We’re making good progress on that!
Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Group, reacts to a query posted on his Twitter page on the Mahindra Thar’s Indian launch.
Archive for July, 2010
Take a look at a recently released TV advertisement of a refreshed Mitsubishi SUV. Fashion Designer Rohit Bal’s inspiration is the new Mitsubishi Outlander. Does it inspire you?
Renault India is looking to start a new innings in India after it has snapped its ties with Mahindra. Renault India is planning to bring in a number of car models across all ranges in the coming years reports Wheelosphere.
The first car that could come is the Renault Fluence saloon that could be launched by mid-2011 and retail at around 12-14 lakh Rupees. The Fluence saloon would get the 1.5 liter dCi diesel engine and would go head on against the Toyota Corolla Altis diesel, Chevrolet Cruze and the new 2011 Hyundai Elantra.
Soon after the Fluence, the Renault Koleos SUV could reach Indian shores by the end of 2011. Both the Fluence and Koleos would be brought to India as CKDs and assembled at Renault-Nissan’s Chennai plant.
The Koleos shares it platform with the Nissan X-Trail SUV and when both these SUVs are assembled in India, it could result in cost effective production. The 2.0 liter 175 hp diesel engine in the X-Trail could also power the Koleos and Fluence.
The big news however is that the Dacia Duster which is built on the Logan’s platform would come to India with a Renault badge. The rugged butch looking compact SUV could benefit hugely from the Logan’s local suppliers in India and this would help Renault in pricing the Duster at a very competitive price, say 7-10 lakh Rupees. The Duster could compete with the Mahindra Scorpio and the Ford Ecosport SUV based on the Figo’s platform.
Renault would also have badge engineered models of the Nissan Micra and Nissan’s V-Platform sedan. Renault’s V-Platform hatchback could be stylish and edgy to target sporty looking rivals like the Chevrolet Beat and the 2011 Maruti Swift while the practical Nissan could compete with the Ford Figo and Hyundai i10.
But before launching a number of products Renault and Nissan would be looking to increase the number of its dealers in India. The company would be increasing the number of dealers from 11 to 20 during Nissan Micra’s launch, 40 by March 2011 and more than 100 by 2013.
Renault India future lineup -Speculated pricing
> Fluence saloon – 1.5dCi diesel or 2.0 dCi diesel – Rs. 12 to 14 lakhs
> Koleos SUV – 2.0 dCi – Rs. 16 to 19 lakhs
> Duster – 1.5 dCi – Rs. 7 to 10 lakhs
> Renault’s V-Platform hatchback – 1.5 dCi or 1.2 L petrol – Rs. 3.5 to 5.5 lakhs
> Renault’s V-Platform sedan – 1.5 dCi or 1.2 L petrol – Rs. 6.5 to 8.5 lakhs
The Nissan Murano Crossover SUV which was internationally launched in 2008 came only with a 3.5 liter V6 petrol, but now the sporty looking crossover SUV gets a new diesel engine for Europe.
The Nissan Murano luxury crossover gets a new 2.5 liter 4-cylinder common rail diesel engine developing 187 hp and 450 Nm of torque.
In addition to the diesel engine the new Nissan Murano luxury crossover gets a number of styling changes, the most prominent one being the new sporty looking grille, air dams and bi-xenon headlamps. The Murano also get cruise control and electrically folding rear seats standard and a high end Bose sound system that comes with 11 speakers.
If Nissan India plans to bring in the CKD route and assembles it at its Chennai plant, the car could be priced between 23 – 25 lakh Rupees which would put it in the BMW X1, Honda CR-V territory and considering the imposing presence of the Murano and its critically acclaimed diesel engine, we feel the Murano would be a very competent offering in that category.
There are high chances of Nissan bringing the Murano by mid-2011 via the CKD route. But what remains to be seen is whether Indian car buyers would choose the Murano over the BMW X1. While the Murano is better than the Bimmer in every way, what would be working against the Murano is the Nissan badge which cannot stand up to the Propeller’s stellar reputation in India.
India is one of the key markets in GM’s worldwide plans. The company after having emerged from bankruptcy, has been on a roll and has drawn up aggressive plans to launch new models in international markets to drive sales and growth further. The company plans to launch 70 new or upgraded models across international markets by the year 2014. India is definitely one of those markets.
The company will be launching new models such as the all-new next-generation Aveo Sedan and Hatchback, Chevrolet Sail Sedan and Hatchback and the Chevrolet Orlando MPV. The company will also be launching new engine or fuel variants of its existing lineup in India like the Beat Diesel, Beat LPG, Bharat Stage IV Complaint Chevrolet Tavera (we learn), Chevrolet Cruze Petrol and the facelifted Chevrolet Captiva.
GM will also be entering the Indian Commercial vehicle market with its Chinese partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC). The company will be launching the Wuling N 200 and 300 series of vans alongwith a pick up truck offering to takes on the likes of the Tata Ace and the Mahindra Maxximo.
With GM having lined up so many models and variants for Indian consumers, it remains to be seen as to how GM prices and positions these products in the Indian passenger car market.
Nissan would be developing a new global MPV to replace the Livina and Note MPVs, reports Wheelosphere. The new MPV would be based on Nissan’s V-Platform, the same platform on which the Micra small car is built.
The MPV is expected to be the third product to be developed from the V-Platform after the Nissan Micra and Nissan’s new sedan (code : L02B) to be launched in India next year. The MPV is internally codenamed J02C. The Nissan MPV could come with a 1.5 liter diesel engine which could also be shared with the Micra hatchback and the new sedan.
The compact MPV could be manufactured at Nissan’s Chennai plant and could roll out by 2012. The Nissan MPV would face stiff competition from the upcoming Maruti Suzuki’s R3 MPV and Mahindra’s compact Xylo 5-seater and possibly the Ford’s B-Max MPV based on Figo’s platform if it is ever introduced.
The only other iteration that can be developed out of this platform is a mini-SUV like the Ford Ecosport SUV (that could come sooner than expected). Will Nissan develop a mini-SUV based on the V-Platform?
We sometimes let our imagination go crazy. We turn into 8-year olds and toy with the idea of creating something that seems unnecessary and impossible.
But the computer-generated drawing you see above is not an 8-year old’s fantasy. It is a very realistic creation. Tata Motors is planning to venture into Europe with its modern products where people go gaga over station wagons. There is a decent level of demand for a vehicle like the Tata Indigo Manza Marina, which is the obvious successor to the Indigo Marina.
We don’t have word from Tata’s R&D facility that a model such as this is on the drawing board. We’re told that the company is busy working on Project Dolphin, which will be positioned between the Nano and the Indica Vista, now that there is no such thing as a “BS4 Indica.”
Tata Motors is looking to triple the production of the Tata Nano by March 2011. Tata’s Sanand facility which is fully operational right now has an annual capacity of 2,50,000 Tata Nanos. This capacity would be achieved in phases and currently the plant is producing 10,000 Nanos a month. Tata is looking to triple this number to meet high demands.
A Tata Nano vendor to PTI -
At present, vendors are supplying components for an average of about 10,000 units of Nano a month. They have been told to scale it up by three times by March 2011.
Tata Nano is in huge demand and with Tata already having and order backlog of near one lakh Nanos, it is only wise for Tata Motors to ramp up Nano’s production to clear delivery backlogs and start delivering the car to new customers at showrooms without a long waiting period.
Tata is also looking to export the Tata Nano to Nepal and sources say there is heavy demand for the Nano in Nepal even without the car being officially launched there. This could also have led to Tata planning to ramp up production.
Tata Nano is also manufactured at Tata’s Pantnagar plant and this plant is producing 50,000 units annually. Tata Motors would be looking to have a combined output of 3,60,000 units from Sanand and Pantnagar facilities by 2011-12.
