We’re posting scans of the press release BMW has issued at the launch of the BMW Premium Selection (BMW’s second-hand car sales division) launch in Delhi outlining their foray into used cars. The event is rolling as we fill you in with the details.
- 7 dealerships are part of this program – Bird Automotive Gurgaon, Krishna Automobile Ludhiana, Infinity Cars South Mumbai, Bavaria Motors Pune, Navnit Motors Bangalore, Kun Exclusive Chennai and Kun Exclusive Hyderabad.
- Used cars go through a comprehensive 360 degree check before they are sold to customers
- Cars sold through the Premium Selection carry a 2 years/20,0000 km warranty
- BMW offers the BMW road side assistance as an option to the Premium Selection customers
Stay tuned to IndianAutosBlog.com to learn more.
Our longstanding reader Arjun Shrie who sent us images of the Chevrolet Trailblazer from the Dubai Motor Show is back with photographs of the Toyota Fortuner and Innova facelifts clicked at the same venue. Based on the IMV Platform, both vehicles camouflaged with tapes have been spotted testing in Bangalore over the last month.
With Thailand still recovering from recent floods, we’re not sure if Toyota can introduce the facelift as they have to deal with component shortage.
The 2012 model Innova and Fortuner carry changes that are purely cosmetic.
NDTV’s Car And Bike Show fan Sandeep Singh posted these two images of the Volkswagen Up! mounted on a flatbed truck in Delhi on the show’s official Facebook page.
The Up! will be the cheapest Volkswagen in India with prices expected to start at 3.5 lakh rupees. Before Volkswagen brings this Up! to India, it needs to lend it rear doors (model which VW has already featured in TV commercials), beige interiors and a diesel engine. The Up! was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show with a 1-liter petrol engine capable of producing a range of outputs up to 75PS and deliver a pump-beating 23kmpl.
What is this VW Up! doing in India? We have to wait to find out!
Could Volkswagen show the Up! at the Delhi Auto Expo?
The Skoda Yeti, one we refer to as a go anywhere Skoda Superb, did not stir the market as one would have expected. It was an excellent product which suffered the onslaught of highly optimistic pricing.
Skoda tried to sell it as a niche product but failed to do so because the consumers did not see value in the proposition.
Taking some lessons from the Tata Aria debacle, Skoda has decided to induce oodles of value in the Yeti by stripping off the four wheel drive. Skoda has launched the Yeti 4×2 at a very tempting price of 13.20L (ex Maharashtra).
The 4×2 version of the Yeti will come in 2 variants Active & Ambition with the top model containing all the goodies such as ESP, Hill Hold control and Vario Flex.
The detailed pricing structure is as follows:
- Yeti Active 2.0 TDI CR 4X2 : 1,320,970 Ex Showroom Maharashtra & 1,346,159 Ex Showroom Delhi
- Yeti Ambition 2.0 TDI CR 4X2: 1,405,379 Ex Showroom Maharashtra & 1,432,195 Ex Showroom Delhi
The 4X2 Yeti is available in five colours –Aqua mist, brilliant silver, candy white, cappuccino beige, magic black, mato brown.
Due to the deletion of the transfer case and drive shafts, the mileage has also improved to 17.72 kmpl.
Do you think that the Skoda Yeti is now a high value proposition?
Yesterday our editor Shrawan very nearly fell off his car trying to snap a white Picanto testing in Chennai (case of an occupational hazard in our field). But then again, it was worth it because IndianAutosBlog.com was the first automotive website to break the news of the Picanto testing on Indian soil.
Now, thanks to our pals at AnythingOnWheels & RiotEngine, we have some clear shots of a lime green Picanto on test in Chennai. Snazzy color we must say!
But the real question is still unanswered – Why is Kia testing the Picanto in India?
- Like the Renault Modus, the Picanto may be on global test in India. However, the clear argument against it is that the Picanto was recently refreshed at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show followed by a global launch. In this scenario, the testing for the successor model is still a long way from now.
- The second reason, and the more solid one, is that the Picanto will form the underpinnings of the next generation i10 which is due in 2013. In this case, Hyundai India is testing the Picanto to make suitable adjustments to it.
- The third reason, and this quite a long shot, may be that Kia is planning a full-fledged entry in the Indian automotive market. We already have a healthy VW-Skoda relationship working very well despite the product sharing. A similar relationship can be replicated between Kia-Hyundai wherein Kia will assume the role of the premium brand and Hyundai will be the mass market one.
Which of these reasons is correct? Your guess is as good as mine.
It’s yet another honour for the Yeti that’s a rage in European markets. Škoda’s acclaimed compact SUV has won the prestigious International Green Apple Environment Award. The distinction was extended by The Green Organization that promotes and rewards environmental behavior. This is the first year the judges chose to award new cars.
The Skoda Yeti E 2.0-liter TDI CR’s 52.3mpg brought home the award in the ‘Smaller SUV 4×4′ category. The judges described the victorious Yeti as “rare beast” and “SUV with luggage space.”
Back home Skoda’s cooking up a Yeti 4×2 variant to drive down the starting price. IAB readers have been informed that the Czech company is mulling two replacements for the Yeti once it reaches the end of its life.
If a report on French newspaper La Tribune is right, Renault sets off developing a new ultra low-cost car on the 1st of January 2012 for a price of under 2 lakh rupees for emerging market places such as India, China and Brazil. An improved sibling with better emission and fuel economy ratings could make it to European markets a few years after the cost-down variant sees daylight. The launch time frame is not mentioned in the article but it is popular knowledge that it takes about four years for a mature car company to execute a project.
It is said that the low-price vehicle sits on a platform on which cars of different sizes can be built (top-hat technique). The company may ignore the Logan platform as it may prove to be too expensive for an Alto-type model. Developing a completely new platform could be the first chapter.
The report points out that many ideas could have sprouted during the discussions Renault held with Bajaj Auto during the birth of the ULC (Ultra Low-cost Car). The fate of the ULC outside Bajaj’s umbrella is not yet determined, but if this report holds any substance, Renault may have other plans in its mind for a Nano rival. We are waiting for an announcement during Auto Expo in January next year where Bajaj Auto will launch or exhibit the ULC.
The report adds that the project is headed by Renault’s small-car division boss Gerard Detourbet.
Image – 1992 Renault Zoom concept has no relation to the story.
IndianAutosBlog.com reader Chaitanya Pise snagged the familiar Tata Indica eV2 CR4 XL test mule in Pune last week. Tata has shown so signs of slow down on the development of their first passenger car. The eV2 range sporting new body colors, added features, refreshed interiors and 25kmpl ARAI certified mileage was launched this year followed by the introduction of the LPG model.
With its long wheelbase, frugal diesel engine and low cost maintenance, the stretched Indica will attract the attention of cab operators looking out for a big car but aren’t after a boot. Tata Motors can slot the Indica eV2 CR4 XL between the Indica and Indigo CS.
The lengthened hatchback segment is another first by Tata Motors who takes credit for creating new segments such as the mini truck segment with the Ace’s launch and stimulating the A car segment with the Nano.
