As the days go by, more spyshots of the Nissan Sunny sedan flood the internet. Our good friends at AnythingonWheels have just scooped up clear spyshots of the V-Platform sedan in Chennai. This test mule was spotted on the GST road in Chennai.
According to the photographer, the Sunny tested in India is exactly the same spec as the one revealed for the US market. This certainly is good news because good levels of features and functionality can be expected. We hope Nissan doesn’t skimp up the equipment levels to keep the price low. The top-end model must come with airbags, climate control, ABS, rear AC vent, etc.
Test mules are being spotted everyday thus allowing us to conclude intensive testing phase is on. The local launch is a few months away. A 4-cylinder 1.6-liter petrol engine and 1.5-liter diesel mill from the Micra will accompany the V-Platform sedan in India (could be renamed Almera)
Stay tuned as we get you more information about the Nissan Sunny.
The next major launch from Tata Motors is going to be the Tata Safari replacement dubbed as the Safari Merlin. The new SUV will challenge the existing contenders such as the Mahindra Scorpio and the Force Motors SUV.
Our SUV comparo showed that once a dominating product in the Indian SUV market – the Tata Safari eventually threw in its towel to the Mahindra Scorpio. The Merlin will not be a radically different car. It will feature major design changes to the front and the rear fascia.
Powered with the same 2.2 litre DICOR engine but will get a dual mass flywheel and a better gearbox (à la Tata Aria), the maximum power expected is 140 Bhp @ 4000 rpm and a maximum torque of about 320 Nm @ 1700 rpm. One can also expect the interiors to take a cue from the Aria, as seen in this interior spyshot posted by our friends IndianCarsBikes.in.
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Tata Motors will introduce three models in 2011 – Ace Zip (load-carrier on the Magic Iris platform), Magic Iris (introduced in Jaipur last year) and Tata Safari Merlin, pan India a person with direct knowledge of the plans told Indian Autos Blog last week.
Timeline for these launches still remain unclear. It is likely that the second half of 2011 could witness their roll-outs.
Tata Motors has not launched the 2011 edition of the Freelander2 and work is underway to retail it this year. It has quietly started selling the Jaguar XJ diesel variant and is working on cost-down variants of the Aria.
Registering a noticeable dip in sales of the Indica and Indigo brands, the saving grace was the Nano which surpassed the 10k mark in April.
After losing considerable market share to BMW, Mercedes India wants to regain its dominant role in the Indian luxury Automotive Market. Their strategy to achieve this goal – tap those market which are still virgin – the Tier II and the Tier III cities.
The luxury car maker also announced opening of its financial arm.
Mercedes Benz India CEO Peter T. Honegg -
Though it will be difficult to compete with banks, through internal business we can offer an array of service packages
To set up their new base, Mercedes is planning 7 to 10 tier II and tier III cities in one year, for a period of three to five years. They aim to sell close to 50 units per year in those markets.
