Premier’s mini SUV Rio has garnered a good response from Indian buyers
Launched back in October last year, the Premier Rio’s desirable looks has worked as the company claims it has received 2,000 bookings from its 34 dealers.
Premier’s senior official -
We will begin the vehicle’s delivery shortly. We are starting dealers in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerela, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa in a month’s time. We are now also looking at cities in North India as we have been getting very positive response from them through this Auto expo, and Delhi would be the first city to get one.
The Premier Rio is a rebadged Daihatsu Terios from the 90′s and is manufactured by Zoyte in China. It is brought into India as CKD and at the Pune plant, Premier fits it with a diesel engine sourced from Peugeot.
The top-end Premier Rio comes with Airbags, ABS and alloy wheels. Premier offers a three year warranty on the Rio which comes in 5 colors.
On inspection during the launch last year, we found the interiors very boring. The legroom at the rear bench was not exceptional. The external appearance and the price tag makes up for the above shortfalls.
In the future, the Rio could come with the revolutionary Fiat Multi-jet engine which promises to sweeten the package.
The new Micra’s dashboard is well laid out, but price is not going to be less
Here at IAB, we’re not very sure about the size of the new Nissan Micra. We’re expecting it to be slightly bigger than the Chevrolet Beat. Wheelosphere is reporting that India gets a detuned petrol engine that delivers better fuel economy, black interiors, ABS, Airbags and push-buttom start. All the other gizmos will be there, but those fully loaded cars will be on ships sailing towards other countries.
Colin Dodge, Executive Vice President, Nissan Motor Company -
There are some strange things going on in India with some companies entering into a price war. I can tell you that’s not the road we want to go down. We won’t sell our Micra cheap and if that is not accepted in India then we will ship them to some other market where people are willing to pay for them
I can’t agree more with what Wheelosphere has published on their blog. Listen to what they’ve said
Wheelosphere -
Now, the million dollar question – Will the Micra sell in India? The bland looks, poor dealership network take the game away although the quality, powertrain refinement and ride quality balance that, which leaves us with the price – if priced well (which is highly improbable considering Colin Dodge’s remarks), the Micra could succeed in India, otherwise Nissan might just remain a spectator while other brands take over the market.
I don’t think Nissan is equipped to handle success in India. Their dealership network is not very strong and indications of normal pricing give rise to many doubts. Nissan should ramp up their dealer network and introduce the diesel model as early as possible.
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Nissan has taken the covers off the new Micra based on the V-Platform in Geneva moments ago. The new model is slightly bigger than the outgoing version and will use a 1.2-liter 3-cylinder petrol engine. The car will also feature supercharging and direct injection at a later date, so it is apt to call this the VW Polo slayer.
It will be manufactured in India starting May 2010 and the car will be on the market in July 2010. The new Nissan Micra will be sold in 160 countries.
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The Nano EV can accelerate well and has a 160km range thanks to L-Ion batteries
In a shocking incident, Tata Motors took the wraps of the Nano EV on the first day of the Geneva Motor Show.
Mr. Ravi Kant, Vice Chairman, Tata Motors -
Electrification will be an integral part of our initiative to launch environment-friendly vehicles. The Indica Vista EV will be introduced in select European countries, beginning this year. We will progressively introduce electric vehicles in all relevant markets.
The Tata Nano EV can seat four individuals comfortably. The range is specified as 160 km and an acceleration of 0-60 kmph in under 10 seconds is decent.
The Tata Nano EV uses super polymer lithium ion batteries just like the Tata Indica Vista EV.
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The Honda Fit/Jazz hybrid isn’t coming to India anytime soon. It’s not entering US, its primary market in the first place as Honda is finding it hard to price it right.
After the Insight, the hybrid vehicle brought in to compete with the Toyota Prius, backfired, Honda is not willing to let another one slip. It is taking its time with the Jazz hybrid which will be priced lower than the Insight.
Honda Executive Vice President Koichi Kondo -
There are plenty of people who think that the current Fit (Jazz) meets their needs already. A hybrid version might seem expensive. Our engineers are really struggling.
Japanese auto companies in India are interested in selling hybrid vehicles here and if the Jazz hybrid is launched in Japan, could it find its way to India?
The new Wagon R could be the above model. Or it could be the latest generation from Japan
There’s a lot of commotion on the upcoming Maruti Wagon R which is capable of meeting BS4 standards. One publication says it will be a revamped version of the existing model with a K-Series engine while another claims its an entirely new car with a 3-cylinder engine from a new family of YP3 powertrains.
The new Wagon R is expected in the next few weeks and speculations on the price tag have already started. Motoroids is reporting the prices to be 3.3 lakh rupees and upwards.
There has been no comment from Maruti’s camp about the price or the nature of the facelift. If not now, we expect Maruti to launch the latest generation Wagon R in India as that is better in every way compared to the presently running model.
The next generation Nissan Micra has small seats but airy greenhouse
The next generation Nissan Micra will be unveiled tomorrow at the Geneva Motor Show. But what if you’re impatient and dying for an early glimpse? Read on then.
The new Nissan Micra will enter the Indian market in July this year with a 1.2-liter 3 cylinder petrol engine and 5-speed manual transmission. The new Nissan Micra will be produced at the company’s Chennai facility.
Going by what little we can see in the picture, the next generation Micra is suitable for two well built males and two young women. The seats don’t look very big, but the headroom is decent. We expect the Micra to be similar in size to the Chevrolet Beat.
We will bring you images and information of the new Nissan Micra from the Geneva Motor Show tomorrow.
The next generation Hyundai Verna (Code : RB) could use the i20′s platform
Secret New Cars published a couple of pictures of the next generation Hyundai Accent testing in cold weather.
Along with the pictures, the website mentions the new Accent/Verna, scheduled for a 2011 debut (and high possibility of an Indian debut almost immediately after), would sit on the i20′s platform. The website refers to the car as “miniature Sonata YF” and we can’t find another suitable description.
Previously, we understood that the regular CRDi engines and larger displacement 4 pot petrols will rest under the new Verna’s hood. There are also chances for the 1.6 GDi that produces 140bhp to make it on to the RB, but the Indian RB is likely to feature traditional CRDI engines and to the maximum extent, a petrol engine with variable valve timing – which again is our best guess.
