With almost all luxury carmakers present in India, the absence of Lexus has been a talking point for a while now. With numerous rumours over the years, nothing turned into reality but all of that is set to change as Toyota has reportedly decided to launch its luxury brand Lexus in India, sometime in early 2017. Along with a reported entry of Lexus in India, we also have an official statement from Toyota Kirloskar Motor, which doesn't accept but doesn't deny the arrival of Lexus either. A company sp

okesperson said, "It is true that we are studying introducing Lexus to India. However, we would like to refrain from commenting on details such as timing, models etc., as it relates to future product plan."

It's not the first time that Toyota has made a decision to launch Lexus in India. Back in 2013, there was news of Lexus coming to India as an imports operation but an unfavourable import duty rate of 100%, meant that car imported by Lexus wouldn't be price-competitive since its German rivals already had assembly operations here.

Fast forward to today and the import duty hasn't been cut but hybrid/electric vehicles attract significantly lesser import duties. Lexus is looking to take advantage of this relaxation through a strong portfolio of hybrid vehicles. In addition, the recently announced FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles) will incentivise hybrid vehicles up a maximum of Rs 1.38 lakh, bringing down the selling-price further. As a result of these policies, Lexus should be able to price its vehicles close to its German rivals, while being able to claim higher fuel-efficiency and lower emissions. In addition, these hybrid vehicles from Lexus would also be exempt from the NGT's (National Green Tribunal) ongoing crackdown on diesel vehicles, especially those equipped with an engine larger than 2,000 cc.

Autocar India has claimed in its report that Lexus will first launch its LX 570 SUV, which is based on the Land Cruiser SUV. This would be followed by a lineup of 

1. hybrid models including http://www.duangwatch.net/s and sedans. The performance of Lexus should be interesting to watch unfold as it would also indicate how well luxury-segment customers are willing to accept hybrids and a shift of engineering focus from performance and comfort to efficiency.www.sitewatches.com

NEXA, the premium automotive sales channel of Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), completed one year of operations today. Launched in July 2015, NEXA aims to sell the premium vehicles in the carmaker's portfolio and offer consumers as well a premium buying experience. Present cars sold through NEXA are the S-Cross and Baleno, both of which have accounted for more than 1,00,000 units of sale in the 1st year of its operation. In the same time-frame, the NEXA channel has also expanded its team of Relationship Managers to over 3,500. Maruti Suzuki's premium retail chain is now open across 94 cities in India through 150 centres. Going forward, the company plans to expand this number further to 250 outlets by March, 2017.

While the S-Cross has not managed to be a great success, the Baleno made a great debut and continues to command a waiting period till date. With more models slated to join the NEXA showrooms in the coming years, Maruti Suzuki expects 15% of the company's sales to come from it. In the first year itself, NEXA accounted for about 10% of the total domestic sales by Maruti Suzuki. The company also claims that the NEXA initiative has been successful in bringing new customers to the brand and that 51% of NEXA customers were not Maruti Suzuki customers at the point of making the purchase.

Celebrating NEXA’s first anniversary, “NEXA has been created to address the needs of a new and growing segment of Indian customers. These customers are well travelled, digitally savvy and frequently experience five-star hospitality. They value personal touch and pampering in their purchase and ownership experience. Over half (51 per cent) of the customers who bought cars at NEXA were not customers of Maruti Suzuki at that point, indicating that through NEXA, we are able to attract new categories of customers.”

Elaborating on the road ahead for NEXA, R S Kalsi, Executive Director, Marketing & Sales said “To further enhance the purchase and ownership experience, we plan to provide customers enriching experiences beyond the showroom as well. We will curate new experiences around fashion & lifestyle, music and travel. These experiences will touch the lives of customers through international music festivals, fashion/styling sessions and long distance drives. Rather than limit ourselves to selling cars, our aim is to forge relationships over the period of ownership.”

The Indian subsidiary of Japanese car maker Nissan Motor has earned over Rs 30,000 crore ($4.35 billion) in foreign exchange, Nissan Motor India said on Thursday.

In a statement, Nissan Motor India said since 2010 when it started operations in India, over 620,000 cars were exported to over 100 countries and it earned foreign exchange revenue of Rs 30,000 crore.http://www.nurrawatches.com/

The company gets its models made at Renault-Nissan Alliance's joint venture car plant near here.

"Our strategy has been to use exports to build a significant presence in India with our plant, the largest and most advanced in the Alliance, and our R&D (research and development) centre which employs 5,000 engineers," Gulaume Sicard, President, Nissan India Operations, was quoted as saying.

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) aims to have 250 Nexa outlets by March 2017 and expects the premium sales and service outlets to contribute 15 per cent of the company's sales by 2020.

Launched in July 2015, Nexa today completed one year of operations. It currently has 150 outlets across 94 cities.

Over 1 lakh cars have been sold through this channel till date, which employs 3,500 relationship managers.
"Over half (51 per cent) of the customers who bought cars at Nexa were not customers of Maruti Suzuki at that point, indicating that through Nexa, we are able to attract new categories of customers," MSI Executive Director (Marketing & Sales) R S Kalsi said in a statement.
To further enhance purchase and ownership experience, the company plans to provide customers enriching experiences beyond the showroom as well, he added.
"We will curate new experiences around fashion and lifestyle, music and travel. These experiences will touch the lives of customers through international music festivals, fashion/styling sessions and long-distance drives. Rather than limit ourselves to selling cars, our aim is to forge relationships over the period of ownership," Kalsi said.
Maruti Suzuki plans to expand the number of premium outlets to 250 by March 2017 and Nexa is expected to contribute 15 per cent of MSI sales by 2020, the auto major said.
The company sells premium crossover S-Cross and premium hatchback Baleno from these outlets.
Maruti stock was trading at Rs 4,750 on BSE, up 4.19 per cent, from its previous close.

 Source: Nexa outlets to account for 15% sales by 2020: Maruti 

Mercedes-Benz India today launched the new SLC 43 AMG, which will replace the long-standing SLK range, making it the third launch by the German carmaker in India this year. The SLC 43AMG is based on the same platform as the C-Class and features a hard-top convertible roof. The styling on the new car is mildly different from the SLK, it replaces and the interiors too have been polished to give a more modern and premium look.

What really makes the SLC 43AMG stand out is the powertrain, which of course has been worked upon by AMG. The car is powered by a 3.0 L twin-turbocharged petrol V6 engine developing about 364 hp and 520 Nm of torque. The engine transfers its power to the rear wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission. Being lighter than the SLK platform, the SLC offers a better balance between performance and efficiency.

The 9G-TRONIC transmission offers the driver five modes to choose from – Eco, Comfort, Sport, Sport Plus and Individual. The V6 petrol engine is claimed to be 20 % more fuel-efficient than the outgoing V8 that powered the SLK. This along with other weight-saving measures has further improved the efficiency of the SLC 43AMG. Commenting on the launch, Roland Folger, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes Benz India, said “The all new Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 is an illustration of cutting-edge technology coupled with superlative design elements and unmatched performance in equanimity. Mercedes- Benz set new standards in the luxury open top motoring in India with the launch of the SLK. Now, we celebrate 20 successful years of this timeless roadster, with the introduction of the AMG SLC 43 within 4 months from its international debut. With the launch of the Mercedes-AMG SLC 43, we continue to follow our ‘top of pyramid’ approach and take pride in offering the widest range of performance vehicles for our astute Indian customers."

Source: Mercedes-Benz SLC 43AMG launched at Rs 77.50 lakh