Monthly Archives: December 2009

First Indian VW Polo Rolls Out

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Volkswagen PoloGerman Car manufacturer Volkswagen is smooth sailing these days. A couple of weeks back, it acquired and added Porsche to portfolio and it is only last week that it has bought 20 per cent stakes of Suzuki Motor Corporation.

Now Volkswagen has finally rolled out its first ‘Made in India’ Polo car on Saturday from its production plant in Chakan, Pune. The Polo hatchback will enter the Indian car market in the month of March next year. Introducing the Polo is going to be Volkswagen’s biggest push to boost sales in India, which is Asia’s fourth-largest automotive market.

The Volkswagen’s factory in Pune was opened earlier this year. It is a part of a 580 million euros ($ 846.8 Million) investment, which the company says is a “key element” in its India strategy.

This unit can produce up to 110,000 cars a year and will be used to manufacture the Skoda Fabia and the Polo. Besides, it will also be used to manufacture the sedan version of the Polo which will be launched in India in the second half of next year.

Volkswagen is planning to double the number of workers at its factory in India by the end of next year. The car giant sold about 16,000 cars in India from January through October.
Europe’s largest car maker also aims to capture as much as 10 percent of India’s car market in four to six years as it boosts sales in emerging-markets. So far, Volkswagen sells cars under five brands that include Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Skoda and Audi.

Furthermore, Volkswagen is looking at the potential for jointly building cars with Suzuki Motor Corporation in the South Asian nations. Volkswagen and Suzuki plans to develop hybrids and electric vehicles under both car brands.
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Tata Nano Now in The Smithsonian Institute

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New Tata Nano Cars in IndiaThe Tata Nano stories always seem to amaze us. Literally.

Right from the start, Tata Nano as a concept itself created a flutter amongst the people of India and abroad. Then came the unveiling, the Singur fiasco, the actual launch of the car on March 23rd 2009, the first paper ads, the first allotments of the cars, passing of the stringent European crash norms, Nanos going up in flames, high after market value on the car. Man, is there no end to the Nano stories?

The Tata Nano has consumed more news reel, television space and internet space in today’s world than any automobiles in recent days. In addition to all this comes a story of a car which has made it to the prestigious Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York.

Yes, you read it right. Conceived by Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, the Tata Nano was intended as an all-weather form of personal transportation that provides a safer and cleaner alternative to the two-wheelers that are pervasive in India, where often entire families ride clinging to a motorbike or a scooter. The Smithsonian Institution on Friday announced that a bright, sunshine yellow Nano will be exhibited in Cooper-Hewitt’s Great Hall from Feb 18th through April 25th next year. A short film on the making of the world’s most affordable car and diagrams will be shown during the period.

The name “Nano” connotes high technology, small size and low price, the press release of the Smithsonian Institute stated. Tata Motors is currently developing improved versions the car for the European and American Markets.

This ultra-cheap compact car contributes to the world of affordable motoring and like its predecessors, Henry Ford’s Model T, the Volkswagen Beetle, Citroen 2CV and the original Fiat 500, the Tata Nano continues the tradition of inexpensive cars made in large numbers, it said.
“Cooper-Hewitt’s mission is to present the very latest developments in design and technology and the Tata Nano introduces more families in India to the new world of affordable and safer mobility,” said Cara McCarty, curatorial director of the museum. “We’re eager to display the Tata Nano at the museum, where many visitors will see it for the first time.”

Unveiled last year in India, the Tata Nano is targeted to families who had not previously been able to afford a car. Billed as “the people’s car,” the base model starts at $2,200 in India and can accommodate up to five adults. The Nano offers a high fuel efficiency of 50 miles per gallon, making it more fuel efficient and less polluting than all other cars on the road today in India, the Smithsonian noted.

Designed by a team of 500 Indian engineers, the 35-horsepower, four-door vehicle has been pared down to the essentials: It is about 10 feet long, weighs approximately 1,300 pounds, has an all-sheet-metal body, a rear two-cylinder engine, small tubeless tires, a reinforced passenger compartment, crumple zones, seat belts and achieves a top speed of 65 miles per hour. Its barebones design, as of now, does not include more costly features such as power steering, air bags, antilock brakes or an exterior left passenger-side mirror, which are not mandatory in India, it said.
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Vroom in Bugatti

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Bugatti VeyronThe ultimate name in speed and style in the automotive world, Bugatti will finally make its presence felt here in India by next year. Rich lads with their father’s pockets deep enough to buy this will have a field time when they flash their Bugatti Veyron.

Volkswagen AG, the German automotive giant, which also is the parent company of this legendary French super car maker, has made it official that Bugatti is in the list of things that VW has made for India in 2010.

Being the second fastest car in the world, the Bugatti Veyron can hit a top speed of 407km/h and can sprint 0-100km in an amazing 2.6 seconds. This fast car comes in a coupe as well as in a sports car body style.

The legendary Bugatti Veyron tops the list of the world’s most expensive street legal car available in the market today with a price tag of $1,700,000. If converted this sum in Indian rupees, it will cost anywhere between Rs 5 Crore to Rs 12 Crore. Alright, we here are talking about rich kids only.

The world’s fastest car, the SSC Ultimate Aero will also be introduced in India some time in 2010. Though the Ultimate Aero is the fastest car on earth, it is half the price of the Veyron with a price of $654,400.

Volkswagen will import the Bugatti brand to India. Currently, the other brands of Volkswagen like Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini are imported in India by independent dealers.

Actually, it is not very practical to import completely built vehicles of high-end cars to India. It is mainly because of the high cost involved in homologation and the small number of sales. Moreover, homologation, or checking its road worthiness and adapting to local conditions, is mandatory for every model that comes into the country as a Completely Built Unit (CBU).

But, considering the growing liking of Indian customers to luxury products and the country’s high growth rate, many marquee car makers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen are their cars. Volkswagen, which has launched the iconic Beetle and the Touareg on 4th December, brings these cars as CBUs in India.
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All-new Maruti Suzuki Wagon R in 2010

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Maruti Suzuki is on the roll right now at the moment. After Volkswagen hit the right button to buy 20 per cent of the stock of Suzuki Motor Corporation, this seems to be an added advantage for Maruti Suzuki to aim even higher for the small car market in India.

Come this 2010, and Maruti Suzuki has a slew of launches ready in its kitty. We in Carazoo.com have already covered on the Maruti Suzuki Omni replacement called Eco or O2, we have now the news on new Swift with 1.2 litre petrol engine also which is making inroads to India in the upcoming year. On the backdrop of this news, we are speculating that the new Wagon R also might be hitting the small car market in India.

Based on the information that we have sourced up, the new Wagon R will be based on the same platform of the current Wagon R, but the new Wagon R will be made to look like the next generation model. This car of course will be getting the new Bharat IV compliant K-series engine which guys in Maruti Suzuki are proud of. Unlike the current Wagon R which has a 1.1 litre engine, this new Wagon R might get a 998 cc petrol engine that could generate more power and output than the existing model, thanks to the new K-series engine.

The new K-series engine speculated to power the new Wagon R is same which does its duty in the A-Star. Like the existing Wagon R Duo which is being powered by petrol and LPG, the new Wagon R might get a factory fitted CNG kit which is in vogue at the moment. We expect that the new Wagon R will get an all-round cosmetic and styling change to be in par with the new generation. On the inside, the car might get a clutter free instrumentation panel which is easy to read with advanced technology put behind it. On the outside, the new Wagon R gets a more bold and macho look with new headlamps and tail lamps. With all these overall styling changes, Maruti Suzuki would now have a clear winner in their hands.

Maruti Suzuki also has left no stone unturned to gain its foot hold in the sedan segment. Just a month ago, Maruti Suzuki has revamped its fading SX4 to come up with an automatic transmission to counter its chief competitor Honda City. Now Maruti Suzuki also plans to bring in the diesel version of SX4 to capture the sedan market. It has already topped the charts with it popular model Swift and the sedan version of the same, Swift Dzire. Watch out for more in this space.
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Retros Back In Metros

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Volkswagen New Beetle In IndiaEverything old is new again as all things old are making a comeback — in fashion, furniture, architecture and even automobiles.

The iconic Volkswagen Beetle made its comeback in 1998 while retaining the retro styling. People with fat wallets in India have welcomed the car with much vigour and enthusiasm.

Volkswagen India has received 160 advance bookings for its iconic car, the Beetle, which was launched on December 4, 2009. Buoyed by the positive response to the car, the company is expecting to sell at least 500 units of it next year. This is in spite of the fact that the New Beetle is four times costlier than the soon-to-be-launched Volkswagen Polo, because of the high import duty on it. The Polo will be manufactured in India, while the Beetle will come to the country as a CBU from Mexico.

Fiat 500 in IndiaIn comparison to the enthusiastic reception of the Beetle, another iconic car the Fiat 500, priced at Rs 15 Lakh, has sold only 62 units since its launch 17 months back. But Fiat is not losing hope. It is planning to relaunch the 500 once again in the Indian car market.

The Fiat 500 made its world debut in 1957. The little Italian four-wheeler redefined the concept of a ‘small urban car’ when it came into being. The new version, though beautifully styled, is much bigger than the original.

The Indian market will also be graced by the coming of the BMW MINI. The new MINI, just like the New Beetle, has maintained the overall proportions and styling of the original, but being a modern car built to modern and stringent standards, it has become much larger in size.

One might be led to believe that these cars are more of style statements than anything else — retro fashion accessories for those with deep pockets. And this is true to a certain extent.

But that does not mean the new takes on old favourites will fade away as soon as they are launched. These are not non-performing lookers meant for people to buy for the sake of nostalgia.

The comeback versions of these old car models are a pleasure to drive, just like the originals. The original MINI and the Fiat 500, despite their humble origins are great to drive and their modern interpretations promise to carry this legacy forward.

BMW MINIIn fact, these historic cars are more ‘fun’ to drive than cars costing four to five times as much and recapture the real essence of driving that others seem to have lost somewhere along the way.
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Toyota To Unveil 13 Models At Auto Expo

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Toyota Kirloskar Motor is certainly on a roll. It has confirmed that it will be showcasing 14 production and concept cars, including its low-cost compact car at the upcoming Delhi Auto Expo. Bring it on Toyota, We are ready for it.

Going by the company’s press statement, Toyota will be displaying its futuristic technologies in the form of concept and hybrid cars, highlighting the world’s largest car maker’s environmentally-friendly technology during the event.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor, the joint venture between Toyota and Kirloskar Group, will start production of the compact car next December at its upcoming second plant in Bangalore.

The small car project is one of the most ambitious car projects of Toyota to showcase their decade old relationship with the Indian car market. The company has really expectations on this pet project and could also well become a major player in the small car market in India.

As per the sources, both the hatchback and the sedan version of the small car will be revealed during the Expo. Toyota also has plans to roll out 70,000 units of the proposed compact car in the first year of production.

It had also announced plans to showcase its Toyota Prius hybrid car in the biennial event in the national capital and is looking for its launch in the domestic market.

The company currently has sedans like Toyota Camry and Corolla Altis and SUVs like Toyota Land Cruiser, Land Cruiser Prado, Toyota Fortuner and Toyota Innova in its portfolio.
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Indica EV Might Hit Indian Roads In 2011

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The wait for Indica Electric might get a little shorter for us Indians. Tata Motors speculate that they might be launching their Tata Indica Electric in India at the same time of its launch in European markets in 2011. Tata Motors has already planned to study the Indian market for the feasibility of running the electric versions of Indica here in India starting next year.

The important criteria for launching the electric version of Tata Motors popular hatchback would entirely depend on the cost factor as it would be an expensive car when it hits the road. Another roadblock for this car could be the availability of electricity in India. But the overall expectation from the car is that the car would be suitable for Indian roads.

The electric version of Indica is being developed by Tata Motors along with a Norwegian company, and is scheduled for launch in Britain, Norway and Denmark in 2011. However, the production of the Tata Nano is on track. At present, 3,000-4,000 units of the car are being produced on a monthly basis. Trial production at the Sanand plant in Gujarat is expected to begin by the last months of 2010.

Meanwhile Tata Motors’s production plant in Pune has bagged the prestigious Gold Category Award in National Productivity Contest for the year 2008-09. The event was held at the 51st National Convention of Industrial Engineers & National Seminar held in Nagpur on December 5-6, 2009.

The team representing Tata Motors displayed the Productivity Improvements achieved at the Car Assembly Line by the application of innovative Industrial Engineering approaches. Some of the other participants of the contest were HPCL, Mumbai Railways, Heavy Engg. Corp. and ONGC.

Tata Motors is India’s largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues of Rs.70,938.85 crores ($14 billion) in 2008-09. Through subsidiaries and associate companies, Tata Motors has operations in the UK, South Korea, Thailand and Spain. Among them is Jaguar Land Rover, a business comprising the two iconic British brands. It also has a strategic alliance with Fiat.

With over 4 million Tata vehicles plying in India, Tata Motors is the country’s market leader in commercial vehicles and among the top three in passenger vehicles. It is also the world’s fourth largest truck manufacturer and the second largest bus manufacturer.

Tata cars, buses and trucks are being marketed in several countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia and South America.
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2009 La Auto Show

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The last Auto Show of this year LA Auto Show was flagged off on 4th December and will conclude on Sunday. Held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, more than 900 vehicles from sports cars and sedans to crossovers and minivans are being displayed at this Show.

Ford Motor Company’s product line-up is shimmering with the demonstration of the New Fiesta and the 2011 Mustang. The Fiesta comes in both as 4-door and 5-door configurations. The New Fiesta marks Ford’s re-entry in the sub-compact market with a model good enough to attract the young car buyers. The car aggressively features European styling and bright colours. The model is already highly successful in overseas market and is the second biggest seller in Europe. Ford Motors expects the new model to be equally popular in the US market as well.

Ford has launched the 2011 Mustang model that can churn out 305 bhp with a 6-cylinder engine. The new model of the famous muscle car comes with 6-speed automatic gearbox and fully designed air-intake system. The 2011 Ford Mustang can offer good fuel economy. This car will go into production early next year and will again give a tough competition to its arch-enemy Chevrolet Camaro.

Europe’s numero uno car maker Volkswagen is at the Auto Show with its new model Up!. The Up! is still its concept has been a centre of attraction for the onlookers. The new Up! model will come with a 13 bhp electric motor and it claims emissions of just 65g/km and a cool fuel consumption of 42.51 km/l.

Honda, on the other has come up with the P-NUT Concept. Its latest innovation Personal Neo-Urban Transport (P-NUT) Concept model is a 3-passenger car that features a centre driving configuration bundled with a rear engine layout. But the small car has surprisingly enough leg room for rear passengers as two rear seats flank the center driving position. It has been built with a minimal footprint to make it easy to manoeuvre in cities.

Porsche has revealed the 2011 Boxster Spyder that will go on sales in the American market from February 2011. It is the light weight version of the Boxster that comes with a 3.4L 6-cylinder engine with direct fuel injection with an output of 320 bhp. It also features PDK transmission, a new sport suspension that lowers the Boxster Spyder 0.8 inch, a lower center of gravity and a standard limited-slip differential, as well as exclusive wheels.

Audi has introduced its new R8 Spyder at the LA Auto Show. The New Audi R8 Spyder features a 5.2L V10 engine that can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in flat 4.0 seconds and can reach a top speed of 313 km/h. The soft-top opens and closes in just 19 seconds even at driving speed of 50km/h.

Coming to the Korean car giant, Hyundai has unveiled its latest compact SUV Tucson that competes with the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Ford Escape. It will hit the US market by the end of this year. The new model is lighter than its predecessors and comes with tighter turning radius. An “Eco Indicator” has been added to the automatic transmission models, allowing the driver to visually maintain a fuel-efficient driving pattern.

Besides, Hyundai has also showcased the US variant of the Sonata. The car will be called i40 in the European markets. The US variant of the 2011 Sonata comes with three types of power units, Regular, Turbo and Hybrid.

Chevrolet exhibited the new Chevrolet Cruz during the show. The new Chevrolet Cruze made its first appearance the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. Other cars like the new Dodge Viper SRT10, Jaguar XKR Convertible, Jeep cars, New Dodge Challenger, New Mazda 2, Porsche 718/8 W-RS Spyder, New Kia Sorento, BMW Vision Concept car and many more are have made their first public appearance at the prestigious LA Auto Show.

Ironically, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz addressed the LA Auto Show with his view on green technology. He went on to describe some of the steps the General Motors (GM) has taken recently to produce automobiles that are less dependent on fossil fuels. He referred to the agreement between Reva Electric Car Company and GM. He also talked about opening a new China Science Lab to perform research in several automotive fields and a new technology centre in Brazil to focus on the development of ethanol-based FlexFuel vehicles.

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VW-Suzuki bats For Rs 2.5-lakh Car in India

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The newly made Volkswagen-Suzuki alliance has already charted out its plans to develop a small car for the Indian market which would cost approximately around Rs2-2.5 lakh, which also could replace the Alto when the Maruti-Suzuki decides to retire its top-selling model.

Top officials in Maruti Suzuki have also confirmed this news that they were looking out for a car that would be replacing Alto for the price quoted above as that is the entry level for Indian customers today and the segment is very strategic for the company.

Volkswagen and Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation had, on Wednesday, announced a deal which will see the German carmaker picking up a 19.9% stake in Suzuki for $2.5 billion. The companies plan to develop small cars and electric vehicles under both brands. The new car that will be priced at $4000-5000 in the European market will be the cheapest car from the Volkswagen stable below the Up, which carries a price tag of around $8800.

Volkswagen also is enthusiastic in a car priced below the price segment of Up!, their cheapest car in the offering at the moment. VW is also looking forward for the fructification of the project with Suzuki.

Meanwhile VW will be launching its Polo hatchback in India by next year, which will be competing against popular hatchbacks in India like that of Maruti Suzuki Swift and Hyundai i20.

Although the contours of the partnership are still being worked out, both partners are interested in developing common platforms. Sharing platforms will enable VW to use Suzuki for contract manufacturing both in Japan and India. While VW is eying the options of producing its cars in the Maruti-Suzuki’s plants it is desperately seeking the small car expertise from small car whiz Maruti Suzuki to gain a foot hold in small car markets such as India and Europe and Suzuki is looking forward to learn the know-how of the diesel power plants technology from the German giant.

VW however was very clear to mention that they were not in the league to eye the Nano segment. But VW-Suzuki alliance has sent some shivers down the spine of many big players in India. Tata Motors for instance would have to re-draft their strategy as this alliance would mean some serious competition coming for diesel cars like that of Tata Indica Vista hatchbacks and Indigo sedans.

But there is a catch here in the whole process. However the global partnership will not result in the two companies sharing distribution and dealership networks in India. According to VW officials, the main focus of the synergy, particularly in India, will be on back-end areas like production and purchasing of parts.
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Honda CR-Z Specs Leaked

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Scanned image of Honda-CR-ZThe show-stopper of the Tokyo Motor Show, the Honda CR-Z is poised to become the first hybrid car to come with a 6-speed manual transmission.

The CR-Z has come into limelight as it is going to have significantly better performance compared to its cousin, the fuel-economic Honda Insight.

Recently, the specification brochure of the 2011 Honda CR-Z has been revealed. The CR-Z will carry 1.5-liter i-VETEC 4-cylinder engine mated either to a 6-speed manual or CVT gearbox. The engine will churn out a power of 112 bhp at 6,000 rpm and a humble 14 bhp from its electric motor. The engine will also create a torque 145 Nm at 4,800 rpm with the Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system boosting that by another torque of 77 Nm at 1,000 rpm. The CR-Z will be able to net a relatively uninspiring 0 to 100 km/h time of 9.7 seconds.

The dimensions haven’t changed much from the “concept car” we saw at the Tokyo Motor Show earlier this year, with a 160.6-inch overall length, 68.5-inch width, 54.9-inch height and a wheelbase that spans 95.9 inches.

Since efficiency is the name of the game, the CR-Z will benefit from LED daytime running lights and turn signal indicators in the mirrors, along with three driving modes – Eco, Normal and Sport – each controllable from a dash mounted switch and with a different color surrounding the gauges based on the mode.

The car will be introduced in the Honda’s local market of Japan in 2010 February and will be brought to North America by the third quarter of 2010. The CR-Z will be priced between $19,000 to $25,000.
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