MUMBAI, Feb 9 (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault <RENA.PA> is talking to its Indian partner, Mahindra & Mahindra <MAHM.BO>, about restructuring their joint venture that makes the Logan sedan, and said a decision will be made in 30 to 45 days.

Renault also announced plans to set up its own dealer network in India, starting with 15 dealerships by mid-2011 and increase to 150 in the next 30 months, country head Marc Nassif said.

“The Indian car market is set to triple in the next 10 years. It is never too late to come to India,’ Nassif said on Tuesday.

Sales of the no-frills Logan have declined since 2008 after a favourable start in India. A key issue has been pricing, as at more than 4 metres in length the Logan incurs a factory gate duty of 20 percent, making it expensive for its target segment.

MUMBAI (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault <RENA.PA> is talking to its Indian partner, Mahindra & Mahindra <MAHM.BO>, about restructuring their joint venture that makes the Logan sedan, and said a decision will be made in 30 to 45 days.

Renault also announced plans to set up its own dealer network in India, starting with 15 dealerships by mid-2011 and increase to 150 in the next 30 months, country head March Nassif said.

“The Indian car market is set to triple in the next 10 years. It is never too late to come to India,’ Nassif said on Tuesday.

Sales of the no-frills Logan have declined since 2008 after a favorable start in India. A key issue has been pricing, as at more than 4 meters in length the Logan incurs a factory gate duty of 20 percent, making it expensive for its target segment.

MUMBAI, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Top Indian vehicle maker Tata Motors’ <TAMO.BO> quarterly net profit from domestic operations lagged estimates despite a surge in sales, signalling rising raw material costs are beginning to take a toll on margins.

Climbing commodity prices over the past few months on the back of a world economic recovery have worried automobile companies that are emerging from a sharp slowdown.

Analysts said Tata Motors, whose products range from the premium Jaguar and Land Rover brands to the cheapest Nano car, was probably better placed to ride out the storm because of improving demand for its trucks.

“Increases in input costs have been there, but the impact can be offset by a company like Tata Motors on higher demand for its trucks,” Suraj Saraogi, managing director of Keynote Capital, said.

MUMBAI, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Hero Honda Motors Ltd <HROH.BO>, India’s largest motorcycle maker, said on Monday rising raw material costs were worrying after it reported forecast-beating quarterly profit.

The company also said it was looking at the possibility of setting up a new plant and expanding existing capacity.

“Pressure on margins is definitely a concern,” said Jatin Chawla, auto analyst with the institutional segment of India Infoline.

“At the current levels of raw material prices we would expect an (adverse) impact of 100 basis points on its profitability,” he said.

MUMBAI, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Mid-sized Indian private-sector lender Yes Bank <YESB.BO> has raised $225 million through a placement of shares with institutions, as it seeks to boost loan growth by 50 percent over the next two years.

Managing Director Rana Kapoor told television channel CNBC TV18 on Thursday the size of the offering was raised from an initially planned $150 million due to strong demand from global investors.

“With good response from long holding investors in U.S., Europe and Asia, we have upsized the deal at $225 million and closed it at that,” he said.

Kapoor said the sale was priced at 269.50 rupees a share and represented an equity dilution of 11.25 percent. The price was at a discount of 1.2 percent to the stock’s closing on Wednesday.

MUMBAI, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Shares in India’s Tata Consultancy Services <TCS.BO> rose as much as 3.1 percent to a record high on Monday, as brokerages upgraded the stock after the top software services exporter posted forecast-beating quarterly results.

India’s export-driven software services companies have seen a slew of brokerage upgrades in recent months as the sector showed signs of resurgence after the global economic slowdown had shut the tap on technology spending and put pressure on fees.

The strong earnings by Tata Consultancy and No. 2 Infosys Technologies <INFY.BO> in the latest quarter have spurred hopes of a recovery in the sector, but analysts say margins could be under pressure due to a firmer rupee and annual wage hikes. “Things are looking better for software companies, but we have to wait and see if this momentum can be maintained,” said A.N. Sridhar, a fund manager at Sahara Mutual Fund. “Rupee is going to be the most important thing to be watched.”

JPMorgan said Tata Consultancy’s strong performance, which followed Infosys robust results, reflected a sharp increase in outsourcing demand.

NEW DELHI, Jan 7 (Reuters) – India’s top motorcycle maker, Hero Honda Motors <HROH.BO>, is on course to exceed its 2009/10 sales target of 4 million units and aims to maintain the pace of new launches to woo customers, its managing director said.

“Our growth has been due to our new launches during the downturn and huge focus on the rural markets, where we believe a lot of money has been pumped in through initiatives taken by the government,” Pawan Munjal said in an interview on Thursday.

Hero Honda, in which Japan’s Honda Motor Corp <7267.T> has a 26 percent stake, has a near 60 percent market share in the 7 million units a year motorcycle and scooter market in India.

The maker of top selling bikes such as Splendour and Passion has sold more than 3.4 million units, including the Pleasure scooter, in the first nine months of the current financial year that ends in March.

NEW DELHI, Jan 7 (Reuters) – As global automakers boost their presence in the thriving Indian market, they will turn the country into a stage for novel experiments in lowering production costs to levels not seen before.

Indian customers’ unmatched sensitivity to pricing has meant the market has been dominated for nearly 30 years by Maruti Suzuki India Ltd <MRTI.BO>. The unit of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp <7269.T> has been able to build $5,000 cars such as the Maruti800 hatchback by using old, fully depreciated equipment provided by its parent in the 1980s.

Tata Motors <TAMO.BO> took the low-cost theme to the next level with the release last year of the $2,000 Nano, which has achieved only modest success so far.

While the 10 new compact cars launched at the Delhi auto show this week will not be matching that level of pricing, rivals are seeking to inch closer.

NEW DELHI, Jan 5 (Reuters) – French carmaker Renault <RENA.PA> will resume investment in India, a top official said on Tuesday, joining other automakers racing to grab a share in one of the few regions globally still showing double-digit growth.

“If Renault has to grow, it has to be in emerging markets and India is one of them,” Katsumi Nakamura, executive vice president and leader of Renault’s Africa-Asia management committee, told Reuters at the New Delhi auto show.

Driven by the world’s second-largest population, government incentives and a strong domestic economy, Indian auto sales are set to grow about 16 percent this year to 1.4 million vehicles, after posting double-digit growth through most of 2009.

By comparison, U.S. auto sales due later on Tuesday are expected to show the market there slumping to its worst year since 1982, or possibly 1970. [ID:nN31245413]

MUMBAI/TOKYO, Dec 28 (Reuters) – Keen to boost sales, global automakers will unveil a slew of cheap, compact cars at India’s Auto Expo next week as they turn to one of the few remaining growth markets to keep their engines humming.

Car sales in India, the world’s second-most populous country, are set to jump about 16 percent this year to 1.4 million vehicles, buoyed by robust economic growth and government incentives, in contrast to a slump in many developed markets.

That, and the abundance of important new models waiting to make their world premiere has industry insiders talking for the first time of a Delhi auto show that could rival or surpass the annual Detroit auto show in importance. [ID:nDEL302542]

“The Indian auto industry and the Indian auto market have become internationally very important and therefore, no one can ignore this market,” said Mahindra & Mahindra’s <MAHM.BO> automotive chief, Pawan Goenka, who is also the president of industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).