IndianAutosBlog.com has been invited by Renault to drive some of their electric vehicles in Portugal tomorrow. There is hardly any market for such cars in India but over the next few decades, manufacturers will be forced to look at smarter mobility solutions.
Its not hard to imagine petrol selling at over 100 rupees in the near future and the government passing a rule to roll back the benefits of diesel fuel for personal transpiration. This could be serve as the tipping point for car manufacturers to speed up development of road-going vehicles that depend less on petroleum fuels. There is a feeling that unless there is a need, development will not take place.
There’s also the roadblock with battery technology. They have not evolved to a point where they can challenge a tanked-up petrol or diesel car. The range available, even on B Segment cars is under 200km. The smaller Nano EV prototype, a practical solution for our crowded cities for instance has a range of 160km even with L-Ion batteries on board. The REVAi has a shorter range thanks to the age-old Lead Acid battery pack.
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Ferrari launched its four-seat hatchback in India today at its Delhi dealership for a price of 3.42 crore rupees (ex-showroom price). The FF is the replacement model for the 612 Scaglietti. Shreyans Group is committed to bringing down all the Ferraris to India.
For 3.42 crore rupees, you get a 6.2-liter V12 engine that outputs 660 horsepower and 682Nm of torque that rockets the FF to a top speed of 335kph. You also get a hatchback body style surprisingly with a prancing horse on the bonnet.
The crossover segment is in the verge of witnessing plenty of action over the next few years. BMW set the ball rolling with the X1. The Renault Koleos joined in this year and we’re aware of Mercedes Benz developing a rival on the MFA for 2013. Honda’s new CR-V is making waves on the internet as we write this and Audi’s Q3, completing test runs in Mumbai is also due next year.
Crowding is unavoidable for existing players as they have no control over the competition’s actions. The least they can do is refresh their products, offer automatic transmission if they haven’t already, drop a special edition and perhaps adjust the price to keep them in contention.
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Moments ago Skoda Auto communicated to IndianAutosBlog.com that its ‘luxury saloon’ Skoda Rapid breaks cover on the 16th of November in New Delhi. In a press release issued last month, Skoda stated the following details -
- The Rapid slots between the Fabia and Laura
- It measures 4.39 meters long, 1.70 meters wide, 1.47 meters tall
- It is powered by a 1.6 liter petrol engine producing 77 kW and a 1.6-liter turbo diesel with common rail technology generating 77 kW.
- Both engines will be married to an Automatic transmission
The Skoda Rapid was unveiled on the 400th episode of NDTV’s Car and Bike Show. In a nutshell, the Rapid is a Volkswagen Vento stylized to look like a Skoda.
Meanwhile http://skodarapid.co.in says its under construction.
Last month Volkswagen supplemented a new variant to the Austrian arsenal using the Polo carline dubbed ‘Polo Sky’
Featuring sunroof (the reason behind the variant name), automatic climate control, 15-inch alloy wheels, rain sensor, gray center console finish and ‘Livon’ upholstery, the Polo Sky receives attractive daytime running LED lights to its headlight assembly.
The Austrian market is a fortunate one as it gets the highly sought-after 1.2 TSI petrol engine making 104bhp and 1.6-liter TDI (from Vento) making 105bhp. The Indian market rates fuel efficiency higher over performance and Volkswagen has not brought down the high-end variants for the same reason.
The Polo is also not offered with 3-doors as rear seat accessibility is important for chauffeur-driven owners and rear seat travelers who are plenty even in lower segments.
The first official images showing a blue 2012 Honda CR-V is making rounds on the internet. Honda SIEL told IndianAutosBlog.com that both next generation cars CR-V and Civic will miss the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo.
We expect Honda to assemble the new CR-V whenever a release is planned. This is most likely to happen in the second half of 2012. Honda’s new facility in Tapukara, Rajasthan could be utilized to attain this goal.
Honda has not discussed a diesel plan for the CR-V as American and Japanese markets, two of the CR-V’s most-wanted destinations, don’t feel the immediate need for diesel engines. Honda has tested a four-cylinder diesel engine on the current CR-V in India a few years ago but there has been no further development on the same. The purpose of global testing cannot be ruled out.
The new CR-V is a full model change with a rumored 3rd row of seats. The snaking tail light cluster is inspired by the Volvo XC60. Honda has previewed the new CR-V in the form of a concept car and the official unveiling of the market-ready vehicle happens next month at Los Angeles alongside the Jazz EV. A 2.4-liter petrol engine with the choice of AWD with configuration varying market wise is on the cards.
At the 2011 MPG Marathon conducted this month Britain, the new Swift with the 67PS 1.3-liter Fiat-sourced diesel engine recorded an amazing mileage of 86.4 MPG (30.59 kpl).
Note that the UK market Swift has a lower output compared to the Maruti Suzuki Swift. The fuel quality in the UK is arguably superior to what we our pumps manage, leading to better results.
The fantastic mileage was recorded by the Swift driven by Southern Group Regional journalists Peter Cracknell and Dave Randle. The MPG Marathon is an annual event organized by Fleet World magazine that took 37 competing vehicles this year, putting them through a 372-mile route.
The route is a combination of open roads and city traffic, designed to model real world driving conditions. The winning car used only 19.6 liters of diesel to complete the journey.
Maruti Suzuki said it lost a mere 2% of bookings for its Swift model to rival companies. The 2% share includes other models in the Maruti portfolio such as the Ritz and Dzire. Production of the new Swift has been troubled by repeated worker strikes at the manufacturing plant. On the day of its launch, about 50,000 people had already made their bookings mounting pressure on the production lines right from Day 1. The current booking number stands at around 1 lakh.
Due to stretched waiting periods, companies in recent times have lost a large share of bookings to rivals. The goodwill of the Maruti brand is seen as a main reason for customers holding on to their initial decision. If customers have remained unfazed by the situation or the extra waiting period, it is saying something. The customer patience reinstates that the Swift is still the boss of B segment.
