UPDATE: First voice in correcting the Indian aftermarket?

In my article First voice in correcting the Indian aftermarket? I had discussed how the anti-competitive practice of many OEMs (in selling spare parts only through authorised dealership at a higher price) is affecting the Indian spare parts market.

Well, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) — a body of the Government of India responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 throughout India and to prevent activities that have an adverse effect on competition in India (source) — served notice to 17 undisclosed carmakers in India for indulging in such anti-competitive practices (source).

If the CCI ruling holds, all OEMs will be forced to sell spare parts in the open market, which in turn would make products and services more competitive and cheaper.

Nissan NSC-2015

Nissan recently showcased its "auto-parking" car - the NSC-2015. This modified Leaf, with the help of electronic sensors, cameras, robotics and smartphone enabled commands, can drive and park "itself" after the driver has left the car.

Although nothing groundbreaking (others have been developing driverless prototypes too, for example Google driverless car, Volvo) the NSC-2015 yet again demonstrates that we are very close to having, not "driverless," but at least remotely controlled vehicles in, may be, 5 years from now. The car uses remote monitoring system that recognizes the surrounding environment through use of an all-around view camera and 4th generation (4G) mobile communications. After the driver leaves the car, it starts to park itself automatically , following the instructions given by smartphone. The vehicle looks for a vacant parking space while identifying its surroundings; once it detects an open parking space automated parking begins. The driver can also use smartphone commands to make the NSC-2015 vehicle leave the parking space and return to the place where he or she is. While parked, the car's security camera system automatically works with a camera installed in the vehicle. If the system detects suspicious behavior, the driver is alerted automatically by a report to his or her smartphone.

Imagine how convenient it would be to stand by the curb and parallel park you car in a tight spot using your smartphone, or instructing your phone to park the car in your garage everynight at 11 PM....

First voice in correcting the Indian aftermarket?

I just came across an article in the Economic Times about Mr. Jagdish Khattar, ex-MD for Maruti Suzuki, expressing his opinions about the anticompetitive practices prevalent in the Indian automotive aftermarket.

A short background — in India it is very expensive to buy automotive spare parts, because OEMs and dealers run a monopoly business in which OEM-approved spares are only available through dealers at a price premium and not freely available in the open market.

Hopefully, the voice raised by Mr. Khattar will have an impact and open up the Indian aftersales market, or at least start a drive at doing away with unhealthy trade practices. It is time that such anticompetitive practices are done away with because it is not only about the price premium, but also the unhealthy practices such as refusal of service / sharing of technology that need to go for the market to become a truly global competitive market.

Urban mobility concepts - Daimler betting big...

I have been closely following the developments in the "field" of urban mobility, or as many say, mobility concepts, and one thing is clear, Daimler AG is betting big on it.

They first made headlines with their car2go program somewhere around 2009 (?) through which you could walk up to a smart fortwo for rent, swipe your smart card, drive to wherever you want within the city and just leave it there.

Now I read that they have acquired a minority stake in a Munich-based company called tiramizoo. Last year, tiramizoo launched a fully automated online booking platform for local courier - meaning you just fill in an online form stating what, where, when and your packet will be delivered! Daimler plans to capitalize tiramizoo's expertise in optimizing flow of goods (efficient use of urban road communication) to add more innovation to services already offered in its car2go program.

Earlier, Daimler also acquired stakes in MyTaxi (an online taxi booking platform) and carpooling.com. car2go already has 150,000 registered users. It seems like Daimler is betting big on the concept of urban mobility and is playing its cards right and has managed to stay ahead of it competitors, especially BMW and Peugeot.

I think Daimler is going to make the concept of urban mobility popular and mainstream.

Watch out for Daimler! 

Renault...Focus!

I just read that Renault launched the Scala yesterday. Logical move, but not in India. Here is why. Renault (Renault-Nissan) launched the Micra, and it did not help the Nissan badge; sales were not sustainable. Couple of years later, Renault broke-off the Renault-Mahindra tie-up and went full-steam with popularizing the Renault brand and launched the Duster (a very intelligent move - something that hit the sweet spot) and (to my horror) the Pulse!

The Pulse is a badge-engineered Micra. I felt repulsed! Does Renault not respect the intelligence of the Indian consumer (to not read through this brand engineering gimmick)!?

The Pulse did no better than the Micra and now Renault launches the three-box version of the Pulse / Micra...the Scala!!!

Why!?

Everyone has been crying horse, "Renault-Nissan get your after-sales network up and running; your cars are good and we will buy them...provided we have the safety net of the knowledge that there is a service network to support the products."

Mr. Ghosn, the fact that a strong aftersales network is the magic to an automotive brand's success is no rocket science...

Rest in peace Carroll Shelby

A great loss for the automotive world.

Force ForceOne a little too late for the Indian market

A body-on-ladder frame boxy SUV from an Indian commercial vehicle maker Force Motors, the ForceOne was launched in October 2011. It was a product aimed at the conspicuous gap in the Indian SUV market, between the  INR 800,000 (US$ 16,000) Mahindra Scorpio and the INR 1,800,000 (US$ 36,000) Ford Endeavour. Priced at INR 1,100,000 (US$ 22,000), the ForceOne should have been an instant winner in the fastest growing passenger vehicle segment in India - SUVs (Business Standard Motoring - ForceOne review). The SUV also boasts of the Daimler OM651 diesel engine which once powered the Mercedes-Benz C 220 CDI and E 220 CDI. Force Motors planned to sell ~4,000 units of the ForceOne between its October 2011 launch and September 2012. It has sold only 1,200 units until March 2012 and I have seen exactly ONE ForceOne on the road since its launch.

So what went wrong for this SUV?

Timing.

Before the ForceOne was launched, Tata Motors already had the Aria, a multi-utility vehicle (MUV), in the offering at the same price point. The Aria is fully loaded with safety and creature-comfort features, such as ABS, traction control, rain sensing wipers, touch screen infotainment console - everything. It still did not do well because of its price and well, because it was neither a car nor an SUV. Moreover, a couple of months after the ForceOne's launch, Mahindra came up with its XUV-5oo SUV - again at the same price point as the ForceOne's. The XUV-5oo scored over the ForceOne mainly in terms of looks - the XUV-5oo's looks are far more contemporary than the ForceOne's; and ride quality and handling, primarily because the XUV-5oo has a monocoque chassis (Business Standard Motoring - ForceOne and XUV-5oo comparo).

All the 'drawbacks' that the ForceOne has in comparison to the other products available in the market are just functions of timing. Indian consumers have accepted uglier cars, for example, the Mahindra Xylo and inferior quality cars, the Tata Sumo. However, in the present market scenario, the Indian consumer has much better choices for INR 1,100,000. If the ForceOne would have been launched, say, 5 years earlier and INR 400,000 cheaper, it had the potential of redefining the Indian SUV market. However, with the announched launches of the Renault Duster and the Ford EcoSport by end-2012, the fate of the ForceOne seems to have been sealed.

Although, I will definitely look out for the 2013 Gurkha!