Sources have revealed to IndianAutosBlog.com that the formal ceremony to mark the opening of Fiat’s first brand store in India is likely to be held on the 6th of January. Fiat has decided skip the Auto Expo and will launch its MY2012 Linea and Punto models on the 3rd in a different location.
Shortly after these models have been introduced, it will open the brand store, a new concept for a mass market brand, to the public.
A giant hoarding during the launch of the Fiat 500 in Berlin back in 2008
The first brand store, rumored to be in Connaught place, is where customers and fans of the Italian car maker can learn about its rich history and product lines. The display area could have special visitors in the form of imported cars and theme cars.
Depending upon the response the first store generates, Fiat could put up similar brand stores in other parts of the country to raise the awareness of Fiat products, design, technology and heritage. It is created to serve future customers and fans an experience of Fiat brand. Fiat could give visitors a taste of Italy with authentic snacks and coffee, the source adds.
IndianAutosBlog.com is told by sourced with direct knowledge on the matter that Nissan could display the (green) peace-loving Leaf and the ear-shattering GT-R at next year’s Delhi Auto Expo. India is not hearing the name of this critically acclaimed sports car as Nissan India gifted an example to India’s first F1 racing driver Narain Karthikeyan.
Powered by a 3.8-liter twin turbo V6 engine that puts out a mind-boggling 520hp/612Nm, the Nissan GT-R, some call Godzilla, injured British television presenter Jeremy Clarkson’s neck while he was filming in Japan.
The Leaf EV, touted to be the next generation automobile is on the opposite side of the spectrum. It has divorced the fuel station, so from that perspective it cannot survive in India as we don’t have the supporting infrastructure and charging terminals. The Leaf travels 160km on a full charge and uses Lithium Ion batteries. It is marketed as an environmentally friendly and economical family car.
The Leaf EV is a brand shaping tool and though India’s not ready for it, any form of everyday transport that does not run on petrol or diesel is a crowd puller. Besides these exhibits, Nissan will not miss out the opportunity of displaying its existing model portfolio.
Sources have revealed to IndianAutosBlog.com that Tata Motors is evaluating all possible options for the launch of the next generation Safari that’s been testing since early 2010.
The company is likely to exhibit the model at the Delhi Auto Expo next year and launch it in early 2012. This was the strategy followed with the Aria crossover in 2010.
See interiors shots of the Safari Merlin
The new Safari will not grow significantly in dimension. It is based on the Aria platform and every body panel is different. Interiors are built making use of better quality plastics.
Merlin will borrow features and functions from the Aria. Technical changes have reportedly made the car much easier to drive in the city with a reworked steering system and gearbox. The engine and gearbox have been retained and the power and toque outputs could rise marginally.
IndianAutosBlog can reveal that the name ‘Merlin’ is only an internal code. The commercial name will be different. Given that this is replacement for the existing Safari, it could use a suffix or continue without additions.
Fiat’s Multijet diesel engine has worked wonders for many manufacturers in India. But if you had to pick one from the lot, it has to be Maruti Suzuki. The king pin of the small car market has gained maximum benefit from the Multijet diesel.
Currently, with sky rocketing petrol prices, Maruti Suzuki is selling 8 diesel cars for every 2 petrol cars – yes the split of Diesel to Petrol is a whopping 80-20, its also the national average.
Strengthening the ties further, Maruti Suzuki has finalized a deal to buy 1 lakh diesel engines from Fiat every year. With this deal, the company hopes to reduce the waiting period on its diesel cars.
Right now, the company is in a very sticky situation where it has a surplus of petrol cars but no capacity for the diesel ones. Most of its best selling models in the diesel avatar such as Ritz, Swift Dzire, SX4 and Swift have waiting list stretching for more than 6 months.
This deal will also help Maruti Suzuki in the future as it plans to expand its capacity to reach 1.75 million annual capacity. It has already started the process of acquiring land for the new plant in Gujarat.
With the onslaught of Eon and Nano on the Alto’s sales figures, Business Standard reports that Maruti Suzuki has decided to take drastic measures to retain its leadership in the small car segment. Maruti Suzuki will display not one but two 600cc models at the Auto Expo to gather feedback about their viability in the Indian market.
The two cars in question are Palette and MR Wagon.
1) Palette
The Palette is a Kei car cum micro mini-van that can seat four people in reasonable comfort. The key features of the Palette are dual sliding doors, flat floor, keyless entry and start, and HID headlamps. The Palette is powered by a 658 cc petrol engine mated to a 5-speed automatic /manual transmission sending 66 horses to the front or all four wheels.
2) MR Wagon
Another Kei car with a tall boy design, the MR wagon is a sub compact hatchback powered by a 660 cc, three cylinder engine producing 54 bhp. However, you also get a turbocharged version that develops a ‘whopping’ 64 bhp. The power can be send to front or all four wheels with a automatic/manual gearbox.
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The on and off rumors about the Lexus brand’s debut in India have been finally put a rest. Toyota has confirmed that Lexus will arrive in India in 2013 on the eve of the Tokyo Motor Show.
Mid-2011, rumors were rife that Lexus will chose Infinity Cars as their partners to retail Lexus. However, Toyota has entrusted the responsibility of establishing the Lexus brand in India to its Indian JV partner Kirloskar.
The Lexus GS250F Sport can match the credentials of a BMW 3 Series
The Lexus marquee was established in 1989 and focused its operations on US and Europe. However, with the increasing spending power in India, it was about time Lexus tapped the Indian market as well. Having said that, Lexus already enjoys a lot of popularity in the Bollywood scene with so many film stars being ferried around in their LX 470s.
The Lexus brand will start with conservative growth estimates in 2013. The dedicated dealerships will focus on customer service and experience rather than on numbers. Initially, Lexus will enter India in through a CBU route. However, if Indian consumer responds well to the brand, the company may adopt a CKD route.
We now wait for Nissan’s luxury brand Infiniti to come out with an announcement on the India foray.
Being a Japanese company, the first market on the roster for a global Honda model can’t be Korea or Australia, right? Honda announced the 2012 CR-V for the Japanese market today that would go on sale on the 2nd of December. This is about two weeks ahead of the US market release. The Honda CR-V is among the largest selling Sports Utility Vehicles in USA.
The 2012 CR-V was on view at the Los Angeles Motor Show this month and for the Japanese market, Honda offers the five-seat crossover in two variants – 20G and 24G. The base model is FWD with a 2.0-liter petrol engine producing 150HP/191Nm paired to a CVT. The second model is a 2.4-liter AWD variant with 190HP/222Nm married to a five-speed AT.
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Hindustan Motors through a press release revealed that they are developing a passenger application on the Winner platform and our friends at IndianCarsBikes.in have snapped the first mule in Pune. Fitted with a 1.8-liter CNG engine, the load carrier makes 35.5 Bhp of power and 73 Nm of torque.
This engine will be carried over on to the passenger application to pit it against the Tata Venture and Mahindra Maxximo minivan. After the soft top is on the market, we would like to see HM execute a steel bodied van with leather seats, entertainment system and air conditioning.
