Bajaj Auto has scrapped plans for a Joint Venture (JV) with Renault-Nissan for the Ultra Low Cost (ULC) car project. The company will now only have a simple arrangement for acting as the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for the car with the Renault-Nissan combine.
The original plan between the three companies was to form a Joint Venture (JV) wherein Bajaj Auto would have a 50 % stake and the Renault-Nissan partnership would share the remaining 50 % equally.
Bajaj Auto -
We can meet the objective of the partnership without the need to necessarily create a new corporate entity in the form of a joint venture (JV).
As per the terms of the ULC car project, Bajaj Auto will be handling the aspects related to the R&D and manufacturing of the car, while Renault-Nissan will be taking care of aspects such as marketing, distribution and sales.
However, the biggest question that remains unanswered as of now is that of the timeframe of launch of the car, since Bajaj and Nissan have already stated that they are yet to finalise production plans for the car. When will this car see the light of day?
The country’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) is planning to launch a Limited Edition variant of its mid-range sedan, the SX4 this month.
Maruti Suzuki launched the SX4 in 2007, which replaced the Baleno, as a rival to the Chevrolet Aveo, Honda City, Hyundai Verna
Within a short while after its launch, the SX4 went on to become the segment leader and proved that Maruti can not only make good hatchbacks but sedans as well. But, competition for the SX4 intensified greatly when Honda rolled out their all-new third generation City and Ford facelifted its Fiesta.
Maruti countered these measures with the Bharat Stage IV compliant SX4 equipped with Variable Valve Timing and the option of a four-speed automatic transmission. But, these measures don’t seem to have paid off as the car has failed to attract the number of buyers Maruti hoped it would.
So, Maruti will be banking on this Limited Edition variant to attract more customers and boost the sales figures of the car. The car will be loaded with features such as Outside Rear View Mirrors (ORVM) mounted indicators, Chrome Decals, A Bootlid Spoiler and Reverse Parking Sensors on its exteriors. The interiors will be finished with leather seat covers and an additional reading ramp.
The price which one would have to chalk out extra over the current fully loaded SX4 ZXi could be in the region of around 25-40,000 rupees. The exact date as to when the car will hit showrooms has not yet been revealed.
Motoroids is reporting that Aston Martin is going to officially land on Indian shores by the end of this year. The cult British car maker is looking to start with a dealership in Delhi and Mumbai, the two sure-shot markets for exotic vehicles.
The company will be introducing the V8 Vantage, DBS and the recently unveiled four-door saloon, the Rapide. The company might not launch the V12 version of the Vantage in the Indian market.
The prices for the cars is expected to begin at around 1.25 crore rupees for the V8 vantage and could go upto 2.95 crores for the top of the range DBS.
With Aston Martin also set to officially make its India entry, the two boxes that aren’t checked are Ferrari and Maserati.
Here’s a gadget which has been specifically designed to aid front seat passengers. Its a flexible reading lamp which allows passengers to read a book or search for something which has accidentally fallen on to the car’s floor, without switching on the overhead interior lamp and disturbing the driver.
The flexible reading lamp has a 30-centimetre long stem which can bent in all possible directions. The lamp can be powered by plugging it into any 12v-port or the car’s cigarette lighter socket. The price of the lamp is $ 14.95 (Rs. 700).
Ford India has begun exports of its ultra-successful small car Figo by shipping out the first lot of 1,200 Made-In-India Figos to South Africa. The Figo is the first small car to be produced and exported by Ford India.
Michael Boneham, President and Managing Director, Ford India -
In addition to being a sales chart topper, the Ford Figo is the first small car to be produced and exported by Ford India and today’s consignment of 1,200 Figos to South Africa is a new exciting development for us. Given the rising demand worldwide for compact vehicles, we plan to accelerate our export strategy to not only enhance our business growth but also to further embellish India’s reputation as a major regional auto manufacturing hub
Ford will be exporting the 1.4-litre Duratec petrol and 1.4-litre Duratorq diesel engined Ford Figos to Ford Motor Company of South Africa, which will start deliveries of the cars in mid-July through its network of 123 dealerships.
Boneham added -
Just as the Figo has taken the Indian market by storm, we are confident that it will have a similar impact in South Africa and we hope to export 5,000 vehicles to the country by the end of the year
The Figo has been a huge success for Ford in India, with the car having received more than 24,000 bookings. The car has set Ford India’s sales charts on fire with the company reporting a 267 % jump in sales for the month of June 2009.
Ford also exports its Made-In-India Fiesta sedan and diesel engines to Ford South Africa and this latest consignment of 1,200 Ford Figos should go a long a way in bolstering the export relationship between Ford India and Ford South Africa.
The fuel filter of a car is one of the most critical components of a car’s fuel system. It has to ensure that the car’s engine is supplied with clean fuel, in order for it run optimally and deliver good performance and fuel efficiency. The fuel filter has to ensure that the dirt and contaminants present in the fuel or the fuel tank of the vehicle are separated from the fuel, before it is supplied to the engine for combustion.
The fuel filter of a car while working hard to ensure that the engine is supplied with clean fuel every time can get jammed or clogged due to the dirt and contaminants which it separates from the fuel. When this happens, it is time to replace the old fuel filter with a new one.
Replacing a car’s fuel filter is an easy to carry out operation, that is if you how to do it. Here’s how it should be done:
click through to read the procedure
India is one of the key markets in GM’s worldwide plans. The company after having emerged from bankruptcy, has been on a roll and has drawn up aggressive plans to launch new models in international markets to drive sales and growth further. The company plans to launch 70 new or upgraded models across international markets by the year 2014. India is definitely one of those markets.
The company will be launching new models such as the all-new next-generation Aveo Sedan and Hatchback, Chevrolet Sail Sedan and Hatchback and the Chevrolet Orlando MPV. The company will also be launching new engine or fuel variants of its existing lineup in India like the Beat Diesel, Beat LPG, Bharat Stage IV Complaint Chevrolet Tavera (we learn), Chevrolet Cruze Petrol and the facelifted Chevrolet Captiva.
GM will also be entering the Indian Commercial vehicle market with its Chinese partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC). The company will be launching the Wuling N 200 and 300 series of vans alongwith a pick up truck offering to takes on the likes of the Tata Ace and the Mahindra Maxximo.
With GM having lined up so many models and variants for Indian consumers, it remains to be seen as to how GM prices and positions these products in the Indian passenger car market.
Spied parked inside a building right here in India is the soon-to-be launched Volvo XC60 compact crossover SUV in RHD form, spied for the first time in India. The vehicle is to be launched in India by the end of this year and will go to head-to-head with rivals such as the BMW X3 and Audi Q5.
The car in the images is the D5 diesel variant, which has a 2.4-litre, twin-turbocharged diesel engine pumping out 205 PS of max power and 420 Nm of max torque. The car is also available with a 3.2-litre Naturally Aspirated petrol motor as well as a 3.0-litre turbocharged, six-cylinder petrol engine (T6). The car in the images also has a temporary Haryana registration plate.
The Volvo XC60 is based on the Volvo Y20 platform and is made at the Volvo plant in Ghent, Belgium. The car will be imported into India as a Completely Built Unit (CBU) and will be priced around the 40-lakh mark. The car could also be offered in a front-wheel drive version.
Thanks to our anonymous reader for sending us the first pictures of the Volvo XC60. You know who you are, and you must know we’re grateful to you!
