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Tag: india

  • Jaguar Land Rover India To Introduce Hybrid Electric Vehicles

    Jaguar Land Rover India To Introduce Hybrid Electric Vehicles

    Luxury car makers in India are all set to bring in hybrid electric and pure electric cars to India. Audi has already announced that the e-tron will make its debut in the country in 2020, while Porsche too is bringing in the Taycan next year. Volvo has already announced its roadmap for the country and Mercedes-Benz India is still doing feasibility studies to introduce electric cars in India and now Jaguar Land Rover is jumping into this scene. Jaguar Land Rover is proposing to launch its electrified products in India.

    In line with Jaguar Land Rover’s global commitment to introduce electrified options on its entire product portfolio by 2020, Jaguar Land Rover India proposes to offer multiple products, ranging from Hybrid Vehicles to Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) over the next few years, starting from 2019. Towards the end of 2019 Jaguar Land Rover will introduce its first hybrid vehicles from Land Rover and in the second half of 2020 Jaguar Land Rover India plans to launch its first Battery Electric Vehicle, the Jaguar I-PACE.

    Rohit Suri, President & Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover India Ltd. (JLRIL) said, “Jaguar Land Rover’s focus is to commit itself to a more sustainable future and our engineers have developed just the right products to lead us on this path. The introduction of electrified vehicles in Jaguar Land Rover India’s portfolio is in line with the government’s thrust towards electric vehicles. The company is encouraged by the introduction of FAME-II by the Government of India and it focus on expansion of the charging infrastructure in the country. This is bound to help with faster adoption of all kinds of Electric Vehicles in due course.”

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  • Jaguar I-Pace India Launch Details Out

    Jaguar I-Pace India Launch Details Out

    Jaguar is all set to launch its all electric vehicle the I-Pace in India and it will come here by the end of 2020. While Jaguar Land Rover had earlier stated that the I-Pace will not come to India, the company has now chalked out a plan for its hybrid electric and all electric cars for the country. It was in March last year, that the company revealed the I-Pace and according to the company, it has been developed using physics. The company has taken 4 years to build the car from the concept stage to the production version. Unlike other Jaguar cars, this one does not get a long bonnet and that’s because there is no internal combustion engine. In fact, the shorter bonnet helps in improving aerodynamics.

    The all-electric car comes with a sloping bonnet, sleek LED headlamps, honeycomb pattern grille and a wide central airdam. The car also comes with a lovely set of alloys and turn light integrated ORVMs. It has been rigorously tested across extremes of terrain and temperatures from -40 degrees to 40 degrees celcius. With over 1.5 million test miles and a further 11,000 hours of rig simulations completed by more than 200 production prototypes. The I-Pace isn’t pitched as an off-roader, but it’s capable of a wading depth of 500mm.

    The I-Pace comes with a whole bunch of storage space as also features. It comes with mobile device charging options aboard, with three 12v sockets, six USB ports and one HDMI/HML port. The electric SUV uses the same radical dual-screen InControl Touch Pro Duo infotainment system that Jaguar launched on the Range Rover Velar. Additionally, the InControl Remote app gets an Alexa skill that will let drivers ask Alexa-enabled devices for information on the I-Pace’s charge level. It also comes with a 4G Wi-Fi hotspot and slots for tablets and laptops under the rear seats.

    The electric motors have been designed in-house at Jaguar and are relatively light, weighing about 38kg each. The motors are mounted as low as possible in the sandwich platform and this has been done to ensure optimum weight distribution which helps in making the I-Pace agile.

    The I-Pace comes with two synchronous permanent magnet electric motors at the front and the rear axle which have a combined power output of 395 bhp and makes maximum of 696 Nm of torque. It also features an AWD system. A 0-100 kmph sprint takes 4.5 seconds and the performance SUV will have a range of over 480 km. The 90kWh lithium-ion battery pack takes 45 minutes to charge from 0-80 per cent using a 100kW rapid charger, or 10 hours using a 7kW AC wallbox.

  • MG Motor To Offer Free Data For First Few Years On The Hector SUV

    MG Motor To Offer Free Data For First Few Years On The Hector SUV

    MG Motor India announced first in segment connectivity features on the new Hector. Touted as the company’s first internet car, the upcoming MG Hector will come with a new advanced connectivity system called i-Smart next-generation system, a complete integrated solution that combines software, hardware, connectivity, services and application. The command centre is a 10.4-inch ultra large full-HD infotainment system that comes with pre-loaded entertainment content. The company says that the Hector SUV will help the owner stay connected on the go. The Hector has an embedded Machine to Machine (M2M) eSIM. The platform is Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPV6) and 5G ready. This is the first car in the segment to be launched with such a sim.

    Of course, all this will require data and the company today announced that it will offer data for free for the first few years. The company has tied up with Airtel to offer these services to the owners of the Hector SUV and this will make sure that you stay connected with the car as also the world on the move. The system has been developed in collaboration with several technological partners like Cisco, and Microsoft among others.

    MG Motor India has also introduced over the air updates for the first time in India which will make sure MG cars get updated as when new updates are available a function which we are familiar with on smartphones or tablets. Thus, the system would periodically receive new look and themes for the screen, new infotainment content and updates to maps to keep them latest always. The updates would also include updates for OS and Firmware. The vehicle will have the ability to receive new features and upgrades from time to time.

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  • Over 100 Ducati Monster 821 Sold In India

    Over 100 Ducati Monster 821 Sold In India

    Ducati India today announced selling over 100 units of the Ducati Monster 821 in India in less than one year. Launched in India on May 1, 2018, the Monster 821 has become one of the top-selling motorcycles in the sport naked category in India. To commemorate the success the company is offering customers buying a new Ducati Monster an opportunity to avail a host of special accessories as standard with the motorcycle. The exclusive offer is valid from 1st April – 30th April 2019 across all Ducati dealerships.

    Under this special offer, customers purchasing a Monster 821 he will get a Termignoni Exhaust and Ducati Quick Shift (DQS) Up/Down as standard, while customers the Monster 797+ will also get a Termignoni exhaust at no additional price during the celebration period. Both the accessories will be offered to customers at no additional cost to buyers. The Monster 821 is currently priced at ₹ 10.99 lakh and the Monster 797+ at ₹ 8.60 lakh.

    Talking about the bikes and special offer, Sergi Canovas Managing Director of Ducati India, said “The Monster has always been the most special bike in the Ducati portfolio. Last year we celebrated 25 years of Monster with the comeback of Monster 821, and this year, we decided to celebrate one year of Monster 821 in style by complimenting it with armour it rightfully deserves and would definitely excite the naked bike enthusiasts in the country. The addition of the Termigioni exhaust system and DQS will work flawlessly to make the Monster 821 much more desirable as an urban city tourer while giving it more aggression and street presence. Now even the 797+ will come with the Termignoni with this celebratory offer, I am sure that the passionate bikers will find a lot more value in this package and, the Monster will once again be their companion of choice in the naked-bike category.”

    The Ducati 821 is powered by an 821 cc Testastretta L-twin engine which makes 108 bhp at 9,250 rpm and peak torque of 86 Nm at 7,750 rpm and comes mated to a 6-speed transmission. The 797+, on the other hand, comes with an 803 cc L-twin engine which makes 72 bhp and 67 Nm, while mated to a 6-speed gearbox. The Ducati Monster 821 rivals the Triumph Street Triple RS, Suzuki GSX-S750 and the Kawasaki Z900.

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  • Indian online grocer BigBasket raises Millions for next Phase

    Indian online grocer BigBasket raises Millions for next Phase

    Indian online grocery platform BigBasket has raised investment capital of about US$150 million.

    The investors include South Korean Mirae Asset Management (at about $60 million), the UK’s CDC Group (at $40 million), and existing investor Alibaba (about $50 million). The investment figures were shown in documents submitted to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

    BigBasket received $300 million in February last year from Alibaba and other investors and has been discussing seeking further funding since last November. The firm aims to generate revenues of the equivalent of $2.5 billion by next year.

    The online-grocery market is burgeoning in India, and accounts for a sizeable proportion of unorganised retail in the country.

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  • Mahindra Sales Grow By 11% Last Year

    Mahindra Sales Grow By 11% Last Year

    Indian auto giant Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) registered a growth of 11 per cent in auto sales for the financial year 2018-19. The automaker sold 608,596 units in the previous fiscal, as opposed to 549,153 units sold in FY2017-18. The company’s steady growth was visible in the March 2019 sales results as well with Mahindra selling 62,952 units, as against 62,076 units in March 2018. The automaker saw a hike of one per cent in its sales for the previous month.

    Commenting on the performance, Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector, Mahindra said, “We have closed FY-19 with robust double digit growth of 11 per cent at an overall level, despite strong headwinds faced by the Indian automotive industry this year. This growth has been supported by our three new product launches, which have been well received in the market. The commercial vehicles segment and exports have also posted strong growth rates of 15 per cent and 37 per cent respectively.”

    Mahindra’s domestic sales stood at 59,012 units for March 2019, growing by one per cent over 58,652 units sold in March last year. The Passenger Vehicle segment that includes UVs, cars and vans contributed 27,646 units to last month’s sales, registering a growth of four per cent over 26,555 units sold in March 2018. The commercial vehicle segment meanwhile saw sales decline by four per cent with 24,423 units sold in March this year, as against 25,495 units sold in March last year.

    The Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles segment saw Mahindra sell sold 917 units, which also saw sluggish volumes with a decline of 33 per cent in year-on-year sales. Nevertheless, exports dor March 2019 stood at 3940 vehicles, growing by 15 per cent, while three wheeler sales for the previous month grew by five per cent at 6943 units.

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  • Vardenchi To Open New Lifestyle Garage Store In Mumbai

    Vardenchi To Open New Lifestyle Garage Store In Mumbai

    Motorcycle design company, Vardenchi, is all set to open its first ‘Lifestyle Garage’ in Goregaon, Mumbai. The flagship space will offer a wide range of bespoke motorcycle upgrade solutions and crafted biker products. Biker Products will include a range of fashion motorcycle helmets, lifestyle riding gear, a collection of apparel like t shirts hoodies and shoes. Motorcycle Upgrade products will include accessories for Safety, Utility and Style such as lights, seats, guards, luggage and more.

    A lot of motorcycle parts and materials have inspired the design of the Lifestyle Garage. Akshai Varde, MD/Founder, Vardenchi said, “The Vardenchi Lifestyle Garage is a culmination of our long standing vision of offering ‘everything motorcycle.’ The market and the timing are very well positioned for a concept like this and we are extremely excited to kick off the first of an entire network of franchise stores”

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  • Nissan India To Increase Prices Of The Datsun GO And GO+

    Nissan India To Increase Prices Of The Datsun GO And GO+

    The 2018 Datsun GO and GO+ will be getting more expensive from April. Nissan India has announced to increase the prices of both the models by up to 4 per cent which will be effective from next month i.e. April 1. Nissan has decided to increase the prices after a series of price hike announcements made by other carmakers such as Mahindra, Tata Motors and Renault. Similar to other carmakers, even Nissan has cited rising input costs as the primary reason for the price hike.

    Hardeep Singh Brar, Director Sales and commercial, Nissan Motor India said, “Datsun believes in offering accessible and value-for-money products powered by Japanese engineering. With the rise in input costs and several economic factors, we are making a nominal price adjustment to our Datsun GO and GO+ models.”

    Nissan had launched the facelifted Datsun GO and GO+ last year after giving both the models an extensive update. The top-end variants of the 2018 Datsun GO and GO+ come equipped with a touchscreen infotainment system and get some segment first features like Daytime Running Lights and Vehicle Dynamic Control. Both the cars are powered by a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine which produces 67 bhp and 104 Nm of peak torque.

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  • Isuzu To Increase Prices Of The D-Max

    Isuzu To Increase Prices Of The D-Max

    Isuzu Motors India has announced to increase the prices of its commercial pick-up range- the D-Max Regular Cab and the D-Max S-Cab. The company has decided to increase the prices by 2 per cent which will be effective from April 1. Following a series of price hike by carmakers like Mahindra, Tata Motors, Renault and Nissan, even Isuzu has made the price hike announcement citing similar reasons. The company has cited rising input costs and distribution costs as the reason for the increase in prices.

    It has become a common practice for automakers to adjust prices of select models at the beginning of a financial year in a bid to sustain their margin. Isuzu has increased the prices of its commercial range which means only the D-Max pick-up trucks will get more expensive. The Isuzu D-Max V-Cross which is more of a lifestyle vehicle will see no change in the prices.

    The D-Max Regular Cab and the S-Cab are priced at ₹ 7.40 lakh and ₹ 8.89 Lakh, respectively (all prices ex-showroom, Delhi). Both the pick-up trucks are powered by a 2.5-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged engine which churns out 78 bhp and 176 Nm of peak torque and is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox as standard.

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  • Honda Motorcycle And Scooter India Inaugurates Its 1,000th Dealership

    Honda Motorcycle And Scooter India Inaugurates Its 1,000th Dealership

    Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India recently inaugurated its 1,000th dealership in India at Zirakpur in Punjab. The 1,000th Honda Exclusive Authorised Dealer is a 4S facility. With an aggressive expansion plan, Honda has added 3,300 touch-points in the last five years across the country. At present, HMSI has a total of 6,000 touch-points in India, one of the highest for a two-wheeler manufacturer. Recently, Honda also achieved another milestone, with customers in north India crossing the 60 lakh sales mark in the company’s 18th year of operations. The 60,00,000 sales milestone has been driven by demand for Honda two-wheelers in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and in Delhi and Chandigarh. For Honda, the first 10 lakh customers were added in the initial 9 years (from 2001 to 2010), but the next 50 lakh Honda customers took the same duration (2010-2019). The most recent 10 lakh Honda customers were added in a little over a year.

    Minoru Kato – President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, “I am delighted to be present here on milestone 1000th Honda dealer inauguration. Honda also fulfilled its commitment of providing 6000 network touchpoints to our valuable customers by the end of current financial year. This landmark achievement brings Honda closer to the hearts of its customers, who have reposed their trust in the brand.”

    Honda’s increasing customer base in India is attributed to the growing acceptance of scooters in the region. And the growing sale of scooters in the past decade has also led to a huge spurt in automatic scooters contribution to overall two-wheeler sales. In the last 10 years, automatic scooter sales have nearly doubled from 10 per cent to 19 per cent. This trend is attributed to more women joining the workforce, faster expanding road network in rural areas, and increasing demand for unisex two-wheelers which fulfil the needs of every family member. HMSI currently is the largest seller of scooters in India, and the Honda Activa is one of the highest selling two-wheelers in India.

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  • Hyundai Venue Subcompact SUV India Debut

    Hyundai Venue Subcompact SUV India Debut

    Hyundai India will be entering the subcompact SUV segment later this year with an all-new offering. The company recently confirmed that the new model will be called the Hyundai Venue upon launch, carandbike can now confirm that the new SUV will be unveiled on April 17, 2019. The Venue is a Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport and the Mahindra XUV300 rival, and will be positioned below the Hyundai Creta in the automaker’s line-up. Interestingly, the India unveil coincides with the world debut that is slated to take place at the New York Auto Show. The Venue nameplate is also what the subcompact SUV will be called globally, and not Styx as it was previously perceived.

    Hyundai says the Venue subcompact SUV will come loaded with features because the big USP of this car to stay connected with the rest of the world. The Korean giant is generous with its vehicles on the feature front and we do expect to see some segment first tech including wireless charging and possibly ventilated seats too. The car was also spotted on a number of occasions recently, revealing what to expect on the design front.

    The boxy proportions of the test mule promise a small yet imposing design on the Hyundai Venue, and will come with an upright cascading grille, along with led daytime running lights that are positioned above the headlamp assembly. The fog lamp housing is rectangular and the car gets dual-tone alloy wheels that lend a nice stance.

    Expect to see wide wheel arches, lower body cladding and large glasshouse area, with the latter bringing more light into the cabin. Under the hood, the Hyundai Venue is expected to be offered with 1.2-litre and a 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines. Transmission options will include a manual, while an automatic is also likely.

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  • Mercedes-Benz Is Evaluating Electric Vehicles In India

    Mercedes-Benz Is Evaluating Electric Vehicles In India

    The FAME 2 scheme has brought cheers to the automakers in India. The Union Cabinet on February 28 allocated ₹ 10,000 crore to speed-up the development of the EV infrastructure in the country a major chunk of which will be channelised to set up fast-charging stations on a large scale. Many carmakers had already announced launching or at least evaluating the viability of electric vehicles in India beforehand. For instance, Audi has already decided to launch the e-Tron in our market and Porsche will be bringing the Taycan. While Mercedes-Benz was uncertain of EVs prospects in our country, FAME 2 has come as a silver lining for the company.

    The German carmaker is finally doing a feasibility study for the EQ range in India and is looking at it as a potential product in the future. “We do the feasibility studies because we have to think of the future. The feasibility study is done for our entire portfolio. And the same happens now for the battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, we look into which models could be appealing to the customers, we look into where we think is the momentum developing and based on that we also start assessing our options. So it’s not that we wait and see, we look into the options by evaluating and that’s happening right now,” Martin Schwenk, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India told carandbike.

    Schwenk agrees that the FAME 2 scheme is a step taken in the right direction but Mercedes cannot completely rely on the infrastructure and be late to the party. “Looking into the infrastructure, we cannot fully wait for the infrastructure because if we do that, it will take quite some time,” Schwenk said. That said, the newly appointed India head also feels that the FAME 2 scheme completely misses out on the plug-in hybrid models which have immense market potential given the fact that it brings the best of both the powertrains. “Electric infrastructure has sometime in India to develop which leads me to the question that should it be electric or plug-in? I would say that the plug-in has some opportunities here because you can do your daily commute basically by charging the car at home and then if you want to go on longer drives, you’re not limited by any infrastructure,” Schwenk added.

    Mercedes-Benz has also been working extensively on plug-in hybrids as the company finds electrified models more flexible to own and run. The German carmaker has already expanded the electric range in its hybrid models to up to 70 km and is intending to take it over 100 km which should be sufficient for intra-city commutes. It doesn’t mean that the company has diverted its focus from electric vehicles and will have 10 electric models in its portfolio by 2022 including an electric iteration of the recently launched V-Class MPV.

  • Domino’s Pizza Bangladesh opens first Restaurant

    Domino’s Pizza Bangladesh opens first Restaurant

    Domino’s Pizza Bangladesh has opened its first store, in the capital city, Dhaka.

    The store features a new ‘pizza theatre’ design with in-house seating offering a front-row view of pizza-making.

    More stores  are planned later this year.

    Domino’s Bangladesh is operated by master franchisee Jubilant FoodWorks and its local operator Golden Harvest.

    “We are excited to launch the first Domino’s restaurant in Dhaka and look forward to offering a menu that keeps the needs and preferences of local customers in mind, while also offering the best of the brand’s international menu,” said Pratik Pota, Jubilant FoodWorks CEO and director.

    Pota said the brand will also launch an ordering app that will help “redefine the pizza-ordering experience” for consumers in Bangladesh.

    “We are confident that Domino’s is going to be one of the most-loved pizza brands in Bangladesh,” said Rajeeb Samdani, MD at Golden Harvest Group.

    “The open-kitchen design will be innovative in this market and will show our commitment to food safety and quality standards.”

    Founded in 1960, Domino’s now operates in more than 85 markets worldwide, with more than half of its global retail sales coming from international stores.

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  • JK Tyre Enters Limca Book Of Records With India’s Largest Off-Road Tyre

    JK Tyre Enters Limca Book Of Records With India’s Largest Off-Road Tyre

    Defining upsizing in an all new way, tyre maker JK Tyre has entered the Limca Book of Records with India’s largest off-road tyre. The 40.00-57 VEM 045 was launched in 2014 and stands at 12 feet tall while weighing around 3.4 tonnes. Before off-roaders get their hopes up about upsizing their SUVs, the VEM 045 has been specifically developed for the country’s biggest rigid dump truck that has a payload capacity of up to 240 tonnes.

    Commenting on the occasion, JK Tyre and Industries Ltd – Marketing Director, Vikram Malhotra said, “JK Tyre has been at the forefront of driving innovation in the Indian tyre industry and recognition from the Limca Book of Records is clearly reflective of our unwavering efforts in that direction. The VEM 045 has been widely appreciated for its sturdiness and functionality over these years. We are thrilled and further encouraged to introduce more such category-defining products and solutions in the future.”

    The JK Tyre VEM 045 is sold alongside a range of tyre options from the tyre maker. The company has been the pioneer of developing radial tyres in India and last year inaugurated a new and massive research and development centre in Mysore, Karnataka, which will be consolidating all of the company’s efforts globally to develop new products. JK Tyre’s range comprises passenger vehicles as well as industrial and mining segments.

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  • BSNL to offer carrier billing for Amazon Prime

    BSNL to offer carrier billing for Amazon Prime

    Mobile technology company Fortumo is providing its Trident Bundling Platform for India’s BSNL to help the state-owned operator distribute Amazon consumer services in the market.

    With the integration, BSNL is offering subscribers one years’ subscription to the Amazon Prime shopping and entertainment platform on certain of its plans.

    The Trident Bundling Platform is designed to allow operators to establish and expand partnerships with OTT service providers by allowing the delivery of digital products packaged with mobile services to support carrier billing.

    OTT companies need only integrate with the platform once, and can then establish multiple bundle partnerships across a variety of potential commercial scenarios.

    Fortumo VP of global business development Andrea Boetti said such operator partnerships are ideal for markets such as India, where smartphone penetration in the country is above 35% but only 3% of the adult population owns a credit card.

    “Interest towards VOD services is today growing the fastest in South-East Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Local telecommunication companies and their marketing capabilities offer the best way for VOD providers to engage this audience,” he said.

    “Fortumo’s Trident supports VOD providers in getting these new users on board as quickly as possible.”

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