Indian Autos blog

Fiat India has issued a press release on the launch of the new 90hp Punto diesel. The event took place in Delhi immediately after the launch of the Mercedes Benz SLS AMG. We will bring you an exclusive report later this evening, but prior to that, shouldn’t you understand what Fiat feels about the latest addition?

click through to read the press release

Mercedes Benz has sent us a press release containing information released during the launch of the SLS AMG in India today afternoon. IAB will bring you a first-hand report shortly, but for those who can’t wait, here’s what Mercedes Benz India has to say about the SLS.

Press Release

Mercedes-Benz redefines leadership with the launch of the SLS AMG in India!

* Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India: “The SLS represents the true spirit of our brand: It is “The Best or Nothing” in terms of emotion, design, racing exhilaration, path braking motorsports technology, while at the same time offering Mercedes-Benz quality, safety, and functionality. We are excited to launch the vehicle in India just a few weeks after the start of production of RHD vehicles in Germany.”
* India is amongst the first right hand drive markets to launch the Gullwing super sports car within the first few weeks of its production (first RHD production : June 2010)
* Since its presentation in January 2010, the SLS AMG has already achieved 10 confirmed customer bookings from India

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Speculation. And if its speculation, GM India can’t stay away from it for very long.

GM post bankruptcy filing, has been in the news only for the right reasons. The company has every reason to be happy. Its Beat mini car is doing sparkling numbers. The Chevrolet Cruze is steadily climbing, surpassing expectations and according to the latest figures is the segment leader.

It plans to bring in the Beat diesel and the Aveo twins next year giving the ability to penetrate the market further. There are also a heap of Chinese cars that GM intends to sell in India at killer price tags. The Chinese vans from Wuling will be built at the company’s Talegaon facility with Fiat Multi-jet engines.

In all this noise, many of us have forgotten the Chevrolet Tavera which was not upgraded to meet BS4 regulations. There were rumors last year the GM will outsource production of Tavera to Argentum.

We have heard from our sources that the Tavera will be relaunched in India by the end of this year with a sub 2-liter Sonalika CRDI engine producing 100bhp. The vehicle could have a ECU sourced from Continental.

The 100bhp CRDI engine could help the Tavera take the fight to Toyota’s Innova and Mahindra’s Xylo. GM could also give the Tavera new features and updates in the styling front.

We have reported that Volkswagen’s car below the Polo, according to reports, will be the production version of the Up! concept car. Autocar’s latest reports that that the Up! will be branded Lupo. Several startling revelations on engine options, branding and launch dates have been made. Read on!

The VW group’s new small car will also be offered to customers as Audi, Skoda and Seat with a view of attaining global leadership in automobiles by 2018.

The Lupo will be the company’s entry-level car and it replaces the Fox which is built in Brazil. The Lupo will hit Britain’s shores in 2012, the report adds.

Due to financial reasons, VW has opted for the front engine, front wheel drive layout like a conventional car. Select markets in Europe will receive the Up! next year.

This prompts the question – Will the Up! be introduced by the end of next year in India?

The Volkswagen Lupo will be initially available with the 1 liter engine producing 65 hp and a 1.2 liter common-rail diesel unit with an output of 75 hp (read Polo’s engine).

The VW Lupo platform will see different bodystyles. The Lupo platform will yield a family of cars instead of just a hatchback or a sedan.

The Lupo will have both 3-door and 5-door versions. In India, since many car buyers choose to relax in the back seat of their car, there will be no availability of a 3-door model. The electric version of the Lupo based on the E-Up concept, will see the light of the day in the next few years but don’t expect it to come to India anytime soon.

Ford India is now officially on cloud nine. Their small car Figo has met with titanic success and the company’s journey continues to witness milestones. With 25,000 bookings, the Figo is now the most popular vehicle in the Indian small car space.

Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India -

Figo’s success has exceeded expectations in terms of sales and target markets. Our debut compact car offering is being very well received by a wide range of customers and this response has been instrumental in our efforts to increase market share

Ford’s sales statistic jumped by 235% compared to last year and 1,200 Figos have also sailed to South Africa recently from the Chennai plant.

click through to read the press release

As we speak, the event introducing the 90hp Grande Punto is taking place at Taj Mansingh hotel in New Delhi. The car is priced at 6.7 lakh rupees (ex-showroom New Delhi).

Stay tuned for more information, images etc.

Audi’s mini-SUV Q3 (rendered above) based on Audi A5 platform is taking shape at Audi’s research and development centre . The Audi Q3 slated for a 2011, will be manufactured at Martorell in Spain and will be positioned to take on the hugely successful BMW X1.

The concept version of the Q3 was shown at the 2007 Shanghai Motor Show from where the production model will borrow many design aspects.

Audi aims to be the numero uno luxury car manufacturer in the world by 2015 and in India plans to produce 6,000 cars per annum by that point of time. Assembly of the Q3 SUV at Aurangabad could help Audi reach that ambitious target.

The BMW X1 could be priced in the 23 to 28 lakh rupee range, and its rivals will then be the Honda CR-V, Nissan X-Trail and possibly the India-made Land Rover Freelander. The Audi Q3 should be priced well below 30 lakh rupees when it enters India in 2011.

The launch of the Mercedes Benz SLS AMG has just come to a close at the Imperial hotel in Janpat, New Delhi. IAB’s representative on ground zero informs us that the car is priced between two and two and a half crore rupees depending on the extent of customization.

A car takes 6-8 months for delivery from the time of booking.

Stay tuned for images and a detailed report today evening.