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Premier Launches RiO in India

Premier Ltd. is among the oldest auto makers of India. And the company has launched its first ever sport-utility vehicle model. This new mini-SUV will be manufactured with China's Zotye Holding Group. This new kid of Premier is expected to be a tough competition for Maruti Suzuki Gypsy, Scorpio M2Di, and Mahindra Bolero.

This is an auspicious occasion for Premier as RiO, this new SUV of the company, is the beginning of a new phase of the company in India. The once famous company has manufactured the all-time favourite Indian car, Premier Padmini. And now, the company is expecting to repeat the magic.

The 1.5-liter turbo-diesel engine RiO will be imported by Premier from Zotye and will be assembled at its factory in Pune.

Premier RiO is based on the first-generation Daihatsu Terios. And it is powered by Premier’s own engine that is basically a downsized Peugeot TUD5 diesel engine. The 1490cc engine RiO delivers a 65 bhp of peak power.

The company is taking necessary steps so that RiO will meet the new emission norms of the government that will come on effect from April 1, 2010.

It is also expected that the company will start delivering RiO in the month of December. This mini-SUV was expected to launch in the Indian market during Diwali. The growing love for SUVs in the country will truly help in the sales of RiO. During April-September 2009, the sales of SUVs in India rose 3.5%. And it is expected that the demand will still grow because of the rising disposable incomes and the construction of more cross-country highways.

The Rio will be offered in three variants, the EX, which is priced at Rs 5.25 lakh, the DX at Rs 5.50 lakh, and LX at Rs 5.95 lakh, ex-showroom, Pune.

Labels: New-Car-Launch-In-India, New-Cars-India, Premier-Auto, Premier-Automobiles-Limited

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Diwali Gift from Premier Auto

This Diwali, Premier Auto, the erstwhile Premier Automobiles Limited or PAL is bringing us a gift. Believe it or not, it is going to be a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).

Known for the once-ubiquitious Premier Padmini, Premier Auto is making a comeback in passenger cars segment after nine years. The comeback will be marked by price of the SUV, as it is going to be India’s cheapest SUV. Another ‘cheapest car’ after the world’s cheapest Tata Nano.

With this compact SUV, a Chinese four-wheeler company Zotye Auto is foraying in the Indian automobile industry. It is for the first time a Chinese automobile maker have tied up with an Indian car maker. This little-known Zotye will partner Premier in the venture. Zotye Auto will supply vehicle kits to Premier to be assembled at Premier’s Pune facility which has a peak annual capacity of 20,000 units.

Zotye will export completely knocked down (CKD) kits from China and Premier will provide a diesel powerplant for the vehicle along with its assembly line in Pune. Zotye Auto will be paid by Premier for providing the CKD kits. But it’s going to cost Premier virtually nothing as Premier Auto can make profits even by selling a handful of the compact SUVs.

Moreover, Premier already has its existing dealers to sell the mini-SUV.
Premier Auto will fit its own four-cylinder, 1.5 L diesel engine mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox that can produce a power of 65 bhp. The SUV will have rear-wheel drive.

The mini-SUV will be named either Rio or Terra. The base variant of the mini-SUV will be priced at Rs 5 lakh, making it 30 per cent cheaper than its nearest competitor, the Mahindra Scorpio. But it will be smaller than the Mahindra Scorpio in terms of length and width.

The top-end variant is likely to be priced at around Rs 7 lakh. The top variant will come with safety features like air bags and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS). The top-end model will stand on 15-inch alloy wheels.

The mini-SUV looks cute. It has hatchback-sized dimensions and a distinctive SUV appearance. Premier Auto’s upcoming SUV will be no bigger than the Maruti Suzuki Swift.

Let us just wait and see till this SUV is launched.

Labels: Comapct-SUV, Mini-SUV, Premier-Auto, Premier-Automobiles-Limited, Sports-Utility-Vehicle, SUV, Zotye-Auto