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Indias First Coloured Tyres:
JK Tyre, manufacturer of four wheeler tyres recently unveiled the nations first coloured radials. Developed at JK Tyres facilities, these tyres employ technology which replaces the traditionally used carbon black with silica, an environment friendly material. According to the company, besides being less hazardous environmentally, silica also promises higher fuel efficiency as a result of its lower rolling resistance. These tyres will also have longer life due to advanced compounding technology. They are made from silica based tread compounds. The company says the tyres also offer higher durability as compared to normal radials and offer better resistance against cuts - again thanks to superior compounding technology.
The new radials, to be initially available in a green colour, will be manufactured at the Banmore radial tyre plant of JK Industries. To be launched in a phased manner, they would be immediately available in the major car tyre markets like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin and Pune.
Auto sector spend revvs up ad industry:
AD street has found itself a brand new revv machine. And it isn't FMCG. The somnolent ad market is getting a taste of high throttle spend as automakers up ad budgets 30% to 60% this year.
Top of the deep pocket heap are bikemakers like Hero Honda and Bajaj with marketing budgets of around Rs 100 crore each while TVS and LML are working on an expanded kitty of 66% and 20%, respectively.
Also on a roll are car/UV makers planning new launches this year. Take Telco which will launch the Tata Sedan, an estate version and a sporty variant of the Indica between this calendar and next.
Says marketing veep Rajiv Dube: "We are looking at a 25% increase in ad budgets and it will be predominently led by the new products." Telco's total publicity and advertising budget last fisc was Rs 83 crore. Fellow UV-maker M&M is also spending big - as much as Rs 20 crore on the just-launched Scorpio, according to the marketing circuit. Says Rajesh Jejurikar, marketing veep, M&M: "This year's adspend is 25-30% more than last year due to the Scorpio."
Of course, with volumes playing truant, the spend on existing models is flat. Take Maruti's Rs 230 crore budget which will see a marginal increase this year though officials say the marketing spends will go up considerably to combat competition in a depressed market. A great deal of that, though, will comprise below-the-line schemes which are subsidised by the company.
Bikemakers, on the other hand, have no such limitations. Unsurprisingly, the top guns are planning big on their new launches. Take Hero Honda which is planning a 20% hike on its Rs 100 crore budget. Says Vibha Desai, northern head, O&M: "The shift from scooters to bikes and the growth in commuter segment demand, particularly in north India, has fuelled volumes for bikemakers. Which in turn is pumping the ad spend increase."
That plus the new launches lined up this year are responsible for the splurge. Take Bajaj which is planning to spend most of its Rs 100 crore budget on its new models. Says R L Ravichandran, marketing veep, Bajaj Auto: "Our budget is split 70:30 between brand spend and below the line activity. Most of the ad push will be on Pulsar and Chetak 4-stroke because we have a strategy of focussing on new models. That's why, last year's ad push was on the Eliminator and Boxer."
Even smaller players like LML, which launched a 110 cc bike Freedom last week, has apportioned "at least 70% of the Rs 30 crore ad budget (excluding field level activities which attract another Rs 3 crore) on new products this year," says senior veep Rakesh Jayal.
The two-wheeler company's current budget is a 20% increase over last year and it plans to clock similar growth next year as well given that a clutch of new products are due next calendar.
The logic: "A new brand needs disproportionately larger amount of adspend for brand salience," says Jayal.
Source : Economic Times (Online Edition) (7/18/02)
Consumers happy as Car prices decrease:
Following the 8% reduction in the excise duty in the Union Budget on passenger cars, major car producers have announced a cut in the prices of their models, to pass on the entire reduced incidence of excise duty to their customers.
Hyundai Motor India has revised the prices of Santro and Accent, which will become effective from March 2, 2001 and this revision ranges from Rs. 18, 000 - 37, 000. Hyundai has also reduced the ex-showroom Chennai price of its base model Santro LE by Rs. 18, 234, Santro LS will cost Rs. 20, 510 less than before, the price of Santro GS has been reduced by Rs. 21, 879. The revised ex-showroom price of Santro LE will be Rs. 3.12 lakhs, Santro LS will cost Rs. 3.51 lakhs and Santro GS will be available for Rs. 3.73 lakhs. As for Accent, the Accent GLS will now cost Rs. 5.82 lakhs instead of Rs. 6.16 lakhs while the Accent GLX will be available for Rs. 6.38 lakhs instead of Rs. 6.76 lakhs.
The C. K. Birla group company, Hindustan Motors said today that it had reduced its vehicle prices by up to Rs. 50, 000. Ex-showroom prices of the premium mid-size car, Lancer, have been reduced by Rs. 40, 000 - Rs. 50, 000. The Ambassador would now become cheaper by Rs. 20, 000 to Rs. 25, 000, while the Contessa has been effected a uniform price cut of Rs. 30, 000. The prices of the Trekker 5+1 variant has also been cut by Rs. 13,000.
Tata Engineering and Locomotives Company has announced a price reduction of its Indica of about Rs. 18,000 with immediate effect. The Indica V2 DLE would now be priced at Rs. 3.28 lakhs (Ex- Delhi) and Rs. 3.29 lakhs (Ex-Mumbai), an effective reduction in the region of Rs. 19,000. The Indica 2000, MPFI petrol, would now be priced at Rs. 3.15 lakhs (LEI, Ex-Delhi) and Rs. 3.16 lakhs (LEI Ex-Mumbai), a cut of approximately Rs. 18,000.

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