Entry posted on September 26, 2011 by
Shrawan Raja;
Read More on Honda
We have official confirmation from Honda SIEL on the Brio launch. The event is held tomorrow in Delhi and as usual IndianAutosBlog.com’s Arjun Rajput will get you all the information.
The Brio is going to be the cheapest Honda in India with prices expected to start at around four lakh rupees considering the Jazz range begins at 5.5 lakh rupees (ex-showroom).
The Brio is strapped with a 1198cc i-VTEC petrol engine producing 88ps @ 6000 rpm and 109Nm of torque @ 4600 rpm. It is paired to a 5 Speed Manual transmission.
Sheer luxury would soon be a touch cheaper to buy! Mercedes Benz S-Class, an alternative or synonym to the word ‘luxury’ will be powered by a locally assembled engine in India. The decision was taken by Mercedes Benz India Pvt. Ltd after the government raised customs duty on import of pre-assembled parts from 10% to 30%.
The step is implemented to keep the price of the S-Class at a competitive level. The new S-Class with a locally assembled heart would be available in the next 4-5 months.
The engines for the S-Class would be assembled by Force Motors Ltd which assembles engines for the C- and E- Class models.
For a fact, Mercedes Benz India has been losing Rs. 10 lac on every S-Class sold because of the additional 20% duty since March 2011. Mercedes Benz India would have been more comfortable if they were informed beforehand about the change in duties as it takes 8-10 months to develop a new assembly line.
On 28th February of this year customs duty was raised from 10% to 60% on pre-assembled parts such as engines which brings it on par with the CBU units due to the taxation.
The auto rickshaw is the unsung hero of Indian commutes. No matter which Indian city, town or district you are in, you will always find these little three wheelers chugging down the lanes. However, what is the longest journey you have ever done in an Auto rickshaw – 50 kilometers, 100 kilometers?
How about a whopping 10,200 kilometers?
That is exactly what Mr Sanjay Sharma, a 44-year-old IT professional from the UK, choose for his epic journey. He traveled from London to New Delhi in a 175 cc auto rickshaw which he named ‘Flying Rani’.
Of course, the Flying Rani is no ordinary auto rickshaw. By that we don’t mean it needs an air strip to get underway.
Mr Sharma and his three companions decided to modify it by changing the brakes and adding half-doors for safety, a GPS for navigation, and luxury seats for comfort.
Renault India is pretty vocal about its India plans. One could view their entire product line up till 2012 on their website even before their first solo product – the Fluence was launched. We know that the next product is going to be an all new hatchback based on the V Platform which will makes its international debut in India.
There were many rumors about this new hatchback being the Grande Modus as it was spotted in Chennai doing some testing rounds. However, IAB viewers would know that Grande Modus is not going to be launched in India and was here only to complete some global tests.
After the launch of this V-Platform hatchback, Renault will launch the Duster which is going to be an urban SUV for the masses. So the next two cars are pretty much done and dusted (no pun intended).
Now, we come to the juicy part – the 3rd mystery product which is a mass market sedan from Renault. According to a Renault dealer, this mystery sedan will find its home between the Swift Dzire and VW Vento. So is it going to be the Renault Symbol?
BMW India has been discussing the launch of the MINI brand in India since late 2010. In early 2011 at the BMW X1 launch, we caught up with Dr Andreas Schaaf, head honcho of BMW India to discuss the launch of the Mini brand.
He told us that that the market was not yet ready for such cars. He believed that in India people associate price with the size of the car. The bigger the car, the higher must be the price.
The Mini is exactly the opposite of that philosophy. They are small cars with higher price tag. But if and when the market conditions are right, BMW will definitely lead the way.
Keeping true to his words, BMW India has finally announced that it will officially debut the MINI brand in India. The company is also formalizing plans to showcase the MINI at Delhi Auto Expo 2012. According to a report in TheEconomicTimes, BMW will bring all the variants of the MINI including Cooper, Countryman (pictured) and the Cabrio to India.
If you have been following IAB quite closely, you would know that Honda Siel India will soon come out with a minor facelift for the City. The test mules covering this tiny ‘nip and tuck’ with camouflage have already been spotted testing around Honda’s plant.
But you don’t have to worry about what surprise is in store. IAB viewers were the first ones to get a glimpse of the brochure of the new City thus revealing everything that Honda India has planned for us. From the brochure, one can see the changes include:
• A chrome finish to the front grill
• Slight tweak to the front bumper
• Redesigned tail lamps
• Reflectors placed at the bottom of the rear bumper
• Inclusion of the ECO meter (à la Brio)
But nothing clears the fog like a good video of the new car. So indeed we have it for you. Presenting new (well sort of) City straight from Thailand just for your viewing pleasure.
Over the last one week several images of the Hyundai Eon in the form of spy shots have made their way to the web. Yesterday we posted four crystal clear images revealing the well built interior and a strong interpretation of Hyundai’s Fluidic design. Now we have our friends at Overdrive.in completing the puzzle with (what looks like) two stunning studio shots of a sunshine yellow Eon weeks before its official unveiling.
The tail lamps show a close resemblance to the Verna hatchback from North America. The butcher knife-like stoplamp is the stand out feature for the trailing motorist. The stretched back headlamps glide over the profile of the wheel arches and we expect to see this on the next generation i10 (Code – BA) as well. The upward kink near the C-Pillar and the hexagonal grille are from the pages of the i10′s design manual. The triangular fog light is reminiscent of the new Camry.
For a price of around 3 lakh rupees, the Eon is visually stunning and thoughtfully done interiors. Hyundai has sold not one but three successful hatchbacks in India and the data collected from these customers are put to good use in the Eon project. To launch an assault on the Alto, the Eon is armed with the necessary artillery, strategy and is at the vantage point.
Entry posted on September 24, 2011 by
Arjun Rajput;
Read More on Ford
14th July was when Ford launched the all new Fiesta in India and in since then Ford has received a little over 1,000 bookings for the car. This is neither segment first nor groundbreaking, keeping in mind the competitor cars sell many thousand units a month. The new Fluidic Verna, the VW Vento and the price cut Honda City are clocking much higher numbers. The Verna accumulated 20,000 bookings within weeks of launch and the City, after a price slash, fought back to claim the territory leadership.
However there are obvious reasons for the dull sales figures. The Fiesta is priced well over the competition and the top end variant cost over 12 lac rupees on road. Let’s not forget that the Ford offers some segment firsts like Voice Controls and Retractable ORVM’s but the common belief is the Fiesta brand can’t demand more than a City or the German Vento.
