Indian Autos blog

During an online chat with friends in Brazil, the topic of a Ford SUV on the Global B Platform (Figo’s platform) was opened. Many blogs and online portals have started speculating on the possibility of a mini SUV on the Fiesta/Figo platform for India and Ford has acknowledged a portion of this claim by stating they are working on a SUV, which could be smaller than the Endeavor (if it was bigger than the Endeavour, it is what we term as “inter-city bus”)

The vehicle, we thought, was going to be developed from scratch by the Ford’s team here in Chennai, responsible for the Figo. But how wrong we were.

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Volkwagen’s Brazilian arm would soon make airbags and ABS standard throughout its range. The latest entrant to the VW family, the Polo would come with airbags and ABS standard even in its Base variant. Base variants of the VW Cross Fox and Golf would also get these as standard.

However for India, the base variant Trendline does not come with airbags and ABS. Not only VW India, all the major players in the volume market do not offer airbags on the Base and Middle variants. Only few manufacturers offer Airbags and ABS on the top-end variants, while some offer them only as options.

The reason for this is that there are no strict guidelines set by the Indian Transport Authorities on standardized safety equipment in cars. The Brazilian government is taking strict measures to ensure the safety of vehicles sold in their country and they have fixed a deadline of 2014 for all carmakers to offer airbags and ABS as standard in all cars.

We would really wish to see such regulations in India so that carmakers do not take the Indian car buyer lightly and should move from offering ‘value for money’ products to offering safe, quality motoring to the Indians.

The Nissan Micra which is to be launched on July 14, has a driver side airbag standard, even on its base variant. This would go down the Indian history as the first small car to offer airbags as standard on the base variant.

We wish VW India would at least be offering airbags and ABS as standard even in the base variants of the VW Polo Sedan (Vento) which could be launched during Diwali.

Spied while testing on Mount Road in Chennai by our reader Gokulraj, this Nissan Micra has only its badges hidden away and the rest of the car is clearly visible. The car on test was on one of its routine test runs and was traveling at a moderate speed.

IAB had yesterday reported about the launch date of the Nissan Micra, which is July 14. The car will be first launched with a 1.2 litre, 3-cylinder, 75 bhp petrol engine and a diesel engine could follow later this year or sometime next year.

IAB will be attending the media drive event of the Nissan Micra this weekend, and we will bring out a detailed drive report of the Micra soon after the event.

Thanks Gokul!

The new generation BMW 5 Series was unveiled last month in India and cars, according to our sources, will reach the hands of customers next month.

For those who cannot wait for their 5, here’s a compilation video that will satisfy your craving, at least for the moment.

Nissan issued a press release stating their hatchback Micra, which will be launched next month, has found a 1,000 takers merely four weeks after bookings opened. 1049 pre-order bookings were registered, most of them in Delhi with Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Chennai following closely behind.

With just 11 outlets, a 1,000 bookings is a tremendous achievement. Bear in mind that people have options like i10, Swift, Indica and Beat, which come from more reputed companies in India.

Mr. Kiminobu Tokuyama, MD & CEO, Nissan Motor India -

We are delighted with this encouraging initial response. With the launch of the new Nissan Micra next month, Nissan will begin an exciting journey in India aiming to provide Indian customers with a full range of products and services. We are confident that this booking trend will continue to improve as we move closer to the start of sales by middle of July 2010.

The issued press release also mentions that the Nissan Micra will be launched nation-wide on the 14th of next month

The title is not a joke.

The special series Black & White Edition Suzuki Alto (A-Star if you live in Faridabad) is now offered in France with, you guessed it, black and white colors.

The Artic Pearl White or Midnight Black Pearl colors Altos have features you’ll find in the top-end Alto like split seats, fog lamps, height adjustable driver seat. The sole engine option is the 1.0-liter K-Series engine developing 68hp and emitting a tree-hugging 103 g/km of carbon dioxide.

Only 1,000 copies will ever be made for France. Don’t ask me why Suzuki won’t allow you to buy a white or black color Alto (for the equivalent of 5.74 lakh rupees) in Europe after the entire lot is sold out. Frankly I don’t know.

Since the start of the Toyota Q World where the Japanese company is touring across India with its Etios twins, there have been many claims and quotes carried by the Indian media. The first misinterpretation was that Toyota will offer diesel engine on the Etios. Toyota clarified that it was only studying the possibility of diesel engine and ground work has not begun.

Here comes another blooper – Toyota will introduce the sedan before the hatchback

Totally not true.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) deputy managing director Sandeep Singh to Wheels Unplugged -

All reports on the ‘sedan’s launch before hatchback or vice versa’ were purely speculative and the company has not made any announcement on this. Having said that, there could be a possibility that we may roll out both the versions simultaneously. However, we have not taken a call on this.

Car companies in India have always introduced the hatchback first. At times, the sedan variant seems like an afterthought though it was all pre-planned. Modern cars like the Micra and Polo will come in the sedan avatar in the future. But will Toyota break this tradition and introduce both the body-styles in one go?

After snapping ties with its erstwhile JV partner in India, Mahindra and Mahindra, Renault has decided to go it solo in the Indian car market from now. Renault has plans to enter the volume small car segment of the Indian car market, with a small hatchback sometime in 2012. It is expected to base its hatch on the V-Platform, which also underpins the soon-to-be launched Nissan Micra hatchback.

Renault’s hatch based on the V-Platform is expected to be a very stylish and funky looking modern hatchback with the typical French design flair associated with all of Renault’s products. The hatch will be offered with petrol and diesel engine options and should be priced around the Rs. 5-lakh mark. Such pricing will put in bang in the Swift’s territory, which means it will have stiff competition to contend with when its launched in the Indian market.

Renault India’s Spokesperson -

The Renault-Nissan alliance is the most successful example of two major car companies creating synergies for growth while maintaining their individual identities in global markets. The V platform was developed for use by both companies. As far as India is concerned, we would not like to comment on any specific models that will be launched by Renault based on the V-platform

IAB had earlier reported about Renault’s aggressive plans for India which included the launch of five new models in the Indian car market by 2012. The plans for a small car based on the V-Platform were also revealed then, and this information about Renault’s V-Platform based hatchback is just one of many which will be revealed prior to the car’s launch in 2012.