Indian Autos blog

One major market entry that we have our eyes set on since last year is Proton. The Malaysian Giant, more popularly known for its Lotus connection, is finally set to drive on the Indian Streets. The rumor mill went on steroids when the company’s MD Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said Proton has finally identified the JV partner and is negotiating the contract assembly deals. At the launch of  [ Read More ]

If there is one international automobile brand whose presence in India has yet to leave a mark on the Indian psyche that has to be Volvo. The company that claims to make the safest cars in the world was always known for its commercial vehicles rather than cars. The Swedish major has almost all the range of products – right from sedans to SUVs – but none have set the  [ Read More ]

By Kaustubh Shinde To know the future of a person, one reads Palms, Face, Magic Balls, Tarot Cards et all. To know the future of cars, one visits the nearest Mercedes showroom to have a look at the S Class. This Mercedes Benz flagship always has been the definitive milestone in car history. Whatever fancy gadgetry this car has now will be in your regular car 10 years down the  [ Read More ]

Several months, options, arguments, studies and designers later, the all new IAB is finally on air. It’s taken us a lot of time and effort on what looks like a very simple job. We conducted several studies with our traffic statistics to understand where our readers come from and what their screen and browser settings are. We also studied the heat map showing where our readers clicked and accordingly setup  [ Read More ]

By Shakti Budhiraja

Contrary to our report of GM launching the Beat diesel in early 2011, the launch it seems is delayed. Instead of Beat Diesel, GM will introduce the LPG version in the next few weeks, the internal training at dealerships for which has been initiated.

Chevrolet Beat diesel was supposed to debut during January-February 2011 with a Fiat sourced 3-cylinder 1.0 Multi-jet diesel engine churning out close to 57 bhp. The 3-cylinder engine took shape at GM’s powertrain facility in Bangalore.

Since the launch of Beat in India, General Motors has sorely missed a diesel engine. Despite being a VFM car in its segment with futuristic styling and an attractive maintenance plan, the Beat hasn’t met with GM’s expectations. The launch of superbly priced Figo could also be one reasons why people have not spoken about the Beat..

Launching LPG prior to diesel variant wont to do any wonders to the product, as LPG is still not a viable fuel option on a larger scale due to its sparse availability. GM can hope to add a few hundred cars to its tally, but that’s about it.

By Kaustubh Shinde

2010 is dead. 2011 is already 6 days old. But we couldn’t keep ourselves from having a look back at the one of the most fantastic year for the Indian Automotive Scene. A year where sales records were broken over and over again; a year that witnessed over 50 car launches; a year that where manufacturers redefined segments and created new one altogether; WHOOSH! What a roller-coaster ride it was.

As we go through the pages of the yearbook 2010, we realize that last year was a very definitive year for India. And by ‘definitive’, we don’t mean in terms of sales figures, we mean in terms of market dynamics. A lot has changed from where we left off in 2009. No longer is India viewed as a market we ‘may’ want to enter, rather it is perceived as a market we ‘should’ enter.

As boys, we love making lists. Right from a wish list to the bucket list, everything is a series of events for us. So here is a list of reasons why 2010 kicked some serious automotive ass!

click through to read the entire special

By Kaustubh Shinde

As Tata officials pat their back for getting Nano sales back on track for December, another problem has cropped up. The company has missed its target of selling one lakh Nanos by 2010 by a huge 22,000 units.

The company had selected 1.55 lakh customers in 2009 who were supposed to get their cars in 2 phases. The first phase of delivery was supposed to end by 2010 with 1 lakh customers getting keys in their hand. But many customers backed out of the deal whereas some others delayed their deliveries. As a result, Tata Motors has missed its sales targets for the year.

There could be many reason as to why the customers backed out. Some can blame it on the sporadic fires fiasco, some blame safety issues, some may blame the fact that it’s not a ‘one lakh’ car anymore.

Amidst the woes, Tata Motors is ensuring that the sales figures remain high. They have to do that, it is nothing but a game of mass production and economies of scale. Even a minor drop in sales can damage the entire game badly.

To make sure that sales figure touch the sky, Tata Motors recently announced a Pan India launch of the Nano. This is coupled with TV advertisements, on going promotions and other such perks to woo buyers.

By Shoeb R Kalania

Every automobile manufacturer wants to have a compact car under its belt and Mitsubishi is no exception. Despite some brilliant products in its arsenal, Mitsubishi has found the going tough in India.

What it needs is a product that can provide it with a big push. This can be achieved with the proposed Eco-Car project if Mitsubishi are able to get the pricing and marketing right. Going by past Mitsubishi products, we will stick our head out and claim the Mitsu Eco car will handle well and will be a treat to drive.

The Eco-Car is planned for Thailand in 2012 and soon thereafter can land in India. Internationally Mitsubishi does have a range of products in the small-car segment but none suitable for India. They are way too expensive, big for India or are outdated and don’t stand a chance in the highly competitive marketplace.

What we have here are renderings from digital artist Gábor Farkas of the future Eco-Car. These are only artist illustrations and are not related to the actual car which is expected to premiere in the coming months.

Here’s a design analysis of the Farkas’ design -

- The front clearly resembles the Lancer EVO X, which gives the car a masculine look (and that is good)
- The lines on the hood flow smoothly to the edges of the windshield from where the car wears a different look.
- The huge vents and the headlamps provide a cunning and unforgiving look.
- The roof line is smooth and sweeps back meeting the fashionably designed tear shaped tail-lamps.
- The rear looks bland when compared to the overall car

Summing up, the concept car looks sporty and provides a very upmarket feel as it shares the looks of a Rs. 50lakh plus car

It would be great to see a 4-door version of this Mitsubishi running on Indian roads.