British luxury car maker Rolls-Royce is planning to launch its new model, the Ghost, in India by the end of 2009. The Rolls-Royce Ghost will be launched globally at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, 2009, and will come to India in November or December. The new model, says the company, is a ‘Rolls you can drive everyday’. It will be priced between $250,000 and $270,000 (Rs 1.2-1.3 crore) before taxes.

At present, India has around 40 Rolls-Royce cars, 14 of them having been bought last year. The company is counting on the Ghost to help it treble this number by next year. The Indian market for Rolls cars is one-eighth the size of the Chinese market and one-third the size of the Japanese market. Rolls-Royce India, however, has high hopes from the country. The company considers each of India’s $40 million net worth individuals (1,000 of them) as potential customers.

Tata Motors’ much talked about luxury car brands Jaguar and Land Rover have finally been introduced in India. Three Jaguar models – the XF, the XFR and the XKR, and three Land Rover models – the Rover Discovery 3, the Range Rover Sport and the basic Range Rover, will now be available in the country. The cars will be brought to India as Completely Built Units (CBUs), with prices ranging from Rs 63-92 lakh. Tata Motors will be retailing all JLR vehicles through the brands’ flagship showroom at Ceejay House in Mumbai, to start with, and will expand its dealership network to other metros as demand grows. Financing will come from Tata Capital, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank.

Tata Motors Chairman Ratan Tata said at a press conference that Jaguar and Land Rover were “terrific brands with terrific products”, and that after coming out of the economic downturn, Tata Motors should be able to say that it was a “terrific decision” to own them. Tata said he was proud to have these brands and hoped to bring back their lost glory.

Close on the heels of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) making fuel efficiency declaration compulsory for auto makers, the Indian power ministry has said that it will make energy efficiency labeling mandatory for all vehicles in the country by August 2009. Power Ministry Secretary H. S. Brahma told media persons that the move is aimed at helping car buyers make more informed choices. There is, however, a feeling among auto makers that the regulation is unnecessary because they are already declaring their vehicles’ fuel efficiency, which can form the basis for energy efficiency.

There has so far been no formal communication of the proposal to SIAM or auto industry players in general. According to industry sources, if energy labeling is made compulsory, all cars will have to meet energy standards set by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), failing which they will have to pay a penalty.

Ravi Kant joined Tata Motors in 2000 as the Executive Director (commercial vehicle business unit). Handpicked for the job by Ratan Tata, he had served in various positions in the past with such diverse companies as Kinetic Engineering Limited, Philips India Limited as director of Consumers Electronics business, LML Limited as senior executive director (marketing) and Titan Watches Limited as Vice President (sales & marketing.)

Completing his schooling from Mayo College, Ajmer, he went on to do his Bachelor in Technology from IIT, Kharagpur and then a Master in Science in Industry from Aston University, Birmingham, UK. He started his career with Hawkins Cookers, consequently collecting a diverse set of experience over a three-decade plus distinguished career in such fields as sales, marketing and consumers electronics business among others.

He joined Tata Motors at a crucial time in its history. The Indica had recently been launched in 1998 and but had an indifferent reception. Tata Motors was in a bad shape financially, its share price dropping from Rs. 322 in the first quarter of 1998 to as low as Rs. 58 in April 2001.

In 2004, he was at the forefront when Tata Motors successfully acquired, first the Korean major – Daewoo truck Business and then the Spanish Hispano Carrocera. Following this, he filled in a position with Tata Motors lying vacant for 11 years when he was made the Managing Director in 2005. During his tenure, Tata Motors went from strength to strength and more significantly became a global corporation. He initiated joint ventures with Fiat and also with Thailand’s Thonburi Automotive Assembly plant. In the recent past, he was at the helm when Tata launched the indigenous inexpensive car Nano which created a sensation worldwide. His crowning achievement was perhaps the Jaguar and Land Rover deal that has the potential to transform Tata Motors in the long run.

He retired on 1st June, 2009 after turning 65 – the mandatory age for retirement from executive positions at the Tata Group and has been retained by the company as the non-executive Vice Chairman of Tata Motors.

Ravi Kant is retiring from this position at a critical point in time in Tata Motor’s history though some people have understandably dubbed it a “promotion” rather than a “retirement”. The situation for Tata Motors is similar to that in 2000 with the current slowdown in the market affecting Tata Motors as deeply as any other company. It will be interesting to see how the new Managing Director, P M Telang, 62 steers Tata Motors into the future. Rajiv Dube continues to head the passenger cars division though from news reports it seems that both Dube and Telang were in the running for the MD position.

As one of the most senior members of the Indian Auto Industry, it is probably safe to say that the Ravi Kant is far from being truly retired. We will be watching his career with keen interest to see what he has up his sleeve next. It would be of interest to see whether he would remain a member of the Tata brain trust or would instead strike out on his own like former Maruti Suzuki Managing Director, Jagdish Khattar who is attempting to transform the dealership portion of India’s auto industry with his Carnation Motors.

Fiat India Automobiles Limited (FIAL) launched its premium compact car, the Grande Punto, this week. The Grande Punto, priced between Rs.3.99 lakh to Rs.6.11 lakh, is available in both petrol and diesel variants. It has the Maruti Suzuki Ritz, the Hyundai i20, the Skoda Fabia and the Honda Jazz as competitors. Launched in Europe in the year 2005, the Punto has come to India at a time when the premium hatchback segment in the country is growing at a remarkable pace.

General Motors (GM) India launched an LPG variant of the Chevrolet Spark this week. The new variant is not only eco-friendly, but also offers lower running costs. It is being manufactured at GM’s Talegaon facility in Maharashtra, and is the company’s first LPG powered vehicle in India. The car gives an average mileage of 350 km per cylinder (full). GM India President and Managing Director, Karl Slym, told media persons that Chevrolet had grown by a significant degree in India and that the Spark was doing particularly well, 32,000 units of the car having been sold last year. With the LPG version of the Spark, GM, like other car companies in the country, has finally stepped into alternative fuels. The ex-showroom price of the car is Rs.352,000.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) introduced its premium SUV, the Land Cruiser, in India last week. The all-terrain Land Cruiser comes with incredible off-road driving features such as crawl-control system, kinetic dynamic suspension system and hill-start assist control. It is powered by a 4.5 litre V8 diesel engine and has 6-speed automatic transmission. The vehicle is one of the most expensive SUVs in the country and boasts of world class luxury features. It has the world’s most advanced air conditioning system and ranks among the top few 4WD vehicles that exist today, in cabin comfort. Audio system options include a 6-CD, 9 speaker, Pioneer Audio package and a 6 DVD (EMV screen), 14 speaker JBL Audio package.

Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) launched a limited edition variant of the Altis – the Corolla Altis Sport, this week. The car has been introduced with the young, enthusiastic car buyer in mind and comes with several interesting features like an aerodynamic front and rear bumper spoiler, a stylish headlamp garnish, sleek side skirts and special rear LED spoilers. It is priced at Rs.11.35 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). TKM Deputy Managing Director (Marketing), Mr. Sandeep Singh, said that only 300 units of the car are available for sale, each with personalized logos for customers.

Audi India launched its compact SUV, the Q5, in Mumbai yesterday. The vehicle comes with two engine options – 2.0 TFSI (petrol) and 3.0 TDI (diesel) and a permanent all-wheel drive. Its price range starts at Rs.38.29 lakh for the TFSI variant and Rs.44.19 lakh for the TDI variant. The Q5 can attain a maximum speed of 225 km/h and its notable features include lane assist system and adaptive cruise control. Audi India Managing Director, Benoit Tiers, said at the launch event that the Q5 is not a successor to any other model but a brand new product in the relatively new compact SUV segment. He said that in the past few years, the market for SUVs had grown tremendously in India.

The Hyundai i20 has become the first India-manufactured car to get a five-star safety rating from the European New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP). The NCAP safety test has four main parameters to judge a car – adult occupancy, child protection, pedestrian protection and safety assist. The i20’s active head-restraints, front seatbelt, pre-tensioner and six airbags helped it score well in adult occupant protection tests, while its seatbelt reminder and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) helped with the safety assist feature. Among the six cars tested under the NCAP scheme, the i20 got the highest average score of 80.25 per cent. With its high safety rating, the car has set a whole new set of standards for other hatchbacks to follow.