Chocolate-themed Smart Car

Car manufacturer Mercedes Benz on Wednesday unveiled a chocolate-themed version of its Smart car in Tokyo, just a couple of weeks before St. Valentine's Day

It was uncovered at the International Fashion Fair in Tokyo.
The car looks as if it is fully wrapped up by hundreds of chocolate bars.
The body and interior of the two-seater compact car were specially designed by Japanese accessory maker Q-pot for the fashion event.

Smart Car Vending Machine in Japan

Smart Marketing in Japan
The clever "vending machine" pictured above is located in Japan. You can't really buy a smart car from it, but you can get brochures and info about the various smart models. Yeah, it is anti-climactic.
Smart Car: Good and Bad
The smart fortwo is certainly a mixed bag. While the diesel version gets in the 60+ miles per gallon range and can be run on biodiesel, the gasoline version is only rated at a combined 36 miles per gallons by the EPA. But that doesn't take away from the smart's impact in making very small urban cars more mainstream, and making other compact cars look bigger in comparison. 

Upcoming Smart-like Cars
The teacher might soon be surpassed by the students: Toyota's iQ urban microcar looks like it might be more practical with its 3+1 seating configuration, and it will probably have better performance and fuel economy than the smart car in the gasoline model. There's also the all-electric Mitsubishi's i MiEV which shares many design elements (though it is bigger).

Alliance for US India Business (AUSIB) member in Automobile Sector

 REFER:-http://www.ausib.org/

The Alliance for U.S. India Business (AUSIB) is a leading non-profit trade association that offers a pathway to help your business succeed in the United States and India. Founded in 2004, AUSIB has been instrumental in building the bridges of business cooperation between the two countries. 

AUSIB seeks to augment investment flows and trade between the U.S. and India and open new channels of communication between business and government leaders. AUSIB has played a pivotal role in expanding bilateral trade in key sectors such as information technology, pharmaceuticals & life sciences, media & entertainment, and renewable energy. 

                     It has been more than a year that i am writing blogs and doing market research in the automobile sector. I feel it as an great opportunity for sharing and acquiring knowledge from AUSIB.I have done market research on buses, tractors, hatchback cars, tyres, Automobile components industries  and much more…Only Market  Research  on buses and tractors are uploaded on the website. If you need any further information on the researches done you are free to contact me on my email-id nikhil_production@yahoo.com.

Volkswagen Vento: IT’S IN INDIA !!!!!

It’s time for another new car to be seen on the Indian roads, and this time it’s Volkswagen Vento. Europe’s largest car maker Volkswagen launched its new sedan The Vento in India in the month of June 2010. The car was first launched in New Delhi.

 In the last 10 years the Indian automotive market has grown tremendously and is still continuing to do so. The race is on for every auto maker to capture the maximum market share and increase their sales volumes. Till before the launch, Volkswagen Group India comprised of Audi, Skoda & Volkswagen and all the three brands are doing fantastic in the strategic Indian market.

With the launch of Vento, Volkswagen wants to build a strong foundation in the Indian market keeping long term goals in mind and also to achieve 8-10% market share for the Volkswagen Group India. In the first six months 16900 units will be delivered to India. In the words of Volkswagens Board Member and Director Mr. Neeraj Garg “The Volkswagen Vento is a completely new product offering from Volkswagen in India. It will be another important brand pillar for us to stimulate the brand's growth in the country." The Vento has been launched with both a Petrol and Diesel variant with a 1.6litre engine. The interiors of the car are fabulous with a touch of luxury. With all the necessary safety features installed in the car, Volkswagen has again shown that nothing can beat the space, style, comfort and safety of the German automobile.

         The Indian car market is unique, distinctive and a very demanding market. Car makers always have to be on their toes to satisfy Indian customers. Being very choosy by nature Indian consumers never accept anything that doesn’t suite them and their needs. So keep a watch car makers, India is not a place to sleep.

Materials used in Formula1 Cars.........

The F1 cars have the latest technology innovations fitted into them. Some of them include and very modern steering wheel which allows the driver to control the car. But in this blog we are going to discuss-Why actually these F1 cars move with extreme high velocity? Is it…engine? Materials used? or something else?....I personally feel both engine and materials must be the contributor for this…Let us discuss regarding materials used inF1 cars.

          If we explore the engine the crankshaft and camshaft are made up of steel and cast iron. The piston cylinder heads and cylinder blocks are made up of carbon or aramid reinforcing materials. This will make it quite light in weight. The chassis of F1 cars are made up of many materials. The frame is made up of aluminum. The side panels are made of a composite of aluminum honeycomb and carbon fiber (Aluminum honeycomb is actually aluminum with holes in it).Aluminum is very light weight materials and holes in it will make it lighter.

          Actually carbon fiber is twice as light and strong as aluminum. The front nose of the cars is made up of Nomex honeycomb. It is twice as light as aluminum but not as strong. (Nowadays this material is also used in cars and mountain bikes to reduce weight).The brake part of the F1 cars must also be given attention, because it is the most important part to control the cars on turnings. Typically F1 cars have to use brakes 12times per lap or 900 times a race. On an average they have to slow down from 280km/hr to make a turn at 160km/hr which puts a lot of stress on braking system. They may get wear off soon if we use the brakes of commercial vehicles. So, just we have to do is change the materials of the brakes i.e; use carbon brake pads. The new carbon pads wear less and work better at high temperature of 350-500degree Celsius.

          

.........OPULENCE ON WHEELS FOR INDIA.............

             The escalation of the luxury car market segment in India is discernible from the past decade. There has been a transition in the Indian consumers due to the emergence of the middle and higher middle classes with increased purchasing power and aspirations to own luxury brands.

These consumers are very well aware of the quality, technology, the engineering involved and are clear about their choices which would gratify their desires. The Indian consumers are now conscious about the fact that the brands they choose actually represent them and their lifestyles. The desire to be distinct is what is lashing the luxury car segment in India. As the major growth lies in the below Rs 10 lakh volume car market segment which clearly illustrates the reason for the transition in consumer behavior in India as to be distinct among the masses. The government’s support in developing the infrastructure and the consumers growing desire has triggered the scope for luxury cars.

Figure 1BMW Z-4

Despite the recession that struck the entire world adversely, the automotive industry in India did not falter to the extent to which automotive industries across the world did. In fact the Indian automotive industry has done better than almost all other countries. The sales figures clearly depict the hold and the subsequent growth in the industry. The manufacturers certainly are aware about this fact and they justify their moves by launching exciting new cars in the luxury segment. There have been numerous launches like the Mercedes Benz India which launched its massive SUV, GL. Last year it launched the new E-class and this year it brought in new variants of the E-class as well as the S-class. Audi India launched its Q5 and also introduced the Q7 with a bigger engine. BMW India did not remain silent either, as it launched its Z4- the sports version and also a newer version of the renowned 5series. These exciting high segment launches indicate the fact that these big players in the luxury segment totally understand the consumer transition that took place. Certainly, brand consciousness and the desire for distinction among the consumers have triggered growth in the luxury car segment in the Indian automotive industry.

JUVENILE NANOS CATCHING FIRE

Tata Nano was the much awaited car after its grand launch in India as well as its promotion in Geneva. Who on earth might have even sensed the fate of few of the Juvenile Nanos? Two brand new Tata Nano cars were reported to catch fire last month, and a few in the last year.

According to sources both the cars caught fire in a similar fashion that is, both lighted up from the rear portion where the engine is located. There was no harm caused to the drivers but both the cars were completely blistered. Also last year a few Nanos were reported to catch fire and the company attributed the blame to the faulty ignition switches. The problem arose due to faulty switch in the indicator stalk that controls the headlight and the windscreen wipers, as reported in the press (Source: The Hindu Business Line). Though the company announced that it had changed the vendor who supplied those parts, no action was taken to recall the cars and to investigate further into the matter. Such instances are regretful for a company which has bagged huge stakes in foreign auto making companies like the Range rover and the Jaguar. Moreover Tata Nano was the show-stopper in the Delhi auto show 2008. It caused a tremendous level of excitement with its launch and so did they sell above 50000 units of the car. However customers/consumers in India would obviously want to be assured of their car’s safety, reliability and stability or else they would refrain from the purchase.

Apart from the distribution of Nanos in the domestic market, Tata also has plans to go global with the world’s most inexpensive car by selling gasoline-engine Nanos in Europe by next year and in the US within the next 3 years. Considering its future plans it is advisable that Tata Motors take a deep look into this matter in order to create and maintain its goodwill in the domestic and foreign markets respectively

Grab the opportunity - Just as South Korean Automakers

The automobile crises (2008-2010) affected European and Asian automakers but it was primarily felt in the American automobile industries. The U.S parts were mostly affected with recession than other auto manufacturers. The South Korean automakers which were not doing well even before recession got an opportunity to overtake U.S markets when they were affected with recession. The sales of “Hyundai”, one of leading manufacturer of South Korea were rising up. Hyundai successfully managed to overtake “Honda” in 2008 as world’s 5th largest automaker climbing 8th ranking in less than a decade. Even it has surpassed “Ford” as world’s fourth automaker. Hyundai Kia (car) at that time was in a lead and has a sharp increase in sales while other automakers saw sharp decrease in their sales. Not even Honda and Ford but “GM” was filing for bankruptcy.

            South Korean Automakers turned this crisis into an opportunity. They provided more high quality and well designed vehicles. They offered customers who have lost their jobs to return a new-car purchase for a refund. Three fuel efficient cars viz; Kia Picanto, Kia ceed and Hyundai i30 attracted global customers at time of severe economic recession, rapidly rising oil prices and increasing environmental causes. Hence, the luxury and SUV manufacturers from U.S, Germany and Japan were less in demand due to the increasing oil prices. They also started improving brand awareness and introduced luxury vehicles such as Hyundai Genesis which received positive response and awards in press.

            When the condition of U.S came to stable again, U.S again took the lead in the world of automobiles. This was of course going to happen. Here management students must do the same thing; they must find the alternate ways in which they can reap the benefits associated with first mover advantage. The learning lesson which comes out from this article for all the management students is always look out for opportunities as when it arises and ensure to cash in as when they come and make merry when the sun shines.
                                                                                                                      ----------- Nikhil Ingale