Sources tell Indian Autos Blog that Skoda will not apply design elements found on the VisionD design study showcased in Geneva two months ago on the Rapid sedan. The VisionD design language will production-premiere not before the Up-based Youngster hatchback scheduled to debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
Our source tells us after the Youngster, it will be seen on the next generation Octavia (Laura), Big Foot (7-seat model on Yeti platform) and next generation Fabia family of vehicles (Fabia, Scout and Roomster).
The Rapid will be armed with Vento’s powertrains and follow the positioning pattern of the VW group by sitting just under the Vento. The car will look very similar to the Shoeb R Kalania’ revised rendering you see above with a Lauraesque fascia.
Sunny, Almera or something else, Nissan’ V-Platform sedan is eagerly awaited in India as people want to see if it adds anything new to that crowding segment. The Sunny could arrive during the end of September this year with 1.6-liter petrol and diesel motors.
The interesting bit of information we’re going to speculate on is its price. Sources tell IAB a starting price of 6.8 lakh rupees (ex-showroom Delhi) is on the cards for the Honda City competitor. Preventing them from pricing it at a lower level is the Micra hatch. The idea is to limit the sedan from cannibalizing sales of the hatch as over 50% of Micra sales come from higher variants.
The starting price will act as the bait. It will draw customers into showrooms who will find the top-end model with auto-folding mirrors, start-stop button, rear AC vents, beige interiors and climate control the more suitable buy. If not, the penultimate variant lacking some of these will be the best choice. Nissan might delay the introduction of the AT variant the fuel economy image is very important in the price-sensitive segment.
After a lack luster performance in the first quarter of 2011, Honda plans to come back strong in the later half with the Brio. The company plans to expand in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to give the sales of the Brio a massive boost.
Seki Inaba, HSCI’s marketing director to Business Standard -
Brio is important for the company, as with it we intend to widen our customer base. We want to target upcountry customers with this car. At present, nearly 50 per cent of our sales come from the top seven-eight cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad. The remaining sales come from 69 cities. So, the potential to increase sales from the rest of the country is huge
Currently Honda has 125 sales centers in 77 cities. Honda plans to take this number to 150 by the year end.
There is intense pressure on Honda Siel to make their small car ambition – the Brio – succeed. After forgoing dominance in almost all segments in which it was a market leader, Honda Siel needs to come back strong with the Brio. The company plans begin the Brio’ price at under 5 lakh rupees with a localization content of up to 80 per cent. The car will be produced in their Greater Noida facility in Uttar Pradesh where it manufactures other Honda cars.
Only time will tell whether Brio is a big Thumbs up or a massive Thumbs down!
IAB reader Abhishek H sent in these three snaps of the Toyota Corolla Altis facelift testing in Banglore. The vehicle, originally planned for a May unveil, will take longer to land on the market as Toyota is met with component shortage troubles. TKM told IAB that the vehicle will feature a transmission upgrade (Automatic transmission will be a 7 speed) and a thorough cosmetic makeover.
The car was spotted at the 100-feet road. Abhishek saw it from a distance slowing down at a signal junction. There where two cars, red and blue and at the sight of a camera, the drivers zoomed away. The Altis facelift is important for Toyota even though it’s the market leader by a good margin. The lead could shrink if vehicles like the Ford Focus, Hyundai Avante, Renault Fluence and new Honda Civic are introduced. The market could sway in favor the new offerings in this segment like it has done before.
One interesting derivative of the MFA (Mercedes Front-wheel Architecture) component set should be a A-Class compact sedan to emulate the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series. Mercedes is interested in designing different types of body styles on this low-cost FWD architecture.
The MFA is a boon to its India business as vehicles falling in the 20-30 lakh rupee price bracket will drive volumes for the company and the MFA will enable it to create those vehicles. Its hopes of regaining the top position for luxury brands lies on this platform. The BMW 3 Series Corporate Edition and X1 models have been able to do this in 2011 and Audi’s expected to give BMW company with the Q3 junior crossover in the sub-30 lakh category. It is said that Mercedes is also planning a small crossover on the MFA.
There are no details available on the powertrains. The next gen B-Class will also be based on the MFA.
Exploring new variants is one sure-shot way to expanding business horizons. One way to get hold of the youngster’ attention is providing him with music, features and color.
Hyundai introduces “Sound Edition” in Italy featuring items like manual air conditioning, six airbags, front fog lights and power windows windows. The music-oriented car has 15 ” alloy wheels, ORVM mounted indicators, steering-mounted audio controls, Pioneer (double DIN) stereo having radio, CD-MP3 player, touch screen, satellite navigation, Bluetooth connectivity and USB that can play songs off your iPod. The Sound edition is available with the 1.2-liter petrol engine or the 1.4-liter diesel engine.
Japan’s fifth largest automobile company Mazda Motor Corporation could enter India as a fully owned subsidiary, Telegraph writes. Mazda has officially confirmed its interest in India and rumors are afoot on Ford Fiesta-based Mazda 2 hatchback playing the company’s first offering for the compact car-loving market.
Many Mazda products employ Ford platforms prompting the idea that the two companies will cooperate at the manufacturing level. The Mazda 2 hatchback is based on the Ford Fiesta, Mazda Axela uses the Ford Focus platform, Mazda Premacy MPV shares underpinnings with the C-Max, Mazda BT-50 and Ford Ranger pickup (and next gen Endeavour SUV) share a common platform, and the Mazda 6 is based on the CD3 platform on which Ford Fusion and Edge models sit on.
The music and story of the following video explains Mazda’s pursuit in today’ world of crowded and herd-mentality car manufacturers. It makes me want to go out and buy a Mazda!
In April, Ford India officials told IndianAutosBlog that their interest lies in bringing the B-, C- and CD-Platforms to India, which interestingly the aforementioned Mazda products use. Ford intends to bring eight vehicles based on global platforms to India by 2015 and could look for an additional facility to roll out these cars from.
In India, Skoda and Volkswagen manufacture their cars jointly in Chakan, Pune, and Nissan manufactures its cars alongside Renault products at Oragadam, Chennai.
Mazda also sells rebadged Suzuki kei cars in Japan. Ready examples are the AZ-Wagon (Wagon R), Carol (Japanese Alto) and AZ-Offroad (Jimny). The company intends to sell 3 lakh vehicles in emerging markets like Russia, Brazil and India per annum.
The first batch of 100 Alto K10 models have reached Indonesia from India. Suzuki Indonesia sells cars like Estilo, Ritz, Grand Vitara, SX4 Crossover and APV mini vans. It plans to add the K-Series powered A-Star, A-Star AT and Wagon R to its portfolio. The Alto K10 was showcased in Indonesian prior to its Indian debut. Suzuki is also exploring alternate fuel options and the Wagon R CNG will be available soon in Indonesia.
Sources tell Indian Autos Blog that Skoda will not apply design elements found on the VisionD design study showcased in Geneva two months ago on the Rapid sedan. The VisionD design language will production-premiere not before the Up-based Youngster hatchback scheduled to debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
