Indian auto sector is growing in a big way and you can see many luxurycars makers are trying to make India a hub for their different needs. This also helps the foreign makers to expand their production in India as well as to position themselves strongly in the Indian car market. Its product portfolio ranges from small cars to sports cars and luxury sedans; and from versatile vans to heavy-duty trucks or comfortable coaches. Chryslers’ passenger car brands include Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Jeep

Honda?s subsidiary in India, Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) with plant located at the Greater Noida near Delhi is considering manufacturing the CR-V.

Currently, the CR-V Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) is imported from Japan and distributed in the Indian market. According to Masahiro Takedagawa, President and CEO of HSCI in an interview with DNA Money said, “We are studying the possibilities of producing the CR-V locally, which will help us become a far more active player in the growing SUV market.”

Around 300 units of CR-V are sold in India every month and priced at Rs 20 lakh. Nearly half of this figure is comprised of import duty components. And just in case Honda would finally decide to manufacture the CR-V locally, price would likely go down to Rs 12-14 lakh which will surely entice customers.

In the top-end SUV segment, CR-V is the lead player along with Mitsubishi Pajero, Ford Endeavour, Suzuki Vitara and other models of which mostly are directly imported.

The advantage of local production is that more CR-Vs will be produce and aside from that HSCI also believes that there is a potential to increase market share once the vehicle built a strong brand image in the market.

Mr. Takedagawa also said that the company is hoping to produce around 68,000 units comprising of Civic, City, and Accord. HSCI has announced that it intends to manufacture over 150,000 cars by 2010 which is the same year when annual car production in the country is expected to reach 2.5 million units. Mr. Takedagawa also said that the company is really serious in its desire to increase its overall market share in India. The company is hoping to close this fiscal with the production of around 68,000 units consisting of the Civic, Accord, and City.

In addition, Mr. Takedagawa mentioned that the company will introduce a new hatchback which it plans of introducing in a couple of years and will play an important role in the sales growth that Honda the producer of high quality Acura CL catalytic converter is expecting in the future. The car is said to be a derivative of the Jazz and is scheduled to be produced at the second plant in Rajasthan.

This new plant is different from the one at Greater Noida where body panels are imported but this will not be the case with the plant in Rajasthan where a stamping facility is being installed specifically for this purpose.

There are also plans of producing locally important engine parts to keep costs low and at the same time to increase production volumes.

Volvo Car Corporation Sweden has recently announced that it will outsource components worth $99 million from India this year.

Volvo is joining other international automakers such as General Motors Corporation and DaimlerChrysler AG which both have employed the same outsourcing programmes for components that they used in manufacturing their vehicles.

Volvo Car Corporation, the producer of top of the line auto parts like Volvo muffler, is part of the Premier Automotive Group and one of the luxury brands currently owned by Ford Motor Company. According to Mr. Paul De Voijs, Managing Director, Volvo Cars India, the US head office of Volvo has been outsourcing components from major Tier 1 and Tier 2 companies like Minda HUF, Visteon, Arvin Meritor, Sundaram Clayton, and Rico Auto.

These major auto sources also obtain their critical components from India starting with the engine parts and making up nearly a third of all exports. Meanwhile other parts such as steering parts, body chassis, suspension and braking parts, equipment, electric parts, and other components make up for the remaining percentage of the automotive exports.

The demands for these automotive parts are growing. As a matter of fact it is projected that the industry will be having exports jumping from $1.8 billion in 2004-2005 to $5.9 billion in 2008-2009.

And according to the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India more than a third or 36 percent of Indian auto component exports are heading for Europe with North America closing in at second place with 26 percent.

Volvo just like the rest of other major automakers will tap onto the growing automotive industry in India which is not only known for its high quality but also its frugal engineering.

The ability to offer quality products at prices that can compete globally has led to a CAGR of 20 percent from 2000-2005. It was also in the year 2005 when the auto components industry was valued at over $10 billion and expected to double every four years to reach $18.7 billion in 2009 and $40 billion by 2014.

Volvo Trucks Deliveries Down

In other Volvo news, this time with regards to Volvo Trucks North America—it has obtained a 62 percent decrease in deliveries of new trucks this year. Through August the truck deliveries to dealers and customers only reach 9,082 units down from 24,197 trucks obtained during the first eight months of 2006.

Truck deliveries do not exactly equal sales and according to Volvo officials they are expecting for their US truck sales to further decline this year. The dealers and trucking companies purchased a high number of trucks last year to counter the high emissions standards that took effect last January 1.

Chevrolet is one of the most popular brands of General Motors, prevalent in India. The company is known to roll out a huge variety of car models in the Indian car industry.

Entry to India

Chevrolet is not new in India. It has an age old history starting from 1928, with its first office established in Sewree, Mumbai. General Motors (GM), Chevrolet’s parent company, was the first car manufacturer to set up an assembly plant in the country.

In this assembly production of the well proven 171 cubic inches, 24.7hp four-cylinder engine and Chevrolet’s first four-wheel mechanical brakes started in 1928. In the first year of production, the company rolled out nearly 13,903 General Motors cars and trucks from its Sewree plant.

The Chevrolet car brand gradually proved to be reliable and trustworthy. Later in 1930, when Ford introduced its new car model with all steel body, the Indian market became more competitive. In response to the Ford discovery, Chevrolet introduced a revolutionary six-cylinder car engine, an engine that boosts Chevrolet car sales in India in 1931.

Name and Symbol

Like the Chevrolet cars, Chevrolet name and symbol also has an age old history. It was experimented in a Detroit garage. Chevrolet was a name given by William Durant, a successful buggy manufacturer from Flint, Michigan. He took this name from the most prominent race car driver, Louis Chevrolet.

The symbol of the car brand was introduced in 1914. It was inspired by a wallpaper pattern in a hotel room in Paris. William Durant detached a small piece from that wallpaper and kept it in his wallet. Later he used the same piece as an advertising icon and marquee of today’s Chevrolet.

Chevrolet Cars in India

The company has introduced a number of high end cars in the Indian car market. All the car models comprising Chevrolet Spark, Chevrolet Aveo, Chevrolet Optra SRV, Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, Chevrolet Optra Magnum, Chevrolet Tavera, and Chevrolet Captiva, are successfully running on Indian roads. Even the recently launched Chevrolet Tavera Neo 2 is believed to carve its own niche in the respective car segment.

All the Chevrolet car models, whether it is a hatchback or an SUV, are a complete blend of high performance, improved fuel efficiency, excellent ride, and joyful driving experience. Chevrolet also emphasizes on safety features to deliver an excellent and safe driving to all its valued customers from the start to the end of their journey on wheels. The entire portfolio of cars is designed with a blend of advanced and innovative safety features.

Vision

In future, Chevrolet aims high to roll out more cars in the Indian car market. The recently established engine plant is also a vital part of its expansion plan in the country.

The recent addition in the visionary Chevrolet cards is the Chevrolet Volt, a hybrid petrol-electric concept car. Furthermore, the company plans a slew of car launches with enhanced performance and fuel efficiency in the Indian sub-continent.