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Thursday, 12 November 2009
Japanese car behemoth Honda is not keen to bring out a low-budget car.
In the time of economic turndown, many car giants have decided to bring out small low-priced cars to up their plunging sale records.
Though the car maker will focus in the Indian and Chinese markets for future growth, it will not enter the ultra low-cost car segment. Honda is presently working on a small car to keep up with the demands in these markets.
The Japanese car major is yet to declare when they will come out with its new product. Honda is presently busy studying the Indian small car segment so that its upcoming compact car is packaged to meet the requirement of Indian customers, Indian price-point while adhering to the Honda brand. The car, Honda revealed, would be smaller than current hatchback Jazz.
Currently, India and China are Honda’s top priority. China has emerged as a rare bright spot for Honda. It sold 50,600 cars in the country in October, up 42 per cent from a year earlier. Honda sold 34,430 cars between April and October in India, an increase of 38 per cent from a year earlier.
Honda's Japan operations are expected to stay in red though demand has been brisk, helped by generous tax reductions and incentives on hybrids like the Insight.
Honda’s US sales spiked temporarily in August helped by the cash-for-clunkers programme, but the impact was short-lived and followed by a sharp slump in demand the following month.
In June, Honda launched the Jazz in India, the smallest car in its stable. The company makes and sells premium sedans Honda City, Civic and Accord in India. Labels: Honda, Honda-Small-Cars, Low-Cost-Car, New-Cars-India, No- Low-Cost-Car-From Honda, Small-Car-Segment, Ultra-cheap-Car, Ultra-low-cost-Cars
Thursday, 5 November 2009
While we were writing about the Nissan small car that the company was planning to launch in India, Thailand, and China, little did we know that Nissan was in fact targeting the Nano. Nissan wants to break the vivid market, which the Tata Nano has managed to build.
We would not be surprised, this could be the dream of any car maker, such is the acceptance of Nano not only in India but throughout the world. Nano has been stealing the limelight for long now and Nissan wants to substitute itself with the little wonder, Nano. The new small car from Nissan will be launched in March 2010. But it is expected that, for the car to come to India, it will take another two months since its launch in March.
The new small car from Nissan is named V, where V stands for Versatility. And Nissan is expected to sell one million Vs by 2013.
There are other car makers whom we thought would launch cars so that they can compete with the customers' favorite Nano. But breaking our expectations, Fiat recently denied any plans of the company to launch ultra-cheap cars. Now we will all set out hopes on Nissan.
Thinking deep about what in Nano lures the customers, anyone would say, the price. And so Nissan also focuses on the pricing, which the company believes will win over the customers. Labels: Nissan, Nissan-Cars, Nissan-Small-Cars, small-cars-India, Ultra-cheap-Car
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
There weren't many things happening at the Fiat stage of late. The company has also recently denied the launch of ultra cheap car, which we all expected to host the Indian roads very soon. But with such saddening news the company also combined the promise of the plans of the company to launch small, low cost cars. But it will take some time before the car will be actually available to the Indian car lovers.
Now let us speak of something that will happen in the near future. The much-loved model of Fiat, Linea will now be more powerful. The company will provide the Linea a more powerful petrol engine. Fiat will now establish its T-jet 1.4-litre engine that has a remarkable direct injection and turbo charger.
The T-jet is expected to bring in a new appeal for Linea. It will also help in improving the performance and refinement of the Linea.
It is also expected that the company might also introduce 110bhp 1.6 litre diesel engine for Linea. And it was expected that the company will launch this during the beginning of next year, but it is now said that the company might launch it only towards the end of 2010. Labels: cars-India, Fiat-Cars, Fiat-Linea, small-cars-India, Ultra-cheap-Car
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Tata Nano is the car that brought in the trend of small ultra cheap cars. In fact Tata gave the courage and encouragement to the car makers in the country to make ultra cheap cars that will lure the buyers. Tata was in the news for a long time and is still in the news connected to the Nano. And we expected many companies to join Tata, launching ultra cheap cars and Fiat was one among them. We were literally celebrating each and every news that came out regarding the launch of ultra cheap cars. And we had our hopes high especially with Fiat, as Fiat has now tied up with Tata. But what you are going to read will certainly pull your expectations down, especially if you were waiting for an ultra cheap from Fiat.
The speculation about Fiat launching a small car was very much alive. But there is no hope left when the company authorities are themselves denying any plans of the company to enter the ultra-cheap car segment.
But we have a relief. The company is still in the process of developing several low cost cars. It is expected that these low cost cars will probably be in the bottom of the B-segment for the Indian market in the coming 3-4 years.
We are not aware of what will be the fuel options available in this proposed car. The engine option of the car is also not known, the company is still in the process of deciding it. This small car is expected to join the Indian small car market in the next few years. Labels: Fiat and Tata, Fiat-Cars, Low-Cost-Cars, New-Tata-Cars-India, small-cars-India, Tata-Nano, Ultra-cheap-Car
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
The Pico is an ultra cheap and fuel-efficient car that is smaller and cheaper than the Tata Nano. The small car is designed and engineered by the creative team of engineering students from M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology in Bangalore. These students were inspired to build a car to provide better fuel efficiency and reduce congestion. With the production of Pico they have proved their mettle. It is a four-wheeled, open air car with a tiny engine that can comfortably accommodate two people and easily maneuver through traffic. With the introduction of the new small car, Nano has lost its label of being ‘the world’s smallest and cheapest car’. The engineers of the Pico claim that the car offers double the mileage than the Nano. Moreover, its compact dimension offers a comfortable and pleasurable ride on congested Indian roads. Pico is soon to enter mass production and will roll out with a price tag of Rs 40,000 inclusive of road taxes, insurance, and other clearances. That makes the cost of the car one-fourth of the Nano. With this Tata Nano can no more be tagged as the ‘world’s cheapest car’. Double the mileage and one fourth of the price tag makes the Pico win the race with Nano. Nano will definitely face a tough competition when the car is commercially launched. Labels: Fuel-efficient-Car, Pico, Small-Car, Tata-Nano, Ultra-cheap-Car
Friday, 22 May 2009
So far, Tata Nano has had no competition in its segment. However, it may have to gear up to face a rival pretty soon. According to the UK media, Hyundai Motors is working on development of an ultra-cheap car that will compete against the Nano. Hyundai is the second largest car manufacturer in India. Currently, Hyundai is the biggest rival of Indian car market leader Maruti Suzuki India, a subsidiary of Japanese Suzuki Motor Corporation. The UK media has revealed that Indian engineers along with their Korean counterparts in Hyundai Company are working on micro car project. The car is expected to be launched in 2010. There is more news, the micro car will first be released in the European market and will arrive in India subsequently. Hyundai is also planning to bring out other small cars that will be equipped with 0.8 litre and 1.0 litre engines. But, there has been no official confirmation about this news from Hyundai Motors. It may be recalled that Tata Motors plans to launch Nano Europa in 2012 for the European market. If Hyundai becomes successful in launching a micro car, it will be ahead of Tata Motors by a full year. This will also expand the market base for Hyundai Motors, which currently commands 20 percent market share in the small car segment. Hyundai’s portfolio in India includes models like Santro, i10, i20, Verna, Accent, Getz Prime, Sonata Embera, Sonata Transform and Tuscon. Earlier, Hyundai Motors had refused to venture into ultra-cheap car segment. Now, the company seems to have changed its mind. After launch, the micro car will turn out to be Tata Nano’s first competitor in its own segment. Labels: Hyundai Motors, Tata-Nano, Ultra-cheap-Car
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
After hearing the launch delay of Tata Nano in 2008, people were disappointed and their level of spirit fell but now Nano has once again created a curiosity among the people with its final launch. The excitement is well seen with record number of bookings for the ultra cheap car. The interesting part of the Nano is that in just a span of five days more than 51,000 forms for Nano has been sold only from the Tata dealers. This shows the Nano demand. But sadly the car manufacturer has limited the production to 50,000 cars in the initial years. This means many people would have to wait longer. This figure is just from the dealers, forms are also available at other places like SBI, its subsidiaries and associates, other chosen financiers and outlets of Tata Finance, Westside, Croma, Titan and Tata Indicom have also registered more bookings. Must say Nano is steeling the show and has spread its magic across the country. The low cost car is in great demand. The car manufacturer is going to make a good bag of money with Nano. In order to make it more easy, it has tied–up with various banks for easy car loans at competitive price. Tata foreseeing the success of Nano has created necessary arrangements for its customers. Labels: Car-Manufacturer, Nano-Bookings, Tata-Nano, Ultra-cheap-Car
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
The ultra-cheap car Tata Nano which has gained an overwhelming fame around the globe even before its launch will be rolled out in limited numbers. Tata’s ‘People Car’ and the dream project of Mr. Ratan Tata was first scheduled to launch in October 2008, but due the Singur issue, its launch date was postponed. This has also affected its production volume which initially targeted at 96,000 units for this year, but now the car market will be able to witness only 50,000 Nanos. The Nano is currently manufactured at Tata`s Pantnagar plant in Uttarakhand which will produce only 80,000 units during 2009-10. So only 7, 000 cars would be manufactured by the end of March. Nothing is shocking about this as the Pantnagar plant was only a backup for the Nano production and the entire setup was at Singur which is now shifted to Sanand facility in Gujarat. It is believed that once the work at Sanand plant starts in full swing, initial projected numbers of 150,000 cars may turns into reality. But again if the existing slowdown continues, the project may see a downward revision. Labels: Indian- Car-Market, Tata-Nano, Ultra-cheap-Car
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Tata Nano, since its debut has not only captivated masses but also inspired many car manufactures with its distinctive appearance. The world's cheapest car being a unique and first of its kind concept has given speed to the race to introduce fuel efficient, cost effective, and appealing small cars. Many car majors are working on the similar concept. This time the 'ultra-cheap cars' bug has bitten the Fiat. Motivated by its partner, Tata Motors, Fiat is speculated to design a similar car based on Panda/500 platform. Recently, Fiat has rolled out the premium hatchback Fiat 500 in India and now planning to introduce a ultra-cheap car which will be named as ‘Topolino' in the European market. It is said that the ultra-cost car may not be introduced under the Fiat brand. Initially, the new car will carry two cylinder engine later followed by a electric version. The low-cost car will target the Asian, South American and the Eastern European markets. There are rumours that Fiat will roll out its cheap cars in all its markets within a year or two of its launch. Would Tata's Nano and Fiat's new car will be rolled out at the same time? This can be answered only by the car manufacturers. Lets wait and watch the 'ultra low cost' car race! Labels: Fiat-Cars, Tata-Nano, Ultra-cheap-Car
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
Nano with all its charm have come a long way even before it has actually launched in India. Fueling the senses of many Indian car consumers and banging the global car industry with expertise and technology, Nano has come beyond the limits of being just a car. You would be amazed to know that an 82 year old psychotherapist has done a complete research on the work culture of Nano employees and the plant. And he feels that the most awaited ultra-cheap car now goes spiritual. The way Nano has overcome challenges, the way Nano project plant employees are integrated clearly symbolizes the work culture of Indian companies. Through this the old psychotherapist reveals five aspects of work leading towards a fulfilling mission, Chintan, Manan, Karma, Shraddha and Mukti. He is still working on that. Furthermore, Dr. Kanu Bhatt from Canada in collaboration with Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences is also doing a doctoral thesis on the work culture of Nano plant. Chintan is to enable employees to help introspect on their actual duties and responsibilities, Manan is to encourage people to share their knowledge and observations with other employees, Karma is to achieve a sense of accomplishment, Sharadha co-relates to self-confidence and the trust placed among the members working under one single project, and finally Mukti symbolizes the actual picture of Indian market with a paradigm shift from a conventional image of an employee. Good to see a purely Indianized car moving from a dream to concept, concept to car, and now from car to spirituality. Labels: Car-Industry, Nano, Ultra-cheap-Car
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Mahindra-Renault, Paris-based car manufacturer, has selected India to be its car design hub for its proposed ultra-cheap car. The car is under development under the joint venture with Bajaj Auto. Till date, Renault has designed its entire range of cars in Paris but now with the growing opportunities in India, the company decided to target India and establish a design center in Mumbai. Though the main car design framework will be rolled out from the Mumbai centre, small inputs on designing will also be received from Nissan design team and other Renault’s design centres across the world. At present, it is believed that almost 10-12 Indian car designers are working on the Renault’s small car project. The key motive of the joint venture is not to produce a cheap car but to design a car with improved fuel economy and the one that meets the emission standards. After forming a design framework, the car will start its production in the Chakan facility in Maharashtra. Expected to roll out in 2011, the car is follows the vision of this joint venture. Labels: Car-Design, Indian-Car, Nissan, Renault, Ultra-cheap-Car
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