Some 2008-model HyundaiElantras are being recalled due to fuel pumps that could lose pressure and decreasing engine performance. In Elantras with the 2.0-liter Beta engine, gasoline with ethanol added creates a buildup of film on the pump’s electrical contacts. This can cause the engine to hesitate during starting or while running. The recall is voluntary, and if you have one of the affected cars, don’t hesitate to contact your dealer.
With new launches planned every month from both Tata Motors and Fiat India Limited, more than 200 Tata dealerships and 65 dealerships from Tata-Fiat dealerships are undergoing complete image makeover.
Fiat has opted for the red colour as its image makeover image while Tata has chosen blue as its brand colour. It has also changed the size of its logo as a part of its branding exercise. Earlier, only Fiat had plans to change its brand image but now Tata has also joined the wagon. The cost of branding exercise is going to be borne by Fiat, Tata Motors and dealerships cumulatively as both the companies plan a slew of launches in the coming months. Currently, Tata-Fiat has 65 dealerships across India, which is expected to grow to 100 by the year end.
According to the agreement signed by Tata Motors and Fiat India Private Limited, both the companies commenced their shared dealer network in 11 cities representing 70 percent of Fiat’s Indian market share. The agreement shall provide synergies in distribution, product development and manufacturing.
Hyundai are targeting to sell a small car with a price tag of $3500[Rs.1,50,000 approx].This car should cause a lot of problems to maruti especially and if there is a diesel available too at similar pricing God help Maruti.
Hyundai have done well to realise the importance of the Indian markets much before other rivals.They have also gambled by launching the i10 first in the market and ensuring it caters to local choice as well.The end result is if you keep track of monthly car sales figures as each month passes by the gap between hyundai and maruti suzuki keeps getting narrower and narrower.
The Yamaha dealer in my city informed me that the company is soon going to launch Yamaha FZ 150 in India within a few months. The looks of the bike can be summed up in one word as ‘muscular’. While the YZF R15 poses a stylish and sporty outlook, FZ15 presents itself like a hunk. Like the R15, it has a mono suspension and a liquid cooled engine.
Yamaha is trying to grab a bigger market share by diluting the indian auto mobile market with too many models. In my opinion, there is nothing very special in this bike. This is just a revamped model of FZ1.
Just like the 1000cc YZF R1 was fitted with a 150cc engine and launched as YZF R15, the 1000cc version of the FZ1 is being launched as a 150cc model. The problem with this kind of marketing strategy is that the original bike loses its value and no one would buy the higher end model even if they want to.
I am waiting to test drive the bike and post a review as soon as it gets launched. Hopefully the Indian biking industry is booming and the customers are more demanding than ever. We can expect a lot of new bike models to be launched in 2009. Hero Honda has also promised to launch 13 new models within end of the next year!
Buoyant by the demand of its 750 W electric bike ‘ YO Speed‘, Electrotherm India is planning to introduce a 1000 W version of the e-bike.
According to Avinash Bhandari, Director, Electrotherm India, they prefer to modify existing models. Their Research & Development team keeps updating technologies. The success of the 75 cc model has encouraged them to enter higher segments.
He also added that customers have accepted electric vehicle technology. Electrotherm has sold around 10,000 e-bike units in less than a year.
They have sold more than 50,000 units across the country in 2007. The company also plans to export these bikes. Initially, it will be to neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
In yet another disappointing move, Fiat says it may postpone the launch of both Linea and Grande Punto. Fiat cites too many car launches by other manufacturers for the delay. “We are industrially ready to launch the vehicle (Linea) in September. However, too many launches in the same month has prompted us to rethink,” said a Fiat spokesperson. This move by Fiat will also affect the proposed launch of Grande Punto in December.
Fiat will push the launch of Grande punto to early 2009. “We do not want to confuse customers with frequent launches. We thought it is ideal to have a certain interval between consecutive launches,” the spokesperson added.
Hyundai plans to take on Maruti’s A-Star , Splash and the Swift by launching a diesel powered version of the hot selling i10. The i10 diesel engine would really make a dent in Maruti’s small car sales. The worlds 5th largest automaker Hyundai is planning to launch a 1100cc, 80 bhp i10 early next year. Like all new generation CRDi units this will have loads of torque and will be the most fun to drive i10. Indica Vista and the upcoming Grande Punto need to worry about Hyundai’s oil burner.
The new Indica Vista sports dynamic and flowing lines which distinguishes it from the previous generation Indica. Except for the name and the layout everything seems different. If the new sweeping headlamp cluster fails to catch your attention, then the chrome handles is sure to catch everyone’s eye.
Tata has intentionally retained the family look and the new Indica vista is a clear evolution of the Indica. A new central character line on the bonnet gives character to the car. The all new grille with a new striking pedal shaped headlamps gives the indica vista a more upmarket look.
The new automated robotic parking system is ready to be operational in Mumbai. Mumbai based company; Akruti Nirman Limited had bagged the tender from BMC for building completely automated parking system on Bhulabhai Desai Road in Mumbai. The new parking system shall be launched shortly in South Mumbai.
It is a 20 storey building that has capacity to house nearly 240 cars which means that it would free up parking space of up to 1.25 km in the city. The driver needs to drive up to a point from where the automated system or a rotating carousel shall take up the parking procedure. The driver shall be handed a token which would carry all the details of parking of the vehicle.
The robots quickly scan the vehicle and its dimensions and allocate the required space available at any of the storeys. For example small cars shall have a different storey for parking and SUVs shall have different storey. The overall time it would take for complete parking procedure is 2-3 minutes.
The complete project has been developed under Build-Operate and Transfer basis for a period of five year. BMC shall decide the parking ticket and Akruti shall hand over the system to BMC after five years of operation.
Volkswagen has become the world’s third largest carmaker outselling Ford. According to the latest sales figures, VW Group delivered 3.31 million vehicles in the first half of the year, with Ford delivering 3.22 million. Remember only in 2004 Ford lost the second spot to the japanese car maker Toyota.
The worsening sales in US is hitting the American major very badly. Toyota is marching towards the no 1 spot by selling 280,000 units more than the General Motors globally during the first six months of 2008.
