Driveblog

T he 2011 Union Budget was creating a big fear among the auto manufactures on Exercise duty but there was no change in excise duties which comes as a relief to the auto sector. This means excise duty on small cars remains at 10%, large cars and SUVs continue to attract 22% excise duty.  In a decidedly eco-friendly step, the minister proposed the setting up of a national mission on hybrid vehicles and electric vehicle (EV) as well as special incentives for hybrids if made in India. T he announcements made in the Budget are aimed at making Electric and Hybrid technology cheaper and popular in India.  H ybrid cars manufactured in India will see a excise duty reduction of 5 percent. We expect that the global manufactures to  bring their hybrid vehicles into India.  Full exemption from basic customs duty and a concessional rate of Central Excise Duty extended to batteries imported by EV manufacturers. So for  Pure EV and Hybrid vehicles manufactures ...

Honda's Small car is finally on its way to India, the car will be launched by next month, but the Deliveries will only start on August. The car was supposed to be launched by September but the company pulled back the Launch by 6 month. We think that this must be a strategical move from the company because already the small car market is penetrated with so many players offering different model at different price points, adding to that Toyota will also launch the Etios hatch and the all new Generation Suzuki Swift which will also hit the roads in the coming months. Pre-launch could potentially covert the buyers waiting for new arrivals to them. The Brio which was debuted in Thailand motor show last year is a compact hatchback that will be positioned under the Honda Jazz, The car could start at a price point of 4.5 lakhs which would the cheapest car from the company and is likely to get a 1.2 l...

  Tata motor's Nano has been ranked last among entry-level small cars in terms of customer satisfaction, according to a new study by market research firm TNS. In the '2010 Fourwheeler Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS)' study by TNS Automotive, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd's (MSIL) best selling model Alto topped the entry level small car category. Omni and the once bread-and-butter model M800 followed. The customer expectations even at the bottom end are rising. The owners of Tata Nano expect more in terms of design and Maruti 800 owners expect better servicing, the survey said. While Alto scored 91 points, Nano got only 70, thus being placed last. Nano has been facing issues following six cases of the  car catching fire  , since its launch in 2009. Tata Motors had offered to provide additional safety free of cost as a precautionary measure, although it claimed Nano to be safe. In the higher priced cars segment, the survey reflected the Indian consumers respect for val...

Tata Motors will Introduce the BS 4 variant of the Indica soon. The car which was launched in the year 1998 had several upgrades till date, this time Tata will bring its Common Rail Direct engine (CRDI) Branded as DICOR under the hood. This engine is said to be the Highly fuel efficient  and the car will become the most fuel efficient car from the company. The car will also offer fresh Interior and exterior looks and features.        The DICOR engine revs up to 70PS power @4000 RPM and Delivers 140 NM of Torque which is adequate for a car of its size. We expect the prices to be around 3.8- 4.5 lakhs.     

The Name Rolls-Royce will itself relate the Luxury, Crafted, Expensive, Exclusive and so on, British ultra-luxury car maker Rolls-Royce aims to sell more then 100 cars this year. Last year the company sold about 80 cars and had  600 per cent growth over 2009. The Company currently sells the Phantom and Ghost  prices ranging from Rs 2.5-3.5 crore. The company wants to take maximum opportunity for its world second fastest growing market next to China, it also plans to Expand its dealership beyond Delhi and Mumbai and currently the company is looking for locations in Punjab and Hyderabad. Another Ultra-Luxury car maker Bentley will launch its Bentley Continental GT in April. The price of the car will be approximately Rs 2 crore upwards as the final price will depend on the level of customization. Exclusive motors ltd the company's dealer said that it could take 5-6 months to deliver from the date of order. The car was la...

Two wheeler-maker Bajaj Auto Limited on Thursday launched its 2011 edition of Discover 100, and said it has sold more than 40 lakh Discover motorcycles since its launch in 2004. The 2011 edition of Discover 100 will have new premium and innovative multi-colour decals in two options of gold green and red magentain introduced for the first time in the motorcycle industry and also possibly in the entire auto industry. The key feature of this multi-colour decal is ‘Auto Colour change. The bike is said to retain the World-class  mileage. The Discover has been one the best bikes from Bajaj's product portfolio that offered  Different  engine options like 100cc, 125cc, 135cc and 150cc, So the customers has lot choices and the bike stood apart from its competitors.  [source:livemint.com

 German Car-maker Volkswagen will Launch the new Passat by March this year. The car will come with Bluemotion technology which includes features like start stop, Break energy recuperation, DSG duel clutch gearbox gear shift indicator and a extremely fuel efficient engine. The car has new look of the Volkswagen family. The car will have an option of petrol and diesel, we can expect  1.8L or 2.0 TSI engine option for petrol and for diesel the current generation 2.0 TDI which won one among ten best engines of the year in WARDSAUTO.COM . The Passat will face huge competition from the newly upgraded Honda Accord, Skoda Superb and another latest entrant Kizashi.     

Goodyear today launched the Assurance Fuel Max tyre in India. The speciality of this tyre is that it has a fuel saving technology that provides 4% more fuel efficiency and 15% longer mileage then the conventional tyre technology. The tyre is designed for family cars in the mid-and-premium markets. It is for the Consumers who are looking for value for money in tyres. The tyre would be fitted as standard by manufactures in the cars like Fiat punto, Linea, Volkswagen polo, Honda Accord and Toyota camry. [Source: Financial express]

Men are back is the tagline for Maruti-Suzuki SX4, but this time men are back with diesel heart.The country's largest car manufacturer today launched SX4 diesel in a price range of rupees 7.74- 8.62 lakhs(ex-showroom Delhi). The car will be offered in three variants VDI, ZDI and ZDI with leather upholstery. The Diesel engine is a familiar one fiat sourced unit which does the duty in Swift and Ritz the difference is that it will have a variable geometric turbocharger (VGT) which helps in providing better performance and efficiency along with lesser turbo lag, other than that the car has regular characteristic bold looks the a very good ground clearance. The car will compete with Fiat Linea and Volkswagen Vento which offers diesel option in this segment.  Technical specifications  Engine type: Common Rail Direct Injection, 16-valve, 4 cylinder, DOHC Displacement: 1248 cc Maximum po...

The countries largest car maker Maruti-Suzuki will supply its compact car A-star to Volkswagen and will be sold under a new brand in india and asian markets. The car will undergo some Technical modifications and Design changes, already the A-star is said to be a global car which is sold in Europe.The car is only made in India in the maneser plant and Nissan is buying and selling the car as pixo in some European countries. A-star Suzuki's fifth global model after Swift, Ritz, SX4,Grand Vitara is developed for markets metting all its stringent car safety test, emission norms and environment regulation. Volkswagen which holds 20% stake in Maruti-Suzuki's parent company Suzuki motor corp will extract maximum from the company when it come to small cars because the company has expertise in making compact cars.  

BMW  3 Series : 164 5 Series : 271 6 Series : 1 7 Series : 17 GT : 7 X1 : 15 X3 : 2 X5 : 9 X6 : 9 Z4 : 5 Chevrolet Optra : 296 Cruze : 715 Aveo : 240 UVA : 331 Tavera : 1691 Spark : 3267 Beat : 3338 Captiva : 91 Fiat Linea : 947 G Punto : 1203 Palio : 24 Ford Ikon : 0 Fiesta : 1059 Endeavour : 351 Figo : 8616 HM-Mitsubishi Pajero : 94 Outlander : 69 Lancer + Cedia : 21 Montero : 2 Ambassador : 330 Honda City : 5059 Civic : 508 Accord : 174 Jazz : 579 CRV : 38 Hyundai Santro : 4,648 i10 : 16,694 i20 : 5,773 Accent : 1,317 Verna : 1,858 Sonata : 11 Santa Fe : 5 Mahindra Logan : 1120 Xylo : 2733 Scorpio : 4304 Bolero : 8463 Marshall, Maxx etc. : 588 Maruti M800 : 1876 Omni : 8059 Alto : 33118 Estilo : 3652 WagonR : 14186 Dzire : 9771 SX4 : 2159 Eeco : 5886 Swift : 11353 A-Star : 4124 Ritz : 6046 Gypsy : 191 G Vitara : 1 Nissan Micra : 1784 X-Trail : 52 Teana : 21 370Z : 0 Porsche Panamera :...

Honda Seil cars India (HSCI) today Launced its upgraded version of the Honda accord. The car is upgraded on the basis of feedback from the customers but will carry the same old characteristics of the 8th generation which was launched in May 2008.  The new accord will be avaliable in two options a 2.4 litre costing Rs 19.60-20.36 lakhs and a 3.5 V6 variant  with 25.41 lakhs price tag. The company said that the new Accord has more style,more comfort and more sophistication than ever before a bold and aggressive  look and striking interiors will make it the most commanding premium sedan on Indian roads. According to views of Indian Auto news this is a very good move from the company because the Skoda Superb which is ruling this Segment by offering Diesel version and a rear legroom for a 7 feet tall man to sit comfortably, its parent company Volkswagen which will launch its new P...

Most of us know the Brand Mercedes-Benz the Brand known worldwide for making luxury cars more than a century. Its parent brand Daimler-Benz recently celebrated its 125th birthday. We all in India know only about the cars it makes, but it is also said to be world largest truck maker. The company is building a plant in Oragadam to roll out commercial vehicles ranging from 6-49tons. Yesterday the company unveiled its Exclusive Indian brand '' Bharat Benz''. The Brand as mentioned above will have portfolio of trucks ranging from 6-49 tons and will roll out in the year 2012. Bharat Benz will have to compete with Indian players such as Ashok Leyland which dominates in south and western part of India and Tata Commercial vehicles in North and Eastern part of India.          

Honda seil cars India is recalling 57,853 of its mid-size sedan city. The purpose of recall was to replace faulty engine parts. The recall is only for Third-generation city cars produced between November 2008 to December 2009. If you have bought on of those contact your dealer. The engine part which is to be replaced is called lost motion spring in the value trian.       

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) announced on Tuesday that its flagship model Santro has touched the 5 lakh unit export milestone this year. The first car to be introduced by the Korean automaker in India, the Santro compact is made at Hyundai's Chennai plant and is exported to over 80 countries. The second largest carmaker in India, Hyundai is also the largest car exporter at 40 per cent of production and has a 57 per cent share of the country's car exports.

This is going to be a busy calendar for three top Asian automa kers' small car plans for India. And even while the industry is concerned about issues relating to interest rates and material costs, Toyota, Honda and Hyundai are planning to go flat out in 2011 in an arena where Maruti Suzuki reigns supreme. By end-March, Toyota will have launched the Etios Liva hatchback which is expected to be priced aggressively under Rs 4-lakh for the base version. Honda, likewise, is planning to pull out all stops for the Brio which was originally planned for an October debut but will hit the roads at least a month earlier. The last will be Hyundai with its sub Rs-lakh HA which has been touted as the ‘real challenger' to the Tata Nano. This is going to be a busy calendar for three top Asian automa kers' small car plans for India. And even while the industry is concerned about issues relating to interest rates and material costs, Toyota, Honda and Hyundai are planning to go flat out in ...

Indian government is working on a policy to promote hybrid cars India. Hybrid cars are not famous in India because of various reasons. There are hardly few names which comes to our mind when you hear the word ''hybrid car''. The Civic hybrid which was launched in 2008 but had a very bad response and henceforth the price was slashed to sell the vehicles. The Toyota Prius which is the world's famous hybrid car came to india last year.These cars are expensive because they are brought as a Completely Built Unit (CBU) to India. In this budget we are likely to hear good news from the Government which would encourage the production of hybrid vehicles. For a country like India we love the car that gives more mileage. Hybrid cars are said to give 60% more mileage than a conventional cars so if they are priced competitively to the regular cars it would become a massive hit.    

If you are planning to buy a car or a bike in the coming months go and book one now itself because the after the 2011 interim budget is declared analyst say that  the prices of the car and bike likely go up if the finance ministry decides to increase the excise duty which would increase the prices. In the last two month automakers were forced to increase the prices because of the rising input cost materials. Already we saw slowdown in 2011 when compared to 2010 it will further affect the growth because of the price hike.   

The G-class Mercedes SUV is launched in India today priced at 1.1 crore. This expensive off-roader has the same original looks of the first G-class launched in the year 1979. This car look old and outdated compared to other Mercedes vehicles outside but internally & technically it isn't this monster gets the 5.5liter supercharged V8 engine for AMG that could do 0-100kms in 5.5 seconds and with a top speed restricted to 210kms. It is said to the be the fastest SUV in India which has got 700Nm of  Torque which is enough to tow a truck. The G 55 is seriously good machine for the Rich Petrolheads.      

General Motors today launched the Chevrolet Beat LPG prices starting from 4.10lakhs (ex-showroom Mumbai). The car has the 1.2 liter SMARTECH engine which was developed for Indian market. The Detroit based car maker is the fifth largest car brand in India currently operates only under the Chevrolet brand. Globally the company has got several other brands such as Buick, Cadillac,Holden,Vaxhall, Opel,Gmc operating in different countries. The company now plans to bring the Cadillac brand which produces the Luxury cars and SUV. Since India has become a major market for High-end Luxury cars this is good move from the company. The company already said it will launch the Chevrolet Camaro muscle car which is supposed to be the cheapest sports car in India when it arrives.    

Land Rover is the first company in the world to fit ipads as standard in their vehicles. The limited edition of Range Rover luxury Suv gets it as standard. This will replace the taditional DVD screens found in high-end luxury cars.

As we reported earlier in one of our blog that the French automaker PSA Peugeot-citroen which is planing to enter the Indian market. Economic times reported that the company will re-enter the market with a Mid-size Sedan. The company is scouting for a location in Tamil Nadu & Andra Pradesh for setting up a facility.   The company is considering the C5 which comes under Citroen marque. The car looks fantastic in its design and it would be one of the best looking cars in its segment when it arrives. Currently the competition in that segment has caught up with launch of Vento and will get even hotter once diesel variant of SX4 arrives. Peugeot-Citroen can still fight the competition because the company is very famous for making torquey diesel engines and we Indians love Diesel cars since both these go hand in hand th...

A udi today launched the new A8 L in Mumbai west showroom. Booking are open across all the dealerships in India. The car is priced 87,32,000 (ex-showroom Maharashtra)  and has a Petrol 4.2 FSI V8 under the hood mated to a eight-speed transmission which produces 372bhp. Engine option such as W12 and 3.0TDI  will be available in couple of months. The car is larger than its predecessor and gets the Audi's MMI (multi-media interface) Technology. The Luxury limo would compete with BMW 7 Series, Mercedes S Class, and Jaguar XF.  The new A8 will help Audi to get a strong base in this segment.         

Mahindra & Mahindra the country's largest utility vehicle manufacturer will relaunch Logan with two new variants. This time the car will not get the Diamond shape Renault logo it will have Mahindra & Mahindra logo. Renault and Mahindra entered into a Joint-Venture to Produced Logan last decade but the poor sales had forced both the automakers to get separated Mahindra bought 49% of the stake for the MRPL and took over the control of the business independently. Renault will operate its business separately with its global alliance partner Nissan. The car will also get a new Branding because the company is not happy with the Logan name. Mahindra which was In-charge of the sales & distribution network had Joint branding Mahindra-Renault now the Renault brand will come down. The car will be first and solo product from Mahindra. [source: economictimes.indiatimes]    

India's Largest car exporter Hyundai Motor India limited is planning to launch 6 new models in the next three years. The recent launch of Santa fe had a good response in the market taking Hyundai image upmarket which the company struggled for a decade with failure of products such as Tucson and Terracan. The new models which it would launch will include the entry level car HA and the cars with "Fluidic Sculpture" design such Sonata and Avante. The company is also planning to spend Rs 200 crore on Advertising for the next five years which includes the advertising campaign in the ICC world cup held between February 19 to April 2. 

With its exit plan from Hero Honda being finalised, Japan's Honda motor co is gearing up to launch India specific two-wheeler models as it prepares for the solo ride. The company will start selling 250cc sports bike CBR250R in India from April, priced at Rs1.5lakh onwards. The company, however, did not elaborate on the India specific models and the time-frame for their launch. [Source:Economic times]