Indian Autos blog

Financial Chronicle reports that Hyundai will consider rural markets seriously to drive up sales of the HA hatchback preparing for a festive season debut. Hyundai will place this product under the i10, perhaps starting prices under Santro levels. Having said that, there is no retirement plans for the Santro in place. As sales are strong, the Santro should continue for another few years.

With fluidic design touches, an aerodynamic design and benefiting from advancements made in departments of powertrain research and material sciences, Hyundai will aim to eat into the envious volumes of the Maruti Suzuki Alto with an aggressively priced product that returns near about 25kmpl. Maruti manages to shift close to 30k Altos every month and sales have shown increased pace since the launch of the high-powered K-10 variant.

The HA has been in our spotlight for the past two years. We’ve posted spyshots of 800cc HA along with SRK’s rendering (shown here) based on the design language seen on Hyundai’s like the i10 and i20. The latter is also expected to receive a cosmetic makeover in the near future.

Hyundai’s definition of rural market is a market that lies outside the top 40 cities in India. There are 700 sales outlets in rural India which Hyundai plans increase to 1,000 in the next 8 weeks. The rural showrooms are very basic measuring 900 sq ft in display area with a 2,000 sq ft service workshop area. Hyundai is also working on the next generation i10 expected in 2013 with a diesel engine.

Toyota is showing the new Fortuner on its official website for Thailand. As said by one TKM official, changes are mainly cosmetic. Since the website works using Flash, we can’t run the translator to understand every detail. The features listed out is based on comparing new Fortuner’s images with the vehicle sold in India.

New Toyota Fortuner front-end changes

• Chrome slabs replace the brushed aluminium radiator grille
• Fog lamp size has not changed but position and housing is different
• Scuff plate lowered to under the bumper
• Bonnet scoop features three vertical pillars instead of the current two
• Pacman-type headlamp substituted by a Prado-style design
• Taller and wider headlights feature washers, which is absent in the Indian Fortuner
• Bumper now C-shaped and hugs the body closer

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On the sidelines of the Quarter 1 results announcement in Pune today morning, Rajiv Bajaj, MD of Bajaj Auto told reporters that the much-hyped ULC-based four-wheeler will be an exhibit at the Auto Expo in Delhi next January.

Bajaj said the low-cost four-wheeler will be manufactured at the Aurangabad facility, the site once used to roll out geared scooters. The project cost for this 4-wheeler will be approximately Rs 200 crore including the plant. It has to be noted that the project cost is one-tenth what Bajaj would spend on a new vehicle project. The production lines will be designed to produce three-wheelers alongside the four-wheeler. Both these vehicles are likely to be stationed on the ULC platform.

In an interview with NDTV Profit recently, Bajaj said the ULC could be dressed up as a car. But Bajaj has no intentions of producing a car and neither will it get into the goods carrier space with the four-wheeler. It will be designed to move people over short distances. One can imagine a modern Autorickshaw mounted on four wheels at the corners with a design flavor of the Tata Magic Iris to form an imagery.

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As you read this, the launch of the Fiesta is rolling. Prices have been announced. The Fiesta range starts at 8.23 lakh rupees and ends at 10.42 lakh rupees (ex-showroom Delhi) for the top-end model loaded with voice-activated controls, steering-mounted controls, semi-automatic climate control, etc.

The new Fiesta is the first of 8 products from Ford by mid-decade. Right from today, the B+ segment sedan is offered with both petrol and diesel variants. Both variants will come in four trims – Style, Trend, Titanium and Titanium+ details of which can be viewed in the brochure snaps appended below.

Standard equipment on all Fiesta variants -

• Body colored door handles, mirrors and bumpers
• Turn indicators on ORVMs
• Tilt adjustable steering wheel
• Front and rear power windows
• Rear armrest
• Electric boot release
• Keyless entry
• Rear defogger/demister
• Electrically operated rear view mirrors
• 6 speakers with audio controls on steering wheel
• ABS and EBD
• Dual front airbags

Ford Fiesta prices (ex-showroom Delhi by variant)

Fiesta Petrol

Style – 8.23,500
Trend – 8,77,200
Titanium – 9,17,200
Titanium+ – 9.42,200

Fiesta Diesel

Style – 9,27,200
Trend – 9,77,200
Titanium – 10,17,200
Titanium+ – 10,42,200

What do you think about the prices? With a gamut of equipment even on the base variant along with class leading fuel economy, aren’t they justified?

click through for the press release

After IAB fan S.R.Vishnuvardan, it the eagle-eyed mule snapper Sree Ganesh’s turn to bag the Nissan Atlas “Low” variant.

Nissan has partnered with Ashok Leyland to sell commercial vehicles in India and the first product to come out of this alliance would be the Dost. Following this, the NV200 dressed up as a goods carrier will be the second result.

The Atlas could be the alliance’s third project but details are not all that clear at this point. The LHD Atlas might be here as part of the global testing. We can’t rule out that possibility, can we?

Sree has all the details. This is the note he left behind for IAB readers :

Vehicle spotted: A white LHD Truck

Location: NH 205 between Thiruvallur to Thirutani (Tamil Nadu)

Time: 2:30 PM

Date: June 13th 2011

Upon closer inspection I realized that it is the latest generation Nissan Cabstar (name used in some markets) truck. Wonder if Nissan is testing the same 2.5 dCi engine.

Other Details:

• It was TN Registered – TN 21 (TC) 551 . Temporary registration – Red Number Plate
• It had red stickers indicating “Caution – LH Drive” & “On Test” (LHD – Fancy that ?)
• Believe it was undergoing load testing as the loading area had about 40 plastic cans
• The driver did notice that we were taking snaps and tried to avoid us but we did manage to stay close to him and snap the pics (way to go Tiger!)

Do you know what Nissan is up to with the Atlas? Are they considering this product for India?

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OnCars.in has carried an interesting update on their blog of the Force Motors One. Reader Satyajeet has captured interior spyshots of the vehicle. We’re going to use the information OnCars has gathered along with updates from the Force Motors press conference last month to sum up the article -

1) The steering wheel has controls for audio, but there is no call answer button. Bluetooth connectivity could be provided with controls on the stereo.

2) The center console with the vinyl wood finish looks utilitarian. It is composed of a cigarette lighter and a 12V power socket for charging laptops and mobile phones using an extension cord.

3) Data shown behind the steering wheel, apart from vehicle speed and engine speed will include real time fuel economy, range, odometer, trip-meter etc.

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The Chevrolet Beat and the Spark are the real volume drivers for Chevrolet India. Since its launch in Jan 2010, the Chevrolet Beat has made a small place for itself in the Maruti Suzuki dominated territory. Together with its space age styling and class leading warranty, the Beat manages to ship 3,000 units odd per month. However, something was always missing. A diesel heart!

Of course, Chevrolet knew that and hence they started working on the Smartech diesel technology at their Bangalore research center. Finally, the Chevrolet Beat Diesel is ready to be launched on the 25th of this month.

So what changes are expected you ask?

Well the most obvious and the biggest change is the new Smartech diesel engine. The 1.0L (936 cc to be precise) diesel mill works on the similar principle as the Multijet technology from Fiat. It produces 58 bhp of power and 15.29 kgm of torque which is perfect for a small diesel hatchback.

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With a commercial vehicle wing rich in creativity and products, Mahindra has launched yet another vehicle that will make you sit up and take notice – a dual cab Genio which is aimed at small and medium entrepreneurs. We thought the dual cab Genio was just a Genio with rear seats. Turns out that’s just the beginning.

Priced at Rs. 5.46 lakh (ex-showroom Karnataka, BS3) for the base version the 1,100 kg payload Genio dual cab has features like 2 din Music System, Air conditioner, Power Windows, central locking, keyless entry, door trims for housing bottles and magazines and immobilizer that commercial vehicles are denied of.

Radial tubeless tyres, brake force distribution, Oil change interval of 20,000 km, ELR seat belts and electronic headlamp leveling device are some other interesting and thoughtful features on the pickup.

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