Mahindra & Mahindra sales up 43% in April
NEW DELHI

Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, the biggest utility vehicles maker, sold 10,345 vehicles in April, up 43 per cent from 7,235 a year ago, a company official said on Wednesday. The sales included 8,309 utility vehicles, 496 light commercial vehicles and 1,540 three-wheelers, the official said. Mahindra sold 5,971 utility vehicles, 431 light commercial vehicles and 833 three-wheelers in April 2003. Utility vehicle sales in April included 2,007 units of the Scorpio model, up from 1,604 units a year ago. Econimic Times.

Tata Motors April sales
MUMBAI

Tata Motors has posted a 57.7 per cent rise in total vehicle sales at 24,961 units, including exports, in April 2004 over 15,829 vehicles sold in the corresponding period last year. The company's sales in the domestic market increased by 60.5 per cent at 24,026 vehicles (14,966 units in April 2003), the Tata group entity said in a release on Thursday. The company exported 935 vehicles in April 2004 as compared to 863 vehicles in April last year. Commercial vehicle sales at 12,050 units, shot up by 71.2 per cent, compared to 7,037 sold in April last year. Medium and heavy commercial vehicles sales at 7,975 units, grew 76.1 per cent and light commercial vehicle sales at 4,075 units showed a growth of 62.6 per cent. The passenger car business reported total sale of 11,976 vehicles in the domestic market, an increase of 51 per cent over April 2003. Indica sales recorded a 43.3 per cent at 7,251 units while Indigo sales jumped 84.9 per cent at 2,723 units. source :-Economic Times.

Hyundai says it will raise prices in April
New Delhi

Mar-17-2004 16:43 Hyundai says it will raise prices in April Hyundai Motor is planning to hike prices in April, when its raw material contracts come up for renewal. Increase in input costs is forcing auto makers to increase prices. Hyundai says it will increase prices in April. Hyundai Motor India's president B V R Subbu said that the company would be forced to consider a price hike in April when the raw material contracts come up for renewal. "Because most of out steel contracts kick-in in the beginning of April, we have to see whether our price increase happens in the first, or fourth week of April. That is under consideration, but it will definitely happen," he said. Raw material supplier Tisco, is already talking about significant price increases. Subbu told to press, "Tisco gives us 25% of our total steel input. They are talking of significant increases, so there is a cost pressure on us." However, he added that the company will try, as far as possible, to absorb the price increases, through productivity improvement. Looking at the competitive scenario in the auto markets, most other auto manufacturers too, are willing to absorb a part of the cost rise and transmit the rest to the consumer. Arun Firodiya, chairman of Kinetic Motors, too, feels that the increase in costs will affect margins. And, though he feels they have to be passed on to the consumer, competition won't allow him to pass on the entire increase. He is planning to absorb half the cost-push through value engineering, or margin reduction. He said, "The cost will go up by about 5%, which directly affects the margins. We have no choice, but to pass on the cost to the consumers. But, it may not be possible to pass on the entire increase, and, therefore, there will be pressure on margins." Reasons for rise in auto prices According to Subbu, the three major cost impacts in car production comes from steel, energy, and weights costs. He said that 80% of the product price is due to materials, and an increase in their prices will have a major impact on the final pricing. Subbu expects that raw material prices will go up by 4% this year, with more than half the increase accounted for by steel and the rest by other materials like copper and polymer. Energy input costs will also account for a small part of the increase. "If you consider that 80% of the product price is really materials, you can imagine what the impact's going to be. Copper, polymer prices have gone up. The impact on us, including energy costs, will be in the region of 4% this year,.ie 4% of the total material cost will go up. More than half of that will be accounted for by steel and the rest by other components in the overall basket," Subbu told

Nissan Selling More Cars in U.S., Europe
TOKYO:

Nissan Motor Co. said Thursday it sold more cars in the United States and Europe during the first fiscal quarter, putting the Japanese automaker on a solid path toward meeting its earnings targets for the full year. Nissan sold 200,706 vehicles in the United States in the April-June period, up from 186,564 a year ago. It sold 130,875 vehicles in Europe, up from 126,511. In Japan, Nissan sold 169,786 vehicles, down from 180,401. The Tokyo-based company, which is 44.3 percent owned by Renault SA, has been reporting strong earnings after carrying out cost cuts under an alliance with the French automaker. It is now trying to expand its global sales. Nissan's first-quarter sales totaled 1.6 trillion yen (US$13 billion) - the company is disclosing quarterly results for the first time. Its sales for the fiscal year ended in March totaled 6.8 trillion yen (US$57 billion). Nissan is forecasting 495 billion yen (US$4 billion) in profit for fiscal 2003, unchanged from a year ago, on sales of 7.45 trillion yen ($62 billion), up 8.8 percent. Before the Renault alliance, which began in 1999, Nissan had lost money in seven out of the last eight years.

Chevrolet Optra zips ahead with 1,000 unit sales
NEW DELHI:

General Motors India's Chevrolet Optra sold over 1,000 cars within two weeks of its launch. The car marks GM's entry in the volume game. GMI had initially targeted to sell around 1,000 cars per month but in a span of little over two weeks. The Optra, desiged by Pininfarina of Italy, is powered by a 1.8 litre, DOHC engine that delivers 115ps of power. The company is now planning to hike production of Optra to meet the growing demand. Aditya Vij, president and managing director of GM India said the Chevrolet Optra will appeal to anyone looking for a fully-featured, sensibly priced and distinctive mid-sized sedan. The car is being offered with two-year service holiday. GM India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors Corporation. Besides the Chevrolet Optra, GM India also manufactures the Opel Astra, Corsa, Corsa Sail and Swing at its facility in Halol, Gujarat. In addition, GM India sells the imported Opel Vectra and Chevrolet Forester.