Monthly Archives: January 2010

Honda Unveils New Small Concept Car

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Honda's
Honda Motor Corporation on the very first day of the Delhi Auto Expo unveiled its concept small car which will be hitting the roads by early 2011 in India.

This small car has been conceptualized for emerging markets like India and Thailand to begin with but may gradually be launched in the global markets.

The name of the just-unveiled small car was rather unusual as Honda simply preferred to call their car as “New Small”.

The design of the cars looks very modern yet contemporary with extensive usage of LED lights. Though the grill of the “New Small” resembles that of the Honda Jazz, that’s where the similarities end as this new car has a design which is out of the mill with raked C-pillar, clam-shell bonnet with a nice twinge of curves and bends along the body of the car.

If the sources are to be believed, this small car will be powered by a 1.0 VTEC engine, while the 1.2 litre engine from the Jazz might also be a possibility. This car is slated to compete against the Hyundai i10, Maruti Suzuki Swift and the base version of the Hyundai i20.

Also at the Honda bay was the CR-Z concept, the first sporty hybrid to sport a manual gearbox, the entire range of Indian cars, three Jazz concepts including a Mugen-tuned version and ASIMO, Honda’s humanoid robot.

Honda Motor will join other global auto makers, which are keen to tap into the budget-conscious Indian customers’ demand for such compact cars. In India, Honda Motor operates as Honda Siel Cars India Ltd., a joint venture with an Indian business conglomerate Siddharth Shriram Group.
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Volkswagen Launches Polo Hatchback

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Volkswagen PoloThe People’s car maker Volkswagen has finally done it. It has launched its indigenously built Polo hatchback in India during the Auto Expo week here in Delhi.

Volkswagen will be selling the Polo in India from March onwards. The Volkswagen Polo comes both in diesel and petrol engines. The sedan version of the Polo also is slated to be launched in the second half of 2010 which also will be built using the same platform of the Polo hatchback.

The company expects to garner its market share in the Indian Car market by about 8-10 per cent in the next 4-6 years. Speaking on the wake of the launch of VW Polo, Jochem Heizmann, Volkswagen AG Member of the Board of management said that “The Polo stands for German engineering and top technology. It is lively young cosmopolitan made in India car.”

The 1.2 litre VW Polo which comes in three variants is being currently manufactured in its Chakan facility in Pune.

When it comes to the pricing, The Polo is said to be very competitive and will be in the range of Honda Jazz, Hyundai i20 and Skoda Fabia. But the exact price will be only out when the cars reach the dealerships in March this year.

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Car Makers Rings In The New Year Bell With Price Hike

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General Motors India increased the prices of its four models by 0.5 to 1.5 per cent with effect from Jan 5th to offset the steep rise in input costs.

GM blames the price hike on the increasing input cost on essential raw materials like steel, rubber and aluminium. The price rise is applicable on Chevy models such as the Spark, Aveo, Cruze, and Tavera. But the good news is that the prices of Captiva, Optra and Aveo U-Va will not be increased taking into account the market feedback.

General Motor of India makes eight models in the domestic market–the hatchbacks the Spark and Aveo UVA, the Aveo, Optra and Cruze in the sedan category, SUV Captiva, and MUV Tavera and the just-launched Beat in the small car.

Another American car company Ford also joined the price hike fest with GM on its models in India.

Ford India had said that it will hike the prices of all its models to offset pressure from higher input costs and exchange rate fluctuations from January 1. The company will raise prices between Rs 6,000-Rs 40,000 across its product range. Ford India produces Ikon, Fusion, Fiesta and sport-utility vehicle Endeavour at its factory near Chennai.

Some leading automobile majors like Skoda India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Fiat had earlier announced that they will hike prices from January. Czech car-maker Skoda India will raise prices from Rs 10,000-20,000 from January on all of its models sold here in India.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor also upped the prices of three of its key models – Innova, Corolla Altis and Fortuner by up to 2 per cent from January 1.

Fiat also has increased prices of two of its cars, the Linea and the Grande Punto by 2-2.5 per cent owing to increasing input costs. The prices would go up by about Rs 15,000 on an average and upto Rs 25,000 for some of the versions.

Prices of base metal copper has risen more than 130 per cent this year and is on course to record its biggest annual increase in more than 30 years. Aluminium rates jumped to USD2,165.25 a tonne, its highest level since October 2008. Price of silver, which is also used by the automobile industry in a small way, has risen by 1.4 per cent to $19.34 an ounce.

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Curtains Raise on Auto Expo 2010

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The seven-day 10th Auto Expo this week could attract around 20 lakh visitors. This sum certainly is higher than those at similar events held last year in Shanghai and New York as per the Expo organizers.

This Auto Expo 2010 is going to be the mammoth automobile vent as about 2,100 participants from 30 countries will participate in the event, which will boast of over 1.25 lakh square metres of exhibition space. Last year Shanghai attracted a crowd of six lakh visitors while New York drew 12 lakh visitors for its Auto show.

The Delhi Auto Expo was first introduced in 1986 and since its inception lots of things have changed. Despite a clash of dates with the Detroit show, traditionally the biggest auto industry gathering, the Auto Expo event in Delhi has grown in prominence aided by the shifts in the global automobile landscape.

According to Pawan Goenka, president of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) speaking in the curtain raiser for the event said, ‘We will have 40 percent more visitors this time and will have over 10 global launches and 50 other launches with all well-known auto makers taking part.’ He also added that the organizers were expecting around two-million visitors.

The event which began today will be formally inaugurated on Jan 7 by Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma.

The event is being organised by SIAM, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at Pragati Maidan here.

The expo will witness the largest-ever overseas participation with companies from Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Taiwan and Britain participating. Luxembourg will be the new entrant at the expo in 2010.

This time commercial vehicles, two-wheelers and other variety of automobile accessories will also be on display.
This year will mark a major change in the routine. Honda and Toyota are displaying small car concepts which will be unveiled globally at the Expo.

That’s a first for both and although some of their alternative concepts were shown elsewhere, the Delhi show comes a close second. In terms of scale too, the event has come a long way. The next show happened in 1993 when the first wave of cars from Daewoo, Hyundai, Ford and GM were about to roll out on Indian roads.

Japan’s Toyota unveiled the Etios concept small car that has been especially designed for the Indian market and will be seen on roads by 20l1. Likewise, German carmaker Volkswagen also is on cloud number nine to showcase its much-awaited super-mini Polo.

Others like the US-based car maker General Motors will add a radically different looking car named Beat which incidentally was launched in India yesterday to its existing line up of compacts here. Honda, too, will reveal a new model.

Other displays at the event will include a wide range of new and locally designed and developed auto components. Many of these component designs have been patented in the country as well as overseas. The auto sector is betting big on the event as makers of luxury cars are increasingly looking at making India a sourcing hub for components, besides using more local components in cars for the domestic market.

‘The Auto Expo will act as a platform for both Indian and foreign business visitors where they will have ample opportunity to see products on display as well interact with officials of component companies at the venue,’ ACMA president Jayant Davar said.

The Indian automotive industry has a turnover of more than $18 billion (Rs.90,000 crore) and expects to gain significantly through new tie-ups, partnerships and marketing initiatives duringthe event. India’s 15-18 per cent annual growth and its nearly 2 million units estimated sales this fiscal make this the fastest growing market after China. The focus of autodom has moved to Asia, and the event is a beneficiary the organisers added.
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Toyota Unveils Etios Concept Small Car in India

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Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt Ltd, the Indian unit of Toyota Motor Corporation on Tuesday unveiled its small concept car, Etios, at the Auto Expo in New Delhi.

This will be Toyota’s launch pad for the Indian small car market in the days to come. This global car as Hiroshi Nakagawa, Managing Director of Toyota Kirloskar says will enter the mass volume segment. Toyota had invested about Rs 3,200 crore to set up its second manufacturing facility in Bangalore to bring out the car on roads by early 2011.

“With the introduction of the Etios we will enter the mass volume segment. We are looking at a sales volume of 70,000 units in the first year,” he said.

“After the slowdown, we are now in a difficult situation and we are trying to achieve constant recovery. The Indian market is very important and big for Toyota and it is expected to grow up to four million units by 2015,” Toyota Motor Corp Vice Chairman Kazuo Okamoto said on the sidelines of the Auto Expo.
The company would launch both hatchback and sedan under the Etios series with 1.2 litres and 1.5 litres petrol engines respectively.

Toyota had earlier said that it would start selling its first small car in India by late-2010.
Toyota Kirloskar, which is 89 per cent owned by Toyota and the remainder by India’s Kirloskar group, currently produces the Innova multipurpose vehicle, the Corolla sedan and the Fortuner SUV at its factory outside Bangalore.

It also imports and markets the Land Cruiser and the newly launched Land Cruiser Prado SUVs, as well as the Camry sedan.
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Car Sales Soar Higher

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Car makers in India have a reason to welcome the New Year with much enthusiasm as car sales in India are soaring higher.

India’s numero uno car maker Maruti Suzuki reported a 36 per cent growth as it sold 71,000 units against 52,029 units in December 2008. Year-end discounts and a lower base did the magic for the company as it happened in case of other car makers also. Maruti Suzuki’s portfolio of small cars saw sales going up 42 per cent in December at 52,236 units against 36,831 units.

Its rival Hyundai also announced a healthy 43 per cent jump in December sales at 22,252 units against 15,602 units in the same month in 2008.

For Mahindra & Mahindra and General Motors, December was a month of over 100 per cent growth. Mahindra & Mahindra pack of utility vehicles such as the Scorpio, XYLO, Bolero and others saw a growth of 120 per cent at 16,999 units against sales of 7726 units in December 2008.

General Motors India figure increased 104 per cent as it sold 8,258 units against 4,041 units in December 2008, making it the highest-ever monthly sales figure achieved by the company since its inception. The December sales included 4,147 units of Chevrolet Spark, 616 units of the newly-launched Cruze and 859 units of the Chevrolet Beat which is launched today.

Czech luxury car maker Skoda Auto India reported a 52 per cent growth in its sales during December last year at 1,113 units compared with 732 units in the corresponding month previous year. The company hopes to show a better performance this year with further revival of the Indian economy.

With economy is expected to grow around 7.5-8 per cent in 2010 and more introductions of new models the car sales growth will be better.
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Array Of Car Displays At Auto Expo

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The Auto Expo, which will be flagged off tomorrow, is going to be another big event in the Indian motoring history. This auto fair will be a platform for the car makers to show off their creations. This Auto Show promises much more than car debuts, it will also play host to over two lakh visitors and promises to be bigger and better than before.

Maruti Suzuki will display a total of seventeen cars at the 2010 Auto Expo that begins tomorrow. Some of these cars are the Suzuki Kizashi sedan, the R III MPV concept, the Eeco MPV, YR9 small car and the Y3 small car concept to start with. The Kizashi will be the car company’s first attempt to enter the D-segment sedan in India. It will be powered by a 2.4-litre petrol engine borrowed from the Grand Vitara, but with more power and a six-speed sequential auto gearbox.

The upcoming Eeco is a facelift of the Versa with a Euro-IV 1.2-litre K Series engine. The R III concept will be an all-new MPV to take on the Xylo. The R III will be based on the SX4 platform and will boast a 1.3-litre Multijet diesel and a 1.4-litre K Series engine. The YR9 is the replacement for the Wagon-R, with more comfort and space on the inside and a 1.2-litre petrol engine. The YR3 is Maruti Suzuki’s first indigenous product to be designed, developed and manufactured in India. It is being designed as an 800 replacement.

Mahindra and Mahindra will display the new Xylo D2 variant that comes with a 2.5-litre, 95 bhp common-rail diesel engine, the Thar which an off-road lifestyle vehicle, the Bolero concepts and possibly its World SUV concept.

Tata Motors will finally let the world get a peek at the Indicruz, Nano Europa and the Prima sedan. Korean Hyundai will buzz in the i10 Electric and the Genesis coupe. The i10 electric will be unveiled at the Expo by none other than Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan.

Toyota will launch its small car, known as the EFC800L. It is based on an all-new platform and will be powered by a 1.2-litre petrol three-cylinder engine and a 1.4-litre diesel engine taken from the Yaris sedan. Toyota will also bring in the Prius hybrid and will also showcase the new Land Cruiser Prado diesel and the i-Real concept.

On the other hand, Toyota’s arch rival Honda will drive in its small car concept. The Honda small car will be powered by a new 1.0-litre petrol engine using VTEC technology. Apart from the small car, Honda will showcase the CR-Z hybrid.

General Motors will display the Beat, which it has launched in the country today. To add some colour and muscle to the show, the car behemoth will expose its Chevrolet Camaro, the Cruze WTCC, the Chevrolet Volt and the electric version of the Spark.

The three-pointed star has unleashed the GL 350 CDI and a new variant of the S-Class, the S500L, in the Indian car market today. Along with these two new cars, Mercedes-Benz will showcase the E-Class Coupe that might be going on sale in 2010 with petrol and diesel engine options. The SLS AMG will also grace the German luxury car maker’s stall.

India’s number one luxury car maker BMW will be launching an all-new car that is in a class of one, the 5 Series GT. BMW India will offer both the petrol and diesel variants and only 100 units of the vehicle will be made available in 2010. The other big showcases will be the BMW X1, the BMW X6 M, a 760 Li, BMW’s flagship car along with other BMWs that are currently available in India.

Audi will come out with the A7 concept. The other big displays will include a vintage Horch, the Audi R8 and other Audi cars currently on sale in India. Volkswagen is planning to splash the Polo. VW’s Touareg and Beetle, will also share space with the Polo as will the Jetta and Passat.
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Mercedes-Benz Launches S 500 L, GL 350 CDI In India

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Mercedes GL 350 CDIOn the wake of the Auto Expo 2010 which commences tomorrow, Mercedes has launched two new models in India.

The first of these two Mercs is an SUV, the GL 350 CDI. The GL 350 CDI features the Mercedes’ BlueEfficiency Technology and has a fuel efficiency of 10.75 km/litre and is priced at Rs 64.9 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The other model that was launched today is the Mercedes S 500 L which also is the new version of its luxury sedan, the Mercedes S Class. Mercedes S 500 L gets a 5.5 litre V8 petrol engine that can deliver a power of 388 bhp and is priced at Rs 95 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The S500L Limousine, when launched, will be the most expensive car to be built in India.

The German carmaker has fallen behind its compatriot competitor BMW in India in its yearly sales in 2009. While Mercedes-Benz sold 3,247 units in India in 2009, a decline of 10.4 per cent compared to the previous year’s sales, BMW sold 3,619. Wilfied Aulbur, MD and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, said that the company was confident of attaining a double-digit growth in 2010. Its focus, he said, is not on leadership but on profitable growth.
Mercedes S 500 L
Wilfied Aulbur said that the sales were lower in 2009 as they had replaced their existing E-class with a new model, and there was a waiting period on the new cars. But the guys in Mercedes India were contemplating the company’s sales to grow in “double digits” in 201 with the launch of newer models.
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BMW Ranks As The Numero Uno In The Luxury Car Segment In India

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BMW India is the number one in the luxury car segment in India and portrays a symbol for dynamic and forward striving people. BMW India achieves leadership position by increasing its market share in the luxury segment of the Indian automotive market to over 40 per cent in 2009 (from 9 per cent at the end of 2006).

With 3619 cars delivered to customers in the calendar year 2009, BMW India has achieved the “highest sales by a manufacturer in the luxury car segment in a year” till date.

In 2009 BMW India sold 1155 units of 3 Series, 1590 units of 5 series, 28 units of 6 Series, 350 units of 7 Series, 101 units of X3, 83 units of X6 and 25 units of Z4 coupe respectively.

The years 2007, 2008 and 2009 were very demanding years for BMW India and, at the same time, the most successful market entry for BMW in any country recently. Various activities initiated during this period have provided BMW India with a solid basis to develop a strong foundation.

2009 was not been an easy year for the automotive industry and that applies equally to BMW India. It stood its ground in a fiercely competitive environment with new ideas and the strength to promote new products. BMW India was prepared to meet the challenges head on to ensure the company’s success. These qualities enabled BMW India to effectively weather the stormy conditions, continue to invest in its future, anticipate trends and be prepared for the future.

Despite all challenges, BMW India delivered strong operating performance in 2009. With a carefully planned and successfully executed market entry strategy, and consistent sales performance, BMW India achieved market leadership in the luxury car segment in India.

Mr. Kronschnabl further added, “Now more than ever, we see that the number one position in the market is not everything. But, the future belongs to India and if you want to benefit from the dynamics of the Indian market later, you need to act today. This is what we did. Our commitment to India was among the strategic decisions that had to be taken right away.”

BMW Group took a bold step in its Asia strategy in 2007 by establishing the BMW India Headquarters in Gurgaon (National Capital Region), a Central Parts Warehouse in Mumbai, and the BMW Plant Chennai in Tamil Nadu. Presently, the BMW Plant Chennai produces the BMW 3 Series and BMW 5 Series Sedans in petrol and diesel variants and has a capacity to produce 3000 units per year on a single shift basis. In medium term, BMW India has employed around 200 people; up to 600 additional jobs have been created in the dealer and service network. Presently, BMW India is present at 16 locations in the Indian market.

BMW dealerships presently display the BMW 3 Series and BMW 5 Series that are produced at the BMW Plant Chennai.

BMW dealerships also display the BMW 6 Series, BMW 7 Series, BMW X3, the BMW, the BMW X6, BMW Z4, and the BMW Gran Turismo which are available in the country as CBU’s (completely built-up units). The BMW M3 Coupé, BMW M3 Convertible, BMW M5, BMW M6 Coupé, BMW M6 Convertible, BMW X6 M, BMW 6 Series Individual and BMW 7 Series Individual can also be ordered at BMW India dealerships.
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Cars Giving Auto Expo A skip

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While we are speaking about the cars that will make into Auto Expo 2010, we surely do not want to miss out on a few names that had created a stir claiming to be India-bound.

We had gone gaga over the launch of Fiat Linea diesel at the Delhi Auto Expo in our previous blogs posted a few months back in 2009 only to find out those guys in Fiat India still probably think that India is not yet ready for their diesel Linea.

Likewise, Renault has backed out on bringing in their Sandero to the show that makes us speculate that Sandero will never get its date with the Indian Car Market. But of course Renault in India which has tied up with Mahindra and Mahindra is definitely showcasing its new Logan Tourer along with other interesting models.

If that was it, Hyundai who had once taken Renault to court for the rather Santro sounding Sandero name, is not unveiling the much publicized Nano competitor at least not in the Expo.

Speaking of the Nano competitor, there was one strong contender who also wanted to make a mark in the Nano market, Bajaj Auto. Bajaj Auto had gone over the boards by bringing in the concept model of their Ultra-Low-Cost car tying up with Renault and Nissan just a couple of years back, but sadly they themselves are out of the game of making cars for the moment as they will concentrate more on their thriving bike market.

Luxury car maker Skoda also had jumped in the fray with its planned launch of a small car that would take on the Hyundai i10 but in Skoda’s foot-in-mouth moment, this car will not make it to the Expo this year.

Other cars that will be conspicuous with their absence in the Delhi Auto Expo 2010 are Honda Jazz Automatic, Hyundai i10 diesel and Toyota Corolla Altis diesel.
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