Jaguar-Land Rover is looking at expanding its operations in China. The company now wants to locally manufacture its products in the highly lucrative Chinese market in order to bring the costs down and subsequently increase volume.
JLR is very much in a hurry to get this work started. In order to build cars locally in China you need to have a local partner. And JLR is looking for just that. Chery Automobiles and Beijing Auto seem to be the ones at the forefront among many others.
Chinese automakers are not experts at luxury cars and a joint venture with JLR could really help the company to learn a thing or two about high end cars from the UK based company.
Stefen Berger has been assigned by JLR to strike a deal with the Chinese Auto Companies. UK Prime Minister David Cameroon is also visiting China next week and he is expected to further talk to the Chinese Government about this joint venture and to speed up this process.
JLR is looking at investing more than 100 Million Pounds on this plant which will begin with an initial capacity of 50, 000 units per annum.
There has been considerable development on the four-wheeler so far. Last month, Renault executives were here, and we have shared all the work with them, be it styling, prototyping and testing. In fact, we have heard from them, after they went back to France, that they are satisfied. So, we have said 2012 (for the launch) and we are on course.
Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj talks about the on-going Bajaj ULC project to Business Standard.
We reported about the Euro Fiesta sedan (prior to which we brought you pictures of the hatchback) sighted near Ford’s Chennai plant and now Autocar India has pictorial proof of the model testing in Chennai.
Autocar India says the new Fiesta sedan will be launched in India by January-February 2011 at a price tag of 6.8 to 7.7-lakh rupees. The Euro Fiesta sedan will have 1.6-liter petrol and diesel engines. The more powerful 1.6-litre petrol engine will produce 118bhp while the diesel, Autocar says, will generate 90bhp and 207Nm of torque. A dual-clutch automatic gearbox could also be on the menu.
We have launched the Figo, we are working on a new car, and plan to have eight new products by mid decade. These will be global platforms, and will be smaller vehicles rather than larger vehicles.
Michael Boneham, Ford India’s president and managing director tells Sify about the company’s much talked about plans for this decade.
SA’s leading automotive portal motoring.co.za is reporting Toyota will introduce the Etios hatchback in their country by 2012. The online publication predicts the Etios to compete with several low cost hatchbacks like Chevrolet Spark Lite (Chevrolet Spark in India), Hyundai i10, Renault Sandero and VW Polo Vivo (previous generation Polo).
In India, Toyota is aiming for the Suzuki Swift’s market share. The fight will be fierce especially with the next-gen Swift ready for launch next year.
Toyota has been tight-lipped about the car’s price. Several predictions of a sub 5-lakh rupee on-road price have emerged in the recent past, but we can’t vouch for any such claims. The Etios hatchback will be less than 4 meters long and comes equipped with a 1.2-liter petrol engine.
More than 2,000 engineers have taken part in the development of the low-cost Etios. South Africa will be the first country after India to receive the Etios, motoring.co.za adds. The car will subsequently reach China and Brazil.
you read the details first here on IAB!
Nissan today has officially declared bookings for the Micra diesel open. The vehicle is available in two variants – XV and XV Premium.
The XV dCI has features like driver side airbag, manual AC, power windows, music system and black interiors.
The fully loaded XV dCI premium has climate control, 15 inch alloys, driver side airbag, push button start, keyless entry, auto retractable mirrors and beige interiors.
The vehicle’s 1.5-liter diesel engine boasts of a fuel economy figure of 23.08 kmpl which is the best in its class.
As reported earlier, the Micra diesel will be launched before Christmas and deliveries will begin during new year time.
We will be able to bring you more details on this development as the day progresses.
Nov 2 saw the launch of an eagerly awaited global sedan from Hyundai. The 2011 Accent subcompact sedan (caught testing in Tamil Nadu last month) is finally out of the bag. This is such a big step forward from the out going model. It is a direct derivation of the Hyundai Solaris that was shown at the Moscow Motor Show and that’s not what we expected because most production models are miles apart from the concept. This isn’t and that is what makes it a real looker!
The fluidic sculpture designed certainly makes the new Accent look more upscale and the grunt is provided by 1.4L MPI and 1.6L GDI four-cylinder petrol engines generating 107 and 140 bhp respectively.
Both engines are mated to a 6 speed manual or automatic gearbox. The car boast features such as Vehicle Stability Monitoring and Control system, navigation system with 6.5 inch LCD Screen, Eco Lamp, Push Button Start with Smart Key, leather interior, active headrests and many other premium features.
Sales will start from 2011 and there are plans to sell 500,000 units of 2011 Accent globally!
The car maker also promised to introduce Idle Stop & Go system (ISG) on all cars that it will make from here on in an effort to be ‘Green’.
Obviously this car won’t make it as an Accent or as Verna to India as Hyundai has rules out retirement plans for these vehicles. Will they use the “i” naming convention or will they stick with Solaris?
We’re told that the new Verna is expected in India by the end of 2011 with the current Verna’s 1.5-liter diesel engine. And we can’t wait to get our hands on one!
Hyundai Motor India Limited, the country’s largest exporter and the second largest car manufacturer, received an astonishing 535 bookings for their new car – the Santa Fe.
H. W. Park, MD & CEO, HMIL -
It is a matter of great pride for us to have received such an encouraging response for our recently launched luxury SUV – the Santa Fe. The globally acclaimed luxury Santa Fe has class leading features and our Indian customers have received this SUV with unparalleled enthusiasm and affection. Looking at the initial customer response, we might even consider importing larger numbers for the next year.
Hyundai should instead consider assembling the vehicle in India. That would add aggression to the pricing. Hyundai’s expectation was surpassed by light years with previous products like i10 and i20. Although Hyundai can say it somewhat predicted a high demand for these smaller vehicles in our market, never could it have imagined to reach the current volume levels.
If Hyundai can take up the Santa Fe seriously, they too can replicate the success Toyota has enjoyed with Fortuner. Saying that there is no market for a product comes across as a lazy excuse. It is also making life a bit simpler for competitors.
The bookings for the Santa Fe opened on 18 October, 2010 and closed on 30 October, 2010 and it was offered at an introductory price of Rs 20,95,000 (2WD) and Rs 22, 95,000 (4WD) Ex-Showroom, New Delhi. It is brought to India as a CBU directly form the parent company in Korea. The original plan was to sell 500-600 Santa Fe ever year (which obviously has gone for a toss).
The company will now look forward to importing more units in the near future.
