Motor

AMW Auto Fair in Jaffna

Associated Motorways Private Limited (AMW) showcased a wide range of vehicles and related brands at the "AMW Auto Fair," in Jaffna at the Duraiappa stadium last month.

The vehicles displayed ranged from Suzuki Maruti, Suzuki, Nissan, Yamaha motor cycles, Yamaha boat engines, Piaggio (Diesel) three wheelers, Automall (AMW's certified vehicles division) and Eicher trucks and buses.

The auto fair was held with the key purpose of giving customers in Jaffna, a good opportunity to purchase vehicles from AMW's brands. Customers were given free inspection of vehicles and test drives. A free service campaign was also offered for existing customers at the fair, and at the newly appointed service dealer Royal Lubricant Services, Chunnakkam. AMW ensured that customers could avail themselves of special leasing facilities in order to purchase vehicles at the fair. Customers were granted many additional attractive benefits from AMW, when purchasing the vehicles. Apart from the vehicles, were stalls displayed by BP/Castrol lubricants and Goodyear tyres which are a part of the AMW group.

Benault-Bajaj car aims to be cheaper, greener than Nano

India's Bajaj Auto, making an ultra low-cost minicar with Renault to challenge the Tata Nano, said Wednesday it wants the new compact to be cheaper, greener and deliver "pathbreaking" fuel economy.

The Nano, made by top Indian vehicle maker Tata Motors, sells for 123,000 to 172,000 rupees (about 2,700-3,800 dollars) and is billed as the world's cheapest car, pitching itself to the nation's millions of motorcyclists wanting to trade up.

Bajaj, India's second-largest two-wheeler maker which is tasked with building the new car by the Renault-Nissan alliance, said it was aiming to have the vehicle on the road by 2012 for 2,500 dollars (112,000 rupees).

But the sticker price "is only one part of the equation," Bajaj managing director Rajiv Bajaj told reporters in New Delhi.

"Our intention is to do a pathbreaking job with fuel economy," he said.

"We remain very clear whether the car is 100,000 rupees or 150,000 rupees is not what's important," Bajaj said. "What counts just as much is mileage, maintenance and carbon emissions." The design, engineering, sourcing and manufacturing of the model is being done by Bajaj, also India's top producer of three-wheeled motorised rickshaws.

Marketing and sales will be done by French carmaker Renault and Japan's Nissan Motor whose president Carlos Ghosn also recently pegged the new car's price at 2,500 dollars.

Bajaj is focusing on developing a four-wheeler whose "cost of ownership is low enough to motivate two-wheeler buyers to upgrade," Bajaj said.

"Our aim is to deliver mileage of 30 kilometres to a litre of fuel (71 miles per US gallon)," he said, aiming to better the mileage of the hatchback Nano of 23.6 kilometres a litre. On average, small cars in India give mileage of 15 to 18 kilometres per litre.

"Our experience with motorcyclists is unless there's a 50 percent increase (in mileage), it's not considered good by customers, he said.

Bajaj also said he wanted the car's carbon-dioxide emissions to set a new benchmark at 80 to 90 grams of CO2 per kilometre driven - far below average Indian emissions of 140-150 grams per kilometre.

The Tata Nano has a CO2 emission level of 101 grams per kilometre. AFP

Peugeot and China's Changan sign joint venture deal

France's PSA Peugeot Citroen and China's Changan Automotive Group said Thursday they had signed an initial agreement to set up a joint venture to produce vehicles in the world's top auto market.

Peugeot and Changan have signed a letter of intent for the 50-50 venture to make light commercial vehicles and passenger cars, the companies said in a joint statement.

"This joint entity will produce light utility vehicles and passenger vehicles that will conform to the best environmental standards," the companies said.

"The new joint venture will be complementary to the companies' existing joint ventures."

The automakers are still discussing details of the project, according to the statement. Peugeot already has a joint venture with China's Dongfeng Motor Group but intends to further increase its presence in the country. It announced in January that it aimed to increase sales in China by 30 percent this year, double the growth rate for the country's entire market.

China has been a boon for foreign automakers as sales in developed countries slumped during the financial crisis.

The nation's auto sales hit 13.64 million units in 2009, overtaking the United States as the world's number one auto market as Beijing offered incentives such as lower purchase taxes and subsidies for fuel-efficient vehicles in rural areas to boost the sector. AFP