CHENNAI: PSA Group and the CK Birla Group on Wednesday signed a joint venture agreement to produce and sell vehicles and components in India by 2020.
The partners will jointly invest around Rs 700 crore (100 million euros) in Tamil Nadu. The vehicles will be manufactured at Hindustan Motors facility, which is now producing Japanese auto major Mitsubishi’s vehicles.
The partnership entails two joint-venture agreements between the PSA Group and the CK Birla Group companies. “As part of the first agreement, the PSA Group will hold a majority stake in the joint-venture company being set-up with HMFCL (Hindustan Motor Finance Corporation Ltd) for the assembly and distribution of PSA passenger cars in India,” the two firms said in a joint statement.
As per the second agreement, a 50:50 joint-venture is being set-up between the PSA Group and AVTEC Ltd for manufacture and supply of powertrains. “The manufacturing sites for both vehicle assembly and powertrains will be based in the state of Tamil Nadu, it added.
“Benefiting from the strong support of our Indian partner, the CK Birla Group, and a shared vision, this project is consistent with the strong execution of our Push to Pass strategic plan and represents a major step in PSA Group’s worldwide profitable growth in key automotive markets,” PSA Group Chairman Carlos Tavares said.
Merc unveils A&B class Night Editions
German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz on Wednesday launched new edition of its compact cars A-Class and B-Class models priced up to H30.35 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). While the Mercedez-Benz A180 (petrol) is priced at H27.31 lakh, the A 200(diesel) is priced at H28.32 lakh. The company said the Night Editions will have only 100 exclusive units each for the domestic market. Both the models come with a 7-speed dual clutch automatic transmission.
Ashok Leyland Q3 net down 13%
Chennai-based Ashok Leyland, on Wednesday, reported a 13 percent decline in its net profit at H185.88 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2016, while it clocked record revenues and volumes. The company’s revenue increased by 8 percent to H4,723 crore as against H4,366 crore, during same period last year. Sales volumes in the medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) segment stood at 25,285 units as against 23,176 in the year-ago period, up 9 percent.
Tata Motors launches eco-friendly buses
With an aim to push green technology in transportation vehicles, Tata Motors on Wednesday launched a fully electric bus and a hybrid one, with indicative prices ranging between H1.6 crore and H2 crore. Besides, it showcased its LNG-powered bus and unveiled a bus with fuel cell technology and electric versions of its commercial vehicles SuperAce, Magic and Magic Iris.
Maruti Suzuki Q3 net zooms 47.46%
Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Wednesday reported a 47.46 per cent jump in standalone net profit at H1,744.5 crore for the December quarter as against H1,183 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. “Increase in share of the company’s higher segment models, lower sales and promotion expenses, cost reduction efforts and higher non-operating income contributed to increase in profits,” said MSI.