Toyota BMW agree to tie up

Toyota Motor Corp. and BMW AG announced Thursday they have agreed to collaborate in developing next-generation environmentally friendly technologies. Under the medium-to-long term partnership, the two sides will jointly research lithium-ion batteries, while the German automaker will start supplying from 2014 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter clean diesel engines to Toyota's European subsidiary for vehicles to be sold in the European market, they said. Speaking at a joint press conference in Tokyo, Toyota Executive Vice President Takeshi Uchiyamada said Toyota ''needed to expand its diesel (vehicle) lineup in Europe and thought (the two firms) can collaborate.'' The automakers aim to cut costs for developing core technologies for eco-friendly vehicles by complementing each other with their respective strengths while demand for such vehicles grows. ''Toyota and the BMW Group are perfect partners,'' said Klaus Draeger, a member of the board of management of BMW. In Europe, cars powered by clean diesel engines are predominant among green vehicles as they are seen as fuel efficient and therefore effective in cutting carbon dioxide emissions. BMW and other European automakers have their strength in diesel vehicles, and Toyota has already been verifying whether it can put BMW's diesel engine in its own passenger cars for the European market. Source: Reuters

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Suzuki plans to launch electric cars in India

Japanese small car major Suzuki Motor Corporation is considering to launch electric vehicles in India via its Indian subsidiary Maruti Suzuki. However the company is concerned as the infrastructure for electric cars is still in infant stage and a lot need to be done by the government in order to improve the network and promote

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Tata Motors sells 6,401 Nanos in November

The offtake of Tata Nano cars stood at an impressive 6,401 units when you consider the measly 509 units it managed in November 2010. These are signs of the Nano recovering from a slump it was in during the early part of 2011. Tata Motors has introduced 2012 Nano with new colors, higher fuel economy and better-appointed interiors without a price hike. A new television commercial, as good or better compared to the first one, and a new marketing campaign highlighting its features are efforts to mend its image, tarnished by fire cases and misconceptions about its capabilities. As an improved overall package, the Nano should garner more numbers in the coming months. Tata is working on a highly fuel efficient two-cylinder diesel engine that is expected to touch down in 2012. Although the Nano was conceived as an ideal upgrade for families on two-wheelers, many of its customers own cars. The base variant, priced closest to a two-wheeler accounts for the least sales. Tata is understanding the target customer of Nano and making necessary adjustments to meet their expectation.

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Made It!

Feeling on top of the world now that I'm a bhpian after many failed attempts :Frustrati I'm an obsessive petrolhead with a fancy for all things "Ferrari". I live in Kolkata and often make roadtrips in my Honda CRV. I also have a Swift and a BMW 525d. I will post travelogues and an ownership report for the Honda very soon. Cheers! :deadhorse

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Utility sales could see a push with UP assembly polls

In the backdrop of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll early next year, the utility vehicle (UV) market is expected to witness surge in sales by almost 35 per cent. UV is the first choice among party candidates for canvassing during electioneering in the rural hinterland due to its tough exterior, space and wider wheel base

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MRF's 180th store launched in Dimapur, Nagaland

MRF Tyres, India’s No. 1 tyre manufacturing company's 180th store in India was inaugurated at Circular Road, Dimapur-Nagaland. Bimal auto tyres-an MRF Tyres and service (T&S) franchise, owned by Niholu Ayemi, was inaugurated by Regional sales Manager MRF, Iswar P. Itnal. With MRF having won the GD power award for the 8th time which is

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My Quick Tryst with Rajiv Bajaj

In my efforts to raise funds for my company, I did the unthinkable - I participated in a reality show that funds the winner startup. The journey has been good so far. Each week, of the 10 contestants,one is eliminated. I am still standing after 4 weeks, and hope to go as far as possible :D The 4th episode was judged by Rajiv Bajaj - It was an awesome experience interacting with him, and EVERYONE of the contestent were blown away by whole experience. We were amazed by the focus, clarity of thought and expression and a genuinely good personality. There was no air of superiority or swagger that even a moderately successful personality sports nowadays. He was leading a company close to 16,000 Cr topline, and it was an absolutely humbling experience to find out how he went about his work with absolute sense of purpose. I was genuinely surprised to know about his management style that derives from Yoga and Homeopathy! (a different post on that, later!) As the show was getting setup, I had good 10 mins to interact with Rajiv, and I used the opportunity to the max to get some 'insider' information on Bajaj [SVI] DTSi is your flagship product. Do you think DTSi can scale multi-cylinder scenarios? [RB]DTSi can definitely work in multi-cylinder scenarios. Our R&D is already working on such scenarios. It may not be an inline twin. But you can see some updates from us going forward [SVI] Do you have the ability to scale beyond your current 220 cc offerings? Or, do you leave the market over 250 cc to Kawasaki and KTM? [RB] We have schemes to create Pulsars with displacements from 150 cc all the way up to 750 cc! We don't have any technological challenges / hurdles in scaling up to 750cc. Our R&D already has some work done in this area [SVI] When can we expect the next launch of Pulsars? [RB] You should expect them very soon, even before March timeframe. You'll be very happy with the new list of features and a vastly improved platform. [SVI] Should I start saving money? :) [RB] The price points are in such a way that you don't need to save that much money! [SVI] You launched FI with P220, and then you went back to Carb. Don't you think it is a step backward for Bajaj? [RB] In smaller displacement bikes, the role of the FI is limited. It might help you while starting the bike on a cold day. Otherwise, a carb and FI do the samething - Help mix air and fuel mix. However, if I am able to save 10K - 15K INR by going back to carb and pass on the benefits back to the end-customer, that would place the product very attractively. P220-DTS FI was selling like 500-600 bikes a month. After we released the DTSi version (fastest Indian), we sell like 5000 bikes a month. This makes sense for the company. [SVI] What about higher displacement bikes from the Pulsar range? [RB] For 250cc and higher offerings, they'll have FI be default. We can't and will not use carbs there. [SVI] What is the arrangement with KTM? [RB] The Duke 125 is completely done in our plant here and is exported to European market. We'll be launching them here too [SVI] What model of Duke are you planning to launch? Is it the 200? [RB] Yes. We'll first launch the Duke 200 here. It is an awesome bike and it will shake up the market [SVI] What is its power output? Should I sell my Honda CBR? :) [RB] The bike produces close to 25 BHP. It is an awesome bike and it will beat CBR in all aspects. CBR is a pretty heavy bike close to 163 kgs. Duke 200 is close to 139 kgs. So, you can expect much higher power-to-weight ratio. You should probably shift :) ----------- I told Rajiv that I was member of Team-BHP and he also passed on his email ID (in confidence :) ) to ask further questions and he'd be glad to answer. One of the girls in the competition was TOTALLY floored by him - Little does she know that I was, as well!

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