Monthly Archives: August 2008

Volvo Works for Expansion

Inspite of the car market moving to a negative terrain, Volvo Car India (VCI) works for the expansion plan. The company is optimistic that the current slack phase of the industry will soon be rectified.

The Volvo has already introduced a portfolio of 10 cars to the Indian market including three sedans, one station wagon, two convertibles, and three cross-over model. The company has tested the performance of these cars in the Indian market and is much satisfied with the good response from both the market and the buyers. The company plans to launch two or three new cars and also strengthen its dealer network. It also desires to meet a sales target of about 400-500 vehicles by the end of this fiscal year.

Currently, Volvo has dealers in Delhi, Mumbai, and Chandigarh. It further plans to extend the dealer network to other cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore, Cochin, and Pune.

posted by admin @ Friday, August 29th, 2008 Comments Off links to this post
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Mitsubishi Plans Outlander for India

Driven by the growing demand of SUVs in India, Mitsubishi plans to roll out its Outlander soon.

There was news that the company plans to roll out its SUV in the first quarter of 2008. The first quarter is now over. No dates are being confirmed for the launch but the newsy air still whispers that ‘Mitsubishi plans Outlander for India’.

Priced at about Rs.15-25 lakhs, the car is expected to compete with the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and Honda CRV.

The Mitsubishi cars are already doing wonders in the Indian car market. Mitsubishi Pajero is a successful SUV running on Indian roads and Mitsubishi Lancer has no comparison in the luxury car segment. With such a successful story in the Indian market, Mitsubishi is sure to win applauds and acclamation for its upcoming SUV, the Outlander.

The new car will come with a competitive price tag and superior features. The 2.4 litre MIVEC petrol engine and a 6-speed automatic transmission coupled with paddle shift are the most attractive features.

The company has taste the success in India with only selected models. Does the slogan, ‘slow and steady wins the race’ apply to Mitsubishi brand? Will the Mitsubishi be able to win the race in the highly competitive India market?

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Fortuner Still in Queue

Is Toyota Fortuner really in a queue?

The fact whether Toyota Fortuner will make its debut in the Indian market is questionable. Toyota is towing away the launch of Fortuner from the past several months.

There were rumours that the Fortuner is to be launched by the end of 2007. But unfortunately the car has not passed through the Indian boundaries. Even the idea of launching the Fortuner is still behind the veil.

Toyota now plans to give final shot to its thought rather than playing away with the idea. The company has used the same IMV platform as used in Toyota Innova to produce its remarkable Fortuner SUV.

Toyota Fortuner is loaded with an impressive 2.7 litre petrol and 3.0 litre common rail diesel engine. The car if launched will be available at a price tag of Rs 16-20 lakh.

Still there is news that the car will be launch in 2009. But will the car seriously launch in 2009? Or is it still a speculation?

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BMW Eager to Drive in X6

Wow! A luxurious SUV! BMW has recently launched its car studio at Janpath, Delhi. During the inauguration of the first such studio in the country, the president of BMW, Peter Kronschnabl, announced the launch of BMW X6.

The decision to launch X6, a full size SUV, is driven by the increasing popularity of SUVs in the Indian market. Not only BMW, other car manufactures also have plans to roll out their SUV in India.

The X6 is an excellent car designed with elegance and loaded with luxuries. It is adorned with various stylish and classy features that will create a complete new car segment. This outstanding car is expected to roll out in 2009.

Earlier the company had plans to drive in its beautiful car Mini to India but the plan to roll out X6 has pushed back the launch of Mini. In a couple of years, BMW is also considering to bring its hybrid car model to the Indian market.

Why do you think? Will the new SUV from BMW stable be able to record a success in India?

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Volvo for Indian pride

The 2008 Beijing Olympics saw a grand finale bringing pride and cheers to India. Shooter Abhinav Bindra made our country proud by winning a gold medal and for the first time in Indian history, the country bagged an individual gold medal in Olympics.

As a token of appreciation, Abhinav was gifted with a Volvo car worth Rs 39 lakh. Volvo-India Managing Director, Mr. Paul de Voijs handed over the keys of Volvo S-80 to Abhinav.

The Volvo started its direct sales in India last year and incidentally A. S. Bindra, father of Abhinav Bindra was the first buyer of a Volvo car. Among the Indian states, the demand for high-end luxury cars is high in Punjab and that is the reason why Volvo chose Chandigarh to launch its cars in India.

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Tata-Fiat Plans Slew of Car Launches

Inspite of the falling sales and high inflation, car manufacturers are planning a slew of car launches. This seems to be confusing. At one end, the car manufacturers say that they want to halt their expansion plans and on the other end they are constantly announcing the upcoming launches. Can anyone guess the true picture behind the scene?

Whatever the case be, currently the news say that the joint venture between Tata and Fiat is planning to change the overall look of their alliance showrooms which includes – style, signage, interiors and ambience. Fiat plans to give a European red look to its brand whereas Tata Motors will showcase its brand in blue. The companies have also changed the size of their logo as an essential part of their branding and promotion exercise.

With the new makeover, both Fiat and Tata are planning to launch a portfolio of cars in the next couple of months. Fiat plans to launch Linea and Grande Punto before the end of this year, whereas Tata Motors plans a new Indigo and Nano in the same period. Tata has recently launched a new Tata Indica Vista with better features, style and engine technology.

Tata-Fiat joint venture is working hard on the marketing and distribution aspect and is hunting out for better and improved measures.

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Skoda Wins the Crown

Congratulation Skoda for winning the top rank in sales satisfaction survey!

A survey conducted by J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2008 between March 2008 and June 2008 clearly states that Skoda India ranks the highest in new car owner satisfaction. This is the second consecutive year that the company won this award.

According to the survey, Asia Pacific considered seven factors that contribute to the rankings. These factors include delivery process, delivery timing, paperwork, sales initiation, salesperson, dealer facility, and the final deal.

On a scale of 1000 points, Skoda scores 799. After the announcement of results, Skoda customers are on the seventh heaven. They are actually happy and satisfied with the entire sales process. Almost all the Skoda customers have experienced through the years a hassle-free vehicle purchase right from the initial stage to the final delivery. These consumers are also satisfied with the after sale service of their Skoda cars.

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Car Rental Grows in India

Luxury and comfort conscious travelers have increased in India which has given a new way to the car rent business. Many companies in the country are looking forward to gain profit from the surge in car rental business.

Companies into car rental services are increasing their fleet size and are also reducing their prices to lure more customers.

The Carzonrent is one such company that provides car rental services in the country. The company is in process to increase their car fleet size from 180 cars to almost 500 by the end of this fiscal. With this effort, the company expects more than a 100% increase in the number of reservations.

Car rental services not only include a rented car with a chauffer but it also includes an option of self-drive business. Self drive service is a service where the car rental company rents only the car not the chauffer. Carzonrent lays emphasis on the self-drive business. The company feels that Indian people are not much aware of this kind of business in the car rental industry. To spread the awareness, the company is ready to invest out an amount of Rs 5 crore for marketing and promotion.

Another known company is the car rental services is the Sixt. The company is planning to sign a memorandum with the Maini Reva to add electric cars to its fleet. So far, the company had focused only on the B-to-B segment but now it feels that it is profitable to foray into the retail segment.

Apart from the self-drive business, other car rental companies like Meru, EasyCabs, CoolCabs and Forsche (women’s taxi service) provide cars on rent but with a chauffer. These companies till date have not entered the self-drive business.

Sooner or later, will these companies enter the self-drive business?

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Renault Sandero is only Few Steps Away

After the successful venture of Mahindra-Renault Logan, the joint venture between Mahindra and Renault is planning to impress the consumers with a bootless sibling. Logan is currently creating sensation in the mid-size car segment in the country but still Renault is not satisfied. To comply with its own level of satisfaction, the company desires to roll out Renault Sandero, a hatchback.

Sandero will be manufactured in Renault’s Curitiba plant and will launch the car first in Brazil, followed by Argentina and India.

The Renault Sandero is built using digital designs and is price warrior. A much affordable modern hatchback is loaded with elegant and futuristic features and is comparatively more attractive than the revamped Logan. The car is a blend of European Clio (Renault’s popular hatchback) and some Logan features. Spacious and low boot of the car makes it more comfortable and easy for loading cargo. The drive, sitting posture and the comfort is all up to the mark.

When driving to India, Renault will modify some features in order to make the car well suited for Indian roads.

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First Nano will Drive in on the Expected Launch Date

Cheer Up! Don’t get disheartened! The first Nano will launch in October!

Since the date, Ratan Tata has established the Singur plant, some or the other obstacles have blocked the road for Nano. Land seizure issues, water logging in the plant, increased input costs and again the land protests have created a bundle of troubles in the production of the Nano. These obstacles have delayed the scheduled launch and price tag of Nano.

Huge numbers of consumers are waiting for the launch of Nano but the current land seizure issues have put a full stop to their thoughts and expectations. People are now in a dilemma whether the car will launch on the expected date or not. This confusion is right as there were news to shift the small car project from Singur. But will these rumors turn to a reality?

No! Even though the company is facing hassles and troubles to deal with the land protests, the first Nano car is still expected to roll out on the expected launch date.

How can one forget the strength, power and capability of Tata Motors The company has faced several ups and downs throughout the years and today there is nothing that can obstruct the way for Tata Nano.

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