HYDERABAD: Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz India, which had record sales in 2015, expects the figures to be flat this year due to the continuing uncertainty about diesel vehicles as well the tax scenario under GST.

Given this background, the company is geared up to launch four more models before December and appoint three more dealers to drive volumes, Mercedes India MD and CEO Roland Folger said here today.

Late August, the Supreme Court lifted nine-month-old ban on sale of 2-litre and above diesel models in the National Capital Region after companies agreed to pay 1 per cent green cess to the government.

"Last year, we sold a record 13,502 vehicles, a growth of more than 32 per cent over 2014. This year hopefully it is going to be roughly in the same range," Folger said.

When asked about capacity, he said the 20,000-unit Pune plant has enough capacity to produce for the next two to three years.

"Events like the diesel car ban in Delhi-NCR and GST now are bringing factor of uncertainty into our overall planning and we tried to deal with it the best way possible. By September we have petrol versions for all our models," Folger added.

On GST, he said there are many theories floating in the market with regard to the car prices once the tax regimen is implemented. He, however, did not elaborate on them.

In the September quarter, Mercedes sales marginally declined to 3,327 units from 3,420 units a year ago.

Since last December through this August, none of the auto companies could sell most of their models in Delhi NCR, which is the country's largest auto market, following the Supreme Court ban on above 2-litre diesel models.

Since the Delhi-NCR market gives around 30 per cent of volume to Mercedes, this forced the company to introduce petrol variants of all its models.

The ban had Mercedes' sales declining by 1.5 per cent to 9,924 units from 10,079 units in the first nine months of this year, while for the September quarter its sales declined 2.7 per cent primarily due to higher base effect and the apex court's ban.

"We had said that we would be launching 12 new products this year and 10 new outlets. This (Silver Star in Hyderabad opened today) is the seventh outlet, which means three more outlets. In terms of products, we have launched eight and four more are in the pipeline," he said without giving details.

Source : Mercedes sees flat sales on uncertainty over diesel cars, GST

CHENNAI: Japanese car maker Nissan Motor last month shipped out 11,999 cars made at its Indian plant near here, the company's Indian subsidiary said on Monday.

In a statement, Nissan Motor India said that in September it shipped out 11,999 Nissan and Datsun-branded cars which was 20 per cent higher than what it has exported in September last year.

"Our strategy to use our plant in India as an export hub underlines our significant presence here and also demonstrates our long-term plans for growth," Guillaume Sicard, President, Nissan India Operations, was quoted as saying in the statement.

Nissan earlier this year also announced the start of exports of the Datsun redi-GO to South Africa, Sri Lanka and Nepal, in addition to the Datsun GO and GO+. 

Source : Nissan Motor shipped 11,999 cars out of India in September

NEW DELHI: Hero Motors today said its transmission division has received order from Italy-based Ducati to manufacture bike gears for the superbike maker's premium offerings. 

One of the world's leading motorcycle manufacturers has chosen Hero group's transmission division to make an important component of its premium motorcycles is evidence of the company's expertise, the company said in a statement. 

"This definitely is a big leap for us and we are quite excited about this new development," Hero Group CMD Pankaj Munjal said. 

"With this win, we are not only forging a strong relationship with a global two wheeler leader but also reaffirming Hero's proficiency and expertise in specialised manufacturing," he added. 

Leading brands like BMW and Harley Davidson already source components from Hero. Almost 80 per cent of the company's business comes from global players. 

Hero has invested Rs 150 crore to set up infrastructure. It also plans to pump in similar amount to scale up its operations for the international market.

Source :  Hero Motors to manufacture bike gears for Ducati

DUBAI: An Indian businessman has paid a whopping $9 million to buy a single-digit car registeration plate in Dubai, adding another coveted number plate to his collection.

Balwinder Sahani bought number plate "D5" for 33 million Dirhams at the Roads and Transport Authority's number plate auction on Saturday.

Sahani, also known as Abu Sabah, is the owner of RSG International, a property management company, with interests in the UAE, Kuwait, India and the US.

"I like collecting unique number plates and I am proud to have got this number. I like number nine and D5 adds up to nine, so I went for it," Sahani was quoted as saying by the Gulf News.

He said that last year he bought the vehicle number plate O9 for 25 million Dirhams.

"I have collected 10 number plates so far and I am looking forward to having more. It's a passion. This number will go to one of my Rolls Royces," he added.

The number generated great interest among the participants with the bid starting at 20 million Dirham.

More than 300 bidders participated at the live auction which takes place every two months, witnessing fierce battle between bidders for some unique numbers.

Source : Indian businessman pays $9 million for unique car number plate in Dubai

NEW DELHI: Nissan Motor Co Ltd plans to launch eight new car models in India by 2021, a senior company executive said on Thursday, under a new product strategy expected to boost sales and market share in one of the world's fastest-growing markets. 

The launches will include cars from Nissan's global portfolio and new Datsun-brand cars developed in India - a shift in strategy for Nissan where it has largely sold cars shared with its global alliance partner, Renault SA. 

"Maybe we have not differentiated enough in the past," Christian Mardrus, Nissan's chairman for Africa, Middle East and India, told Reuters in an interview in New Delhi. 

"The strategy now is more common platforms, common modules, common technology ... No more cross-badging now as we may have done in the past," he said. 

The company has been working on tweaking its strategy as seen in Nissan's and Renault's most recent launches. The Datsun small-car Redi-Go and Renault's mini-SUV Kwid had more than 50 per cent of parts in common, helping keep costs low, but the car design and some of the features were different. 

"In the future we want to develop more Redi-Go and Kwid stories," Mardrus said. 

Sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and crossovers - a mix between a sedan and SUV - are likely to dominate the new launches in India, said Guillaume Sicard, president, Nissan India, adding that the focus will be on car design, technology and cost. 

The push to launch products from its global portfolio and differentiate comes at a time when Nissan's market share in India, expected to be the world's third-largest car market by 2020, is just 2 per cent. 

Even that share could be under threat because Nissan is likely to face more competition from new entrants in the future. 

South Korea's Kia Motors Corp, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co is mulling plans to build cars in India, while Toyota Motor Corp is setting up a company with subsidiary Daihatsu to build cars for emerging markets like India. 

"We may have common ideas ... the difference is execution. We have to do it better than the others. This is our challenge," Mardrus said, adding that Nissan already has a strong engineering and manufacturing base in India it can leverage. 

Nissan also plans to make India an export hub for Africa and the Middle East, and will develop some of its future Datsun cars in the country with an intention to export them, Mardrus said. 

Source : Nissan to launch 8 new car models in India by 2021: Executive