|
|
|
|
| 
Subscribe to
Posts [Atom] |
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
Monday, 12 April 2010
 Miracles happen, don’t they! Well, at least, Ford India has witnessed a miracle. And it is no rocket science to guess that it is called Figo. The latest hatchback from Ford, Figo, has sold more than 7210 units in the first month of being on sale. The Figo hatchback has cruised past the 7000 mark in the very first month of its launch. It has shattered the hopes of rivals like the Chevrolet Beat which sold 4499units. And Polo, which is trying to save the honour and dignity of Volkswagenwith sales of 698 units, can hardly be considered any match for the mighty Ford Figo. The Maruti Suzuki Swift and Hyundai i10 are miles ahead of the other with sales of 12,188 and 15,236 units respectively. The Estilo, too, has picked up sales, but the Wagon R (11,084) and Alto (16,397) have been subjected to a slight downfall, as the small car segment heats up with new launches. Soon, the Alto may lose its much coveted position of India’s largest selling car to Hyundai i10. But then, it would not be surprising if Figo just cruises past all these top guns of the small car segment. Ford India sold 9478 units in March 2010 and registered a threefold growth on year-over-year basis. This is a record for Ford in India. Ford is trying its best to meet the heavy demand for the Figo and is planning to start a second shift at its plant. The comprehensive strategy of launching the Figo in both diesel and petrol variants and still maintaining a grip on the pricing factor has spelt magic for Ford India. During this time, approximately 9 lakh people have visited the Ford India website and spent about 8 minutes of their precious time on the website. Though not completely, but, to a large extent, it can be attributed to the Figo. Not only this, thousands of people expressed their liking for Figo by joining Figo communities across social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. “As we remain committed to redefining the Ford brand in India, we expect this momentum to continue,” said Boneham. “Factors such as the initial price of the car, fuel efficiency and cost of maintenance are critical in determining affordability for a new car buyer. Indian customers are confirming that Figo solidly delivers on all of these.” Labels: Chevrolet-Beat, Estilo, Ford-Figo, Ford-Figo-Sales, Ford-India, Ford-India-Sales, Hyundai-i10, Maruti-Suzuki-Swift, Volkswagen-Polo, Wagon-R
Friday, 29 January 2010
 Guess what? Maruti Suzuki might be riding a high wave with their production output surpassing the parent company itself but that does not stop India’s largest car manufacturing company to stop at it. Maruti Suzuki has been ruling the roost in the compact segment and it is a known fact that 2 out of every 3 cars sold in India is a Maruti Suzuki. Maruti Suzuki wants to further consolidate their position in the Indian car market and how? Maruti plans to launch another compact car Cervo in the Indian market by the end of 2010. Though Cervo was seen a replacement for the already successful Maruti cars like Alto and Wagon R, Maruti Suzuki plans to launch the Cervo that will co-exist with the popular other models. This compact car is a five door car which features a 54 bhp, 1-litre and has a sleek and stylish body and going by Maruti’s pricing standards, they might just price it right. If the rumors are to be believed, Cervo might be priced between 2-3 Lakh. There is not even an ounce of doubt that once Cervo is launched in India with this price tag, it will become the fastest and the most selling model for Maruti Suzuki. If we have to summarise the Cervo, it looks much similar to the Honda Jazz but with an economical price tag. The fit and finish of the car is praise worthy and has enchanting looks. The interiors of the car resembles a Swift or the SX4 and has loads of space, be it the head room, leg room or the boot space. We hear that the car comes equipped with front semi-bucket seats, 4-speed auto gearbox, a K6A DOHC engine with VVT and bluetooth capability. The car which has already been launched in the Japanese market is quite a hit. Labels: Maruti-Suzuki, Maruti-Suzuki-Alto, Maruti-Suzuki-Cervo, Maruti-Suzuki-Swift, Maruti-Suzuki-SX4, Maruti-Suzuki-WagonR
Monday, 11 January 2010
What if the biggies like Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen and others are hankering for a bigger chunk of the Indian small car markert. Our desi bred Maruti Suzuki India is not a least bit concerned with their onslaught of new models as India’s largest car maker has repositioned its strategy by planning to bring in refreshed variants of its best-selling cars Alto, WagonR and Swift. What’s new you may ask? These models will be here in India with a much cheaper price tag. How cool is that? Now that’s what we call as competition. In an industry first, Maruti Suzuki India who makes every second car sold in India, is going against the industry practice of launching new variants at higher prices. Maruti has always come out with great moves and this move of the Indian car biggie comes in line with the company’s CEO S Nakanishi’s view that 2010 will be the toughest year for Maruti. If you can remember Mr. Nakanishi had earlier said “We have to gain volumes to protect our market share with global car makers entering the compact car segment.” The new variant of Alto which is slated for launch in three months from now, will be much cheaper than the cheapest variant of Alto which is currently available in India. This move was widely speculated as Maruti always wanted to take on the Tata Nano with the M-800 but M-800 will not be sold in the 11 cities that will adopt Bharat-IV emission norms. The new variant of Alto might be priced at sub-Rs 3 lakh which is sure to garner the magic numbers Maruti wanted to garner from its new variant. Likewise, Maruti also is re-designing its existing products in its portfolio like that of Zen Estilo which will be cheaper by Rs 50,000 than the outgoing model. Similarly the newly launched Maruti Suzuki Eeco, the new multi-purpose vehicle is priced at Rs 2.59 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi) which is almost a lakh cheaper than the outgoing Versa. In the same way Maruti is also bringing in its new Swift petrol with a 1.2 litre KB series engine against the existing 1.3 litre engine in the first half of 2010. This model could be priced Rs 35,000 less than the existing model. Maruti Suzuki also has a catch here. All cars in India with 1.2 litre petrol engine and under 4-metre of length attract 8 per cent excise duty compared with 20 per cent for larger vehicles. Maruti Suzuki is expected to pass on the excise benefit to customers. Maruti is refurbishing its entire portfolio as per the international norm of revamping cars every three years. Most of its cars have attained that cycle of change. Moreover, these models have older engines that will be replaced to meet the new emission norms applicable from April. Labels: KB-Series-Engine, Maruti-Suzuki-Alto, Maruti-Suzuki-Eeco, Maruti-Suzuki-India, Maruti-Suzuki-Swift, Versa, Zen-Estilo
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
It is official; Toyota’s small car will be called as Etios. This car will be launched as a concept at the New Delhi Auto Expo of 2010. Tata Motors can breathe easy at the moment as this small car will certainly not be a Nano rival as it will be expected to cost around $10,000. But Toyota has Maruti Suzuki’s Swift in their radar as this car will challenge the uninterrupted run of one of India's popular hatchbacks. The Etios name means 'the origin of'. This concept car will be a 90 per cent production reality. So expect no major changes in the concept car and that of the production model. As per Auto Car India, Toyota will showcase both the hatch and notchback body models in the Auto Expo. The hatchback version of the small car will go on sale to begin with and the sedan version is set to follow soon in about three months after the hatchback version hits the Indian market. The Etios is expected to come in two engine options, a 1.4 liter diesel which does its duty in the Yaris and a 1.2 or 1.3 Liter petrol engine. Toyota has in its stock the 1.3 K3 engine but might downsize the engine to 1.2 l engine due to the stringent regulations put forth by the Government of India to meet the small car regulations. Toyota will not compromise on the quality of the car and hence will go for a gradual ramp-up in production of the car so that it will sell the car in larger volumes later. Toyota in an aim to keep the costs as low as possible will probably resort to limited sound-proofing, a hard but durable interior, basic seats and one windscreen wiper. This small car of Toyota being a global car, might be sold in markets like Russia and South America apart from India by the end of 2010. Toyota will display the car alongside 13 other concept and production vehicles at the New Delhi show, which begins on January 5. Source: AutoCar India: http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/Toyota/246166/Labels: Maruti-Suzuki-Swift, Small-Car, Toyota, Toyota-Etios, Toyota-Small-Car
Friday, 4 December 2009
 This news from Chevrolet comes after a long time now. Chevy is all set to launch their next ‘big’ small car Beat in the Indian market on 4th January, 2010 on the eve of the Auto Expo 2010. The upcoming Delhi Auto Expo is expected to be a Dhamaka amongst the auto makers and the automobile enthusiasts in the country. Chevy Beat is speculated to be launched in three variants - Base, LS and LT. All the variants will come with a highly fuel efficient 1.2 litre petrol engine developing 79 bhp and has a ARAI certified fuel efficiency figure of 18.6 kmpl. The Beat will also be one of the safest cars in its class with a Euro NCAP safety rating of 4 stars, bettering its main rivals in India at the moment, Hyundai i10 and the Maruti Suzuki Swift. The styling has been well executed to give the car striking and bold looks. The macho looking front end and the rear end studded with huge tail lamps will certainly make the car stand out from the rest. The tipped forward stance is further accentuated by the rising beltline and the narrowing roofline at the rear. The clean side profile is further enhanced by the door handle which is integrated with the C-Pillar.  This Chevy will carry dashboard integrated sound system that also supports USB and AUX input and even a multifunction display. The dashboard is well styled and features the Cruze inspired twin cockpit. The pricing will start from a very competitive 3.7 Lakhs onwards for the base version which will come with Power Steering and A/C as standard. Labels: Chevrolet-Beat, Chevrolet-Cruze, Hyundai-i10, Maruti-Suzuki-Swift
Monday, 5 October 2009
 Maruti Suzuki Swift is a car which has never lost its steam since its inception in the world market. This is a car which has already scorched the roads of many countries in the world through its radical design and styling. And now creating news all over the world with panache is its hybrid version. This popular car will now be showcased in the upcoming Tokyo Motor show in a plug-in hybrid version. Suzuki Swift Plug-in Hybrid is a surprise for the world; no auto journalists could smell such an interesting development till date. The Swift Hybrid will be powered by a cache of Lithium Ion battery and a 658cc gasoline engine. The combined output of the Plug-in Swift will exceed 74hp out of which 20hp will come from the electric motor. The official launch of this plug-in hybrid will happen after few days. The bulky Lithium Ion battery box will eat up one seat in rear row. Now, for the question that everybody is willing to ask here in India. Will Maruti Suzuki add the Hybrid Swift into their product line up? Well, we are being frank here by saying that this will not happen at least for another couple of years as the Hybrid and electric market here in India is still in its infancy. Anyways the concept image of this spicy hatchback hybrid version is hotter than the fossil fuel version. We liked the images especially the one with a plug chord.  Maini Reva can now breathe in ease as it was the first Indian Car company to show the world that the electric cars will be the “in” thing of the near future. Let’s all wait and watch who else will follow the suit? Labels: Hatchback, Maini-Reva, Maruti-Suzuki-Swift, Swift-Plug-in-Hybrid, Tokyo-Motor-Show
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
 After the Suzuki A-Star and the Ritz, Maruti has launched a new car. Well, it will be wrong to call it a new car as this car is a limited edition variant of the Swift. This “newly launched” car is christened as Glam. The new hatchback from Maruti Suzuki is all decked up to match its contenders. Swift Glam will have an appealing dual tone dashboard, exquisite beige upholsteries, sizzling new wheel covers and handy rear parcel tray. This sporty car will now sport body-coloured Outside Rear View Mirrors (ORVMs) and door handles. The Swift VXI Glam will come with an integrated audio system and Keyless remote entry. Moreover, Maruti has introduced two new paint schemes for the Glam Limited Edition. The new colour shades are named Goldsmith Black and noble Arctic White. Only Maruti knows what’s black about goldsmiths and noble about the Arctic!!! But, why a limited edition? Competition is the answer. The new Fiat Grande Punto is positioned squarely against the Suzuki Swift, and the Hyundai i20 and the Honda Jazz are definitely more of premium hatchbacks than the top-end Swift. Moreover, there is a speculation that the Glam edition is Suzuki’s ploy to clear stocks before they introduce the K12M engine in the Swift. The Maruti Suzuki Swift Glam Limited Edition is only available in the petrol variant. Labels: Hatchback, K12M-Engine, Limited-Edition-Cars, Maruti-Suzuki-Swift
Thursday, 28 May 2009
Swift and Dzire are the only two car models that are presently powering the growth of Maruti Suzuki. This has become a big concern for the company as it desires to witness uniform performance of all its car models. 
The key factors that offer Maruti Suzuki a competitive advantage in the Indian car market are its wide range of cars and its strong national presence. And the company desires to take full benefits of its competitive advantages. Maruti wants to focus on its entire portfolio of cars available in India and want to have a uniform growth. Alto is a small car from Maruti’s stable and is one of the highest selling cars in India. But when it comes to driving the company’s growth the Alto steps behind the Swift and Dzire. 
The company finds no reason as to why the growth is restructured to two car models. But still it continues to move ahead and is in continuous process of identifying new areas of growth. Maruti even identified lucrative opportunities in the rural market. Last year the company also offered good incentives and schemes to government employees. The company would continue to strengthen these areas in order to power its growth and strengthen its presence in the country. Labels: Maruti-Suzuki, Maruti-Suzuki-Alto, Maruti-Suzuki-Dzire, Maruti-Suzuki-Swift
Monday, 25 May 2009
The competition amongst car manufacturers is really going tough. Every car manufacturer wants to achieve the top position in the market. With the launch of Tata Nano, car manufacturers have felt the need to bring out better car models to attract buyers and boost car sales. One of the leading car brand Maruti Suzuki is now thinking of revamping its entire range of car models. All the cars from Maruti’s stable will experience a subtle makeover in a span of two years. The sporty Swift will be seen with all new design and a new petrol variant as well. The most popular and the highest selling small car Alto will get two new variants equipped with the revolutionary KB series engines. The new Alto variants will be positioned against Hyundai Santro and Chevrolet Spark. There are speculations that the Alto will also come with a stripped down version to directly compete with the world’s cheapest car Nano. Maruti car models like popular WagonR and not so popular Versa will also undergo minor changes. Even the M800 and the Omni will be upgraded under the hood to meet the new Bharat-IV emission standards. Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara will also be available with a new engine. After a series of new launches from Maruti Suzuki, the company is now looking forward to improve and modify its existing models. With new variants in the new attires, Maruti Suzuki models will definitely spark a new excitement in the Indian car industry. Labels: M800, Maruti-Cars, Maruti-Suzuki, Maruti-Suzuki-Alto, Maruti-Suzuki-Swift, Maruti-Suzuki-WagonR, tata nano
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Maruti Suzuki is known to pioneer many innovative ideas since 1983. Its successful strategies has made the company India’s largest car manufacturer. Maruti still continues the trend which is now inspiring many global car manufacturers. What has attracted them is the way Maruti Suzuki manages to improve its brand image with every launch. They are trying to emulate the idea of launching a hatchback and a sedan version of the same model. Maruti has the Swift hatch and the Swift DZire sedan available in both petrol and diesel variants. Car manufacturers like Toyota, Volkswagen, Honda Motors, and Ford Motors want to imitate the same philosophy. They plan to use the same technology for their future launches in India and abroad. It has been learnt that Toyota plans to launch a small and a big car based on the Yaris platform. Volkswagen plans to do the same with the upcoming car model Polo. But, Volkswagen should be careful not to eat its subsidiary Skoda India’s share which has a small car Fabia and big sedans in the premium segment. Similarly, Honda Motors will launch the small car ‘Jazz’ which is based on the City platform. This policy actually saves time and is cost effective while providing options for the buyers in a single platform. Labels: Car-Manufacturers, Maruti-Suzuki-Cars, Maruti-Suzuki-Swift
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
New face of Maruti Suzuki Swift is still under the wraps and is expected to make its first international debut at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. Having a new face doesn’t mean that the fastest selling hatchback in the Indian car market will be completely replaced by a new design. But it will have minor cosmetic changes that will definitely add more drama and expression to the visual appeal. The Swift in new getup will retain its unique design with rounded front fascia, imposing rear, and short rear overhang. The modifications in the next generation Swift will include a new set of taillights, bumper, and grille. It is also speculated that the new Swift will be longer, wider, and more spacious than the present day Swift. The drivetrain may not differ much except a new range of petrol engines delivering between 90 and 130 bhp along with a new diesel engine that will generate 80 bhp. But the actual picture will be only revealed once the mask is removed at the Paris Motor Show. Labels: Maruti-Suzuki-Cars, Maruti-Suzuki-Swift, New-Car-Launch
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Maruti has organised a night Car Rally exclusively for all the Swift owners in Delhi on 28th March. This rally was organised to celebrate the launch of the Maruti Suzuki Swift online club as the model Swift has reported a victorious 3 lakh sales mark in the country. Interestingly, in the online club Swift lovers and owners can share their views and experiences on the car. They can also get experts advices from a technical team and also post their travel experiences with the Swift. Same way, the rally also provided a common platform for all Swift owner to relish their proprietorship of the car. About 86 Swift owners together participated in the 40 km rally which was flagged off from Pragati Maidan to Mehrauli. At the end of the rally, Kartik Batra was declared as the winner who took away LCD television as the prize and the first runner-up Mukesh Kaushik was gifted with a home theatre system. The first-of-its-kind car rally completely symbolizes the true attributes of the car that is meant for dynamic and enthusiastic young generation. Labels: Car-Rally, Maruti-Suzuki-Cars, Maruti-Suzuki-Swift
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Maruti Suzuki’s famed and winning hatchback Swift has again heralds its success by bagging an impressive sales number of 3 Lakh. Amazingly, this car only took three years and eight months to reach the 3-lakh milestone. Since its launch in May 2005, the car has always seen an upward trend in terms of sales. In less than 21 months, it achieved sales figure of one lakh and progressing in the same success lane it again reached the sales number of one lakh in just 13 months. The car has received many accolades in India as well as in other countries. Incredibly, Swift was crowned with the title of ‘Car-of-the-Year’ in 11 countries including India due to its sporty looks, superior safety features, and dynamic driving. Swift has set a radical new trend in Maruti Suzuki’s image representing a new philosophy and fresh thinking of the company. Maruti has intelligently launched both the petrol and diesel variants of the car to lure car buyers. The Swift diesel variant also marked new benchmarks for diesel cars further increasing its popularity. This is not the end, the car has a long way to go and it is certainly going to keep its eminent image in the Indian car industry. Labels: Indian-car-industry, Maruti-Suzuki-Cars, Maruti-Suzuki-Swift
Thursday, 20 November 2008
The new Swift TVC (TV commercial) has all that required in a complete promotion advertisement. The Swift’s unique features, cool attitude & class, excellent look, and feel makes it a good buy for money. It is a new revolution in the age of luxurious cars with a blend of class and style. Swift is very Swift in turning the market around with its unique and stylish look and its TVC is mind blowing to watch. Both the actors look hot and the chemistry between them is very good. Submitted By: Ashwini Singh Labels: Maruti-Cars, Maruti-Suzuki-Swift
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
We feel good to announce that the great Maruti Suzuki Swift is redesigned to a sports coupe. The transformation from four to two-door racing car will be gifted to the winners of F1 racing. It’s even more amazing to know that this sports coupe is sponsored by a renowned brand, Royal Challenge. You all must be aware by this big name. Recently, the company has associated itself with the India's Formula 1 team event. The company wanted a car that can emanate pace and passion of all the sports enthusiasts especially the ones involved in the Formula 1 racing. The brainchild of Prashant Chandra created a bang in the Indian car industry by introducing a sporty and high performance revamped Swift, renamed as RCFI. This sports coupe has burrowed the best of designs from the top leading and quintessential supercars available across the world. Adorned with a vibrant combination of black and red, the remodeled Swift has appealed the youth. This new invention has forced the global players to comment that only Indians can do such wonders. Labels: Formula-1, Indian-car-industry, Maruti-Suzuki-Swift
|
|
Miracles happen, don’t they! Well, at least, Ford India has witnessed a miracle. And it is no rocket science to guess that it is called Figo. The latest hatchback from Ford, Figo, has sold more than 7210 units in the first month of being on sale.
