge in development work While Tata hasnamprsquotdivulged much about the Tiago BEV it is expected to borrow heavily from the Bolt BEV prototype the electric version of the Bolthatchback which we drove exclusively last year Using the Tiago as a base is a sensible move as the caramprsquos relativelylow-cost platform should help offset some of the costs of the battery and related components

The governmentamprsquos recent push towards electric vehicles is sure to have given a fillip to Tataamprsquos plans to roll out its ownrange of EVs sooner rather than later Aside from the Tiago EV electric versions of the Nano have also been spotted testing nearCoimbatore with shared mobility solutions provider Ola expected to provide a ready market for the vehicle Tata Motors is alsotesting a fully electric bus for eventual roll-outhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newselectric-tata-tiago-in-the-works-405024aspx

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Mercedes-AMG plans two-model strategy for small cars Autocar India

Mercedes-Benzamprsquos AMG performance division will extend its compact car line-up with the introduction of a second range ofmodels positioned beneath its existing A 45 CLA 45 and GLA 45 lines

The two-tier car strategy which mirrors moves taken further up the AMG line-up will lead to the launch of a new range ofturbocharged 20-litre four-cylinder models introduced to the German carmakeramprsquos range over the next two years whensuccessor models to the current A-Class CLA GLA go on sale

Announcing the new entry-level AMG compact car line-up on the sidelines of the Nuumlrburgring 24 Hours in Germany on SaturdayAMG boss Tobias Moers said ampldquoWe will complement our successful 45 models with two versions like we do with our largercarsamprdquo

In a further boost to AMGamprsquos compact car line-up Moers also confirmed that the production version of the Concept A-classsedan revealed at the Shanghai motor show would form the basis for two new models as part of the new two-tier approach

ampldquoThe Compact A sedan has typical AMG features so you can expect that from AMG as wellamprdquo said Moers

The AMG boss also confirmed the successor to the M133 engine used by todayamprsquos 45 models will be assembled on site atAMG ampldquoFuture four-cylinder performance engines will also be built [at AMGamprsquos engineering headquarters] inAffalterbachamprdquo said Moershttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsmercedes-amg-plans-two-model-strategy-for-small-cars-405022aspx

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Can India go all-electric by 2030 Autocar India

Indiaamprsquos Power Minister Piyush Goyal has revealed the governmentamprsquos push for widespread adoption of electric vehiclesin the country and its ambitious target for 2030 ampldquoThe idea is that by 2030 not a single petrol or diesel car should be sold inthe countryamprdquo he was quoted telling PTI

The case for the faster adoption of electric vehicles was strengthened by a study conducted by Niti Aayog the governmentamprsquosplanning body The study found that switching to electric vehicles could save India US$ 60 billion in fuel costs while cutting down 1gigatonne (GT) of carbon emissions in India by 2030

While the governmentamprsquos target to be an all-electric car nation by 2030 is laudable it comes across as overly ambitiousampldquoI think it is a very ambitious target The government should work on setting up fast charging stations in the near term toenable smooth adoption to fully electric vehiclesamprdquo Mahesh Babu CEO Mahindra Electric Indiaamprsquos only electriccarmaker told Autocar India

Vishnu Mathur director general Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said ampldquoIamprsquom sure that we wonamprsquot beable to achieve 100 percent electrification by 2030 but even if we are able to achieve 50-60 percent it will be fantasticamprdquo

Only 22000 EVs were sold in India in 2015-16 out of which only 2000 were cars Developing a network of charging stations is keyto widespread adoption of electric vehicles Indiaamprsquos EV charging infrastructure is miniscule compared to other countries thatare going about electrification in a phased manner

Japan for instance achieved the feat of having more charging stops (over 40000) than petrol pumps (around 35000) last year Asof 2016 China has around 150000 public charging stations and the US has around 42000 Inadequate charging infrastructure isjust one of the reasons why EVs have not found mass acceptance in India

The high purchase cost and the high cost of replacement batteries are other issues that need to be addressed At present most ofthe batteries are imported primarily from China Local manufacture of batteries could help bring down these costs by a big marginThere have been some positive developments on this front Suzuki Toshiba and Denso recently announced plans to jointly producelithium-ion battery packs in India But Indiaamprsquos carmakers are still nowhere near as gung-ho about EVs as their counterparts inadvanced countries

It will be very difficult to change things from tomorrow We need to communicate well with concerned ministry and work in the newdirection according to Kenichi Ayukawa managing director amp CEO Maruti Suzuki

Larger allocations under the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme aimed atsupporting hybridelectric vehicles and developing the requisite manufacturing eco-system could set the ball rolling The HeavyIndustries Ministry had estimated a total requirement of about Rs 14000 crore for the programme However the governmentallocated only Rs 175 crore for FY2018

The governmentamprsquos target for electrification will require a massive commitment from all stakeholders India which finds itselfyears behind the curve in EVs will start the process on the back foot There are also a lot of question marks for the moment Willcarmakers find the vast investment needed to focus on EVs justifiable given the cottage industry scale of EV operations at presentShould the government not focus on hybrids as a link between the existing and future technologies And what is the plan for energygeneration and distribution

What is needed is a well thought-out roadmap designed in collaboration with all parties Time is already running outhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newscan-india-go-all-electric-by-2030-405021aspx

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Mahindra XUV500 to get a bump in power output Autocar India

Mahindra is reportedly working on a second update for its premium SUV the XUV500 Facelifted in 2015 the XUV500 is expectedto undergo a second minor facelift in its life cycle along with an update to its engine

As with the upcoming Scorpio facelift ampndash which is set to get a more powerful 140hp 22-litre diesel ampndash theXUV500amprsquos diesel motor is also set to receive a bump in power with the current 140hp unit being uprated to develop a moresubstantial 170hp There is no word on any changes to torque figures though they could also rise in conjunction

On paper this bump-up in power will bring it more in line with larger seven-seat SUVs such as the Ford Endeavour and the ToyotaFortuner Mahindraamprsquos move to update its existing 22-litre diesel engine will make space for the new 130hp 16-litre dieselengine jointly developed with SsangYong which is expected to debut in India under the hood of the automakeramprsquos upcomingMPV codenamed U321httpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsmahindra-xuv500-to-get-a-bump-in-power-output-405018aspx

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India-bound Nissan connected cars launch soon Autocar India

Nissan will soon launch advanced connectivity features for the Micra Sunny and Terrano To go on sale in India soon the cars willconnect via an app on the owneramprsquos phone to offer features like service reminders GPS tracking and vehicle diagnostics

While the details known are limited now the services are expected to be similar to Hondaamprsquos amplsquoConnectamprsquo systemthat was introduced in 2015 with some key differences with respect to features and data security

The move to launch these connected cars is part of Nissans global Intelligent Mobility plan that the Indian arm is closely aligningwith Along with these cars India will also get the hybrid X-Trail sometime later this year There is also a possibility of the electricLeaf coming to India if next yearamprsquos planned pilot testing turns out to be successful

The connected cars will not only benefit owners but the manufacturer too Currently most cars are serviced by third-party and localgarages after the warranty expires as owners look for more affordable options Now with connected cars vehicle manufacturers willhave access to data like the vehicles running and condition with which it will be able to provide a proactive and timely reach outusing service reminders and offershttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsindia-bound-nissan-connected-cars-launch-soon-405020aspx

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TVS Apache RR 310S new details emerge Autocar India

Thereamprsquos no denying that the TVS Apache RR 310S formerly known as the Akula 310 in concept form is one of the mosthighly anticipated motorcycles of 2017 Spy images of test bikes have been flowing in since September last year almost making usbelieve that TVS is more than happy to fuel the hype train Surprisingly images of the near-final production version reveal that nottoo many things have been drastically altered from the concept that was shown off at Auto Expo 2016 And as more spy imagescome in it just leads us to confirm exactly how the RR 310S will be equipped once it rolls out

These new images again show the bike wearing manufacturer camouflage However previous un-camouflaged shots have shownthe bike painted in a lovely solid blue shade reminiscent of Suzuki without any decals to speak of However since it was devoid ofany badging we can assume that weamprsquoll see the graphics only in the final production version of the bike That being said aswitnessed on the Apache RTRs TVS has solid paint work over too many graphics and itamprsquos very likely that this aesthetic willbe carried over on the Apache RR 310S

The fuel tank seems quite tall and muscular and the front fairing also gets a liberally-sized windscreen which should provideadequate protection against wind blast The layout of the bikes twin headlights bears a passing resemblance to theolder-generation Honda CBR600RR but it could just be the angle of the shot thatamprsquos giving this impression Thereamprsquosalso a massive tail light unit with a striking look that seems like it could give the bold design choice of the Bajaj PulsarRS200amprsquos tail light a run for its money

From these as well as the earlier spy images it is clear that the bike gets LED daytime running lights as well as HID projectorheadlights although itamprsquos not known at this point whether LED headlights will be offered or not Around the back we can seethe distinctive shape of the tail light that looks like an upside-down Omega symbol (or the Devilamprsquos horns as some of ourcolleagues have pointed out)Just like on the concept model the final instrument cluster features a vertical design and is an all-digital affair The bike does getclip-on handlebars however they seem to be mounted slightly tall As is clear from one of the new spy images the riding position isfar from aggressive and might even be very conducive for long-distance touring

Golden-coloured upside down forks are clearly visible up front and thereamprsquos a disc brake setup at both ends The front discappears to be a 290-300mm sized petal-type rotor with radially-mounted caliper while the rear isnamprsquot all that visible in the spyshots In these new shots an ABS ring isnamprsquot visible on the brake rotors but going by the spy images weamprsquove seenpreviously the bike will be equipped with dual-channel ABS when it goes on sale What is clear though is the fact that the ApacheRR 310S is shod with Michelin Pilot Sport radials

No mechanical details are known at this point except for the fact that the Apache RR 310S will get the same 313cc liquid-cooledsingle-cylinder motor from the BMW G310 R While the peak power and torque outputs for the BMW stand at 34hp and 28Nmrespectively thereamprsquos a strong possibility that the engine will be tuned differently for the RR 310S and might make slightlylower figures

The TVS Apache RR 310S was originally slated for an early 2017 launch but that hasnamprsquot happened as of yet and it has cometo light that the bike may hit showrooms by the middle of this calendar yearhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newstvs-apache-rr-310s-new-details-emerge-405019aspx

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Mercedes-AMG reveals Project One powertrain details Autocar India

Mercedes-AMG has revealed the powertrain specifications of its upcoming hypercar Codenamed Project One the hypercar will bepowered by a road-adapted version of the 16-litre V6 engine used in Mercedesamprsquo W08 EQ Power+ Formula 1 racer andfeature the MGU-K and MGU-H motor generator units as well

Again in line with the Formula 1 car Project Ones gearbox forms part of its structure However it will be an automated manualgearbox

The lithium-ion batteries powering the motors that drive the Project Ones front wheels are placed low and towards the front of the

structure keeping the centre of gravity down and evening out the weight distribution of the whole set-up

AMG is targeting a weight of 1300kg for the car and a 1014hp output for its powertrain This will make it competitive with the likesof the Ferrari LaFerrari McLaren P1 Porsche 918 Spyder and the Aston Martin and Red Bull-developed Valkyrie The car will havean electric-only range of 30km

The front wheels can be driven individually so torque can be distributed selectively ampndash a technology already used in theMercedes-AMG SLS Electric Drive Called AMG Torque Dynamics it is essentially extreme active torque-vectoring

The hypercar is set to be revealed at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show in September ahead of going on sale internationally in 2018AMG boss Tobias Moers said less than 275 versions of the Project One would be made Mercedes expects all cars to have beenallocated before the launch

It will be up to local-market management to decide who gets a car said Moers Beyond that we expect to develop a specialprogramme to support owners but using the car will not be as complicated as many prospective customers seem to expectBecause of the F1 technology in the car people are asking me amplsquowill I need a support crew or dedicated fuel to run itamprsquoand my answer is always no This will be a street car You keep it plugged in the garage You fill it with 98 when you buy fuelThats it

Mercedes boss Dieter Zetsche added Our aim is for [the Project One] to be the first street legal car with an F1 engine he saidSecondly that it is perceived as the ultimate sports car We have relatively good indications that this is possiblehttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-newsmercedes-amg-reveals-project-one-powertrain-details-405014aspx

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2017 Maruti Baleno RS review road test Autocar India

What is it that makes a Baleno a Baleno RS (short for Road Sport) Letamprsquos talk mechanicals first and go in increasing order ofsignificance The RS uses the same suspension as the standard Baleno petrol but itamprsquos been stiffened by about 10 percentThe chassis has also been strengthened and is one reason why the RS weighs about 60kg more than the Baleno 12 petrol Still at950kg the RS is light and that can only be good for performance To reign in the extra speed it comes with rear disc brakes inplace of the standard caramprsquos drums But leave aside everything else because the single ingredient that makes the RS the RSis its engine Itamprsquos a 998cc three-cylinder unit from Suzukiamprsquos new Boosterjet range of direct injection turbochargedpetrol engines Itamprsquos imported into India and is far removed from the K10 engines on the Alto Celerio and WagonR

Designed to be lightweight and compact the all-aluminium engine integrates the exhaust manifold into the cylinder head and alsomakes use of a short intake Fuel is injected directly into the cylinder at a pressure of 200bar from six hole injectors while thepistonsamprsquo wedge-shaped tops help enhance the air tumble and correspondingly combustion efficiency A larger radiator andpiston-cooling oil jets are part of the engineamprsquos heat management package To counter the soot build-up at the intake valvewhich is a common issue with direct injection engines Maruti recommends an engine additive every 20000km

Coming to the figures of real interest The 10 engine produces 102hp at 5500rpm and 150Nm at 1700-4500rpm While morepowerful than the standard Baleno petrol the RSamprsquo engine canamprsquot match up to Fordamprsquos 10 turbocharged directinjection EcoBoost engine (125hp and 170Nm) on the EcoSport What stings even more is that the Suzuki engine makes 111hp and170Nm on the European Baleno Maruti had to recalibrate the engine for our lower grade of fuel (itamprsquos been tuned on 91octane) and thatamprsquos why it makes the power it does

It does 0-100kph in a respectable 1025sec which betters the Baleno 12amprsquos time of 126sec but is down on the Abarth Punto(932sec) that is more of a hot hatch if you look purely at the power figures But get this the Baleno RS is quicker than the Abarththrough the gears Thatamprsquos partly due to the Balenoamprsquos weight and also down to how much earlier the boost comes inThere is reasonable progress until the turbo kicks in at about 1600rpm and from there on you get a steady supply of power untilthe limiter cuts in abruptly at 6000rpm You wonamprsquot get the same shove in the back as you do in an Abarth but itamprsquosenough to keep you more than content The RSamprsquo engine does sound thrummy when extended but most of us agreeitamprsquos a nice noise What also makes the RS likeable is the drivability You can often get by driving in a higher gear thanwarranted by the speed Third gear especially is really flexible The RSamprsquo five-speed gearbox is slick in its own right whilethe clutch is light

But for its newfound performance the Baleno isnamprsquot a car that shines on a twisty road Turn-in is quick but the steeringdoesnamprsquot give the sort of connect youamprsquod want Also there is more body movement than youamprsquod like and itdoesnamprsquot feel as tied down as its European rivals The all-round disc brakes however are really good in feel and powerthough we did note an increase in time and stopping distance over the regular Baleno possibly down to the increased weight of thecar Ride quality on the whole is nice and supple

What could pinch buyers is fuel economy We got 97kpl in town and 17kpl on the highway For reference the Baleno 12 delivers134kpl and 181kpl respectively On a hard charge up our favourite driving roads economy dipped to 75kpl You have toremember that this is not your average amplsquofuel efficiency firstamprsquo Maruti

For its part Maruti has given the RS the requisite body addenda and blacked-out bits to set it apart from the everyday versions ofthe Baleno Just wish the sportier theme was carried on to the inside too the cabin is identical to the standard car In a nutshell thecabin does score for space and practicality but the hard plastics it uses arenamprsquot special enough especially considering thesole version of the RS costs a substantial Rs 14 lakh more than the similarly equipped top-spec Baleno 12 Alpha Andthatamprsquos the catch At Rs 869 lakh the RS is not a value proposition like most other Marutis Regular buyers are unlikely to seeany merit in the RSamprsquo higher acquisition and running costs There is more in the RS for the long-ignored enthusiast though

Itamprsquos a car that can make mundane daily commutes fun but itamprsquos still not quite the model youamprsquod hoon around inThe overall feeling is that Maruti should have kept the Baleno RS in the oven a bit longer to come up with something a bit hotterThe RS in the name It should stand for amplsquoReasonably Sportyamprsquohttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-reviews2017-maruti-baleno-rs-review-road-test-405023verdictaspx

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2017 Volvo XC60 review test drive Autocar India

What is it

The XC60 is to Volvo what the Q5 is to Audi the X3 is to BMW and the GLC is to Mercedes-Benz That is itamprsquos a mid-sizeluxury SUV with seating for five The first-gen XC60 was on sale for nine years but incredibly it sold most in its last year ofproduction In India too the XC60 makes up a third of Volvoamprsquos sales And thatamprsquos a good starting point for Volvo andthis second-gen XC60

Like the larger XC90 and S90 the XC60 is also built on Volvoamprsquos flexible SPA platform The future-ready platform is designedto accommodate full electric powertrains though the combustion engines on offer for now comprise a range of 20-litre four-cylinderpetrol and diesel units in different states of tune

The new Volvo XC60 is longer wider and lower than the model it replaces Itamprsquos not an imposing SUV per se but does lookchunky and attractive nonetheless The rake of the D-pillar links it to the previous XC60 but the rest of the design is unquestionablynew-age Volvo with a pleasing elegance to the look Look closely at the headlights and youamprsquoll notice they differ is ever soslightly from the ones on the 90-series Volvos The amplsquoThoramprsquos hammeramprsquo LED signature fuses with the grille hereAt the rear there will be no mistaking the XC60 for an XC90 the 60s L-shaped tail-lights look unique

India will get the top-spec Inscription trim XC60 (pictured here) that comes with greater chrome detailing on the grille bumpers andskirts adding a further touch of class 19-inch alloy wheels will be offered as standard

Whatamprsquos it like on the inside

The XC60 shares its cabin design with the XC90 and S90 Will you complain Absolutely not because this is one of the finestcabins you could find yourself in Trimmed in nappa leather and fine wood and adorned with knurled dials the cabin looks and feelsreally plush Again the centrepiece of the smart dashboard is the 90-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen The system works with theslickness of an iPad but the screen is a fingerprint magnet Also it does take some time to load initially owing to the heavy softwareit runs but works smoothly once started The interface gets a bit more colour to reflect the more amplsquoyouthfulamprsquo personalityof the 60-series cars and the layout has also been tweaked to minimise distractions Still weamprsquod have preferred physicalbuttons for the climate control system the screen controls arenamprsquot the easiest to use on the move

You sit at a nice enough height in the XC and visibility is good but you wonamprsquot find yourself towering over other road users Intrue Volvo fashion the sculpted front seats offer exemplary comfort Adjustable for front side and lumbar bolstering the seatsprovide the right support just where youamprsquod want it The seatsamprsquo massage and ventilation functions make proceedingsnicer still Rear seat occupants donamprsquot get as many goodies (and the door aperture isnamprsquot the largest) but the ample leg-and headroom and large windows give a nice ambience in the back The rear seat is a bit upright and the squab could have beenmore supportive but in general it is comfortable

The XC60s for India will come well-equipped with LED headlights air suspension a panoramic sunroof a brilliant 19-speakerBowers amp Wilkins sound system a four-zone climate control and nappa leather seats Unfortunately the XC60 makes do withmanual steering adjust only

Whatamprsquos it like to drive

Volvo is considering a 190hp 20 turbo-diesel (D4) a 320hp 20 supercharged turbo-petrol (T6) and a 407hp petrol-electric plug-inhybrid (T8) for eventual launch in India However what is confirmed is that the XC60 will start its India innings in late 2017 with thediesel D5 all-wheel-drive version This versions 235hp gives it a big power advantage over other 20 diesel competitors What alsomakes this engine special is Volvos Power Pulse tech The setup pumps compressed air (from a pressurised air tank) to theturbocharger at low revs to get around the problem of lag And it works The XC60 picks up pace cleanly from low revs and powerdelivery is linear throughout the rev band That the engine also runs remarkably quiet only masks the build of speed further TheXC60 D5 is quick but you only get a sense of how rapid it is if you keep an eye on the speedometer The motor wonamprsquot rev asdeep as a BMW unit but the overall feeling is that the XC60 D5 is the strong and silent type

You can alter the driving experience with the drive modes on offer However on the speed-restricted highways in Spain the mosttelling difference between the modes was at the steering Steering weight increases as you shuffle from Eco to Comfort to Dynamicand though light it is fairly precise There is a bit of roll and you may never feel at one with the XC60 but what will matter to thetarget clientele is that this is an easy car to place at low speeds and is confident at high speeds Sadly the smooth roads we droveon werenamprsquot representative of the conditions back home but there was a hint of firmness on the odd pothole The standard airsuspension should bring in a level of adjustability

Also standard on the car will be a plethora of active safety equipment that will use camera sensor and radar-based technology Wetried one of the systems Pilot Assist that steers the car between lane markings and also maintains a distance from the vehicleahead While the system does work well itamprsquos eerie to let go of steering control Weamprsquoll have to really rewire our mindsfor fully autonomous cars

Should I buy one

If you are looking for a mid-size luxury SUV we advise you to wait for the Volvo XC60 that launches in India in late 2017 Itamprsquosan SUV that prioritises comfort over all else and makes a rather strong case for itself in the process It is distinctive in appearancehas a soothing cabin and comes loaded with features Itamprsquos also quick when you need it to be but in general has a calming airabout it In essence the XC60 is a model that does the important things right And expect it to be priced keenly too in the region ofRs 55 lakh

Volvo doesnamprsquot have the largest sales and service setup in India but if thatamprsquos not a deal-breaker the XC60 could be allthe mid-size luxury SUV you needhttpwwwautocarindiacomauto-reviews2017-volvo-xc60-review-test-drive-4050170aspx

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International News

Volvo Cars first to benefit from Chinas One Belt One Road trade initiative The Economic Times

New Delhi Swedish auto maker Volvo Cars has become the first automaker in the world to export China made cars to Europe bytrain via Chinaamprsquos new amplsquoOne Belt One Roadamprsquo trade initiative said the company in a media statement

The first set of Volvo S90 sedans built at its Daqing plant in China will arrive at a distribution centre in Zeebrugge Belgium thisweek

The cars have been transported to Belgium via the recently opened China-Europe railway link Volvo Cars says that the connectionbrings down the time it takes to transport vehicles to Europe by two thirds compared with the naval route meaning customersreceive their car faster after ordering

The train route ties Volvoamprsquos global manufacturing and logistics strategy to the multi-billion euro trade flows between Chinaand Europe and the so-called One Belt One Road initiative that seeks to revive the age old Silk Road trade route for a new era ofglobal tradeThe railway link also illustrates how China is turning into a global manufacturing and export hub for high-end consumer products

Volvo was the first Western car maker to export a China-made car to the US in 2015 with the S60 Inscription In November of lastyear Volvo started building top-end variants of its S90 sedan in Daqing for global exports and will soon be building all S90 vehiclesin the factory for global export

Beyond shorter waiting times for customers rail is also a smarter choice in terms of the environmental impact of logisticsoperations Given the same distance the CO2 emissions per tonnekm are reduced by a third by choosing rail over sea transport Inthis case the savings will be even higher based on the shorter distance said Volvo Cars

Each of the Volvo-dedicated trains traveling between Daqing and Zeebrugge carry around 225 Volvo cars which are transported inspecially designed containers

One container holds three cars at different angles in order to maximize the use of space available inside Special fixtures ensurethat the cars are fastened during transport and do not move

Initially trains will depart from Daqing once a week The plan is to increase this frequency in line with growing volumes

The first S90 sedans will arrive in Zeebrugge on May 31 the same week as Chinaamprsquos Prime Minister Li Keqiang visitsBelgium In connection with his visit in the country Li Keqiang is also scheduled to meet with Volvo Carsamprsquo chairman Li Shufuand CEO Haringkan Samuelssonhttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsvolvo-cars-first-to-benefit-from-chinas-one-belt-one-road-trade-initiative58907483

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Volvo wagon fanatics prepare for new V90 Station Wagon BloombergSee this story in Financial Chronicle

Picture a Volvo Youamprsquore imagining a boxy full-size station wagon right Well that classic shape has long been gone butitamprsquos about to make a modern comeback

Back in the 1980s and 90s Volvo was Americaamprsquos top-selling European import brandampmdashand the first to surpass themilestone of 100000 annual sales figure At a time when domestic manufacturers were beginning to abandon the traditional wagonmarket wagons routinely made up one-third of Volvoamprsquos sales more so in such top markets as the Northeast or the coastalWest

ampldquoIt has been the biggest part of our businessamprdquo said Ray Ciccolo who has run Boston Volvo one of the nationamprsquoslargest Volvo Car USA dealerships since the early 60 ampldquoOver the years we have at times struggled selling the sedan

because the wagon was so popular Itamprsquos a very practical vehicleamprdquo

Yet as Volvo began to get trounced in American sales in the late 20th century by more upscale and sporty imports such as BMWAG and by more refined ones like Toyota Motor Corpamprsquos Lexus the brand decided it needed to ditch this utilitarian heritage infavor of a move up-market This meant adding more sensuous curves and luxury features to its vehicles as well as expanding intothe burgeoning CrossoverSUV market The company even for a brief period of time entirely ceased to sell wagons in the US in thelate aughts

ampldquoI think it was about 2006 or amplsquo07 when Volvo actually withdrew from the wagon market When I read that my headalmost explodedamprdquo said Bob Austin who managed communications for Volvo from 1978 until 2001 ampldquoHow can you dothis It is part of your heritage it is part of your value system If there wasnamprsquot a Volvo wagon somebody should haveinvented one because it belongs hereamprdquo

The Box Is BackThis summer Volvo will release an all-new handsome full-size V90 wagon and an all-wheel-drive V90 Cross Country They willjoin its mid-size V60 and V60 Cross Country in an expanded wagon lineup even though those earlier models made up only 75 percent of the brandamprsquos sales in 2016 The Cross Country will be available on dealer lots but the V90 will be attained onlythrough special online order Volvo recommends flying to Sweden to take deliveryampmdashenjoy the free trip with a friend onVolvoampmdashor theyamprsquoll gladly just ship it to your local dealer

Why does Volvo continue to feed wagons to its customers when the vehicles accounted for only 1 percent of all its American autosales in 2015 First wagon buyers tend to be the most affluent of any category luxury brands especially such striving luxurybrands as Volvo covet the opportunity to be loved by upscale consumers which helps reinforce an insider message of discerningtaste Call it Stealth Wealth Daimler AGamprsquos Mercedes-Benz the only other current exporter of large wagons to the USconfirms that the average household income for its E-Class Estate is the highest of any vehicle category it sells though as withVolvo itamprsquos nowhere near Mercedess most expensive vehicle ampldquoTheyamprsquore bought by people that can afford a lotmoreamprdquo Ciccolo said of Volvo wagons ampldquoBut theyamprsquore not ostentatiousamprdquo

Second Volvo wagon owners are among the brandamprsquos most dedicated customersampmdashadvocates and ambassadors of keyimportance in luring consumers from competitive brands ampldquoThere are Volvo customers generally and then the wagoncustomer is a unique subset of thatamprdquo said 26-year-old Thomas McIntyre-Schultz who works in Volvoamprsquos social mediateam and is the owner of a 2004 Volvo V70R wagon ampldquoThey tend to be our most passionate enthusiastsamprdquo

Loyal Volvo OwnersThis is certainly the case for 61-year-old Dick Anderson who has serially owned 15 Volvo wagons over the past 25 yearsampldquoIamprsquom interested in cars I know what the competition offers But at this point I wouldnamprsquot even consider buyinganything elseamprdquo Anderson said ampldquoI am a loyalistamprdquo

What is it that Volvo wagons offer this category of upscale consumer ampldquoI think it is the versatility the driveability and there issome eco-friendliness to itamprdquo Anderson said explaining that the wagonamprsquos environmental impact is far less than that of abig SUV More important is the message the vehicle sendsampmdashor the one it doesnamprsquot sendampmdashto peers andneighbors ampldquoI think it says youamprsquore a thinking person You think about safety You think about value for your dollar andyouamprsquore willing to spend for qualityamprdquo Anderson said But the wagon isnt flashy ampldquoItamprsquos quiet and substantialItamprsquos kind of like Iamprsquom a player but I donamprsquot need to show off Iamprsquom a thinking person but I donamprsquot needto prove itamprdquo

If youamprsquore still unpersuaded of the validity of staid wagon design simply look at Subaru Corp which has parlayed itsautomotive brandamprsquos ever-unchanged Outback into a position as the ninth-bestselling automaker in the US moving nearly asmany vehicles as Volkswagen Group and BMW do combined As that brand continues its expansion it is also moving upmarketwith more luxury features higher-quality materials and even semi-autonomous driver-assistance technology

Station Wagons Will RiseThis niche yet profitable market has induced other manufacturers to jump into (or back into) the category here in America Audi AGhas just introduced its new A4 Allroad Jaguar Land Rover Automotive plcs Jaguar brand just confirmed that its XF SportbrakeEstate will reach the States this year Porsche AGamprsquos Panamera Sport Turismo wagon should arrive around the same timealong with GMs Buick Regal TourX a rebadged version of a wagon sold in Europe by former General Motors Co subsidiary Opelnow owned by Groupe PSA

The vintage wagon market appears to be heating up as well Over the past five years wagon registrations with classic carinsurance leader Hagerty have shot up 1400 per cent nearly doubling in the past year alone Vehicles from Chevrolet and FordMotor Co lead the pack but Volvos are just behind them and the classic 240 wagon of the 1970s to the 90sampmdashof which overa million were madeampmdashare the brandamprsquos top contender Theyamprsquore part of a renaissance in collecting as they tendto be owned by people aged 30 to 50 the next key generation of classic car collectors Expect the 240s value to go up soon

Vintage WagonryampldquoAll Volvo station wagons have a cool quirkiness to them and the Volvo 240 wagonsampmdashand later seriesampmdashweresuch a big part of a lot of Generation X and millennial childhoods that they should stay relevant in the futureamprdquo said McKeelHagerty chief executive officer of the namesake insurance company

Many classic Volvo fanatics think the brand has turned too smooth in recent years creating a wagon line that looks like any otherThey also quibble with pricing and theyre not shy about expressing concern via social media that the brand has gone too upscalewith its latest entry The V90 Cross Country is a $55000 wagon that can practically drive itselfhttpwwwmydigitalfccomcarsvolvo-wagon-fanatics-prepare-new-v90-station-wagon-753

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Volkswagen-owned Wolfsburg faces cost cuts despite Bundesliga survival ReutersSee this story in The Economic Times

Berlin Vfl Wolfsburg the soccer team owned by Volkswagen faces cost cuts next season after retaining its place in GermanysBundesliga with victory in a playoff on Monday night

VW subsidises its local club Wolfsburg to the tune of about 90 million euros ($100 million) per season even as Europes biggestcarmaker grapples with billions of charges for its diesel emissions scandal which broke in September 2015

Two sources at VW said on Tuesday the carmaker was planning to trim the budget for Wolfsburg in the next season which is due tostart in the middle of August They gave no details

Management and the supervisory boards executive committee will sit down and further analyse the season VW executive boardmember Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz said in an emailed statement on Tuesday

Then we will jointly take the decisions added Garcia Sanz who is also head of the clubs supervisory board

Wolfsburg overcame local rivals Eintracht Braunschweig 2-0 on aggregate in the playoff a 1-0 win on Monday night helping toensure their survival while Eintracht remain in the second tier

Wolfsburg finished third from bottom in the Bundesliga a sign of how the team has declined since winning the German Cup in 2015and reaching the Champions League quarter-finals in the following season

($1 = 08981 euros)httpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewsindustryvolkswagen-owned-wolfsburg-faces-cost-cuts-despite-bundesliga-survival58913696

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Tesla Fighting misconceptions with marketing The Economic Times Tesla is still actively trying to avoid misperceptions about its long-awaited Model 3 as it inches closer to production The electriccarmaker has designed a new webpage to clarify that the Model 3 is not a next-generation Model S ampldquoModel 3 is designedand built as a mass mar ket affordable electric vehicle Although it will be our newest vehicle Model 3 is not `Version 3 or the mostadvanced Teslaampldquo the webpage reads Tesla is so con cerned that people are misinterpreting the Model 3 that it wrote aboutthe need to temper expecta tions in an SEC filing in early May Tesla CEO Elon Musk made similar comments on Twitter in March

ampldquoMoving past Q2 particularly as Model 3 becomes available one of our challenges will be to eliminate any misper ceptionabout the differences between Model S and Model 3ampldquo Tesla wrote in the filing

The Model 3 is Teslas first massmarket sedan priced at $35000Production is slated to begin in July putting pressure on Tesla toclear up any marketing confusion in the next several weeks

Musk said the Model 3 name has led to confusion among buyers that its a next-generation TeslaTesla had initially planned to dubthe car the Model E in order to have a line-up that spelt ampldquosexyampldquo but Ford filed for the Model E trademark before Teslaleading Musk to opt for Model 3

Musk said the move has led to confusion as buyers wait for the Model 3 release thinking it will be a better car than the Model S

The confusion has affected Model S sales Musk has saidampldquoWere going to be a broken record on this frontampldquo Musksaid ampldquoBut we really have to be emphatic for an error that I unfortunately take full responsibility in naming something thatinherently would cause confusion in marketingampldquo

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Rolls-Royce Sweptail revealed priced at $128 million Aradhya AgnihotriThe Times of India

A brand known for its extrvagant bespoke cars for decades failed to impress one of its customers

This individual approached the British carmaker with his own idea of a two-seat Rolls-Royce that he wanted to be created Theresult of the royal deal was put on display on May 27 at the Concorso dEleganza at Villa dEste called the Rolls-Royce Sweptail

The one-off car which reportedly carries a price-tag of Rs 84 crore ($128 million) is a tribute to the swept-tail Rolls-Royces of the1920s which was admired by the connoisseur

The Sweptail resembles the Phantom from the front The coachbuilt vehicle takes inspiration from the 1925 Phantom I Round Doorand embodies the svelte tapering glasshouse The 1934 Phantom II Streamline Saloon 1934 Gurney Nutting Phantom II Two DoorLight Saloon were all considered by the designers in the creation of the Sweptail

The front grille is milled from solid aluminium and polished by hand to a mirror finish The coupe has a gently sloping roofline Thecherry on top - or rather the front - is the 08 numberplate milled and polished from ingots of aluminum

It took the designers almost four years to make the Sweptail

Inside this yacht-inspired motor car all buttons and switches are shielded behind Macassar Ebony wood The passengers enjoy afull-length panoramic view through the glass roof

Rolls-Royce has also developed full set of luggage for the Sweptail It also has two hidden panniers in the boot to fit bespoke laptopcases which slide forward when the passenger presses a button

The coupe also houses a mechanism that at the touch of a button will deploy a bottle of the clients favourite vintage champagnepresented with two crystal glasshttptimesofindiaindiatimescomautocarsrolls-royce-sweptail-revealed-priced-at-12-8-millionarticleshow58905197cms

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Skoda Superb gets additional safety features globally The Economic Times

New Delhi Czech car maker Skoda has upgraded its flagship model range From the end of May 2017 the Skoda Superb sedanand Skoda Superb Combi will be rolled out with additional safety features and improved connectivity solutions globally the companysaid in a media statement

acirceurolsaquoWith the new model year Skoda has introduced Care Connect as a standard from the equipment regardless of the choice ofinfotainment system

Care Connect features an automatic emergency call which is activated following an accident if a restraint system has beentriggered The vehicle establishes a voice and data connection to an emergency call centre and transmits all the necessary dataThe emergency call can also be initiated manually via a button in the roof module

In addition remote access to the vehicle is now possible via the Skoda Connect App The smartphone can inform the driver amongother things whether the windows and doors are closed or the lights are off The parking position function shows the location of thevehicle the Honk amp Flash function makes it easier to find the car by activating the horn and hazard lights

Skoda Superb now gets the display of the columbus navigation system has grown from 8 to 92 inches and the system Swing from5 to 65 inches It comes with SmartLink+ that supports navigation infotainment and communication apps from the mobile phoneinto the car and also provides vehicle data for the evaluation on the smartphone

Additionally Skoda is introducing park distance control system with extended function Manoeuvre Assist which now also detectsobstacles in front of the vehicle The system not only warns the driver with optical and acoustic signals but also brakes the vehicleautomatically if necessary

The premium sedan will now get 19-inch light-alloy wheels Skoda has also introduced a new velvet red colour to its existing line-uphttpautoeconomictimesindiatimescomnewspassenger-vehiclecarsskoda-superb-gets-additional-safety-features-globally58908554

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Economy

Rupee dips further to touch 6466 PTISee this story in The Hindu Business Line

Mumbai The rupee on Tuesday weakened further by a steep 16 paise to close at 6466 a dollar on sustained demand for the UScurrency from banks and importers Fresh capital outflows against the backdrop of volatile global situation coupled with Fed ratehike fears also added to the pressure on the domestic currency

Meanwhile G-Secs recovered on fresh buying support from banks and corporates Overnight call money rates ended lower at themoney market due to lack of demandhttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsforexrupee-dollar-live-updatearticle9715663ece

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Sensex ends marginally higher Adani Ports NTPC stocks spurt AgenciesSee this story in The Hindu Business Line

Chennai The Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher taking a breather after setting record closes in the previous sessions as

investors booked profits in recent outperformers such as ITC Ltd while the arrival of monsoon rains kept the sentiment upbeat

The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended higher by 5012 points or 016 per cent at 3115940 and the 50-share NSE index Niftyclosed up 1965 points or 02 per cent at 962455

Among BSE sectoral indices healthcare index was the star-perfomer and was up 228 per cent followed by realty 116 per centinfrastructure 089 per cent and banking 059 per cent On the other hand capital goods index fell the most by 101 per centfollowed by FMCG 098 per cent consumer durables 086 per cent and power 02 per cent

Top five Sensex gainers were Adani Ports (+343) NTPC (+317) Dr Reddys (+233) Hero MotoCorp (+221) and ICICIBank (+189) while the major losers were Power Grid (-216) ITC (-177) HDFC (-118) LampT (-118) and Bharti Airtel(-109)

Among gainers Aurobindo Pharma climbed 13 after it said that it did not expect price erosion in the US to impact the companytoo much due to its wider product basket compared to competitors

Larsen amp Toubro Ltd also rose touching its highest in more than 1-12 years after the engineering company reported a 28 per centrise in March-quarter consolidated profit

Among decliners ITC Ltd fell 18 per cent after gaining 136 per cent this month as of its last close

Meanwhile Coal India Ltd hit a more than three-year low after the coal miner posted a 38 per cent fall in consolidated quarterlyprofit missing analysts estimates hurt by higher costs

State-run power plant equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd dropped to over four-month low after it reported abigger-than-expected plunge in March quarter net profit

Jubilant Foodworks Ltd fell as much as 131 per cent to post its biggest intraday loss in over 15 months after it reported a 76 percent drop in March quarter profit

Monsoon onsetThe monsoon which delivers about 70 per cent of Indias annual rainfall arrived at the southern Kerala coast on Tuesday in linewith forecasts a weather office source said brightening the outlook for higher farm output and robust economic growth

The arrival of rains bolstered optimism about the economy ahead of the launch of the national goods and services tax (GST) laterthis year but analysts said extensive gains in Indian shares blunted the monsoons impact on markets

ampldquoProgress of the monsoon and GST rollout will be a key factor going aheadamprdquo said Siddharth Purohit senior researchanalyst at Angel Broking

ampldquoBroadly markets are consolidating now and before we see further uptrend there will be more consolidation for a fewsessionsamprdquo Purohit said adding ampldquoabsence of any major corporate announcements will keep the markets in narrowrange for a few sessionsamprdquo

Brokers said emergence of profit-booking by investors in recent gainers at record levels amid continued foreign fund outflows andmuted earnings posted by some blue-chip companies mainly pulled down the key indices from their peaks

The BSE index posted a record high close for a third consecutive session on Monday while the NSE index closed at a record highfor a second consecutive session

Meanwhile foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 70997 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) boughtshares to the tune of Rs 29053 crore yesterday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges

Asian sharesThe euro came under pressure on Tuesday after a media report that Greece may forego its next bailout payment if creditors cannotstrike a debt relief deal while Asian stocks were shackled by holidays in some regional markets and the United States and UK

The common currency slid 02 per cent to $11136 in its third session of declines after a German press report Athens may opt out ofits next bailout paymenthttpwwwthehindubusinesslinecommarketsstock-marketssensex-nifty-live-updatearticle9715696ece

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Closing

Last Financial Closing

Sensex 3115940 (+5012)NSE 962455 (+1965)US$ spot Rs6467US$ Y1109200

US$ 6 months RsYen Rs58Euro spot Rs7208

Gold (10gm) Rs28930Silver (1kg) Rs4028200

Crude Oil (WTI) Crude Oil (Brent) $5189 (-040)

Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Apollo Tyres 1 22820Asahi Ind 1 24030Amara Raja B 1 86835Ashok Leyland 1 9375Bajaj Auto 10 285140Bharat Forge 2 114475JK Tyre Ind 10 16785Eicher Motor 10 2833625Escorts 10 66895Exide Ind 1 22735Force Motors 10 42799Gabriel India 1 12865Hero Motocor 2 374035Hind Motors 5 810Hi-Tech Gear 10 32035Jay Bh Maruti 5 57705

Jamna Auto 5 24205JK Tyres 2 16785Kinetic Motors 10 Kinetic Engg 10 KOEL 2 38225Kirloskar Br 2 24945LML Ltd 10 1035LampT 2 176755Lumax Ind 10 132785Lumax Tech 10 46050MampM 5 136110Maruti Suzuki 5 714750Motherson SS 1 44735Minda Inds 2 60505MRF 10 6539810Omax Auto 10 7525Rico Auto 1 5110Sona Koyo St 1 8300

SRF 10 163010Tata Motors 2 48130 TVS Motors 1 54105

Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Bhushan Steel 2 8310Hindalco 1 20315Hind Zinc 2 24325JSW Ispat S 10 Jind Steel 1 12320JSW Steel 1 19500Jindal Saw 2 7375National Aluminium 5 6645SAIL 10 5835Tata Steel 10 51185Visa Steel 10 2560

Scip on BSE Face Value (Rs) Last Traded Value (Rs)Ambuja Cement 2 24245Binani Industries 10 7480Birla Corp 10 84970India Cement 10 20495Prism Cement 10 11410JK Cement 10 110610Shree Cement 10 1792710

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Powered by Enablingbiz Esoluttions

News MagazinesBMW Z4 concept to be revealed at Pebble Beach

BMW M8 set to crown 8-series line-up

Electric Tata Tiago in the works

Mercedes-AMG plans two-model strategy for small cars

Can India go all-electric by 2030

Mahindra XUV500 to get a bump in power output

India-bound Nissan connected cars launch soon

TVS Apache RR 310S new details emerge

Mercedes-AMG reveals Project One powertrain details

2017 Maruti Baleno RS review road test

2017 Volvo XC60 review test drive

International NewsVolvo Cars first to benefit from Chinas One Belt One Road trade initiative

Volvo wagon fanatics prepare for new V90 Station Wagon

Volkswagen-owned Wolfsburg faces cost cuts despite Bundesliga survival

Tesla Fighting misconceptions with marketing

Rolls-Royce Sweptail revealed priced at $128 million

Skoda Superb gets additional safety features globally

EconomyRupee dips further to touch 6466

Sensex ends marginally higher Adani Ports NTPC stocks spurt

ClosingLast Financial Closing

Industry

Mahindra amp Mahindra posts PAT of Rs 725 crore up by 199 in Q4 FY17 The Economic Times (Web amp Print Edition)

New Delhi Home Grown auto major Mahindra amp Mahindras profit after tax (PAT) for the fourth quarter of FY 16-17 has grown by199 percent at Rs725 crore compared to the same quarter a year the company said in filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange

In F2017 MampM recorded gross revenues and other income of Rs 48439 crore a YoY increase of 89 percent PAT after exceptionalitems was of Rs 3956 crore a YoY rise of 234 percent

The Groupamprsquos consolidated gross revenues stood at Rs 89713 crore a YoY increase of 108 percent PAT afternon-controlling interest was Rs 3698 crore a YoY increase of 175 percent

Gross revenues of all the group companies taken together for the full year F2017 were Rs 127233 crore

The outlook by MampM for 2017-18 is robust with a favourable domestic and global backdrop The economy is set to experience agrowth recovery and may grow at about 8 percent Monsoon is forecast to be normal pushing demand recovery upward

Moreover the ongoing remonetisation process and lagged effect of past rate cuts along with a further reduction in bankamprsquoslending rates will aid discretionary consumer spending and growth recovery says the statement Focused expenditure especially onthe rural economy and affordable housing roll-out of GST and steps to attract higher FDI will also be supportive of growth

Notwithstanding initial challenges implementation of GST entails sustained positive gains for the economy in the long-run On theglobal front too demand backdrop is expected to be favourable with more forecasts pegging global output and trade higher in 2017and 2018 compared to the recent past

Mahindra and Mahindra has seeked nod from the companys board members and share holders to appoint Anand Mahindra asExecutive Chairman for a period of five years with effect from 12th November 2016 to 11th November 2021 the company said in aBSE filing

The company will also decide on appointing Dr Pawan Goenka as Managing Director for a period of four years from November2016 to November 2020

These key appointments will be decided in the companys 71st Annual General Meeting scheduled on 4th August 2017 post the


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Indian Auto Industry Update · Indian Auto Industry Update 31 May 2017 Industry Mahindra & Mahindra...

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Transcript of Indian Auto Industry Update · Indian Auto Industry Update 31 May 2017 Industry Mahindra & Mahindra...