Range Rover: car review

It's the world's poshest and most complete 4x4 vehicle. And the latest version comes without a smirk

When the going gets toff: the all-new Range Rover. Photograph: Observer

Price: £71,295
MPG: 37.3
Top speed: 130mph
On a grassy rise in Richmond Park you will find White Lodge. Built for George II in the 1720s, it's now home to the Royal Ballet School and a museum that includes Margot Fonteyn's ballet shoes and the death mask of Anna Pavlova. Its imposing pale walls conceal a talent hothouse where brilliant young dancers learn to defy gravity, their graceful steps as light as a summer-fruit Pavlova…
But, back down to earth, last month White Lodge played host to the global reveal of the new Range Rover – a vehicle whose heavy-footed antics and paunchy disregard for the planet have become a byword for country-set disdain. But here's the thing. This latest Range Rover is a very different beast. It's not quite ready for tights, a tiara and a tutu, but it has lost half a tonne in weight thanks to its all-aluminium monocoque structure, and it's gained a much more efficient engine – the 3-litre 258PS TDV6 will give you a scarcely believable 37mpg. Its boxy edges and slab sides have been remodelled to give a sleek, clean aerodynamic shape. Rather than barging all-comers out of its way with an elbow on the horn and snooty set to its puffy red face, this Rangey is designed to be more accommodating. It's still the size of a hog-roast catering caravan, but it now looks more courteous. Not apologetic, mind – it's still your superior, but you won't resent being bossed about by it to the same extent.
This Range Rover is an all-British affair (except for the fact it's owned by Mumbai's Tata Motors). It has been designed, engineered and built in Solihull, and it will fly the flag in 170 countries around the world.
For those of an anti-car mindset, the Range Rover presents a massive headache. You should loathe it – for its scale, its sense of entitlement – but once behind the wheel, you're forever smitten. As my wife – vanquished – said: "I hate it, but it's irresistible…"
Soft on the inside: the hyper luxurious interior. Photograph: Observer Heave open the door and climb in – actually it feels more like ascending – and you find yourself sitting, literally, in the lap of luxury. This is one of the many paradoxes of this car. On the one hand it's a prodigiously gifted off-roader, a vehicle that over the past 40 years has perfected the art of going wherever the hell it likes, regardless of terrain (or in fact social acceptability); on the other it's one of the most luxurious and refined vehicles you'll ever travel in – a vision of marshmallow leathers, flawless veneers and nose-snorting poshness.
To ensure its soft side is as obsequious as possible, Range Rover imagined the laziest, most indolent and pernickity customer that it could – and then did everything to make that person happy. Cold hands? Try our heated steering wheel, sir. Can't be bothered to shut the boot? Press this button, madam. Sore back? Try the air-conditioned massaging seats, master. Worried about dipping the headlights, braking, using the wipers? We'll take care of that, boss… The list of life-easing luxuries goes on and on.
I drove it up to Yorkshire. It coped with 600 miles, snow, ice and mud, sailing serenely past stone barns, Wesleyan chapels and even a temperance pub. And all the while my overwhelming impression was of strength, agility and precision. Maybe that ballet school wasn't such a bad place to launch it after all…

Power station: Shell launches new V-Power Nitro+

Reading this on mobile? Click here to watch video
The engineers at Shell like to think of your engine as the heart that drives your car. And just as we need to look after what powers our heart and stay clear of fatty foods which will fur up its arteries, so they think the fuel that flows into your engine should be as clean and pure as possible. But they've gone one better: the new Shell V-Power Nitro+ is designed to instantly get to work inside your engine on deposits that can reduce the performance of your car from the first fill, no matter what car you drive. To prove their point they invited Jake Humphrey, the voice of F1 himself, and Ferrari driver Giancarlo Fisichella to Battersea Power station to launch the new formulation.
To mark the launch of Shell V-Power Nitro+ fuels, Shell challenged Jake to test his driving abilities and improve his performance via a series of exercises and manoeuvres. The course was designed with the support of Ferrari Drivers Giancarlo Fisichella, Davide Rigon and Gianmaria Bruni.

The name's Lewis, Damian Lewis

The star of Homeland is also the star of a short film called Desire launching the new and strikingly stunning F-Type Jaguar. Have a look - he's without doubt the sexiest delivery boy you'll ever see...

 

Nissan to build compact car at Renault Europe plant from 2016

TOKYO: Renault announced plans to build alliance partner Nissan's Micra mini in France as it bolsters domestic production in return for union concessions.

Renault's Flins plant, near Paris, will begin assembling the Micra subcompact for Europe in 2016, with an annual production target of 82,000 vehicles, the carmaker said on Friday.

"This announcement is good news for Flins, but also for all Renault plants in France," Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn said in a company statement. "Renault is in line to fulfil its commitments."

In return for labour concessions obtained last month, including wage restraint and longer hours, Renault promised to increase domestic production by about a third, or 180,000 vehicles, by 2016.

Ghosn, who heads both Renault and 43.4 percent-owned Nissan, had previously threatened to move some Renault production out of France if no deal was reached with unions.

As part of the agreement, he pledged to repatriate models including the Trafic commercial van from Spain to Sandouville, in northern France. Some versions of the Renault Clio subcompact will also return to Flins from Turkey, the company has said.

Renault's announcement closely followed the disclosure by Nissan that it had asked Renault to assemble the next Micra at an unspecified European site.

Renault won agreement on the new labour deal from unions representing almost two thirds of its workforce, although the left-wing CGT refused to sign.

The labour deal will generate annual savings of about 500 million euros ($650 million), Ghosn has said.

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NRIs can get car loans, but conditions apply

Two weeks ago, Praveen Kumar Balakrishnan, who is a merchant navy officer in Singapore, took a car loan from Federal Bank Ltd while visiting india under the non-resident Indian (NRI) car loan scheme.
“I wanted to buy a decent car for my parents,” said Balakrishnan, 33. “First I was wondering whether I should wait till I have enough money but then I decided to borrow and buy a car as my family needed one right now.”
If you too want to gift a car your father is coveting for the last several years, but don’t have a lump sum to spare immediately, there’s good news for you.
A few Indian banks give NRIs the option to borrow. Federal Bank Ltd, State Bank of India (SBI) and State Bank of Travencore are some of these.
“We have seen great demand for car loans from NRIs recently,” said A Surendran, head (international banking), Federal Bank.
“This is because of two reasons: aspiration to buy bigger cars and increase in the number of visits to India.” Any Indian citizen residing abroad who has a salaried job or is self-employed in his country of residence qualifies as an NRI and can apply for NRI car loans.
The restrictionsMay not be able to buy in own name: If an NRI takes a loan from SBI, you can’t own the vehicle and you will be treated as a guarantor.
Unlike a normal loan guarantor, who doesn’t have to pay the equated monthly instalments (EMIs), the NRI guarantor here will pay the EMIs from his NRI account.
So the person in whose name you would buy the car would have to become a co-applicant in the loan.
The condition here is that both the co-applicant (resident Indian) and the guarantor (NRI) should be in the age group between 21 and 65 years. However, this varies from bank to bank.
Customer relation: “We give this loan only to our existing NRI customers. Only those who have had three-five years banking relationship with us are considered,” said Surendran.
This means that the chances of getting a car loan from your existing bank is higher.
Country of residence: All banks have their own list of approved countries for the same. Countries like the US, the UK, Malaysia, Singapore and West Asian countries are on the approved list of most banks.
Income criteria: You need to be above a certain income level.
For instance, to get a loan from Federal Bank, your monthly income should not be less than Rs.20,000.
Also, the deductions including the proposed loan should be up to 50% of salary. You also have the option to club your spouse’s income for the purpose.
Main featuresDocumentation: You can submit the documents (see graph) either at the branch of your residing country, if it has one, or send it online or send it through your co-applicant.
Amount of loan: The amount of loan varies from bank to bank.
Loan to value (LTV): LTV is the ratio of the amount that you can borrow for buying a car to the actual value of the car or ex-showroom price of the car. Most banks finance 85-100% of the ex-showroom price.
Tenor: Tenor of the loan amount is between 5 and 7 years from the date of purchase of the car.
Interest rate and other charges: The interest rate for NRI car loans is the same as that offered to resident Indians.
Repayment: As per the Reserve Bank of India, repayment can be done only through remittance received from outside India through normal banking channels or through non-resident external/ordinary accounts or out of income earned from a rented property in India.
RBI has also allowed resident Indians to repay loans on behalf of their close NRI relatives.
What should you do?“The first question you need to ask is will the cost of funds you intend to borrow be cheaper overseas or in India,” said Vishal Dhawan, a Mumbai-based financial planner.
“Compare the interest rates of personal loan in the country you reside with car loans in India and go for the cheaper one.” Also, ensure that you have a healthy track record with your bank

NEW CAR LOAN - public vs private banks

Usually a new car buyer is attracted towards such loan providers who are easy to understand and take less time to process the amount irrespective of charges and future botherations

 

New Car market has grown very fast in last few years. With variety of car options and increased number of car buyer, varieties of Auto/Car loan products have been flooded by the public and private banks. Usually a new car buyer is attracted towards such loan providers who are easy to understand and take less time to process the amount irrespective of charges and future botherations. Let’s analyze the car loan offer by some of the prominent banks from the public and private domain and find out the institution that is providing a better deal for the customers. Following are the charges and offers by various banks in prevailing market situation:

The below-mentioned data help in drawing the criteria to select the most suitable bank. The rate of interest is an important point that differentiates banks while opting for a new car loan. Here we can see that the interest rate charged by the public bank is substantially low while compared to private banks. SBI’s interest rate is around 10.75% for its new car loan whereas the lowest rate charged by private banks is 11%. Most of the public banks have relaxed the customers for the prepayment penalty whereas private banks are charging a good amount if the loan is wrapped up earlier than schedule. The processing charges by the public banks are also lower than private banks.

To conclude we can say that the recent ups and downs in an interest rate have created a wide gap between the Public and Private bank. Monetary benefit seems to be more while selecting a public bank for a new car loan, but one should also keep in mind the average level of service quality provided by these banks. Private Banks always get an edge over public banks while it’s a matter of service quality. If the customer is ready to pay more and doesn’t want to negotiate with the services, then private banks are ahead of public banks. On the other hand, the monetary benefit is substantial with a public bank. If the customer is desirous to take a loan for long duration and there is no hurry, then go for a public bank whereas if there is immediate requirement and that too for a short period, then private banks can fulfill the needs.

Table Showing New Car Loan Charges by the Banks
BANK	INTEREST RATE	PREPAYMENT CLAUSE	PROCESSING CHARGE	OTHER CHARGE
HDFC BANK	11 to 17%	6% of Principal Outstanding(POS)if < 1 year from 1st EMI,	Up to 2.5 Lacs : Rs.2000/-	Late payment penalty :2% per month
		5% of POS for pre-closures within 13-24 months from 1st EMI,
		3% of POS for pre-closures post 24 months from 1st EMI	2.51 to 4 lacs : Rs.3000/-
		No foreclosure allowed within 6 months from date of availing the car loan	> 4 Lacs : Rs 3,500/-
AXIS BANK	12.5 % to 15%	a>Foreclosure within 6 months- 10% of the outstanding loan amount	Rs 3500 to Rs 5500	Late payment penalty :2% per month
		b>Foreclosure after 6 months- 5% of the outstanding loan
SBI	10.75%	Pre Payment Penalty is waived	.51% of loan amount with a condition of minimum Rs 1020 and maximum Rs 10200/-	No Penalty for loans up to Rs.25,000/-.
				Above Rs.25000/- : If irregular, EMI/Installment for one month, then penalty@2% p.a.
				(over and above the applicable interest rate)
				on the overdue amount for the period of default.
ICICI BANK	Up to 23 months-15.75% to 17.00%,	5% of principal outstanding or	For Loan amount: <2.5 Lac -Rs 2500	2% per month on the outstanding installment
	For 24 months to 35 months-13.75% to 16.00 %,	Interest outstanding for unexpired period of the loan, whichever is low.	2.5 to 9.9 Lac- Rs 3500 to 4200
	For 36 to 60 months-11.5% to 14.75%	Note :Part prepayment not allowed.	> 10 Lac- Rs 5000
	Documentation charges Rs 350/- extra for all loan amounts
Oriental Bank Of Commerce	Loan tenure within 3 year:11.4%, after 3 year: 11.65%	Prepayment Penalty / documentation charges/ upfront fee- NIL	0.50% of loan amount with a minimum of Rs.500. +Service tax, if any.	NA

Data Source: Data taken from Respective Bank’s Website as on 23^rd August 2012

Bajaj hits back saying it's not a cheap car

The RE60 developed by Bajaj is not promoted as passenger car by the company

A day after Tata Motors managing director Karl Slym raised questions for the need of quadricycles, Pune-based Bajaj Auto, which is pioneering the quadricycle project, has stated that its RE60 is not a low-cost car.

Slym termed the proposed formation of a new segment called quadricycle, on which the government has even set up a committee, a step backwards with regards to traffic safety and environment.

The RE60 developed by Bajaj is not promoted as passenger car by the company but an improvement over the three-wheeler.

Bajaj hinted that the slowing demand for the Nano is a clear indication that low cost cars are not what consumers want.

"The cheaper car - ie Nano - offers nothing but a lower price and sales data appears to tell us quite clearly how deep that strategy runs with customers", stated a spokesperson from Bajaj Auto.

Bajaj claims that ten years ago when the quadricycle project was proposed to the government by TVS Motors the aim was to produce an ultra low-cost car. This time, however, the idea is to progressively replace the three-wheeler (commonly known as autorickshaw).

Chennai-based TVS Motors Chairman and managing director Venu Srinivasan claimed that it was Bajaj Auto who had resisted the idea of quadricycle when TVS Motors had proposed for it to the government about ten years ago.

"In the past the quadricycle proposal was for a cheaper car. This time Bajaj's RE60 proposal is for a superior 3 wheleer. Two diametrically different idea but both requiring creation of a new category", added the spokesperson.

Rajiv Bajaj, managing director, Bajaj Auto has consistently stated that the quadricycle is a three wheeler with an additional fourth wheel, promoting the idea of a safer urban travel compared to traditional three-wheelers.

Responding to this argument Slym stated in his tweet today, "The number of wheels do not automatically make us better, it is adherence to tried and tested safety and emission norms".

The Indian safety norms for off-set frontal crash are almost 15 years behind when compared to Europe norms for cars, challenges Bajaj Auto.

Bajaj is ready with its product, which it says qualifies through all parameters to be called as quadricycle as it is developed on the lines of the European regulations for such products.

The government, which had set up a committee for checking launch feasibility of quadricycle in India later gave an in-principle approval for creation of this new class of four-wheelers.

Not just Bajaj but other companies such as Piaggio, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher to name a few have also evinced interest in this project.

The quadricycle does not fall under any of the existing vehicle segments and requires the government to form new set of rules and regulations for the same.

Daimler's Mercedes to boost 2013 car sales more than 4%: CFO

BERLIN: Germany's Daimler said it aims to increase deliveries of its Mercedes-Benz luxury vehicles by more than 4 per cent this year, beating global passenger car growth which the automaker sees at 2-4 per cent.

Second-quarter results at Daimler should be better than numbers achieved during the first three months, finance chief Bodo Uebber said on Wednesday during a conference call.

First-quarter earnings before interest and taxes ( EBIT) from ongoing businesses more than halved to 917 million euros ($1.2 billion).

Cost-cutting programmes had "relatively little" effect on first-quarter results, the CFO added.


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Electric car aims to crack 700km/h speed record

Sydney: Come August, and the new poster car for the electric vehicle Venturi VBB-3 will take to the famous Bonneville salt flats, with the aim of shattering its own record.

Built as a joint venture between Ohio State University and Venturi, a boutique French manufacturer of alternative powered vehicles, the car is expected to push the new record to 700km/h from its current 495km/h mark, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The car will be powered by a 2230kW engine and driven by Ohio-based test driver Roger Schroer.

He was the same driver who hit a top speed of 515km/h in VBB-2 on his way to the current electric-powered land speed record of 495km/h in 2010.

Land speed records are based on two runs in opposite directions on the same day.

Venturi is responsible for environmentally conscious sports cars such as the all-electric 200km/h Fetish spyder and has experimented with solar-powered vehciles as well.

The French firm is pushing the limits of electric powered vehicles.

In 2010 it built an battery-powered Citroen Berlingo van that French adventurers Geraldine Gabin and Xavier Chevrin drove from Shanghai to Paris in less than three months.

The same vehicle was then used to drive 5800km across Africa - through Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswanna and South Africa - without any outside assistance.

ANI

 

Volkswagen Unveils ‘iPhone Car’

The car costs 40 times more than the phone, but the iPhone integration is the big selling point on

Volkswagen AG’s new iBeetle, launched at the Shanghai Motor Show.
Apple Inc. and Volkswagen have done a deal to pair their iconic products: the Beetle car and the iPhone. It’s the car that is hoping to get a publicity lift from the smartphone.
But before getting too carried away this is not the “car as platform,” the opening up of a car’s systems to allow independent developers to build car apps. Rather, the iBeetle integration with the iPhone comprises merely an iPhone 5 cradle built into the dashboard.
A fuel-economy calculator and route-comparison features aside, the iPhone’s functions in the new car are still largely entertainment and social, adding to the media features of the car rather than radically rethinking the vehicle.
In one option the phone plays music via Spotify AB or iTunes, in another it reads out messages from SMS or Facebook allowing for hands-free driving. Social features let drivers send location and photos to contacts. Then there’s a Foursquare-like game feature called milestones that rewards users with milestone stickers for traveling certain distances.
More technical features of the Beetle app that connects the iPhone to the car will allow the phone to display certain dashboard gauges — include a G-Meter (for measuring transverse acceleration) for the engine, a chronometer and a compass.
The iBeetle and iBeetle Cabriolet will go on sale at the beginning of 2014.
The car-as-platform is a much talked about move in the motor industry. However obvious safety concerns abound as well as questions of interoperability between car makers. Until these are addressed, perhaps a docking station is as good as it is going to get.

Volkswagen

The iPhone 5 sits at the centre of the dashboard.

 

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Students Can Now Receive Attractive Car Loan Deals Without Any Cosigner, Courtesy of Bad Credit Auto Loans Experts Valley Auto Loans

Bad credit auto loans experts  has now made it possible for students to qualify for affordable car loan deals without cosigners. Valley Auto Loans is America's number one online destination for poor credit car financing service

 

Greenville, SC (PRWEB) April 20, 2013

After emerging as the strongest player in America's bad credit auto loans market, Valley Auto Loans is taking firm steps towards scripting another success story with their student auto loan service. For many years, this online service platform has been offering top class car loan service for consumers with bad or no credit. The company's has recently become the cynosure of the lending community by implementing a credit policy that offers approval to almost 100% of their customers irrespective of their credit score.
To qualify for excellent car loan deals without a good credit score, please visit https://valleyautoloan.com/apply-now2/.
Over the years, different lending companies in the country have considered cosigners to be an important qualification criterion for offering car loan to students. This is because most of the students have bad or no credit. Unlike most of these companies, Valley Auto Loans specializes in offering car loan service for poor credit borrowers. As a result, they have now started offering attractive car loan deals for students without a cosigner or any upfront payment.
Talking about their student auto loans service, a senior official from Valley Auto Loans said, "We know many students are deprived from car loan deals because they do not have a good credit history. Our service is tailor-made for such consumers and hence, we have now started serving students with our efficient service platform."
About Valley Auto Loans:
Valley Auto Loans is one of the most renowned providers of national and local auto loans. The company understands that it can be embarrassing and frustrating to not be able to qualify for a car loan or student auto loan. Valley Auto Loans connects consumers with the best auto lenders and helps them get approved for an auto loan quickly

 

Chinese car makers turn to hybrids, hope for Beijing backing

China is warming to gasoline-electric hybrid cars as it tackles an addiction to fossil fuels, and local car makers are finally heeding the call and entering a niche 'green' market dominated by Japanese rivals such as Toyota Motor Corp.
Some automakers like state-owned SAIC Motor Corp and Brilliance Auto are developing the fuel-saving technology pioneered by Toyota on its Prius model two decades ago, and BYD Co, a Chinese battery and automaker part-owned by a Warren Buffett company, will unveil a "self-developed" gasoline-electric car technology at the Shanghai auto show, the premier industry event in the world's biggest market, later on Saturday.
Throwing more subsidies at conventional hybrids could help kick-start China's so-called 'new-energy' car policy, which has failed to gain traction. The policy aims to put half a million new-energy vehicles - defined as all-electric battery vehicles and heavily electrified "near all-electric" plug-in hybrids - on the road by 2015 and 5 million by 2020.
Last year, just 12,791 such vehicles were sold, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers data, and industry experts reckon China has little hope of hitting those objectives unless the government redefines new-energy cars and embraces conventional hybrids and other alternative energy technologies.
"After all these years, people now realise that all-electric battery cars are unlikely to become mainstream over the next 10 years," said Peter Huang, associate director at IHS Automotive.
Expanding subsidies
Looking to wean China off fossil fuels and clean up its polluted air, Beijing has offered generous purchase incentives on new-energy cars in a 3-year programme that ended last year. As it comes to renew the programme, which industry insiders expect in the coming weeks, the government is thought likely to increase subsidies for hybrids.
Handouts for those buying hybrid cars "will likely be significantly higher" than they are now, a senior executive at a major state-owned automaker told Reuters. In the previous programme, Beijing offered a 3,000 yuan rebate to drivers buying a new gas-electric hybrid car, way below the 60,000 yuan handouts on all-electric battery cars.
"The government has to change the policy. What has happened is they can't spend the money budgeted for all-electric cars because few people are buying them. People are not motivated to buy hybrids either as the subsidies are far from enough," said the state-owned auto company executive, who didn't want to be named because of the sensitive nature of the matter.
Jochem Heizmann, CEO of Volkswagen Group China, said "There's a discrepancy between the (Chinese) government's goals and actions. Over the next 10 years, plug-in hybrids have much better prospects to achieve a certain volume than (purely) electric cars.
"The problem is that special infrastructure has to be organised in some public areas. For private individuals it's really difficult to use the electric car. It will take a long time to get to a certain volume (with battery-powered cars)," he told reporters in Shanghai on Friday.
"All very complicated"
Chinese media have reported that Miao Wei, head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told delegates at last month's National People's Congress that the new-energy car rebate programme would likely include 16 categories based on a vehicle's fuel efficiency - raising industry hopes that the government is ready to boost subsidies for conventional hybrids.
"China's hybrid vehicles have been gradually maturing and mainstream products have achieved 20 percent savings on fuel. Conventional hybrids are thus ready, and cleared the threshold for country-wide promotion," state media reported Miao as saying at a Congress session.
Some media said other ministries had not yet been won over to the merits of adopting conventional hybrids aggressively.
"I haven't heard anything definite, it's all very complicated," said an official at the semi-government China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATARC), a body that helps set vehicle standards and technical regulations, as well as product certification and industry planning.
The city of Guangzhou, a key industrial hub in southern China with a population of 12.7 million, decided last year to offer a 10,000 yuan rebate to anyone buying a gas-electric hybrid car.
China-made hybrids
The application of hybrid technology - propelling a vehicle by coupling a gasoline engine with an electric motor - began with Toyota in the 1990s, and has since been taken up by many automakers. Hybrids are particularly popular in the United States and Japan. Toyota alone has sold more than 5 million hybrids since launching the Prius in 1997.
Among China's leading carmakers, SAIC has said it will launch the Roewe 550 hybrid in the coming months, adding to its Roewe 750 hybrid which hit showrooms in 2011 and which is priced from 236,800 yuan. Brilliance Auto is set to mass produce its FSV, a so-called 'mild hybrid' car that uses stop-start technology - where the gasoline engine stops when the car is at a standstill and re-starts when the driver steps on the gas pedal. To date it has sold several hundred FSVs to fleet operators in Dalian and other cities. Great Wall Motor Co <601633.SS> is also expected to put its first 'green' car, a cross-over hybrid, on the market in China next year.
"We have been focusing mostly on hybrids because battery technology is not mature and the cost is too high," said Judy Zhu, a spokeswoman for SAIC.
Whatever Beijing decides on incentives for conventional hybrids, non-Chinese manufacturers will benefit, too.
Toyota last year more than quadrupled sales of its hybrids in China to around 17,000 cars, some made locally and others brought in from Japan. Beyond the Prius, Toyota has a hybrid Camry that it builds in China. Volume sales are relatively low as the hybrids are pricey, with the Prius, for example, starting at $37,200 due to high taxes on imported cars in China. To bring prices down, Toyota plans to produce key hybrid parts such as the electric motors and batteries in China by 2015.
Japanese rival Honda Motor Co sold only 540 hybrid cars in China last year, but plans to start producing certain hybrid models in China as early as next year.

 

Volkswagen takes aim at China to fix budget car Achilles heel

REUTERS - If Volkswagen is to achieve its goal of becoming the world's biggest automaker, it needs to conquer the only market where the German group trails major competitors: low-cost cars.
Europe's biggest carmaker plans to launch a budget brand in China with one of its local partners by about 2015, aiming to draw on more than 2,000 dealers and a market share of over 20 percent to take on similar no-frills ventures established by General Motors (GM.N), Nissan (7201.T) and Honda (7267.T).
The brand, likely to be a major talking point at the Shanghai auto show, may include a van, estate and small sedan priced about 6,000-7,000 euros, company sources have said. If successful, it could be replicated elsewhere.
But expanding into budget cars is not without its risks for a group which makes more than half its 11.5 billion euros operating profit from luxury marques like Audi and Porsche. And competitors are not standing still.
"It's difficult for any carmaker to unlearn many decades of engineering," said Deepesh Rathore, managing director of research firm IHS Automotive in India, referring to VW's traditional focus on technologically advanced vehicles.
In the face of plunging European car sales, VW has continued to prosper thanks to strong demand for its upmarket models in emerging markets, and it is determined to snatch the global sales crown from Toyota (7203.T) in the next five years.
But a group which makes everything from motorcycles and supercars to 40-ton trucks increasingly feels that to do this - and then stay ahead - it will have to address the boom in demand for no-frills cars, particularly in developing economies.
"We're having talks about this on a rolling basis," said Bernd Osterloh, deputy head of VW's supervisory board and the group's top labour representative. "We have to tap new markets like Southeast Asia or Africa more vigorously than before."
The opportunity looks huge. Global sales of cars priced up to $11,000 are forecast to surge 39 percent to 33.1 million cars by 2020, accounting for about a third of the world market, from 23.9 million last year, according to IHS Automotive.
At the same time, the two largest markets for budget vehicles, China and India, are expected to see sales in the segment increase 44 percent and over 100 percent to 7.02 million and 5.03 million respectively, IHS data show.
THE LOW-COST CAR IMPERATIVE
VW has long neglected budget cars, fearing that making money on stripped-down vehicles jars with its global pursuit of quality and profitability, a senior VW manager said on condition of anonymity because the matter is confidential.
It seems the German group is now prepared to put these concerns to one side in a bid to build a stronger presence in some of the fastest growing car markets.
In India, for example, where cars smaller than four metres account for three-quarters of sales, VW is trailing Toyota, Ford (F.N) and General Motors (GM), which in recent years have earned a foothold in the market by rolling out country-specific low-cost models.
VW's only model in those segments, the Polo, starts at around $9,100. Maruti Suzuki's (MRTI.NS) entry-level model, and India's biggest-selling car, the Alto, costs half that price, while Hyundai's (005380.KS) small-car range starts at around $5,200.
Starting in China seems logical for VW. Not only is it the world's biggest car market, but the German group has over three decades of experience there and is growing sales strongly.
To comply with local rules on manufacturing, VW's budget brand is expected to be a co-venture with one of its local partners - SAIC (600104.SS) or FAW Group.
And to keep costs low, VW would use pre-existing mechanics from models that have gone out of production or are nearing the end of production, rather than develop new costly underpinnings for the new brand from scratch, VW brand development chief Ulrich Hackenberg told Reuters.
CHEAPER AND CHEAPER
However, the German group will have a fight on its hands from the likes of GM, which has already launched its low-cost Boajun brand in tandem with SAIC and Wuling (0305.HK), and Nissan, which has the Venucia brand with partner Dongfeng.
And even if VW cracks the low-cost market in China, it is unclear how easy it will be able to apply its learnings in other markets, where it may have a weaker presence.
Meanwhile - and largely in response to Europe's plunging car market - rivals like Renault (RENA.PA) and GM's Chevrolet, as well as Hyundai and affiliate Kia, have been improving their budget offerings for years, closing the gap with mainstream brands in everything from design to fuel efficiency.
Renault's so-called Entry models, initially a flop in target markets like India, were an accidental hit back home and have become the French automaker's biggest earner, with profit margins above 6 percent. Italian rival Fiat (FIA.MI) is also mulling a low-cost brand to penetrate India.
Renault and affiliate Nissan are also devising an even cheaper crop of budget cars for India and other emerging markets, including a vehicle platform that Nissan's revived Datsun brand would also use.
The decline of Tata Motors' (TAMO.NS) $3,000 Nano, however, shows that the race to the bottom isn't without risks. With its breadth of technology, VW may well stay out of the ultra-cheap market.
"If they (Renault-Nissan) have as much success as Tata with the Nano...," VW's Osterloh chuckled. (Editing by Mark Potter)

Hyundai unwraps China-only concept car, to launch late this year

Seoul: Hyundai Motor Co unveiled a new concept car it made only for China at the Shanghai auto show on Saturday, and plans to launch the model late this year into a market that is replacing the United States and Europe as a major growth driver for the South Korean firm and its affiliate Kia Motors.

The Mistra model is larger than Hyundai's Elantra compact but smaller than its Sonata mid-sized sedan, a spokesman for the company said.

Reuters reported last July that Hyundai was preparing its China-only model, tapping into a growing number of the country's middle-class who want affordability, but also the space and upscale feel of a mid-size vehicle.

A person with direct knowledge of the new model said then that it had been designed to compete with Nissan Motor Co Ltd's Sylphy, which the Japanese automaker successfully developed from its smaller Tiida model.

The Mistra concept is "a strategic model for China developed to secure a clear position in the mid-sized premium market in China and a car which reflected the needs and preference of Chinese customers from the development stage," Hyundai said in a statement.

Hyundai's China sales jumped 41 per cent to a record 260,716 in January-March, boosted by a third Chinese plant that began production late last year and by a territorial dispute between Beijing and Tokyo that battered sales of Japanese rivals.

Hyundai has said it aims to increase its China sales by more than 13 per cent to 970,000 vehicles this year, though analysts see the company topping 1 million.

Hyundai, which with Kia ranks fifth in global sales, outperformed the industry in the United States and Europe after the global financial crisis, but lagged rivals in China. This year, however, the South Korean firm is seen underperforming in the US and Europe, while growing faster than the market in China, analysts forecast.

In China, Hyundai has a partnership with state-owned BAIC Group, while Kia has a tie-up with Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd and Jiangsu Yueda Investment Co Ltd.

 

Luxury car prices set to drop dramatically

NEW DELHI: Luxury cars are set to get dramatically cheaper. Not just the ones from Europe, but also from Japan and South Korea. Over the next few years the government is expected to slash customs duty on vehicles shipped from EU countries, which includes Germany, as well as Japan and South Korea, countries with whom India has free trade agreements (FTAs).

European car makers will get a head start as the government, beginning 2017, has offered to lower the customs duty to 30% on cars under the proposed trade & investment agreement with the EU. Japanese and Korean car makers are also expected to get the same benefit with a lag of a year or two, although a final decision on the issue is still awaited, sources in the government said.

Currently, cars with a landed cost of over $40,000 (around Rs 22 lakh) face 100% customs levy, and those below that pay 60% import duty. In case of EU, there is also a move to allow the import of at least 2.5 lakh cars at 10% duty between 2017 and 2021. (So the Mini Cooper's price could be halved.) Anything above the quota will come at 30% levy.

Customs duty reduction to 30% will mean that the total duty incidence, including local levies, would fall to around 80% from 174% currently, which includes countervailing duty, special additional duty and cesses and surcharges. So, for a car with a landed price of around Rs 25 lakh, which currently costs Rs 69 lakh will then come for Rs 45 lakh — a reduction of almost 35%, provided local levies stay at current levels.

Although the duty concessions would be available to all cars, industry players expect imports to be limited largely to the luxury segment, where lower volumes do not justify local manufacturing. Which is why global giants import luxury cars as completely-built units (CBUs).

Despite a common duty structure, Korean and Japanese carmakers may not gain as much as the Europeans as they are more in the mid-market segment than in the top-end, said industry players. Already, companies such as Honda, which was importing the CR-V as a CBU from Japan, have now started assembling it locally.

Lamborghini India head Pavan Shetty said the duty reduction will give a big boost to demand for luxury cars. "It will surely expand the market, by at least double. By 2017, the per capita income as well as the domestic economy will expand from the current levels, and the infrastructure will also be better. The timing of the duty reduction will thus be perfect to give a fillip to sales," he said.

While the government was initially unwilling to accept the demand, there is now a growing view that other countries and trading blocs with which India has a FTA should be given a level-playing field.

Earlier, top commerce department officials had said that EU or others who sign trade agreements later would gain more. But that argument seems to have been junked. "Japan is the largest investor in the Indian automobile sector. It will be difficult for us to deny them the benefit," said a source, who did not wish to be identified.

After all, trade agreements are subjected to periodic reviews and South Korea and Japan have already written to the government seeking that the auto duty structure under the comprehensive trade agreements be brought at par with EU.

Domestic carmakers, however, fear that the move to ease import duty will impact local manufacturing. But government officials said that the auto industry cannot be given an indefinite protection by maintaining high tariff walls.  

Cheaper to lease than buy a car

Compare interest paid on car loan and tax benefit on rentals before deciding

Competition in the passenger-car segment is heating up and the worsening economic condition is making things better for car buyers. Car manufacturers are wooing prospective car buyers with goodies including huge cash discounts, waiver of processing fees and low interest rates. Some of the innovative schemes doing rounds include options like payments deferred by periods extending to one year and even offering a second car absolutely free at the end of five years after buying the first car. Car buyers could not have asked for more.

It is quite common for individuals to remark that buying a car is purely a 'status' symbol and does not count as an investment. The rationale for this thought is pretty simple - car is a depreciating asset. At the end of its useful life, the used car will not fetch much value. Keeping this proposition in mind, does it make sense to buy the car using finance options? Even at low interest rates, such as 6 - 7 per cent, should an individual look at paying interest to buy a depreciating asset. If the car is intended to be used for business purpose, then the interest that is paid is at least giving the business some tax benefits; but nothing of this at all for the salaried individual.

Jumping into the bandwagon of providing options, recently some of the luxury car makers have started offering a new option - leasing the car for a fixed period.

Leasing - a flexible solution
Leasing (also called as Operating Lease by some car companies) is a flexible solution whereby the vehicle is leased to an individual for his chosen period and / or mileage, with the option of including insurance, registration and maintenance in the monthly rental. The ownership of the car remains with the company and so also the liability.

During the lease period, the individual simply pays his monthly rentals and can enjoy driving the car. The fine-print of the lease will also specify the condition in which the car needs to be at the time of return, in order to avoid paying additional charges to the company.

At the end of the lease period, the individual simply returns the car back to the company and will also be eligible to lease another vehicle of his choice. In some cases, the company even considers in extending the lease tenure for the individual.

Benefits to individuals
Typically, the lease rentals are lower than the EMIs paid for the loan servicing. These savings can be utilised by individuals to invest for their other goals or simply increase their spending budget. Many individuals have a passion for cars and look to change their cars more often. The leasing option, as described above, is an excellent means to fulfil this passion.

The table highlights the comparative advantage of the leasing option over a financing and ownership models. The data used for the illustration is a luxury car, where the total cost, including insurance and registration paid upfront is Rs 29,51,448. The tenure of the loan is 36 months with 90 per cent funding and the lease period selected is also of 36 months.

The lease option has the potential to yield better benefits for the following reasons:

No down payment required; which means the individual's capital can be utilised for other productive purposes like providing for business capital, family responsibilities like children's education, own retirement and so on.

A lease is far easier to obtain than a finance option.

Although the ownership model (both under financing and outright) provides depreciation benefits for the business individual, the tax-savings is not equivalent to savings provided under the lease option.

For self-employed individuals or businessmen the entire lease rental paid is eligible for deduction under the tax provisions. At 33.99 per cent tax rates for individuals in the highest tax-brackets for the current fiscal, the tax-savings provided by lease rentals is the highest.

More importantly, the car itself being a depreciating asset, the resale value will always be lower than the purchase value, thereby, making the lease option more lucrative. When you buy a car, the depreciation is your burden as the car owner, the same gets reflected in the price that one fetches for the car later. Whereas in a lease, the company is the one who accepts the depreciation, since they will be taking the car back.

Maintenance costs are pretty low, since most warranties for new cars extend up to three years, which is a typical average lease period.

The individual does not have to worry about the resale of the car and can thus plan his upgrades easily.

Service costs - not a deterrent
For many car owners and car buyers, intrinsic costs of owning a car, namely service and maintenance costs, is a big deterrent in making the buy decision. Typically, various costs of maintaining the car like servicing, registration, insurance and so on can all be bundled and made a part of the monthly rental. Thus, the cost of maintaining and driving the car is reduced to just one figure, namely the rental. Based on one's budget, the individual can zero down on the rental and accordingly choose their car.

Although leasing offers so many benefits, it is not popular option.

The choice between buying a car versus leasing can also be a lifestyle choice. People who prefer driving a new car every few years find the lease option more appealing. Since the monthly payments are less expensive than purchasing a car, they are able to drive better cars than could afford to buy.

Luxury car makers seek success in China

SHANGHAI: Construction tycoon Niu Yeqing owns four cars in which he cruises the streets of the Chinese city of Hefei, including a black Mercedes-Benz S600. His wife favours a burgundy red Porsche.

Niu does not plan to stop there and this weekend he will be shopping for a British-made Bentley car with a budget of $790,000 when he visits the Shanghai auto show, which opens on Sunday.

At a previous show he bought a German Audi A8, which he gave away as a gift.

"Isn't a car for people to enjoy?" he told AFP, adding that he was fond of automobiles that exhibited "strong power and speed" and enjoyed luxury labels such as Versace and Hermes.

Drivers like Niu are the reason why China has become crucial to luxury car makers, as a growing number of rich people with an instinct for flaunting their wealth pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single vehicle.

China's market for "premium" cars costing up to $190,000 was 1.25 million vehicles last year, second only to the United States, according to consultancy McKinsey.

But makers of ultra-luxury cars commanding even higher prices said China has become an important market due to rising incomes in the rapidly developing country, already the world's biggest auto market.

China was the world's second biggest market behind the United States for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars last year. Two of its top five global dealers are in mainland China, in the capital Beijing and commercial hub Shanghai.

"We think we have a very long-term, healthy future in this market," said Jolyon Nash, Rolls-Royce Director of Sales and Marketing.

"Chinese customers have a great appreciation for luxury and super-luxury goods. There's a definite cultural tendency to celebrate success."

The British carmaker, whose brand is owned by Germany's BMW, will Saturday hold the Asia launch for its new Wraith model, priced at around $794,000, hoping to attract well-heeled customers in China.

"The luxury car market has just not stopped. Two years ago, it completely took everyone by surprise," said Rupert Hoogewerf, founder of a China-based publisher of luxury magazines which compiles an annual rich list.

His Hurun Report estimates that China's 2.8 millionaires in dollar terms own an average of three cars per family, typically a business and personal car for the chief earner and another for the spouse.

The 64,000 super-rich in China, individuals with wealth of $16 million, own four vehicles on average, with at least one chauffeur-driven for a display of stature and convenience given China's urban traffic jams, the report said.

"There are always going to be wealthy people, who want to differentiate themselves from someone else," said Namrita Chow, a Shanghai-based senior analyst for IHS Automotive.

Some luxury car makers are going downmarket in China, offering less expensive models to reach more buyers while at the same time trying to maintain the prestige of their brands, analysts said.

As China's middle-class upgrade their cars they have become an emerging group of buyers for lower-end luxury vehicles, a sector dominated by German brands which account for 80 percent of the premium market, McKinsey estimates.

But China's slowing economic growth and a crackdown on corruption launched by its new leaders have taken some steam out of the luxury car market.

From May, China will bar at least 10 luxury brands from being used by military personnel as official vehicles, among them Jaguar and Volkswagen's executive Phaeton model.

Luxury car brands have been targeted by China's state media over quality and by outspoken Internet users angry over a widening income gap, among the pitfalls in the developing market.

Last month, state television accused three luxury German automakers -- Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi -- of using toxic materials in components used to absorb vibrations.

Online reports last year about a crash involving a Ferrari driven by a top official's son, who died in the accident, set the Internet abuzz and raised questions about corruption, before being censored.

Ferrari was hit by an earlier scandal after a car left tyre tracks on a protected landmark, an ancient city wall, in a publicity stunt gone wrong. 

Luxury car makers seek success in China

Maserati executive car tests Fiat's push into luxury

MILAN: In these lean economic times, even supercar makers are reaching down-market - which for Maserati means a price tag below 100,000 euros ($131,000).

The Italian company owned by Fiat is reinventing its venerable Ghibli tourer as an "executive sedan" aimed squarely, as the description suggests, at people who still have to work.

The car, due to be unveiled at the Shanghai auto show on Saturday, is an early test of Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne's efforts to squeeze more cash out of the prestigious Maserati and Alfa Romeo brands. The plan would see Maserati sales surge eight-fold.

The outcome will help decide whether Fiat - a company founded in the late 19th century - survives the collapse of the auto market in Europe, where its losses reached 738 million euros last year, putting factories and thousands of jobs at risk.

Maserati will have to perform a difficult balancing act to emulate the success of Germany's BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen's Audi by rolling out more affordable models aimed at a broader client base without tarnishing one of the auto industry's most hallowed brands.

"This battle won't be won with individuals walking into showrooms with their cheque books," said Geoff Lancaster, chairman of Britain's Maserati Club. "It will be won by Maserati convincing the leasing companies and fleet managers that their product is competitive on a cost-per-mile basis with BMW and Mercedes."

Founded a century ago in Bologna by the five Maserati brothers, the company secured its place in racing history by winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1939 and 1940. After passing through the hands of a succession of owners including PSA Peugeot Citroen, Maserati was bought by Fiat in 1993.

The Ghibli is a smaller, sportier version of the 110,000-euro Quattroporte and the brand's second four-door car. Named after a wind, like most Maseratis, the original 1967 model and a 1992-97 successor were both two-door GT coupes.

The revived Ghibli arrives in Europe and China this summer and U.S. showrooms later in the year, to be followed in 2014 by a new Levante crossover sport-utility vehicle.

The Ghibli's prices will start somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 euros, Fiat has said, declining to comment on reports in the motoring press of a 70,000 euro entry ticket.

Brand chief Harald Wester is expected to announce prices and sales targets at the Shanghai show.

Fiat unions have been told the carmaker will add a second shift at its Maserati plant in Turin.

Maserati hopes the entry-level car will draw more buyers with its racing pedigree, powerful engines and alluring styling.

"For Maserati to grow, it needs to get into this segment with a smaller car at a lower price," said Pierluigi Santoro, a doctor and Maserati enthusiast based in Naples.

As European mass-market brands suffer, carmakers are turning to higher-margin luxury marques to make up for lost revenue.

Maserati and stable-mate Ferrari together sold 13,606 cars last year, or 0.3 percent of the 4 million total recorded by Fiat and its U.S. affiliate Chrysler. But they accounted for nearly 11 percent of group earnings.

The Maserati roll-out is being watched closely for clues about next year's Alfa Romeo relaunch, billed by Chief Executive Marchionne as one of the main drivers of his Fiat strategy.

Maserati is targeting an increase in sales to 50,000 cars in 2015 from 6,288 last year, with the Ghibli and upcoming Levante contributing a combined 35,000.

The goal may prove as unrealistic as it sounds, forecasters say. LMC Automotive estimates that total Maserati production will reach 39,078 in 2015. IHS sees 28,100.

Measuring just under five metres in length, the Ghibli comes with a 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel or petrol engine, manual or eight-speed automatic transmission and optional four-wheel drive.

The same underpinnings will be used for a large Alfa Romeo car as well as Chrysler's next-generation 300 sedan, Dodge Charger and Challenger models.

For Maserati, which sold 2,730 cars in the United States last year, there is a big gap to close with its competitors. Jaguar recorded 12,011 U.S. deliveries, while Porsche had 35,043 and Mercedes 295,013.

The Ghibli will compete with the Audi A6, BMW 5-Series, Jaguar XF and Daimler's Mercedes E-Class but exceed all of their starting prices - drawing some scepticism about its prospects.

While a move into bigger-selling categories can unlock economies of scale, it also brings tough competition from the better-known names, said Stefano Aversa, managing director at automotive consultancy AlixPartners.

"With the Ghibli, Maserati is entering a higher-volume segment where Porsche and Jaguar are already well positioned," he said. 

Fiat confirms business plan despite weaker car market

MILAN: The chairman of Italian car maker Fiat John Elkann confirmed on Friday the group's business plan announced on October 30 despite a difficult economic environment.

Asked if the company's plan to shift its focus to higher value models was still valid with the car market worsening, Elkann said it was.

"We are going ahead with our new model launches as planned. The new Maserati Ghibli will be launched tomorrow in China. We are seeing encouraging signs," Elkann said.

From Car to clunker: Ten biggest duds of the year are…

What makes a car a clunker? Is it bad design, unappealing features, wrong pricing…or just plain bad luck. This is a question most car makers have to face for at least some models. Over the last few years, as car sales zoomed, manufacturers have scored with many successful models, but the number of duds has also risen. With the financial year just ended, it seems like a good time to take a step back and review how some of the models have fared in the Indian market. With data from Team BHP, here’s what we gathered. We start with Ten cars that fared badly and will follow up with ten winners in a later post. All numbers are for sales in the Apr’ 2012 to March’ 13 period.

The Chevrolet Spark

Chevrolet Spark
Chevrolet sold only 7, 789 units of the car. The company says the vehicle has reached its end of life cycle. Sure, the Spark was first introduced in the Indian market in 2007. But not once in this time, has it managed to sell over 50,000 cars (per year). Last year Chevrolet introduced a new Spark (with a face lift), but that doesn’t seem to have helped. In sharp contrast, Hyundai was able to extract better volumes from the Santro, which sold 43,829 units last year.
Skoda Fabia
Skoda sold 3,343 units of the Fabia. The new generation Fabia is far cheaper compared to its earlier avatar, that had failed to bring in volumes. Petrol/diesel models, new features- nothing seems to have worked. Actually, most customers are not even clear if the Fabia is a premium or a budget hatch. Or perhaps, is Skoda struggling with its poor after sales legacy?
Fiat Punto

Fiat Grande Punto

Punto continues its journey in India as a segment laggard. Fiat sold 5, 425 units. The car has been on the shelf for more than four years, but customers have never really cared for it. Those who had bought it were put off by poor after sales and service and niggling defects in the product.
Renault Pulse
Or is it the Nissan Micra? Sales: 5, 588 units. Launched in early 2012, the car has been a non-starter. Considering the success the company has had with the Duster, the Pulse should probably benefit from some good brand positioning.

Ford Fiesta

New Ford Fiesta
A global bestseller for Ford, the new Fiesta never really caught on in India. The company sold 1,957 units. So, what’s keeping customers away? For one, its the price. Very few want to pay Rs 10 lakhs and more for a Ford Fiesta when they could buy the Verna instead.

Maruti SX4
Sales: 6, 707 units. Men are back? Okay, with that campaign, the less said, the better. On a serious note, the Dzire and Toyota’s Etios killed the market for the SX4.

Maruti Suzuki Kizashi

Maruti Kizashi
Rs. 16 lakhs and more for a Maruti- Forget it!  Launched with a lot of fanfare, the Kizashi has been a perennial dud in India. Maruti sold just 188 units. Last we heard is that they have stopped importing the vehicle considering that there are no buyers.
Nissan Evalia
The Nissan Evalia was launched with the hope that it would be the Toyota Innova-beater. Nissan was hoping to sell around 2,000 units of the vehicle every month. But it has managed to sell 1, 394 units in the whole year. Why did it not do well? I guess we don’t like vans very much. Also, brand awareness is very low. No, Ranbir Kapoor didn’t help.
Tata Safari
In a segment which registered a year on year growth of about 60 percent with total sales of 5,50,000 utility vehicles, the Safari + Safari Storme sold just 13, 000 units last year. Safari looks absolutely dated compared to its peers XUV 500 and the Renault Duster. Here’s a game – play spot the difference between Safari circa 1999 and Safari Storme 2013.

Tata Safari

Tata Aria
This model has been a disaster from day one. Tata sold just 838 units of the Aria in the last 12 months. Launched in 2010 at upwards of Rs 14 lakhs, the Aria was rejectedA by Indian customers. I heard from a dealer in Mumbai is that he had to sell his test vehicle at a discount of over 60 percent.

Tags: cars, Chevrolet Spark, Clunkers, Fiat Punto, Maruti SX4, Nissan Evalia, Skoda Fabia, Tata Storme , Car of the year, best cars, Beest indian cars

There's A Reason Cheap Electric Cars Come With Heated Seats

Heated seats — once reserved for upscale cars — are now a common standard feature in low-cost
electric cars. But the heated seats aren't just a luxury perk, Chuck Russell, chief engineer for the all-electric Chevrolet Spark and plug-in hybrid Volt, told Business Insider: They are a more efficient way to warm people up.
We got an early look at the new all-electric Spark, and were surprised to find out that the little car, which will start at less than $25,000 (after a $7,500 federal tax credit), will come with heated seats.
Applying heat directly to the body, instead of slowly warming up the air inside the car, is faster, Russell said, and it saves energy.
That consideration is especially important in electric cars. Limited battery power is a crucial shortcoming of EV technology, and saving what power today's batteries do offer is key.
Companies making EVs today seem to have gotten the message. According to shopping comparison site Find The Best, electric cars that come with heated front seats as a standard feature include the Ford Focus Electric, Nissan Leaf, Honda Fit EV, Mitsubishi MiEV, and Tesla Model S.
With the exception of the Model S, these are not luxury cars. They all start for less than $40,000.
But because they need to save power, their owners get a nice bonus, even if they don't know why.

Volkswagen passenger cars aims to double India market share and be worlds' No. 1,

German auto major Volkswagen passenger cars is eyeing to more than double its market share in India to up to 7 per cent by 2018, when it aims to become the largest car maker in the world.
"Our current market share in the Indian car market is around 3 per cent. The target is to achieve around 6-7 per cent market share by 2018," Volkswagen India Passenger Cars Managing Director Arvind Saxena said.
Globally, the company has announced its ambition to become the number one car maker by 2018.
Without disclosing details, he said the company will focus on all segments that are growing in the Indian market to drive sales.
For the current year, Saxena said: "The market continues to be down and we don't expect any growth. We are looking to maintain our market share of last year."
He declined to comment on whether the company planned to enter the fast growing compact SUV segment and the sub-4 metre sedan market in India.
For this year, Saxena said the company will introduce new variants of existing models and limited editions to keep the sales counter ticking.
According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data, passenger car sales in India during 2012-13 stood at 18,95,471 units.
In November last year, Volkswagen Group Board Member and Executive Vice-President Ulrich Hackenberg had said India would not be a priority market for introduction of new models, such as small car Up! and major investments till 2015 as the "business case is not positive".
"India is a possiblility... We are looking at the business case, which is not positive. In connection to the investment we need to do, we are not in the situation to do that," he had said.
The company, which was having VAT refund issues with the government of Maharashtra where it has two manufacturing plants, is undecided on setting up fresh facility required for new models like the Up!.
In January 2012, VW group had announced plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore for expanding operations in India, only to declare later in May same year that it had been put on hold as the VAT refund issue with Maharashtra government remained unresolved.
In the meantime, the group had last year announced investment of 100 million euros (over Rs 700 crore) in India over two years for upgrading products and existing facilities. It has two manufacturing facilities at Chakan and Aurangabad. PTI RKL TR RAH tvs RAH 04181347

 

Data + Design Project The Strange/Beautiful Cars of the Shell Eco-Marathon

The Strange/Beautiful Cars of the Shell Eco-Marathon

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So, you think your car is efficient. Maybe you have a Toyota Prius or a Volkswagen Golf diesel, two cars known for stretching a tank of fuel and going the distance… but they’ve got nothing on the weird looking cars of the Shell Eco-Marathon. These cars, no matter how good or downright ugly they might look, are designed to squeeze every bit of energy out of their small fuel tanks. The winner of the Gas Powered Prototype devision crushed the competition this year in the Americas, turning in a result of 1524.7 kilometers on just one liter of gasoline. In conventional figures that’s 0.066 l/100km or 3586 miles per gallon!

See Also Smart Highways: Safer Roads Coming Next Year

The race, which has races in Europe, Asia and the Americas, is is split into two classes. The Prototype class cars are designed for all out efficiency and streamlining, often leaving creature comforts and practicality behind. The UrbanConcept class designs are aimed at being useful on the street and often feature a more conventional appearance. Cars enter the race in one of 7 categories depending on their fuel source, which can be conventional gasoline and diesel, biofuels, fuel made from natural gas (GTL), hydrogen, solar or electricity.
Because these cars are so efficient, drivers aren’t asked to expend an entire liter worth of fuel… that would just be a crazy long race. Instead, over a number of days, they make multiple attempts at driving a fixed number of laps around the track at a set speed. Later, officials calculate the best efficiency of the car in each category and announce a winner. To learn more about this challenging, entertaining and innovative race, see shell.com.
The Gas Powered Prototype winner for the Americas race: 3586 miles per gallon!























Tag: Cool car Images , Unique car race, stylish cars, concept care, future cars,

Sports cars drive Chinese class rift 

One branch of China's Sports Car Club demands members own at least a Porsche Carrera GT, worth more than $400,000 when new in 2004.

To join China's Sports Car Club (SCC), you need two things. First, you have to be able to pay a 10,000 yuan ($1560) annual membership fee. Second, you need access to an unbelievably expensive sports car.
How expensive, exactly? In 2011, Bloomberg reported that a Porsche SE 911 (sold in China for $212,000) was considered entry-level at the Beijing branch — other members had $3.8 million Tramontanas and $4.1 million Bugatti Veyron 16.4s. According to the International Business Times, one branch now requires its members to have a car better than the Porsche Carrera GT, which was first sold in China during 2004 for $432,000.
While it was first formed in 2009 as a simple car enthusiast club, over the years the SCC and its associated social events have become linked with the negative concept of “fuerdai” — young second-generation rich known for flaunting their wealth. The club is stirring up elements of class hatred in the communist country.
It's not totally undeserved. This month, two rumoured members of the SCC began posting photos of their bank accounts online after a bizarre feud over allegations about a “sex party” at a yacht show. One bank account appeared to have over 9.9 billion yuan in it — $1.44 billion.

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The screenshots (which may, of course, be faked) crystallized concerns about what the club means for China. On Chinese microblog site Weibo “SCC” became the number one trending topic, according to the South China Morning Post.
“Thank you SCC,” one Weibo user wrote after the scandal broke. “You make me understand that I'm not living at the bottom of this society, I live 180 floors beneath the bottom.”
“By my current income, I can become a SCC member in 1000 years,” wrote another. “That is to say, I don't eat, drink or spend a penny in those 1000 years.”
While there are reportedly just 1500 members of the SCC, they have a habit of making news. When the absurdly fabulous life of a young woman in Shenzhen went viral earlier this year, it didn't take long for people to realise she was an SCC member.
In 2010, GQ China interviewed six Chinese twenty-something members of the Sports Car Club. One notable quote came from a man dating a pretty woman, who then realised her car was “five years out of fashion”.
“Secondhand goods,” the SCC member said, ditching the girl. (GQ China was later forced to pull the issue after it emerged their reporter had not made it clear they were recording the conversations for publication.)
Sports cars themselves have become intrinsically linked to corruption in the public imagination. Last year, the 4am car crash of a $1 million Ferrari and subsequent cover-up led to the dramatic sidelining of a key Beijing politician (it's believed his son was driving the car, and may have been killed in it). One of the more light-hearted aspects of last year's Bo Xilai scandal was the constant discussion of what car his Harvard student son drives.
For many Chinese citizens, the SCC and sports cars in general seem to represent the big new problem in China — economic inequality.
For example, the monthly membership fees for the SCC are almost twice the average annual salary for Beijing (based on official 2011 data). Even if a person earning this salary paid no taxes and had no other expenses, it would take them almost 50 years to buy a Porsche Carrera GT at $432,000.
As Lily Kuo at online news outlet Quartz notes, China's Gini coefficient (a measure of income inequality) was officially 0.47 in 2012, and other studies say it could be as high as 0.61. The global average is 0.44, and 0.61 would be 50 per cent above the “risk level” for social unrest.
Exactly how the SCC feels about being a symbol of inequality isn't clear (interview requests put to the group were not answered).
In one 2011 interview English-language interview, two members of the group were asked by a CCTV interviewer how they became so rich. They responded awkwardly, one explaining that he works in shipping and the other saying he is “running a company that's doing luxury branding and distribution”.
It's also worth noting that not all of the members are spoiled young fuerdai — one magazine estimated that 30 per cent of members were entrepreneurs themselves (the rest appeared to be second-generation rich). Time magazine spoke to Zhang Kuan, the founder of the Beijing branch, last year. Zhang came from a modest background — his first car was a Volkswagen.
“People in my generation, we always want the next thing,” he told Time. “It's how we express ourselves and live our dreams.”