On the Western Express Highway outside Mumbai, Shoeb R Kalania spotted the Korando C with MH 02 registration plates (Andheri R.T.O). Raining heavily, conditions prevented him to roll down the window and pick up clearer images.
The pictures serve as proof of Mahindra testing Korando C for an India launch. Mahindra says the Korando C and Rexton (also snapped while testing) are two most suitable Ssangyongs for the India.
From the little that he could absorb, Shoeb says it lacked Mahindra logos. Its compact dimensions doesn’t make it look out of place in the hatch-filled Mumbai traffic. From the back, Shoeb says it resembles the Hyundai Tucson.
Shoeb adds it will be better to sell it as Mahindra as Ssangyong sounds a bit Chinese name. The learnings from Logan was India will trust a Mahindra more than a partner brand. Like the Logan, Mahindra could call it the Mahindra-Ssangyong Korando and see if it works out. If not, the Mahindra Korando C is the way to go!
Ever since Mercedes India made the announcement that it is testing feasibility of the A and B Class, news stories are flying around about the possible debut of the BMW 1 Series. Now, Audi India has officially gone on the wires and said that they are too eying the Über Premium Hatchback market in India.
Anil Reddi, Head (Sales), Audi India -
There is definitely a huge market in India for such cars (compact). We are evaluating various options (to tap this segment). The important questions are what car, at what price and the target segment. Our customers in India are very demanding and want the latest
Clearly, when I say Über premium hatchbacks, I am not talking about the Honda Jazz segment. I am talking about a hatchback that would cost you any where 12 – 20 lakh rupees. Having said that, there is an existing contender in the segment – Fiat 500. It costs about 15 lakh and sells a unit every 3-4 months.
Then there is the VW Beetle which costs over 20 lakh rupees and surprisingly sells more than the baby Fiat. For the same money, you would get some variant of the Skoda Superb which is more powerful, better to drive, more spacious and comfortable and overall a much better car than either one of the two contenders.
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As Chevy’s Cruze and Toyota’s Corolla diesel’ mop up the D segment sedan market, a new contender is taking shape in the VW camp. VW India has started testing the 2012 VW Jetta in India. A member of the popular forum TeamBHP has snapped up pictures of the Jetta being tested at Lavasa in Maharashtra.
Earlier we reported that Volkswagen is planning to launch the Jetta in the second half of 2011. We guess the plan is to launch in the car during the festive season of Dussehra to gain maximum attention. So expect an August-September debut. As IAB reported two months ago, the Jetta will not have BlueMotion technology and will be offered with a petrol engine.
The new Jetta carries the same design language that we saw on the new Vento but is beefier and brawnier.
The pic shows that the model caught testing is a 2.0 TDI diesel engine producing 140 hp. It should be offered in both Automatic and Manual variants. We guess VW will launch the diesel variant first and follow it up with petrol (à la Passat).
What do you think should the price range be for the new Jetta to successfully compete against its rivals?
We’re seeking a full time assistant editor for our petrol/diesel head team here at Indian Autos Blog. We’re interested in applications only from Chennai.
This is exactly what we are looking for:
1) Primary but goes without saying – you need to be passionate about cars and motorcycles. You should have a rough idea about the auto industry in India.
2) Fluency in English is a must. Writing skills have to be immaculate and the ability to produce well written articles that have informative and entertaining sides to it is another compulsory requirement.
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Here is a little exercise that you can do for fun. Just catch any tom, dick or harry on the street and ask him what do you know about Ferrari? And 10 out of 10 times he/she would say “I would like to own one!”
The weird part is that 9 out of that 10 times, the person would have never ever even seen an actually Ferrari but he would still want one. Such is the charm of the word ‘FERRARI’. For a layman it conjures up images of a red car sitting on top of the sportscar world with a crown on its head.
For a thorough petrolhead, it brings images of a young racing driver who sacrificed his entire life to create the greatest Formula 1 team of all time. FERRARI – a word synonymous to speed, heritage, passion and victory. So you can imaging how chuffed we were when we got the chance to visit (what can only be defined as) Petrolhead Nirvana – Ferrari World Abu Dhabi – A one of its kind theme park dedicated to the glorious heritage of Ferrari.
One of the fastest growing auto magazine in India, AutoX carries a report in the latest edition on Tata Motors working on the Indica Vista facelift for a Diwali launch. A high-power petrol variant (1.4-liter generating 90hp) was introduced last year but ever since the Vista has stayed away from the spotlight.
The more expensive Manza and Aria have been topics of intense discussions here on the web. 2011 is the year of Etios, Brio, Swift and to some extent the strong-selling Figo so no real reason to bring up the Vista.
The Vista is no doubt a huge step forward compared to the original, but the segment is flooding with new cars almost every month. It’s a segment taking no prisoners. The Vista has been around for three years now and a cosmetic revision is just what the doctor ordered.
Shoeb’s illustrated a dark blue Vista with the Manza’ front-end and alloy wheels
AutoX says there will be a set of far-reaching headlamps like the double-barrel lamps seen on the Manza. The front-end will be treated with generous amounts of chrome, with new tail lamps. This will keep it going until early 2013 or so when the replacement model is expected.
In an earlier blog post, we suggested Tata Motors to look at LED lamps, partial re-skinning and experiment with colors for the Vista refresh, but that won’t happen. Instead we get a Vista that is similar to the Manza. We hope Tata puts back the speedometer to it rightful place and installs a dual horn. That’s not asking too much, or is it?
Note – This car is not connected to the V-Platform hatchback expected in India in the start of 2012.
Renault hasn’t even established a strong foothold in the country and it is already drawing up big plans for India. The company plans to launch five cars in fifteen months and wants to sell 1 lakh cars by 2013. It wants to capture a 5% market share by 2014. If you think that this goal is a bit too ambitious, Renault India is officially contemplating on a car that will be completely designed and developed in India.
IAB is told that the product could be a very fuel-efficient hatchback. The old adage “Be a Roman in Rome” is suitable for Renault India’ ambition. Automotive pundits predict a threefold increase (to six million units from the current two million) in market size over the next few years and fueling this gargantuan growth will be small cars. Cars like Alto, Wagon R, i10 Swift and Indica, perhaps in their upgraded forms, will be the face of the Indian auto market. Nissan, Renault and Volkswagen will try to make that task difficult.
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If you look at Renault’s product map on its website, you will find a mystery hatchback to be launched in Summer 2012. Some say it’s a Clio, others believe it is a Sandero. But IAB can tell you its neither.
So what is it then?
A sub-4 meter hatchback stationed on the V-Platform. In other words, this is Renault’s version of the Nissan Micra!
But don’t be fooled into thinking that a rebadged Micra is the result. Body panels will be entirely different. To be positioned at the higher end of the B segment, it will sport a distinct Renault look without being too dramatic. Efforts have been made by designers to make it an aspirational product and massive design and styling disparities will exist between the two French cars.
Though both hatches share the same underpinnings, a lot of market study has gone into designing this product differently. As Renault operates with the Clio in overseas markets, this project wasn’t like a Micra, an Indianized global product. Over the last 28 years, the Micra has been a resounding success for Nissan in Europe and Britain. Feedback from its chief markets should have held higher preference as the K13 Micra took shape.
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