Indian Car Blog - Carazoo.com

India in recent times has weighted against its counterparts in the west by becoming one of the preferred destinations for luxury car makers. We have heard of Aston Martin searching for opportunities to sell its wares in India, and Porsche outselling the quota of Panameras reserved for India, Rolls Royce planning to sell over 60 Ghosts in India and so on.

But what actually catches our eye is Mercedes-Benz, one of the first luxury car makers now trying hard to regain its lost numero uno position to BMW. Mercedes-AMG GmbH, commonly known as AMG, which is a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz car company specialising in high-performance luxury cars, is betting big on the Indian market. AMG models typically have more aggressive looks, higher performances, better handling and better stability also comes with a much costlier price tag than their regular Mercedes counterparts.

As per a report in popular news daily, Mercedes Benz has managed to bag as many as five confirmed bookings for the Rs2. Crore SLS-AMG within days after it was showcased in the 10th Auto Expo held in New Delhi. For those who came in late, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG was showcased in the Mercedes Benz pavilion under the concept of ‘Pure Fascination” at the Auto Show 2010. This car which is a spiritual successor to the 300L has been developed by AMG, the performance division of Mercedes Benz.

Following its world premiere at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt in September 2009, series production of the SLS AMG is now commencing in Sindelfingen, the largest of the Mercedes-Benz production plants. It is to be mentioned that the assembly lines and production facilities in Sindelfingen were brought up to the very latest standards for final assembly of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. This is where specially selected, highly qualified specialists produce the gullwing model substantially by hand. Premium quality is not only ensured by continuous monitoring of the ongoing production process. At the end of the production process, the entire vehicle is subjected to further, extensive quality checks.

The unrivalled technology package of the SLS is an alluring proposition: aluminum spaceframe body with gullwing doors, AMG 6.3-litre V8 front-mid-engine developing 420 kW (571 hp) peak output, 650 Nm of torque and dry sump lubrication, seven-speed double-declutch transmission in a transaxle configuration, sports suspension with aluminums double wishbones and a kerb weight of 1620 kilograms based on the DIN standard – this superlative combination guarantees driving dynamics of the highest order. With a front/rear weight distribution of 47 to 53 per cent and the vehicle's low centre of gravity, this extraordinary combination guarantees performance figures at the highest level. The gullwing model accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, and has an electronically limited top speed of 317 km/h. A fuel consumption of 13.2 litres per 100 kilometres (combined) makes it one of the best in the competitive line-up.

A heavy emphasis on hand-production is a characteristic feature of the SLS – for the aluminum spaceframe, the engine and during final assembly. The chassis and aluminum bodyshell are produced by Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH in Graz/Austria. This highly respected system partner is able to look back on many years of cooperation with Daimler, as the Mercedes-Benz G-Class has been in production there since 1979.

Innovative joining techniques are used in the lightweight spaceframe of the SLS AMG, which tips the scales at only 241 kilograms. Hand-production is also the order of the day at the AMG engine workshops in Affalterbach, where the 420 kW (571 hp) AMG 6.3-litre V8 power unit is assembled on the ‘one man, one engine’ principle.

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Get a load of this. Rolls Royce has taken 60 orders in November-December 2009 for its newly launched Rolls Royce Ghost in India. How cools is that? India is finally back to its old ways in the global business of buying Rolls Royce cars, punching above its weight. This fact certainly is a nostalgic-feel for the RR marquee.

India is back in track from where it started for RR market. The new breed of Indian business tycoons are following in the footsteps of the pre-war maharajahs in their quest for luxury cars, snapping up the new $600,000 Rolls-Royce Ghost at the fastest rate in the world. The first Ghost will be delivered to a Chennai based realtor next month.

Rolls-Royce, the iconic British carmaker now owned by BMW, is hoping for big things from the Ghost, a “baby” 2.4-tonne luxury sedan that is about 40 per cent cheaper than the company’s flagship Phantom range.

Rolls Royce’s global sales dropped southwards with just 1000 RR Phantoms being sold in 2009 when compared to 1212 in 2008 thanks to the Global recession. But RR is quite optimistic this year and targets selling 2500 units of Phantom and Ghosts this year. The Ghost, was unveiled at the September 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show as the new entry level Roller.

Though Abu Dhabi and Dubai were the top sales outlets for Rolls Royce in 2008, thanks to the global financial crisis, the Middle-East luxury car sales is now cooling off and the new markets for the RR is emerging from the Asia-Pacific particularly from countries like China and India. RR expects to sell over 400 units with China accounting for half of the sales while India, Japan and Australia raking the rest of RR units.

RR though is targeting the global market for its sales, Indian car market will always remain special to the Rolls Royce as the saga of RR in India dates back to 1907 when Maharaja of Gwalior, Madho Rao Scindia , imported the first example of the car to India , just three years after Rolls-Royce was formed.

India, pre-independence though predominantly a British Raj, was a royal mass of land with over 500 princely states in it. Most the maharajas and Royals of these princely states were avid buyers of the brand, customizing them to suit Indian conditions. The Nizam of Hyderabad, for example, had a fleet of 50 Rollers, while the Maharajah of Patiala had 44 in his collection.
But with the coming of Indian independence in 1947, royals and Maharajas were forced to abandon their ostentatious lifestyles and lead a life of austerity for many decades to come. Their Rolls-Royces were garaged or sold to private collectors, such as the industrialist Pranlal Bhogilal, who has a collection of 200-plus vintage cars on his estate near Ahmedabad.

Further financial privation for the royals came in 1971 when then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi abolished the Privy Purse system of payments to them. By this time Rolls Royce had withdrawn from the Indian market and it was not until 2005 that it returned, appointing Navnit Motors in Mumbai as first authorized RR dealer in almost 50 years. Navnit subsequently opened a showroom in Mumbai’s Atria Mall in May 2006, and this was followed by a second Rolls-Royce dealership in India in September 2008, when Select Cars opened a showroom in New Delhi.

Going by the reports of the latest world wealth published by consulting firms Capgemini and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, India had 84,000 US-dollar millionaires at the start of last year, down more than 30 per cent from an estimated 123,000 at the start of 2008, when share markets were at their peak. Of the 84,000, about 1000 Indians are in the “ultra” high net worth category, with assets above US$30 million, while between 50 and 100 are billionaires. India has already become a land of modern new age Maharajas.

While high net worth individual numbers may have receded a little from early 2008, the return of strong economic growth in the second half of 2009 in both India and China points to strong sales ahead for sellers of luxury goods. China’s GDP growth in 2010 is likely to be around 9 to 9.5 per cent, while India should reach 7.5 per cent. That compares with just a 2.2 per cent outlook for the US and 3.5 per cent for the world overall.

This is what makes India a fertile hunting ground for Rolls-Royce and other luxury car purveyors such as Bentley, which is owned by BMW’s rival German maker Volkswagen. Maybach, the Mercedes-Benz luxury model, rounds out the trio of brands at the top catering to the “chairman” segment, where customization is the name of the game. Family crests, cocktail cabinets, special carpet trim and unique colour combinations are among the personal touches most often requested.

In addition to the “chairman” luxury-car segment, there is also strong Indian demand for sports-style “supercars,” where names like Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche dominate the market.

Source: The Australian

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Ah Yes, Tata Nano, How can we ever miss out on the wonder car in our blog today with all of those German biggies hankering for space in Carazoo blogs (Read the earlier published blogs on Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche). Today has been a very special day for the Nano as it did hit the headlines of many newspapers for various reasons.

Among the first of many Nano stories, Durr India Pvt Ltd is setting up a paint shop using robots to cut carbon-di-oxide (CO2) emissions at the Sanand plant in Gujarat, where the first painted body unit of Tata Nano is expected to be completed by June 2010.

Durr India Pvt Ltd is setting up the paint shop on turnkey basis for Tata Motors. The paint shop is one amongst the units of the Nano’s manufacturing plant. The Lean compact technology as the insiders at Tata call uses robots to paint India's small and cheapest car.


Nano is one of the contenders in Autocar’s ‘Car of the Decade’ poll

Tata Nano has managed to fit itself in, in the list of contenders for the coveted ‘Car of the Decade’ poll which is being run by renowned
British car magazine, Autocar.

Does Nano stand a chance in this poll with heavy weights like that of Audi R8, Bugatti Veyron, Nissan GT-R, Porsche GT3 and the Rolls-Royce Ghost are different question all together? But think of this, while the other contenders for the title in the list here are either high-performance cars or very high-end luxury cars are made by so many manufacturers across the world, there’s only one car that offers affordable motoring to families that may otherwise be confined to a two-wheeler. Yes indeed, No guesses there, we are speaking of and for Tata Nano.

If you love the Nano as much as we do, we suggest you visit the Autocar website and cheer for the car by casting your vote the great little car now! Go Nano. Go.


Egypt invites Tata Motors to build Nano plant

Singur’s loss is Sanand’s gain is the thing of the past now. With the Nano, it is just not the states in India which are lobbying to donate space for the construction of Tata Nano’s production plant, but contenders from world over have just started to pour in.

After raising eyebrows in India, the humble Nano is all set to speed up to the ‘Dark Continent’ even before the dust has completely settled. Egypt has extended its invitation to India's Tata Motors to build a factory to make the Nano, the world’s cheapest car in the African country for the local market and sales elsewhere if we are to go by what a reputed daily of India has to say.

"Egypt is seeking consent of Tata for left-hand drive Nano to be produced in Egypt, where a huge market is expected not only internally, but in the left-hand drive market in the Middle East and in Europe," the paper quoted Egypt's ambassador to India, Mohamed Higazy, as saying. Higazy is claimed to have said the paper that the company would consider the proposal after the initial phase of the Nano launch.

Well, Tata Motors in the meanwhile also have come up with a email statement saying "While Tata Motors has said that the Tata Nano and its variants will also be introduced in other countries, the company has not decided on its manufacturing strategy (in other countries), let alone Egypt".

Tata launched the Nano in March this year and is expected to take it to Europe by 2011 and to the United States later.

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Here we are referring to the Rolls Royce Ghost. Today, the Ghost is being revealed to the Indian car lovers in the capital city.

The Rolls Royce Ghost was announced in the 2006 Paris Motor Show and was revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September this year. Earlier, the car was hinted as RR4, which increased anticipation and last year, the company released sketches of the car, which showed that it had some changes from the conventional Rolls Royce cars.

The Ghost has a centre opening door configuration, with hand crafted interiors and grill. Moreover, the car is slightly smaller in dimensions compared to other Roll Royce cars, yet it is more powerful and it is the most technologically advanced car from Rolls Royce stable. The top-end model of the Ghost will come for a whopping Rs 2.5 Crore where as the Phantom comes for Rs. 4.45 Crore.

The super luxury sedan comes with a 6.6 L twin-turbo V12 engine. The whisper-quiet engine aptly suits the name ‘Ghost’ of this Rolls Royce luxury sedan.

In India, Rolls Royce has focused on the chauffeur-driven segment of the population and hopes to sell 50 cars in the country. The company historically has had a big market in the nation, as its cars were the preferred mode of transportation for the royal families in the pre-Independence time.

However, post-independence, this market has lessened considerably. Last year, the British car maker sold only about 14 cars here. Apart from this, the fact that the company does not believe in routine marketing and advertising activities, may further hamper its chances as compared to other luxury car brands that have made a niche for themselves in the country.

The first delivery of the Ghost in the country is expected to happen in quarter one of the next year.

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Ghost will haunt you day and night as it has already been launched! There is nothing supernatural about it; it is about the Rolls Royce Ghost that we are speaking about here as the it has been officially launched at the ongoing Frankfurt Motor Show.

The Ghost is a production model from Rolls Royce, which has a much informal presence than the Rolls Royce Phantom.

It is really a triumphant task to more explain about the Rolls Royce Ghost which is designed to perfection and will be subject to awe and inspiration with its prevailing, focused proportions. And it seems to surely make the whole Rolls Royce folks really proud of their creation.

The Ghost will be available in a latest, 6.6-litre twin-turbo V12 that produces 563 horsepower and 780Nm of torque and has an eight-speed shift-by-wire automatic transmission from ZF. And it will pick up the pace from zero to 100km/h in just 4.7 seconds and strike an electronically governed top speed of 248 kilometre in an hour.

The Rolls Royce Ghost rides on double-wishbone (front) and multi-link (rear) suspension and it works with an intellectual air-suspension system and electronic variable damping.

The interior of the Ghost is a perfect blend of the premium features and materials. It has the finest and highly expensive wood, leather, and other materials used for style and comfort. The interior is also fitted with the latest, entertainment and navigation electronics that is available in the car market, making this proud machine a truly supreme car.

India is now among the most promising luxury car market, and the Indian car buyers need not feel miserable, though in limited numbers, the Ghost will also be coming to the Indian car market in 2010. As the company has not mentioned about how much will it be priced in the India, there are plenty of speculations about its price.

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The cars that will be showcased in the Frankfurt Motor Show will be the best in of our times as the companies are competing with each other for bringing out the best. And the show will not only be an exhibition of wonderful machines, it will also display the toil of the car makers round the word for the past years and a peep into the future of cars.

For the Indian car market, it will not have the privilege of driving all the cars available in the motor show, but yes there will be cars from the Frankfurt Motor Show that will be later launched in the Indian car market.

The two models from the Indian electric car maker Maini Reva is a good example for this. Reva will be showcasing its two electric cars, NXR, a four-seater two door hatchback, and NXG, a sporty two seater. Both the cars will run on lithium-ion batteries and these eco-friendly cars from the only electric car maker of the country will also be available to the Indian customers within a period of two years. The production of NXR will begin by 2010 and for the NXG by 2011.

Another car that will be showcased in the Frankfurt Motor Show and will also mark its entry into the Indian car market is the baby Phantom from Rolls Royce, Ghost. This small ultra luxury sedan is engineered by Helmut Reidl has very alluring and dominant features. The Ghost that will be powered by a 570PS 6.6-litre turbocharged V12 engine is expected to hit the Indian car market by the end of 2009 or by early 2010. The car will be price between 1.2 and 1.3 crore.

Within the next few years, the Indian car market will be flooded with luxury and eco-friendly cars and the models mentioned will surely make a huge hit.

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Don’t panic! We are talking about the Rolls Royce Ghost which is India bound. The upcoming luxury car also called the Baby Rolls Royce will be inaugurated in India by the end of 2009, a year marked by the maximum car launches in India till date.

Rolls Royce Motor Cars has recently announced the details of its luxury car, The Rolls Royce Ghost. The car will be powered by a brand new 6.6 litre turbo charged V12 engine which unique to the Rolls-Royce. The V12 engine will be mated to an 8-speed automatic ZF gearbox. This engine will produce 563 bhp and can accelerate to 100 km in 5 seconds. The Ghost can cover 249.45 km/h.

The Rolls-Royce Ghost will come with an intelligent four corner air suspension system that uses multi link aluminum front and rear axles. The fully integrated system allows each of the Ghost’s dynamic handling systems to work together in harmony, providing the optimum levels of refinement and comfort at all times.

Noise from engine, exhaust and even tyre has been engineered to be inaudible as far as possible, both internally and externally. The car will have significant levels of low down torque which makes driving experience comparable to the legendary “Magic Carpet” ride.
The Ghost will come with all the exclusive Rolls Royce features. This car termed as “Rolls you can drive everyday” will share paint, wood and leather workshops with the Phantom series of cars.

The luxury car is likely to get a price sticker between Rs 1.2 crore to Rs 1.4 crore. Rolls Royce currently sells the Phantom, the Phantom Coupe, and the Phantom Drophead Coupe in India.

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The ultimate name in luxury, the Rolls Royce will be launching its smallest offering, Ghost, in India by the end of this year. It is also called the Baby Rolls Royce and is perfect for an everyday drive to office and back.

The Rolls Royce Ghost will be globally launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show scheduled to be held in September 2009. It will be brought to India in November or December. The Ghost will be priced around U.S. $ 250,000 and U.S. $ 270,000 (Rs 1.2 crore to Rs 1.4 crore). It will come with all the exclusive features a typical Rolls Royce will have.

Currently, the Indian car market has around 40 Rolls Royce cars of which 14 of them were brought last year. Interestingly, Indians were busy buying Rolls Royce when the world was going through an economic slowdown. Rolls Royce in India sells three models already- Phantom, Phantom Coupe, and Phantom Drophead Coupe.

With the inclusion of the Ghost in the Rolls Royce portfolio, Indian luxury car buyers’ will be spoilt for choice. The Rolls Royce Ghost is expected to be a Moolah-Churner for the Indian operations of Rolls Royce.

The Indian luxury car market is very small compared to China, its nearest rival. It is said that Indian market is only one eighth of the Chinese market. However, Rolls Royce believes that India has a lot of potential as it is an emerging market.

It believes that there are at least 1,000 customers yet to tapped. This is where the Rolls Royce Ghost is targeted.

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