Toyota launches Q world for its customers

Toyota has launched a unique auto show called Q world which will give cutomers the opportunity to see the Toyota Etios concept. The event will be spread across a span of four months from January to April, with the first leg to be conducted in Mumbai.

The event will be held in 10 cities across the country giving the cutomers an opportunity to have a touch and feel experience of Toyota vehicles. The event will also showcase the entire portfolio of Toyota cars along with the future line up of Toyota products like the LC 200. The ten cities to host the event will be Chandigarh, Lucknow, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Cochin, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. The Q World will also have events for fun and entertainment of customers. Here is what the original press release says:
"Toyota ‘Q’ World to come to Mumbai

• •Toyota ‘Q’ World – an exclusive auto show by Toyota – comes to Mumbai on 6th - 7thth Feb 2010
• •The event will span across 4 months from Jan – April in 10 cities
• •Customers across India to get an opportunity to see the Toyota Etios concept
• •An exciting array of vehicles to be showcased exhibiting Toyota quality and technology
• • Customers to get a touch and feel experience of Toyota range of cars with advanced and environment friendly technology

Kirloskar Motor announced today that it will hold the Toyota ‘Q’ World in Mumbai on 6th and 7th Feb 2010 at MMRDA Grounds,Bandra Kurla Complex. The event will be held from 12.00 noon to 6.00 p.m on Saturday(6th Feb) and 11.00 a.m to 7.00 p.m on Sunday(7th Feb).

The Toyota ‘Q’ World, a two day event, will travel across India spanning over a period of 4 months. The Delhi Auto Expo had customers coming to see the world premiere of the Etios concept and its latest technology; however the Toyota ‘Q’ World will take this experience ‘to the customer’.

The customers eagerly awaiting the launch of Etios concept will now get an opportunity, to see the vehicle, in their own city. The exhibit will include an exciting array of 11 vehicles which will give the customers a, never before, ‘touch and feel experience’ of Toyota vehicles. The exhibit includes the newly launched Etios concept and many more interesting and exciting vehicles in the current and future line up of Toyota products like the New Hybrid Prius, New Prado Diesel, Fortuner and LC 200.
The Toyota ‘Q’ World will span across 10 cities namely Chandigarh, Lucknow, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Cochin, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. It will also include various customer engagement events for fun and entertainment of the visitors."

Mercedes-Benz 'bullish' on India, launches 2 M-class variants

Leading global luxury vehicle maker Mercedes-Benz which today launched two variants of the 2010 M-Class here said it was 'bullish' on India in 2010 and keen on leveraging India for its growth strategy in terms of R and D and global sourcing.

"We expect a good year in 2010 and we are hoping to build on the momentum of 2009 when we sold 140 M class, which was double the sales compared to 2008", Dr Wilfried G Aulbur, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, told media during the launch of its Sports edition and luxury edition of its M-class today.

The company is investing Rs 200 crore in revamping the network in terms of creating new showrooms, upgradation of showrooms and facilities and entering new cities, he said.

It is planning a new Benz centre in Delhi with 26 car display, a 12-car display in Hyderabad and a 16-car display in Chennai, he said apart from investing in manpower.

"We are growing aggressively and have a clear strategy in place for leveraging India aggressively for R and D and global sourcing", he said adding "China and India are high on our agenda for global sourcing".

The company also plans to launch 12 products in 12 weeks of the current year, he said.
The firm was looking at introducing the SLSAMG, a sports car, to India by this year end and already had six confirmed bookings from places like Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.

It also plans to introduce the E-Coupe. However, the company is not looking at introducing hybrids since most are left hand drive cars.

Ford boosts dealers ahead of Figo launch

Ford India, preparing for the launch next month of its new [previous generation European Fiesta based] Figo, has signed up 28 new dealers which opened their doors this week.
The new retailers take Ford’s network to 164 facilities in 97 cities across India, an increase of 30% in the past two years.

The introduction of the Figo will mark a significant shift for India’s role in the global ONE Ford strategy that is transforming how the company brings more small cars to market.

It has invested US$500m to double annual production capacity to 200,000 units at its Chennai manufacturing facility which positions it as a regional centre of excellence for small car engineering and production.

Export Figos will also be produced at the plant and the factory will also produce diesel and petrol engines for local vehicle production and export within the Asia Pacific and Africa region.

The Figo hatchback was designed and engineered to compete in India’s small car segment, which accounts for more than 70% of the new vehicle market. It uses Fiesta small car platform architecture already familiar to Indian customers as it underpins existing sedan models built and sold in India.
Ford India president and managing director Michael Boneham said: “Growing our dealership base, building strong business fundamentals and getting closer to our customers are areas of high priority as we gear up to launch our new Figo and enter this high volume segment in 2010.”

Placing dealerships in close proximity to city centres – where they are conveniently located for customers – has been a core focus area as the automaker continues to broaden its local product range.

Boneham added: “As we expand, we are making sure that our low cost of ownership message is heard by people making buying decisions.”

All the newly-inaugurated showrooms are 'Brand@Retail' dealerships built according to a global standard to improve the ownership experience and ensure a long-term association with the b;ue oval brand.

Boneham said Ford India had been working with dealers to ensure facilities met specific requirements. Staff were trained according to Ford’s global guidelines to meet the demands of increased volume selling. The automaker has tripled dealer sales people from 480 in 2009 to nearly 1,500 this year.
In the past two months, over 1,700 dealer personnel from 97 cities attended in-depth training sessions on the new model.

New dealers have opened in New Delhi, Sangrur, Haldwani and Gwalior in the north; Durgapur, Dhanbad and Guwahati in the east; Hyderabad, Chennai, Warangal, Vellore, Salem, Vijayawada and Malappuram in the south; and Bilaspur and Mehsana in the west.

There is also a new showroom in the East Delhi metro rail station – the first time Ford has displayed its products in such a location in the Asia Pacific region.

New showrooms and workshops also are now located in Jaipur, Thane, Ahmednagar, Pune, Vapi, Ahmedabad and Cochin.

Volkswagen to make India low-cost export hub

Volkswagen AG will make India a low-cost manufacturing hub catering to select export markets as Europe’s largest car maker tries to emulate the success of global rivals Hyundai Motors and Suzuki Motor Corp. Volkswagen will export from the second quarter of next fiscal fully-built models and completely knocked-down kits of its hatchback, Polo, to South East Asia, Middle East and Africa from its Pune plant, a senior executive said.

The company will launch Polo this month-end in India. The India-made vehicle at Rs 4.5-6 lakh comes at half the European price as the company has been able to ram down costs by sourcing 80% of auto parts from the domestic market. It will help the Polo compete against Hyundai’s i20, which too is exported in large numbers to these markets.

"We are looking at all potential markets for export," said the executive who asked not to be named, adding that many markets in South East Asia and Africa would prefer the India-made Polo for its competitive pricing.

Car exports grew 30% to 3.3 lakh units between April and December last year from a year ago. Hyundai, which shipped 2.15 lakh cars, and Maruti with 1.05 lakh cars were the biggest contributors. Volkswagen, which has set a production target of 50,000 for Polo in 2010, is looking to sell up to 35,000 units in the domestic market and export the rest. The company would ramp up production next year after it launches the sedan version of the Polo, which too is to be exported.

The company’s new plant at Chakan near Pune can manufacture 1.1 lakh cars, including the Polo, other small car models and Skoda Fabia.