SpiceJet cuts airfares by 30% on domestic routes

It's a race of discount in airfares and low-cost carrier SpiceJet is leading. The carrier on Friday announced a 30 per cent discount on all domestic flight tickets booked between 31 January  and 2 February.

The offer is valid only for tickets purchased 30 days prior to travel dates up to April 15, 2014.

The super sale is not valid for international flights and is valid for travel only on the following days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the carrier said on its website.

The offer is being extended following an "overwhelming" success of the private airline's "super sale" programme announced earlier, the carrier said.

Earlier this month, the budget airline had triggered a fare war by offering discounts as high as 50 per cent on domestic travel for a limited period to beat the March quarter blues.

The airline, however, did not share data related to increase in bookings following the earlier offer.

"Under this (new) offer, all customers can get a 30 per cent discount on the already discounted 30-day advance purchase base fare and fuel surcharge for SpiceJet domestic flights for travel till April 15," the release said.

The seats under this offer are, however, limited and availability depends on specific date and flight, it added.

-With PTI inputs

Source: Auto News in Hindi

From BT News

SIA-Tata airline | Readying for take-off

Most of the pieces seem to be in place for the joint venture between Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA) and Tata Sons Ltd to take off in India sometime early in the business year starting on 1 April.

A key decision came this month when SIA chose Airbus SAS’s A320 planes for the full-service airline, which will take up to 20 of the aircraft worth $1.83 billion at list price. The planes will be sourced from leasing companies and not directly from Airbus, Reuters reported on 9 January, citing people it didn’t name.

The partners have already incorporated the joint venture, with an initial investment of $100 million, as Tata SIA Airlines Ltd and have begun recruitment of pilots and other airline personnel after bringing key management and operational personnel on board.

Having already received the go-ahead from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), Tata SIA Airlines has to jump through two remaining regulatory hoops.

It has to secure a no-objection certificate from the ministry of civil aviation (the application is now being scrutinized by the home ministry) and then apply to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for an air operating permit, which would be the greenlight for it to take off.

The launch would mark the realization of an ambition that Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines have together cherished for one-and-a-half decades, only to be thwarted twice.

In 2000, the two firms abandoned a joint attempt to buy a 40% stake in government-run Air India. An earlier attempt by the two companies to start an Indian airline with 40% equity contribution by SIA was also aborted. In both cases, political resistance and corporate rivalries were blamed.Read more..

Source: Automobile News

From Mint Live News

Mahindra's R&D head Rajan Wadhera to fire up ailing truck & bus biz, company to invest Rs 500 cr in 3 years

 

In a bid to bring more focus and turnaround its ailing truck and bus business, Mahindra and MahindraBSE 0.36 % (M&M) has drafted R&D head Rajan Wadhera to take charge of the division.

he appointment comes after Pawan Goenka took over a larger portfolio as executive director on the board of M&M, which included heading the utility vehicles and tractor businesses to two-wheelers.

The company needed someone who could oversee the truck and buses more closely, an M&M official said. Thus, Wadhera will have a dual responsibility of running the R&D function and Mahindra Trucks and Buses.

So apart from being chief executive , technology, product fevelopment and sourcing, he will also be the director and head of Mahindra Trucks and Buses. Nalin Mehta, MD of Mahindra Trucks and Buses will report into Wadhera.

An ex-Eicher Motors official, Wadhera has a fair understanding of the commercial vehicles business. "We are investing Rs 500 crore in this business for the next three years.  Read more..

Source: Automobile News

From ET News

Mahindra to shut factories to cope with slowdown

Utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will stop production across its automotive plants for up to three days this month to adjust output to the slowdown in the auto market.

"The company, as part of aligning its production with sales requirements, would be observing no production days at the company's automotive plants for 1-3 days during the remaining period of January 2014," M&M said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary, would also be observing no production days at Chakan plant for up to three days this month, the filing said. "The management does not envisage any adverse impact on availability of vehicles in the market due to adequacy of vehicle stocks to serve the market requirements," it said.

Source: Automobile News

From TOI News

Tata Motors MD Karl Slym 'committed suicide' after argument with wife: Thai police

 

Managing Director, apparently committed suicide after arguing with his wife and reading a note written by her that referred to "domestic problems", Thai police said today.

In a fresh twist to Slym's death in mysterious circumstances, police said the three-page handwritten note found in the hotel room from which the 51-year-old executive plunged to his death, was written by his wife Sally.

Police said Slym could have taken the "extreme step" after reading the note by his wife of 30 years that mentioned "domestic problems".

"The note was written by Sally Slym. The couple had had an argument. It is her writing," Police Lieutenant Somyot Booyakaew told PTI, noting that it was not a suicide note by the victim. He did not give further details.

The suite has a huge sealed window overlooking the Chao Praya River and a small nearby window that can be opened.

Slym died from the impact of the fall, which fractured his skull. The British national's body was found on Sunday by the staff of the hotel on the balcony of the fourth floor after plunging from the 22nd floor.  Read more..

Source: Automobile News

From ET News

Maruti brings Celerio with automatic transmission mode

With the new compact car, which is slated for launch on February 6, the company has worked on addressing three key issues associated with automatic transmission cars – high cost of acquisition, low fuel economy and maintenance hassles.

   

"We thought if we could address these issues, we will be addressing a good segment of consumers who are looking for automatic transmission in mass segment," Maruti Suzuki India Chief Operating Officer (Marketing and Sales) Mayank Pareek said.

  

He said nearly 25 per cent of consumers who come to the company's showrooms enquired about cars with automatic transmission but the conversion rate was very poor once they found those issues related with such vehicles.

   

"With Celerio, which has been developed at an investment of around Rs 570 crore, having our EZDrive technology, we have addressed those issues," Pareek said.

   

While he did not elaborate on by how much the Celerio with automatic gear shift will cost, he said, "the difference in price with a manual transmission will not be significant".

   

Currently, an automatic transmission (AT) version of a car in the market is more expensive by up to Rs 1.1 lakh than its manual transmission version, he added.

   

The company has already started taking bookings for the car, although its prices will be announced only at the time of launch.

   

In the past, the company has launched AT version of its compact cars, including the Zen and A-Star, but their prohibitive prices made it difficult to crack the market.

   

The Celerio will be pitched against the likes of Hyundai's Grandi10 and Honda's Brio, whose automatic versions are priced at Rs 6.04 lakh and Rs 6.19 lakh, respectively (ex-showroom, Delhi).

  

According to MSI, the Celerio will offer a fuel efficiency of 23.1 km per litre and will be offered in six petrol variants - four with Manual transmission and two with Auto Gear Shift.

  

Celerio Auto Gear Shift variants will have the flexibility of both manual mode and auto drive mode in the same car, with a simple shift of gear lever.

  

The car comes loaded with several features like alloy-wheels and blue-tooth connectivity across variants. Celerio which sports 1 litre K-next engine, would be available in seven colours.

   

MSI's current compact car portfolio comprises Swift, Estilo and Ritz. During December 2013, the company sold 19,171 units of compact cars, down 14.7 percent, from 22,482 units in December 2012.

(Agencies)

Source: Automobile News 

Maruti suzuki india to launch fresh product offensives for the premium car market

 

कार बनाने वाली सबसे बड़ी घरेलू कंपनी मारुति सुजुकी इंडिया (एमएसआई) प्रीमियम कारों के बाजार में पैठ बढ़ाने की आक्रामक तैयारी कर रही है। इसके लिए पांच बिलकुल नए वाहन उतारे जाएंगे।

दरअसल, देश में छोटी कारों के बाजार में एमएसआई की करीब 50 प्रतिशत हिस्सेदारी है। ऑल्टो और स्विफ्ट समेत इस श्रेणी के 7 मॉडलों की अच्छी-खासी मांग है। लेकिन प्रीमियम कारों के बिजनेस में एमएसआई अब तक खुद को स्थापित नहीं कर पाई है।

एमएसआई के महंगे वाहनों की मांग बहुत कम रही है, लिहाजा कंपनी ने इसके लिए आक्रामक रणनीति बनाई है। फाइनेंशियल एक्सप्रेस की एक रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक अगले महीने दिल्ली से सटे नोएडा में आयोजित होने वाले ऑटो एक्सपो में एमएसआई कुछ नए प्रीमियम वाहन पेश करेगी। इनमें दो एसयूवी, एक एमपीवी और एक मिड-साइज सेडान शामिल हैं।

मारुति की नई मिड-साइज सेडान सियाज साल के अंत तक लांच की जाएगी। इस श्रेणी की कारों में एमएसआई की यह चौथी कोशिश होगी। इससे पहले एस्टीम, बैलेनो और एसएक्स4 बाजार में उतारी जा चुकी हैं, लेकिन वे ज्यादा सफल नहीं हो पाईं। अनुमान लगाया जा रहा है कि पहले के दो मॉडलों की तरह एसएक्स4 का उत्पादन भी बंद कर दिया जाएगा।

उम्मीद जताई जा रही है कि सियाज में 1.4 लीटर के-सिरीज पेट्रोल इंजन होगा। इसमें 1.6 लीटर डीजल इंजन का भी विकल्प होगा, जिसकी आपूति संभवतः फिएट करेगी।

वाहन उद्योग के एक सूत्र ने कहा, 'उम्मीद है कि सियाज इस साल त्योहारों के सीजन में लांच की जाएगी। कंपनी ने शुरुआती तौर पर हर साल 50,000 सियाज बेचने का लक्ष्य रखा है, जिसमें निर्यात शामिल है।' 

Source: Auto News in Hindi