Bajaj moves to CKD production at Indonesia

Bajaj Auto, the second-largest producer of two-wheelers in the Indian market has recently moved to completely knocked-down (CKD) at its Indonesia unit hat produces and markets the Pulsar.

While the company had been operating under the semi knocked down mode for quite some time now, the recent move will attract lower Customs duties for the two-wheeler major. It is to be mentioned here that the subsidiary in the Indonesia region was incorporated in 2006-07 with an issued and subscribed capital of $ 12.5 million (Rs 56 crore).

In fact, the home-grown two-wheeler major had pumped in an additional $17 million, increasing its total stake to 98.9 per cent.

It is believed that with the Indonesia market primarily being a light weight, high acceleration step-through market (bebek), Pulsar 135 will be an ideal product for the customers.

And rightly so, Bajaj is pushing the product in the market to generate future growth.

However, the company hasn't been able to turn the Indonesia subsidiary into a profit making venture as it reported a turnover of Rs 88 crore last year, with net loss amounting to Rs 12 crore. 

Source : topnews

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Vettel crashes out in wet Turkish practice

(CNN) -- World champion Sebastian Vettel crashed out in a rain-affected opening practice session for Formula One's Turkish Grand Prix as McLaren's Jenson Button clocked the fastest lap at Istanbul Park on Friday. 

The first of the day's two sessions was red-flagged for about 10 minutes when Red Bull's Vettel crashed into the barriers after spinning out of control on the slippery track at the exit of the tricky Turn Eight.

The German, who leads the championship by 21 points after three races, sat out the second practice as his RB7 was being rebuilt ahead of Saturday's third session and then qualifying.

The morning times, headed by Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, were largely irrelevant due to the conditions, with most teams choosing to conserve their tires. 

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McLaren's defending race champion Lewis Hamilton did not even set one after completing only one lap, while fellow former world champion Button was 23rd after just four circuits. The English driver went around 26 times in the afternoon as he set the leading mark of one minute 26.456 seconds -- more than 12s faster than Alonso's earlier effort. Nico Rosberg was second in both sessions for Mercedes, with veteran teammate Michael Schumacher third and then fourth.

Hamilton, who broke Vettel's four-race winning run last time out in China, was third in the afternoon with a time of 1:27.033. "We saved tires during this morning's session. In the afternoon, despite the limited running in P1, we got quite a lot of our run-plan completed, which was very satisfying," the 2008 world champion said. "I initially struggled a little bit with set-up, which we can look at and fix overnight, but I was really pleased with my long-run pace -- I think it was probably one of the best practice long-runs I've ever had."

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Button said that McLaren had not been able to implement all the team's planned upgrades for the opening race of the European leg of the season. "We haven't put everything on the car that we wanted to this weekend, which is disappointing, but we still have some useful upgrades so it's nice to keep moving forwards," he said. "Trying to get the car to ride the bumps well into Turn 12 has been difficult, but we improved it through the session. Turn 12 is really bumpy -- it's like they put a motocross jump in there! 

"And Turn Eight's quite tough too because, depending on your balance, it can damage the front and rear tires." Red Bull's Mark Webber was fifth fastest in the afternoon ahead of Ferrari's three-time Turkey champion Felipe Massa. Alonso was back in 11th on 1:28.069 after a mechanical problem left him stuck in the entry to the pit lane.

Massa said the weather, which had lowered track temperatures to around 11C at the start of the day, would have an impact on the weekend's outcome. "It depends on the rain. It can be good, it can be bad. It is always a little bit of a lottery," the Brazilian said. "But it's true I had great races here, winning three times in a row and starting from pole position all three times was a great feeling. I like to drive here and I hope we can carry on in the same direction."

Source : CNN

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Honda Jazz Wagon Belum Tentu Masuk RI

Karawang - Produsen mobil Honda belum lama ini dikabarkan sedang menyiapkan varian terbaru dari Honda Jazz/Fit. Bukan dalam bentuk hatchback seperti yang ada sekarang atau minivan seperti Freed, tapi sebuah mobil baru bermodel wagon. Tapi sepertinya varian ini masih lama datang ke Indonesia.

Sebab menurut Direktur Pemasaran dan Layanan Purna Jual PT Honda Prospect Motor, Jonfis Fandy kelahiran mobil ini masih belum-lah jelas.

"Gambar yang beredar kan tidak diketahui dari mana asalnya. Kita sendiri belum tahu kapan mobil ini akan diproduksi di Jepang," ujarnya di pabrik perakitan Honda di Karawang, Rabu (19/1/2011).

Sebelumnya sebuah brosur sebuah mobil baru yang mengambil platform Jazz/Fit banyak beredar di internet. Mobil ini akan dinamai Fit Shuttle dan akan segera dijual di Jepang pada bulan Maret mendatang.

Honda Fit Shuttle ini didasarkan pada tampang baru Honda Jazz/Fit namun dengan atap lebih tinggi dan tubuh lebih panjang serta bagian belakang yang didesain ulang.

Sementara wajah depan Fit/Jazz ini terlihat identik dengan Fit/Jazz yang beredar sekarang di berbagai belahan dunia. Nama Jazz sendiri digunakan Honda di pasar Eropa, Australia, Indonesia dan beberapa negara lain.

Kemungkinan Fit Shuttle akan dipersembahkan dalam dua versi. Satu versi hybrid yang didukung teknologi IMA dan disokong mesin i-VTEC 1.3 liter yang sama dengan yang digunakan versi hatchback (Fit/Jazz) dan minivan (Freed).

Sedangkan satu versi lain akan disokong mesin berkapasitas sedikit lebih besar yakni 1.5 liter. "Belum jelas. Kalau memang sudah pasti keluar, baru kita pikirkan. Tapi kalau sekarang kita tunggu saja kepastiannya," pungkas Jonfis. ( syu / ddn detik.com )

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