European auto companies fail to rev up sales in India
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
European mass market automotive brands Renault, Volkswagen, and Skoda continue to struggle to enhance presence in the Indian market, witnessing sales decline in the last three financial years, industry data showed.According to data by JATO Dynamics, a leading provider of data and analytics to the global automotive industry, Renault saw the biggest sales dip in India to 37,900 units in 2024-2025 from 45,439 units in 2023-2024, and 78,926 units in 2022-2023.Similarly, Skoda's sales in India in 2024-2025 were at 44,866 units, marginally higher from 44,522 units in 2023-2024, but down from 52,269 units in 2022-2023.On the other hand, the Volkswagen brand posted sales of 42,230 units in 2024-25, down from 43,197 units in 2023-2024. The brand had clocked sales of 41,263 units in 2022-2023."Renault, Skoda, and Volkswagen faced several headwinds in India despite their tenure," JATO Dynamics India President Ravi G Bhatia told PTI.Explaining why these brands have struggled in India, he said, "Initially, these brands focused heavily on sedans -- Vento, Rapid, and Scala -- which limited their exposure to the fast-expanding SUV segment."Simultaneously, Bhatia said, "They were slower in refreshing product lines, with many models remaining unchanged over extended periods. Network reach has also remained narrow, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, restricting access to a broader audience."Adding to the woes of these brands is "India's unique tax structure, where sub-4-metre vehicles benefit from significantly lower levies"."This has favoured Japanese and Korean OEMs known for cost-effective compact cars. European brands, by contrast, traditionally build larger models and have struggled to deliver competitive offerings within this constraint," Bhatia noted.Under the current policy, passenger vehicles (petrol, CNG, LPG) up to 4 metres in length and up to 1200cc engine attract GST of 28% and 1% compensation cess.Passenger vehicles (diesel) up to 4 metres in length and up to 1500 cc engine is levied 28% GST and 3% compensation cess.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
30 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Indian-origin man fired by Elon Musk makes a comeback with ₹260 crore AI startup
Former Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal, who was dismissed by Elon Musk following his $44 billion takeover of the platform in 2022, has re-emerged with a bold new venture. The Indian-origin technologist has launched Parallel Web Systems Inc., a Palo Alto-based startup building infrastructure tools for artificial intelligence companies. Agrawal, who began his career as a Twitter engineer before rising to CEO in 2021, kept a low profile after being removed when Musk.(ICPC News) A ₹ 260 crore bet on AI infrastructure Founded in 2023, Parallel has already raised $30 million (around ₹260 crore) from prominent investors, including Khosla Ventures, First Round Capital, and Index Ventures, according to Bloomberg and TechCrunch. The startup's mission is to help AI systems conduct large-scale research across the web, a core challenge as demand for real-time, high-quality data accelerates. Mobile finder: Google Pixel 10 series launching later this week Agrawal, who began his career as a Twitter engineer before rising to CEO in 2021, kept a low profile after being removed when Musk restructured the company, now rebranded as X. His return with Parallel marks a significant shift, from leading a social media giant to building the digital backbone for AI research. Parallel's focus on 'web intelligence' In a recent LinkedIn post, Agrawal described Parallel's goal as enabling companies to harness 'web intelligence' for their products. He noted that the platform already powers millions of research tasks daily for startups and enterprises. One unnamed public company, he claimed, has integrated Parallel's system to automate workflows previously handled by humans, achieving results 'exceeding human-level accuracy.' The company's tools are designed to plug directly into AI platforms and agents, giving them the ability to retrieve, organise, and analyse online information at scale. This functionality is increasingly vital as chatbots, virtual assistants, and enterprise AI products rely on dynamic web data rather than static training sets. A comeback in Silicon Valley's AI race For Agrawal, Parallel is more than a business, it's a comeback. His short and turbulent tenure at Twitter ended abruptly in late 2022, when Musk dismissed top executives after completing the acquisition. With Parallel, he is repositioning himself as a founder in one of the fastest-growing segments of the AI industry. Still, competition looms large. Parallel will face rivals offering retrieval APIs, as well as AI model developers building similar capabilities in-house. Yet, with strong investor backing, early traction, and Agrawal's technical reputation, the startup has already drawn attention as one of Silicon Valley's most ambitious AI bets in 2025.
Hindustan Times
30 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to meet EAM Jaishankar today
The normalisation of bilateral relations, including de-escalation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and confidence-building measures related to the border are expected to feature in a meeting between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his visiting Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Monday. External affairs minister S Jaishankar with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on July 14. (AP Photo) Wang is set to meet Jaishankar two hours after he arrives in New Delhi on Monday afternoon for a two-day visit, during which he will also hold talks under the Special Representatives mechanism with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. Wang's visit assumes significance as it comes less than a fortnight before Modi's planned trip to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. This will be Modi's first visit to China since the start of the military face-off on the LAC in April-May 2020, and he is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping on the margins of the SCO Summit. This will be their second meeting since the end of the standoff on the LAC last October. At his last meeting with Wang in Beijing on July 14, Jaishankar had said that India and China must build on 'good progress' in normalising their relations by addressing issues related to the border, including de-escalation, and avoid 'restrictive trade measures and roadblocks' to economic cooperation. Though the two countries reached an understanding on October 21, 2024, on ending the face-off on the LAC by withdrawing frontline forces from the two remaining 'friction points' of Demchok and Depsang, they are yet to complete the process of de-escalation and pulling back troops to peacetime positions. During the standoff, which took bilateral relations to a six-decade low, the two sides arrayed some 50,000 troops each in Ladakh sector of the LAC. The 24th meeting of the Special Representatives mechanism on Tuesday is expected to take up measures for peace and tranquillity along the contested border, including resumption of border trade, review the situation on the LAC, and explore a mutually acceptable framework for addressing the border dispute, people familiar with the matter said. At their last meeting in December, Doval and Wang 'resolved to inject more vitality into this process', according to an Indian readout. After his meeting with Doval, Wang will meet Modi at the prime minister's official residence on Tuesday evening. He will leave India early on Wednesday morning. Wang's visit is also part of preparations for Modi's upcoming visit to China for the SCO Summit on August 31 and September 1. Following the thaw in bilateral relations created by the understanding on troop withdrawal last October, India and China resumed the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra to the Tibet region in April, and New Delhi resumed tourist visas for Chinese nationals in July. The two sides are in advanced negotiations on resuming direct flights and trade through selected border posts, and there has been 'forward movement' on restrictions imposed by China on fertiliser exports to India, the people said. Several reports have suggested Wang is expected to travel to Kabul from New Delhi for a trilateral meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar and Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. The meeting was earlier scheduled to be held in Islamabad last month but Muttaqi was unable to travel to Pakistan because of travel restrictions related to UN Security Council sanctions against him. The reports also suggested that Wang may make a trip to Islamabad.
Hindustan Times
30 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
India's Russian crude oil buying has to stop, US adviser Peter Navarro says
India's purchases of Russian crude has to stop for it's funding Moscow's war in Ukraine, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said. Peter Navarro will serve as a senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, Trump announced on Truth Social, his social media website.(AP) 'If India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one,' Navarro wrote in an opinion piece published in the Financial Times. 'India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs.' US President Donald Trump has slapped an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi's continued purchases of Russian oil, taking total tariffs on imports from India to 50%. India, however, maintains that the country is being unfairly singled out for buying Russian oil while the United States and the European Union continue to purchase goods from Russia. Navarro, in the opinion piece, also said it was risky to transfer cutting-edge US military capabilities to India as New Delhi was 'now cozying up to both Russia and China'. Long-time rivals China and India are quietly and cautiously strengthening ties against the backdrop of Trump's unpredictable approach to both. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of the month while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India from Monday for talks on the disputed border between the two countries. A planned visit by US trade negotiators to New Delhi from 25-29 August has been called off, a source said over the weekend, delaying talks on a proposed Indian-US trade deal and dashing hopes of relief from additional US tariffs on Indian goods from 27 August.
