Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations Released Vehicle Retail Data For August’22

On YoY basis, total vehicle retail for the month of August’22 saw a growth of 8%.

Except tractors which decreased by -32%, all the other categories were in green. 2W, 3W, PV and CV were up by 8.5%, 83%, 6.5% and 24% respectively.

When compared with August’19, a pre-covid month, total vehicle retails continued to fall by -7%. While PV showed a double-digit healthy growth of 41%, growth in CV also turned positive by 6%. All the other categories were in red with 2W, 3W and Tractors falling by -16%, -1% and -7% respectively.

Good monsoon fails to ignite festive spirits thus impacting Ganpati festive demand.

As semi-conductor supply continues to ease, Auto Retail and PV segment especially, geared up to have the best festive season in a decade.

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) released Vehicle Retail Data for August’22.

August’22 Retails

Commenting on how August’22 performed, FADA President, Mr. Manish Raj Singhania said, “Auto Retail for the month of August’22 saw an overall growth of 8%. August opens the door for festival season to kick in. While Dealers anticipated good Ganesh Chaturthi in August, the results thus far has not been encouraging. In spite of good monsoons, festive season began with a dampener during Ganpati.

When compared with August’19, a pre-covid month, total vehicle retails fell by -7%. While PV outperformed handsomely by growing 41%, CV also turned positive by growing 6% and thus came out of the covid blues. All the other segments were in red with 2W, 3W and Tractors falling by -16%, -1% and -7% respectively.

While the 2W segment has grown by 8.5% YoY, it continues to face covid blues due to underperformance of Bharat and is still not above 2019 levels. This coupled with price hikes has made the 2W product out of reach for most entry level customers. With erratic monsoon, the crop realisation has been low and flood like situation has restricted customer movement.

The 3W space continues its healthy double digit growth (grows 83% YoY) when compared YoY. It has now also equalled 2019 sales for the first time. Electrification is also the highest in this category as e-Rickshaw leading the way. There is a clear indication that customers are now preferring electric vehicles over ICE vehicles as ICE 3W continues to see double digit de-growth when compared to pre-covid levels.

The CV segment continues to witness an upswing in economic activities post monsoon and saw a growth of 24% YoY. This along with government’s infrastructure push, new launches by OEMs and better conversion in fleet operations has kept the segment in green. Apart from this, the Passenger Carrier segment is also showing good demand due to increased buying from Educational Institutions.

The PV segment continues to be on a bull run (grows 6.5% YoY) as demand for all sub categories of vehicles except entry level remained strong. This is also aided by new feature rich launches which OEMs are doing since last few months. With semi-conductor shortage slowly becoming a passe, vehicle availability has definitely improved but waiting period continues to remain due to high demand in higher feature rich variants.”

Near Term Outlook

While the month of September brings with itself Onam and Navratri, it also brings the 15-days period of Shraadh, generally considered as an inauspicious period for buying vehicles. With easing of supply, PV segment will definitely see the best ever festivities (Navratri and Diwali) in last 1 decade. Along with this, if vehicle prices continue to remain stable and there is no more health related threats, we may see an uptick in the much awaited 2W space which has not shown the required growth since last festivals.

With Government’s continuous push in infrastructure spending, we will also see an uptick in CV space.

Overall, FADA changes its stance from ‘cautiously optimistic’ to ‘optimistic’ as it enters the festive period.

Key Findings from our Online Members Survey

Inventory at the end of August’22

Average inventory for Passenger Vehicles ranges from 30 – 35 days

Average inventory for Two – Wheelers ranges from 30 – 33 days

Liquidity

Good                 47.9%

Neutral              37.2%

Bad                      14.9%

Sentiment

Good                 46.3%

Neutral               40.5%

Bad                      13.2%

Expectation from September

Growth               61.2%

Flat                      27.3%

De-growth         11.6%

Union Bank of India Launches 705 New “Union Gold Loan Points”

Union Bank of India has launched 705 new “Union Gold Loan Points”to further strengthen the Gold Loan business and customer service enrichment. Union Bank of India, now has 1221 Union Gold Loan Points across the country. 

MD & CEO of Union Bank of India, Ms. A. Manimekhalai stressed the need to explore the untapped Gold Loan business opportunity as it is secured and hassle-free mode of lending with minimum time engaged. This means easy loan in the fastest TAT. She also emphasized that Indian society has sentimental values towards their gold ornaments and Union Bank of India being a responsible banker will take utmost care to keep the trust of the customers intact with the Bank. 

Union Bank of India had announced the formation of New Gold Loan Vertical as a part of new initiative in the quarter of June 2022. This vertical has been conceptualized with a view to tap the market share under gold loan portfolio. 

The Bank had also launched their first specialized and dedicated branches “UNION GOLD LOAN POINT (UGLP)” in the year 2020. It was launched to focus on business growth in selected potential branches across the country and has 516 exclusively designed Union Gold Loan Point branches which are equipped to extend specialized Gold Loan services to the customers. 

V-Logis Announces “CHEMSTORE”, A World-Class Super Specialised Chemical Storage Facility

V-Logis, a part of V-Trans (India) Ltd, comprehensive warehousing, 3 PL solutions, and end-to-end integrated logistics provider has announced its world-class facility with the state-of-the-art technology called “CHEMSTORE”. CHEMSTORE is a super-specialized chemical storage solution that provides the best safety standards at the global level. This world-class facility is amongst the top warehouses in the country which is fully compliant with National Building Code (NBC) 2016 and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The facility is a state-of-the-art infrastructure with strict compatibility for storing various chemicals of various hazardous classes. As per the norms, the facility is strategically located away from the Highway, residential, school, and river body at NH-3 Mankoli-Bhiwandi. The facility accommodates a total area of 2,18,350 sq. ft to store precious haz-chems with utmost safety measures. We have partnered with VED Hospital for emergency services at the facility which is at a distance of 12kms. The fire station is located 20km from Chem Store.     

The chemical industry is engineered with high compliance standards to store all categories of hazardous chemicals comfortably and securely. The facility shelves are built with a heavy-duty racking system in a systematic arrangement to store an optimum quantity of material. The layout of the warehouse is designed with a height of 46 ft at the center efficiently utilizing the space. The side walls of the warehouse are smart insulated with ventilation for the flow of natural light & air. The warehouse is inserted with a central roof monitoring system to keep the internal temperature and to have air chances. The facility has expansive peripheral access on all four sides for fire tendering and another vehicle movement. The facility holds space of 26ft and 20ft wide canopy throughout on both sides for all weather-smooth operations. The facility has a seamless and automated dock-to-rack movement with an articulated forklift, battery-operated forklift, battery-operated pallet truck, and a hydraulic pallet truck.    

To avoid pollution by spillage of disposal from the warehouse, there is a separate containment pit with a dedicated tank of 4 Lakh litres to manage storage and spilling of disposals. The warehouse has instilled a sewage treatment plant to make it fit for safe disposal, agricultural use, or domestic use in toilets. It has a different pump room designed to utilize the natural pressure and provide a water supply with the backup motor. It has a system that provides a curtain of water for protection against internal and external “exposure” to fire, and protection of large openings. Considering the storage of chemical products, the entire periphery of the site is equipped with the Drencher. The store is infused with VESDA (Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus) system for the best possible safety standards. 

V-Logis compliance with the storage of various types of chemicals can be incredibly complex and crucial from a safety point of view. In addition to meeting all storage requirements, such as room temperature and compatibility with other chemicals, the handling of materials can be a challenge for individuals without the right level of training and proper supervision, and emergency preparedness. In all these and many other parameters, Chem Store scores better than other warehouses and is amongst the best in the industry. 

Commenting on this, Mr. Ronak Shah, Executive Director of V-Trans (India) Ltd & CEO V-Logis said “We are happy to expand our services with CHEMSTORE, super-specialized chemical storage that provides the best safety standards on a global level. With Chemstore we have created a benchmark for safe & fully compliant storage of chemicals with safety standards in construction, design, T&D, and best practices for fire, disposal safety, and other necessary measures. Our aim is to be committed to providing safe and sewer storage of chemicals & ensuring that our clients are at the place once they have handed over their cargo to us. We seek to see what more is to come in the chemical industry in the future, that will help us adapt and contribute more toward society”.   

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Partners With UCO Bank For Value-Added Financing Solutions

* New partnership to offer innovative retail funding options from customers across the country

* Offers upto 90% on Road Funding

* Strengthens TKM’s focus of reaching customers in Tier II & III markets

Continuing its efforts towards consolidating the company’s Customer-First philosophy, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India’s leading banking platform, the UCO Bank. Envisaged to enable more and more customers further access to Toyota’s world-class products and services, this partnership will benefit customers from not only Tier I markets, but across all States and Union Territories, and a with higher focus on Tier II & Tier III markets. 

Through its foray into the A&B-segment with new model launches like the Cool New Glanza, Urban Cruiser and the recently unveiled Urban Cruiser Hyryder, TKM has had a sustained focus on expanding its footprints across India with special focus on Tier II & III markets. This new tie-up will fortify TKM’s efforts to enhance value-added offerings for customers based in Tier II & III markets. Thereby, also ensuring customers’ easy accessibility to the complete range of vehicles sold by Toyota Kirloskar Motor in India.

Sharing his view on the tie-up, Shri. Satya Ranjan Panda, General Manager, Marketing & Wealth Management Dept., UCO Bank, said, “We are excited to collaborate with Toyota Kirloskar Motor as they are one of the leading car manufacturers. With this new partnership, we are confident in reaching out to our customer base in Tier I, II & III cities and towns through our huge network of over 3,000 branches”.

Shri. S K Sankhyan, General Manager, Retail Banking Dept., UCO Bank, stated, “We are sure the tie-up will result in a quick and seamless purchasing experience for our existing customers who plan to purchase a Toyota. It also marks the beginning of an exciting phase in the relationship between UCO Bank and Toyota Kirloskar Motor towards serving customers together”.

Talking about the new partnership, Mr. Atul Sood, Associate Vice President, Sales, and Strategic Marketing, TKM, said, “Following our successful foray into the A&B-segment, there is a great demand for Toyota vehicles in rural markets, and we are determined to meet the growing surge and improve the sales experience of our customers across the country. As a customer centric company, we have always innovated to provide unique and attractive financial schemes & offers to our customer to ensure that they enjoy easy access to our world-class line-up of Toyota vehicles in India. UCO Bank’s wide network, and database utilization will help us identify new customers and we hope to build on our individual strengths to create the best solutions for our esteemed customers, together”.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor always strives to improve customer experience throughout the life cycle by implementing timely and relevant schemes such as easy financing options. Aimed at making ownership of Toyota vehicles an easy process for customers, TKM has always explored innovate tie-ups with leading financial institutes across the country. The offers go beyond purchase of just new vehicles to cover used cars as well as service packages thus creating overall positive buying and ownership experience of Toyota cars.

IIITB Hosts Automotive Workshop For Over 50 Participants

Automotive software has currently reached astounding levels of complexity prompting automotive OEMs and their suppliers to manage a complex supply chain of semiconductors, electronics, software and systems. Entering this space and ushering in digital transformation of the automotive industry is SIG Automotive, a special interest group in IIIT Bangalore that focuses on issues of software engineering, e-mobility and sustainability in automobiles of tomorrow. The research initiated by the Group focuses on creating processes, operations, tools to develop safe cyber secure adaptive automotive grade software-intensive systems.

Given that sustainability is a key factor in any system and more so in software solutions, SIG Automotive hosted a workshop on Automotive Software and Sustainability, bringing together leading players from academia and industry on a platform to exchange ideas and thoughts on the above topics. The workshop, hosted at International Institute of Information Technology (IIITB), focused on software, E/E, e-mobility and sustainability, with presentations and panel discussions on a range of topics veering around software and sustainability. This workshop was co-convened by Prof. Roland Erik Haas and Prof. Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti, who are leading SIG Automotive at IIITB.

Leading industry participation

The workshop also included breakout sessions on education, technology transfer, the trends and challenges involved. With over 50 participants, the free workshop had leading industry presence starting from Daimler, Ashok Leyland and MathWorks. The conference was sponsored by Infineon Technologies, a world leader in semiconductors. 

Speaking on the confluence, Prof. Roland Erik Haas, IIITB said, “The focus of the workshop is on software, E/E, e-mobility and sustainable solutions. Active interactions between the participants from academia and industry was facilitated through various presentations and panel discussions. The breakout sessions on complementary topics of education, technology transfer, the various challenges involved in the same further elicit robust discussions amongst participants.”

Researching into next generation battery operated vehicles

SIG Automotive is into an important area of research involving battery electric vehicles (BEV) to bring in sustainable mobility. This is all the more relevant with many countries having passed laws to ban internal combustion engine (ICE) within the next two decades. Research explored in this segment relates to electric drive technologies, battery systems, battery and power management, charging and smart grid connectivity.

About IIIT Bangalore

IIIT Bangalore is a premier institute focused on Post-Graduate IT education and research, located in the heart of Electronic City, Bangalore. IIIT Bangalore is graded A+ by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and remains top 70 in the National Institutional Ranking Framework since the last four years. The institute was ranked number 1 among India's Best Technical Universities (Private) by India Today. IIIT Bangalore contains state-of-the-art infrastructure, world-class faculty, a vibrant alumni community, cutting-edge research facilities, and close industry collaborations. 

The institute’s specially designed courses make the students cognitive of the current technologies and practices, thereby equipping them with the tools and knowledge to solve contemporary real problems. Since the founding of the Institute in 1998, IIIT Bangalore has enjoyed 100% placement every year on account of the strong support of the industry and the growing base of talented alumni.

https://www.iiitb.ac.in/

Prime Minister Narendra Modi To Inaugurate IDF WDS 2022 On Sept 12

* India accounts for 23 per cent of global milk production bringing together 8 crore dairy farmers producing 210 MT annually

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India will inaugurate the IDF World Dairy Summit 2022, a congregation of global and Indian dairy industry leaders, experts, farmers and policy planners centering around the theme of ‘Dairy for Nutrition and Livelihood’ on Monday, September 12 in Greater Noida.

Shri Amit Shah, Hon’ble Union Minister of Home Affairs & Cooperation and Shri Parshottam Rupala, Hon’ble Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying will be prominent among those to address the Summit, which is being held 48 years after India hosted the International Dairy Congress in 1974.

Mr Piercristiano Brazzale, President, International Dairy Federation (IDF), Ms Caroline Emond, Director General, IDF, Shri Jatinder Nath Swain, President of the Indian National Committee of IDF (INC-IDF) & Secretary, DAHD and Shri Meenesh Shah, Secretary, INC-IDF & Chairman, NDDB will coordinate this event.

Key points:

Shri Yogi Adityanath, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat will grace the occasion.

The inaugural session begins with prayer – Swasti Vachan Mantra – by artists.

A walkthrough anamorphic (3D) audio visual experience zone at the summit will showcase the evolution of Indian Dairy Industry & accomplishment of the sector.

During the technical sessions organised during the event, some of the Cabinet Ministers will also preside the sessions.

India will showcase its transformational journey through a unique smallholder dairying primarily based on cooperative strategy.

The four-day long IDF WDS 22 assumes significance as a dominant majority of over 8 crore dairy farmers in India are small and marginal (having at an average 2 bovines) making it the world’s numero uno dairying nation with an output of over 210 MT annually.

A unique feature of this edition of WDS is that the conference is designed to be a carbon neutral event

The summit will have 24 sessions centred around the theme “Dairy for Nutrition and Livelihood” covering different aspects of dairying. Three parallel technical sessions would be held for which more than 150 overseas and Indian speakers have been empanelled. A poster session is also being organized with theme “Innovations across Dairy Value Chain - Aligning with UN SDGs”.

IDF WDS 2022 has received an overwhelming response from all across the world. Around 1500 participants from 50 countries have enrolled for participation in IDF WDS 2022. There are sizeable number of registrations for physical participation from the United States of America, France, Germany, Canada, The New Zealand and Belgium.

Main sponsors of the event are “AMUL (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation)” & “Nandini (Karnataka Milk Federation)”. The event is also sponsored by Mother Dairy, Delhi (MDFVPL), a wholly owned subsidiary company of NDDB. Other sponsors include Dairy Cooperative Federations, Milk Producer Companies, Private Dairies, Dairy Equipment Manufactures etc.’

The World Dairy Summit will be a great opportunity for dairy farmers, leaders, experts, scientists, professionals. journalists and academics to learn, connect and get inspired. India’s success story will be shared with the world through the IDF World Dairy Summit, where we can see how dairy is an engine of development and women empowerment.

IDF World Dairy Summit: This summit is an annual meeting of the global dairy sector, bringing together participants from all over the world. The participants’ profile includes CEOs and employees of dairy processing companies, dairy farmers, suppliers to the dairy industry, academicians and government representatives etc.

Key features of IDF World Dairy Summit: WDS is a great way of gaining global exposure for the Indian industry which will attract attention to the smallholder milk production system of India and raise awareness. An exhibition space of over 6,900 square meter will be available to the exhibitors for showcasing activities.

About Indian Dairy sector:

India is leading the world dairy sector with a 6 per cent growth, three times the global growth along with per capita availability of 427 grams per day.

Milk is the single largest agricultural commodity in the country valued at Rs 9.32 lakh crore and accounting for 23 per cent of the global share.

In India milk production activity is mostly done by small and marginal dairy farmers with average herd size of 2-3 animals.

India has a diverse genetic pool of magnificent indigenous cattle and buffalo breeds-193 million cattle and about 110 million buffaloes, largest genetic pool in the World.

Milk Production increased by more than 44% in last 8 years.

World’s largest ever vaccination program to eradicate FMD and Brucellosis started in 2019.

Largest ever animal database created.  22 Cr animals registered and monitored on every aspect.

Milk is now the largest commodity in India surpassing combined value of cereals and pulses in terms of value of output.

Largest ever budgetary allocation to dairy sector with focus on infrastructure up gradation and expansion and Productivity enhancement.

With consistent push for GobarDhan, Dung providing additional source of income to farmers.

Appreciation of milk price paid to farmers by more than 100% in last 8 years.

Emerging SaaS Firm Kovai.co Appoints Andrew Cloke As New COO

Kovai.co- a premier enterprise software and B2B SaaS company based out of Coimbatore, India, and London, U.K has today announced the appointment of Andrew Cloke as the Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Cloke, who has a strong background in working across cross-functional teams throughout his 34-year-long career, will ensure that Kovai.co has the appropriate systems, processes, policies, and procedures in place to continue our profitable journey. He will also help in preparing and communicating budgets for various departments and helping them manage costs to stay in line with the agreed plan.

Speaking about the nature of this role, Cloke says, “For a role such as this, challenges are aplenty, they are also normal in a fast-growing business such as Kovai.co. But this is also why I was so delighted when Saravana asked me to join.” Cloke will be working out of the UK office. “Though I will work from the UK office, I plan to make regular trips to India since my first visit in August was a very rewarding experience. It's a privilege to be part of the Kovai.co family.” he said.

Having graduated from Westminister University in 1989 with a degree in Urban Estate Management, Cloke started his career as a Chartered Surveyor in Real Estate. In 1996, he joined British Telecommunications (BT plc) for commercial contract support. In the latter three years, he managed a global outsourcing contract based in Belgium, after which he travelled throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Brazil meeting BT staff and their customers until 2007.

In 2008, he joined Fidelity International, where he met the Founder and CEO of Kovai.co, Saravana Kumar, who was also working with Fidelity Investments then. Though Cloke was in the IT department, most of his work was with Finance (budgeting, forecasting, cost control) Tax (R&D Tax Credit Claims, Transfer Pricing, VAT, Corporate Tax compliance) and Commercial (para legal, commercial disputes, procurement, and supplier management).

About expanding the leadership team and appointing Andrew Cloke as the COO, Saravana Kumar, Founder and CEO of Kovai.co says, “Since I knew Andrew from our days at Fidelity, I am confident that bringing him onboard was a great decision. His focus and expert knowledge in the industry has been exemplary. As we were looking to strengthen our leadership team at Kovai.co, Andrew was the logical choice since he would help us maintain momentum and growth and build appropriate policies to keep them in place. I am pleased to welcome him into this new role.”

About Kovai.co

Kovai.co is a multi-product enterprise SaaS company based out of Coimbatore, India and London, UK. Founded in 2011 by Saravana Kumar, a Microsoft Integration Architect, the company has crossed a revenue of $10 million ARR and remains completely bootstrapped to date. With a 240+ member team, it is looking to grow its product portfolio and its revenues, with a target of $30 million by 2025.

The company has bagged multiple awards on the National stage including “Bootstrapped SaaS startup of the year” from SaaSBoomi, “The Bootstrap Champ Award” by The Economic Times in 2021 and NASSCOM Emerge 50 awards 2021 recognized their knowledge-management product Document360.