Suzuki Saudia opens new service center

Suzuki Saudia, the sole distributor of Suzuki vehicles in Saudi Arabia, has recently opened a fully-equipped service center in Philistine Street, Jeddah, in line with its strategy to maximize customer satisfaction through after-sales services and in conjunction with the introduction into the Kingdom of the five-door Celerio sedan.

A presentation on the company’s vision and enhanced customer-care services was held at the center on Wednesday, in which company officials revealed that it will be the first of a series of Suzuki service centers that will be opened across Saudi Arabia, with similar centers coming up in Dammam, Riyadh, Madina and Makkah, in addition to branches in Jubail, Qassim, Tabuk, Taif, Jizan, Khamis Mushayt and Hofuf.

The service center, which has a team of highly experienced professional staff, offers top quality maintenance and after-sales services for the entire line of Suzuki vehicles.

“This service center is the first-of-its-kind among all Suzuki Saudia service centers, and we have invested in building a spacious and well-equipped center that will enable us to effectively implement our plans that revolve around optimizing customer satisfaction,” said Maher Al- Nabawy, deputy general manager, Suzuki Saudia, a part of the Bamarouf Group. “This center, with its well-trained staff, is equipped to handle around 40 cars at a time,” he added.

“We currently employ a total of 300 technicians at our Suzuki-dedicated service centers in Saudi Arabia, all trained at the company’s training center in accordance to the highest standards that have been stipulated by the parent company Suzuki,” he noted. “The underlying objective is to provide a comprehensive range of services that are distinguished by the skill and efficiency of the workforce, and that too at highly competitive prices to satisfy diverse consumer segments,” he stressed.

“We believe that our service network is unparalleled in terms of the geographical distribution, the range of spare parts stocked, and the professionalism and skill of our trained technicians and engineers.” Al Nabawi added that “we make it a point to constantly sharpen the skills and technical knowledge of our technicians to ensure that they are familiar with the latest technologies and are well-prepared to service new models as soon as they are launched in the market.”

In line with the launch of Celerio, Suzuki Saudia has recently hosted special technical training sessions for Suzuki’s Middle Eastern after-sales group recently.
The three-day training exposed participants from the Middle East mostly from Lebanon, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Emirates and Yemen dealerships to theoretical and practical details on the three-cylinder Celerio that comes with either a 5-shift manual transmission or 4-shift automatic gear.

The Celerio is a full-option hatchback which includes a radio, CD and MP3 player; double airbags; an anti-lock breaking system; fog lamps; alloy wheels; remote control and power steering. Manufactured by Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., it features a stylish design targeted toward younger drivers. The highly fuel-efficient Celerio is powered by a state-of-the-art and lightweight K10B engine. Aside from its intended youthful base, the vehicle is expected to attract buyers searching for high performance, attractive design, and fuel economy.

Masafumi Harano, group leader of Suzuki for Middle East and Africa Automobile Marketing Group, said the “eye-catching, stylish, fuel efficient and environmental-friendly city car” is built in conformity with the highest performance and safety standards.

Company officials said the Celerio targets the youths and expatriates alike with its retail tag price of SR26,000.

Ghost may prise open India for Rolls-Royce

At about half the price of the firm’s Phantom, the new model will be in showrooms by the end of the year



Car maker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, part of BMW AG, has said it plans to introduce the Ghost, a new global model, in India by the year-end. This comes right after the launch of marquee brands Jaguar and Land Rover by Tata Motors Ltd on Sunday.

The Ghost, which is to be unveiled formally at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, will be on display in showrooms in November or December, said Colin Kelly, regional director, Asia Pacific, at Rolls-Royce in a phone interview on Monday.

A formal launch would be followed by events designed for prospective customers only. “Our cars are made to order and so our marketing is made to order as well,” said Kelly. Bookings and deliveries for the car, which will cost nearly double than the popular Jaguar models, would commence in 2010.
“The Ghost is a Rolls you can drive everyday,” is how chief executive Tom Purves had described the car in an interaction with Mint in May.

Indeed, the car comes at a price that is nearly half that of the company’s present offering, the Phantom. The company expects to price the car between $250,000 and $270,000 (Rs1.2-1.3 crore) before taxes and import duties, which can easily double the price. With the less expensive tag, Rolls-Royce hopes to substantially increase the number of cars it sells in India. There are at present around 200 Rolls-Royce cars in the country.

Last year, the firm sold 14 cars in India through two dealerships in New Delhi and Mumbai and it expects to sell about as many cars this year. “(Next year) we expect to sell two-three times what we sold in 2008,” Kelly said.

The Ghost should also help the firm reach 3,000 cars in global sales by 2010. Last year, it sold 1,212 cars worldwide.

According to Kelly, Indian buyers of Rolls-Royce are very similar to counterparts globally. They tend to be hard working wealthy individuals. But they differ in the amount and type of personalization they like to have in their cars. “This could be anything from the person’s initials to the company logo embroidered into the headrest of the car,” he said.

“There are no plans to expand the number of dealerships in India as of now,” he added. The company would, however, look at setting up service only facilities in cities where the number of cars warranted them. It usually waits for a city to have a dozen cars before it considers setting up such a facility.

At present, the Indian market is about one-eighth the size of the Chinese market and one-third of the Japanese market but it’s a gap that the firm believes could narrow substantially in the next few years.
A recent Capgemini-Merrill Lynch Wealth Report noted that India has about 1,000 individuals with at least $40 million in liquid assets. Rolls considers each of them potential customers.

Tata's Journey So far..

1954
Tata launched its first Mercedes Benz diesel truck, Telco.



1958
India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, walks through the apprentice shop at Jamshedpur.



1965
The owner of the first Mercedes Benz diesel truck, Sardar Kartar singh is presented with the key of the 1,00,000th truck.



1969
Employees cheer as the first Tata branded truck rolls out, ending the collaboration with Daimler Benz, Germany.



1977
Tata manufactures its first commercial vehicle at its plant in Pune.



1986
Tata launches its first light commercial vehicle from Telco, the Tata 407.



1992
Tata Estate, Telco's second passenger vehicle launched by JRD Tata and Ratan Tata.



1994
Tata Motors released its multi-utility car, Tata Sumo in the year 1994.
After that, there was no stopping the car manufacturing unit.



1998
Ratan Tata drives the first Tata Indica off the assembly line.



1998
Tata Motors produced an SUV, Tata Safari. It was the first SUV to be designed,
developed and manufactured entirely in India.



2002
Tata introduced India's most competitive indigenous sedan, the Indigo.



2003
Tata Engineering formally changes to Tata Motors.



2004
Tata Motors acquires Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company, South Korea.
The first range of Tata Novus vehicles from Tata Daewoo is launched soon after.



2004
Tata Motors starts its globalisation drive and launches the Tata Indica in South Africa.




2008
Tata Motors launched the most-awaited car of the year,
its one-lakh car called Nano, at the 9th Auto Expo.

Hyundai i20 Awarded Five Star NCAP Rating For Safety

The European New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) has announced that the Hyundai i20 has gained the maximum possible score and has been awarded the five star NCAP rating for safety. This is indeed a great achievement for a car the size of the i20 as compacts are not known to be high on safety. The i20 after its launch in India and globally has certainly raised the benchmark for compact cars (B segment) not only in terms of performance, build quality, ergonomics and aesthetics but also majorly in terms of occupant and pedestrian safety. And the confirmation of this is the NCAP, 5 star rating which is the first for any car produced in India.

The i20 five-door model scored exceptionally well on all four parameters of the NCAP safety test which assess newly launched cars on four main criteria of safety – adult occupancy, child protection, pedestrian protection and safety assist. The i20 achieved the highest possible score resulting in the highest overall rating.

Notably the i20 attained 88 per cent in the adult occupant protection tests, including the new whiplash assessment. The car’s active head-restraints, front seatbelt, pre-tensioner and six airbags – front, side and curtain – played a key role in achieving success in the tests for frontal, side barrier and car-to-pole impacts.

Equipped with high levels of standard safety equipment, the i20 scored an impressive six out of a maximum seven points in the safety assist category, receiving top marks for its seatbelt reminder and Electronic Stability Control (ESC). The computerized ESC system helps to minimize the risk of skidding by applying brakes to individual wheels to direct the car where the driver wishes to go.

The Hyundai i20 has an extensive list of active and passive safety equipment, including six airbags as standard, active head-restraints, front seat belt pre-tensioners, anti-lock braking system (ABS), Electronic Stability Control, and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD).

The i20 received an average score of 80.25 percent, the highest among the six models assessed under the new NCAP rating scheme. The average is based on scores from the four categories: Adult, 88, Child, 83, Pedestrian, 64, Safety Assist, 86. Further noteworthy is the fact that the 64% score for the pedestrian protection test is the highest among all models.

Commenting on the achievement, a delighted H. S Lheem MD, HMIL said “This is a proud moment for Hyundai. The i20’s five-star rating is recognition of our commitment to providing customers with class leading safety and performance. The i20’s equipment level which includes a set of six airbags is a benchmark for cars in not only this segment but one above. This and other safety features easily allow the i20 to meet the stringent European safety norms and without a doubt the i20 is one of the safest compacts on road today. As a company we are committed to not only meeting the norms but also bettering them through constant research and development. The NCAP rating will undoubtedly increase the appeal of the i20 for our customers.”

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) is the country’s largest passenger car exporter and second largest car manufacturer. The i20 is manufactured at HMIL’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Sreeperumbedur, 35 km outside Chennai. The i20 is only manufactured in India and exported to the European Union and other countries from India and also sold in the domestic market. The i20 was first revealed at the Paris Motor Show in October, 2008 and in November 2008 the first batch was shipped to the European market from HMIL’s Sriperumbedur plant. In India it was launched on December 29, 2009.