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Friday, 8 May 2009
Fiat wants to give more power to its stylish Linea. It plans to add two new engines - a 1.6-litre multi-jet diesel engine that produces 118 bhp and a 1.6-litre petrol engine that generates 106 bhp. The launch of the car has helped the company to get back its lost glory in India that was faded away into oblivion a few years ago. It experienced a smooth ride in the fast racing Indian car industry grabbing several accolades like ‘Car of the Year’ by UTVi Autocar, ‘Mid-Size Car of the Year’ awarded by both UTVi Autocar and CNBC Overdrive UTVi. It was also selected by TopGear for the Best Mid-size Saloon 2008 award. It has enticed many customers with its elegant design, luxurious interiors, and advanced features that give them a feeling of ownership pride. Many believe that the car is underpowered compared to its rivals. The present 1.4-litre FIRE engine generates 89 bhp which is quite less compared to 116 bhp offered by the Honda City. Eyeing the customers’ response and competition, the company plans to enhance the power of the car. The company also plans to achieve 90 percent localization in production by 2010. This will further help to slash down the price making it more cost effective. Labels: Fiat-Cars, Fiat-Linea, Sedans
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Far behind from the boundaries of sedans, coupes, hybrids, and electric cars the new three-wheeled Aptera is here to spark new hopes and excitement in the global car market. The design of the egg-shaped, two-seater Aptera is inspired from nature’s creation that goes along the wind instead of against the wind. Have ever watched birds gliding gracefully through the air? If yes then you must have noticed that the birds embrace the environment and fly in motion with the moving wind. A similar concept has been introduced while designing the Aptera. It is designed aerodynamically in a way that it does not have to waste its energy pushing the wind out of its way. Its long shape and gullwing doors (roof-attached doors) adds to the excitement of staring and driving the car. With the gullwing door, you can easily get out of the car even if the parking spot is tight. The interior spells eco-friendly characteristics of the car mainly with the eco-chic seating made of recycled materials and coloured with natural dyes. Solar assisted climate control system and cavernous cargo compartment further add to the value of the car. The solar assisted climate control system helps you to stay comfortable in all weather conditions as the solar cells on the car’s roof keep the cabin at a friendly temperature. And in the vast cargo space you can easily load 20 to 25 grocery bags. Amazingly, the electric version of the Aptera can run up to 160 km in one single charge. That’s commendable! Till date there are no clues whether the car will enter Indian shores or not. But if it will, it will bear a price tag of around Rs 15 Lakh and its worth the value because you won’t have to shell out your pocket at petrol pumps. Setting new benchmarks in automobile engineering, the introduction of this ultra-efficient three-wheeled car is itself an acclamation. Labels: Electric-Cars, Indian-car-market, Sedans
Monday, 2 February 2009
India is becoming a hot spot for many car companies as well as component manufacturers. Many car manufacturers are gradually establishing their production facilities in the country with a vision to produce the best at minimal cost. That's what India is known for! India has a large pool of talents, input resources, and easily available low-cost labour that can be intelligently utilized to produce world-class cars at a comparatively less cost. Many car manufacturers like the Maruti Suzuki, General Motors, and the Fiat have already made India their hub for car production and others like Toyota are following their footsteps. Toyota’s plans to manufacturer Camry in India would not only reduce the cost of production but would also help the company escape the huge import duty. At present the car is being imported from Japan and sells at a price starting from Rs 21 Lakh. If the company starts its production in India, the price tag of the car is likely to be reduced by about 20-25%. But the price would be reduced only if Toyota decides to pass the entire benefit to its valued customers. Once the local production of the Camry starts and it gets available at competitive price, the car would face rivalry from leading executive sedans in the country like the Honda Accord, Honda City, and the Skoda Laura. Labels: General-Motors, Sedans, Toyota-Cars
Thursday, 27 November 2008
It’s now the perfect time to import luxury cars to India. Importing luxury sedans like the Toyota Lexus and Mercedes Benz S-Class will now be easier, mainly from the U.S because now you don’t need to have safety and emission certificates from the 'country of origin'. Earlier all the imported vehicles required homologation to make any car suitable for Indian conditions. But now the government has drove away the need. Homologation is mainly described as a process of modifying a car to meet the requirements of local standards and quality. This modification actually made the importing costlier. But now, when this is not required, the importers will definitely breath in the air of satisfaction. Though any kind of certification is not required, you need to ensure that all the luxury cars are in compliance to the EU standards. Only then you can rejoice the relaxing rules of luxury car imports. Labels: Luxury-Car, Mercedes-Benz-Cars, Sedans
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Maruti Suzuki, India’s leading car manufacturer has a pack of successful cars running on Indian roads. The only thing that Maruti lacks is one car in the D segment in line with the hottest sedans like Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Volkswagen Jetta, and Skoda Octavia. Driven by the heartache of its weakness, Maruti decides to roll out a car based on the Kizashi concept. This car will definitely enter Maruti’s empty D segment. Priced at Rs. 10 lakh, the Kizashi concept is a vicious looking machine with well shaped black glossy grille, LED lights, and hard core bumper. The car will roll out with exciting and innovative features to make it competitive in the Indian car market. Kizashi based car is currently at a nascent stage may be still in thoughts and minds of Maruti’s officials. But, definitely the car will soon be seen on Indian roads. The production version of this ferocious looking car is expected to roll out from Maruti’s new plant in Manesar, Haryana. After the launch of high gear Maruti Suzuki Swift and Maruti Suzuki SX4, the company has expanded its footprints outside the boundaries of small cars. With Kizashi being next in line, Maruti seems to do wonder. Labels: Kizashi, Maruti-Suzuki-Cars, Sedans
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
The competition among the auto players in India is so high that every car manufacturers is on the verge of rolling out new car models to India. This time it is Toyota who is in news for introducing new Corolla by September end. The new Corolla Altis will be propelled by a 1.8L engine churning out around 140bhp. The engine is a carryover from the existing Corolla and expected to provide better performance. The body of the car will be 10mm longer, 60mm wider and 20mm lower than the current model that will add up an extra interior space and Altis will be 50mm taller than the Civic. The car will resemble Camry in design. Initially, it will be available only in petrol version and is likely to carry the price tag of Rs13 lakh. So all those Toyota fans wake up and book your all new Corolla right away as the bookings are already opened in Chennai with the initial amount of Rs 2 lakh. Labels: New-Car-Launch, Sedans, Toyota-Cars
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
The 3rd generation Honda city is here! Honda is all set to launch the new Honda City by 2008 end worldwide. The stylish new car will challenge the most dominated sedan Maruti Suzuki SX4. Built on the Civic platform, the car will be adorned with more of European design. Wow! It seems the next generation Honda City will get dashing looks. The design offers sportiness clubbed with striking body panels and gorgeous rear that gives a touch of BMW 3 series. The new model is expected to be powered by a 1.5 litre engine churning out 118 bhp. It will be more spacious with sharper handling. The price of the new Honda City is not yet revealed but with all the sporty features it will be definitely more than the existing City model. Labels: Honda-City, Sedans, Sporty-features
Saturday, 7 June 2008
The Mahindra-Renault Logan is considered as an entry level cars by many. With a smart pricing strategy and large body, the Logan has been only second to Swift Dzire in sales. It is the only entry level car that comes with a typical European design. The sedan matches the fuel efficiency of small cars. It is also one of the cheapest sedans that promise a lot of comfort and convenience for buyers.
So far, it was a car for the people who wanted to move from small car to sedan. But now the company is launching a limited edition of Logan for the high end customers. Expected to launch in July, the car will come with a new music system and better quality upholsteries along with other high end luxuries and safety. Labels: Mahindra-Renault, new car launch, Sedans
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Honda is a leader in premium car segment in India. It has successful models like City, Civic and CR-V which makes its powerful portfolio. Honda, which manufactures most of its components in India, was under the market pressure due to the hike in raw materials price. It could not escape the rise in input costs of the raw materials like rubber and steel.
After having raised the prices of its car in the range of Rs 5000 to Rs 10000 in May, it has now taken a U-turn. Honda Siel Cars India is cutting down rates of all its sedans by Rs 5000. The new price has been introduced from 1st June. The price cut is also in response to the central sales tax cuts by 1% from the existing 3%. The price of the City will be cheaper by Rs 3,000 and the Civic will be available at Rs 5000 lesser cost. The company is in the right tract to attract its customers. Labels: Car-prices, Honda Cars, Sedans
Friday, 25 April 2008
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
Thursday, 17 April 2008
With in a span of six months, the entry level car segment has become the most competitive segment. Interestingly, all these cars are under the 4 meter length and quality for a lesser excise duty than regular sedans. First Tata Motors launched Indigo CS, and recently Maruti released the Swift DZire in March. Toyota has also jumped the fray and has announced a small sedan to compete against the two big players. While Suzuki tampered with existing car Swift, Toyota will bring with the Japanese experience of small cars. It has partnership with Daihatsu Motors, a leading manufacturer of small cars in Japan. The company is also appreciated for meeting international standards for car comfort. So when you can get all conveniences and comforts in smaller sedans, why go for larger cars at all? Labels: Sedans, small cars, Toyata
Thursday, 3 April 2008
Since it has entered India in 2007, luxury car maker Volvo has been in news for few times. And every time Volvo has made sure that the focus is on its cars and features rather than anything itself. In India, Volvo has been a late entry but it already has an impressive line with three luxury cars - convertible C70, sedan S80 and luxury SUV XC90. The company has a target of 500 cars for Indian market.
Volvo also came into news for announcing the date of launch and showing commitment to stick to it. Volvo has its largest market in USA, but is not showing any laxity towards newer markets like India. But, now Volvo plans to launch 6 new vehicles in India in a phased manner. According to sources come of the models to be introduced are C30, XC 60 and XC 70. Many more models will be launched following them. Labels: Auto market competition, luxury cars, Luxury sedan, new cars, Sedans, Volvo
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
With the new Insurance premiums rate, it’s good news for both mass of people who use cars occasionally and those who use more than one car. The Insurance Company has planed to introduce pay-per use model of coverage for cars which is already in use in Europe. The new concept works with the help of GPRS system which tracks the car and the rates are charged accordingly. The users will have to pay much lesser charges compare to what they pay presently. The charge will depend on the number of usage, thus reduce the burden on users. In India, this will be helpful for cities like Mumbai and Bangalore where people don’t use cars including small cars, SUVs, sedans and luxury cars much due to traffic problem. Hope it would suit a lot of small users and reduce premiums. Labels: auto insurance, cars-India, luxury cars, new concept premium rate, Sedans, small cars, SUVs
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Maruti Suzuki India has always been on the forefront to beat competition by providing quality products. Launching its entry level sedan Swift DZire, maruti wanted to rock sedan segment in India. Maruti is very quick to study the minds of its customers and work accordingly as it has suddenly discontinued Maruti Esteem when people felt it was not up to their taste. Now, Maurti has launched DZire that replaced Esteem. Maruti already has achieved a grand success in small car segment by releasing popular brands like Maruti 800 and Maruti Swift. The success of cute, stylish and powerful Dzire which has generated a lot of excitement and curiosity among the car lovers, will be very crucial for Maruti to cement its position in sedan segment. Labels: Car-competition, Maruti 800, Maruti Swift, New Car, Sedans, small cars, Swift Dzire
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
Maruti has been an impressive company over the years and it still remains a first choice for many people who look forward to buying small cars and mid-size sedans on a reasonable price budget. Now, Maruti has earned the reputation of being the first car company to train women in driving. Maruti hit upon the idea of opening driving schools across the country and it has gone down well with women car enthusiasts. Their Driving school largely attracts women and most of the students are women. It has registered an impressive number of aspiring women drivers to learn the skills. So far, about 15,000 women have graduated from this school leaving the men spellbound. This is a really unique initiative from Maruti. Labels: driving school, Indian small cars security, Maruti, Sedans, women in driving
Friday, 25 January 2008
We have Japanese, Koreans, and Europeans and now it’s going to Malaysians who are going to try their luck in the Indian auto market. Proton cars are manufactured by Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd (Proton), based in Malaysia. The second-generation Proton Saga has just launched a new version of their model.
I saw these cars being ridden around when I was in Kuala Lampur and my first thought was - not bad, pretty cool! I did a little research. The Proton Saga, from the sedan class, was the first Proton model, based on the Mitsubishi Lancer Fiore. It rolled off for the first time in September 1985. The 100,000th Proton Saga was produced in January 1989. It still retains its glory as the best top-selling model even though there are more advanced models in Malaysia now, most probably because of its affordable price.
The company plans to focus on the Indian auto market like every other foreign investor. They will also focus on Southeast Asia, China, and Australia. However, no set date can be found anywhere on the net as to when these guys want to launch the Proton in India. Could be good competition to existing sedans in India.
Labels: Imported cars, Malaysia, Sedans
Thursday, 3 January 2008
One of India’s best loved cars, the Maruti Esteem, is no more. It’s sad news not only for esteem lovers but also for race enthusiasts. The model was first launched in 1994 replacing India’s first sedan the Maruti 1000. The Esteem was admired for its smooth performance and its capable 85 bhp 1.3-liter petrol engine. Many buyers have loved the fuel economy it delivered. The car figured in several Indian racing circuits and was a favorite among drag racers. It was acknowledged as a car that required low maintenance and managed low running costs. Many buyers willingly chose the Esteem for its easy handling and ride quality. The model has also been popular for its high resale value. Interestingly, one of IT legends Mr. Azim Premji owned an Esteem and travelled to work in it everyday that too when he figured in the “richest people in the world” list! The design of this wonderful car, however, received constant criticism from several quarters and was termed dated. Despite this, this entry-level mid-size sedan fared well it terms of sales volume and competed well with other sedans. Esteem will be succeeded by the Swift sedan in March 2008. As with its hatchback sibling, the Swift sedan will come with a hefty price tag. The base petrol will start at around Rs.5 lakh and the fully-loaded diesel could touch the Rs.6 lakh mark. We last heard about the esteem when Maruti announced a massive discount of Rs 57,500 for the month of December. It’s sad to note that such an illustrious car will soon figure in history books! Labels: Discontinued, Maruti, Sedans
Monday, 1 October 2007
Since Mitsubishi’s collaboration with Hindustan Motors (HM) about a decade ago, it has released an array of popular Sedans and SUVs, but not a single vehicle in the most popular Hatchback segment. With the announcement of an official launch date for the ‘1-lakh car’ by Tata Motors, other auto manufacturers are keen to compete. Mitsubishi is considering introducing its new model ‘i’ to India. The ‘i concept’ car debuted at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show. The egg-shaped vehicle carried a 999 cc engine that boasted of a very impressive mileage of 33 kms per litre. It also carried a Mitsubishi Smart Idling (MSI) system which turns off the engine automatically when the vehicle is stationary and can restart it within 0.2 seconds. The ‘i’ that launched in January 2006, comes with an ultra-efficient lightweight turbocharged 660 cc petrol engine and a 4-speed automatic transmission. It sports a wide door, sufficient room for 4 passengers, split-folding rear seats, and alloy wheels. The engine emissions are environment friendly. It is priced a little too high in the European market. With the co-operation of Hindustan Motors (HM), Mitsubishi could introduce a small car, based on the i-car platform, in India. Vehicle cost could be reduced by sourcing parts locally and by stripping out some of the expensive on-board equipment. Labels: Car-manufacturers-in-India, cars, competition, Hatchbacks, Indian car market, Mitsubishi, Sedans, SUVs, Tata
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