Hyundai has announced that it will launch the Verna Transform (Verna facelift) in Mumbai on the 23rd of June (day after tomorrow).
The Hyundai Verna Transform is a mid-life facelift which went on sale in Korea in 2009. There would be no modifications under the hood, but only on the 23rd can we confirm anything.
The event will be conducted in the presence of Mr. H.W Park MD & CEO of HMIL and Mr. Arvind Saxena, Director, Mktg. & Sales.
External differences on the Korean market model include a different radiator grill, bumper, quadra-exhaust and headlamp. Interiors receive a dose of new items like a different mp3 player/radio, speedo and tacho dials and ipod connectivity facility. We expect the model to be unveiled here day after tomorrow.
Spied while undergoing testing on the outskirts of Bangalore by our reader Tarun Kumar Tripathy, this Reva NXR is a Left Hand Drive model. The car was traveling at a very moderate speed (you can’t expect an EV to take you on the inside on a sharp right-hander, can you?) and was on one of its routine test runs. The car is a two-door, four seater, all-electric car just like the current Reva city car.
The Reva NXR appears to be dimensionally bigger than the Reva city car and should hopefully be more spacious on the inside as well. The Reva NXR was first showcased at last years Frankfurt Motor Show along with the Reva NXG as a concept. The car in the spy shots is one of the prototype test mules.
The Reva NXR is expected to be launched only sometime next year along with the Reva NXG in the Indian market, but it could make its debut in International markets before being launched in India.
This is a very recent TV advertisement of the VW Phaeton, which will be launched in the remaining days of June. We infer from this Ad that the facelifted Phaeton showcased at China some weeks ago, isn’t the car that Indians are going to buy. We will only get the pre-facelift model.
Entry posted on June 19, 2010 by
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We had brought news about Peugeot-Citroen’s Indian plans few days ago. Now the French car-maker has announced it is keen on exploring developing markets like India, China, Thailand and Brazil with market specific small cars and sedans.
Peugeot is looking to shy away from its dependency of developed markets and enter new markets where there are more prospects. Peugeot-Citroen has confirmed that it is working on two new models for developing markets, a small car internally called ‘Global Small Car’ and a cost-effective sedan (probably on the lines of the Renault Logan) dubbed the ‘M3-M4′.
Peugeot-Citroen is looking to launch these vehicles in the developing markets by 2013-14. The company is also looking to manufacture these cost-effective cars either in India, Thailand, China, Japan or the Latin America.
Peugeot-Citroen’s partner Mitsubishi is actively involved in this venture. Peugeot-Citroen’s strength is its ability to develop extremely frugal small displacement diesel engines. This would surely help the prospects of their new cost-effective cars in India at least.
Peugeot-Citroen is reportedly in talks with the Tamil Nadu government to setup a plant in Chennai and soon the French Auto major’s plans would be finalized.
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has launched a new limited edition version of its slow-selling Zen Estilo hatchback in Ahmedabad. The launch of this variant is aimed at boosting sales of this not so successful product of Maruti’s lineup.
The Estilo Sports variant only possesses certain visual enhancements over the regular top end Estilo VXi. The sports variant has body colored Outside Rear View Mirrors (ORVM’s), full wheel covers and a roof mounted spoiler as the extra external embellishments. On the insides, the sports variant gets art leather seat covers, a steering wheel cover, an MP3 music system with Auxiliary input and USB, along with two speakers.
In my view the launch of this variant by Maruti is to make the Estilo a more attractive car for buyers and to keep it fresh, especially after the introduction of the new Wagon R. Maruti should also be launching more variants of it (LPG, CNG) by the end of this year.
It is reported that the first Maruti to get the CNG treatment, would be the Wagon R and then the other models would follow in their CNG avatars. The Wagon R CNG could be launched by October 2010. With rising fuel prices, the market for CNG vehicles, which are economical and eco-friendly, is very lucrative than ever.
I V Rao, Managing Executive Officer, Maruti Suzuki India
We have been working on the CNG technology for the last two years and it is almost ready. These products are of high quality and there will be no compromise on safety standards. Most of the parts are imported from Europe, US and Japan. There will be some cost to it.
The CNG version of the Maruti Wagon R is expected to cost about Rs. 70,000 more than its petrol version. Maruti Suzuki would use the latest iGPI (intelligent gas port injection) system which electronically controls the injection of gas into the manifold directly hence eliminating power losses.
The Toyota Hilux you see here was spotted on the highway stretch between Kolkata and New Delhi. But, if you look closely at the images, the car has an Under Customs sticker on it, with a temporary West Bengal registration, ie – THIS IS NOT A TEST MULE.
Could this be one of the cars seized by the custom officials or was it being delivered to a customer in India?
If you can look beyond the number plate and the reason why it is present, you can feast your eyes on this behemoth of a pick-up truck dominating the a stretch of Indian road.
The Toyota Hilux pick-up is based on the IMV platform which underpins the Fortuner and Innova. The indestructible pick-up truck uses engines ranging from a small 2.0-liter petrol to a 4-liter V6. Toyota told us last year they don’t have intentions to launch the Hilux in India.
The Credit for these images goes to Tarun Kumar Tripathy.
Mahindra is joining hands with a couple of companies in the Gulf to produce armored vehicles. Mahindra & Mahindra, its subsidiary Mahindra Overseas Investment Company Mauritius Ltd, Arabia Holdings and Ras Al Khaimah Transport Investments are coming together for this JV to be set up in the UAE.
Mahindra Defense Systems is one of the major players in the defense manufacturing sector in India. Mahindra had considerable experience in vehicle armoring and prepping military utilitarian vehicles with ballistic kits.
The JV project would be set up in the Ras Al Kaimah Emirate free zone, where the costs of manufacturing are low and the Emirate’s close proximity to the Gulf, African and Central-Asian countries which would be the target markets for this JV.
Mahindra’s Defense arm, through this JV would be manufacturing the heavily armoured Scorpio based Marksman and Armoured Cash transporting vehicles. These vehicles have already been developed for the Indian military and governmental organizations and are quite successful.
Mahindra could also build its High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, the Axe which it is currently readying for the Indian Army. The Mahindra Axe is a heavily armoured vehicle which comes both in soft-top and hard-top versions. The Axe comes with either the 2.7 liter Ssangyong derived diesel engine or the 4.0 liter General Motors derived Vortec petrol engine. The Axe comes with an All-Wheel independent suspension system for extreme mobility during strategic missions.
