As a counter measure to tackle the threat posed by Fiat Linea and Honda City, Ford India has launched an upgraded Fiesta ZXi that comes with some new features at no additional cost.
India’s largest carmaker – Maruti Suzuki has yet again hiked the prices (since its last hike in October’08) of its cars by Rs 5,000-10,000 with effect from January 28, attributing it to higher input prices and foreign currency movement, which affects prices of imported components.
While prices of all variants of SX4 sedan has been hiked by Rs 9,000, the price of Swift Petrol LXi has now been revised upwards by Rs 5,000.
Regardless of the lethargic sales of passenger cars in India and a forecast that’s even more cloudy, Ford has announced it’s small car plans remain undisturbed.
“We have a strong plan for India, and we intend to go forward with it,” said Nigel E Warke, executive director, marketing, sales and service, Ford India.
Ford’s new small car will be based on the Verve Concept, a sub four meter, 3-door hatch shown at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. Earlier, reports claimed this small car would be produced in Ford’s other international plants such as the one in Brazil. The car will be available in both hatchback and sedan variants, meaning a platform would be developed to derive a range of vehicles.
Chevrolet’s European division has confirmed that the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze’s debut in the European market will remain as per schedule. Its expected to make its European debut in April 09. The company expects to sell about 20,000 to 25,000 units in first year after its launch.
The new James Bond- Daniel Craig is a very down to earth guy. Off the screen, he doesnt even have a ‘nano atomic particle beam pen’ or a ‘flash memory credit card’. Now though, he has brought in one vital element into his life from the Bond character – Aston Martin. Recently he was given a lifetime drive deal with Aston. This deal means that, he can just walk into [ Read More ]
The Ford Endeavour is one of India’s leading SUVs. It’s lively handling, space, luxuriousness and splendid off-roading capabilities assist it achieving the uppermost spot among similar SUVs. As the Ford Endeavour is more or less favoured by customers who travel long distances frequently, Ford came up with the concept of inserting an in-car GPS system. Whenever cars from outside the country arrive here, they generally get stripped of their navigation [ Read More ]
We always knew that Ford was planning something with the Ikon which was long in the tooth. It was not discontinued even though its sales reached an all time low and even its larger sibling,the Fiesta outselling it.
With the lower midsize hotting up with the advent of the Tata Indigo CS,the Swift Dzire which have got off to a great start,Ford is vying for a piece of the pie as well.So what better way to do it than renew the Ikon?
The big news however comes in the form of an all new 1.4 diesel which has carved out a niche for itself in the Fiesta and has a great reputation for outstanding fuel economy.Also,the reason for the shelving of the Fiesta 1.4 seems to be lucid now.Ford wants the Ikon to cater to those who want a smaller engine.
It is still not clear whether the Ikon will get the 1.3 ROCAM or the Fiesta’s 1.4 DuraTec petrol. The Ikon’s party piece was its on road dynamics and these are expected to remain intact which is great news for enthusiasts. Its likely to be priced at around Rs 5 lacs which would surely give stiff competition to its rivals.
We will bring you the road test as soon as the car is launched.Till then, bookmark www.indianautosblog.com and visit regularly.
