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A Chinese automaker has clinched a deal with a UK tour operator to provide the latter with red double-decker buses, a national symbol of Britain, to serve the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, which will be held in London. The Anhui Ankai Automobile Co Ltd signed a contract with Britain's Big Bus Tours sightseeing company on Sept 29 to export 34 open-top double-decker buses, which will be used for sightseeing tours during the games, sources with the bus company said Saturday. The deal marks the first time for China-made double-decker buses to enter the UK market, where there are a stricter certifications for automobiles. Ankai's vice president Wang Xianfeng said his company has already assembled a sample bus, which has obtained approval from both Big Bus Tours and British automobile certification authorities, including the Vehicle Certification Agency and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency. "The cooperation (between Ankai and Big Bus Tours) is an indication that ...

Bhopal’s business community is happy and excited due to an estimated Rs 100-crore shopping by Bhopalites during Navratri and Dussehra. According to an estimate, the automobile sector recorded the highest sales of over Rs 40 crore during these 10 days while the real estate segment stood second, with estimated sales of over Rs 30 crore, writes Zafar Alam Khan Riding on unexpected sales during the Navratri and Dussehra, marketing traders are enthusiastically looking at the coming festival season with great hopes. As contrary to the belief of slowdown and rising dearness the markets in the Madhya Pradesh capital witnessed overwhelming response of consumers during the Navratri and Dussehra shopping; especially the automobile and real estate sectors witnessed unexpected sales. Business community of Bhopal is happy and excited due to the estimated Rs 100 crore shopping by the Bhopalites during the Navratri and Dussehra. According to an estimate the automobile sector recorded the highest...

  With an aim to first satisfy the domestic demand for its newly- launched sports utility vehicle XUV500 model, automobile major Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) proposes postponing its export plans, said a company official Saturday. "The demand for the model is good even at this price point (Rs.10.8 lakh to Rs.11.95 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi). We have got bookings for 5,000 units within a week of its launch in five cities. The waiting period for the model is around 17 weeks now. Our capacity is to roll out 2,000 units per month. So we may have to postpone our export plans for the model further," Pawan Goenka, president, automotive and farm equipment sectors, told reporters here on the sidelines of the 16th Asia Pacific Automotive Engineering Conference. "We are looking at markets like Australia, Chile and neighbouring countries. Our plan is to ship the model out of India. Earlier we had planned to cater to these markets six months after the domestic launch. ...

Fiat India Automobiles Ltd, struggling with falling sales, will be looking to a recent restructuring by parent Fiat SpA of Italy to make its cars more popular with buyers in one of the key emerging markets. As part of the new strategy, aimed at enhancing regional focus, a new headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region has been set up in Shanghai that covers India, China, South Korea, Japan, South-East Asia and Australia. New direction: Fiat India president and CEO Rajeev Kapoor. Photo by Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint. Fiat India has been grappling with sagging sales in the intensely competitive Indian car market, as rivals havebeen launching products to win customers in a slowing economy. In the eight months to August, sales fell 22% to 7,874 cars from a year earlier. Total sales during that period fell 1.26% to 743,358 units, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. The India unit is a 50:50 joint venture with Tata Motors Ltd and makes and sells the Pali...

The Chinese auto maker known as JAC, and its Brazilian partner said Friday that they decided to go ahead with plans to build a factory in the Latin American country on hopes that the government will modify a production tax. SHC, the company that imports JAC automobiles into Brazil, said it would invest 80% of the 900 million Brazilian reals ($509 million) needed to build the factory, with JAC providing the rest. The factory will be built in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, with output set to begin in 2014. Brazil's market—the world's fourth-largest by sales—has attracted heavy investment. Sales are expected to grow 5% this year, slowing from last year's 12% expansion as the government raised interest rates earlier this year to rein in an overheated economy. The JAC factory, with initial capacity of 100,000 vehicles, will be in the city of Camacari, an industrial area where Ford Motor Co. has a plant. JAC will assemble and paint the cars locally, with...