In 1972, the Arun Firodia-run Kinetic group introduced the licensed version of Piaggio Ciao-Luna which became synonymous with its central theme 'Chal Meri luna' giving mobility to the common man to upgrade from a bicycle to motorised transport.
At just 50 kgs, the Luna was a hybrid between a bicycle and a scooter and it stormed into the scooter market carving its own niche with its twin shock absorbers and a centrally mounted engine as compared to side-mounted engines in scooters which gave it a fairly stable ride quality.
The Kinetic Luna, very early in the history of Indian automotive manufacturing, also introduced the use of plastics for light weighting in the fan, air filter, sari guard, and headlights to reduce the load. Moreover, its 16inch wheels as compared to 9inch diameter wheels in the scooters gave it better traction on the road.
In the words of brand management expert, Harish Bijoor of Harish Bijoor Inc Consults, Kinetic Luna entered the Indian market where scooters were the order of the day and lesser mortals rode bicycles.
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Denne historien er fra 15th August 2022-utgaven av Autocar Professional.
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Spain's Fersa Group invests in India-based Delux Bearings
Besides theRs100 croreinvestment, the Indian company gets access toadvanced technologies and bearings with arange of applications that willhelpinits global growth strategy, writes Manobhava Baruah.
Tata Autocomp to open compact dual-clutch transmission plant
Amidthe country’s growing need for personal mobility with easy manoeuvrability, comes the demand for vehicles with automatic transmission. Tata AutoCompisready tomovein writes Shruti Mishra.
Pankaj Munjal-backed Hero Motors raises equity from GEF Cap
The company willinvest Rs1,500 crore over thenextthree years andit expects 60 percent ofits turnover to come fromelectric vehicle parts. Itaims to becomea Global EV Solutions Company from India
New age thermoplastics for next-generation EV batteries
Saudi-based global materials major SABIChas developed cutting edgein fire-resistant polymers and flame-retardant materials that comply with various EV battery safety standards across the world.
Switch Mobility to meet growing e-bus demand with fresh capex
Oncourse for abillion-dollar business, the company is exploringa possibility of operating satellite factories across the country to serve different geographies, write ShahkarAbidi and Ketan Thakkar.
Kia India to invest Rs 2,000 crore in EVS, to introduce new e-RV in 2025
New investmentto drive R&D, infrastructure development and manufacturing capabilities. The company willlocally produce EVsin India with possibility of exports as well, writes Mayank Dhingra.
"The government has given enough time for indigenisation but the industry has not taken it seriously"
Amitabh Saran, Founder and CEO, Altigreen, shares his views on problems inthe EV industry and battery localisation solutions with Amit Vijay M.
TATA MOTORS SEES ONE INTWO CARS SOLDAS EVS BY 2030
The company aims to offer wider choices withnew EVs that may straddle a pricebracket of Rs20to 40lakhinthe coming years, writes Ketan Thakkar.
MG Motor India in expansion drive, to invest $100 million
The investment willbe usedtoramp up existing production capacity from1.2to1.4-15lakh units per annum atthe automaker's Halol plantin Gujarat, writes Ketan Thakkar.
"Technology and its multiplier effect are driving business transformations and customer experiences"
Technical Centre India is one of Continental’s largest research and development centres in the world, andasa Centre of Competence’ it also develops customised products for the BRIC countries.
