Yamaha’s launched a new, sporty 125cc motorcycle in India. Read about Yamaha SS125 here
Bajaj has said that it will utilize KTM’s dealer showrooms in Europe for selling its Pulsar motorcycles. Read about Pulsar in Europe through KTM here.
Cars like the Tata Indigo Manza will hit European stores later this year
Tata Motors is looking for ways to bring its line-up of cars to Europe. The first cars will be shipped in by the end of this year. Tata is planning to debut a total of eight models in Europe and the United Kingdom this year, according to Autocar India.
Let’s see – Tata Nano, Tata Indica, Tata Indica Vista, Tata Indigo Manza, Tata Sumo Grande, Tata Xenon, Tata Aria.
This list seems the most logical one.
Tata Motors Vice Chairman Ravi Kant -
We need to be selective, but seven or eight types of vehicle would be about right. We would be engineering cars that are not just for India. We want to put the philosophy of the Nano into effect
Tata Indica and Indigo will hit UK shores this year. Tata will also bring the Nano Europa and Aria to Britain in the next few years.
Tata Motors earlier withdrew its Indica hatchback sold under the name Cityrover, from the UK after it recorded consecutive months of poor sales.
Tata has to rework some of its models to comply with European norms. The company claims even after the rework the vehicles won’t loose its competitive edge in pricing.
Going through Ford’s history, nothing like what they are going to do has been done before. The American auto maker plans to launch an assualt in the sub-compact hatchback segment of developing markets, not by creating something from scratch, but by using a phased-out base.
Ford’s new small car, developed in 19 months, is codenamed B 517 and the automaker’s first ever hatchback in India. Not only will it be manufactured and sold here, it will be shipped to Europe, South Africa and Australia. Its highlight – usage of a phased out Ford Fiesta platform.
click through to read the rest
The next generation Nissan Micra/March will be manufactured in key developing regions of the world. Reports in the media state the new compact car intended for maturing markets like India, Africa and parts of Europe will debut in Thailand in March 2010.
The new Nissan small car will not only be manufactured in India, but also in Thailand, China, Mexico and an unnamed location.
click through for full details
Skoda’s new city car would be based on the parent company VW’s Up! platform. The new car might be named “Popular.”
The Popular is aimed at developing parts of the world where there is an ever lasting demand for small and economical cars. The city-runabout would make its first appearance in 2012, and we’ve dug up evidence proposing its Indian connection a while ago.
Skoda is looking to establish itself as a compact car maker. It does have SUVs and grand sedans in the line-up, but its plans going into the future insists there will be more budget than frills and flair. There’s the bigger hatchback that will slot inbetween the Fabia and the Octavia and plans to make a low-cost Octavia for India and other Asian countries.
click through to read the rest
The Suzuki Grand Vitara diesel will soon available in Europe, the car will come only as a 3-door version with the 1.9 ltr diesel engine sourced from Fiat.
Recently Maruti Suzuki added Grand Vitara 2.4 ltr petrol to their gamut of cars in India. In Europe the 3 door models are available with options of 1.6 ltr petrol and the 1.9 ltr common rail diesel.
The new models bring with them a series of features like ABS, EBD, ESP (Electronic Stability program), 17 inch alloys (optional), automatic air conditioning, rear privacy glass and a 6 CD changer.
Japanese tuning legend Mugen might just lay its hands on the Honda Civic and what might come out of this is anyone’s guess, a sheer powerhouse Mugen Honda Civic RR expected to rip the roads off.
Mugen will be striping extra weight off the car and boost the power to 240hp that pretty much will do the trick, if not then the big 18-inch alloys, upgraded Brembo brakes, Recaro sports seats and specifically re-tuned suspension ought to do it.
Of course all this high end tweaking doesn’t come cheap. The Mugen Honda Civic RR is expected to cost Rs. 27 lakhs. But befoe all we Indians get excited about this, it will be sold only in the European market.
Like how the 270 bhp Accord made it to India, the Mugen-treated Honda Civic could serve as a limited edition. After cars like the Honda Civic Hybrid, we infer the company isn’t necessarily against experimenting, which gives us confidence to say there is a chance for such a car.
With BMW selling its M models in the country and Mercedes with its complete AMG lineup, why can’t Honda ship Mugen cars and cash in on the performance market?
It is true! Honda’s city car rivaling the Toyota iQ and Smart Fortwo is a smaller version of the proven Honda Jazz.
Honda’s mini car dreams have got us dreaming. Honda, I think is emulating the Honda City’s strategy meaning a smaller version of the flagship car. In the mini car’s case it is the Jazz with the guiding light.
The mini Jazz could go on sale as early as 2011 reports say, which is very unlikely considering the high level of work required to bring out a car. It could take a year longer than that, but then this is Honda, and they are capable of anything.
click through to the read the entire post
