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India will lead car market in next 5 years, overtaking US and China

May 18, 2023

In recent years, India has emerged as an important market for automakers, driving their growth and expansion plans. The country is on the verge of overtaking major countries such as the United States and China as it is gaining more attention from automakers. Maruti Suzuki India Limited Chairman RC Bhargava recently confirmed this trend and predicted that within the next five years, India would overtake the United States and China to become a major automotive market.

Maruti Suzuki Chairman RC Bhargava

Bhargava said the U.S. and China are now ahead of India because of their larger economies. However, when it comes to the automotive industry, India is experiencing impressive growth. The company is already the market leader in the two-wheeler sector, and vehicle sales continue to grow. India has now overtaken Japan to take third place.

Bhargava acknowledged that overtaking China will be even more difficult because the Chinese market, where car sales are growing, is much larger. For example, in 2022 in China, he will have 26.86 million cars sold, while in India he will have 20.75 million sold across all categories. He suggested that India could move forward by significantly expanding the capacity of its local manufacturing bases in the country.

Maruti Suzuki, chaired by RC Bhargava, exported 260,000 units in 2022/23. Bhargava said the figure could have been higher had it not been for production problems such as semiconductor shortages. However, once these challenges subside, Maruti Suzuki positions India as a major vehicle exporter, aiming to triple its exports from the previous year.

To boost exports, Maruti Suzuki has already announced an investment of up to INR 18 crore in a manufacturing facility to be built in Sonipat, Haryana in 2022. Over the next seven years, the new facility is expected to become the company’s largest production facility.

In addition to Maruti Suzuki, other automakers are also investing heavily to expand production and increase exports to other countries. Hyundai, for example, has announced an investment of INR 20,000 for the same purpose, and MG plans to invest INR 5 billion over the next five to seven years. In addition to their focus on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, automakers are gradually turning their attention to electric vehicles (EVs) as they aim to expand production and exports in the coming years. Even Roads Minister Nitin Gadkari has suggested that India could become a major auto market within the next five years by focusing on electric and flex-fuel vehicles.

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By Sunny JhaIn News1 Comment

Tesla Inc Launching in India – Rumours or True?

May 17, 2023

Relations between India and Tesla, the world’s largest electric car maker, have deteriorated somewhat in recent years. The company considered bringing its own vehicles into the country and requested the government to reduce import tariffs. However, the Indian government has always refused this request. After lobbying talks stalled for some time, several executives from the American electric car maker are now reportedly visiting India to meet with Indian government officials. The purpose of the conference is to find ways for the company to deepen its supply chain in India and diversify out of China.

Image courtesy Reddit

So far, the topics of discussion at this meeting between senior Tesla executives and officials from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office have not been made public as the meeting is closed to the public in nature. However, a source familiar with the situation said the company would like to discuss opportunities to source local products for use in building luxury electric vehicles such as the Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y.

Attendees are expected to include executives and managers from Tesla’s supply chain, manufacturing and business development, based in Austin, Texas. Executives said Tesla plans to reiterate its call for India to lower import tariffs on its cars, according to people familiar with the matter.

For those who don’t know, as previously reported on Cartoq, Tesla has been pressuring the Indian government to lower high EV import tariffs since 2019. But the Indian government decided not to do so. India currently imposes an import duty of 60% on EVs under $40,000. However, EVs priced above $40,000 will be subject to a 100% import duty. The same problem applies to internal combustion engine vehicles brought into the country. Alongside Tesla, Audi was also alleged to have lobbied the Indian government to lower its high tariffs.

The American electric car maker has even appointed a dedicated official to lead Tesla’s lobbying efforts in India. But after the government reluctantly ignored Tesla’s request, the company asked its Indian team to work on expanding into the larger markets of the Middle East and Asia Pacific (APAC). As a result, Manuj Khurana, the head of policy and business development at Tesla in India, resigned.

For more than a year, Mr Khurana has been lobbying India to reduce import tariffs on electric cars from 100% to 40%. Tesla argued that this would allow it to test the market with imports from manufacturing hubs such as China before investing in factories. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has demanded that Tesla first tackle car production in India before making any concessions. As a result, Tesla put its ambitions to sell cars in India on hold, redeployed its domestic workforce and abandoned its search for showroom space after negotiations stalled.

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By Sunny JhaIn New Car Launches0 Comments

Hyundai Elite i20 Facelift Images Leaked Before Launch

May 11, 2023

Aside from minor updates to the variant lineup and the need to comply with revised emissions and safety regulations, the 3rd generation Hyundai i20 hasn’t changed much since its launch in 2020. However, Hyundai is reportedly working on a facelifted version of the i20, which is expected to arrive in India in the next few weeks. South Korean online platform AutoSpy has leaked images of this upcoming facelifted Hyundai i20. It appears to be production ready with some visible improvements.

Hyundai Elite i20 Front Look

Outwardly, this revamped i20 isn’t a big facelift compared to the current model. The headlights have been slightly adjusted to have a curved outer edge and feature full LED illumination similar to the headlights on the new 4th generation Verna.

Hyundai Elite i20 Side Look

The grille looks the same as before, but the front bumper is new with a boomerang-shaped air curtain and a sportier-looking front splitter.

Hyundai Elite i20 Boot Look with LED DRLs

The facelifted Hyundai i20 looks unchanged from the side, but the car has new alloy wheels. At the rear, the LED taillights with Z-shaped LED inserts and the design of the tailgate balance the current model. However, the rear bumper has been updated with a new reflector housing and a new rear diffuser design with silver trim.

Drone view of Hyundai Elite i20

New and Updated cabin Hyundai Elite i20

A single image of the interior of the facelifted Hyundai i20 has also leaked, showing that the cabin layout has been kept with the same all-black theme. The most noticeable change on this refreshed i20, however, is the new full TFT instrument panel that looks just like the Alcazar. Other than that, the cabin appears to retain its current feature list, which includes a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, automatic climate control, a four-spoke multifunction steering wheel, and wireless charging. The new i20 is also expected to be equipped with new features such as ventilated front seats.

Hyundai recently ditched diesel models of the i20 and the hatchback will only be available as a pure petrol version. This means that the new and improved i20 retains the current version’s 1.2-litre 4-cylinder 83PS turbocharged petrol engine and 1.0-litre 3-cylinder 120PS turbocharged petrol engine.

The facelifted version of the Hyundai i20 will go on sale first in its home market of South Korea, followed by other major markets, including India. The new i20 will continue to compete with vehicles such as the Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Toyota Granza and Tata Altros.

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India will lead car market in next 5 years, overtaking US and China

Tesla Inc Launching in India – Rumours or True?

Hyundai Elite i20 Facelift Images Leaked Before Launch