Indian Automotive Sector

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The government keeps taxes on cars and motorbikes so high that companies find it hard to build scale, said Shekar Viswanathan, vice chairman of Toyota's local unit, Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

The high levies also put owning a car out of reach of many consumers, meaning factories are idled and jobs are not created, he said.

"The message we are getting, after we have come here and invested money, is that we don't want you," Viswanathan said in an interview. In the absence of any reforms, "we won't exit India, but we won't scale up."

Such punitive taxes discourage foreign investment, erode automakers' margins and make the cost of launching new products "prohibitive," Viswanathan said.

"You'd think the auto sector is making drugs or liquor," he said.


Toyota is yet to come up with anything good on EV front. So, that of 2000 cr investment may or may not come up at a later stage.

Prakash Javadekar probably begged them to make a statement as face save. And lol minions bought it.

Ford and GM have already left and Elon clearly said India got bad polices and tax to consider.
 
The government keeps taxes on cars and motorbikes so high that companies find it hard to build scale, said Shekar Viswanathan, vice chairman of Toyota's local unit, Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

The high levies also put owning a car out of reach of many consumers, meaning factories are idled and jobs are not created, he said.

"The message we are getting, after we have come here and invested money, is that we don't want you," Viswanathan said in an interview. In the absence of any reforms, "we won't exit India, but we won't scale up."

Such punitive taxes discourage foreign investment, erode automakers' margins and make the cost of launching new products "prohibitive," Viswanathan said.

"You'd think the auto sector is making drugs or liquor," he said.


Toyota is yet to come up with anything good on EV front. So, that of 2000 cr investment may or may not come up at a later stage.

Prakash Javadekar probably begged them to make a statement as face save. And lol minions bought it.

Ford and GM have already left and Elon clearly said India got bad polices and tax to consider.
Jo aate hain welcome, jo jaate hain bheed kam. That seems to be the motto of the GoI. Besides apart from Tesla, none of the companies you've named are doing well in India. Toyota has a share of some 2.5% of the Indian market & falling whereas Ford & GM have never quite got their strategy for the Indian market right. More true of GM than Ford.I doubt anyone's going to miss the likes of Toyota, GM or Ford out here.
 
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Jo aate hain welcome, jo jaate hain bheed kam. That seems to be the motto of the GoI. Besides apart from Tesla, none of the companies you've named are doing well in India. Toyota has a share of some 2.5% of the Indian market & falling whereas Ford & GM have never quite got their strategy for the Indian market right. More true of GM than Ford.I doubt anyone's going to miss the likes of Toyota, GM or Ford out here.
I feel Toyota innova had a real impact on the indian auto scene. I would miss it as a previous owner.

This industry is the actual atma nirbhar before its a thing. The downside of the high tariffs has caught up eventually. After filling the domestic market need couldn't graduate to global because of the tax barriers thus not competitive.
 
I feel Toyota innova had a real impact on the indian auto scene. I would miss it as a previous owner.

This industry is the actual atma nirbhar before its a thing. The downside of the high tariffs has caught up eventually. After filling the domestic market need couldn't graduate to global because of the tax barriers thus not competitive.
Qualis did the same before Innova. They just couldn't innovate beyond that. That & the Japanese tend to bring obsolete models into India. Their latest is reserved for the US, Japan, EU & China apart from the Gelf.

Exports from the Indian market don't attract any domestic tarriffs whatsoever. Suzuki exports a good deal. I've never seen them complain.
 
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Toyota and Honda are crap anyway (in India). Just look at the line up of Toyota products in India. It’s crap apart from Fortuner for whic they charge exorbitant premium even with its crappy bare bone interiors. Have anyone owned owned a live or Etios ? They look as if came directly from WW2 era. Now all they are doing is rebadging successful MSL(Suzuki India) products like Baleno and Breeza. That’s pathetic for a company like Toyota and it’s fanboys and insult to Indian buyers .

Honda OTOH is just doing what they do best ie producing decade old models with little or no improvement in features in Third world markets.

And then they expect us to buy these overpriced piece of junks
 
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I have been following roxor on youtube. It's a fun machine.

At this point I am quite curious to see how Royal Enfield progresses in the US and Euro markets.
RE was considered as piece of crap not long ago. But seeing the recent reviews on YT and revzilla I think they have brought themselves in the game.

All they need is to up the game further with QC and Service support and Also introduce new models like Himalayan.
The current engine with 24PS torque and 32 NM Torque is too low to be considered seriously for a 400 cc motor. Even 50s era XT250 and XL250 of Yamaha and Honda’s
 





This may interest you.
@Milspec
Mahindra is fine as long as they are allowed to copy others design. But as soon as someone stops them, this happens
images

Can you imagine they own the design house that have designed products like this in 80s
images
 
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I feel Toyota innova had a real impact on the indian auto scene. I would miss it as a previous owner.

This industry is the actual atma nirbhar before its a thing. The downside of the high tariffs has caught up eventually. After filling the domestic market need couldn't graduate to global because of the tax barriers thus not competitive.
I don’t know why they charge such premium for outdated design and technology in India. They do have very good lineup in European and US market but for some unknown reasons they want to sell us craps like Etios and Liva at the cost of cars of one or two segments above.
Just compare the Fortuner with Endavour and see which one is VFM product (in India)
 
RE was considered as piece of crap not long ago. But seeing the recent reviews on YT and revzilla I think they have brought themselves in the game.

All they need is to up the game further with QC and Service support and Also introduce new models like Himalayan.
The current engine with 24PS torque and 32 NM Torque is too low to be considered seriously for a 400 cc motor. Even 50s era XT250 and XL250 of Yamaha and Honda’s
I know what you are saying.
I was not a fan of the RE 350 bullet and till mid 2000's I think they did a shoddy job. But then post 07, their transformation was remarkable.
As they stand now, I am not a fan of the Classic 500 which was discontinued but i can clearly see the charm in it, I am ambivalent about the Himalayan, and I thought they could have done a better job with the counterbalanced single cylinder. RE twins excite me, especially the GT650, I test drove it and liked it with better cams and flywheels, and a full classic fairing and half fairing I think it can create a niche of it's own. It has the potential to do what T120's and R9T's do for the Triumph and BMW.

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BMR r9T
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Triumph Thruxton
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One thing RE has to do which is unique compared to other mfg's is continue to be a segment leader in India and expand it's global products, a challenge unique to it. On that front it seems to be doing well too.
Himalayan, although isn't as impressive to me in the US, it becomes a very potent ADV option in India; with new launches prepared in Meteor 350, new thunderbird, 650 Cruiser based on the Twin650, a possible 650 tracker/himalayan option, and 350 Sherpa. RE is upping it's game quite a bit.

At this stage for RE, I am not that keen on seeing models from it, but engine platforms. 650 Twin has the making of a good platform, It has another 10-12 HP in it imo. 350 and 250 mills in India should if are properly counterbalanced and have isolators, then they will form a solid engine. If RE can develop a one KTM like Vtwin and cross-plane triple, then things would get really interesting real fast. A vtwin on a Norton Commander like platform, and an 800- 900 triple in a fully new series of a Naked, ADV, faired supersport (~Speed Triple) and a sport-tourer (Similar to yamaha offering : Tenere, Tracer, MT09, SCR 900). Once some of the solid engine platforms for the next decade are established, RE would be a force to reckon with.

500 Classic needs to be replaced, There is something about it's classic design that I don't think other "modern classic " can match. But it needs a good chassis, and good engine that doesn't keep your head vibrating an hour after the ride. If they stick the 650twin in a classic version, it will easily outsell the interceptor.
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