- Tata Motors will shut down its facility in Pune for four days – starting today, due to general slowdown in the passenger car market. This is the second time in six weeks that the Tata facility will remain closed to align its inventory stock to market demand.
- Maruti Suzuki will not pay salary to any of the 2,000 employees working at the Manesar facility – this includes everyone from top management to workers. The step is as per company’s policy, wherein after a lockout the workers are not paid till the same is not revoked.
- Renault may launch a new 800cc small car in India that will compete with Maruti Alto, Hyundai Eon, Chevrolet Spark and others in the entry-level segment. Nissan has also announced similar plans under its low-cost brand Datsun – and we think that these two will be almost the same cars, with Renault offering more features and better styling for a premium.
- Hyundai will launch a scaled-down version of the Sonata in China called, the Sonata-lite. The car will slot in between the Elantra and its bigger sibling, to offer roomy and upscale model for middle class buyers. Hyundai follows a very similar strategy in India of having many models and minimum price gap between its two models. However, the Sonata is only petrol and the Korean car maker might wait till it has a diesel version, to offer something similar in India.
- Premier will commence deliveries of its compact SUV RiO with 1.3-litre multijet diesel engine, starting 2nd August 2012. The new RiO with the Fiat engine has a starting price of Rs 6.7 lakh (ex-showroom Pune) and will now be available across all tied-I cities in the country.
- Jaguar India has launched a special edition of the XKR for a starting price of Rs 1.27 crore (ex-showroom Mumbai). The limited edition will be available in both coupe and convertible body form with minor exterior tweaks and Artisans interiors.
- Airtel will partner with Mercedes AMG Petronas for the 2012 Indian Formula1 Grand Prix. The title sponsor of the last year’s event has signed a one-race agreement with the Mercedes team and their branding will be visible on the airbox and headrest of the Mercedes F1 W03 car, and of course on the suits and helmets of the drivers for the race.
Today is first of August and we have few sales reports from car makers, with details of their performance in July 2012.
- Maruti Suzuki has clocked 9.2 per cent increase in sales last month, despite the labour riots at the Manesar facility. This is mainly because Maruti faced similar issues in last July and sales were down even then, also the Ertiga is a new model in the range and has been doing decent numbers since launch.
- Ford India’s domestic sales are marginally down as compared to same month last year. However, the total sales figures including exports stand at 8,323 units, which is a respectable number considering the slowdown.
The CarWale Daily Fuel is your quick daily dose of automotive news from India and around the world. If you want to know whatever's in the news but want it short and sweet, here's your solution.
