The VW Polo priced starting from 4.25 lakh, will be launched at Auto Expo ’10
Speaking to a local newspaper, VW’s spokesperson said production of the Polo hatchback will begin on the 12th of this month in the company’s newly constructed facility in Pune. The company had been carrying out trail production and putting things in order over the last few months.
Kurt Rippholz, head of communication, Volkswagen group -
With our small and compact Polo car, we are in the right market with the right product,” he said adding the Indian market is huge as 1.3 million cars are expected to be sold this year
The VW Polo won the coveted European Car of the year award this Monday beating the likes of Toyota iQ, Opel Astra, Skoda Yeti and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
Launched in May this year in Europe, the Polo has attracted 130,000 orders since. The car will be shown to Indians at the Auto Expo in Delhi next year.
The Honda CB Twister should twist the competition with looks and economy
Finally we have the spy pic of the new Honda 110cc motorcycle, named CB Twister. As you can see this bike by no means looks like an ordinary commuter.
The Honda entry-level motorcycle looks stylish and we are sure that it will lend a new lease of life to the 100cc segment in India. Honda will unveil this bike at the upcoming Auto expo next month. The CB Twister is also expected to be equipped with some useful features which are not present in the other bikes from this category in the market.
Like its elder sibling CBF Stunner, the Honda CB Twister should also receive good response mainly because of its looks and features. So let us see how the real package turns out to be next month!
Stylish cars like the new E and C have found younger buyers in India
The title might now seem very appealing, but think over this fact – a few years ago, the average age of a Mercedes Benz owner in India was 50.
The introduction of the new C-Class last year and the new E-Class a a couple months ago have assisted Mercedes in achieving stronger volumes and reach out to a significantly lower age group of customers.
Suhas Kadlaskar, director, corporate affairs and HR, Mercedes-Benz India -
The average age of our customers has come down to 35-40 level from the earlier age of 50. An increasing number of young entrepreneurs and professionals from various fields are buying luxury cars and this affluent segment has been boosting our sales volumes
In Tamil Nadu, half the buyers walking out of a Mercedes Benz showroom with a new car are new to brand also. Young entrepreneurs and professionals from varied fields are relishing their new Mercedes Benz cars signifying its wide appeal.
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The Nissan X-Trail FCV is operated by Coca Cola Bottling company as an event vehicle
In the US, the trend among manufacturers who are into experimenting with fuel cell vehicles is to provide hollywood celebrities with these highly advanced cars and gain publicity in doing so.
This Japanese manufacturer however has other plans. It has leased the Nissan X-Trail FCV (Fuel cell vehicle) to Coca Cola as an event vehicle.
The creative team in Nissan stickered the car and haven’t they done a great job to get the message out – The Nissan X-Trail has a Coca-Cola Zero bottle, a silhouette of a driver drinking Coke and the slogan “Zero Means Zero!”
How colorful!
Eric Nozier, Nissan North America vice president of corporate planning -
Sacramento already has the beginning of a hydrogen infrastructure in place, and Sacramento Coca-Cola has a track record of utilizing low-emissions cars, so the two companies share a green philosophy
While companies like Honda have sent out vehicles to powerful celebrities who already have other cars to drive, it is a wise move by Nissan to lend its vehicle to somebody who will put it to good use.
Is the YP8 Suzuki’s Thai eco car entrant?
The eco car project which will see Tata, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Honda and Toyota participating, is getting grander by the day. The latest company to confirm its participation is Suzuki, who will build a 1.3-liter engined car from a plant that will have an annual capacity of 100,000 units.
Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp will begin production of small car in the southeast province of Rayong in March 2012.
Are they talking about the Suzuki YP8 which Suzuki plans to introduce here in India as well?
Very likely.
Bangkok has boosted tax incentives to invite global carmakers to invest in Thailand. The eco car norms are passenger vehicles with fuel economy of at least 20 km/litre (47 mpg) and a overall length of under 4 metres.
The YP8 will be based on the Suzuki Swift platform and is most likely to measure under 4 metres in length.
Participating car manufacturers will benefit in a big way — cuts of up to 90 per cent in import tariffs on foreign car parts and material used for producing the vehicles, and exemption of tax for a minimum of five years provided the annual volume is 100,000 and above, are part of the scheme.
Tata Motors is facing serious issues with compressed air technology
The much hyped ‘Air Car’ project that Tata Motors undertook with French partner MDI back in 2007 is facing some serious problems. The aim of this project was to produce a car that will run on compressed air, which will be fed into an engine by an electrically driven compressor.
Rumors insisted that compressed air technology perfectly suited application on Tata Nano.
Tata Motors’ vice-president (engineering systems) S Ravishankar -
Air is not a fuel, it is just an energy carrier. So a tank full of air does not have the same energy as a tank full of CNG. Any vehicle using only compressed air to run would face problems of range.
The company is facing problems with range as well as cooling systems. Air it seems, isn’t as workable as electricity or natural gas.
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The Toyota EFC concepts will be displayed at Auto Expo and produced Dec 2010
At the Auto Expo in January 2010, Toyota will display two concept cars – a hatchback and sedan, both brought from Japan specially for the show. In December next year, Toyota Kirloskar Motors will put at least one of these into production.
TKM Deputy Managing Director Sandeep Singh -
Both hatchback and sedan version of concept vehicle of the compact car will be showcased at Auto Expo. It’s a concept vehicle coming from Japan. Production will start by December of 2010. First year production plan is 70,000.
Toyota is also displaying the Prius at the Auto Expo, though he did not confirm if it will be launched there. The company is not looking at Prius to generate volumes.
When launched, the EFC designed specifically to boost Toyota’s market presence in emerging countries, will be the cheapest Toyota in any market. Production is being planned for countries like Brazil, India and China.
Kiminobu Tokuyama, MD & CEO, Nissan Motor India, in an interview with a newspaper said Nissan will start exporting 1,10,000 units of the Micra in FY 11 and 1,80,000 units after a few years. Nissan plans to export vehicles from India to more than 100 countries, including some in Europe, similar to strategy adopted by car companies like Suzuki and Hyundai.
The next generation Nissan Micra could come with a start-stop button feature and a 1.2-liter 3 cylinder engine that’s more fuel efficient that its peers.
The Micra’s production is scheduled to begin in India on the 3rd week of May 2010. The car will be shown at the Geneva Motor Show.
