Indian Autos blog

As IAB has mentioned earlier, Hyundai Motor has set up a plant in Turkey to meet rising demands for the i20 after labor strikes bogged down production here in its Chennai plant. Hyundai had also stated that the absence of free trade agreement between India and Europe made it unfavorable to continue exports.

The Turkey plant will produce more versions of the Hyundai i20 for the European markets from May 2010. A MPV version was also spotted testing last week.

The three and four door versions of the Hyundai i20 are being manufactured by Hyundai Motor India and supposedly the five door version will be produced at the plant at Izmit next year.

The annual production of this plant will be 80,000 units which will cater mainly to European markets.

Adrian Sutil kept Force India’s hopes of snatching another podium alive by qualifying fourth for tomorrow’s race in Suzuka, Japan. As a result of several high speed accident, only eight cars went through to Q3.

Update – Sutil drops five places down the order because race stewards found he ignored yellow flags being waved after Sebastien Buemi crashed into barriers during qualifying. Demotion handed out to as many as five drivers and slashing chances of Force India’s possible podium finish.

Updated starting grid after the break

We guessed it right! Chevrolet’s new small car to be unveiled at next year’s Auto Expo will be christened Beat. The same is also its concept’s name.

This isn’t the first time a company is using the name of the concept for the production version. Maruti’s A-Star concept did not come through into the real world with the same panache. The name was retained as a consolation.

The Chevrolet Beat will be priced at around 5 lakh rupees and 20-25% of the production volume is for overseas markets like Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

President and MD of General Motors India, Karl Slym -

The Beat is on schedule and is being tested as of now. We will start production for sale on December 15 this year. It will be first displayed at the 2010 Auto Expo in Delhi in January

The Beat will be strapped with a 80bhp 1.2-liter petrol engine. Later in the year, a diesel engine is also likely to be on sale.

click through for Chevrolet Beat Image Slideshow

Can’t see the slideshow above? View all the images directly at the Porsche Panamera Interior Image Gallery

Direct Link - Porsche Panamera Unveiling and Presentation Image Gallery

Porsche today unveiled the luxury saloon Panamera here at its Mumbai dealer showroom this morning. The event was attended by a few selected auto journalists handpicked by Porsche and IAB was proudly a part of that lot.

Mr Rod Wallace, MD of Precision Cars India (PCI) the Indian wing of Porsche, Mr Allan Marriage Technical Head of PCI explained to the press the development of the Panamera through a audio-visual presentation. Following that, the car was unveiled sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Later IAB managed to have a one to one with Mr Allen Marriage who said that India is turning into a hot spot for performance vehicles and he was looking forward to more sports car makers foraying into the country.

IAB also managed to chit chat with Mr Rod Wallace who stated that already 13 Panameras have been booked before the launch and they expected to surpass the target of 50 cars for this year easily. Three new dealers with fully equipped service stations will soon begin operating in Chennai, Ludhiana and Bangalore.

Mr Wallace said the Panamera is a “Super Luxury car” which also happens to have all the traits of a sports car. He claimed the genes of the 911 were buried deep in it and was responsible for the 4.3 second 0-100 run!

Porsche Panamera prices in India ex-showroom inclusive of VAT and duties

Panamera S:

Ex Delhi : Rs. 1,41,74,000
Rest of India: Rs. 1,44,36,000

Panamera 4S:

Ex Delhi: Rs. 1,47,11,000
Rest of India: Rs. 1,49,83,000

Panamera Turbo:

Ex Delhi: Rs. 2,01,84,000
Rest of India: Rs. 2,05,58,000

click through to read the detailed press release

Nissan has revealed the first set of sketches of its new global small car Micra. The next generation Nissan Micra will be built in Nissan’s facility in Oragudam, Chennai.

The new Micra will be sold in 150 countries and will emerge from production lines in India, Thailand, China and two other unnamed locations.

The Nissan Micra will debut at the Geneva Motor Show next year and will be on sale in India in May 2010. Reports convey it will use two petrol engines (1.0, 1.2-liter) and no diesel in the initial stages. The Micra will be built using steel sourced from Tata.

What kind of a rumor is that? Is it worth even considering such a case?

As per floating rumors, Mahindra could be working on an affordable hybrid two wheeler for the Indian market. They might offer battery packs+motor along with either petrol or LPG option.

Mahindra is not new to hybrids or hybrid technology. They showcased a Mahindra Scorpio SUV concept vehicle with hybrid powertrain at last year’ Auto Expo.

Some reports in the past claim this vehicle was meant primarily for the United States market where Mahindra will start selling its products next year.

Even if Mahindra was working on hybrid scooter or motorcycle, which price band would they choose to compete? Mahindra is a type of company which first decides on the competitor and then designs a product to wipe it out. Hybrid vehicles are costly to build as they involve additional parts and customers would also have to pay more to maintain them.