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.
Labels: Chevrolet cars, General Motors
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.
Labels: Car driving, Volvo C70
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.
Labels: car plant, Mercedes-Benz
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.
Labels: Car designing, indian automobile Industry
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.
Labels: hybrid cars, Hyundai Motors, small cars, Toyota Motors
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.
Labels: Ajanta Group, Maini Reva, tata nano
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.
Labels: counterfeit auto parts, indian automobile Industry
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.
Labels: eco-friendly cars, Hybrid eco-friendly cars, LPG cars
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.
Labels: BMW, Car sales, Mercedes-Benz
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.
Labels: Mitsubishi Car, Sport Cars
Sri Lanka loves Suzuki cars
Maruti Suzuki is the leading manufacturer in India and is also leading in car exports from India. But now it has also another title in Sri Lanka car – the most preferred car manufacture for imported cars. Maruti cars tops in the list of the most preferred imported car manufacturer, released by Sri Lankan government. The most favored cars are M800, Alto and Swift.
Several interest and business of Sri Lanka are tied to bigger Indian companies. This will add credit to rising Indian Economy. But only recently has it been found that the people of India and Sri Lanka, share the passion for same cars along with the history.
Labels: Indian economy, Maruti Suzuki
Jaguar and Land Rover launch is far away
Much has been written about acquisition of luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover by Tata motors. People, who are obsessed with super luxury cars, may be waiting eagerly to put their fingers across for these luxury brands in India. But, they will have to wait for at least five years to drive home Jaguar and Land Rover in India.
So much so hype has created on JLR deal that many had thought Tata will introduce these brands in India may be within one or two years. In fact, Tata has no plans to launch these luxury brands in India for the next five to six years as it is now only concentrating to revamp these brands and roll out in USA and other western countries first. Tata might think of launching these cars in India after success of these cars in other countries. For Tata, success of these brands in other countries has become very crucial to strengthen its position in overseas mark
Labels: Jaguar and Land Rover launch, Tata Motors
New look for Kolkata roads
The old face of Kolkata (Calcutta) was symbolized by the intellectuals and man-pulled rickshaws. But now the modern face of Kolkata will have BMW cars beside the intellectuals. After different capitals like Delhi (country), Mumbai, (financial), Bangalore (Silicon Valley) and Chennai (cinemas) have got their own BWM outlets, it is now time for communist’s stronghold Kolkata to make way for a luxury car outlet.
BMW has opened an exclusive showroom for its cars. It will sell all the models available in India like the 3, 5, 6, 7 series, the X series and M3 coupe. The cars can also be serviced here. BMW will cater to all its clients in eastern India through Kolkata.
The BMW cars will be in stark contrast against the cycle rickshaws and trams. It will be exciting to have leisurely pace of Kolkata while the roads ruffled by speeding BMW in near future.
Labels: BMW cars, Kolkata, luxury cars
Electric cars get subsidy in Delhi
After asking the 15-year old cars to undergo a thorough health check–up and asking those who fail the test to retire, The Delhi government has now gone soft on battery operated vehicles.
In India the only commercial battery operated car is Bangalore based Reva Maini’s electric cars. The car cost Rs 3.5 lakh in the rest of the country, but will cost merely Rs 2.5 lakh. As much as Rs 1 lakh will be reduced in the total take home price. The state government is giving subsidies of 30 percent. This will really help Delhi to become one of the cleanest cities and also a good news for buyers who want to buy these cars. The thick emission fog will give way for sunlight and birds may chirp on trees.
The cost of this bright future will be Rs 35 crore per year for the government. And now don’t think that God’s divine message was received by all the government officials. The proposal was placed in front of Delhi government, by the environment ministry, ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth games.
Delhi government is waiving of VAT, road and registration charges to make battery operated cars more attractive than its petrol and diesel run cousins. Well with this price reduction on green cars, people will opt for electric cars rather than going for diesel or petrol small cars.
Labels: eco-friendly cars, Electric Cars
Hyundai takes on Maruti
Competition is good for consumers. It is not always that you get to witness a healthy competition in corporate, but the car sector is one place where you can see competition that pleases product buyers.
One may remember that Maruti Suzuki SX4 was the bestselling sedan in 2007-08 fiscal years. This success has spurned the rivals to upgrade their marketing strategies to newer levels. Hyundai Motors seems to have taken the competition very seriously.
The company has announced a grand discount of up to Rs 55,000 on its premium sedan Verna. Hyundai is offering a choice of accessories worth Rs 10,500 as an exchange bonus of Rs 15,000 and 4 percent discount on car loan amount. The sum total of the sops given to buyers adds up to 8 percent of the total car value. The car buyer not gets a premium car but also is rewarded with handsome discounts. So, all those who are planning to buy one can avail this attractive discount.
Labels: Hyundai Motors, Sedans
Outlander is no more an outsider
The Mitsubishi Outlander is one of the much awaited SUV’s in 2008. The company has already upped its preparations to welcome the beast to India. They have now released the prices of the SUV. The prices will start from Rs 15.5 lakh to Rs 16 lakh. So all those who wanted to take home the ‘tough guy’ can now make arrangements for finances.
Set to hit the roads in India in August, the muscular SUV will take upon existing big players like the Maruti Grand Vitara, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Ford Endeavour and Chevrolet Captiva. Pitched against them Outlander will be one of the cheapest SUV’s to buy.
But it will have more sophisticated features than any SUV has, so far. It will come with a 2.4L MIVEC petrol engine paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission and paddle shifters. The SUV will move on the electronically controlled four wheel drive system. Isn’t that amazing?
The Outlander comes in when the size of the SUV market has grown by 32 percent in the last one year. Hence, the market is prepared for more sophisticated utility vehicles. This is the real SUV that one should look for.
Labels: Mitsubishi Outlander, SUVs
Mercedes-Benz has different story to tell
With its advent in the year 1994 in India, Mercedes-Benz becomes the pioneer in luxury car segment in India. The company offer wide selection of car in India. It has recorded 20,000th Mercedes-Benz on April 9 which exceeded the production line. The 20.000th Mercedes-Benz was not any model but Indian E-Class. This record will really prove effective in expanding its wings more in the Indian market.
Sales statistic is also impressive, it has sold about 1,000 cars in the beginning of the year 2008 which is almost 60% more compare to last year sale. The company is preparing to beat its competitors in luxury car segment with its new plant at Chakan in Pune which is expected to roll out cars in 2009. Well, it is a good news for all car lovers who want to see more Marcedes-Benz cars in Indian roads.
Labels: car production, Mercedes-Benz
REVA joins Bangalore Airport
Maini REVA, the only electric car shining on the Indian roads will be seen in the Bangalore International Airport for Globe Ground operations. This eco-friendly car will be used to ferry the airport staff who manage ground handling operations for different airlines at the new airport.
REVA is a Bangalore based company located at the Bommasandra Industrial area and has an installed capacity of 6000 units with over 275 employees. Currently EEC-certified models is available in India and also marketed in U.K., Norway, Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Japan, Malta, Sri Lanka, Cyprus and Greece.
It is good to know that people are opting for eco-friendly cars and hope others also choose these cars which inurn will help to make our environment pollution free.
Labels: eco-friendly cars, Maini Reva
