PARIS: Renault Nissan's global CEO says there isn't much support in India, but China is keen on driving electrification of cars   Electric cars are the future for Renault Nissan, and the company's research and development base in Chennai will contribute to its affordable electric project, global CEO Carlos Ghosn said.

“Electric car is going to be part of the future of our industry . We will develop low-cost electric cars based on knowledge coming out of India, but deploy it in China, because that is where the market exists. Government support is very important and the Chinese government is very keen on driving electrification of cars. In India, there is not much support for electric cars,“ Ghosn told ET on the sidelines of the Paris Motor Show.

Ghosn added that he had expected the United States to take the lead in the development of electric cars for the future, but it is happening in China instead due to the aggressive play by local manufacturers and the Chinese government's support. As a result, Nissan, a leader in the space, is feeling the heat, he said.

“The Chinese market is booming, and we are losing our leadership to a number of local players who are coming out with cheap electric cars.So we are working towards bringing in our own affordable electric cars for the Chinese market to make sure we don't end up being overwhelmed with what's coming in,“ said Ghosn.

On the future of autonomous cars, Ghosn said that all the car makers are working towards the solution, but it will take another three-four years to see substantial progress in that direction.Responding to a query on whether self-driving cars could be a reality in emerging markets, Ghosn said: “You need to have drivers respecting the rules. Autonomous car is going to stop at the red light -would a user in Mumbai or Rio De Janerio stop? It will be first seen in disciplined driving counties like US, Japan and Europe before one starts expecting it in emerging markets.

“ Appreciating the performance of the Indian operations, Ghosn said that he is very happy with the initial response to the Kwid, adding that the company's first priority is to ensure that it becomes a “solid success“ and the second is to bridge the gap between Kwid and Duster.

“There is a lot of enhancement that we are doing on the project. Our first obligation is to make sure that Kwid is perfectly fit for India. This car is going to go into many emer is going to go into many emerging markets, so the intention is to not limit ourselves to the present success of Kwid -we will be launching many new products in the future on CMF-A platform,“ said Ghosn.Renault plans to launch at least one new product every year in the next five years and a significant part of it will be in the sub`10-lakh market. Riding on the success of Kwid, Renault has more than doubled its market share in India at nearly 5% and share in India at nearly 5% and expects volumes to more than double by the end of the year to over 1.5 lakh units.

Source :  Electric Cars Designed in India, for China

MUMBAI: Mahindra & Mahindra's Farm Equipment Sector (FES) has sold 29,035 units in September 2016 in the domestic market, as against 17,052 units during September 2015.

Total tractor sales (domestic + exports) during September 2016 were at 30,562 units, as against 18,087 units for the same period last year. Exports for the month stood at 1,527 units.

Commenting on the month's performance, Rajesh Jejurikar, President and Chief Executive - Farm Equipment and Two Wheeler Division, Mahindra & Mahindra said, "In September 2016 we had a strong growth of 70% over September 2015, with sales of 29,035 tractors in the domestic market."

He further added, "We expect the good momentum to continue with the upcoming festive season and the effect of a good monsoon. In the export market, we sold 1,527 tractors with a growth of 48% over September 2015."

Source : Mahindra tractor domestic sales jump 70% in September

NEW DELHI: Country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp today reported an 11.24 per cent increase in sales at 6,74,961 units in September.

The company sold 6,06,744 units in September 2015, Hero MotoCorp BSE 0.24 % said in a statement. 

The company recorded its highest-ever sales in September beating the previous best in October 2015 when the company had sold 6,39,802 units, Hero MotoCorp said in a statement.

This is the second consecutive month that Hero has sold six-lakh plus units, having clocked a sales figure of 6,16,424 unit in August, it added.

 The growth momentum is backed by a series of positive factors, including the successful market launch of the 'Splendor iSmart 110' - the first motorcycle completely designed and developed in-house by Hero's own R&D team, it said.

The company further said that augmented leadership in the 125cc segment with 'Glamour' emerging as the largest-selling 125cc motorcycle in the country and the positive trend maintained by the new scooter portfolio also contributed to the sales performance. 

Source : Hero MotoCorp Sept sales up 11% at 6,74,961 units

NEW DELHI: Homegrown auto major Tata Motors is planning to increase prices of its passenger vehicles during the ongoing festive season to offset rising input cost. 

"We will hike prices of our vehicles. Currently we are working out the details," Tata Motors, President, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit Mayank Pareek told PTI.

When asked how soon the price increase will be effected, he said: "It could be during the festive season." 

Explaining the reasons for such a step, Pareek said: "Input costs have increased and some of the industry players have already undertaken price hikes. Moreover, we have also not corrected our prices for a long time."

Tata Motors sells a range of passenger vehicles including the entry level small car Nano, newly launched hatchback Tiago and crossover vehicle Aria at a price range of Rs 2.15 lakh to Rs 16.3 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) 

Another homegrown rival Mahindra & Mahindra has hiked prices of some of its passenger and small commercial vehicles by up to 1 per cent from this month.

In August, Hyundai Motor India had announced to hike prices by up to Rs 20,000 across its models, while Maruti Suzuki India BSE -0.03 % had also hiked prices of its various models by up to Rs 20,000. 

Source : Tata Motors to hike passenger vehicle prices

NEW DELHI: The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki BSE -0.03 % posted a 29.4% growth in domestic sales at 137321 units last month on account of demand in the ongoing festive season. 

This is the highest ever domestic sales for the company in terms of absolute volumes. 

Sales for the company increased across segments. While sales of mini cars Alto and WagonR went up by 24.8% to 44395 units, those of compact cars (Swift, Ritz, Celerio, DZire, Baleno) increased by 12.3% to 50324 units. Demand for midsize sedan Ciaz too went up by 52.5% to 6544 units. 

Source : Maruti Suzuki posts highest ever sales in September spurred by festive demand