Indian Autos blog

By Kaustubh Shinde

Celebration times just don’t seem to end at Maruti-Suzuki. On 20th August, they celebrated the record production of over 5 lakh K-series engines in less than 23 months. Eight days later, it’s the turn of the Maruti Ritz to celebrate!

The Ritz, launched in May 2009, has sold over 86,400 units so far. It is powered by 1.2L K Series petrol engine with max output of 85 PS and 1.3L DDiS diesel unit that delivers a max output of 75 PS. It is coupled with 32-bit Engine Management System and Drive-by-wire technology for a quick engine response.

To celebrate the Maruti Ritz’ success in India, Maruti Suzuki is launching a special edition Ritz Genus today. The production is limited to only 5000 units and is expected to be dearer by Rs 17,000 over the current price. It will be available in both petrol and diesel engine option on VXI and VDI variants.

Apart from having standard features, the Ritz Genus will have new additional features like:

* An exciting signature color -`Emerald Blue’
* Stylish body graphics and ‘Genus’ decal on the rear doors
* Tilt-adjustable steering
* Keyless entry (Nissan Micra anyone?)
* Integrated music system
* Rear wiper-cum-washer

Shashank Srivastava, Chief General Manager (Marketing) -

Limited Editions are our way to bring excitement to the showrooms. We have excellent experience with Limited editions in the past. While they bring in incremental sales numbers, at the same time customer response to these special models have helped us for future product development and planning. Ritz has received very good demand from customers and I am confident that the Ritz Genus will find great appreciation with customers for its new add-on features

This is not the first time Maruti-Suzuki has tried the ‘limited edition’ formula. Earlier, it has released special edition models of SX4, Swift, Estilo and Alto.

We don’t plan to introduce the i10 with diesel option as of now.

Managing Director and chief executive of Hyundai Motor India HW Park puts an end to all speculation on a diesel i10 at the SIAM convention held in Delhi earlier this week.

Source – My Digital FC

By Mahir Shriwardhankar

The Ford Endeavour has been among the most desirable SUVs in the Indian market for some time now. Recently this segment was given a burst of (never before felt) energy with the launch of the Toyota Fortuner and is set to get more exciting in the coming years with manufacturers like Renault, Mahindra and Volkswagen stepping in.

The Ford Endeavour is based on the Ford Ranger pickup truck. Both share a good share of components. The Ranger and the Endeavour in the future could also share the same front fascia and see the same kind of facelifts. If you check the model history, both the vehicles received certain mechanical upgrades in the same time frame. Naturally.

Now Ford in the coming years will introduce a host of new SUVs and trucks in international markets like the famous Explorer, Expedition and the Excursion, which vary in sizes but share a similar lot of designing cues. And it has also issued a statement that it will be launching 8 new products in the Indian market.

It is evident from the not so distant past that Ford likes to exhibit its family traits across all its models and it is very likely Ford Ranger and the Ford Endeavour will not be left untouched and the next generation Endeavour will very likely be among those 8 models.

According to Car and Driver the next gen Ranger will be unveiled in 2012. This makes us think the next Endeavour should be ready by 2013.

Currently Ford offers Endeavour in 3.0 litre diesel 4×4 and a 2.5 litre RWD configuration. Many competitors have scored more than the Ford because of the truck-like feeling the Endeavour provides thanks to its rear leaf spring setup from the Ranger. So will the next gen Endeavour forgo this agricultural technique and instead use a modern suspension setup given that’s the biggest drawback in this otherwise good package?

As we reported earlier, Skoda is working on the Octavia replacement called the Felicia. The car will be based on the VW Vento platform and will be smaller than the current Octavia. The car was expected to be showcased at the Moscow International Auto Show that went underway day before yesterday.

But to everyone’s surprise, the car was nor unveiled. Skoda had their regular line up of cars- Superb, Roomster, Yeti, Fabia (with the RS version) etc. The Felicia (might be called “new Octavia” in India) will be a cheaper alternative to the VW Vento.

It is expected to carry the Vento’s 1.6-liter petrol and diesel engine. The company stated recently that an ‘entry level sedan’ will be introduced in India in late 2011 meaning that the Felicia is more than a year away.

The first full body prototype of the VW Lupo here in India by the end of 2011 has been caught testing in America. The sub-Polo hatchback will make use the Polo’s 1.2-liter diesel and petrol engine. The entry-level model could have a sub 1-liter petrol engine.

Internationally you can buy the Lupo with VW’s 1.2 TSI engine that will make this car a blast to drive. Unfortunately in India this car is positioned to fight for volumes with the likes of the Suzuki Alto, Hyundai’s HA and Chevrolet’s Spark.

VW has done a good job of camouflaging and adding fake spoilers to prevent us from deciphering the car’s design. We speculate the Lupo’s design will be a mix of the i10 and Polo. The Lupo will be manufactured at VW’s plant in Chakan, Pune.

Head over to World Car Fans to see the rest of the spyshots

Click here to see an artist’s impression of the VW Lupo

By Ragav Ramesh

The 2011 edition of the “bug” is creating headlines with a lot to offer for its admirers like adopting the some of the classy curves from the original Beetle and a wide range of options to offer under the hood.

VW designers have lowered the roof to overcome the wind resistance. The deep instrument panel in the current model is going to get replaced with a cockpit kind of dash which is much more futuristic and sexier. In addition to all these it is going to offer a huge range of engine options to gain attraction from every genre.

Going back to December 2009, when VW beetle was launched in India, no one would have expected the Beetle to sell so much in the Indian market considering the unimpressive sales figures of its competitor Fiat 500. But the bug has proved everyone wrong by selling more than 300 vehicles. You can’t look into the brisk sales of this 25+ lakh rupee car and assume everything will be fine if you decide to manufacture and introduce the next generation car in India. What this 300+ number has done is made us look at the next gen Beetle with interest.

Considering the fact that the Beetle was a people’s car, looking back during the World War II, VW can position this model where it originally belongs, even here in India. Placing a 4-door Beetle just above the Polo would attract many buyers in India. The Polo’s 1.2 litre engine which is well known for its fuel efficiency along with the radical design of the Beetle could make for a really different hatchback. We’re just day-dreaming, aren’t we?

Ever since the Nano was unveiled back in 2008 & got the ‘cheapest car in the world’ price tag, China has lost sleep. It isn’t only China but many other international auto makers who are watching the Nano closely. There is the Renault-Nissan Bajaj small car, GM along with SAIC is trying to make a low cost hatch & there is the Chinese company Geely which also announced that they will make the world’s cheapest car.

Now there is yet another company, again from China- Zotye which has made it official that they will make a car that will cost less than the Tata Nano. Zotye is the same company that in partnership with Premier Motors sells the Rio SUV here in India. Zotye Holding Group said that they will make a sedan on the second generation Alto platform, which they purchased in 2007 from Suzuki, to save costs that will rival the Nano. They’re looking to position the Alto sedan at 1.35 lakh rupees ($2,900 US Dollars)

The JiangNan Alto is essentially the Maruti Suzuki 800 ! (Another Indian connection eh?).

So basically the company will make a sedan out of that platform! Engine options are expected to be in the range of 0.8 liters to 1.1 liters with a power output 37 & 44 BHP.

But do you think this car will be reliable enough to actually ‘drive’? Sure Chinese can make cheap products but can they make a reliable one? The Nano was built from scratch & the Nano Superdrive proved its robustness. Will the Chinese be able to beat that? Lets wait & watch.

The Hyundai RB concept previews the next generation Accent, which should reach India by the end of 2011. The RB concept, we assume, is based on the i20′s platform. We’re done being confused where this model will be positioned, we won’t open that topic again till Hyundai reveals details.

The ideal segment where the Hyundai RB can be positioned is just below the current Hyundai Verna. Even in the case of the two models overlapping, there is nothing Hyundai will lose. The RB is a modern Hyundai and it needs to be positioned as aggressively as possible rather than worrying about cannibalization.

The video explains the design of the RB unveiled at the Moscow Motor Show earlier this week.