Speaking to Indian Autos Blog yesterday, a top GM India official revealed that the diesel variant of the Beat is only 6-8 weeks away from market introduction. Plenty of information has come out on the public domain, and in a press release published by GM during the second week of April all major details including output, features and construction of the engine were listed.
The 1.0-liter 3-cylinder mill produces 140 Nm @ 1,750 rpm and 57bhp of power. ARAI fuel economy figure will be a touch below 24kpl. With the Dual Overhead Camshaft and a turbocharger in place, this engine has to be better to drive than the petrol.
If you were waiting for the 2012 Honda CR-V, we have some bad news for you. Honda is delaying the launch of the new CR-V in the United States by a month on account of difficulty in sourcing parts because of the unexpected natural calamity.
The replacement of the current CR-V was expected this fall in the United States but according to a memo written by American Honda Motor Co. Executive Vice President John Mendel, the company will delay the fall launch of the 2012 CR-V by at least one month to prevent a production gap.
The memo further states that the company would also reduce output of the redesigned 2012 Civic through the summer and warned that production would not return to normal until year end.
The all-new Honda CR-V is expected to make its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Will this Indian launch face a further delay?
As we lay this down, the launch of the Mercedes SL 350 and the GL 500 is rolling. Our man Shakti informs us the prices of both variants have been announced -
The SL 350 convertible is priced at 98.5 lakh rupees (ex-showroom Delhi) and comes with a 3.5-liter V6 engine producing 315hp and 360Nm of torque.
The GL 500 7-seat SUV is priced at 80.9 lakh rupees (ex-showroom Delhi) and comes with a 5.4-liter V8 engine producing 388hp and 530Nm of torque.
The tragedy that shook Japan to its core has had adverse impacts on the Japanese Automotive industry. Most auto manufacturers from Japan had to shut their factories for an extended period of time leading to huge losses. However, the after shocks of this earthquake are still being felt by the Japanese. Most Japanese car sales in India have shown considerable decline in the month of April.
Starting with the biggest decline of all – For the first time in history, the Toyota Innova has been dethroned from its number 2 spot by the Mahindra Scorpio. Toyota sold 3464 units of the Innova as compared to the Mahindra which sold 4144 Scorpios.
Moving from SUV/MUVs to Sedans – the Toyota Corolla – a dominant force in the D+ segment has also been dethroned by Cruze. The Toyota Corolla sold 776 units whereas the Chevy Cruze sold 939 units
The BMW X1 killer is finally out of the bag. Unveiled at Shanghai Motor Show, the Audi Q3 is the first rival to the BMW X1. The BMW X1 opened up a whole new segment for the masses by pricing a premium brand within the reach of many commoners. This Audi intends to compete in this fast growing segment with their baby crossover.
The appetite for crossovers is increasing rapidly in Europe and even so in America. Rumor has it that BMW is working on two more crossovers while Mercedes Benz is interested in exploring the option of a low-cost FWD crossover on the MFA.
Skoda will begin assembly of the Rapid this year at the Chakan facility, Hindu Business Line is reporting. By the time production of the Fabia sedan begins, production will increase from 450 units a day to 500, the report adds. In another development, Siddharth Vinayak Patankar of NDTV has notified members of his CnB Facebook page that he’s confirmed that Skoda will begin selling “Rapid” in India during the start of 2012.
We don’t know what to expect, if the Rapid turns out to look like a Vento with Skoda badges it might not get the same ovation the Vento managed. It could work against the company as people would say its a Vento with Skoda badges. The Vento buyer will look at his car as a more expensive Skoda Rapid (if the VW Group’ pricing strategy applies to the Rapid). It could end up damaging both Skoda’ and VW’s reputation.
What are your thoughts on the Vento/Rapid relationship? Will it work well for Skoda?
Hardly a month has passed since the launch of the new Passat(don’t forget to read our new Passat review) and Volkswagen India has managed to push 190 cars out on the market. This might not be very impressive for a car, but for the Passat it is a solid number outlining its recovery. This is the car’ report card for the last six months the old Passat (petrol and diesel) had been on sale -
January 2011 – 2
December 2010 – 0
November 2010 – 0
October 2010 – 59
September 2010 – 107
August 2010 – 66
Volkswagen tied up with the Indian Premier League and a Passat BlueMotion is placed on display immediately outside the boundary line at all game venues carrying autographs of star players from the league. The cricket commentators speak about the product when it is shown to viewers.
One can argue that the initial euphoria surrounding a product is present during the first few months and the numbers generated during this period don’t convey anything, but what 190 has done is tell Volkswagen that people are ready to put down 20 lakh rupees and overlook cousin Skoda Superb or the Japanese models Accord, Camry and Teana. Volkswagen sold 7,000 cars in April with Polo and Vento doing most of the scoring.
Piaggio is working on a passenger application of the Ape Mini, HinduBusinessLine has reported. The newspaper states the Piaggio Ape Mini passenger carrier appear on the market in the next few months. The Ape Mini is a half tonne cargo lorry priced at Rs. 1,73,600/- lakh.
Built for last-mile category of buyers who otherwise operate using three-wheelers it has features like sliding bucket seats, largest loading deck in its class and claimed class-leading fuel economy of 29kmpl.
The trend of adding seats and a roof to a mini lorry is not new as Tata hatched this idea back in 2005 and implemented it very successfully with the Ace-Magic combo. Mahindra’ imitation looks quite promising with the Gio and the Gio compact cab (very ambitious name I must say) and more recently the Maxximo and Maxximo Mini Van derivative. Force Motors is also not staying silent for long. Its Trump load carrier will play host to the Trump Trip, a intercity van that operate in tandem with buses and autorickshaws, reducing the burden on public transport.
Speaking to Indian Autos Blog yesterday, a top GM India official revealed that the diesel variant of the Beat is only 6-8 weeks away from market introduction. Plenty of information has come out on the public domain, and in a press release published by GM during the second week of April all major details including output, features and construction of the engine were listed.
