DHM Bergendahl Professional

GST lends more weight to India’s 8% growth projection: S&P

Calling GST as the most important structural reform till date by the Modi government, S&P Global Ratings today said the passage of the indirect tax law gives it additional conviction of India clocking 8 per cent growth in the next few years.

“India’s GST passage gives us additional conviction around our 8%-ish GDP growth forecast over the next few years,” it said in a report titled ‘Asia-Pacific steadies while China goes silent’.

The rating agency had last month projected India to clock a “steroid-free” growth of 8 per cent in coming years. “The GST passage is arguably the most important structural reform to date by the Modi government and will improve efficiency, cross-state trade and tax buoyancy,” it said today.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/gst-lends-more-weight-to-indias-8-growth-projection-sp/article9208148.ece?utm_source=email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Newsletter

India now world’s fifth largest car manufacturer

NEW DELHI: With over 25.7 lakh cars manufactured in 2016 till date, India has overtaken South Korea to stand fifth in the list of world’s largest carmakers. The countries which are ahead of India are Germany, Japan, the USA and China.

Last year, South Korea manufactured 45.5 lakh cars while India had produced 41.2 lakh. Reports from the Korean market suggest that India could retain this spot next year as well, since the industry there is facing a slump, which has resulted in a dramatic fall in both its domestic and export markets.

The automotive market here has witnessed a steady growth. The ‘Make In India’ campaign has also helped the industry grow robustly, and will provide employment to a total of 2.5 crore citizens by the end of this year.

Note:

A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand.

A crore denotes ten million in the Indian numbering system.

http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/passenger-vehicle/cars/india-now-worlds-fifth-largest-car-manufacturer/54781712

VW understands why investing in Indian R&D is a road to success

In the post-dieselgate era VW re-consider their strategies in several areas. One part is a re-definition of the regionalisation strategy. European-developed products can’t merely be shipped to India, the Indian market needs its special products. Hence, local R&D centres are inevitable.

Jurgen Stackmann, Volkswagen’s global head for sales and marketing in an ET interview:

“India is a reference point, it the toughest market in the world. I think the mindset to really find solutions that are tailored to an aggressively low priced market is in India; you can’t do it in Wolfsburg (the headquarters in Germanay),” Stackmann said. “The whole focus is to get the costing right to have a successful play in India.”

http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/if-you-get-india-right-you-will-fix-rest-of-the-world-jurgen-stackmann-volkswagen/54708125

India receives normal rains for first time in 3 years

Good news – India sees normal monsoon rains for the first time in three years.

NEW DELHI: For the first time in three years, the country received normal rainfall in the monsoon season, which ended on Friday with an overall shortfall of 3% — within the normal range of +/-4% but less than what the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast.

/…/

This was a welcome change from the drought years, when the deficit was 12% (2014) and 14% (2015).

http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/india-receives-normal-rains-for-first-time-in-3-years/54637667

Modi government very proactive: Roland Folger, Mercedes Benz India head

Article in Economic Times on October 1st about business environment under the Modi government.

Being in India at a time when the central government led by Narendra Modi has been on an overdrive to attract investment from foreign companies and boost local production, Folger says that his interactions with government officials have been pleasant and he’s found them to be proactive.

“It is very important for us to get clarity on a lot of policy decisions and we need to make a lot of decisions fast. So when I see the officials quickly moving files and problems are resolved within the set time-frame, then things are certainly moving in the right direction,” his response to a query by Economictimes.com during a roundtable held at the company’s headquarters in Chakan, Pune.

http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/modi-government-very-proactive-roland-folger-mercedes-benz-india-head/54629128

Indian Manufacturers fit for Luxury Brands

Jaguar Land Rover focus on an increasing share of Indian suppliers for their local production, following in the footsteps of BMW and Mercedes-Benz. BMW and Mercedes-Benz India-produced vehicles now have 50% – 60% local content.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/jlr-takes-localisation-route-to-cut-costs-116092400734_1.html

ACEA: Commercial vehicle registrations: +14.3% over eight months; +31.8% in August

Brussels, 22 September 2016 – In August 2016, demand for new commercial vehicles in the EU increased substantially (+31.8%) thanks to a strong uplift in the van segment, marking the 20th consecutive month of growth.

Total new commercial vehicles

In August 2016, demand for new commercial vehicles in the EU increased substantially (+31.8%) thanks to a strong uplift in the van segment, marking the 20th consecutive month of growth. Growth was sustained across all major markets, especially in Italy (+105.9%), Germany (+42.6%), Spain (+19.5%), and France (+16.8%). Overall, 150,425 new commercial vehicles were registered in the EU.

Over the first eight months of 2016, the EU market expanded by 14.3%, totalling about 1.5 million commercial vehicles. During that period, Italy (+39.4%), Spain (+12.9%), Germany (+12.1%), France (+11.8%) and the UK (+2.7%) all posted growth.

http://www.acea.be/press-releases/article/commercial-vehicle-registrations-14.3-over-eight-months-31.8-in-august

ACEA: Policy makers should adopt ‘whole-vehicle’ approach to reducing CO2 from trucks

Hanover, 21 September 2016 – The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) urges EU policy makers to keep on track with their efforts to reflect the complexity of the truck and bus market.

Martin Lundstedt, ACEA’s Commercial Vehicle Board Chairman and Volvo Group CEO, took the opportunity of the IAA Commercial Vehicle Motor Show today to set out the industry’s recommendations for reducing CO2 emissions more effectively, following the European Commission’s recent ‘Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility’.

Since 2010, the European Commission has been developing a computer simulation tool called VECTO. This tool will model CO2 emissions from a wide variety of complete truck and trailer configurations using various heavy-duty vehicle cycles.

By contrast, engine-only limit values for heavy-duty vehicles based upon one existing engine cycle make no sense. Although they may seem at first sight like a much simpler way forward, engine-only targets would not give the results that policy makers, society and customers want, Lundstedt argued. “The market is diverse and complex, trucks and buses are usually tailor-made to customers’ specific orders or are custom-built for a specific mission. VECTO can reflect that complexity, as it takes the variables into account that affect CO2 emissions, such as various usage patterns, vehicle configurations or different payloads. This will be a major game changer.”

http://www.acea.be/press-releases/article/policy-makers-should-adopt-whole-vehicle-approach-to-reducing-co2-from-truc

Scania made a giant clock out of 14 trucks and had them run for 24 hours. There were second, minute and hours hands – all perfectly synchronized.

It is an amazing project – but don’t ask for the sense of it. I guess it plays in the same division as Volvo’s epic split with Jean-Claude Van Damme.

See the full story here:

https://www.scania.com/group/en/time-for-a-new-generation/?utm_source=NewsletterDaily&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=September2016

ACEA Statistics: Passenger car registrations: +8.1% over eight months; +10.0% in August

Brussels, 15 September 2016 – In August 2016, the European passenger car market posted strong growth figures (+10.0%), with registrations totalling 819,126 units.

In August 2016, the European passenger car market posted strong growth figures (+10.0%), with registrations totalling 819,126 units. An impressive performance, considering that August normally is one of the weakest months of the year in volume terms due to the summer holidays. These positive August results followed a (-1.4%) decline in July, when a continuous streak of 34 months of consecutive growth came to an end. Among the major markets, Italy (+20.1%) and Spain (+14.6%) recorded the highest percentage gains, followed by Germany (+8.3%), France (+6.7%) and the United Kingdom (+3.3%) – all of which performed better than in August 2015.

Over the first eight months of 2016, new passenger car registrations increased by 8.1% in the EU, reaching 9,787,760 units. All major markets posted growth, contributing to the overall upturn of the European market. The Italian (+17.4%) and Spanish (+11.3%) car markets saw double-digit growth over the period, followed by France (+6.1%), Germany (+5.7%) and the UK (+2.8%).

http://www.acea.be/press-releases/article/passenger-car-registrations-8.1-over-eight-months-10.0-in-august