Indian Autos blog

The second generation Volkswagen Touareg is likely to be brought to India by February next year, sources revealed to Indian Autos Blog.

The Volkswagen Touareg is a massive SUV that shares components with the Audi Q7 and the Porsche Cayenne. It’s among the unsung heroes in the SUV market and has sold in very limited numbers despite bearing all qualities of a capable SUV.

Volkswagen has the liberty to import the new Touareg with a V6 petrol, V8 petrol and the V8 diesel engine though it is unclear which ones will make the cut.

Here’s a short video featuring the new Touareg in motion.
Here’s an extensive image gallery of the new Touareg

The latest Manza’s TV Ad maintains Tata’s reputation of making the best ads in the business. Be it the Tata Indica boxing ad, the Safari DICOR’s reclaim your life Ad or the more serious Indigo Marina and Indigo ad, the company’s ads albeit missing celebrity acts, are animated, good humored and send out the message well.

A few weeks ago, we reported that Changan’s interest in Indian commercial vehicle market and an article on Businessweek today has more to add.

Changan has approached Ford to sell its vehicles through the latter’s ballooning dealer network. Listen in to Chongqing Changan President Zhang Baolin’s comment -

We have discussed with Ford to use their network to expand overseas, but haven’t come to an agreement yet.

Mr Baolin withheld information of the models and instead replied all types of vehicles were being considered for the Indian market.

Changan’s commercial vehicles should be suitable for India as arch rival General Motors is taking the help of Chinese to introduce vans and mini trucks for India next year. Almost every car manufacturer in India is finding vast potential in the commercial vehicle and the rivalry there isn’t all that fierce.

At the moment, the cheapest and most usable platform for Ford India is the B-Platform which underpins the Figo and the Fiesta. The B-Platform only once saw the roll out of a commercial vehicle.

Pictured – Changan Jie Xun is merely for the sake of representation and has no relevance to the story or India yet.

The Toyota Prius will be manufactured at the Gateway Plant in Thailand and that prompts the question – Will TKM make use of the trade agreement between the two countries and lower the price of the Prius by assembling Thai kits at Bidadi?

Deputy Managing Director of TKM (Toyota Kirloskar Motors) was kind enough to field this question -

We have no plans now to assemble the Prius in India. We sold 150 vehicles in India and the Prius is expensive. In Thailand, the demand for hybrid vehicles is high.

Perhaps Toyota’s market study showed there were no real chance to gain numbers even if the Prius was brought to India through the CKD route. Customers who buy the Prius are of high profile, and regardless of the price, they will sign on the dotted line.

Mr.Singh said the company’s focus is now on the Etios which will be launched in December.

We’ve got more news on the next generation Ford Endeavour along with another artist impression. The rugged go-anywhere SUV will be designed by Scott Strong and engineered by Todd Hoevener and his men for a late 2012 unveil. Before Scott Strong got an opportunity to sit down and think of a proper design, our in-house designer Shoeb R Kalania took a shot at it.

The vehicle should use the Ranger truck’s body on frame construction with double-wishbones with coil spring-over-strut front suspension and semi-elliptic leaf springs for the rear suspension. The design of the SUV might vary with the removal of the 3-bar grille and wide open bumper. Ford could give it car-like design features and qualities. Taming down a truck isn’t going to result in a scrawny vehicle, that’s certain.

The choice of engines however is anyone’s guess. As per the latest information available, Ford could offer the current 2.2-liter 4-cylinder diesel engine or the 3.1L, 5-cyl 200-hp diesel that provides 470 Nm of torque, enough to twist the earth on its axis.

Indian Autos Blog has learned that Tata Motors is looking into the possibility of a trimmed down Indigo Manza for India next year. The Manza CS comes after the successful launch of the Indigo CS which is a sedan for the price of a hatchback.

Tata re-launched the Indigo CS earlier as the e-CS tuning it to suit BS4 emission standards. It has seen steady numbers since then.

The Indica Vista measures 3.75 meters in length, while the Manza takes 4.4 meters of tape. A model between the two wouldn’t be a problem as segmentation in Tata products is done in terms of price, more than anything else. A sub 4-meter Indigo will be rewarding for Tata Motors as it will be allowed to sell it as a hatchback.

What will be interesting to see is the choice of powertrains. Will Tata use Fiat’s powertrains or will it be tempted to plonk the cheaper DICOR motor under the Manza CS’s bonnet to lower the price tag further?

The wheelbase should be left untouched so passenger comfort will be retained. The length must be altered by adjusting the car from C-Pillar onwards. Perhaps the boot will be slightly rounded to appeal to those who are not in favor of the Manza’s appearance now.

SRK is listening to this and he soon will help diagram the future model

BMW’s best selling model in the 5-Series range is surprisingly absent from the latest model’s line-up, but BMW says it is hard at work on it and will soon launch the 520d in India. Currently there are two diesel models on offer – 525d and the 530d in 6-cylinder form.

Sources tell us that the company was surprised about the response the more expensive 530d evoked in India. They were predicting the 525d to sell more in number, but many customers came asking for the 530d and it took some convincing to change their mind to the readily available 525d.

The 520d will be available in India shortly with a 2.0-liter in-line four cylinder engine that produces close to 185hp.

While we’re on the subject of Honda’s small car (Code – 2CV) for emerging markets, remember we’re only speculating. The Honda Brio (as we’re referring it) will have a sub-1.2-liter petrol engine under its bonnet when its begins its stint in India next year. On some foreign blogs, people call it as Honda’s mini Jazz implying its dimensions and capabilities.

We’re also told Honda will consider sedan and perhaps other body styles on the Brio’s platform. This is how the game is being played today in India – bring in a base on top of which anything can be built.

Honda’s sure that the pricing will be around the region of 5 lakh rupees. For that price, expect no major equipment. Forget ABS and Airbags, even stereo is an unlikely feature on the entry-level Brio. We don’t think there will be a diesel engine in starting stages and in a country where fuel economy is of paramount importance in small cars, they must be planning one soon.

The question we’d like Honda to answer is what will be different on the Brio? What will be special about it? Can it better a Maruti on mileage, a Tata on space, a Volkswagen on quality and say a price on Ford? Will it just be another small car in the Indian market?