New ICU block inaugurated at VHS.

A new intensive care block sponsored by the TVS Group was inaugurated at Voluntary Health Services (VHS), Taramani, by industrialist and philanthropist Venu Srinivasan, chairman, TVS Motors.

Three modern ventilators were also donated by spiritual speaker and humanist Jaya Srinivasan on the occasion. M S Swaminathan, president, VHS, Dr E S Krishnamoorthy, honorary. secretary, VHS, Dr M Mathews, director (hospital), Dr S Janaki, director (clinical and academic affairs), Dr Joseph Williams, director (projects), apart from others, participated in the event.

M S Swaminathan said, “This will be the most affordable ICU in Chennai. Patients from lower income groups will receive the best of facilities during critical phases of illness at a lesser cost.”

He added, “Further, this ICU will have free beds for those below poverty line, in keeping with the vision of the founder Dr KS Sanjivi.”

Inaugurating the block, Venu Srinivasan recalled the TVS Group’s association with VHS over the years. He said, “I recall that our company had supported the establishment of an ICU in my father TS Srinivasan’s honour at VHS and that unit was inaugurated on August 25 1982. A marble plaque continues to mark that milestone. I am therefore happy that the TVS Group has had the opportunity to be associated with the development of this redeveloped ICU block, which I understand is contemporary in its design and will greatly enhance the life-saving capabilities of this institution.”

Jaya Srinivasan said, “As a middle-class person wishing to make contribution to deserving institutions, I was immediately directed to VHS. I was pleased to find that the organisation was willing to accept my contribution and put it to use for a specific purpose. I am sure that the three modern ventilators will serve the needy sections of the community.”

Dr Senthilkumar, Intensivist, made a brief presentation highlighting the salient features of the newly-inaugurated ICU. “VHS now has a 21-bed ICU with modern life-saving equipment, including four ventilators, six acute care beds, nine step down care beds, three infectious disease and three  special cubicles,” he added.

Mahindra's brand play

The group is using sports as a key tool to promote its corporate brand the world over

S P Shukla, Mahindra Group’s strategy and chief brand officer, fondly remembers the celebrations that followed Mahindra Racing’s first ever victory at the Italian Mugello Circuit earlier this year.

It has been a similar reception in Colombo after Mahindra decided to sponsor the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League. “After the gala opening ceremony, I was told by many that Mahindra is a global corporate from India, but with a Sri Lankan heart,” he adds.

From high adrenaline motor sport to football; from cricket to desert rallies or even soccer and basketball, sports is increasingly becoming a key strategic outreach tool for the tractor-to-technology conglomerate to promote its corporate brand and ethos world over and even to its workforce drawn from over 100 nationalities. In some cases, it is also throwing up new business opportunities.
“Today corporates have options beyond cricket and Bollywood. Newer icons are also being born in other media-friendly sports. So for companies like Mahindra, which either have global aspirations or seek the 18-35 year-old consumer in the top 20 cities, sports properties are the obvious choices,” explains Indranil Das Blah, COO, Kwan Entertainment and Marketing Solutions.

But there’s a twist. “We are moving away from traditional advertising and promotional channels,” says Shukla. “We are looking beyond just writing cheques to sponsor events. We are either proactively participating in the events ourselves or trying to promote or develop the sport ourselves. So we look at a longer term engagement.”

So from last year Mahindra Racing is actually participating as a team in the FIM MotoGP World Motorcycle Racing Championship and from 2012 has successfully added the Italian National Motorcycle Racing Championship. And in case you didn’t notice, it’s regularly clocking podium finishes as well.

In soccer, after closing down the country’s club Mahindra United, the involvement steered towards grooming talent at the grassroots through the Mahindra Youth Football Challenge – an Under 13 School Tournament. The championship spanning six metros ends up handpicking three to four young talents every year who are then groomed under the Celtic Football Club of UK. It’s a similar attempt in basketball as well where the Mahindra and NBA have initiated a community based basketball league for the potential stars of tomorrow.

The business rub-off in some cases is obvious, especially in Moto sports. As a four year old newcomer to the two wheeler market with muted commercial success, MotoGP gives Mahindra a steep learning curve in a space dominated by long standing leaders. The participation helps showcase the engineering and technology expertise on a platform where the best in the world compete. Currently there is a 25-member dedicated Mahindra Racing team based out of Italy that focus on every aspect from product development to team selection and marketing along with the local design partner Engines Engineering. With 300,000 fans on the homepage, Mahindra Racing is actually more popular than many local IPL teams. “We are doing better than the most popular sport in India,” Shukla says.

Similarly, in the US, a market where Mahindra has been eyeing to enter its portfolio of utility vehicles, it sponsors NASCAR driver, DJ Kennington, winner of five consecutive races in the 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. It’s no coincidence that Kennington is also a successful farmer and therefore instantly gives a connect to Mahindra’s tractors business.

These different sports platforms are identified and selected to suit both the product category and the geographic region where the group operates. “You get to customize it as per the need of a specific market,” explains Shukla.

Thus MotoGP – televised in over 100 countries — becomes an ideal platform in Europe and many other western countries, whereas in cricket playing nations of South Asia, Australia and South Africa, it’s the best property to engage with. “Moto GP gives us a positive association of speed, reliability and technical excellence for our motorcycle itself. But at the same time, there is a great spill over for the entire mobility segment all the way from SUVs to aerospace,” says Shukla.

The Sri Lanka League is also being beamed to over 80 countries. Sri Lanka itself is the largest export market for the M&M’s auto division. Even an assembly plant is being conceptualized in the island to cater to incremental demand.

Interestingly for group companies like Mahindra Satyam, sports have become an emerging business vertical since 2007. The company’s global visibility zoomed after it became the IT and technology partner for the FIFA World Cup two years ago and had even intensely used on ground activation at the South African venues. They are also doing the same in Brazil in the next championships. Since then, the FIFA tie-up has been leveraged as an entry strategy in places like the Middle East.

This year Mahindra Satyam has entered into a strategic partnership with Aspire Zone Foundation, a sports city to create end-to-end and innovative venue and event management systems. Aspire Zone will own the intellectual property rights to the product, while Mahindra Satyam will exclusively provide all the application development and system integration services. This has been done with an eye on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the Dubai government’s bid for the 2024 Olympics.

So what’s next? With IPL title sponsorships up for grabs from this year, there is speculation that Mahindra would now beef up its cricket properties back home. In the spirit of Olympics, many are already assuming that Chairman Anand Mahindra too will join Lakshmi Mittal and his $10 million Mittal Championship Trust’s gold quest with his own initiative. Shukla remains diplomatic. “Each project is carefully evaluated on branding spin offs versus cost involved.” So the search is on for the next big sporting idea. The Cheetah is indeed on the prowl.

Hero bikes to get aggressive edge.

At the Auto Expo held in January 2012, one of the highlights at the Hero MotoCorp pavilion was a rather unusual two-wheeler concept, targeted primarily at women. Called the Leap, it was an electric scooter which used a small petrol engine as a range extender and to charge the battery. Hardly anyone knew that the scooter concept was conceived and developed in just 10 weeks by a little-known American company which specialises in performance-oriented motorcycles. A month later, Hero MotoCorp made an announcement that it was collaborating with Erik Buell Racing for two-wheeler technology and new product development. It was an unusual tie-up between the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer and a tiny American firm set up by a motorcycle engineer which makes sporty bikes to order, with ramifications that could have a far-reaching impact on Hero’s future.

“You might think, here’s this American road racing company, and they’re going to design this electric scooter for women in India – how weird is this going to be?” said Erik Buell. He was in conversation with BS Motoring’s international two-wheeler contributor Alan Cathcart, in an exclusive interview published in the September issue of the magazine. The engineers at EBR conducted their market research in Delhi and came up with some innovative features in the Leap - some of which have been filed for international patents. Currently, Hero is exploring the possibilities of putting the Leap into production.

The partnership with EBR however is not limited to exploring green technologies for two-wheelers. With EBR’s experience in producing high-performance, large-capacity motorcycles, it will help fill a void in Hero’s product portfolio and as well change the perception of Hero as a manufacturer of commuter-oriented two-wheelers. “There is a specific interest from Hero in racing technologies because they want to be a part of that and because there is a growing market in India for larger bikes,” said Buell. The 220cc Karizma/ZMR is the largest motorcycle in Hero’s product line-up currently, a bike that has its roots in an ageing Honda platform. And the sporty segment is dominated by Bajaj Auto which also has KTM and Kawasaki brands to play with.

“The end of the joint venture (with Honda) is a chance for them to start afresh and also focus on different vehicles than those Honda would let them work on and produce, including larger-engined ones that would be of interest to export customers,” said Buell. Hero’s tie-up with EBR goes beyond technical commitments.

The Indian firm sponsors Buell’s American Motorcycle Association Superbike race team and the branding features prominently on the racing bikes’ bodywork. In fact, Pawan Munjal, MD & CEO, Hero MotoCorp had earlier expressed interest in bringing superbike racing to India within the next three years. “Our giving them exposure through AMA Superbike is allowing them to project Hero as an export brand.” Indeed, during Hero’s tie-up with Honda, the former wasn’t allowed to export to any market apart from Colombia. This opens the doors for the six million units a year Hero to compete in the global two-wheeler market that is currently pegged at 40 million units a year and is growing fast.

While racing does improve the breed, Hero also needs to shore up its R&D capabilities (the company hired 250 engineers for the same purpose in 2011) and EBR may have more to offer in that regard.
With such a close relationship, does Buell look to offload some stake to Hero? “Maybe somewhere down the line,” he said.

Buell is more philosophical about his newfound relationship with the Indian two-wheeler giant. “I have never encountered a large organisation like Hero saying with such real candour, ‘we want to totally reinvent ourselves, how do we do it?’ And you know what, I think they will.”

Yamaha plans to quintuple dealerships

India Yamaha Motor, the local unit of Japan-based Yamaha Motor Company (YMC), has announced a massive dealer network expansion as it gears up to debut in the scooter category this year.

The company currently has 400 dealers and plans to take this number to 2,000 by 2018, with a focus on Tier 2 and 3 cities, the company said in a statement. The expansion is in line with its product plans in the next few years, which includes launch of a gearless scooter ‘Ray’ later this year. The motorcycle has been developed by Yamaha only for the Indian market.

Yamaha India, known for its sportier bikes, is also looking at increasing presence in the mass volume motorcycles, where it is planning to launch several products by 2016.

The company sold 1.8 lakh vehicles this year till July, a 10% growth over last year. It aims to sell 1 million units by 2014.

“We managed a 10% growth without any new products, while growth in the two-wheeler industry is in single digits. We are positive of reaching 1 million mark by 2014,” said Roy Kurian, head – domestic sales, Yamaha India.

The company is banking on the scooter segment, which has been growing faster than motorcycles. The scooter segment is expected to grow at 20% this year. According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheelers grew 9.75% during April-July.

“South and West regions of India are the best markets for scooters. In the western region especially, we are looking at additional 40-50 dealers,” said Kurian.

Yamaha announced its third manufacturing in Chennai, where it will invest Rs1,500 over the next five years. It is also investing Rs750 crore on existing facilities in Noida and Faridabad for capacity expansion, product development and network expansion.

It is also setting up a research and development centre in India which will work on developing the future low-cost products. The company expects the Indian R&D centre to be independent for developing India-specific products.

To expand in the sportier bike segment, the company is studying a possibility of a bike above 250 cc category. However, the launch schedule of the bike is not known yet. Yamaha currently has a market share of 15-16% in the 150cc and above bikes.

Exports will be also be one of the key focuses for Yamaha post the opening of Chennai factory due to its proximity to ports.

TVS Motor all set to rise again with 125cc Phoenix

TVS Motor has christened its new 125cc bike, Phoenix, and is gearing up to launch it in October.

The company unveiled the product to dealers at a conference in Bangkok last week.

COMMUTER SEGMENT

The four-speed ‘solid commuter’ is expected to be priced in the Rs 45,000-range and is a critical part of TVS Motor’s comeback script in motorcycles.

This segment continues to account for a lion’s share of bike sales in India with Hero MotoCorp leading the fray with its Splendor and Passion brands.

Bajaj Auto has successfully positioned its Discover in this space, while Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India is betting big on the recently launched 110cc Yuga.

Since the time it launched the Victor over a decade ago, TVS Motor has not made much headway in the commuter bike segment.

Sources say a lot of hard work has gone into the Phoenix and that if everything goes according to plan, it could mark the beginning of the company’s revival story.

The commuter bike segment in India accounts for monthly sales of nearly 450,000 units with a host of rival manufacturers (to Hero MotoCorp) constantly evolving strategies to take on the Splendor and Passion’s dominance.

Bajaj Auto has hit paydirt with the Discover and is now focusing on the 125cc sporty commuter space.

On the other hand, Honda Motorcycle is competing in the same 100-110cc slot of its former ally, Hero MotoCorp, with the Dream Yuga.

NEW BUYERS

Bike makers are also aware that each year is seeing a host of new buyers entering the market.

Unlike the preceding generation, they have more disposable income and are open to trying out new brands.

These young bikers want the best in power, styling and mileage at a competitive price.

The Phoenix is, therefore, critical to TVS Motor and indications are that it will be followed by another sibling in the commuter space.

Royal Enfield struggles with patchy service, long waiting periods

While sales are rising, capacity and quality issues, all too familiar to Bullet riders over the past decades, continue

Royal Enfield—the maker of the iconic Bullet motorcycle—found a winner with the 2010 launch of its Classic series wedded to a quieter and more fuel-efficient engine than its regular models. But while Royal Enfield sales are speeding up nicely, the company continues to suffer from capacity and quality issues, all too familiar to Bullet riders over the past decades.

It’s a peculiar situation to be in—prospective customers of Royal Enfield’s bikes are chafing at 5-14 month waiting periods while buyers are unhappy, complaining about sloppy service. Capacity constraints, which forced the company to delay a project launch, are expected to be resolved with a new factory, while an expanding dealer network equipped with repair docks could make Enfield owners happier.

Hormazd Sorabjee, editor of Autocar India, summarises Royal Enfield’s problem.

“At its price point, there is no real competition,” he said. “The technical problems arise because they don’t have the scale to invest in high-end tooling. In manual assembly, there can be inconsistencies in quality.”

The company has sought to make the hand-made quality a virtue though, and with success.

It’s the afternoon shift at Royal Enfield’s unkempt 12-acre factory in a northern Chennai suburb and M. Anand, 36, gracefully twirls a shiny, black, motorbike tank shell on a bench while eyeballing the pincer grasp of a brush drenched in gold paint in his right hand to precisely follow a large tear-drop shaped stencil mark around the mouth of the petrol tank.

The company—bought by truck maker Eicher Motors Ltd nearly two decades ago—pitches the handiwork of people like Anand to stress the brand’s exclusivity. Two years ago, this unique selling proposition was coupled with design tweaks and a revamp of the bike’s engine, renowned among enthusiasts for the reverberating, deep thud that it emits.

Those tweaks, which included moving the gear-shift to the left as in regular bikes and a push-button start, won over leisure biking enthusiasts. Sales surged 54% to Rs.666.5 crore in 2011, according to data provided by brokerage Ambit Capital Pvt. Ltd.

“We are doing a zig while the rest of the economy is doing a zag,” said Venki Padmanabhan, chief executive officer of Royal Enfield that focuses on the premium, or above 250cc engine category that’s growing at 73.5%, albeit over a smaller base than others, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam).

Most economy segment bikes, or those below 125cc, are averaging sales growth of just about 10% amid high petrol prices and faltering rural demand.

But the Chennai-based company’s CEO—an American citizen since 1993 with experience largely in the automobile sector through a long stint with General Motors Co.—is keenly aware that Royal Enfield’s thump could lose a beat.

“The potential to screw up exists when you are having such a good run,” said Padmanabhan.

Of the 13 million two-wheelers sold last year in India, according to Siam, 70% were entry-level commuter bikes priced below Rs.50,000. Niche super-premium bikes from Triumph Motorcycles Ltd and Harley-Davidson Motor Co. have prices upward of Rs.6 lakh.

Royal Enfield falls between these two segments with prices of Rs.70,000 to Rs.1.75 lakh, appealing to budget-conscious leisure bikers.

Inside Royal Enfield’s 57-year-old Tiruvottiyur factory, located 16km from Chennai along a moonscape road, its 12-month-old 10,000-sq.ft paint shop is bursting through the seams. In a glass-enclosed compartment, a worker in a pink T-shirt and blue track pants is busy spraying white paint on metallic headlight frames trapezing across on wires.

The company had initially outsourced this work but brought it back in-house following cost pressures. However, as its new paint shop also failed to cope with rising demand—sales soared 42% to 74,626 units in 2011—the company was once again forced to ship parts to Kinetic Motor Co. Ltd’s paint facilities in Ahmednagar in Maharashtra.

Such ad hoc measures are bound to impede product quality as Royal Enfield churns out 9,000 bikes a month compared with half that number in 2009, analysts said.

Even then, waiting lists stretch longer than a year for some models.

The second-quarter launch of the Thunderbird 500 motorcycle has been delayed as Royal Enfield executives worry whether the factory, rapidly touching 10,000 bikes a month, can cope with another barrage of orders. “We are in a rapid pace of improvement to deal with capacity and improve service,” said Padmanabhan.

“We are trying to fix it but it is never fast enough. It is as frustrating to me as it is to customers.”

Vinod Selvarajan, who runs an information technology business and is a nature enthusiast, didn’t mind paying Rs.1.48 lakh for the Royal Enfield Classic 500 as it offers a great suspension ideal for long drives. But after 14 months of waiting, when the bike finally arrived, the 42 year old was distressed to find scratches and even patches of rust on the vehicle. Other niggling issues emerged.

“I had to change my key set three times (free of cost) because the bike would inexplicably stop,” Chennai-based Selvarajan said. “On the whole, the bike has its inherent advantages, the hum of the bike cannot be replicated in any other bike. But if you ask me, ‘Is Enfield is doing a great job in building a great bike?’ I would say, ‘No way!’”

Royal Enfield sales are expected to touch the 100,000-mark this year and double that figure by 2014, according to Padmanabhan. This means that even the new facility at Oragadam, poised to produce 150,000 bikes a year, may need rapid expansion to prevent long waiting periods. The new plant is 30km from the existing factory and nearly 50% automated compared with the 30% at the existing facility.

A salesperson at a Chennai Royal Enfield company showroom—one of the 11 company-owned outlets in the country—admitted that 10-15% of prospective buyers dropped purchase plans because of the long gap between order and delivery.

While the increased automation and expanded capacity could trim waiting periods, Royal Enfield is fervently hoping a 30% jump in service-bay-equipped franchisee stores to 230 resolves vehicle repair issues.

That may be putting the cart before the horse. If Enfield vehicles didn’t have quality issues when they left the factory, frustration levels would be lower all round.

The last thing a weekend bike enthusiast wants is a machine that refuses to run properly. A sentiment understood by M.P. Vikram of the Harley Davidson dealership in Chennai.

“People buy our bikes for pleasure,” said Vikram. “They usually take the bike out on a weekend and if it doesn’t start or breaks down on those days, it will be a huge problem for the brand.”

Suzuki announces 'Ek Tha Tiger, Ek Hai Hayate' winners

Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited (SMIPL) provided once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to R Shankar Krishnan of Bangalore to meet with superstar Salman Khan on winning the contest ‘Ek Tha Tiger, Ek Hai Hayate’.

Shankar Krishnan was amongst the five winners who met with Salman Khan and were delighted as they interacted and posed with him at the Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai.

The promotional campaign was launched by Suzuki two-wheelers in association with Yash Raj Films for the Salman Khan – Katrina Kaif starrer ‘Ek Tha Tiger’. The contest was open to all Suzuki Hayate purchasers and gave a chance to 5 lucky winners to meet Salman Khan.
One lucky winner was entitled to the grand prize of a Suzuki Hayate.  The contest received a great response from Suzuki two-wheeler customers.

The other winners of the contest were Umesh Narayan Joshi from Kolhapur, Thiyagarajan from Chennai, Sunil Kumar Panchal from New Delhi, and Pankaj Kumar Pandey from Arrah. Sunil Kumar Panchal was the grand prize winner. Rakesh Kumar, National Head – Planning and DD says, “The contest revolved around Salman Khan and his highly anticipated blockbuster ‘Ek Tha Tiger’.

Salman is a crowd-puller with a huge fan following because of which the campaign received a terrific response. I congratulate all the contest winners on behalf of Suzuki two wheelers.”

R Shankar Krishnan said, “I am very grateful to Suzuki two-wheelers for giving me the golden opportunity of meeting my Bollywood idol Salman Khan. This was really a once in a life time opportunity for me and I will cherish it all my life!”

It's a boy… no, it's a monster! Pulsar 200NS

Evolution has been the keyword for the designers of the Bajaj Pulsar, right from the first 150 and 180cc Pulsar twins eleven years ago, to the new hooligan-on-road, the Pulsar 200NS.

The “definitely male” motorbike had a good run in terms of market monopoly since its inception, by virtue of its different design, good engine performance and raw sports appeal. That is, until the Yamaha FZ-16, Honda CBR and TVS Apache arrived in the market. Consumers could quickly identify the gaping holes in the Pulsar’s performance, in terms of bad braking, stability issues and a design that had become monotonous over all variants. Even its partner KTM’s 200cc Duke’s success proved that while the Naked Sport bike is much in demand, the Pulsar brand is not much desired for.

In what seems to be an attempt to lure the street bikers back to the “male” bike, Bajaj has unveiled the Pulsar 200NS (yes, the NS stands for Naked Sports). The new street-fighting Pulsar has been around with Smartbuy for some time now, and we have been pushing it through it paces, trying to find out one thing – is this really the best Pulsar yet?

It’s a looker

The good folks designing the Pulsar seem to be obsessed with the mean muscles. It shows on each Pulsar design, albeit the first one has been carried forward largely on every Pulsar variant till now (except of course the 200NS). All said and done, the 200NS is a definite head turner on the road. This one is all about straight and sharp lines and cuts all along the body.

The perimeter frame and its twin steel spars, side-cowls and knee-recesses incorporate the same muscular design philosophy, with neat cuts and sharp lines. The rear, sadly, is the same old tapering design with the two LED-strip tail lamps. But what changes the look considerably is the new cast alloy number-plate holder.

The downward tapering and mean-looking ‘street-fighter’ headlamps have a helmet-strap like lining around it, with twin pilot lights attached on either side. The design seems to have been inspired from popular naked sports bikes like the Ducati Streetfighter and even the long line of Dukes.

For the first time, the Pulsar sports a Nitrox Mono Suspension at the rear (with a piggy-back Nitrox canister usually seen on older Pulsars’ rear shocks). The mono-suspension isn’t really a new thing that’s on the market - it’s been around on naked bikes even in India for quite some time. It was just high time Bajaj started incorporating it in the design.

The wide tyres give the Pulsar 200NS a further aggressive look. But, the front registration plate juts out from beneath the headlamp in a very ugly manner. The backlighting on the switches and electricals has been changed from white to blue, and an orange-backlit digital console sits in the middle with an analog tachometer. While the left panel beams the brand logo in blue along regular indicators like side stand, left and right turn and high beam, the right digital panel glows with the speedometer, trip meter, service indicator and a clock.

The exhaust is positioned beneath the chassis, just like the Duke, which led to a few questions, and which got answered during the performance runs.

Fighting on the streets

Bajaj may vehemently deny that the Pulsar’s engine is vaguely similar to the Duke’s but while riding, it felt quite a lot like the Duke. Bajaj has come up with a triple-spark engine, with one spark plug as the master spar-plug and two others as slaves for better fuel efficiency. The Duke’s engine manages with just one plug and sports fuel injection and a DOHC, delivering a bit more power.

It wouldn’t have harmed Bajaj to use fuel-injection instead of the Venturi carburettor on this one, though the target to keep the price of the bike below Rs one lakh might have weighed on the decision. The 4-valve liquid cooled SOHC engine with its 199 cc displacement comes alive without much noise. Twist that wrist and it stirs up a storm.

True to its naked-sports spirit, the P200NS reached 100 kmph from standstill in under 10 seconds during every trial run, and on open stretches, the six-speed gearbox let me reach 120 kmph without breaking a sweat. On one stretch I also hit the company-claimed 130 kmph. All this courtesy its peak power of 23.5 PS at 9,500 rpm and top torque of 18.3 nm at 8,000 rpm.

The 200 NS is fitted with petal disc brakes on both front and rear (280mm front and 230mm rear with floating callipers). The Bybre (Brembo’s proprietary brakes for bikes under 600cc) brakes are extremely efficient and can bring the heavy bike (145kgs at the kerb) to a standstill from higher speeds almost instantly. The rear does not step out while braking on the straights, as the case used to be with older Pulsars.

The Pulsar line has always been notorious for its forward weight bias, which gives it a reputation on the corners. Surprisingly, the 200NS, in spite of its slight front-heavy design, fared well on the corners. Initially I was not confident about leaning deep into the corners, primarily because of the history and also because the tarmac was wet and I wasn’t too confident with the 130/70 rear Eurogrip tyres. But once the Sun dried up the black top, I could easily negotiate tight corners.

The 200cc engine heated up quite fast under the Chennai Sun and our riding conditions, but the liquid cooling system attended to it and heating never became a problem.

What I was really worried about was the under-belly exhaust with Bajaj’s proprietary ExhausTEC chamber, and was really anxious to check out how it fared. It rained during the testing period, and I have never been so glad for a downpour, for it gave me a chance to run the bike through nearly two-feet of standing water on the waterlogged streets and the Pulsar 200NS passed this test with ease.

On the bike

While this new Pulsar may perform well on the streets, it’s far from kind on your back. While riding the bike inside the city might be decently comfortable, long rides can be painful, especially if you are big made. The space between the tank and the hump of the pillion seat is not too accommodating for riders who are of medium-build and above. The reach to the handlebars can get a bit uncomfortable. The suspension is tuned to be rigid and oriented towards performance. They’re good enough to absorb slightly broken tarmac, but big potholes and broken patches can make you feel uncomfortable.

The turning radius too, is quite wide, which defeats the entire purpose of the Pulsar being a ‘street-fighter’. Manoeuvring the heavy bike is difficult as is, the wider turning angles add to the woes.

End of track

For the first time, Bajaj has come out with a Pulsar that can be handled quite decently too. If style and raw power are what you seek, a closer look at the Pulsar 200NS is warranted.

The new Pulsar NS is priced at Rs. 85,000 (ex-show room, Delhi).

TVS Indonesia reports loss as loyalty shifts to scooters

Firm looks to expand presence in Laos, Columbia, Argentina, Peru

The tilt in two-wheeler sales in favour of scooters in the Indonesian market spells more challenges for the Indian two-wheeler maker TVS Motor Company. The Indonesian arm of the company reported loss for the financial year 2011-12, raising more questions to grow its business in the world’s third largest two-wheeler market.

The Indonesian motorcycle industry has been growing at 15 per cent in the past five years and is expected to grow at 10-12 per cent over the next five. However, there has been a significant shift in the form of vehicles sold.

The popular Bebeks (step-thru bikes) category, which constituted close to 80 per cent of the market five years back has now come down to 40 per cent, on the back of strong growth from the scooters (skubeck) category. The scooters offer greater convenience and imagery over the Bebeks and hence are a preferred choice. The category share of sports model, however, remains stable at eight per cent, according to company’s latest annual report.

Company’s Indonesian arm PT TVS Motor Company Indonesia offers three brands in the Bebek category and one brand in the sports category and is still un-represented in the scooters category. All the product brands have been well received by the customers, it added.

PT.TVS Motor Company Indonesia (PT TVS) ended the financial year 2011-12, with 16 per cent growth in total sales at 23,000 units. Revenues of the company crossed Rs 100 crore and stood at Rs 107.36 crore in 2011-12 as against Rs 85.36 crore in the previous year. Operating loss at Ebitda level was lower at Rs 49 crore when compared to loss at Ebitda level (excluding amortisation of foreign currency monetary translation reserve) was Rs 58.4 crore in 2010-11.

During the ongoing financial year, the company intends to launch more products and ramp up the dealer network to boost its market share in the country. After the launch of all new step-thru bike TVS RockZ in May this year, it will also launch new variant of its bike Apache this year.

It has decided to focus on six identified provinces and increase its share in these markets through focused expansion and improving the productivity of existing dealers. The present strength of around 110 dealers will be increased to 240 by end of next year.

The Indonesian arm also exported 10,000 units to countries like Iran, Philippines and West Africa last year. It plans to expand its presence in new markets like Laos, Columbia, Argentina, Peru, Guatemala, Nigeria, Brazil and Vietnam.

During the first seven months of this calendar year, the two-wheeler sales stood at 4.3 million units in Indonesia. In 2011, total two-wheeler sales stood at 80,43,535 units in 2011 as against 73,98,644 units in 2010. Honda was the market leader with 53 per cent share, followed by Yamaha at 39 per cent share, Suzuki at six per cent and Kawasaki at 1.25 per cent, according to Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association.

KTM 200 Duke gets custom race livery

The KTM 200 Duke’s radical design and no holds barred racing intent has earned it a legion of fans in India after its launch in January this year.

Now KTM has revealed a new set of custom ‘raceline’ stickers to make it look even more radical. For an introductory price of Rs 4560, these stickers are designed for the fuel tank, with WP stickers for the front shock absorbers, rear seat cowl and engine cowl, and KTM Racing stickers for the frame and rims.

This is sure to endear the brand even more to young bikers.  KTM India’s Facebook page has more than 1.5 lakh fans since it was set up earlier this year, and there are at least four active fan pages consisting of Duke owners from around the country. Bajaj had showcased the KTM bikes in India around four years ago.

The 200 Duke is one of the best 200cc bikes in the country with a best in class power-to-weight ratio of 184PS/tonne. The 4-valve single-cylinder liquid-cooled fuel injected DOHC motor produces 25PS of power and 19Nm of torque. The bike is the fastest among the 200cc crop with a blistering 0-100km/h time of 9.01 seconds and a top speed of about 136km/h. The trellis frame, short handlebars and grippy tyres make it a hoot around corners.

HMSI revokes suspension of two Manesar plant workers

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) on Wednesday said it has revoked suspension of two workers at its Manesar plant following an agreement with the employees union.

"The suspension pending inquiry order issued on two employees has been withdrawn after mutual dialogue between HSMI Employees Union and management to ensure that industrial harmony and discipline prevails in the organisation," HMSI said in a statement.

In the beginning of this month the company had suspended two workers Naresh Yadav and Jaibeer Yadav, an executive member of the union, after it "received a report of manhandling and assault of a manager with an intent of creating an environment of terror in the logistics work area".

The union had maintained that they were suspended on "flimsy grounds" over sanctioning of leave.

"This was a matter of managing internal discipline. Both the said employees are back to work after appropriate disciplinary action has been taken after mutual understanding with the HMSI Employees Union and management," HMSI Vice-President Corporate Affairs & Industrial Relations, Harbhajan Singh said.

Commenting on the agreement, HMSI Employees Union President Ashok Yadav said: "With mutual discussion and spirit of co-operation, management and union are committed to resolve all their internal matters."

Suzuki Motorcycle Onam promo

Suzuki Motorcycle India has announced a special promotional campaign, ‘Hai Hayate, Hai Happiness’, for the forthcoming Onam Festival.

Valid till September 15, on purchase of every Hayate, a mass segment motorcycle, customers will get an assured Salman Khan autographed gift. Some lucky winners stand a chance to upgrade their Hayate to a Salman Khan autographed Hayate.

The customers stand a chance to win Salman Khan Autographed key chains, helmet, and Aviators. After purchase of Hayate, customer will get a special Salman Khan tattoo, on the application of which customer will discover their gift.

Dhoni Launch special edition bike for TN Cities

 Indian cricket captain and brand ambassador of TVS StaR city, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has unveiled a special edition motorcycle for Tamil Nadu.

The all-black, 110cc TVS StaR City motorcycle was unveiled at a private function on Sunday in which Dhoni interacted with TVS Motor Company’s Tamil Nadu dealers and select owners of TVS motorcycles.

Superbike sales show no signs of slowing down

In India’s auto market, where small, fuel-efficient two-wheelers outsell anything on wheels, the demand for high-end motorcycles is growing at a fast clip even in a year of sluggish growth across sectors. It’s still a niche segment that sells under a thousand motorcycles a year, the cheapest costing as much as a mid-sized car, but one that’s bucking the trend with an annual average growth of 30% as per industry estimates.
Super bikes at the entry-level category of 800 cc start at about R7 lakh, while those in the 1000-1800 cc segment cost anywhere between R15-35 lakh. But the astronomical prices have not dampened the spirits of the Indian superbike customer, and the manufacturers have sensed that. Over the past couple of years, some of the world’s biggest brands such as Harley-Davidson and BMW Motorrad have made a beeline to India to tap this nascent market. Triumph, the iconic British motorcycle brand, too, has announced plans to enter the market.

Italian bike maker Ducati expects sales this year to grow three-fold to 450 units from around 150 units in 2011. The demand is mostly coming from Delhi and Mumbai, while cities like Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Bangalore and Chennai hold good potential. The company, which sells models such as the Diavel, Multistrada and 848 Evo, had clocked sales of 100 bikes in 2010, its first year of operations in the country.

“The sales have been encouraging and we expect a healthy growth rate over the next five years,” says Ashish Chordia, director, Precision Motor India, the distributor and service provider for Ducati in India. “As you can see from our sales figures, a growth of 50% has been possible even during the slowdown. The main reason for sales bucking the overall trend is that these products are aspirational purchases,” he adds.

Harley-Davidson clocked sales of 348 bikes between April and July this year, a bulk of them being in the 800cc category where it has models like Superlow and Iron 883, as per data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). The company, whose bikes start at R5.6 lakh and go up to R35.45 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), has been able to bring down the prices of some models by assembling them locally.

“I think there is a lot of pent-up demand for high-end motorcycles considering that two-three years back we hardly had any,” says Deepesh Rathore, managing director India of IHS Automotive, a global research company. “Till now, the Indian market was a typical commuter market very similar to the Chinese market or the Latin American market, while in the US and Europe motorcycles are essentially lifestyle products,” he adds.

Manufacturers would now have to follow the path taken by luxury car makers, who have been able to bring down prices by assembling, or producing some parts locally, he says. “If you look at the luxury car market, till a few years back the threshold of entry was about R35 lakh. Now that has come down to R25 lakh and you see the numbers.”

Meanwhile, Japanese manufacturers such as Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda, which compete with Indian motorcycle companies for a slice of the mass market segment of 100cc-150cc bikes, have also been expanding their range of superbikes here. While the sales numbers are microscopic in comparison, the big bikes serve as a platform to showcase their technology in the fiercely competitive volume market. India’s total motorcycle market clocked sales of 3.45 million units between April and June, a growth of 6.35% over the same period last year.

“Yes, it is growing, there is no doubt about it. The percentage also looks very good because the numbers are small,” says Atul Gupta, vice-president, sales and marketing, Suzuki Motorcycle India, whose superbikes such as the 1300cc Hayabusa and the 1800cc Intruder have a fan following globally.

Suzuki sold 44 bikes between April and July, including 31 units of the Hayabusa whose ex-showroom price in Delhi is R13.25 lakh. Gupta says the company sells 300-325 bikes in the high-end segment annually, which he says, gives it a 40% market share. Gupta expects sales to double in the next five years but reckons that the trading-up in the volume segment would probably put 250cc bikes in a sweet spot by then.

Auto Sector divorces and the life after for Indian partners

Honda had its second high profile divorce in India in less than two years after the break-up with the Hero group in December 2010. Earlier this month, the Japanese automaker bought out the stake of its Indian partner, Siddharth Shriram, in its car alliance.

Over a decade ago, Honda called it quits in the alliance with the Pune-based Kinetic group which had brought the gearless scooter revolution to Indian roads. A wholly-owned entity, HMSI (Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India), was created to carry this business forward and is the clear leader in gearless scooters. Its next mandate is to emerge top in the Indian two-wheeler space where former ally, the Hero group, rules the roost.

Honda is one among a long list of multinational automakers which kicked off their India innings with a local partner before heading out on their own. Indian companies could contribute precious little in technology and financial support beyond a point.

They opted for the pragmatic option of exiting and reinventing themselves instead. The two names that immediately come to mind are the Tatas and Mahindras who have since acquired global brands like Jaguar Land Rover and SsangYong Motor.

TURNING POINT

The 1980s was the turning point for the Indian car industry with the entry of Suzuki and the creation of Maruti Udyog. It was also the time the Japanese were creating waves in the two-wheeler segment. Suzuki had teamed up with the TVS group, while Honda and Yamaha opted for the Hero group and Escorts, respectively, as their allies.

The motorcycle revolution would soon topple the geared scooter reign and, in the process, Bajaj Auto lost its premier slot to Hero Honda. It had a partner in Kawasaki for motorcycles but, unlike the other Indo-Japanese alliances, there was no equity here.

By the late-1990s, Escorts and Yamaha had decided to part ways, while Honda and Kinetic, which had created the gearless scooter magic, followed suit. The next high-profile divorce involved TVS and Suzuki.

It was not easy going thereafter for some of these companies. Yamaha found it difficult to put its house in order while Kinetic just could not take the HMSI onslaught beyond a period of time. It ended up selling its two-wheeler business to Mahindras.

VICTOR MAGIC

TVS was on a roll with the Victor after parting with Suzuki (which, in turn, has its own two-wheeler arm for bikes and scooters) but has not managed to create the same magic in motorcycles since then, though it has been doing a lot better in scooters. Bajaj and Kawasaki are going strong even today and the latter is a vital part of its Indian partner’s global business.

In cars, Indian companies lost little time in forging alliances with big names in the global business when they decided to invest in India during the early 1990s.

The list was long and included Premier Automobiles in two joint ventures with Peugeot and Fiat; Tatas and Daimler; Mahindras and Ford; Hindustan Motors with General Motors and Mitsubishi (technical without equity particpation); Toyota and the Kirloskars; and Honda and Siddharth Shriram.

All, barring Toyota-Kirloskar, have seen the Indian partners eventually exit. Mahindras made a comeback in the car space with Renault years later but ended up buying the French partner’s stake and manufacturing the Logan themselves. Premier identified a Chinese ally to announce its comeback in the automobile space with the Rio SUV.

The Tatas got into cars with the Indica in the late-1990s followed by the more ambitious Nano project in 2008. Their acquisition of JLR has helped boost their car business revenues, while the Mahindras are working towards a turnaround plan for SsangYong.

Not everyone gave Indian carmakers a chance of survival when the multinationals entered the market. It is to their credit that they focused on their core competencies and held their own in an intensely competitive arena.

One year old Hero MotoCorp dares former partner Honda

By next month, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, India’s biggest two-wheeler manufacturer, would complete the re-branding exercise of its entire product line-up, a full year after breaking ties with Honda, but more than 20 months before the set deadline.

The company over the past few months launched three new models with one under its new brand, announced new investment plans aggregating Rs 2,575 crore towards two new facilities and integrated research and development (R&D) centre and expansions.

Little surprise then as Brijmohan Lall Munjal, HeroMotoCorp’s 88-year-old chairman, stated in the company’s annual report: “Caged birds accept each other; but flight is what they crave for. When Pawan (Munjal) and I sat down to draft this communique last year, there was a feeling of being unfettered and free. And rightly so, as we are about to take off on our first solo flight”.
From a total of 14 motorcycles and a scooter, Hero has rapidly expanded its tally to 16 bikes and two scooters after dissolution of the joint venture (JV) company Hero Honda Motors, which lasted for 26 years, thus making it one of the most successful JVs in India.

The Munjal-family led company has assured shareholders of more launches in the future, targeted at encompassing the entire spectrum of sub-segments ranging from economy bikes to power belting premium bikes to to hybrid and petrol driven scooters.

New production capacities are slated to take the company’s annual production to 9 million units in the next two-to-three years from 6.6 million units currently, an increase of 36 per cent. The company is also injecting funds to push its R&D activities to take competition right to the door steps of Honda Motor Co.

“The level and intensity of competition from Hero MotoCorp’s erstwhile partner is expected to shoot up by many notches. Product launches pitted against Hero MotoCorp’s strongest brands can exert some pressure on market share, but the company is adequately prepared to defend and consolidate its strong turf,” Hero’s annual report added.

A year into the open battle, the pressure is clearly visible. Hero MotoCorp’s sales growth in the domestic market was in the red last month, a first in 26 months. Despite new launches, from a monthly average of 505,000-unit domestic sales last year, Hero’s sales declined to about 473,000 units in July.

Sales of motorcycles of Hero having engine of more than 125cc have fallen 37 per cent this year (April-July) to 71,850 units against 114,323 units sold in the corresponding period last year. The company sells five models in this space.

Hero’s fall in sales has come at the backdrop of a stellar rise in demand for Honda two-wheelers. India sales of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), the subsidiary company of Honda, grew 61 per cent last month despite having only 11 mass-produced models in the market.

From fourth spot little more than a year back, HMSI climbed to the second spot in the list of India’s biggest two-wheeler makers, pushing the Chennai-based TVS Motors and Pune-based Bajaj Auto to the third and second spot, respectively. While Hero has assured it will remain at the top, Honda has set itself a target to become number one by 2020.

While the domestic two-wheeler industry has grown by nine per cent in the first four months of this year, HMSI posted a rise of 55 per cent in the same period, according to figures provided by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Hero still commands a lion’s share of the market at 44 per cent with total domestic sales of 6.06 million units, a growth of 15 per cent.

Hero’s key models Splendor and Passion have come under attack from not just new models of Honda but also from Bajaj Auto. Honda, which opened pan-India bookings of the Dream Yuga, an economy bike, in July, has so far sold more than 54,000 units of it.

Though Honda aims to sell 300,000 units of the Yuga by March (nine months since launch) it pales in comparison to the Splendor which sells more than 1 million units a year. Honda, however, will make arrangements for further production if demand exceeds that target.

“Based on the market demand, we have an option available to produce this model (Dream Yuga) in our upcoming plant,” said a HMSI spokesperson. Honda is awaiting the completion of its new plant coming up in Karnataka, which will bring 1.2 million units capacity.

Last year, Honda sold 1.99 million units domestically, a growth of 28 per cent over the previous year. Honda’s top-selling model Activa presently sells more than 100,000 units every month.

However, Hero has acknowledged the void in its R&D space and has thus taken a few steps to plug it. The company has joined hands with the US-based Eric Buel Racing (EBR) and Austria-based AVL to source technology for building products and engines of different categories.

Where Hero does not have independent technology of its own as most of it comes from Honda, the company is setting up a Rs 400 crore integrated R&D centre in Jaipur, which includes labs for components, engine, vehicle testing, design studio and test tracks. Built over an area of 250 acres, Hero claims this centre will be the largest in India among two-wheeler makers.

What drove Bajaj Auto's exports

Bajaj Auto is one auto company that consistently turns in a high profit on every rupee of sales it makes, no matter whether input costs rise or competition escalates. Its operating profit margins have stayed put at 19-20 per cent over the past many quarters. One reason for this lies in its thriving export business which brings in over a third of its revenues.

The company’s 2011-12 Annual Report throws new light on the brands and the countries which drive its export revenues.

BAL is the largest exporter of motor-cycles and three-wheelers from the country. Its two-wheeler export volumes grew by 30 per cent to about 12.68 lakh units in 2011-12, while three-wheeler volumes grew by 35 per cent to 3.12 lakh units.

It exports to 35 countries and enjoys a leadership position in 12 of them. Africa is its largest market, accounting for 41 per cent of the total volumes. This is followed by Asia and West Asia (40 per cent) and Latin America (18 per cent).

What are the vehicles sold in the foreign markets? Interestingly, it’s neither a ‘Discover’ nor a ‘Pulsar’ that rules the African markets. It is instead the ‘Boxer’. A new 150 cc version of the Boxer was introduced in Africa and the Philippines during the year. In Latin America, however, the Pulsar 135 rules the roost.

It’s a different ball game altogether closer home, in Sri Lanka. Here, the humble three-wheeler is the top seller. The strong demand is due to the fact that customers use three-wheelers as personal vehicles, says the annual report. This is what has perhaps led to the introduction of the four-wheeled auto or the RE 60 at the Auto Expo earlier this year.

Not all of Bajaj’s export ventures are doing equally well though. In Indonesia alone, BAL operates through a subsidiary called ‘PT Bajaj Indonesia’. Incorporated in 2007, this company assembles and markets Pulsars in Indonesia. As of March 2012, the subsidiary made a loss of Rs 12 crore. Total investment in this company is at about Rs 138 crore.

The focus on emerging economies where demand remained robust has been BAL’s strong point in 2011-12. The depreciating rupee also boosted export realisations for the company.

However, the company may not be as lucky in 2012-13, says the report. A substantial rise in import duty in Sri Lanka, trade restrictions in Argentina and dollar trade embargo in Iran challenge the growth momentum.

Bajaj to export Pulsar

Bajaj Auto Ltd will start exporting Pulsar 200 NS and Discover 125 ST motorcycles from October, K. Srinivas, the president of the company’s two-wheelers division, said. The company has sold more than 30,000 Discover 125 ST motorcycles, and over 18,000 Pulsar 200 NS bikes since they were launched in May and June, respectively. Demand for these vehicles is greater than production. Bajaj Auto is ramping up its production, and aims to meet the demand fully by October, Srinivas said. The two new motorcycle models are yet to be launched in the north India market, which contributes around 35% to the country’s total two-wheeler sales. The two motorcycles will be available pan-India from October, Srinivas said.

Two-wheeler makers gear up for production cuts

Demand dip has caught up with the two-wheeler industry too. Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and TVS are expected to go in for major production cuts soon. This is because demand is slowing and inventories with dealers are piling up over the last few months, industry sources said.

This marks a reversal for the two-wheeler segment that has along been the poster boy for the automotive industry with large sales and strong profit margins.

Though the segment has been able to weather the slowdown till now, it may soon join the passenger car and commercial vehicle makers facing the brunt of rising fuel prices and interest rates.

Analysts say that the biggest threat to two-wheeler sales is the delayed and deficient monsoon. But companies are hopeful that the upcoming festival and wedding seasons (starting September) will help clear inventories.

HIGH INVENTORIES

“Inventories are at a high at the dealer end — up to 40 days in some cases, which is unprecedented,” an industry source said.

Sources close to the development said that vendors to Bajaj Auto’s Pantnagar plant have been asked to reduce supplies. The facility makes several variants of the Discover and Platina bikes.

A major supplier added that Hero MotoCorp is also likely to produce less by about 20 per cent both because of the high stocks and the fewer number of working days in August.

BILLING MORE

K. Srinivas, President of Bajaj’s Motorcycle Business, said that the lack of growth by the industry marks the fact that many players are billing more units than what is actually being retailed. However, he denied the production cut.

“The motorcycle industry has been showing signs of a slowdown right from November 2011. Bajaj Auto read the signs early and we have been billing only what finally gets retailed. “We have very good reasons to believe that not all other manufacturers have followed this philosophy. If all others had also billed as per retail, the industry would show negative growth which is its true reflection,” he said.

Multiple sources in the supplier industry said that players such as TVS and Bajaj could be hurt the most.

While Honda has been able to buck the slowdown with growth above 55 per cent (Q1 and July 2012), market leader Hero may be forced to cut production as inventory at its dealer-end builds up.

SENTIMENT LOW

“The sentiment is extremely low, but we think it may be a temporary phase,” a top executive at a supplier said.

A Hero spokesperson acknowledged the stock build-up, but added that no production cuts have yet happened.

“The overall macro-economic situation and patchy monsoon have impacted the industry in general, and retail sales in both the urban and the rural markets have been adversely affected. This has led to a build-up of inventories at dealerships,” he said.

Expats, overseas Indians drive domestic auto R&D

The new head of Tata Motors, Karl Slym, isn’t the only high-profile expat in India’s growing automotive sector.

A number of expats and overseas Indians work the back-end, but in such critical areas as research and development.

With years of experience in developed markets, they are much in demand as auto majors such as Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) sharply step up investments in developing local models and vehicle technologies.

A year and a half back, M&M hired Richard Haas as automotive R&D chief.

Haas, an American, worked with Ford and was last with Tesla Motors, an electric sports car-maker. M&M’s head of testing and validation, Paul Harvey, is from the UK.

Pawan Goenka, M&M’s President for Automotive & Farm Equipment business, joined the company in 1993 after a 14-year stint at General Motors in Detroit. For Tata Motors and M&M, a global talent hunt is critical as their footprint spreads across geographies post their recent acquisitions, respectively, of the UK’s Jaguar Land Rover and South Korea’s Ssangyong.

Rajeshwar Tripathi, M&M’s Chief People Officer (Automotive & Farm Equipment), says the overseas hiring will only rise as the sector now has the capability to absorb the talent.

“In India, the pool is limited… and every company is vying for the same set of people. There are exchange programmes on with our operations in the US, China and Korea… we see a lot of synergy.”

Tata Motors has 6-8 foreign employees, while 10 Indians have returned from abroad. Hero has five foreigners at the brand new R&D establishment it set up after splitting from Honda last year.

GLOBAL STANDARDS

“Professionals who have worked abroad adopt global practices and have experience of working with global suppliers and technology partners. Growth in India is attracting many multinationals,” a Tata Motors spokesperson said.

Six of the nine foreigners Maruti hired in 2009 are still with the carmaker, apart from four Indians who have joined after overseas stints.

“Around 2008-09, when we became more aggressive in local R&D work, we started looking for professionals from Detroit and Japan. We took some on… We keep looking for more such talent,” says C. V. Raman, Maruti’s Executive Director for R&D.

General Motors (GM), which runs a technical centre in Bangalore, has about 50 Indians who have done global stints.

“Many shifted back when the West went into recession in 2008-09,” says P. Balendran, Vice-President at GM India. There are six expats at GM’s India R&D hub.

CULTURE TRAINING

The challenge, says Tripathi, is training these people in Indian and the company culture.

“Expats have to fit into the system. . It’s not easy to work here after working abroad.”

Wage revisions holds the key to health of auto sector

Pune: The auto industry, though perturbed with the labour violence at Maruti Suzuki’s plant at Manesar last month, does not see any large-scale disturbance in the management-worker relations in other auto belts like Pune, Chakan, Halol, Chennai and Pantnagar. Even the Gurgaon-Manesar belt, which is home to another plant of Maruti at Gurgaon and plants of companies like HeroMotocorp and Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India, has not seen any major trouble since the violence at Manesar.
However, wage revision process at Bajaj Auto next year and Tata Motors sometime later this month would show how the management-worker relationship progresses.

When FE spoke to union leaders at some of these companies, they did point out to some dissatisfaction and past labour strikes at their respective plants, but maintained they do not plan to go on any major strike disrupting production as workers at Maruti’s Manesar plant have been doing for the last one year.

For instance, in the Pune belt, which is home to the production units of Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto, labour trouble is a thing of the past. There was a firing killing two workers at Bajaj’s Akurdi plant way back in 1979 and in 2008 there was a 65-day agitation when the company wanted to shut the plant. A small trouble erupted at the company’s plant at Pantnagar in Uttarakhand in June, but was resolved within a day. Bajaj Auto did not respond to queries from FE on the company’s management-worker relationship.

Highlighting the labour issues at the company’s Pantnagar plant, Bajaj Auto union — Vishwa Kalyan Kamgaar Sanghatana — president Dilip Pawar said that workers have reached out to them for support and are joining hands to strengthen their position. Similarly, there are 2,700 workers at Waluj, out of which close to 2,000 are contract workers who have expressed desire to join the union.

Since the Vishwa Kalyan union is an internal union at the Akurdi and Chakan plant, the company would not like workers from other plants to come on board. Anyway, a new wage settlement is due to be negotiated at Chakan and Akurdi in less than a year and that may show how things proceed in future. Pawar said things will never deteriorate to the extent it had happened at Maruti.

For Tata Motors, too, labour trouble has become part of history now. Last time any major industrial strike happened was way back in 1989. The workers are quite well paid at the company, earning up to R32,656 per month. Beginners earn around R12,000-13,000 per month. The company also provides for free food and transport facility.

Shishupal Tomar, senior leader with the Tata Motors Employees Union, said the relationship between the workers and management is good and issues are dealt with professionally. They have access to Tata Motors’ Mumbai headquarters and can even meet chairman Ratan Tata.

“Last time (in June) he came and ate the same food at our canteen. Workers revere him as a father figure. We can go to him and not fear local managers,” said Tomar. The future relationship would, however, be clear sometime later this month when the new wage agreement negotiations begin. Another issue that would determine future relations is the growing number of contractual workers with their numbers at around 8,000 against 7,500 permanent workers.

Korean auto maker Hyundai Motor India, which has also gone through labour strike in 2010, said that it does not foresee any trouble in the offing as its practices and procedures are in place. The company employs permanent and temporary workers in the ratio of 70:30. Contractual workers are not employed for core areas and are paid around R14,000 per month.

General Motors, which has its plant at Halol in Gujarat and faced a prolonged labour trouble in 2009 which was resolved with the state government stepping in, does not foresee any trouble and says it engages with the workers quite frequently.

However, working conditions and salary of the rising number of contractual workers may become one of the reasons for trouble if not paid timely attention. The Shramik Ekta Mahasangh, which is a federation in Pune’s Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial belt, says contract workers are exploited by contractors. “Salaries are poor in the range of R4,500 to R5,600 and workers often do not receive benefits,” Kishore Dhoble, president, Shramik Ekta Mahasangh, said.

Hero MotoCorp plans to enter new markets to boost exports

Company in the process of creating a new business structure

Country’s largest two-wheeler firm Hero MotoCorp draws major plans for export markets. While the company is preparing to enter new geographies this year, it is also in the process of creating a new business structure to drive sales in overseas markets.

“We have taken significant first steps to establish Brand Hero globally. We endeavour to build the brand equity globally by sponsoring international motor sports. Planned forays into select African and Latin American markets are being put into implementation. To begin with, we are focusing on markets where the volumes are large and where our existing products can be exported with minimum changes. We anticipate our exports to grow at least by 25 per cent in the current year. To sustain our efforts to emerge as a global player, we are in the process of setting up a new International Business organisation,” Pawan Munjal, managing director and CEO of the company said in company’s latest annual report.

The company’s exports registered a growth of 24 per cent at 164,570 units in 2011-12. Last year, the company doubled its scooter volumes in Sri Lanka through aggressive sales campaign. “On the export side, the company is targeting is to increase exports from three per cent of sales in FY12 to about 10 per cent by FY16,” according to Sneha Venkatraman – auto analyst of HDFC Securities.

It is planning to commence marketing and brand-building exercises shortly in select markets across Central & Latin America and Africa. A new International Business Organisation structure is currently being implemented to drive this initiative and growth. The focus will continue to be on markets, where volumes are large and products can be exported with no/ minimum changes.

Hero will be selling its 100 cc and 125 cc motorcycles in African and Latin American markets. “It has finalised specific countries in these regions to start with and is making necessary modifications to its products to suit target markets. While it would be looking at having assembly operations in key export markets at appropriate time, it would be leaving distribution to the local partners. It expects export volumes to reach one million by FY16-17. However, ramp-up in exports would result in loss in the initial few quarters as the company will be making investments to enter and expand various markets,” Jinesh Gandhi, auto analyst, Motilal Oswal Securities.

The hike in petrol price has made Calcutta police bite the bullet.

After four decades of patrolling the streets and chasing criminals on Royal Enfield Classic 350 motorcycles, Calcutta police are replacing the bulky red rides with smaller, more fuel-efficient models.

As part of a deal with TVS Motors, Lalbazar has bought 120 white Apache RTR 160s since March and plans to buy more such bikes in the next few months.

“The new bikes are much cheaper and consume much less fuel than the Enfield bikes. The maintenance charges of the new bikes are also lower,” said Soumen Mitra, additional commissioner of police (traffic).

While a Royal Enfield Classic 350, or Bullet 350, costs Rs 1,09,000 and provides a mileage of 25kmpl, an Apache RTR 160 comes at only Rs 73,000 and provides a mileage of 45kmpl. At 136kg, the Apache is much lighter than the 182kg Bullet 350.

“The new 160cc motorbikes, which have high pick-up, will allow cops to move faster through congested city roads than on larger and heavier 350cc Enfield bikes. So far only the sergeants of police stations have been provided with the new bikes. However, once a set of 600 new sergeants are recruited in the Calcutta police in the next few months, they will also be provided with the new bikes,” said a senior Calcutta police officer.

While senior officers are certain about the benefits of the switch, sergeants and officers who have been asked to ride the new bikes are not so sure.

“The red Royal Enfield has an imposing presence. Often, criminals flee the moment they hear the thump of the bike’s engine or catch a glimpse of a sergeant astride it. The new white bikes do not command that kind of respect,” said an officer of Tollygunge police station who has been riding Royal Enfield bikes for 20 years.

Calcutta police have been using bulky bikes since Independence. While a few Norton ES2 and Norton Big Four bikes were retained by the cops, the Royal Enfield 350 were among the first bikes inducted into the force.

The lightweight Yamaha RD350 bikes were tried out for a short while in the late-1960s. They had to be phased out because of shortage of spare parts. Since then, Calcutta police have stuck to Bullet 350.

As a result, with the cops using the Bullet 350 bikes for over the past four decades, the big red bike and aviator glasses had become very much a part of their uniform.

“The red Bullet, white uniform and aviator glasses are what attracted me to apply for the post of sergeant in the first place. But if they now change the bikes and hand us a simple sports bike it is extremely disheartening,” said a sergeant undergoing training at the police training school in Calcutta.

The officers of the police stations who have been asked to discard the old bikes and ride the new sleek sports bikes have a different complaint.

“We have long been used to sitting straight while riding the bikes. But with the new sports bike we have to crouch forward and since all of us are more or less pot-bellied, it has become very painful. As a result, the bikes remain stranded at the police stations and at times are used by the juniors,” said another officer of Amherst Street police station.

According to officials of TVS Motors, they had approached Calcutta police with the proposal to buy the new bikes after Royal Enfield cited shortage of supply when the cops had approached them for a fresh order.

“The Apache bikes have the highest power and mileage in their category. They can go from 0 to 60kmph in 4.8 seconds and also have a mileage of 45kmpl. We are supplying these bikes to cops in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. They are the best bikes for quick movement on congested city roads,” said Pradip Kumar, senior manager, TVS Motors, Calcutta.

Bajaj widens dealer network to push sports bike sales

Bajaj Auto Ltd. is enhancing its dealer network to push sales of sports motorcycles.

The company, which launched the 2012 edition of the Kawasaki Ninja 650 today, will have 62 outlets by the end of this month, from the present 53, Mr Amit Nandi, Vice-President, Probiking, said.

The new bike, priced at Rs 5,00,000 (ex-showroom, New Delhi), will be brought from Kawasaki’s Thailand facility in a semi-knocked-down (SKD) condition and assembled at Chakan.

Bajaj Auto launched the Kawasaki Ninja 250 in the Indian market in 2009, followed by the Ninja 650 last year.

Since then it has sold a total of 3,000 units of the premium motorcycle. Bajaj has also launched KTM Duke 200 in India.

The features of the 2012 Ninja, available in the signature green colour, include 72-PS power, and a four-stroke, liquid-cooled engine.

KTM and Kawasaki are Bajaj Auto’s global business partners.

The company has plans to build its position in the sports motorcycle segment in India with the Pulsar, and said that there were a number of initiatives in the pipeline for all these three brands that would be introduced over the next 18 months.

Promising Yuga

Honda dreams big with its latest commuter bike Yuga. Ashley Baxter has the details

Honda has launched the Dream Yuga, the first of Honda’s famous ‘Dream’ range of bikes in India — in essence, a plain-Jane sibling of the CB Twister 110.

The Honda-typical beak-type headlamp and cowl are softened, with a smooth and simple look. Twin-pod instruments sit sheltered behind the cowl. The left pod houses a bold, easily read speedometer, with an odometer nestled in the middle, while the other houses the fuel level indicator and the basic telltale lights. There is no trip meter.

Angular rear-view mirrors on the matte black handlebar look smart. Unlike the more expensive Honda CBR150R, the Dream Yuga thankfully features a pass flash switch, while the high-beam button is push-operated.

Further aft, the eight-litre fuel tank tapers gently as it swoops back toward the riding seat, with fine horizontal ridges creating light knee recesses. The filler cap is a familiar, chromed Honda unit. Stylish side panels give the Dream Yuga some muscle, their boomerang shape mimicking the CB Shine closely.

The rear panels look smart, flowing from the side panels into a big tail lamp. A chunky, cast-alloy pillion grab bar is another attractive touch on the Dream Yuga.

The style factor is significantly upped by this bike’s lower half, where the front fork sliders, smart six-spoke alloy wheels, engine, exhaust system and full chain cover are all finished in black.

Overall quality is of high standards expected on Honda bikes, and gives the Dream Yuga a built-to-last feel.

The Dream Yuga deploys the same four-stroke, single-cylinder 109cc engine that powers the CB Twister. It uses a single camshaft to operate its two valves, while a carburettor meters fuel. Apart from a twin-pocket air-cooling system, the Dream Yuga engine uses an offset crank and a viscous-type air filter for better efficiency. The Dream Yuga engine is smooth and quiet right from idle, delivering a wide spread of power that makes riding the Honda easy. The bottom end offers a smooth, silken response, while throttle inputs in the mid-range are even more rewarding, laced with a hint of sportiness. The Honda remains smooth even high up in its rev range, although revving it up is of little use as the power then tails off very quickly.

The clutch is well-weighted and progressive. Like the Twister, the Dream Yuga also uses a four-speed gearbox, but the shift pattern has been changed to the archaic all-up pattern, with a heel-and-toe shift lever. Gearshifts are fault-free, a light tap being all that is required to switch cogs with a reassuring snick.

Well-chosen ratios ally with the torquey engine to make city commuting effortless. The Dream Yuga is flexible enough to pull cleanly from speeds under 30kph in top gear.

It accelerates from a standstill to 60kph in 7.69 seconds and boasts a true 95kph top speed. The performance is peppier than 110cc offerings from other manufacturers, although it understandably trails a little behind its sportier sibling, the faster CB Twister.

Honda’s Dream Yuga delivers a true-blue commuter bike experience, using a single downtube frame with its engine bolted in as a stressed member, while the rear swingarm is a rectangular unit. The wheelbase is 1285mm — slightly longer than the Shine — and the Dream Yuga shows off a long, well-padded, wide seat that easily accommodates two hefty adults.

The handlebar is positioned low and comfortably within reach. Good ergonomics make this a comfortable bike for riders of most heights. Telescopic forks and adjustable twin hydraulic shock absorbers at the rear work together and deliver good ride quality.

There’s a hint of firmness at low speed that’s evident over light ridges, but the suspension is adept at dealing with big bumps and potholes. It never bottoms out, not even with a heavy rider and pillion.

The Dream Yuga features 80/100 x 18-inch tubeless tyres at both ends on the alloy wheel variants, while the spoke-wheeled Dream Yuga comes with Tuff-Up tubes. The larger 18-inch rims improve the Dream Yuga’s ability to take on poor roads.

The Dream Yuga is light and steers easily at low speeds, without feeling nervy at higher velocities. Around corners, the high-grip MRF tyres and long wheelbase combine to impart a sense of confidence.

We wish Honda had granted the Dream Yuga a front disc brake, for its front and rear drum brakes don’t offer as reassuring a feel. We managed to stop the Dream Yuga from 60kph in 20.28 metres.

The Dream Yuga delivered good results, giving us 58.3kpl in the city and a highway efficiency of 61.8kpl. The Dream Yuga (Rs. 44,642 – ex-showroom, Delhi) then has what it takes to give Honda’s mass market innings a dream start.

Monsoon woes may impact rural demand for 2-wheelers

The inadequate monsoon rains in parts of India is likely to impact the demand for two-wheelers to some extent, according to Keita Muramatsu, President and CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooters India Pvt Ltd (HMSI).

Talking to presspersons here on Tuesday after inaugurating the company’s first zonal office in India, he said HMSI is revamping its rural and semi-urban marketing network. However, there are no plans to offer incentives in the coming festive season to boost sales. The company currently has a 30 per cent penetration in the rural and semi-urban markets.

In order to further improve its after-sales service network, HMSI will set up 20 zonal offices with their centres imparting training to nearly 2,000 technicians from within the dealers’ network in the next two years.

The company, which recently appointed Bollywood star Akshay Kumar as its brand ambassador, has so far invested Rs 5,000 crore in India, including Rs 1,500 crore on its Karnataka plant scheduled to open in 2014, as also expansion of network. With this, the company’s production capacities will increase from 27 lakh to 40 lakh two-wheelers annually, mostly to cater to the domestic demand. The company has no immediate plans for any further investments on setting up new plants, he added.

Bajaj launches new Kawasaki Ninja 650R at Rs 4,99,834

Bajaj Auto launched the 2012 model of Kawasaki Ninja 650R superbike priced at Rs 4,99,834 (ex-showroom in Delhi) on Thursday.

The latest version follows the launch of the Ninja 650R introduced in June 2011.

The company has so far sold 3,000 units in the Ninja family, which was first introduced in 2009.

The auto firm claims to be the leader in the sports bike segment with a market share of 65 percent in the Rs 2 to 5 lakh two-wheeler category.

"We will start bookings from next week and in the next three to four weeks the delivery will begin," Bajaj Auto Pro-biking Vice President Amit Nandi told reporters here.

After the Kawasaki Ninja 250R and the KTM 200 Duke, the new 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 650 is the third premium sports motorcycle model introduced in the country by the domestic auto player.

Bajaj Auto has a marketing and production tie-up with Japanese power bikes major Kawasaki. The bikes come as semi knocked down units and are assembled at the firm's Chakan plant in Pune.

Nandi declined to divulge the sales target for the new bike but said it would be "significant".

Car sales grow 7% in July on low base

As car sales fail to show any fast pick-up, companies are banking on discounts and other freebies to attract customers, who are shying away from new purchases, scared by an uncertain economy and fat EMIs. The situation remains same for two-wheeler makers too as Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and TVS post negative numbers.

While on paper car sales managed a modest 7% growth in July, the reality is different. The growth comes on a weak base — car sales had fallen by 16% in July last year and it was first sales drop in nearly three years, partly due to lower production at Maruti Suzuki, which was battling a labour unrest at Manesar.

The situation is no different now, and companies say it can go even worse with the monsoon remaining weak. Maruti witnessed a violent labour unrest on July 18, which led to a lockout at Manesar. The production loss at the biggest carmaker is set to puncture any chances of an early revival in the car industry, at least not before the festive season.

Honda Motorcycle suspends two workers at Manesar plant; dispute on wages likely

Fresh labour trouble seems to be brewing at the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt, with two workers now suspended at Honda’s two-wheeler plant at Manesar on Monday. This follows last month’s violence at the Maruti Suzuki car plant nearby.

Though production at the Honda plant continued as normal on Tuesday, the facility saw a large police deployment for security.

The workers’ union - Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Employees’ Union - has also opted to not go on a strike immediately, pending the outcome of a Labour Department-negotiated settlement with the Honda management.

“A meeting was held today, but the Honda management refused to arrive at a conclusion because they were yet to discuss the matter internally. A second meeting with the Labour Department and company officials is now slated for Thursday (August 9),” Ashok Yadav, President of the union, said.

The suspended workers included Jaibeer, an executive committee member of the Union and Naresh Yadav. Both were let off following an altercation on the sanctioning of leave, sources say.

An Honda Motorcycle & Scooters India spokesperson said that the suspension followed a report received on manhandling and assault of a manager with an “intent of creating an environment of terror in the logistics work area”. Based on this, the workers were suspended pending enquiry.

“We are open for discussion, action will be taken after completion of enquiry. We are in touch with the Labour Department,” the company official said.

However, Ashok Yadav said the main reason for disagreement were the ongoing discussions on wage settlements. Wage agreements are renewed every three years at the plant, and on July 10 this year, the union had put up its new demand notice.

“They are just trying to find reasons for the suspension and put pressure on the union. The workers were suspended for taking a holiday on Rakhi,” he said.

A separate meeting with the Labour Department on wage issues is also scheduled for Wednesday (August 8).

This is not the first time that the company has faced labour disputes. In 2005, over 150 people were seriously injured in a clash between the police and agitating workers.

Piaggio to launch mass market scooter in India by 2013 end

Buoyed by good response to its Vespa brand in India, Italian two-wheeler maker Piaggio is planning to launch a mass market scooter by the end of 2013.

The company's Indian arm, Piaggio Vehicles Private Ltd (India) is also currently investing Rs 150 crore to ramp up capacity at the Baramati plant in Maharashtra.

"The scooter segment in India is growing at a tremendous pace. No company would like to miss this opportunity and for that we need to be in the mass market segment," Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd (PVPL) Chairman and Managing Director Ravi Chopra told PTI.

At least in the next five years, the segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18-20%, he added. According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, scooter sales in India grew 24.55% to 25,62,841 units in 2011-12.

The company has already started working on a new product with technology from Piaggio's stable, he said.

"It takes about 18-20 months to up with a product and our expectation is that by end of 2013 we would be ready to launch it," Chopra said. While he declined to share further details, Chopra said: "This would not be under the Vespa brand, which we have positioned in the premium segment. For the mass market segment we will have a different brand."

Piaggio Group had launched Vespa LX125 priced at Rs 66,661 (ex-showroom in Maharashtra). "Similar to what we did with the Vespa engine to customise based on the needs of the Indian market, the new scooter will also be based on requirements here," he added.

Commenting on the response to the Vespa, which made a comeback to the Indian market in April this year, he said: "So far, we have a total of 8,500 units in retail sales and bookings. We hope to do around 40,000-45,000 units by the end of this calendar year."

The current output at the plant is about 10,000-12,000 units a month and is being ramped up gradually. The company expects to have full capacity utilisation by the end of the year, he added.

The Baramati plant currently has an installed capacity of 1,50,000 units per year. "We are investing Rs 150 crore to double the capacity at the plant by the fourth quarter of 2013 so that in 2014, we can do at least 20,000 units a month by 2014," Chopra said.

On expansion of sales network, Chopra said the company plans to have a total of 100 dealerships by the end of the year, up from the existing 48 in 35 cities.

"When we have 100 dealers, we will be present in almost 75-85 per cent of the Indian market," Chopra said, adding the firm would also be launching 'an intense TV campaign' by August end ahead of the festive season for the Vespa brand.