Indian Autos blog

We have started a second shift to scale-up production to meet the high demand for the Polo and Vento. We are gradually ramping-up production, but not rapidly, as we do not want to compromise on quality.

Volkswagen Group Sales India (Passenger Cars) Director Neeraj Garg tells reporters during the opening of its 61st dealership in India.

After Maruti’s prediction that 20% of the Indian car market will consist of CNG cars by 2016, Mahindra and Mahindra has reinstated the same prediction by launching the Logan CNG.

The tree hugger, CNG kit of the Logan is available for an extra price of Rs. 56000 on the GLE/GLX versions and is currently only available in Mumbai and Delhi. For that money, you also get vehicle warranty of 2 years or 50,000kms.

Arun Malhotra, senior vice-president (sales), M&M -

Assuming a person is driving the car for 2,000 km every month, the premium the buyer is paying will be cleared within 12-13 months.

The new CNG kits are made by Landi Renzo from Italy, one of the largest suppliers of CNG kits, and will be fitted in India by Logicon Alternate Fuels Pvt. Ltd.

According to to M&M, these kits reduce the running cost of the car by 60 percent.

Do you remember the song One Piece at a Time by Jonny Cash? It is about an auto worker from Motown who stole parts from the factory where he worked and eventually made custom car for himself. I bet when Jonny Cash wrote it, he would have thought “Yea! This is funny”. The Germans didn’t think so and actually went for it!

A gang of thieves working at the BMW factory in Munich have been caught stealing car parts worth..wait for it…Over Three Million Pounds! These include wheel arches, gear stick knobs, brake systems, steering columns, blank keys and even car seats.

It is reported that a BMW employee at the quality control department is the ring leader in this scam. He would attach labels to parts, in particular car seats, as defective items and then smuggle them out of the plant. He would then sell it to local garages and shops.

The thieves reportedly even stole the parts and sold them online and this has been going on since two decades. BMW said most of its 31,000 workers in and around Munich were ‘honest’ but that there are always bad apples to be found in any barrel.

And the day has finally dawned upon us. Maruti Suzuki has started testing the third generation Swift around the Indian cities. The first pic comes to us from Delhi where the new car is caught in some heavy camouflage.

Officially launched in India in March 2005, Maruti quite literally owned the hatch back market by selling more than a Million units till date. And why not, this car was all- things-to-all-people; some (including me) have even quoted it to be the Indian MINI.

But in 5 years the game has moved on, sadly the Swift didn’t. Superminis like the i20, Jazz, Fabia et all are getting more spacious, more luxurious, more feature laden, even more powerful. Combine that with global giants like Toyota and Honda flexing their muscle for a share of the hatchback pie and it has spelled trouble for the little Swift, which mind you, is still the lion of the mountain.

So it is obvious, the largest manufacturer in India will not just sit around with its hand folded. The new car has already been launched in a few countries across the world and has been appreciated by international automotive press.

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Note: IAB does not endorse any products and only provides information which will be relevant before you make a purchase.

Advertising sure is a magical land where companies pay celebrities millions of dollars just to hold the products in their hand. It is a profession which is requires you to wear stylish glasses and sharp clothes and think of jingles that can be used to irritate people on radio and TV. Now, a new buzzword – Carvertise will help you buy a brand new car for just Rs 2000/month.

IAB recently visited Team Associates office in Mumbai to find out what’s the fuzz about Carvertise.

What is it?

The deal is that you purchase a new Chevy car (Spark or U-Va) and then you sign a contract with Team Associates which allows them to put a few advertising stickers on your car. In return, they pay you Rs 6000 monthly for doing so.

So Chevy Spark PS (base model) will cost you around Rs 400000 (on road, Mumbai). You have to pay Rs 50000 as a deposit to book the car. Assuming you take a loan for the entire remaining amount (Rs 350000) at the rate of 12% for years, your EMI comes to Rs. 7708, which means you only pay Rs 1708 per month for the car. That’s less than my cellphone bill!!

Maruti has started to roll its sleeves for the Kizashi launch. The manufacturer recently awarded the creative mandate to Dentsu Creative Impact.

Last month’s, all the advertising agencies like Lowe, Dentsu and Publicis Capital were called in to create a pitch for the Kizashi and Dentsu Creative Impact shined above all the rest. Interestingly, the media duties will be handled by Lintas Media Group.

Speaking on the occasion, Maruti Suzuki chief general manager – Marketing, Shashank Shrivastava said -

Dentsu has won the creative mandate for Maruti Kizashi while the media duties will be handled by Lintas Media Group. We are expecting the launch of Kizashi in March next. The account size cannot be determined right now.

It is very important for Maruti to choose its advertising partner correctly, as this will be company foray into the luxury car segment where it will have to go head to head with giants like Honda, Skoda and Toyota.

The advertising agency will have to carefully change the image of the company from a low cost, maintenance-free car manufacturer to a company that can also produce standard-setting aspirational vehicles.

The Kizashi is expected in India with a 2.4-liter petrol engine mated to a 6-speed AT. Paddle shifters are likely to feature.

Pretty soon, one more name will be added to the club of “Green Cars”, our very own Indica Vista. Mind you this is a very exclusive club consisting of G-Wiz, Chevy Volt, Tesla roadster, Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi’s i MIEV.

Tata showcased the prototype of the Vista EV at London Future Car Challenge along side 60 other vehicles from different manufacturers and swept the show completely by winning the 2 main awards:
• The Most Economic Small Passenger EV
• The Most Economical & Environment Friendly Small Passenger EV.

Buoyed by this success, Tata motors is completing the work on the Prototype and gearing it for an official launch.

The EV is a result of a collaboration with Miljo Grenland Innovation of Norway, a company which specializes in the development of innovative solutions for electric vehicles. Essentially, this Indica Vista EV runs on super polymer lithium ion batteries that provide it a range of approximately 160 miles.

The car will be made in the UK and for that the company has also applied for GBP 10 million loan under the UK Government’s Automotive Assistance Program. However, no launch date has been confirmed.

Image – Yoshinori Noritake, Chief Engineer of Toyota Etios project at the press conference today in Mumbai.

At a press conference to present the Etios in Mumbai, Toyota divulged impressive details and spoke on its journey to bring the Etios to India.

Here are the key takeaways from the press meet.

1. Toyota Etios: Toyota has recorded 7086 bookings since 1st December 2010; 1200 from Mumbai. 40% bookings are from the north, 32% registered from the south of India.

2. Localization on Toyota Etios is currently 70%. Toyota plans to manufacture the powertrain in India over the next couple of years bringing the total to 90%.

3. 2.5 million fans have already viewed the Toyota Etios ad which brand ambassador AR Rahman put up on his facebook page.

4. The diesel launch of Toyota Etios planned for 2011 will benefit from the testing of the Etios and its market response. Management does not plan to talk about this right now.

5. With Etios now available at the lowest price point, Toyota is now a player in 48% of the automobile segment;

6. The water based body paint makes it more energy efficient to produce the vehicle in the factory. It is an environment friendly product.

7. Toyota has no plans to go below the Etios as a segment.