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Mumbai, Feb 19 () Maxxis India on Wednesday said it has partnered Yamaha for supplying tyres in India and plans to corner at least 15 per cent of the country's two-wheeler tyre market in the next five years. Maxxis India, which is a part of the Taiwan-based Maxxis Group, already has similar tie-ups with Hero MotoCorp and Honda Motorcycle &amp; Scooter India. As part of the tie-up, Yamaha's 125 cc BSVI- compliant Ray ZR and Fascino range of scooters as well as BSVI-compliant model of Ray ZR Street Rally 125 FI will come fitted with Maxxis tyres, a company release said. The company has already started production of tyres with particular specifications to cater to the requirement for both range of scooters, it said. Maxxis India plans to corner at least 15 per cent of the demand by 2023. "As we begin our 5th year of operations in India, this association will further strengthen our portfolio for scooter tyres in India. We are hopeful that the relationship will help us create a new market for Maxxis Tyres and penetrate deeper in rural markets," Bing-Lin Wu, Marketing Head, Maxxis India said. As a part of this association, Maxxis Tyres will be available at select Yamaha and Maxxis dealerships across India, the company said, adding, the tyres will be an Original Equipment (OE) fitment to Yamaha scooters. The partnership will give help to capture 15 per cent of India's two-wheeler tyre market within five years, Maxxis India said. India market is touted to play a vital role in achieving Maxxis's global vision to become one of the top five tyre manufactures in the world by 2026, it said. Apart from catering to the domestic tyre market, the product portfolio from the Sanand facility will be exported to South Asia and will further expand to Africa and Middle East countries in the coming years, as per the company, which also has plans to set up five more plants in the country, which will also cater to the four-wheeler tyres market. Maxxis India' Sanand manufacturing facility in Gujarat has a capacity to produce around 20,000 tyres and 40,000 tubes per day. Maxxis currently serves as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) tyre supplier to Honda, Hero Moto Corp, Yamaha Motors (two-wheelers), Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra, Tata and Jeep in India. IAS DRR

Maxxis India partners Yamaha for supplying tyres

New Delhi, Mar 1 () Taiwanese tyre major Maxxis Group is betting big on India, where it plans to build up to five factories, as it expects the country to play a crucial role in its chase to become a top five global player by 2025, according to a senior company official. The company, which clocked revenue of around USD 4 billion in 2019, is currently the world's 9th largest tyre brand and sees India along with Indonesia to play significant part in meeting its 2025 target. The company is investing USD 400 million on its first manufacturing plant at Sanand in Gujarat, where it is working to hike output to 60,000 units of two-wheeler tyres per day from the current 20,000 units a day, as part of the project's phase I expansion. "Maxxis has a group goal of growing into the top five globally in next five years. We have accomplished much in East Asia, Southeast Asia and have significant presence in Europe and in American market. "The next major international markets for us will be two places -- one is India and the another Indonesia, the major two-wheeler markets in the world," Maxxis India Marketing Head Bing-Lin Wu told . He further said, "in achieving the group goal of 2025, India will play a pivotal role. We have estimated a certain output from the Indian market alone that will help us to achieve that target. On backward calculations four or five production units will be the minimum requirement to achieve that." When asked about investments and timeline for setting up these plants, he said, "we will start a discussion very soon." Also, he said the investments on the new plants would be comparably lesser than on its first plant at Sanand where the company has already made "some heavy advanced investments" on machinery for processes such as mixing, vulcanising and calendering and the "capacity of one machine is so huge that it can supply to six to seven production lines". "In the subsequent plants, we will try to make an optimisation between our investments and utilising the current capacity of our Sanand plant," Wu said. At present, Maxxis India supplies two-wheeler tyres to Honda, Hero MotoCorp, Yamaha and Suzuki from its Sanand plant, while it supplies four-wheeler tyres to Mahindra &amp; Mahindra, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Jeep. Commenting on Sanand plant expansion, Lu said, "we have used half of the land (106 acres) we got from the Gujarat government for the planned 60,000 units capacity. The other half of the land, we are still deciding whether to put another 60,000 units capacity of two-wheeler or we are going to put four-wheeler tyre production." Maxxis has set a target of garnering 15 per cent of two-wheeler tyre market in India by 2023. Lu said the company expects the Indian market to grow to around 10 crore units of two-wheeler tyres per year and if the company achieves its target of 15 per cent market share "we will more or less utilise the entire capacity of our Gujarat plant and anything beyond will require expansion of production in India". On four-wheeler tyre segment, he said the group's 2025 target and expectations from India are pinned on both two and four-wheeler tyres segment "but volume-wise, definitely two-wheeler tyres in India has more advantage than four-wheeler tyre business". When asked about growth prospects for 2020, Lu said Maxxis expects to continue with its growth momentum from last year, despite the automobile industry suffering a downturn as it was able to enhance its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) business share. "I will say we are still in a position to aim at high growth given that we're going to have even higher share in the existing partnership and we are looking at multiple projects simultaneously with OE (original equipment) partners," he said. RKL DRR

Maxxis bets big on India as it eyes to enter top 5 global tyre maker list

New Delhi, May 6 () Automobile majors, including Maruti Suzuki India, Mercedes-Benz, TVS Motor, and Royal Enfield, on Wednesday announced resumption of or plans to restart production at their respective manufacturing units following relaxation of guidelines by the government for the third phase of lockdown. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said it would resume operations at its Manesar plant from May 12. The Gurugram district administration had allowed MSI to run Manesar facility on a single shift basis, while fixing the total number of employees at plant at 4,696. The company's Manesar (Haryana) plant is outside the limits of Gurugram Municipal Corporation, while its Gurugram plant falls within the city limits. The two plants in Haryana have an installed capacity to roll out 15.5 lakh units per annum. Operations at the facilities are suspended since March 22. Hyundai Motor India, which is yet to start rolling out vehicles from its Chennai plant though it has commenced preparations to do so, said around 250 company dealerships have resumed operations across various states. On the other hand, Mercedes-Benz India said it has resumed production at its manufacturing facility in Chakan, Pune. The production has commenced in a graded manner following directives from the government of Maharashtra to reopen and resume operations, the company said in a statement. Similarly, Chennai-based TVS Motor Company said it has commenced operations in India across all factories in Hosur, Mysuru and Nalagarh, while niche bike maker Royal Enfield also said it has resumed operations at its manufacturing plants. However, Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) said lack of required workforce is making it difficult for the company to resume operations at its two manufacturing plants, but added that its dealerships have started to open across the country. The automaker, which sells models like City and Amaze, said that with new relaxations from the government, it is planning to restart operations at Tapukara plant in Rajasthan sometime next week. Likewise, utility vehicle maker Isuzu Motors India also said said it has received approvals from local authorities to resume operations at its plant in SriCity, Andhra Pradesh. Similarly, tyre major MRF Ltd said it has partially resumed operations in most of its plants with restricted manpower, following relaxation of lockdown guidelines by the government. The Home Ministry had allowed factories in rural areas or those outside municipal limits to resume production under strict safety and hygiene guidelines from Monday with an aim to kickstart economic activity in the third phase of lockdown till May 17. MSS RKL RVK

Lockdown 3.0: Some auto cos resume production, others prepare to restart manufacturing 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In the EV revolution, tires remain largely unchanged, posing environmental and safety issues.</li><li>A variety of startups and established firms are innovating to make tires better, cleaner, and safer.</li></ul>As auto manufacturing undergoes an EV revolution, one part of cars remains basically unchanged: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-shopping-for-ev-electric-vehicle-inspect-look-tires-2023-8">the tires.</a>That's a problem, because tires are troublesome. Drivers must keep track of their condition because driving on old, bald tires is a disaster waiting to happen.As tires wear down, they spew microparticles into the air, meaning even EVs with no tailpipe emissions are polluting as the rubber meets the road. And disposing of or recycling millions of old tires around the world is a dirty business in dire need of new solutions.We don't need to reinvent the wheel, but innovators do need to take a serious look at the tire. A variety of startups and established firms are doing just that, racing to make tires better, cleaner, and safer while improving life for drivers. Here are seven key players to watch.<h2>The Smart Tire Company</h2>Location: Los Angeles, California.Robots roving the surface of Mars need something more resilient than a typical car tire, since different planets have different atmospheres, and you can't fix a flat millions of miles from home. That's why scientists at NASA's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/glenn/2020/the-little-tires-that-could-go-to-mars">Glenn Research Center</a> are working on non-pneumatic tires that don't need to be filled with air. Their "spring tire" design uses a shape memory alloy that can deform when it drives over an obstacle like a sharp rock and then regain its shape.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.smarttirecompany.com/team">The Smart Tire Company</a> is a startup that has licensed NASA research in the hopes of developing it for commercial applications such as bicycle or automotive tires. The company was created in 2020 as part of the FedTech NASA Startup Program, and has secured a partnership with Hyundai and Kia to investigate the car tire of the future.<h2>The Tyre Collective</h2>Location: London, UKThe British company won a James Dyson award in 2020 for its clever idea to reduce pollution from tires: It would install a copper plate near the tires that is electrostatically charged by the car's battery. Tiny pieces of rubber flying off the tires are positively charged because of the friction between the rubber and the road, the company says. The plate would attract and capture most of those particles.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.thetyrecollective.com/">The Tyre Collective</a> wants to turn this capture process into a closed loop by using the recovered plastic to make new tires or in technologies such as 3D printing. It's supported by venture firms like the Planet Fund and partners such as Imperial College London, where the trio of founders were in school when they came up with their idea.<h2>Tyromer</h2>Location: Ontario, CanadaThere are billions of car tires rolling down the world's roads, and with tires wearing down to unsafe levels after five years or so, that's a lot of rubber to be recycled. Unfortunately, the process of vulcanizing rubber, in which it is treated with sulfur at high temperatures to create hard and tough tire rubber, is difficult to undo.<a target="_blank" href="https://tyromer.com/product/">Tyromer</a> uses an energy-efficient chemical process invented by its cofounder at the University of Waterloo in Canada to achieve the rapid devulcanization of rubber so it can be quickly returned into a reusable state the company calls Tire-Derived Polymer (TDP). Tyromer says TDP can be used in new tires or in applications such as conveyors.<h2>Robotire</h2>Location: Plymouth, MichiganRobotic arms have taken on much of the work of building cars, so why not change their tires? That was the idea behind Michigan's Robotire, which launched an automated tire changing service. A pair of mechanical arms, one on either side of the car, can scan the vehicle's VIN to access all the necessary information about how to service it, then complete the entire tire change and balance in about 25 minutes, freeing up an auto shop's human workers for other tasks.Robotire, which launched in 2019, has now installed the system at two <a target="_blank" href="https://robotire.com/robotire-launches-tire-changing-system-in-second-discount-tire-location/">Discount Tire locations</a> in Texas.<h2>Treads</h2>Location: Park City, UtahEvery industry seemingly has a monthly subscription service, and tires are no exception. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.treads.app/">Treads</a> charges a monthly fee starting at $30, delivering to its customers new tires when they need them plus a variety of other services including tire rotations, repair, and roadside assistance. For eco-minded users, Treads promises to recycle all your old tires and donate a percentage of profits to atmospheric carbon removal.Helpfully, the app tracks the time and mileage statistics for a set of tires so users don't have to remember whether their rubber quartet is due for rotation or replacement.<h2>TyreFlow</h2>Location: Lancaster, PennsylvaniaAccording to Pennsylvania-based <a target="_blank" href="https://tyreflow.com/">TyreFlow</a>, only about 30 percent of U.S. tires are recycled — the rest are burned for fuel or thrown into landfills. The company aims to change that by integrating the entire process of recycling old tires, from sourcing them from auto repair shops to processing them into materials that can be easily reused by industry.For example, TyreFlow says it can process tire rubber into <a target="_blank" href="https://recovered-carbon-black.com/en/">carbon black</a> — a material used to make new car tires and also in a variety of other applications, such as a pigment for black electronic devices —while creating far fewer carbon emissions compared to creating virgin carbon black.<h2>Sailun</h2>Location: ChinaSailun is not a startup, but an established Chinese tire company. However, it is one of the first tire providers to sell a product made specifically with electric vehicles in mind. Sailun says the rubber compound in its <a target="_blank" href="https://erangetires.com/en/?rdt_cid=3811437342093162855">ERange</a> electric vehicle tires has a lower rolling resistance compared to ordinary tires. That means less wasted energy as the car rolls down the road, which extends an EV's range. The company also claims to have achieved better load-bearing capacity in the ERange line to account for the fact that EVs, because of their large batteries, tend to be heavy.Andrew Moseman is a freelance writer for Insider.

EVs need new and improved tires. These 7 companies are reinventing them for the electric era.

Fully imported cars, including electric vehicles, will cost more with <keyword id="25455" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="finance" source="Orion">Finance</keyword> Minister <keyword id="129243" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nirmala-sitharaman" source="Orion">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> announcing hike in <keyword id="6360806" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="customs" source="Orion">customs</keyword> duty in the <keyword id="6360189" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="union-budget" source="Orion">Union Budget</keyword> 2023-24. Customs duty on vehicles in completely built units (CBUs) costing less than USD 40,000 or with engine capacity of less than 3,000 cc for petrol-run vehicles and less than 2,500 cc for diesel-run vehicles has been raised from 60 per cent to 70 per cent, as per the <keyword id="6358021" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="budget" source="Orion">Budget</keyword> document. Similarly, customs duty on electrically operated vehicles in CBU form, other than with cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value of more than USD 40,000, has also been raised to 70 per cent from 60 per cent. The Budget also outlined that customs duty on vehicles, including electric vehicles, in semi-Knocked down (SKD) form will rise to 35 per cent from 30 per cent earlier. Already, cars imported as CBUs with CIF of more than USD 40,000 or with engine capacity of more than 3,000 cc for petrol-run vehicles and more than 2,500 cc for diesel-run vehicles attract 100 per cent customs duty. "The Government has proposed to increase the duties on completely built units (CBUs) to 70 per cent from 60 per cent earlier. "This is unlikely to have a material impact as most of the luxury cars are now assembled in India, barring the top-end variants. Nonetheless, an increase in customs duty will further aim to promote domestic manufacturing going ahead," Icra Senior Vice President &amp; Group Head Corporate Ratings Shamsher Dewan said. On the other hand, Sitharaman proposed "to further provide impetus to green mobility, customs duty exemption is being extended to import of capital goods and machinery required for the manufacture of lithium-ion cells for batteries used in electric vehicles. The Finance Minister also noted that replacing old polluting vehicles is an important part of "greening the country's economy". "In furtherance of the vehicle scrapping policy mentioned in Budget 2021-22, I have allocated adequate funds to scrap old vehicles of the Central Government," she said. States will also be supported in replacing old vehicles and ambulances, Sitharaman added. "Multiple proposals in the Union Budget are seen favourable for the automotive sector. A sharp 33 per cent increase in capital investment outlay, identification of critical transport projects for first and last-mile connectivity, and relaxation in personal tax rates shall aid the demand for the auto sector," Dewan stated. Thrust on green energy continues with specific budgetary allocation for old vehicle scrappage, energy transition, and viability gap funding for battery storage solutions with 4000 MWh, he added. Customs duty exemption on the import of capital assets for manufacturing lithium-ion cells for batteries used in electric vehicles shall facilitate EV ecosystem development and aid faster penetration, Dewan said. "An increase in the duty rates on compounded rubber from 10 per cent to Rs 25 (or) 30 per kg, whichever is less, is a challenge for the tyre industry, which significantly depends on imported rubber," he added. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/budget-for-stipend-to-47-lakh-youth-under-apprenticeship-scheme/articleshow/97522243.cms">Budget for stipend to 47 lakh youth under apprenticeship scheme</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/budget-will-fulfil-dreams-of-aspirational-society-farmers-and-middle-class-pm-modi/articleshow/97522670.cms">Budget will fulfil dreams of aspirational society, farmers and middle class: PM Modi</a>

Budget 2023: Fully imported cars, including EVs, to cost more

Automotive start-up EVTRIC Motors has unveiled its e-delivery scooter in the low-speed category at the EV Expo 2021 that will offer a range of 110 kms on a single charge. Showcased at the event held at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi over the weekend, the scooter can clock a speed of 25 kms per hour. It features 12-inch tubeless tyres and a loading capacity of 150 kg. The three-day event is supported by the <keyword id="11755327" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ministries-of-road-transport">Ministries of Road Transport</keyword> and Highways, and <keyword id="11821460" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="micro-small">Micro, Small</keyword>, and Medium Enterprises (<keyword id="6358354" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="MSME">MSME</keyword>), along with <keyword id="357266" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICAT">ICAT</keyword> (International Centre for Automotive Technology). The scooter can cover a distance of over 110 km on a single charge with two swappable lithium-ion battery options, thus avoiding a need for frequent charging, considering the requirement in the segment. Homegrown automation company <keyword id="11548787" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="papl">PAPL</keyword> recently launched EVTRIC Motors to fuel the ongoing electric vehicle revolution in India. "It is a popular opinion that EVs are not at par with the combustion engine products. This myth has been holding back the industry. Apart from this, there is a dearth of localisation factor in most of the products flooding the market," said Manoj Patil, MD and Founder, EVTRIC Motors. "EVTRIC Motors has entered the market with these challenges already addressed. Now customers will enjoy locally manufactured, quality electric two wheelers and experience the difference," he added. The brand also showcased its recently launched products -- EVTRIC AXIS and EVTRIC RIDE -- at the three-day event. In the first phase, the brand will deliver e-scooters across seven cities - Delhi, Gurgaon, <keyword id="2094" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pune">Pune</keyword>, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Tirupati and Hyderabad. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-is-now-using-chrome-as-another-security-layer-for-account-sign-ins/articleshow/84975356.cms">Google is now using Chrome as an added security layer for account sign-ins</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/how-to-check-allotment-status-of-glenmark-life-sciences-ipo/articleshow/84978486.cms">Glenmark Life Sciences IPO: How to check allotment status, listing date and more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/freshtohome-and-bluestone-backer-iron-pillar-is-planning-to-bring-assets-worth-1-billion-under-management/articleshow/85161486.cms">FreshtoHome and BlueStone-backer Iron Pillar is planning to bring assets worth $1 billion under management</a>

Homegrown startup EVTRIC’s electric scooter can go up to 110 kilometres on a single charge, company claims

New Delhi, Feb 12 () Tyre maker Ceat on Wednesday said it has commenced production from its new manufacturing facility near Chennai. The company has commissioned the commercial production at the greenfield facility near Chennai with effect from February 12, 2020, Ceat Ltd said in a regulatory filing. The company plans to ramp up production at the plant in a phased manner, it added. In 2018, Ceat had announced investment of around Rs 2,000 crore over the next three to five years for setting up the plant at Sriperumbudur taluka near Chennai. The company had said that it would begin with rolling out passenger car radial tyres from the facility with an initial capacity of around 250 tonnes per day. It also plans to utilise the facility for exports. The company currently ships tyres to more than 100 countries. Ceat has manufacturing facilities at Bhandup, Mumbai, Nashik, and Nagpur in Maharashtra and Halol in Gujarat. Besides, it also has an off-highway tyre manufacturing plant at Ambernath, Maharashtra. The company meets its production through in-house plants and secures the rest from various outsourcing partners on conversion-cost basis and bought-out basis. Shares of Ceat on Wednesday closed 5.72 per cent higher at Rs 1,037.20 apiece on the BSE. MSS RVK

Ceat commissions new plant near Chennai

New Delhi, Mar 6 () Epsilon Carbon on Friday said it will set up an integrated carbon black facility at Bellary in Karnataka at a total investment of Rs 900 crore. The coal tar derivatives company said the first phase of the project will be commissioned by the third quarter of the next fiscal. "This Integrated Carbon Black Complex will be the first of its kind manufacturing facility in India using waste Coke Oven Gas from a steel plant as a fuel making this an environment-friendly set up with lower CO2 footprint," the company said in a statement. Currently, Epsilon Carbon operates a 220,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) coal tar distillation facility that caters to 40 per cent of the pitch demand in the aluminum industry. The first phase of the new integrated carbon black facility is expected to be commissioned by Q3 FY21 with an initial capacity of 115,000 TPA, it said. "The company will further expand the overall capacity of this Integrated Carbon Black Facility to over 300,000 TPA by FY24. Epsilon Carbon is investing a total of Rs 900 crores across both project phases to establish the integrated carbon black facility," it added. The company's Managing Director Vikram Handa said, "Our core advantage in the Indian Carbon Black sector is the security of raw material we provide to our customers. This encourages us to plan our future expansions to offer stable long-term supplies to our customers." Globally, the tyre industry is a leading consumer of carbon black products. It is used as a reinforcing filler to improve the longevity of tyres. Hence, carbon black gets approximately 93 per cent of its total volume demand from the rubber related industries, the statement said. Moreover, carbon black is used as a black pigment in printing inks, paints, varnishes for dyeing and for UV protection of plastics as well as in speciality products such as decor paper and fibres. As conductive carbon black, it is used in the electrical industry to manufacture electrodes and carbon brushes. NAM ABM

Epsilon Carbon to invest Rs 900 cr to set up integrated facility in Karnataka

Ola Electric on Sunday forayed into the green mobility space with the launch of its first electric scooter, Ola S1, at a price starting from Rs 99,999 (ex-showroom). The Ola S1 electric scooter would come in two trims -- S1 and S1 Pro -- carrying a price tag of Rs 99,999 and Rs 1,29,999, respectively. "I want to underline that it is going to be the best scooter ever made. It has the best design, performance and technology," Ola Chairman and Group Executive Officer Bhavish Aggarwal told reporters here. With never seen before technology, design and features, the company is looking for a global leadership in the electric two-wheeler segment, he added. The company will officially open Ola S1 for purchase from September 8, and start deliveries across 1,000 cities and towns in October. Till September 8, the company will keep accepting the bookings at Rs 499, Aggarwal stated. He noted that Ola S1 solves one of the biggest challenges which has hampered the growth of the EV sector in India has been the upfront cost. "In states with active subsidy grants, Ola S1 will be much more affordable than many petrol scooters. For instance, after state subsidy in Delhi, the S1 would cost just Rs 85,009 whereas in Gujarat it would be only Rs 79,000," Aggarwal said. The company has also tied up with banks and financial institutes for an EMI plan starting at Rs 2,999, he added. The Ola S1 comes with a range of 181 km, a top speed of 115 km per hour and can be fully charged in less than 40 minutes with a fast charger, and around six hours with the portable charger that will come with the scooter and can be installed at homes. The scooter comes with various features like reverse mode, hill hold function, driving modes and cruise control and takes less than 3 seconds to cross 0-40 km per hour. It comes with keyless lock and unlock system and safety features like an anti-theft alert system and geo-fencing. "Scooters are meant for the young but the industry has made such a vibrant category dull and boring and we are hopeful that we are going to change that," Aggarwal quipped. The scooter comes in 10 colours with in-house development 8.5 KW motor and 3.97 kWh battery packs. Ola is setting up a manufacturing plant, spread across 500 acres, in Tamil Nadu. The company has previously said it is investing Rs 2,400 crore for setting up the facility that will create nearly 10,000 jobs and will be the world's largest scooter manufacturing facility upon completion. Aggarwal noted that the first phase of the 'Futurefactory' is nearing completion. "By the end of the month, it is going to be ready. We bought the land in January and we put up the first pillar at April-end," he noted. The company will initially start with 10 lakh annual production capacity and then scale it up to 20 lakh, in line with market demand, in the first phase. When fully completed, the plant is going to have an annual capacity of one crore units that is 15 per cent of the world's entire total two-wheeler production. "We are building this scale because it is the only way of accelerating this transition to sustainable mobility," Aggarwal noted. Asked when the company expects to reach the one-crore production mark, he said: "Ten million production depends how fast the market scales up. We are estimating it to be within the next two years." "Everything is being done by us. We are working with suppliers for mechanical parts but core parts of electrification are being done by us in-house. It is part of our strategy to control the technology ourselves and also to design the components ourselves and then manufacture them on our own," Aggarwal said. Ola Electric would source items like plastics and tyres from outside vendors and for that, it plans to build an entire ecosystem around the factory, he added. On charging infrastructure, Aggarwal noted that the company would have established presence across relevant cities by the time deliveries commence in October. "Charging station roll out will follow sales rollout, so it will be sales, then charging stations but every city will have at least relevant scale as we begin," Aggarwal said. Ola had earlier stated that it would like to have 5,000 charging stations across 300 cities and towns across India. "That's the goal, we will be targeting that...The company has tied up with various partners and those will get operationalised once deliveries begin," Aggarwal said, adding that all kinds of developers, office complexes and even hospitals would be covered under the exercise. He noted that the scooter would have a hybrid approach when it came to actual sales. The company would have physical experience centres and online channel to sell the product. The sales outlets or the experience centres would come up across the country over the next few months, Aggarwal said. The executive pointed out that the company has received strong demand from about 1,000 towns and cities. "The EV revolution is here to stay whether incumbents like it or not. Consumers have shifted in their mindsets and before we know it, people will be buying only electric," he noted. He further said: "When we are going to share our bookings number with you in few days, I can assure you that it is going to be the highest number of reservations ever for any automobile launch in the country." On exports, he said the shipments would begin soon. "We have been very clear about the fact that we can build in India for the world and (demand for) two-wheelers is growing globally. All across the world, especially after COVID, people want personal mobility options and we want to be the global leaders in this segment," Aggarwal noted. The company's electric scooter would be relevant in markets like ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), LATAM (Latin America) and Europe, he said. "The traditional markets for two wheelers have been Asian markets, LATAM and Africa have been growth markets for two-wheelers but the large volumes have always come from the Asian markets," Aggarwal said. Especially after COVID, even the West has opened up and more and more people in Europe want to buy electric two-wheelers, he added. Even in the US and North America, people have started to experience two-wheelers for urban mobility, Aggarwal said. "Over the next four-five years, we will see a lot of evolution. Lot of opportunities will open up globally for two-wheelers and they will have to be electric," he stated. On competition with other electric vehicle brands, Aggarwal stated: "In two-wheelers, the incumbents have not properly invested for electrification and we believe we will absolutely lead the way as our technology is ahead by a few years". When asked if the company is also looking at tapping into the Chinese market, he said: "China is not an immediate priority for us". "There are enough markets beyond that. The Chinese two-wheeler market is a unique one, while it's all electric, its all low-speed, low-quality electric vehicles. Transformation is happening there as well," he added. Aggarwal noted that the company has been very careful to source almost all the components from India, with only the battery cells coming from South Korea. Asked about the chip shortage situation globally, he said the company is dealing with the issue and has been able to overcome the challenge for the short-term. "It is something that the industry would have to deal with over the next 6-9 months...It is a challenge, so we are trying to deal with it," he said. Aggarwal noted that the company plans to enter various segments, including an electric car, in the coming days. He, however, did not share any details. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/paytm-ipo-former-one-97-communication-director-urges-sebi-to-stall-the-public-issue/articleshow/85293132.cms">Paytm IPO: Former One 97 Communication director urges SEBI to stall the public issue</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/windows-11-microsoft-rolling-out-updated-snipping-tool-calculator-and-mail-apps/articleshow/85292943.cms">Windows 11 Microsoft rolling out updated snipping tool, calculator and mail apps</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/infibeam-avenues-is-looking-to-acquire-a-point-of-sale-company/articleshow/85292156.cms">INTERVIEW: Infibeam Avenues is looking to acquire a point-of-sale company</a>

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The government has sought product-wise details of cheap imports, comparison with domestic prices and tax disadvantage, if any, from industry to curb low quality inbound shipments especially from China and boost domestic manufacturing, sources said. They said a high level meeting to discuss ways to promote Atma Nirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India), including cut in import dependence from China, also took place recently in the Prime Minister's office. Industry was asked to send comments and suggestions on certain number of goods and raw materials imported from China, which include wrist watches, wall clocks, ampoules, glass rods and tubes, hair cream, hair shampoos, face powder, eye and lip make up preparations, printing ink, paints and varnishes, and some tobacco items, one of the sources said. The other details sought include import surge data between 2014-15 and 2018-19; domestic prices of similar goods that are made here, domestic capacity, imports under free trade agreements, and inverted duty issue, if any. An industry source said that they are preparing their views on all those products and would soon send to the commerce and industry ministry. The exercise to reduce and curb imports from China assumes significance in the wake of border tensions between the two countries. China accounts for about 14 per cent of India's imports and is a major supplier for sectors like cell phones, telecom, power, plastic toys and critical pharma ingredients. The government has recently put import restrictions on tyres, while also making its prior approval mandatory for foreign investments from countries that share land border with India to curb "opportunistic takeovers" of domestic firms, following COVID-19 pandemic, a move which will restrict FDI from China. During April 2019-February 2020, India imported goods worth USD 62.4 billion, while exports to the neighbouring country stood at USD 15.5 billion in the same period. The main goods imported from China include clocks and watches, musical instruments, toys, sports goods, furniture, mattresses, plastics, electrical machinery, electronic equipment, chemicals, iron and steel items, fertilisers, mineral fuel and metals. India has time and again raised concerns over widening trade deficit with China which stood at about USD 47 billion during April-February 2019-20. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/indian-army-on-india-china-war-in-galwan-valley-soldiers-killed/articleshow/76402297.cms">‘Serious clashes’ between India and China⁠ in Galwan Valley — India says 'Chinese troops had planned this escalation'</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/the-boycott-of-chinas-products-will-be-easier-said-than-done-smartphones-acs-and-cars-will-become-more-expensive/articleshow/76419573.cms">The boycott of China’s products will be easier said than done –⁠ smartphones, ACs and cars may become more expensive</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/even-before-the-india-china-clash-asias-richest-man-mukesh-ambani-was-working-on-replacing-huawei/articleshow/76460868.cms">Even before the India-China clash, Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani was working on replacing Huawei</a>

India is ready to curb cheap, low-quality imports from China amidst border row

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"></div><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/engineers-on-the-drilling-platform-of-the-cuadrilla-shale-news-photo/136733647">Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images</a></div>The <keyword id="188620" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Shale">shale</keyword> gas and <keyword id="6359072" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="oil">oil</keyword> bonanza is transforming America’s <keyword id="6357014" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="energy">energy</keyword> outlook and boosting its economy
WHEN KEN ALEXANDER started working at the J&amp;L steel mill in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, in the 1970s, he was one of 17,000 workers. But the workforce quickly declined as the American steel industry withered in the face of cheaper foreign competition. In 1984 J&amp;L shut the mill. Four years ago another mill where Mr Alexander had found a job, across the Ohio river in Ambridge, also stopped work because of the recession. He was one of a skeleton staff of 20 kept on as watchmen.
Derelict mills pepper the region, loose sidings flapping in the frigid Appalachian wind. The once celebrated steel industry around Pittsburgh (whose football team is called the Steelers) survived a series of crises over the years, notes Mr Alexander, but was further diminished by each of them--until now. These days the Ambridge mill, bought by a Russian conglomerate six years ago, is humming away. Its 400 workers transform solid steel bars produced at another mill nearby into seamless pipes, in demand by oil drillers, among others. The management is taking advantage of a seasonal lull in demand to straighten out kinks in the line and thus increase its capacity.
Other firms are making much bigger bets on the local steel industry. Fifty miles to the north-west, in Youngstown, Ohio, a French firm, Vallourec, has spent $650m building an entirely new mill to make similar pipes. It began production in October, with a staff of 350. Thirty miles in the opposite direction, in Brackenridge, Pennsylvania, Allegheny Technologies is spending $1.1 billion on a new mill to produce stainless steel and other specialty metals. US Steel opened a new $100m mill in Ohio in 2011, also to supply the oil and gas industry. Timken, another steelmaker, is spending $200m on its mill in Canton, Ohio.
The main reason for this flurry of investment lies a few thousand feet below the ground: the Marcellus shale, a geological formation containing huge reserves of natural gas trapped in tiny pores in the rock. It is thought to be America’s biggest gas field, stretching 600 miles along the Appalachians, from New York to West Virginia., but has only recently begun to be tapped, thanks to fracking and directional drilling.
Last year the government of Pennsylvania alone issued permits for 2,484 such "unconventional" wells; 1,365 of them were actually drilled. Wells in the Pennsylvanian part of the Marcellus produced 895 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas in the first half of 2012, up from 435bcf in the same period in 2011 and almost nothing as recently as 2008.
<h3><table class="image-container float_right" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"></div>Wikipedia</td></tr></table>Well lubricated</h3>
Driving through the south-western corner of the state, the benefits of this "shale gale" are easy to see. New roofs, fences, barns and tractors have sprouted on many local farms; plenty of shiny new pick-up trucks ply the roads. By one estimate, Pennsylvanians who allow drilling on their land earned some $1.2 billion in royalties last year. Suburban office parks are proliferating outside Pittsburgh, the biggest city in the area, with space being snapped up by oil firms, their suppliers and subcontractors, lawyers and environmental consultants. Even the most basic restaurants are overflowing at lunchtime, a local complains.
All told, the Marcellus already supports over 100,000 jobs in Pennsylvania, according to an analysis by IHS, a research firm. That figure is expected to rise to over 220,000 in 2020. Shale gas gave the local economy a $14 billion boost last year, IHS reckons, and will buoy it by almost $27 billion in 2020. All the extra economic activity generated nearly $3 billion in taxes, it calculates. A new "fee" (the Republican word for tax) on gas production adopted by the state legislature last year should help raise yet more in future.
Pennsylvania is just one of several states enjoying a shale-gas boom. Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas have all seen similar rushes. Shale-gas production in the United States as a whole rose more than fourfold between 2007 and 2010, says the Department of Energy. That has helped push up its gas output by 20% over the past five years, making the country the world’s biggest gas producer. BP, a big oil and gas firm, forecasts that North American shale-gas output, largely from the United States, will grow by an average of 5.3% a year until 2030.
America is already producing so much shale gas that local gas prices have plummeted, from over $13 per million British thermal units (mmBTU) in 2008 to $1-2 last year. They have since recovered slightly (see chart 3, previous page), but America still enjoys remarkably cheap gas by international standards. In 2011 it had the second-lowest gas prices for industry among rich countries, after Canada, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). American factories paid a third of the German gas price and a quarter of the South Korean one, the agency reckons--and prices have fallen further since.
Cheap gas is also translating into cheap electricity, since America’s marginal power supplies tend to come from gas-fired plants. In 2011, according to the IEA, American factories paid roughly half the going rate for electricity in Chile or Mexico and a quarter of the eye-watering Italian price. In New York last year prices were the lowest they have ever been since the state introduced a competitive wholesale market in 1999.
Investors, naturally enough, are keen to take advantage of such bargain prices. They have been pouring money not only into steelmaking but all manner of energy-intensive industries, from plastics to fertilisers. Just up the Ohio from Ambridge, Shell is contemplating building a multi-billion-dollar "cracker" to turn the ethane that emerges with much of the gas from the Marcellus into ethylene, a feedstock for plastics.
On the Gulf coast (another gas hub), Chevron Phillips, Dow Chemical, Formosa Plastics, Occidental Petroleum and Williams are all expanding existing chemical plants or building new ones. A chemical firm called Methanex is dismantling one of its factories in Chile and shipping it to Louisiana to take advantage of low gas prices. CF Industries is expanding its local fertiliser production. Nucor, a steel firm, is building a new mill. Sasol of South Africa hopes to build a refinery in Louisiana to turn gas into petrol. Several firms want to construct facilities in the region to liquefy gas and export it--a dramatic reversal from a few years ago, when the need was thought to be for import terminals.
America’s big pipeline network creates a relatively liquid and fungible national market for gas, so customers far from any shale beds are still able to take advantage of low gas and chemicals prices. Orascom, an Egyptian conglomerate, plans to build a $1.4 billion fertiliser factory in Iowa. Bridgestone, Continental and Michelin are all planning to make more tyres in South Carolina, reversing a long decline.
Better still, the steep drop in the price of natural gas has driven America’s drillers to hunt for oil instead. Rigs are migrating from gassy places like the Haynesville Shale, in Louisiana, to spots where oil is trapped in tiny rock pores, such as the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale in Texas, the Bakken formation of North Dakota and the Mississippian Lime, which sits astride the border between Oklahoma and Kansas. Applying the same techniques to such "tight oil" as to gas-laden shales, they have managed to increase America’s oil production by a third over the past four years, to 7m b/d. The government expects it to grow by more than 1m b/d over the next two years. The output of the Bakken Shale alone has risen from 100,000 b/d in 2008 to over 700,000 now. By the end of this year, BP predicts, America will overtake Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world’s biggest producer of liquid fuel, meaning oil and biofuels.
The newfound oil brings just as much of a bonanza to the places where it is extracted as the shale gas does. Flights to previously obscure airports in North Dakota--Dickinson, Minot and Williston--are full, as are all hotels within striking distance of the Bakken. Property prices have shot up. The oil industry now accounts for 15% of the local economy, according to IHS, and has brought 72,000 jobs to a state with fewer than 700,000 people.
Despite its huge local impact, America’s shale-oil boom has pushed up global oil production by just a percentage point or two, not enough to reduce the price much. However, it has resulted in a big drop in America’s import bill. IHS calculates that unconventional oil reduced the trade deficit in 2012 by $70 billion, or about 10%.
All told, says IHS, unconventional oil and gas accounted for $238 billion in economic activity, 1.7m jobs and $62 billion in taxes in 2012. That includes the exploration and extraction itself, the supply chains they rely on and the extra spending by all those newly employed oilmen. But it leaves out the second-order effects of cheaper gas, electricity and chemicals. Last year the American Chemistry Council, an industry group, forecast that over the next couple of years cheap gas would spur some $72 billion in new investments in eight gas-hungry industries alone. That, in turn, would lead to a further $342 billion in new economic activity in 2015-20, along with the creation of 1.2m new jobs. The different levels of government, for their part, would rake in an extra $26 billion a year in new taxes.
<h3>An outsized bonus</h3>
In principle, all American companies and consumers benefit from lower energy prices. The effect may not always be big enough to spur heavy new investment, but it might be sufficient to keep American factories with high labour costs going in the face of foreign competition.
Economists at Citigroup and UBS predict that the shale gale will lift America’s GDP growth by half a percentage point a year for the next few years. Indeed, cheap energy is cited as one factor by those who predict a manufacturing renaissance in America. Labour in China is getting more expensive, the argument runs, and so is shipping Chinese-made goods across the Pacific. At the same time ever shorter product cycles confer an advantage on factories located close to the people who consume their goods. Quality is easier to maintain and intellectual property easier to protect if the head office is not far away. Throw in lower bills for power or petrochemicals, and bringing work back home begins to look attractive.
For the moment America’s manufacturing output remains below its 2007 level, and its trade deficit with China is still growing. But some high-profile examples have caught the headlines. GE has moved the production of some white goods from China and Mexico to Kentucky, and Lenovo, the Chinese firm that bought IBM’s personal-computer business, plans to return some manufacturing to North Carolina. In the long run, however, America will not be able to lure and retain investors like these without a better-educated workforce
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