auto parts manufacturers,auto parts suppliers

Tata Salt has become the No 3 most trusted brand, its highest ever rank in the Brand Equity ET Survey 2008, conducted by AC Nielsen. The ‘Desh Ka Namak’ has also regained its No 1 spot as the most trusted food brand in India.

Tata Salt is also a resounding No 1 brand among the housewives segment, echoing the trust that millions of housewives across the country place on the brand every single day. It’s No 2 in North and East regions and No 3 most trusted brand in metros.

Tata Salt is the market leader in the national branded iodised salt segment with a 43 per cent market share. Consumer activations and BTL activities throughout the country have helped it establish a stronger brand connect with its consumers.

The brand has also engaged consumers through its socially relevant Desh Ko Arpan programme under which Tata Salt extended educational support to 1,500 underprivileged girl children in the last two years through the Nanhi Kali project.

The launch of Tata Salt Lite, a low-sodium salt, which is a brand extension of Tata Salt, has had a positive rub off on its brand equity as well.

ET defines the most trusted brand as one which bonds best with the consumer, a brand that is not only familiar to the consumer but also provides quality and reassurance to her / him. The brands are evaluated on relatedness, perceived popularity, quality connotation, distinctiveness / uniqueness of what they stand for, value for money offered — does it strike a chord with the consumer and repurchase intent.

The survey interviewed more than 8,000 respondents across 12 cities in the west, east, north and south zones of India. The sample is spread across socio-economic class, age and income groups, covering consumers aged 15 and older. The list consisted of 300 brands (219 consumer products and 81 service brands).

The Tinplate Company of India had a historic day on June 16, 2008 when the cold trial of Electrolytic tinning line – II was commenced by Chairman B Muthuraman in the presence of all the directors on the board, ex managing director, RN Sharma, COO of Tata Steel, Hemant Nerurkar, VP (engg) Tata Steel, RP Singh, VP (flat products) Tata Steel, Anand Sen and many customers, suppliers and members of the Golmuri Tinplate Workers’ Union, including Rakeshwar Pandey, its president.

The Tinplate Company was producing 60,000 tonne of tinplate around 10 years back and the capacity has already been increased three times and last year it has produced around 170,000 tonne. With the addition of ETL-II its capacity has become 380,000 tonne per annum. The commercial production will start after two months. The technology and equipments have been supplied by Nippon Steel Engineering Corporation, Japan, which is one of the best in the world. Some of the equipments have come from Korea.

Mr Muthuraman said that TCIL had undergone a qualitative change and has emerged as a much stronger and forward looking company under the leadership of Bushen Raina in the last few years. He reiterated that TCIL was going to become one of the strongest arms of Tata Steel and applauded the steps taken by it to enhance capacity to 380,000 tonne per annum

Mr Muthuraman mentioned that ETL-II will have a singular facility to produce both tinplate and tin-free steel in coil form as well as in sheet form with closest tolerances. This line is also having the provision for scrolling. TCIL is already a leader in South East Asian market due to its high proportion of export. This line is one of the best line for tinplating in the world. Bushen Raina, MD, TCIL, said that this project was a dream come true. He expressed confidence in his team, and in his suppliers, especially Nippon Steel, Japan. Rakeshwar Pandey, president, Golmuri Tinplate Workers’Union, thanked Mr Muthuraman for his continued support to TCIL and expressed full support on behalf of the workers of the company.

Mr Hayashi, project manager of Nippon Steel, said that he was very happy to work in this project and expressed his belief that the targets would be met. Earlier TK Ghosh, president, TCIL, welcomed all those present. KN Mishra, VP, TCIL, thanked all the dignitaries for their time including suppliers, customers and other service providers and hoped that the project would be completed well within the budget. Tarun Daga, COO, TCIL, conducted the programme.

Before this, Mr Muthuraman did the ground breaking for 200000T CRM-II, a Rs450-crore project. This project will be executed in TCIL under the aegis of Tata Steel. This will supply TMBP coils to ETL-II. The finishing units will be completed in around 18 months time in CRM-II. Already negotiation has been done with M/s Blue Scope, Australia and LOI, Germany, for appropriate equipments like temper mill and annealing furnaces, respectively.

By 2015, Mazda will have renewed almost its entire powertrain lineup.
- Through steadily developing safe, lightweight, new generation platforms, aim to reduce the weight of new vehicles by 100 kilograms or more, from 2011.
- Unique Smart Idle Stop System to be introduced in 2009 with fast, quiet restart.
- Mazda to introduce a more advanced version of the unique Three Layer Wet Paint System in 2009.
- Mazda aims to have carbon neutral bioplastics ready for use in vehicles by 2013.

HIROSHIMA, Japan—Mazda Motor Corporation has announced that it is setting its sights on reducing the fuel consumption of Mazda vehicles sold globally by an average 30 percent by 2015. This determined commitment will entail a holistic approach which includes using lightweight technologies, the upgrade of almost all of Mazda’s gasoline engines, introducing a Smart Idle Stop System, a new gasoline rotary engine and new diesel engines worldwide. By 2015, Mazda will have renewed almost its entire powertrain lineup and, from 2011, through steadily developing safe, lightweight, new generation platforms aims to reduce the weight of its new vehicles by 100 kilograms or more.

Mazda is driven by its long-term vision to provide all its customers with first-rate environmental and safety features as well as driving pleasure. This means that Mazda owners are assured of driving cars that continue to provide the fun-to-drive feeling that will keep them coming back for more, while still having the peace of mind that their Mazda is environmentally-friendly and safe to drive.

But, this focus on the environment is not a new concept for Mazda. In the seven years from 2001 to 2008, the average fuel economy of Mazda vehicles sold in the Japanese market increased by approximately 30 percent. In 1991, the company embarked on a long-term project to develop vehicles powered by hydrogen technology, thereby participating in the search for sustainable transportation solutions, which still continues today.

Mazda saw its hydrogen powertrain efforts progress positively forward in June 2008 when the Mazda5 Hydrogen RE Hybrid received the green light from the Japanese government to begin testing on public roads. The Mazda5 Hydrogen RE Hybrid (known as the Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid in Japan) offers 40 percent more power and an extended hydrogen driving range of 200 kilometers. It will be available for commercial lease in Japan during the 2008 fiscal year. And, Mazda is already progressing well with the development of an all-new Hydrogen RE vehicle with dynamic performance equivalent to a 3.0-liter gasoline engine and a hydrogen range of 400 kilometers.

The next technological milestone for Mazda will be the introduction of the mass production version of its proprietary Smart Idle Stop System into one of its cars in 2009.

Mazda’s is the only idle stop system in the world that restarts the engine from idle by injecting fuel directly into the cylinder and igniting it to force the piston down, enabling a fast and quiet restart as well as an improvement in fuel economy by up to seven-to-eight percent. Demonstrating the extent of Mazda’s flexible R&D capability in developing alternative environmentally-friendly technologies, the system will initially appear in Japan and Europe; however, it will be rolled out worldwide.

Mazda’s future powertrain line-up has much to excite current and future Mazda customers. In 2009, an E85 fuel-compatible flex-fuel engine will be introduced into the Northern European and North American markets. From 2011 onwards, with new gasoline engines will incorporate next generation Direct Injection Spark Ignition and other systems to boost power by 15 to 20 percent and improve fuel economy by approximately 20 percent.

Beginning in 2011, Mazda plans to introduce new diesel engines worldwide that meet the strictest future exhaust gas regulations in each market. These engines will feature next generation direct injection technology, turbocharging systems and NOx reduction technology, which will enhance fuel economy by 20 percent and produce cleaner exhaust gases, while still providing a true Zoom-Zoom experience.

A fundamental part of Mazda’s heritage, the gasoline rotary engine, will be substantially upgraded in the early 2010s. Currently referred to as the 16X, the next rotary engine will offer substantially improved performance and economy through use of Direct Injection Spark Ignition and high-speed combustion technology, enfolded in new rotary dimensions.

Mazda’s environmental efforts are not only focused on its cars. The plants in which they are built have also received a lot of attention to ensure that they contribute to a sustainable future.

In FY2007, the volume of CO2 emissions from production activities in Japan was reduced by 15.4 percent compared to FY1990 levels. Expressed as CO2 emissions volume per unit of revenue, the reduction was 24 percent.

In 2005, Mazda was the first auto manufacturer to introduce a Three Layer Wet Paint System which reduces VOC emissions by 45 percent and CO2 emissions by 15 percent. Mazda now plans to introduce a more advanced version of this unique Paint System in 2009 as it finalizes the development of an innovative water-based paint technology that reduces VOC emissions by a further 57 percent without increasing CO2 emissions. Producing around 25 percent fewer CO2 emissions than common water-based paint, this new technology is intended to make Mazda’s paint shops the cleanest in the world.

Mazda is also making itself known in the area of carbon neutral bioplastics. Developed in collaboration with government, industry and academia, Mazda intends to expand the applications of this new source of eco-friendly material. Already, bioplastics are used in the new Mazda5 Hydrogen RE Hybrid and, in June 2008, Mazda commenced the Mazda Bioplastic Project to develop a bioplastic made from non-food-based cellulosic biomass. The project aims to have the bioplastic ready for use in vehicles by 2013.

M’s been the word for supreme performance in the BMW lexicon for 30 years and 300,000 unique and exclusive vehicles.

In motoring terms, BMW M GmbH defines the concept of a halo brand. M cars account for around one percent of all BMW Group products sold, yet the image of BMW M is so much greater. Even now, after three decades, driving a car boasting the M logo remains an exclusive experience.

The 300,000th M car, an Alpine White BMW M3 Coupé was handed over to a customer in Regensburg recently. This East Bavarian town is also the location of the BMW plant in which the high-performance sportscar is produced.

What began as an experimental division dedicated to Motorsport has become one of the most admired and imitated in the premium automotive segment. In 1978, BMW was alone in forging the M brand (in the guise of BMW Motorsport GmbH), when the M1 supercar was born.

The tremendous success of the BMW M GmbH began with this limited run production car, a mid-engine racer, featuring a straight six-cylinder power unit used in the newly founded ProCar series.

To comply with homologation requirements, a road-going version powered by a 204 kW engine was also built. This now famous supercar was honoured with a one-off Homage car to celebrate its 30th anniversary, introduced to the world at this year’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2008 at Lake Como.

At its launch, the BMW M1 was Germany’s fastest series production sports car. In all, 445 BMW M1 cars were produced between 1978 and 1981, one of them immortalised as a BMW Art Car by Andy Warhol.

In the years following, BMW firmed its M philosophy into becoming the home of high-performance cars suitable for everyday driving, delivering punchy performance in a discretely enhanced body, but with power train and suspension technology directly inspired by motor racing.

The first BMW M5 came with a 210 kW straight six-cylinder engine. Thanks to its performance and understated silhouette, this sedan was extremely popular amongst business travellers.

Two years later, a further M model laid the foundation stone for a new vehicle category.

The BMW M3, ancestor of the current fourth model generation, caused a stir both on the road and on the racetrack. It is the most successful touring car ever utilised in motor sports, also becoming a huge commercial success within a very short time, with sales of 17,000 examples.

To date, the M3 is still the biggest single model in the M family, accounting for 180,000 sales.

In the first 10 years of life BMW M sold around 35,000 cars. In 1994, BMW M sold 10,000 cars in one year for the first time.
Since then, record sales figures have been achieved consistently, with sales of all BMW M GmbH models continuing to rise further with each new generation. Worldwide purchases of the new BMW M3 alone exceeded 4,000 in the first four months of the 2008 – even before the market launch of the BMW M3 Convertible and the new M double-clutch transmission with Drivelogic.

The USA is the most important market for BMW M cars, and on the European continent the high-performance sports cars are much coveted in the UK, Germany and Italy.

Currently BMW M offers nine individual models, all featuring high-revving engines.

The BMW Z4 M Roadster and the BMW Z4 M Coupé boast a straight six-cylinder with 252 kW, the BMW M5, and the BMW M5 Touring, the BMW M6 Coupé and the BMW M6 Convertible all feature a 373 kW V10 engine. Both power units are series winners of the “International Engine of the Year Awards” (the Engine Oscars), which the new 309 kW V8 engine utilised in the BMW M3 was also able to seize in its category this year.