This fortnight’s action-packed Autocar Professional magazine is 248 pages big, and jam-packed with enough news, interviews, features and opinions to see even the most voracious reader through to 2014. That’s because it’s the 9th Anniversary Issue, the biggest and the best ever yet.
As always, we present our Man of the Year. For 2013, it is the young and dynamic Siddhartha Lal, MD and CEO of Eicher Motors, who is driving a new global approach for the commercial vehicle and motorcycle businesses. The 8-page cover story is followed by a commentary on all the key newsmakers of this year – Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India’s Keita Muramatsu, Honda Cars India’s Hironori Kanayama, Mercedes-Benz India’s Eberhard Kern, TVs Motor Co’s Venu Srinivasan, Apollo Tyres’ Neeraj Kanwar and UNO Minda’s NK Minda, among others.
The issue contains three industry specials. The 20-page Two-Wheelers Special opens with a critical analysis of the Indian market and is followed by a cracker of an interview with Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto. He speaks his mind on a host of issues ranging from Bajaj’s motorcycle business to its next move, the much-talked-about RE 60 quadricycle. The candid no-nonsense leader also talks about the twin-spark technology patent controversy and shares how he finds principles of homeopathy and yoga good to base his business strategies on, rather than on conventional management principles.
We also speak to Anoop Prakash, MD of Harley-Davidson India, on the new product gameplan for India, and to Vimal Sumbly, MD, Triumph Motorcycles India, after the British bikemaker’s recent 10-product charge.
In the Commercial Vehicles Special we analyse the challenges for Tata Motors in the face of the ongoing slowdown, VE Commercial Vehicles’ Go Pro campaign, AMW Motors’ plan for a new growth path, an interview with Umesh Revankar, MD and CEO of Shriram Transport Finance, and a report on the first edition of the SIMCOMVEC seminar held in Chennai last fortnight.
We’ve also got the Human Resources Special, which is all about people power in a time of slowdown. Read our interviews with Rajeev Dubey of Mahindra & Mahindra as well as thought leadership in HR from the big names at the Anand Group, Ford India and TAFE. With special permission, we have also reprinted an interview with Ford Motor Co’s CEO Alan Mulally.
Very few can match the calibre of Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, founder and chairman, Warwick Manufacturing Group, when it comes to management and engineering ideas. Find out what he has to say on Jaguar Land Rover, the Indian auto sector and why innovation matters in an exclusive interview.
In the Spotlight section, find out how the UNO Minda Group is nurturing, and building upon, its global dreams. Plus, a special strategy story on how Nissan’s Datsun brand will return and will address the new car buyer’s world, starting with India. There’s also got a comprehensive feature on Exports and how shipping cars and components is good news for the industry.
The bumper issue also contains guest columns by 9 industry stalwarts including Tata Motors’ Karl Slym, Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s Vikram Kirloskar, HMSI’s Keita Muramatsu, ACMA president Harish Lakshman, Bosch Ltd’s Dr Steffen BernsKPIT Technologies’ Ravi Pandit, Traktion Management Services’ Dr Arun Jaura,. Rolan Berger Strategy Consultants’ Dr Wilfried Aulbur and CARE Ratings’ Madan Sabnavis.
And don’t miss reading the inside story on the Yamaha Motiv two-seater city car, the first fruit of a partnership between the Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer and designer Gordon Murray.
The issue is also accompanied by a free copy of the 2014 Autocar Professional Directory, the ultimate A-Z guide to the Indian automotive industry.
The anniversary issue, priced at Rs 50, is available at select news-stands and available for download from Magzter. Alternatively, never miss an issue – subscribe to Autocar Professional magazine today.