Audi to start selling premium A3 Sedan in India from mid-2014

March 23, 2014

Audi_A3_SedanIngolstad (Germany), Mar 23: German luxury auto brand Audi will begin selling its premium A3 Sedan in India from middle of the year and the much-awaited car will be rolled out from the company's production facility in Aurangabad.

The brand with the four rings said it has decided to assemble A3 in India from the launch stage itself expecting that it will become a driver of growth for the company. India will be among very few countries where the luxury sedan will be produced locally.

The sale of A3 Sedan has started in only a few countries in Europe. It will be launched in the US next month.

Audi Group CEO Rupert Stadler said that India is a "strategically important market" for the company as the country has huge growth potential for luxury car segment.

Stadler said the company was struggling with depreciation of the currency in India and was looking forward to economic reforms, particularly in the taxation system by the new government after the parliamentary election.

In January, Audi India had reported 11 per cent growth in its 2013 sales at 10,002 units in India, thus becoming the first luxury car maker to cross the 10,000 milestone in the country. The company had sold 9,003 units in 2012.

Audi started local production in September 2007 with the Audi A6. It currently produces the Audi A4, Audi Q5, new Audi A6, Audi Q7 and Audi Q3 at its production facility in Aurangabad. Over 24,000 cars have been produced in Aurangabad in Maharashtra since the start of production in September 2007.

Asked about Audi's expansion plan for India, the CEO of the Audi Group, which has been one of the most successful car manufacturers in the premium and supercar segment, said the company would like to know the new government's policy initiatives on the economy.

"It depends on certain framework. First of all we would like to listen to the new political regime. We would like to see how the economy gets back to the next growth pattern," he said, expressing confidence about rolling out of certain reforms in the economy.

Stadler said he was looking for structural reforms in the India economy, including policy initiatives in the financial sector.

Member of the Board of Management of Audi Luca de Meo said the company has "decided to go for local production of A3 in India in the middle of the year because we see potential for it in the luxury car segment."

The Audi A3 is expected to compete with the Mercedes A-class and B-class and BMW's 1-series.

Audi India CEO Joe King said the company would like to bring every single luxury car to India but decisions in this regard will be taken based on consumer demand.

He said 92 per cent of the car deliveries by Audi in India last year were produced in the Aurangabad plant.

Audi group delivered over 1.5 million Audi brand cars in 2013 across the world.

The company has decided to invest between now and 2018 around 22 billion euro in innovations and new technologies as well as in expanding its worldwide manufacturing structures.

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Agencies
June 10,2020

US dictionary Merriam-Webster will update the meaning of the word "racism" after being contacted by a Missouri black woman, who claimed the current definition fell short of including the systematic oppression of people of colour, according to media reports.

"A revision to the entry for racism is now being drafted to be added to the dictionary soon, and we are also planning to revise the entries of other words that are related to racism or have racial connotations," according to a statement of the 189-year-old dictionary shared by Kennedy Mitchum, a recent graduate of Drake University in Iowa, on her Facebook.

Mitchum, 22, emailed the dictionary last month, following the death of African American George Floyd in the custody of four Minneapolis police officers, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I kept having to tell them that definition is not representative of what is actually happening in the world," Mitchum told CNN. "The way that racism occurs in real life is not just prejudice, it's the systemic racism that is happening for a lot of black Americans."

Merriam-Webster's first definition of racism is "a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race."

"It's not just disliking someone because of their race," Mitchum wrote in a Facebook post on Friday. "This current fight we are in is evidence of that, lives are at stake because of the systems of oppression that go hand-in-hand with racism."

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Agencies
June 12,2020

Mumbai, Jun 12: Following an overwhelming response for the mega rights issue of Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries, the partly paid-up rights shares are set to debut on stock exchanges on June 15.

The biggest ever Rs 53,124 crore rights issue was subscribed 1.59 times and received bids worth Rs 84,000 crore on June 3.

Reliance said the rights issue saw a huge investor interest, including from lakhs of small investors and thousands of institutional investors, both Indian and foreign.

In 2019, Ambani said in the Reliance's annual general meeting that the company will be net zero debt by March 2021. The company is on course to achieve its target ahead of the deadline.

"In spite of the COVID-19 crisis and the lockdowns, the due-diligence by Saudi Aramco for the planned investment in the O2C business is on track as both the parties are committed and actively engaged," he said recently.

"With a strong visibility to these equity infusions, Reliance is set to achieve net zero debt status ahead of its own aggressive timeline. We believe rights issue was a part of the company's strategy of deleveraging its balance sheet," said Ambani. 

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Agencies
July 19,2020

New Delhi, Jul 19: Indian equities will be driven by a host of factors like corporate earnings, coronavirus cases trend and geo-political developments this week, according to analysts.

Market participants will also keenly watch the progress of monsoon, with experts saying that the farm sector revival will play a key role in lifting the coronavirus-hit economy.

"With no major event, the ongoing earnings season and global cues will continue to dictate the market trend. Besides, the progress of monsoon will also be closely watched," Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking, said.

Globally, the rising coronavirus infections and geo-political tensions have created uncertainty on the economic recovery front.

With India's COVID-19 cases fast approaching the 11 lakh mark, the third-highest behind the US and Brazil, and the death toll nearing 27,000, participants are expected to tread cautiously going forward.

At global level, confirmed COVID-19 cases have crossed 1.4 crore and deaths totalled about 6 lakh.

Markets globally will closely follow developments on the trade and political level between the US and China, according to analysts.

"We would continue witnessing stock-specific action as the earnings season unfold. Though the near-term momentum looks positive, we would advise traders to be cautious, given flaring US-China trade relations, persistent rise in virus cases and implementation of fresh lockdowns in parts of the country," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

HDFC Bank will remain in focus on Monday after having announced its June quarter earnings on Saturday.

The lender reported 19.6 per cent rise in its standalone net profit at Rs 6,658.62 crore for April-June 2020; while its income rose to Rs 34,453.28 crore during the quarter.

Other major companies to announce their quarterly results this week are Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Bajaj Auto and ITC.

"Going ahead market participants will closely track the development related to covid vaccine, the rising infection of coronavirus, development on economic activities, corporate earnings and US-China relationship," said Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director, Choice Broking.

On weekly basis, the Sensex gathered 425.81 points or 1.16 per cent, and the Nifty gained 133.65 points or 1.24 per cent.

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