Nissan Introduces Terrano SUV in India

October 10, 2013

Nissan_Terrano_SUVNew Delhi, Oct 10: Nissan Motor Co. 7201.TO +2.57% Wednesday introduced its first compact sport-utility vehicle in India to tap demand for such products and challenge existing players like Ford Motor Co. F +0.73% , Renault S.A. RNO.FR +3.70% and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. 500520.BY +1.05%

The Japanese auto maker said it has received about 6,000 customer orders for the Terrano since the vehicle was unveiled in late August. The Terrano is based on the Duster SUV of Renault, with which Nissan has a global alliance. It is produced at a joint plant of Renault and Nissan on the outskirts of Chennai city.

The Duster—which is also made at the same plant—is the most-successful vehicle for Renault in India with sales of more than 60,000 units since its introduction in July last year.

The Terrano is offered in seven versions with the option of either a 1.6-liter gasoline or a 1.5-liter diesel engine. The diesel engine is further offered in two options of 85 horsepower and 104 horsepower.

Prices start at 959,999 rupees ($15,500) at dealers in New Delhi, extending to about 1.24 million rupees for the top-end version.

The Duster starts at 7,99,000 rupees.

"Terrano is an important product for us and will set the pace for future product launches slated for 2014," said Kenichiro Yomura, president of Nissan's India unit. He didn't say which are the other vehicles that Nissan plans to introduce in India.

SUV sales in India grew 52% in the fiscal year ended March 31, compared with a 6.7% decline in the sales of cars.

But, demand has waned since companies raised prices from earlier this year to pass on a three-percentage-point increase in factory tax on locally assembled SUVs to 30%. Rising prices of diesel—the fuel used to run most SUVs in India—also affected demand. Sales of SUVs during the April-to-September period this year fell 4.8%.

The Terrano would compete with models such as Ford's recently introduced EcoSport, Tata Motors Ltd. 500570.BY +1.77% 's Safari Storme, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.'s XUV500 and Scorpio and the Duster.

Nissan expects that the Terrano would help revive its India sales that fell 43% during April-September 2013 to 12,343 vehicles. The introduction of the SUV comes during the festival season in India when the country's majority Hindus consider it auspicious to make new purchases.

The Terrano is the fourth vehicle that Nissan produces in India—it currently manufactures the Micra subcompact hatchback, the Sunny compact car and the Evalia van.

Nissan also assembles the Teana premium sedan from imported parts at the same factory. It also imports the X-Trail SUV and the 370Z sports car in India.

The company plans to start selling the Datsun Go from early 2014. It is the first model in a line of low-cost vehicles developed for emerging markets such as India under its revived Datsun brand.

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News Network
June 30,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 30: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday launched 'Skill Connect Forum' and said that the government is committed to provide impetuous to creating jobs by reviving economic and industrial activities.

The 'Skill Connect Forum' portal connects both private entrepreneurs and job seekers on the same platform.

After launching the forum, the Chief Minister said that the portal provides information on jobs available and who needs a job. "Under this forum, an unemployed will be imparted skills and then enabled to get a job," Yediyurappa said.
Besides providing jobs via registration, the portal also provides a skilled pool of people for those looking to hire, he added.

Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, who is also the Skill Development Minister said that portal will be a boon to the youth seeking jobs and it will avoid unemployment issue to a great extent.

"All these years, there was no information and communication between job seekers and recruiters. The portal will solve that problem," he said.

Narayan said that there was no proper information on skilled workers and job market. Moreover, skill development was not in sync with the market. All these issues have been addressed by the portal, he added.

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Agencies
July 2,2020

Paris, Jul 2: Several interacting exoplanets have already been spotted by satellites. But a new breakthrough has been achieved with, for the first time, the detection directly from the ground of an extrasolar system of this type.

An international collaboration including CNRS researchers has discovered an unusual planetary system, dubbed WASP-148, using the French instrument SOPHIE at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence (CNRS/Aix-Marseille Universite).

The scientists analysed the star's motion and concluded that it hosted two planets, WASP-148b and WASP-148c. The observations showed that the two planets were strongly interacting, which was confirmed from other data.

Whereas the first planet, WASP-148b, orbits its star in nearly nine days, the second one, WASP-148c, takes four times longer. This ratio between the orbital periods implies that the WASP-148 system is close to resonance, meaning that there is enhanced gravitational interaction between the two planets. And it turns out that the astronomers did indeed detect variations in the orbital periods of the planets.

While a single planet, uninfluenced by a second one, would move with a constant period, WASP-148b and WASP-148c undergo acceleration and deceleration that provides evidence of their interaction.

The study will shortly be published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

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News Network
July 9,2020

U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc is "very close" to achieving level 5 autonomous driving technology, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Thursday, referring to the capability to navigate roads without any driver input.

"I'm extremely confident that level 5 or essentially complete autonomy will happen and I think will happen very quickly," Musk said in remarks made via a video message at the opening of Shanghai's annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC).

"I remain confident that we will have the basic functionality for level 5 autonomy complete this year."

Automakers and tech companies including Alphabet Inc Waymo and Uber Technologies are investing billions in the autonomous driving industry.

However industry insiders have said it would take time for the technology to get ready and public to trust autonomous vehicles fully.

The California-based automaker currently builds cars with an Autopilot driver-assistance system.

Tesla is also developing new heat-projection or cooling systems to enable more advanced computers in cars, Musk said.

Industry data showed Tesla sold nearly 15,000 China-made Model 3 sedans last month.

Tesla has become the highest-valued automaker as its shares surged to record highs and its market capitalisation overtook that of former front-runner Toyota Motors Corp.

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