Indian Car Blog – Carazoo.com

Nissan Sunny Diesel launched in India at Rs 7.98 lakhs

Nissan-Sunny-sedan-front-image
The much speculated Nissan Sunny Diesel is here at last. The car was launched with a competitive pricing at Rs. 7,98,000 (XL) and Rs. 8,78,000 (XV), ex-showroom, New Delhi. The bookings for the Nissan Sunny diesel has been thrown open for the public and the customers can now book the car at any of the 47 Nissan dealerships across the country.

If you might recall, the Nissan Sunny petrol was launched in the month of September and the hugely successful midsize sedan has been receiving a lot of cheers. The Nissan Sunny diesel is available in two variants called XL and XV. The Nissan Sunny has been built on the global ‘V’ platform. The offers one of the best in class fuel efficiency and targets the fast growing demand for diesel cars in the Indian market.

The Sunny Diesel is powered by the famous K9K diesel engine, a product that came out from the Renault-Nissan alliance and boasts of a supreme fuel efficiency of 21.64 kmpl (ARAI certified). The engine has been developed on the inputs received from the customers. The Nissan Sunny diesel is built at the Nissan plant in Chennai and features a 1.5 liter, 4-cylinder KPK engine which pumps out 85 bhp of power @ 3750 and a maximum torque of 200 Nm @ 2000 rpm. The engine is paired to a five-speed manual transmission. It is the first time Sunny is offered anywhere in the world with a K9K Diesel engine.

Nissan Sunny Diesel interiors

The Nissan Sunny diesel has been squarely aimed at young professionals. The Nissan Sunny diesel features the sophistication of the Nissan Sunny petrol and also boasts of roomy interiors and abundance of style quotient thrown in adequately. The Nissan Sunny is the second model from Nissan after the Micra to use Nissan’s pre-eminent ‘V’ platform that carries engineering to deliver a modern, light weight structure, which provides integral strength, robust ride refinement and dynamic on-road behavior.

Like the Nissan Sunny petrol, the Nissan Sunny Diesel also features high levels of active and passive safety features and technology designed to enhance both the driving and ownership experience. The car features advanced safety features such as Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA), Engine Immobilizer and Airbags.

The Nissan Sunny Diesel is being offered in six attractive colours such as Bronze Grey, Blade Silver, Storm White, Sapphire Blue, Onyx Black and Brick Red. Nissan India Motor Pvt Limited (NMPL) in a new trend has adopted a uniform pan-India pricing strategy whereby the ex-showroom price of the Sunny Diesel will remain the same across all states. However, expect some variations on the final on-price of the car depending on the values such as VAT, Entry Tax, Octroi and other local taxes levied by states/cities.

Nissan Sunny Diesel cupholder

The Nissan Sunny Diesel is an exact replica of the Nissan Sunny petrol in terms of style and features present in the car. Nissan’s signature grille dominates the front and is flanked by jewel-shaped headlights with discreet but elegant chrome touches. Wide opening doors offer better passenger ingress and egress while muscular haunches, stylish curves and a neat rear spoiler adds a sporty touch to the silhouette. The diesel variant is 4425mm long with a 2600mm wheelbase that directly translates into roomy interiors. It offers rear-knee room that is on par with luxury sedans and gives passengers the opportunity to cross their legs in comfort. The large central armrest with cup holders adds a touch of luxury while the roomy 490 Liter trunk illuminated with a boot lamp provides loads of luggage space.

Independent front MacPherson struts with coil springs makes the ride smooth while the compact torsion beam rear axle further minimizes intrusion into the luggage area. Sub-frame mounted suspensions and anti-roll bars at both ends help reduce road noise and vibration. The long-travel suspension kits make the Sunny Diesel’s response much better to the most challenging of road surfaces.

Mr. Kiminobu Tokuyama, Managing Director & CEO, Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd, on the event of the launch said, “We are delighted to introduce the diesel variant of Sunny for the Indian market. At a time when Indian market is witnessing an increase in demand for diesel cars, Sunny Diesel with Nissan technology of high performance and fuel economy will be the right choice for our valued customers in their search for the most suitable sedan.”

Nissan Sunny tech specs

G M Singh, Vice Chairman & MD, Hover Automotive India, Nissan’s Marketing & Sales partner said, “Introduction of Sunny is another major milestone in Nissan’s efforts to grow fast in the Indian market which is growing at much faster pace compared to many other parts of the world now. The fact that we are able to clock over 3000 sales for the Petrol Sunny so far reinforces our belief that Indian customers prefer Nissan’s products which are filled with innovation and excitement.”

The launch of the Nissan Sunny diesel certainly is the boost in the arm for Nissan India as there could be a spike in the diesel car sales which again reflects the new trend that has come to stay in India. Nissan India sold 2717 units in the month of November out of which 1131 units were that of the Sunny. You can read our Nissan Sunny car review here at carazoo.com.

posted by carazooblog @ Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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June 22, 2011

Strike fails to sway demand for other brands

maruti-suzuki-manesar
The recent 13-day labour-management standoff at Maruti Suzuki India’s Manesar plant might have pushed the production of the Maruti cars to a corner, but it did not dent the Maruti Suzuki brand image in any way as the demand for Maruti cars, despite the extended waiting period, is very much present.

However, the two-week long disruption in production resulted in a loss of 12,600 units or nearly Rs 450 crore, customers still vouch for the Maruti Suzuki diesel cars such as Swift, Dzire and SX4 and the waiting period for these cars have just grown out of proportion.

Just when the industry pundits predicted that the car customers would sway to other carmakers that had ready stock of diesel cars, the customers proved the pundits wrong by showing their loyalty to the diesel Maruti cars inspite of the long waiting periods for these cars.

Although a latest version of the Swift is expected in a few weeks in India, this had little or no impact on the demand of the existing Swift. The diesel model of the car continued to have an average waiting period of more than three months in most market across the country.

The Swift remains the top selling premium hatchback from the market leader followed by Ritz in the same segment of Rs 4,30,000 and above. Since the gap between the price of petrol and diesel only widened over the past one year, consumers have increasingly preferred to go for diesel models despite their higher price tags.

posted by carazooblog @ Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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June 2, 2011

Diesel Cars to Rule Indian Auto Market

Petrol or diesel, it has always been a much debated topic amongst the car buyers. If you have always argued for petrol, then you will be surely taken aback to know that experts believe that diesel cars are going to rule the Indian auto market by 2013.

Once considered frugal and lousy, diesel cars are now fast taking over their petrol counterparts, thanks to the skyrocketing price of liquid gold. According to a report in The Economic Times, the sales of diesel cars have already been growing faster than petrol cars over the last few years. Due to the exorbitant price of petrol and the widening difference between the price of petrol and diesel it seems that diesel cars are going to rule the market in the coming few years.

Thus, automakers are prompted to concentrate more on the diesel versions. Shashank Srivastava, chief GM (sales & marketing) at Maruti Suzuki India said, “I expect diesel percentage to be significantly higher. It can be as high as 45-50 per cent over the next three-to-four years.”

The lower maintenance cost of the diesel cars along with the lower fuel cost (compared to petrol) have given confidence to both buyers and automakers to bet on the diesel cars.

Neeraj Garg, director of sales at Volkswagen Passenger Cars is super optimistic with diesel cars and commented “Diesel can be half of the total car market even before three-to-four years. The fuel is growing very strongly and has taken even us by surprise, forcing us to produce more of diesel.” Garg further added, “While the price differential is forcing people to look at diesel, the engine refinement and advancement is also something that makes them go for the fuel.”

Indian automakers are thus expected to make a paradigm shift and come up with new improved diesel versions of their hot selling cars. GM will get a diesel version of the Beat hatchback while Tata is planning to launch a diesel version of their popular Nano.

Toyota Kirloskar Motors also might hasten the launch of the diesel variants of the Toyota Etios Sedan and the soon-to-be launched Toyota Etios Liva Hatchback. Hyundai is setting up a diesel engine plant, while companies like Maruti, and Ford are improvising their diesel engines for higher performance. Even traditional petrol engine makers like Honda is planning to launch diesel versions for their Indian customers.

However, the radical change in strategy comes from Renault who has priced the diesel version of their Fluence Sedan much lower than the petrol variant, which is for the first time in India. These changes in strategies of the Indian automakers are a clear indication that diesel cars are going to rule the Indian automobile market in the next few years.

posted by carazooblog @ Thursday, June 2nd, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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April 7, 2011

Maruti Suzuki to recall 13,157 diesel cars

Just when we thought the recall season was over, it is back in our own backyard yet again. Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), the country’s largest car maker, on Wednesday said it would recall 13,157 diesel cars manufactured between November 13 and December 4, 2010, to examine a possible faulty engine part.
The recall will include 4,505 units of Swift Dzire, 6,841 units of Swift and 1,811 units of Ritz. It does not include any exported car.

Maruti Suzuki said it will inspect a connecting rod bolt in these cars and “if it is found defective, the company will replace the component free of cost”. The new part has already been dispatched to dealer workshops and the dealers would contact car owners.

The Swift, Swift Dzire and Ritz are among MSIL’s best-selling cars, constituting around a quarter of its sales. Maruti sells 12,000 units of Swift, 10,000 units of Dzire and 6,000 units of Ritz a month. The diesel variants make up nearly half of these cars’ sales.

It must be recalled that that MSIL in February last year had recalled 100,000 units of hatchback A-Star from domestic and overseas markets. It had recalled the cars to fix faulty fuel pump gaskets and O-ring, which could leak if the fuel tank is filled to the brim.

Earlier in February this year, Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda Motor Corporation, through its Indian subsidiary, Honda Siel Cars India, recalled 57,853 units of its mid-sized sedan City in India to replace a faulty engine part as part of a global exercise. The company recalled these cars to carry out preventive part replacement of defective lost motion springs, which could cause engines to stall and result in problems in re-starting cars. MSIL sold 1.27 million cars last financial year, 24.8 per cent more than 1.02 million units sold in 2009-10.

posted by carazooblog @ Thursday, April 7th, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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July 29, 2010

Diesel Cars Versus Petrol Cars – Are Diesel Cars Better?

Since times immemorial, we have heard of diesel cars having an upper hand over their petrol counterparts. However, when the fuel prices surged recently, we carried a post on how trends were changing with petrol car sales of latest models suddenly surging. The gap between petrol and diesel has been narrowing by the day, but will the petrol cars ultimately win and capture the entire market? Analyse the sales reports of the last six months and the truth will be made known.

Diesel cars were, are and will continue to be the leaders, at least in the premium and luxury car segment. We hear that diesel cars in the premium and luxury classes are giving their petrol siblings a hard time on the Indian roads. Reports reveal that three out of five cars sold during the first half of 2010 were diesel powered. With more and more SUVs and luxury sedans coming in with the diesel option, more Indians are going to fall prey to these vehicles making it clear that sales numbers of diesel-fuelled cars are bound to grow further.

Mercedes-Benz MD & CEO & Wilfried Aulbur says, “The verdict is clearly in favour of diesel cars.” Customers prefer the new-age diesel engine automobiles to their petrol equivalents. Car makers have come with advanced diesel motors that promise instant acceleration and better torque figures. Meanwhile, petrol is still trying to digest and get closer on the technological alterations.

During the January-June period, 6.88 Lakh premium and luxury cars costing over Rs 4 Lakh were sold. 79 per cent of 446 luxury cars sold during the period were diesel variants of the BMW 7-Series, Audi A8 and Mercedes S-Class. It is clear that Indians love their diesel cars that come with refined technology and offer better mileage and acceleration.

Pawan Goenka, president of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers’ Association says that diesel is no longer the dirty fuel. He adds, “It offers tremendous advantages over petrol to play around with, and the market is clearly heading for its domination.”

The much hyped, more advanced CRDi technology has found its place in cars across all segments, and this could be another reason for the recent surge in diesel car sales. The CRDi technology which premiered in the Hyundai Accent eight years ago is now loaded even in basic diesel automobiles like the Mahindra Bolero and Tata Indica hatchback. The ground-breaking technology burns fuel faster. The fuel efficiency and pick-up just got better because of this.

The higher sales are now compelling car makers to re-think on the expansion of their diesel car production. Honda which has only petrol cars in the country has finally realized the need for a diesel launch. So, we may have diesel variants of the Honda City and Honda Civic, say two years from now. Takashi Nagai, CEO & president of Honda Siel Cars India admits, “We cannot miss the diesel bandwagon. It is fast outgrowing petrol cars, and Honda will have the answer in 2012.”

Maruti Suzuki too is building its diesel sales portfolio. The car maker had brought in its first diesel-powered car, the diesel Swift, in 2007. Now, diesel car sales have grown significantly and form almost 30 per cent of Maruti’s total domestic demand. If GM has just the diesel variant of the Chevy Cruze, Maruti is planning to launch its biggest model SX4 in diesel. Hyundai, which doesn’t want to be left behind, will soon launch its i10 in diesel.

posted by carazooblog @ Thursday, July 29th, 2010 Comments Off links to this post

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July 15, 2010

Audi Pledges to Avoid Misfills at Fuel Stations

Fuel-Cap-Port
Last year, BMW introduced a new mechanism in all of its diesel vehicles. Audi seems to be following its rival. Oh yes, by 2015, Audi would like to occupy the numero uno position in the luxury car market. Today, let’s have a look at this new feature that Audi would introduce in its cars next year.

With the gap in fuel prices narrowing by the day, we have the number of petrol cars too increasing. Now, when there are so many petrol and diesel cars in the country, and each model coming with different types of engines there sure exists a possibility of human error at the fuel station. Diesel engines in today’s cars are so refined that it becomes really difficult to distinguish them from their petrol counterparts.

Our friends at the fuel stations have hundreds of cars to attend to every day. Don’t you think a wrong fuel can go into your engine? As a matter of fact, there is a high possibility of that happening. The expensive damage it causes to your car is what has started bothering car makers and they are coming up with better technologies. To make the fuelling experience enjoyable, Audi has developed a new fuel filler cap that prevents petrol cars from being fuelled with diesel and vice-versa. Sounds great?

The larger diesel nozzles won’t fit in the filler neck of a petrol car. However, the smaller gas nozzles fit well in the diesel necks. Now, Audi has developed a new type of fuel filler neck that has special contact points. These contact points open an internal fuel flap only when the larger diesel pump nozzle applies pressure on them. The smaller diameter petrol nozzles do not make contact, ensuring that the filler flap remains closed to prevent access to the reservoir. The mechanism ensures that only the right fuel gets into the fuel tank.

The technology may seem silly to many, but it is surely going to benefit diesel car users by blocking the wrong fuel from gaining an entry into the vehicle. By doing so, the owners also benefit from the expensive damage the new car would have suffered. Audi A4, A5 and Q5 TDI models from 2011 will carry this practical feature. We can expect it in our country too and we also hope other car makers make use of a similar mechanism or come up with improvised versions of the same.

posted by carazooblog @ Thursday, July 15th, 2010 Comments Off links to this post

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June 28, 2010

Petrol Cars vs. Diesel Cars… The Trends Are Changing

Gone are the days where the general consumer wouldn’t even sniff new models that do not have diesel variants. The earlier belief was that diesel cars were more viable, and due to this belief, car makers started ramping up their diesel engine capacity. The growing demand for the diesel models had led to over six months’ waiting period for some popular cars. Car makers like Maruti Suzuki who wanted to reduce this backlog started working on their diesel car capacities and the production rate of cars like Maruti Swift and Dzire was increased. Now, times are changing and car makers are witnessing a sudden spike in the demand for petrol-driven cars.

Shashank Srivastava, Maruti’s chief general manager (marketing) admits that diesel car sales are swelling even now, but the sale of petrol variants is also surging. The scenario was very different earlier. Now, petrol forms around 37 per cent of total Swift sales, which is up by 5 per cent as compared to last year. The not-so-new models like the Maruti Suzuki Swift, Skoda Fabia, Ford Fiesta, Fiat Palio, Mahindra Renault Logan and Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire saw much more demand for their diesel variants than for their petrol counterparts. However, the latest models like the Ford Figo, Volkswagen Polo, Hyundai i20 and Maruti Ritz have been seeing greater or equal demand for petrol variants in comparison with their diesel counterparts.

Of late, the difference in petrol and diesel prices has been narrowing. Analysts tracking the industry feel that this narrowing price gap could be the primary reason why petrol cars are regaining lost ground against the diesel variants. Way back in June 2006, petrol was priced at Rs 47.51 per litre and diesel could be availed at Rs 32.47 a litre in Delhi. The difference in the two fuels was around Rs 15, but today, the difference is Rs 11.56 and this price difference seems to be gradually diminishing.

Car makers too seem to be noticing the latest trend, and, in addition to revamping the production of diesel cars, they have started churning out more petrol cars. Maruti Suzuki will be producing more petrol versions of its latest hatchback Ritz than the diesel Ritz. Also, demand for the Swift petrol has increased after it was re-launched with a new 1.2 litre KB series engine in February this year.

A Mumbai-based auto analyst says, “Petrol has long been associated as an expensive fuel due to its higher price over diesel but the addition of new technologies like turbo charger (which generates more power by improving air-fuel mix) has taken the fuel efficiency to a new level.”

There’s another reason for the changing trend. The price of a diesel car is higher compared to its petrol equivalent. Secondly, the maintenance charges of diesel cars are higher than that of petrol cars. Thirdly, diesel cars fetch a much lower value on resale compared to petrol cars.

Sales of diesel cars had doubled in the past decade to reach 25 per cent of the total 1.2 million units sold in India. But, as the country is moving towards decontrolled fuel prices, car buyers are likely to opt for the more affordable petrol cars to keep their cost of operations low.