Volt to come up in 2010

The famed project of plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt by General Motors Corporation is progressing rapidly. The company sowed off the progress on the car to a select audience of journalist and analysts.

The concept of Volt involves a 40 mile run powered by 400 pound T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack. This will be the first attempt when lithium ion batteries, now used widely in all electronic goods, will be used to run a car. It is designed to be used in any weather condition. Volt will leapfrog from the Toyota Prius hybrid design.

Chevrolet Volt was supposed to participate in the 2008 Auto Expo in New Delhi. However, the car failed to make it to subsequent auto shows, across the world. The company is now planning to launch the car in 2010.

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Enjoy Driving in summer

There are some cars you should take out only in summer. If you like the winds blow your hair and yet to listen to your favourite songs with any disruption, then Volvo C70 is the car to drive in.

The C-70 is the only car which comes with two-door and a hardtop in India. If you are driving through a sunny patch the hardtop protects you effectively against scorching sun.

But once you notice sun set you can down the hardtop and drive through the cool breeze. You can also listen to your favourite songs over the 910 watt dynamic sound system with 11 speakers.

The car comes with an amazing 6-speed transmission with a power of 218 bhp. You can feel safe inside Volvo, as has the title of delivering the safest cars in the world.

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Mercedes to get its own plant in India

We all know that luxury car manufacturer BMW and Audi have started manufacturing cars in India for the domestic market. But the oldest player in luxury segment Mercedes, is coming up with a new plant at Chakan, Maharashtra. The company plans to roll out 12,500 units per year for the domestic and neighbouring markets. The plant will manufacture passenger and commercial vehicles.

Mercedes has been a favourite car of high society in India. Now it has been a huge hit with the creamy layer of North India. By manufacturing passenger cars in India, the company will be able to drop down prices of some vehicles. The lower price tag will make Mercedes cars affordable to many more segments of consumers.

Mercedes and BMW are running neck to neck in the luxury car segment in India. With a new plant and lower prices Mercedes-Benz will give a tough competition to BMW in future.

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Indian culture inspires Car designers

With Automobile Industry booming in India, Car designing course is getting popular with the youngster. Young designers are coming up with innovative designs. Now Indian culture is inspiring them. It is “the Sidi Saiyed ki Jali”, an well know mosque in Ahmedabad that inspired a NID (National Institute of Design) student to design a luxury car symbolising the monument. Another theme they took from Indian culture is “Navras”. These outstanding designs have given them the opportunity to pursue their internship in the renowned automobile design house, Pininfarina of Italy. They also won ‘Luxury Car For India’ competition hosted by designers associated with manufacturers like Ferrari, Ford, GM, Jaguar and Fiat.

Well, with these achievements the car designing seems to be another upcoming career option in India. If this trend continues, days are not far when we will see cars with contemporary designs rolling Indian roads.

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Small cars to be cheaper

Small car are people’s car and they are the best suited for the Indian roads. Their popularity in India is growing in a big way. Here is great and interesting news about them. The Congress UPS government has given tax sops to the Indian auto industry and this means that small car will be cheaper now. Now this is the time to rejoice for the new car buyers. Wait there is more to small cars; they will be still cheaper by Rs. 9,000–14,000 as there will be exemption of customs duty on steel too.

The excise duty is also scraped from 12%to 4%. There will be a huge difference in the price now and the sales figure of the small cars are gonnna go very high. There is another segment which has also undergone a reduction in duty from 24% to 14% and that in the hybrid section. Toyota Motors will be benefited with this reduction and later Hyundai motors, as they are planning to roll out their hybrid car in India very soon.

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Tic…Tic time for REVA and Nano

This time both Tata Nano and Maini REVA is going to have a tough time. Well known clock makers Ajanta group is planning to manufacture an electric car which will be cost lesser than Nano. The electric car by Ajanta Group is expected to cost Rs 85,000. They are already manufacturing electric scooters and bikes under ‘Oreva’ brand.

As a part of R&D for the small car project, the company has already imported eight electric cars of different brands. At present it is Maini REVA that rules the Indian roads. Sounds great! Tough competition among car manufacturer in small car segment. Looks like India will soon be seen with more eco-friendly cars. With the growing number of eco-friendly cars, buyers will have more option to choose from small car segment. Beside this, these cars will help to reduce air pollution.

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Counterfeits galore at 1,500 crore

As counterfeits have a free hand to market their products despite efforts by manufacturers to maintain the difference, it is imperative that government steps in to stop this. The government, so far, has shown a laidback attitude. As the number of companies entering India increases, the government also needs to take quick action on this.

If India does not act fast, the problem could get compounded beyond repair. It may reach the scale of China’s piracy in electronic and auto parts. The individual car part buyers are in no stage to contain the menace, as most counterfeit parts look more original than OEM products themselves. Moreover, it is not possible by the companies to monitor every nook and corner of the country. Hence, it rests on the government to enact tough laws and implement them.

In a recent study by National Council of Applied Economic Research stated that counterfeit auto parts form a shocking 37 percent of the total component market in India. The

Counterfeits of OEM parts of all car manufacturers in India ranging from Maruti Suzuki to Mercedes-Benz are available in the market. The market size of counterfeits is valued at Rs 1,500 crore. This issue not only affects the original products but can also prove fatal to the car owners.

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Hyundai gets green technology

Hyundai has always stood for innovative technologies and customer friendly policies. It has been in the forefront of several customer friendly campaigns, while releasing cars with better fuel efficiency. It has now gone a step ahead and tried to integrate alternative fuel technology in its passenger cars following other car manufacturer like Maruti, Tata and Ford.

The company will be launching LPG variants of Santro and Accent in August this year. It is also likely to launch a green variant of the award winning i10 car. With the success of green model i30 in Australia, the company is now planning to introduce similar cars in India. It will be available with alternative fuel variant next year. The cars would meet the Euro V emission standards. The company has made huge investment in development of eco-friendly cars. The LPG variants may just be the first step in this direction.

Though this concept is also slowing catching up in India, according to statistics from the International Association for Natural Gas Vehicles, India is the 5th largest producer of green vehicles in the world. With the use of these types of cars, air pollution could be minimised. These cars also decreases the running cost of the vehicle.

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BMW aims to sell 2000 cars in 2008

BMW has been riding high on its success in India since its entry about a year ago. After reaching a sales figure of nearly a thousand cars last year, it’s now aiming at twice the figure for 2008. They have already taken steps in this direction by increasing production capacity at their Chennai plant and are currently looking to source components locally. The BMW 3 Series and 5 Series models produced at the Chennai plant have been immensely popular with the Indian public.

BMW’s strong sales encouraged it to introduce more of its car models to the Indian market such as the popular M Series and the customizable and completely imported 7 Series. BMW has also been tempted into considering the launch of the famous premium hatchback MINI Cooper. The MINI Cooper, however, is not on the list of BMW’s priorities at the moment.

Before BMW’s arrival, German rival Mercedes-Benz took up nearly 50% of India’s fast growing luxury car market. Over the past 14 months, BMW has successfully stolen some of that market away. The top selling model for BMW in India has been the 3 Series which competes with the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The popular Mercedes-Benz E-Class sees competition from BMW in the form of the 5 Series model.

Excellent aftersales service and great customer relationship have been selling points for BMW. The successful setup and operation of the Chennai plant for local production of the 3 Series and 5 Series cars has been critical to BMW’s success.

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Evo to eventually come to India

Mitsubishi had earlier announced that it will launch one new car every six months. While it has plan to revamp its existing line of cars, it is also working on re-launching some interesting new cars in India market.

Mitsubishi is coming up with Lancer Evolution X in 2009 for Indian buyers. With this new addition in Indian sports car segment, sports car lover will have one more option to choose. In short it is called ‘Evo’. The car has impressive sporty design with many options for accessories. It will be fitted with the 2.0 liter turbocharged engine and paired with twin clutch transmission with 5-speed gearbox. The steering wheel features shift paddles. It could be a rally enthusiast delight to drive around the new and improved Lancer car.

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