Successful Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra recommends Glasurit automotive refinish products for bodyshops and authorized dealers throughout the world

Münster / Mumbai. Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra is expanding its global business. Supporting the company on its successful path is Glasurit, a BASF Coatings’ paint brand. Mahindra has produced jeep models, pickups, light trucks and three-wheelers since 1945.

For the first time in its history, the company has now granted worldwide technical approval for a paint manufacturer. With this decision, Mahindra is clearly demonstrating to dealers and bodyshops throughout the world their complete confidence and trust in Glasurit paints and systems. Glasurit paints have been approved by most well-known carmakers.

In recent years, BASF Coatings has increased its presence in the growth market of India. Additional investments in production and development and expansion of capacities at the BASF Coatings site in Mangalore are boosting the range of services for the Indian automotive industry. In line with this, for example, the production of modern electrocoat paints in Mangalore has been expanded. Employees at the new Technical Service Center help solve a whole range of problems.

BASF Coatings aims to supply its customers with high-quality products on the spot. In addition to the quality of the Glasurit brand, Mahindra’s approval recognizes BASF Coatings’ high level of commitment in the Indian market.

JAGUAR LAND ROVER TO ENTER INDIAN MARKET

Jaguar and Land Rover's award-winning vehicles, including Jaguar's XF and XKR and Land Rover's Discovery and Range Rover, are renowned around the world for their unique blend of refined luxury, quality and capability and will now become officially available in this rapidly expanding market.

David Smith, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, said: "We are delighted to be formally entering the Indian market, an economy which is still growing appreciably, and able to offer our premium products to a whole new group of customers. It is an important strategic move for Jaguar Land Rover and will enable us to realise our competitive potential in this significant market."

The newly-formed Premier Car Division, within Tata Motors Passenger Car Business unit, will assume responsibility for the distribution of all Jaguars and Land Rovers in India and is also due to open the first showroom at Ceejay House in Worli, Mumbai, in June this year. This flagship facility will offer a range of both Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles and aims to establish a benchmark experience in luxury car sales in India.

Rohit Suri, who has extensive premium automotive sector experience, has been appointed to head the new organisation and is leading plans to develop a dealer network through 2009 and 2010.

Ravi Kant, Managing Director of Tata Motors, commented: "This is a natural move for both businesses and will allow Jaguar and Land Rover to establish a strong and deserved presence in India. We are very pleased to develop our relationship with Jaguar Land Rover in this way and to provide the opportunity for Indian customers to access their premium products for the first time."

Further details, including specifications, are available on the new Jaguar India website (www.jaguar.in) and Land Rover India website (www.landrover.in) which have gone live simultaneously.

Plans for a tyre industry conference held as part of the next staging of Tyrexpo Africa in Johannesburg in March 2010, have been announced by event organisers ECI International.

ECI wants to extend the scope and pulling power of the exhibition and has been encouraged to add a conference session by exhibitors and partners in South Africa. The one day conference will focus on key issues in tyre and rubber manufacturing, tyre retailing, developments in technology and the impact of new legislation. Keynote speakers will be drawn from the South African industry, together with major international players.

"Tyrexpo Africa has established itself as an important trading event over the past five years and now we are keen to broaden its appeal to participants by staging a top quality industry conference," explained ECI sales director Rowena Suthers. "At the same time, we do not want to dilute the prime focus on doing business in the exhibition hall, but by striking the right balance we are confident the conference can add to everyone’s experience and value from being at the exhibition," she added.

Early response from exhibitors to Tyrexpo Africa has been described as ‘very positive’ by ECI, with 40 per cent of floor space at the Sandton Convention Centre already taken by a combination of African and international tyre, accessories and equipment companies.

Pieter Kruger of Cape Town based Tubestone, said: "We support Tyrexpo Africa as it is the only major tyre show for Africa. Our focus is to advertise our products from various suppliers to customers all over Africa. Our aim is to supply into Africa and the show actually assist us with this by bringing in potential customers. The show is run very professionally and because of this it is growing in size and influence. Tubestone will once again focus as a one stop shop solution for the smaller customers into Africa."

Another South African exhibitor, Charl de Villiers of Tyrecor, commented: "We’ve certainly seen great benefit from our involvement in the exhibition, both in South Africa and more widely in other African markets. It gives us an excellent platform to promote our major tyre brands, including Infinity and Alliance, and we’re looking forward to building on that at the next show in March 2010."

In addition to Tubestone and Tyrecor, companies already committed to the show include BKT, Chemvulc, Crowntyre, Enercell, L-Guard, Nitralife, Rubberking, SA Tyre Distributors, Shandong Wanda Boto, Shandong Fenglun, Speedway Tires, Stamford Tyres, Star Tyre Group, Techking, Treadsdirect and Tandem Tyres amongst others.

For the full exhibitor list and further details please visit www.eci-international.com

The third staging of Tyrexpo Africa will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg (SCC) on 4, 5 and 6 March 2010.

Tata Motors recently announced the commercial launch of the Tata Nano, keenly awaited across India since its unveiling on January 10, 2008. The Tata Nano is BS-III* compliant and comes with an all-new 2-cylinder aluminium MPFI 624 cc petrol engine mated to a four-speed gear box and will be available in three variants. The cars will be on display across the country at Tata Motors Passenger Car dealerships and other select authorised outlets from April 1st.

Speaking at a Press Conference, the Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors, Mr. Ratan N. Tata, said, "The Nano represents the spirit of breaking conventional barriers. From the drawing board to its commercial launch, the concept, development and productionisation of the car has overcome several challenges. It is to the credit of the team at Tata Motors that a car once thought impossible by the world is now a reality. I hope it will provide safe, affordable, four-wheel transportation to families who till now have not been able to own a car. We are delighted in presenting the Tata Nano to India and the world."

The Tata Nano is currently being manufactured at the company’s Pantnagar plant in Uttarakhand in limited numbers. The new dedicated plant, at Sanand in Gujarat, will be ready in 2010 with an annualised capacity of 350,000 cars.

THE THREE VARIANTS

The Tata Nano offers an incredibly spacious passenger compartment which can comfortably seat four adults. With a length of just 3.1 metres, width of 1.5 metres and height of 1.6 metres, the Tata Nano has the smallest exterior footprint for a car in India but is 21% more spacious than the smallest car available today. A high seating position makes ingress and egress easy. Its small size coupled with a turning radius of just 4 metres, makes it extremely manoeuvrable in the smallest of parking slots.

The three trim levels and their key features available at launch are:

Tata Nano Standard (BSII* and BSIII*): The standard version, in three colour options, single-tone seats, and fold-down rear seat;

Tata Nano CX (BSII* and BSIII*): In five colour options, with heating and air-conditioning (HVAC), two-tone seats, parcel shelf, booster-assisted brakes, fold-down rear seat with nap rest;

Tata Nano LX (BSIII*): With the features of CX plus complete fabric seats, central locking, front power windows, body coloured exteriors in three premium colours, fog lamps, electronic trip meter, cup holder in front console, mobile charger point, and rear spoiler. Many of these features are not available on current entry-level small cars in the country.

PERFORMANCE & SPECIFICATIONS

Performance: The 2-cylinder engine – delivering 35 PS @ 5250 rpm and a torque of 48 Nm @ 3000 rpm – enables the car to have a top speed of 105 kmph and negotiate inclines with a gradeability of 30%.

Fuel efficiency: 23.6 km/litre, certified by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) under mandated test conditions, which is the highest for any petrol car in India.

Emission: The high fuel efficiency, coupled with a low kerb weight of 600 kg, ensures that the Tata Nano – at 101 gm / km – has the lowest CO2 emission amongst cars in India. The Tata Nano is BS-III* compliant and is BS-IV* ready. It is also available in BS-II* norms.

Safety: The Tata Nano’s safety performance exceeds current regulatory requirements – it passes the roll-over test and offset impact, which are not regulated in India. It has an all sheet-metal body, reinforced passenger compartment, crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, besides mandatory seat belts and complies fully with existing Indian safety standards. Tubeless tyres – among which the rear ones are wider endowing extra stability – enhance safety.

Warranty: 18 months or 24,000 km, whichever is earlier.

THE BOOKING PROCESS

In view of the expected significant demand and limited production capacity initially until the Sanand plant is fully ramped up to capacity, the Tata Nano will be available through a booking mode.

Tata Motors has entered into an exclusive agreement with the State Bank of India to manage the booking process.

The sale of application forms and acceptance of booking will start from April 9th 2009 till the end of day April 25th 2009. The application forms will be available at a price of Rs. 300, with a range of offers from select associate Tata Group companies. The application forms will be available at over 30,000 locations in about 1,000 cities through Tata Motors Passenger Car dealerships, State Bank of India and its branches, its subsidiaries and associates, other preferred financiers, and outlets of Westside, Croma, ‘World of Titan’ and Tata Indicom exclusive stores.

After collecting the forms, customers have two options. They can either pay the entire booking amount themselves or seek financing of the booking amount.

For those who seek financing, Tata Motors has entered into agreements with 15 preferred banks/NBFCs for the Tata Nano booking loan product. The booking product offered by these banks will enable a Tata Nano to be booked by paying an amount starting Rs. 2999/- only. Their chosen financier will directly submit their application forms to the State Bank of India on their behalf.

Those, who choose to themselves pay their entire booking amount, can submit their application forms to State Bank of India through 1,350 notified branches in 850 cites, and also at Tata Motors Passenger Car dealerships, Westside and Croma outlets. Option to submit bookings online is available at www.tatanano.com.

Within 60 days of the closure of bookings, Tata Motors will process and announce the allotment of 100,000 cars in the first phase of deliveries, through a computerised random selection procedure. These 100,000 allotments will be price protected for the launch prices till delivery of the cars but the booking amounts will not bear any interest for the customers. Deliveries will commence from July 2009.

Applicants have the option to retain their booking deposit, even if they do not get allotment in the first phase. Those who choose this option will be eligible for interest on their deposit, effective from the date of announcement of allotment of the second phase, at a rate of 8.5% for retention period between one year to two year and 8.75% for a retention period of more than 2 years. Allotment of retainees will be simultaneously communicated, along with the allotment of the first 100,000 cars.

PREFERRED FINANCIERS

Tata Motors has entered into agreements with 15 preferred banks/NBFCs for the Tata Nano booking loan product. The preferred financial institutions are: State Bank of India, Tata Motor Finance, State Bank of Patiala, ICICI Bank, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Indore, Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, Federal Bank, Corporation Bank, Indian Bank, and the Central Bank of India. The updated list and details are available at www.tatanano.com .

MERCHANDISE AND ACCESSORIES

The Tata Nano comes with an attractive range of accessories and merchandise. The range of merchandise includes a Nano phone, Nano watch, T-Shirts, etc. and will be made available online at www.tatanano.com as well at all Tata Motors Passenger Car dealerships, Westside & Croma outlets. Tata Indicom will also market the Nano phone and Titan the Nano watch.