UK-based auto company, Jaguar & Land Rover (JLR), is planning to assemble the Freelander2 at Tata Motors’ Chikhli facility in Maharashtra from November 2010. The plant, which has a production capacity of 3,500 units per shift, was earlier being used by Mercedes-Benz. A JLR spokesperson told reporters that the company did intend to assemble Land Rover vehicles in India from the following year, but did not give details. At present, all JLR vehicles are imported from the UK and attract a heavy import duty.  The Freelander2, for instance, comes at a starting price of Rs 33.55 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Once it starts being assembled locally, however, the SUV will be available at a considerably lower price. According to media reports, Tata Motors is already in the process of installing production equipment at the Chikhli facility to make sure that it is operational by November this year. JLR currently has 3 dealerships in India and plans to add 4 more in 2010-11.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) will begin the trial production of its upcoming small car, the Etios, in September 2010. The car is scheduled to be launched commercially in December 2010, and will undergo two rounds of trial production before that. The second round will begin in October. Mr Shekhar Vishwanathan, Deputy Managing Director TKM, told mediapersons that the cars produced for trial would be tested for quality and other specifications, but may be dismantled later.

It took engineers from Japan and India over 4 years to develop the Etios. TKM will first launch a petrol version of the car in both hatchback and sedan body types, and will later introduce a diesel variant as well. The company had said recently that it would also consider launching the car in a hybrid version and alternative fuel options like LPG and CNG. The annual sales target for the Etios is 65,000 units in India.

Hyundai Motor is planning to launch its SUV, Santa Fe, in India in October 2010. The Santa Fe is expected to be priced between Rs 22 lakh and Rs 24 lakh in India, and will be powered by a 2.2-litre diesel engine. It will initially be imported in India as a completely built unit (CBU) but may later be assembled locally, depending on sales volumes.  Hyundai is one of the most successful auto companies in India in the small-car segment but has not been able to make its mark in premium and luxury range vehicles so far. In the SUV segment, it had introduced the Terracan and the Tuscon in the past, but discontinued the vehicles after a global model change by the parent company. The Santa Fe will compete with the Toyota Fortuner. The premium SUV segment is among the fastest growing auto segments in the country, and a number of global auto companies will soon be launching new SUV models, significant among which are the Skoda Yeti and the Nissan Murano.

Car enthusiasts can now buy fully-operational models of luxury super-cars at a store in Gurgaon. The store, known as ‘Adventure Wheels’, was conceptualized by Ashish Bahl, and specialized in ATV and UTV off-road vehicles till now. The remote-controlled luxury-car models, designed by Japanese company Tamiya, will be priced between Rs 9,000 and Rs 40,000, and will come with all the features present in real cars, including engines and accessories.

The models can either be bought readymade, or be manually assembled according to customers’ choice of colour and other specifications. Mr Bahl said that the mini-cars and bikes would operate like any normal vehicle, and that faulty components could be replaced with new ones. The company’s current product range includes simulated luxury cars, SUVs and luxury bikes, across international vehicle brands like Ferrari, Mercedes, BMW, Rolls Royce, Land Rover and Yamaha.

Tata Motors’ Chairman, Mr Ratan Tata, said in the company’s 2009-10 annual report that it would soon launch three new vehicles under the Jaguar brand, including a station wagon and a new roadster. The company will also revamp its Range Rover models, and introduce the new Range Rover ‘EVOQUE’ this year. Meanwhile, with its Sanand plant now operational, the company has decided to develop new variants of its mini-car, Tata Nano, for export markets. The current production capacity of the plant is 250,000 units, which can later be scaled up to 500,000 units.

Over the past couple of years, Tata Motors has taken significant steps towards strengthening its position as a global player in the automotive sector. It now controls not just the UK-based Jaguar & Land Rover, but also Spain’s Hispano and Korea’s Daewoo. The company’s global acquisitions will allow it to further expand its product range, and “leverage the respective strengths and economies of its various domestic and overseas establishments”, Mr Tata said.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki this week launched a new version of its compact car, Alto, powered by a 998cc K-series engine. The car is priced between Rs 3.03 lakh and Rs 3.16 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), and comes with improved suspension and a superior braking system. The Alto’s average monthly sales figure stands at 20,000 units at present, and the K10 version is expected to give it a further push. The car has a mileage of 20.2 km/litre and can go from 0 to 100 km/hr in 13.3 seconds.

Meanwhile, the company has also hiked the prices of all its models, except the Alto, by up to Rs 7,500. A press statement issued by Maruti said that the company had decided to hike prices by 1-1.5 percent due to a sharp increase in input costs.

Maruti’s domestic sales went up from 67,528 units in July 2009 to 90,114 units in July 2010 – an increase of 33.45 percent. Its total sales, including exports, grew by 29.18 percent in the same month.

Japan-based Nissan Motor Company has developed a new technology that helps moisturize the skin of passenger-car occupants by dispensing vitamin C through the car’s air filter. Nissan’s climate system engineer, Yuzuri Yoshinami, said that the company already had a system to clean the air in its cars, and that it later thought of adding something to the air, as well. The idea of using vitamin C came as a result of customers complaining about the drying effect of air-conditioning on the skin. The vitamin is said to create collagen and elastin, and also improve the body’s metabolism.

Mr Satoshi Kitazaki, ergonomics manager at Nissan Motor, said that while the company’s earlier strategy was to reduce discomfort, it had now switched to enhancement of health and wellbeing. It will soon develop an odour-reducing ionizer and posture improving seats to improve blood circulation.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) is planning to launch CNG variants of five of its models – the WagonR, Alto, Estilo, Eeco and the SX4 – in the second week of August 2010. In the April-June quarter this year, Maruti’s market share in the passenger car segment fell from 55 percent to 47.59 percent owing to increased competition. MSIL General Manager, Mr Shashank Srivastava, told mediapersons that the company would be the first car-maker in the country to launch car variants with factory-fitted CNG kits, and would thus have the first mover’s advantage. The company will launch all 5 variants on the same day.

Meanwhile, the market leader is launching a new version of the Alto powered by a 1-litre K-Series engine. Mr Srivastava said that the new variant – Alto K10 – would push up the sales of the car by 25 percent. The company will also continue selling the existing 800cc BS-IV compliant variant of the car.

Tata Motors will soon set up a Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) plant in Myanmar, in partnership with Myanmar Automobile & Diesel Industries Ltd (MADIL). The plant will have an initial production capacity of 1,000 units per year, which can later be scaled up to 5,000 units. Mr Debasis Ray, Tata Motors’ Corporation Communications head, said that the company would assemble heavy trucks at the new plant, and that the vehicles would be marketed and sold by MADIL.

The plant will be operational by the last quarter of FY 2010-11, and will include a separate section earmarked for cab manufacturing, painting and trimming, in addition to a flexible chassis and frame assembly line. It will be set up in Magwe, 480 km from Yangon. The company has not yet provided details of the investment it will make in the region.

Tyre-manufacturing companies in the country may hike prices for the fourth time this year as natural rubber costs continue to escalate. At present, most tyre makers are trying to absorb increasing raw material costs, but they may be forced to hike prices if the situation does not change. Apollo Tyres Chairman, Mr Onkar S Kanwar, told mediapersons that rubber prices had gone up by 150 percent in the past year, and that the tyre industry would not be able to bear the burden for long.

Meanwhile, the company is planning to invest Rs 700 crore in new projects in Chennai, Perambra (in Kerala) and Baroda, and may soon expand to another Asian country as well. In addition, it will invest Rs 140 crore in South Africa, through Apollo Tyres South Africa, and another Rs 36 crore in Europe, through Netherlands-based Apollo Vredestein. Apollo had registered a total turnover of Rs 8,120 crore last year, with 38 percent of its earnings coming from its overseas operations.