Everything you’ve heard about Maruti Suzuki in the last three months has been negative. Strikes, sacking of employees, allegations of pay-offs, sagging sales, launch of Hyundai Eon and delay of new models has affected the company’s morale.
The only good thing we can point out is the launch of the new Swift which generated record breaking bookings, crossing the 1 lac mark within a couple of months. It proved that a strong product always generates demand.
Maruti Suzuki is working overtime on increasing output at the Manesar plant
Now the problem was that the bookings and production could not be synced because of the problems at the manufacturing plant which resulted in a waiting period of over eight months for a new Swift. Though small in number, many customers cancelled their bookings and went ahead with a rival product.
The good news is that almost all the problems have been resolved and the company is back on track concentrating on how the Swift can reach more homes. Once the second line at Manesar becomes fully functional in January 2012, 18,000 Swifts are expected to roll out every month. With this, the plant output will go up from 1,400 units a day to 2,100 units a day. Recruitment of manpower is also going on in full swing.
With such plans, MS hopes to clear the existing backlog of the Swift by April 2012. This will not just bring relief to those who have already booked a Swift but will also bring in new customers who avoided the Swift due to the extremely long waiting period.
We won’t bother with introducing the next generation Ford EcoSport as you have seen us writing volumes about it for the last couple years. The next generation EcoSport built on the Ford B-Platform is going to break cover next year.
Codenamed B515, it’s Ford’s big ticket model for the fast developing China, India and Russia. Component wise, it borrows heavily from the global Fiesta and is expected to adopt a similar interior layout.
Ford’s re-entry to the Auto Expo next January is an opportunity for the EcoSport to introduce itself to the Indian market. This is new body style that’s expected to draw heavy interest from sedan and hatchback customers. Renault, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra are said to be in various stages of development of their respective EcoSports. Its a bridge model between the hatch and sedan with the appearance and features of a SUV.
With petrol cars given step-motherly treatment in India, Ford’s fuel-sipping 1.5-liter diesel engine is a perfect partner for the EcoSport to make inroads. Ford has to position the EcoSport carefully or else it could be easily misunderstood for something else. Being a mini SUV, the ideal spot exists between the Figo and global Fiesta.
Unless you have been vacationing on the moon, you must know that the Tata Nano has received upgrades. But surely the question on your mind is What’s New? Looks pretty much the same ain’t it?
You’re right and to some extent wrong as well. The looks haven’t been changed much. But there is more than what meets the eye.
25.4 kmpl
Oh yes! Tata Motors obsession with the number ’25 kmpl’ has rubbed over the Nano as well. The boffins at Tata Motors have squeezed 25Kmpl from Nano’s tiny 624 cc engine.
3 PS more POWER!
While increasing the mileage, somehow Tata Motors have also managed to increase the power rating on the engine. Earlier, the engine used to produce 35 PS but now its produces 38 PS of POWER!
In a recent development, Renault announced the India bound Duster for the Argentinian market and in the press kit, we spotted two interesting color options India will find amusing on an SUV that is synonyms with muscular, butch, angry and mean.
The first is an orange seen on city cars like Nissan Micra and Tata Indica eV2. Okay you’ve seen it on the Sumo Grande too, but with the rebranding, that one’s disappeared from the brochure, TVC and banners
The second is a turquoise, a combination of green and blue one has to go back to the first generation Maruti 800 to see on a popular production model.
Do you think Renault should give these two colors some consideration for the Indian market?
If Car Magazine is correct, Skoda is in an expansionist mood, on a mission to occupy new segments in the immediate future. The result of the diversification plan is to split the next generation Yeti into two models – a five seater of VW Tiguan size in 2015 and a seven seater of Passat size with 4WD in 2016.
An artist illustration of a 5 seat Yeti with VisionD styling vocabulary by Auto Swiat Poland
The only logic behind this move is Skoda’s ambition to compete in different leagues. They have a single SUV (Yeti) and MPV (Roomster) in their portfolio preventing them from going for the kill.
The report goes on to state that Skoda has taken the additional responsibility of developing and manufacturing low cost powertrains for the whole VW group. None of this information is verified.
We are interested in seeing what the Czech has in store for the Skoda aspirationalist on a tight budget. They have ruled out the CitiGo and need a B car to compile big numbers in India.
So its official now. Tata Motors have silently upgraded the Nano to make sure it is as fresh as it was when it was launched. We brought you some pics of the upgraded features straight from the dealership before the official launch. But thanks to BurnYourFuel/Tata Nano Youtube channel, we can now bring you the TV Ad that you will soon see on your telly.
Just like the old ad, this one too focuses on the various features on the Nano. Tata has also worked on the suspension, AC and turning radius. Our speculation of 25 kmpl was also bang on!
More importantly, just like the old ad, this one too melts your heart. Don’t believe us? Have a look yourself.
A report on DailyNews Sri Lanka says that about 1,000 Tata Nano cars have been sold since its introduction in Sri Lanka in early 2011. Even though the Nano costs twice as much in the CBU form, private and fleet customers in equal measure took a shine to the world’s cheapest car.
Tata vehicles distributor DIMO offers 24X7 assistance for Nano customers and identified new target groups including taxi cab operators amongst whom the Nano is a big hit. The Nano’s outstanding fuel economy is cited as a main reasons for the car’s sales success. The Nano draws interest from Sri Lankans regardless of their financial status. Incidentally it is also Sri Lanka’s first car offered with a four year/90k kilometers warranty.
Back home, Tata Motors have dispatched an improved version to the dealer yards. The launch of the new series is expected to take place in the coming days.
Even if the title sums up the topic, aren’t you interested to know the best selling European car? Did you guess?
Yes it is the Volkswagen Golf that India isn’t getting anytime soon. The sedan variant based on the Golf, Jetta, is however available. When we visited Volkswagen’s Chakan plant last year, we spotted a Golf with European number plates inside the premises. Since then, our readers have seen silver color Golfs in and around Pune.
The Volkswagen Polo, with sales up by 1.2 per cent in October (compared to October 2010) is the second best selling European car followed by the Ford Fiesta came in third for 2011 selling 26,533 units.
Maruti Suzuki is working overtime on increasing output at the Manesar plant
