As Toyota prepares itself for the one most definitive launch in India, it is leaving no stones unturned. The much awaited Toyota Etios will hit the Indian market on December 1st and taking a cue from marketing 101, Toyota has signed up the legendary maestro (and two-time Oscar award winner) A R Rahman as the brand ambassador.
Mr. Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director-Marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motors, said:
Mr. A.R.Rahman is the pride of the nation and we are delighted to have him as our brand ambassador. In an effort to establish an instant connect between the Etios values and the Indian masses; A.R.Rahman was the perfect fit to synergize with the brand. The Etios is very important and close to us at Toyota, therefore it is but pertinent that its brand ambassador symbolizes what the product stands for
The Music maestro is very excited about the product and the marketing campaign. Speaking about his relationship with Toyota, A.R. Rahman said:
I believe real quality is created when skill meets dedication, when insight meets inspiration, when passion meets perfection. This is why I am happy to be associated with Toyota. The same values drive Toyota in whatever they do. Together, we aim to delight India!
Toyota has always chosen perfectionists as its brand ambassadors. Earlier it was Amir Khan for the Innova who is also a perfectionist in his own field. With A R Rahman signed up now, we really are looking forward to the launch.
The company is aiming to sell 70,000 units of Etios in the first year and is planning to achieve about 10% market share in the hatch segment by 2015
After a disappointing Fabia launch, the Czech automaker Skoda plans to hit the market hard with a slew of launches. This isn’t the first time the company has planned a model shower. At the Auto Expo this year, it showcased many models which it intended to launch during this year. Since that never happened, it now has charted a new one with determination that includes exciting cars.
The company plans to launch the Yeti on 18 November which in the words of Mr. Thomas Kuehl (Board Member & Director, Sales & Marketing) is going to be a ‘Cult Car’. Skoda claims that they have already received 1000 bookings even before the launch!
The company also eying the viability of Fabia vRS and Fabia Scout to meet its ambitions sales target of 30000 – 40000 units of Fabia next year.
The company also has plans to launch an entry level hatch by 2012. The company has kept mum on the platform but we suspect this will be a heavily worked Wagon R with a diesel engine.
The company plans to bring its bread winner Octavia back to life with a completely new platform positioning it right next to the Honda City, SX4 and Linea.
The company has some ambitious plans on manufacturing front as well by fully localizing all their products in the near future
The parent company VW has set itself even bigger targets with each brand expected to conquer 20% of its category.
The Suzuki Swift has always been a boy racers car. Its fast, its cheap, handles well, easy to repair and it looks good as well.
You can see a lot of them modded on city streets. But those are all aftermarket jobs. But when the company itself rolls up its sleeves, what you get is an R Concept or simply put a really mental Swift.
The Suzuki Swift R Concept, which will debut at the upcoming Beijing Auto Show, takes its inspiration from the GSX-R bikes and is quite evident from the really aggressive body work and very fat tires that it sits on. This front wheeled drive hot hatch is expected to be powered by a 1.4L liter turbocharged petrol unit that makes a whooping 180 bhp! All this power is harnessed by a 7 speed dual-clutch transmission borrowed from VW.
All said and done, we just can’t wait for the Beijing Motor Show later this year.
Hitler’s brainchild and a car that gave VW its name, is all set to get refreshed in early 2011. The spy pics reveal that the new car is much longer and more aerodynamic than its predecessor. Based on the A5 platform, this car is expected to debut at the Los Angeles Car Show in November 2010. It is expected to be powered by 2.5 litre inline-5 petrol engine which is the same as the current one.
The new car features a much sweptback roofline which curves dramatically as it reaches the C pillar. VW is trying for a sportier look for the new car to appeal to male audience world wide. We attribute it to the worldwide drop in sales since the 2000. Hence by widening the target market, they will try to boost sales.
The car will be produced in Mexico next to Jetta.
Back home VW is trying really hard to make a niche for the Beetle. If you have been following bollywood films lately, you will see a lot of them being driven by the lead female actor.
But the big question is – Will VW bring the Beetle to India in the form of a CKD soon after its global launch? If all goes well, we can even expect an open top version coming our way.
Entry posted on October 14, 2010 by
Naveen;
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Ford
Ford has unveiled the all new 2011 Ranger pickup truck for the Asia Pacific. Essentially this is the next generation Ford Endeavour SUV for India (Everest for other markets) in a pickup truck avatar. The all new Ranger is probably the most technologically advanced small pick up truck and not to mention is one hell of a good looking vehicle.
So when can we see the next gen Endeavour? We can expect the Everest/Endeavour, based on the Ranger to be unveiled by the first quarter of 2011 and the butch looking SUV could be launched in India by early 2012.
The new 2012 Ford Endeavour is likely to come with two DuraTorq engines, a base 2.2 l inline 4 producing 150 hp and 375 NM of torque and a behemoth 3.2 l inline 5 producing 200 hp 470 Nm of torque (a 5 cylinder for the first time). The Endeavour would come with either a 6 speed manual or a 6 speed automatic transmission.
The interiors of the car are extremely well designed and exude European flair to some extent. The design of the dash is very modern and can easily match a Honda CR-V (and that’s a very goo thing). I can safely say when this car comes to India, it would have one of the best looking interiors in its segment.
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We believe that when the global presence of Mahindra and Ssangyong is combined, jointly we will be able to achieve more success in the global market.
Anand Mahindra expressing confidence over Mahindra & Mahindra’s planned acquisition of troubled Korean carmaker Ssangyong. The acquisition is expected to be completed by March 2011.
Update – We were unable to drive the Santa Fe today but we had an interesting chat with certain key members of the Hyundai India management. We shall post that instead tonight.
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Hyundai India has (finally) launched the much awaited Santa Fe SUV in India yesterday. Only two variants of the svelte SUV would be offered, a 4×2 variant which has been priced at Rs. 20.95 lakhs and a 4×4 variant at Rs.22.95 lakhs (prices ex-showroom New-Delhi).
The Hyundai Santa Fe comes with a 2.2 liter CRDi diesel engine which produces 197 bhp and is equipped with a six speed manual transmission. Even the 4×2 variant has been equipped well and comes with ESP, Cruise control and six airbags. The car comes in four colours- Phantom Black, Sleek Silver, Vanilla White and Steel Blue.
Indian Autos Blog covered the event yesterday and would be driving the Hyundai Santa Fe through the grueling deserts and hot Rajasthan roads later today. Stay tuned for a detailed report on the launch and detailed test drive report later today.
The Hyundai RB sedan has been spotted testing near Kodaikkanal, Tamil Nadu. The RB sedan on which we have been bringing you regular updates since the day it was shown as a concept would be Hyundai’s global compact sedan specifically designed for growing markets like Russia, India and China. The Hyundai RB is essentially the Korean automaker’s answer to the Volkswagen Vento sedan in developing markets.
The Hyundai RB which is based on the i20 platform sports the ‘Fluidic Sculpture’ design language and looks very smart. The Hyundai RB which has been christened the Solaris in Russia would roll off Hyundai’s Russian plant in January 2011 and the car is expected to launched in the India market by the end of 2011.
It unclear how Hyundai India would position the car as the facelifted Verna Transform has only been launched recently. We believe positioning the RB both above and below the Verna Transform would be catastrophic. Our guess is that the Hyundai RB could be priced above the Verna and to compete with the likes of the VW Vento, Fiat Linea T-Jet and the Honda City and under the next generation Elantra/Avante.
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