Skoda’s mini car ambitions could stay as a dream if VW is to axe the Up! for India. Skoda was expected to rebadge the Up! (VW Lupo could be the commercial name) and position it under the Fabia as the Skoda Joyster.
Reports say that is not happening and the Suzuki WagonR, rebadged as a Skoda could be brought in to fill the void under the Fabia since the alliance between Japan and Germany is looking into all kinds of understanding.
According to Autocar India, a study of the WagonR has revealed its coincidentally close connections to the Czech brand. Skoda’s product credentials of being roomy and spacious go hand in hand with the WagonR.
Could we see a diesel engine under the WagonR’ bonnet? Experts say product differences will be minimum with just the WagonR’s front-end reworked to play a Volkswagen. If Skoda needs to sell a WagonR in their showrooms, they need to offer something Maruti doesn’t.
Maruti’s spares are cheap, they have the widest service network in India, their reputation, last time we checked, is three light years (at least) ahead of Skoda and Indian customers, unlike in the 80s, do their research well.
So what does Volkswagen/Skoda have that Maruti doesn’t?
Answer – Diesel technology
All this while we’ve only been hearing of LWB BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Classes. We know of a Mercedes E-Class L, Audi A4L and a Volvo S80L in the land of China.
Now we have a ‘Suzuki Wagon R long wheelbase’ in China according to our friends at China Car Times.
Chang’an Suzuki will introduce a long wheelbase Wagon R in the Chinese market by the end of 2010. The prime motive of this extended wheelbase hatchback is to offer additional rear legroom.
China is yet to receive the latest generation Wagon R which Indians were provided with earlier this year. China has to do with the earlier gen Wagon R which received a facelift recently (Suzuki Wagon R E+).
China Car Times adds that a stretched wheelbase vehicle could transform this hatchback into a load-carrying van which will have good demand in the Chinese rural areas.
Maruti Suzuki – Do you plan to do something like this for India?
It seems like every vehicle in Maruti’s portfolio will receive CNG power sooner or later.
After we reported that Ritz and Estilo will have factory fitted CNG kits last week, ET has more information to share. It says the Alto, Wagon R and the SX4 will receive them in a short while. The CNG vehicles will be 15-20% dearer than the regular model.
IV Rao, managing executive officer (engineering) at Maruti Suzuki -
It’s our answer to green technology that will also be most fuel-efficient auto fuel in India, blending the benefits of gasoline engine power at the cost of the CNG.
Maruti’s CNG kits fitted at the production line uses a locally developed i-GPI (intelligent gas port injection) technology that gives the user the option of operating the vehicle on either gas or gasoline. This system uses computer controls and injectors inject gas into the manifold directly eliminating power losses which is to the tune of 15% in other vehicles.
New 3-cylinder engine promises to pull down costs and deliver better fuel economy
We thought this was a joke. Until we read it on a reliable newspaper.
Financial Express reports Maruti Suzuki is working on a family of engines that will replace the 800cc and 1,100cc on the Alto and Wagon R respectively. The new engines, which are cheaper to make, will drive down the cost of the models.
The new engine is codenamed YP3 and will come in two variants – 2-cylinders and 3-cylinders.
The YP3 will be Maruti’s second big launch after it unveiled the KB Series engine on the A-Star in 2008. Currently F8D engines are used on the Alto and Wagon R. The Alto will get the 2-cylinder engine while the faclifted Wagon R will get 3 cylinders.
According to this report, Maruti has already started sourcing components for YP3, and the engines will be installed to the cars by the end of this year.
Skoda’s mini car ambitions could stay as a dream if VW is to axe the Up! for India. Skoda was expected to rebadge the Up! (VW Lupo could be the commercial name) and position it under the Fabia as the Skoda Joyster.
