Driveblog

French car manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroen has chosen Tamil Nadu over Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh for its Rs 4 ,000 crore car plant, a government release said on Wednesday.  This is the first mega investment into the state after the state elections which swept out the DMK and brought the AIADMK back to power. Peugeot officials met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today and unveiled their plans to her.   With this facility, PSA Peugeot Citroen joins the list of automobile manufacturers like BMW, Hyundai, Ford and Renault-Nissan that have already set up a plant near Chennai.   According to an official release, PSA has identified land at Sriperumbudur to set up a plant with an initial capacity of three lakh cars per year, catering to the domestic and overseas market.   PSA has been looking for suitable sites for a car plant that will make 3.0 lakhs cars per annum to supply to the Indian and overseas markets. PSA has proposed to establish this Indian project as ...

 With petrol prices spiralling upward, Ford India will largely focus on diesel-run cars for future launches.  "Petrol prices are becoming high and this has swung the proportion of cars sold in favour of diesel models," Ford India Executive Director Nigel Wark told reporters in reply to a question here today.  Wark said Ford India had lined up eight product launches by the middle of the decade.   "The upcoming products will be mainly on the diesel platform. This has created a lot of stress to manufacture diesel cars," he said.   Clocking a sales figure of 83,000 units in 2010, the company has already crossed sales of 58,000 units so far.    "This year we will be touching the one lakh-mark," he said.   Wark said Ford India was aiming to expand at a faster pace than the industry, which was growing at 17 per cent.  Its  new small car was contributing to the company's sales in a major way.   The company is exporting the Figo to 50 count...

Automobile major Hyundai Motor India Ltd on Tuesday said it was increasing production of the recently launched variant of sedan Verna that has received over 20,000 bookings till date.  "In order to cater to the strong demand, we are trying to increase the production to help us reduce the waiting period and clear the backlog of bookings at the earliest," said Arvind Saxena, Hyundai's director for marketing and sales.  The new variant of the sedan was launched in May this year with a price ranging between Rs.6,99,000-Rs.10,74,500 (ex-showroom, New Delhi).  The sedan is being offered with four engine options of 1.4 litre petrol VTVT engine, 1.6 litre petrol VTVT engine, diesel powered common rail 1.4 litre CRDi engine and 1.6 litre diesel VGT CRDi engine.  "Both the 1.6 litre petrol and the diesel engines are mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission while the manual transmission option is available with all the four engine options," said the company in a stateme...

Toyota Kirloskar Motor has finally launched the Etios LIVA hatchback in India. It's been quite a journey for the car which was first showcased to the Indian audience at the 2010 Auto Expo held in Delhi. Now with the wait finally over, prospective customers and enthusiasts can finally see what the car has to offer.   The Etios LIVA is essentially the hatchback version of its sedan sibling, namely the Etios. Both share a similar design albeit with the LIVA having a hatch instead of a boot. Having said that, the LIVA actually looks more complete and the treatment to the rear is commendable. Interior trim levels are shared between the hatch and the sedan; however the real difference lies under the hood.   Powering the Etios LIVA is a 1197cc petrol unit that delivers 80 PS at 5600 rpm and generates a decent 104Nm of torque at 3100 rpm. Mated to a five speed gearbox, the engine has been tuned to offer exceptional mileage with an ARAI claimed of 18.31 kilometers to the litre. In rea...

A udi has officially   confirmed the launch of the Q3, its baby SUV in 2012. Speaking to Autocar India at the Le Mans 24 Hours race, Audi AG’s head of marketing and sales, Peter Schwarzenbauer said, “The Q3 will be good for the Indian market and we will bring this car to India next year.” Audi is likely to launch the Q3 with the base 2.0-litre TFSI petrol and a 2.0 TDi to compete head-on with the BMW X1, which has stolen a march at the affordable end of the luxury car spectrum. However, unlike the X1 which only comes with rear-wheel drive, Audi will offer the Q3 with both front-wheel and four-wheel-drive options. Prices are likely to be competitive and to lower costs, the Q3 will be assembled at VW’s Aurangabad facility. Clean and sharp lines – Audi’s current family styling cues – define the Q3’s looks. From the wedge-shaped headlights to the single-frame grille, and even the wraparound tailgate, the baby SUV is a concoction of elements derived from larger Audi models. Audi hopes ...

Jaguar Land Rove r   on Sunday officially opened its new dealership in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The opening of this dealership is part of Jaguar Land Rover’s continued expansion in the Indian market. The state of the art dealership will improve access to customers from West Bengal and provide premium Jaguar Land Rover standards of sales, servicing and after sales. Based in the up market AJC Bose Road, the Kolkata dealership will enable customers to access the full range of Jaguar products including the XJ (in both diesel and petrol engine variants), XF (in both diesel and petrol engine variants), XFR and the XKR Coupe and Convertible. For Land Rover, it will offer the Freelander 2, Discovery 4, Range Rover Sport and the flagship Range Rover. Rohit Suri, Head, Premier Car Division, Tata Motors, said: “The Kolkata area is a key growth market for premium luxury vehicles and thus it is extremely important for our sought after Jaguar and Land Rover products to be readily availab...

Sachin Tendulkar  has reportedly sold the ‘360 Modena Ferrari’ which he got as a gift.  The car which held a place of pride among his fleet of cars is now a possession of a Surat - based businessman. Reports stated that Surat based Jayesh Desai - chairman of Raj Hans Group - purchased the car for a hefty amount. The businessman however declined to reveal the price, though reports indicate that the car was sold for over  Rs.  11 million. In 2002, racing legend Michael Schumacher on behalf of FIAT, had presented the Ferrari to Sachin Tendulkar after he equaled Don Bradman’s tally of 29 Test centuries.  The car had got stuck in a controversy when Tendulkar despite getting it as a gift had requested for a customs duty waiver. He was later given an import duty waiver of  Rs.  11.3mn by the finance ministry. [Source:indiainfoline.com]

Mahindra and Mahindra will foray into the Indian premium car segment with the launch of two sports utility vehicles  from the stable of recently-acquired Korean automaker Ssangyong. India's largest utility vehicle maker is also planning to take it own products to the Korean market next year, said Pawan Goenka, M&M president, automotive and farm equipment sector. "We will look forward to take the Mahindra product in Korea. We have not finalised the matter yet when this will happen. It may be sometime next year." M&M is yet to study the Korean market for its product. "Before we introduce Mahindra products in Korea, we need to do a market research. Probably, we will pick up one or two from our existing products to see the potentiality there," Goenka said. The company, which had agreed to acquire a 70 per cent stake of loss-making company Ssangyong for $464 million last year, completed the acquisition a couple of months before. After acquisition, ...

General Motors India (GMI) today showcased an electric version of its small car, 'Beat', as part of a global demonstration of the technology.  "We are delighted that Chevrolet selected India as an important market to test battery electric technology , while recognising the capabilities of our engineering team to help identify ways to make this technology more affordable," GMI President and MD Karl Slym told reporters here.  The electric Beat is powered by a lithium-ion battery and can go at least 130 km in a single charge under normal driving conditions.  General Motors will showcase the technology in other countries including Korea, China and Germany. [Source:media.gm.com]

Force Motors has christened its upcoming SUV as Force “One” and has confirmed that the SUV will be launched within a month's time. Force Motors has also revealed a new logo for its passenger vehicle division. The company hasn't officially revealed the pictures of the SUV, but as seen from the spy pictures, the Force One’s boxy shape isn’t at all appealing and falls far short of the styling standards we have come to expect. The body-on-frame chassis is made of robust ‘C-in-C’ construction and suspended with coil springs in the rear and a torsion bar set-up in the front. However, at the heart of this vehicle is the Mercedes OM 611 which develops 140bhp and 35kgm of torque via a five-speed manual transmission. This 2.2-litre common-rail turbo-diesel is the same unit that powered the W210 E-class when it was first launched in 2000; though this engine is now a generation old, it still meets the latest Bharat Stage IV norms and promises better performance and refinement than homegr...

Renault has confirmed that it's budget SUV the Duster will be launched in the Indian market. The SUV is expected in the second half of next year. The Duster shares its platform with the Logan (now Verito) saloon. It will feature a 1.5-litre diesel motor which will be updated to deliver 107bhp and will come mated with a six-speed gearbox. Renault recently showcased the Duster at the Buenos Aires Motor Show with upgraded interiors; this should be seen on the Indian-market Duster as well. Renault has been tightlipped about the Duster as they were targeting an aggressive price tag which required many meetings with suppliers to get parts at the right price.    The Duster will be produced at Renault's Chennai plant. The Duster is expected to be priced between Rs 7-8 lakh. Renault has plans of launching as many as five vehicles in a period of just 15 months. The French car-maker has already launched its flagship; the Fluence last month, the next offering is the Koleos premium SUV th...

Automobile major Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd is aiming to sell 120,000 South Korean SsangYong cars globally this year, the company said on Wednesday.  "We are aiming to sell 120,000 SsangYong cars globally this year. About 55 percent of this will be sold outside (South) Korea and the remaining will be sold in (South) Korea. Last year 82,000 cars were sold," Mahindra and Mahindra president, automotive and farm equipment sectors, Pawan Goenka told reporters here.  Mahindra and Mahindra acquired the South Korean automobile manufacturer SsangYong Motor in February.  Goenka said the company will launch five new cars in India.  "We will launch five new cars in the country this year. Two cars of SsangYong - Rexton and Korando C, one SUV (sport utility vehicle) and one electric car will be launched," he said.  He said the company would increase prices of cars later this year to minimise pressure on profit margin.  Industry growth in India would be slower this year t...

Japanese auto maker Toyota Kirloskar on Wednesday said that the much awaited premium hatch back Etios Liva will be launched this month on June 27 in Delhi. The company had earlier deferred the launch of the Etios Liva from April to June. The decision was taken to reduce the long waiting period for the Etios.  The concept vehicles of the Etios and Etios Liva were first unveiled at the Auto Expo last year in Delhi. The Liva will be Toyota's foray into the highly popular hatchback segment, which currently accounts for 60% of the volumes. "The Etios has been well received in the market. We have delivered more than 20,000 cars as on date.  We have reduced the waiting period to less than one month by increasing production. We hope to get a good response for the Liva. Pricing details will be announced at the launch ," said Sandeep Singh, DMD marketing, Toyota Kirloskar.  Keeping the target customer in mind , youthful and fun filled activities have been lined up as part of the m...

If all goes well, Ford India will park its second manufacturing unit right next to Tata Motors' Nano factory at Sanand. Ford India had sought 550 acres from the state government to set up a mother plant together with an ancillary park. "The company (Ford) has asked for 400 acres for its mother plant, and needs 100-150 acres for its ancillary units," said a state government source, adding that the government had identified land at Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation's (GIDC) estate at Sanand. According to sources close to the development, an announcement is likely within a fortnight. This would be Ford's second plant in India. It already has a manufacturing unit in Maraimalai Nagar, Chennai, which has an annual capacity of 200,000 units. Ford had expressed interest in scouting land in Gujarat in November last year. Talks have been on between the US-based car major and the government. "A Ford India team met senior state government officials earlier this...

French carmaker Renault today said it will launch a new hatchback in India during the Auto Expo in January 2012 that will compete with Maruti Suzuki's Swift. The car is specifically designed for the Indian market by its design centre in Mumbai. "In January 2012 we will launch a hatchback in B to B+ segment and it is specifically designed for the Indian customers by our Mumbai centre," Renault Executive Vice President (Product Planning and Program) Philippe Klein told reporters here. The company will launch the car in segment where Maruti Suzuki India's premium hatchback Swift is positioned. Klein said the company will launch its sports utility vehicle new Koleos by the end of 2011. "After the hatchback, our fourth car for the Indian market will be a SUV and its the Duster. We will launch it in the second half of 2012," Klein said ''In January 2012 we will launch a hatchback in B to B+ segment and it is specifically designed for the Indian customers...

Fiat India will overhaul its product and distribution strategy in an attempt to prop up falling sales. Top officials from its Italian parent have recently visited India to help the Indian management rebuild Fiats brand equity in the country.  The Italian auto major intends to launch a face-lifted Punto (hatchback) and Linea (sedan), which will be followed by a small car, people familiar with the development said. The Punto and Linea cars, part of the current portfolio of products, have been falling short of targeted sales numbers. Fiat spokesperson did not reply to questions on the subject.  The Italian auto major is currently in discussion with dealers to set up separate showrooms so that the Fiat brand gets an identity of its own. "Although Fiat India will look at separate showrooms, Tatas will continue to support the marketing efforts," said a senior official. Currently Fiat cars are sold through the Tata Motor dealerships.  In 2007, Fiat entered into a 50:50 J...

India's goal of becoming the global small car hub could be hampered by labour issues, acute shortage of skilled workers and slow pace of expansion by auto component makers, according to market research firm JD Power.  In its report 'India Automotive 2020: The Next Giant from Asia', JD Power said the country's ambition to become a global small car production base confronts some serious manpower related obstacles such as lack of skilled labour force, high labour cost and workers' low efficiency and productivity.  "The risk of union-related labour problems is omnipresent in India, since many labour unions are affiliated with political parties. As a result, local politics frequently interferes with business operations," the report said.  According to the report, "unions use their influence to promote manual labour rather than automation in Indian plants" for creating more employment, resulting in longer production cycles, greater variability in qual...

Tata Motors is eliciting a favourable response for its CNG-electric hybrid buses and has received orders from overseas markets, a top company official said.  The Ratan Tata-led company has secured an order for 10 buses from Spain, he said.  "We have received an order for 10 hybrid buses from overseas markets (Spain). We expect demand for these buses to increase, not only overseas but also domestically," Tata Motors President (Commercial Vehicles) Ravi Pisharody told reporters here.  The buses have also received a favourable response from the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), he said.  The home-grown auto major had presented four CNG-electric hybrid buses to the DTC during the last Commonwealth Games.  The company has also handed over two CNG-electric hybrid low-floor Starbuses to BEST on a trial basis in Mumbai.  Tata Hybrid Starbus offers substantial improvement in fuel economy compared to a conventional bus. The usage of this technology leads to l...

Hero Honda Motors Ltd has reportedly got shareholders'approval to change its corporate name to Hero MotoCorp Ltd.   The approval will now be forwarded to the Registrar ofCompanies for final changes. The Hero Group , for its part, hopes to explorenew products and export opportunities now it has been released from a ban onexporting to markets where Honda has a presence, reports stated.    The group has set aside  Rs.  1bn for a new brand identity,which includes a new name, logo and positioning, added reports. [Source:indiainfoline.com]

Taking a cue from the growth experienced by rivals like BMW, Mercedes and Audi , Toyota is planning to launch its luxury car Lexus in India. The Japanese auto major is also looking to kickstart its car finance division, Toyota Financial Services , to boost sales.  Hiroshi Nakagawa, MD of Toyota Kirloskar Motors , said the company was considering a series of new initiatives as it expands in India. "We are studying, and now more deeply considering to bring Lexus to India," Nakagawa said.  Riding on the rising affluence, the market for luxury cars in India has been growing rapidly as German companies like BMW, Audi, Mercedes as well as Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover increase their stake. Most of the companies reported over 70% growth in volumes last year and expect healthy gains in the coming years as well.   "India is a key focus market for Toyota and we are looking at ways to increase our footprint as well as product offerings," said Sandeep Singh, deputy MD (sales ...

Toyota may trigger a price war in the hatchback segment when it launches its first small car in India on June 27. The allnew Toyota Liva is expected to start at just over Rs 4 lakh and the top-end version, complete with multiple airbags and anti-lock braking system, will be priced around Rs 5.5-6 lakh, said a company executive.  This will make the 1.2-litre car from the world's top carmaker cheaper than most hatchbacks, the fastest-growing segment in the 2.5-million Indian passenger car market, and force rivals to consider price cuts. The prices of hatchbacks such as market leader Maruti Swift, Hyundai i20, Volkswagen Polo, Nissan Micra, Skoda Fabia and Fiat Punto start from Rs 4.3 lakh and go over Rs 8 lakh for different variants. "Prices are the first phase of the competition," says PricewaterhouseCoopers Auto Practice Leader Abdul Majeed.  He says price reductions will happen as the Indian market gets crowded. "These Price wars would excite the customers and pote...