Indian Autos blog

There is no denying the fact that the Chevrolet Beat (Spark internationally) is one good looking car. Even the company knows that they have created a product that looks like it belongs to the 22nd century! Out here in India a key marketing strategy of the company has been to emphasize on the stylish looks of the car to lure customers into showrooms.

Globally too the Beat a.k.a Spark is being marketed as a highly stylish & aspirational vehicle. To further excite customers towards this trendy hatchback, Chevrolet UK has unveiled a special edition of the Spark called the Spark spART. This Spark art car was introduced during Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship meeting at Silverstone. A rather striking looking avatar indeed! We wonder if GM will consider such variants for India? We really hope they do!

click through to read the press release

The ‘Lakhtakia’ car as it was always called is not so anymore. As Tata re-opens the booking for the Nano, the company is hiking prices of the car due to obvious reasons such as rising input costs. The standard variant of the car with the BS 4 compliant engine is expected to retail at 1.4 lakh , CX at 1.66 lakh & the LX at 1.93 lakh (all ex-showroom Mumbai.)

The company has opened bookings in the state of Kerala in order to garner sales during the Onam festival, followed by Mumbai around the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi & then Gujarat just before Dussehra followed by rest of the country.

The Sanand plant is now fully operational & the company is aiming at producing 20,000 units per month & 2.5 lakh units per annum by the end of this financial year. Tata is also aiming at providing Nanos off the shelf to the customers starting January next year.

Tata had earlier stated that about a lakh of customers who had booked their Nano last year itself will be informed about the price they have to pay at the time of delivery. An official statement from the company on the prices is expected shortly.

Gasgoo is reporting that Honda will introduce a new small car codenamed TIF in the Chinese market, Honda China president Seiji Kuraishi has revealed to the local media recently.

The TIF will get a 1.0 and 1.3-liter petrol engine and will be positioned in line with many of the small cars available today at attractive prices in the Chinese market (read – Chevy Sail, Nissan Micra,

The Honda TIF will cost about 4.12-5.48 lakh rupees, according to Gasgoo, which is a great alternative to the likes of the Micra.

According to sources, the TIF will have “most stylish looks, eye-catchy features and extremely user-friendly controls.”

Now the question is – Is the TIF got anything to do with the Honda New Small Concept that was showcased at the Auto Expo? The car’s codename is 2CV and it, according to sources, will be launched in India next year. The NSC could have a sedan variant and there has been no talk about a diesel engine under the 2CV’s bonnet.

Could these two cars be the same? The 1.3-liter petrol engine will not make it eligible for small car benefits in India, so Honda might only launch the 1.0-liter, if at all the TIF is the 2CV.

Hyundai at the Moscow Auto Show which kick started today, has presented the Hyundai RB concept, which prefigures a subcompact sedan.

Now the question is, is this the car that will take on the VW Vento and Honda City?

The RB concept, from the images, looks like a visually masked next generation Hyundai Verna. There’s also a connection to the i20 here since what we learned is the next generation Verna is based on the i20′s platform.

Look closely at the images and you can conclude -

Next gen Hyundai Verna + Hyundai Avante’s face + i20 platform = RB Concept

Hyundai has used every bit of the fluidic design language and most element on this vehicle hint this is almost production ready. The RB Concept could be produced in Hyundai’s Chennai plant next year, but the company has stayed mum on the RB.

The production Hyundai RB will be equipped with Gamma engines displacing 1.4-liters and 1.6-liters respectively and will have multiport fuel injection and continuously variable distribution. As every new engine would, this vehicle will have less fuel consumption and emissions.

124 HP for 1.6-liter Gamma engine and a torque of 135Nm is for the power lover. The economy buyer will be interested in the 1.4-liter unit which will deliver 107 HP and 156Nm. There will also be an automatic transmission in the future, which we think is what the Hyundai i20 Auto uses at the moment.

The production model derived from the RB Concept will debut in January 2011 at the Hyundai factory in St. Petersburg, Russia. More information is expected to follow shortly.

click through to view image gallery

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. has unveiled a ‘Fortuner Anniversary Edition’ commemorating 10,000 units sales in its first year of launch in India. The Toyota Fortuner was launched on August 24, 2009 and startled everyone with the response it received.

The anniversary edition will be available in Pearl White colour and comes fitted with accessories. A new front bumper spoiler, a rear roof spoiler and a rear bumper spoiler all in body colour, and a chrome plated muffler cutter are the additions. The Fortuner Anniversary Edition is priced at Rs. 20,45,000 (ex-showroom Delhi)

TKM will produce only 250 units of this special edition

Mr. Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director-Marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motor -

We would like to thank our customers for making the Fortuner the market leader in its segment, since its launch

The Fortuner’s statement – If you have a really capable product, the customer will not mind paying extra or waiting for it.

Renderings of the next generation BMW 3 series (codenamed F30) are plenty and the only concrete inference is it is a compacted 5 series. Styling details are now becoming very similar in the Bimmer range with the new 5 looking like a mini 7 series & the new 3 also picking up quite a few design cues from its elder brothers.

The car looks a little less sporty (read, more elegant) than the previous gen but it still has the conservative design that is obvious in the 3 series models. Use of LED’s adds a bit of character & the kidney grille has now become broader just like the new 7 & 5. The car now has a longer wheelbase but use of lighter parts keeps the weight in check.

It is expected to be unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show with European sales beginning in the winter of 2011 followed by USA. In India the car is expected in the second half of 2012. The current 3 Series, though not the market leader, is a CKD operation that still is turning the wheels for BMW which hopes to lead in that segment one day.

Engines will be downsized considering the current scenario to 3 cylinders. Four cylinder turbocharged engines are also expected in the capacity of 1.6-2.0 liters. Of course, the Bavarian automaker will continue to offer its trademark inline-six powerplants, including new variants of the 3.0-liter twin-scroll turbo unit that makes 306-horsepower and 400Nm of torque. Hybrid variants are also expected.

The 2012 3 Series will also feature a host of new technologies like a redesigned climate control system, more efficient electrical that last longer, a powertrain preheating system, start stop system, solar roof panel, regenerative braking & more.

The M version of the car is expected to carry a straight 6 turbocharged engine with an output of above 450 HP! The 3 series will come in various body styles- sedan, coupe, estate, convertible & also a GT!

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation will run Mercedes Benz buses on trial basis in the city for the next 3 months. These buses have been provided free of cost by Mercedes & customers will be charged Re 1 per trip for the 1st 3 days.

Depending on the customer response the corporation will deploy more buses for the city. The government has also decided to introduce free internet facilities in Volvo buses, which are plying their roads already, especially in buses operating from the Airport.

The transport department is also aiming at reducing use of diesel in state buses by adding more ethanol as ethanol is less polluting. The Government of India is impressed by Bangalore’s efforts to make passenger travel comfortable, environmentally friendly and affordable.

Tata Motors’ Nano has maintained an extremely low profile since its launch in March last year. Tata never had to aggressively push the Nano through print or electronic media as newspapers featured the car in their headlines anyway.

Since the Nano has faced delays in reaching customers, many analysts believe that Tata has missed out on numbers due to long waiting period. It is fatigue or poor memory that’s plagued customers.

To revive the interest among buyers now that the Sanand plant is up and running, Tata is about to launch its first TV commercial for the Nano. The company is expected to make an announcement on the reopening of bookings shortly.

Nisha Singhania, executive vice-president for Rediffusion Dentsu Young and Rubicam Pvt. Ltd -

We did do a lot of research and spoke to consumers. That’s when we realized that the people the car had been made for, had not had a chance to experience it…they were just going by hearsay. So, the objective of the campaign is to urge people to go out there and experience the car and decide for themselves

The Tata Nano is perhaps the first car where the customer deposited his money on without test driving it. When the bookings were open the last year, some showrooms didn’t allow customers to experience the car in the fear of that the few demo models dispatched to them would crumble at the hands of the curious visitors, who were uncertain if it was made of plastic or metal.

The Nano’s commercial will bring out the car’s safety, speed, mileage and space. It will be based on the same message on the print campaign “Now You Can.”

The commercial will be aired on television channels during the festive period. It was filmed in the Nashik countryside. We have already witnessed how pretty the Nano is on tape, so we’re expecting something really nice. Nothing associated with the Nano will address anything more than the basic needs, so don’t expect a celebrity in the Nano’s commercial!