Bajaj, Renault may go separate ways on the ULC car project
The proposed Bajaj-Renault partnership for an ultra low cost (ULC) car could be headed for trouble already. The two companies have 'issues' with the car's design, technical specification, branding and positioning.
Last year, Bajaj and Renault had signed an MoU for the ULC car project, but the actual joint venture agreement has not been signed yet. According to reports in the media, both Bajaj and Renault still want to work together on the small car, but their aims and objectives are turning out to be dissimilar, which may put the whole project in jeopardy.
Bajaj, which currently has no cachet in the passenger cars space, is looking to develop a vehicle which other carmakers may find difficult (or even impossible?) to profitably replicate. In addition to low cost, the Pune-based two-wheeler manufacturer wants to focus on fuel-efficiency for its first car.
Renault, meanwhile, wants to go after the Tata Nano, no holds barred. It wants to develop a car that can take on the Nano in terms of pricing and value-for-money. The French company is confident that for Nano money, it can actually offer a car that's better engineered, safer, more stylish and more refined than the Tata product. While Bajaj believes that a Nano replica - even one that's slightly better than the original - may not work, Renault is quite gung-ho about it and wants to launch its own version of the Nano as soon as possible.
Apart from tech specs and positioning, the other major issue is that of branding. Bajaj is keen to keep the upper hand here, since the ULC car will be its first foray into the passenger cars segment. The company wants the new car to be seen as a Bajaj product, and does not want the Renault badge to overwhelm the Bajaj name.
While both Bajaj and Renault remain committed to resolving their issues over the next few weeks, their ULC car may well be delayed by 6-12 months if Bajaj insists on reengineering the package completely. There also seems to be a small chance that the alliance may not take off at all, in which case Bajaj will go on to develop the small car on its own, perhaps with technical inputs from KTM. Either way, it should be interesting to see how this story finally pans out.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Two-wheeler sales on a high
Starting with the country's largest two-wheeler maker, Hero Honda, which reported a 10% increase in sales for the month of March. HH sold 3,53,342 units as against 3,20,594 units the same month last year.
Overall in the last fiscal, the auto major managed to sell 37,22,000 units as against 33,37,142 units, thereby effecting a growth of 12%. Hero Honda Motors Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Pawan Munjal said that the firm would continue expanding its two-wheeler customer base by exploring markets across geographies - rural as well as urban - and across customer segments.
The company said with the performance in the fiscal year 2008-09 it now commands a share of over 57 per cent in the over 75,00,000-units domestic market. The big gainer last month was Yamaha (IYM) and rightly so expressed their delight with the firm's excellent performance. The company registered an impressive growth of 45.3 % in the sales. IYM sold 14558 units in March 2009 as against 10022 units in March 2008.
Mr. Yukimine Tsuji, CEO & MD, India Yamaha Motor said, "Despite the recent slowdown affecting the consumer's purchasing power, Yamaha has registered an impressive growth with FZ-16, YZF-R15 and the recently introduced FZ-S catching the imagination of biking aficionado"
[Via: BIKE]
Fiat Yamaha urge FIM to make MotoGP less expensive
Daniele Romagnoli and Davide Brivio, team managers at Fiat Yamaha, have urged the FIM to take decisive actions that would bring about a reduction in MotoGP costs. According to Romagnoli, team manager for Jorge Lorenzo, the FIM should reduce winter testing and/or schedule testing to coincide with the last GP of the season, which would also reduce costs (since bikes and equipment would not have to be ferried from one country to another).
Romagnoli also suggests a drastic reduction in the rev limit for MotoGP engines, which would enhance their longevity. This, according to him, would be crucial in bringing down costs because the engine is the most expensive part of a MotoGP bike in terms of the cost of components as well as research and development costs.
Reducing the rev limit to 16,000rpm would, according to Romagnoli, allow manufacturers to use the same engine in two or perhaps even three races. It would also allow a reduction in manufacturing costs since it would be possible to make these engines with relatively less expensive materials.
The Fiat Yamaha managers recommend the usage of just one ECU per bike and a drastic reduction in the usage of complex, expensive sensors such as inertial platforms and GPS. They recommend going back to simpler, less expensive electronics - the kind that were being used five years ago.
And finally, they suggest that steel (rather than carbon) brakes be used on MotoGP bikes, which would help cut costs further. 'I don't think these changes would make the championship any less spectacular. As a matter of fact, it could lead to even have more surprises,' says Romagnoli.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
You need to log in to vote
The blog owner requires users to be logged in to be able to vote for this post.
Alternatively, if you do not have an account yet you can create one here.
Powered by Vote It Up