Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Honda India has introduced an Electric Sunroof in the Accord V6 based on the customer’s feedback. The Accord V6 will also feature Ambient Light and Footlight which will enhance visibility during darkness allowing enough light to see the controls. The car will also be equipped with 2 sets of Keyless entry for added convenience to the customers.
The Footlight and 2 sets of Keyless entry have also been introduced in the Honda Accord 2.4L MT/ AT variants. In addition, Honda Accord 3.5L V6 and Honda Accord 2.4L now have a provision for Mobile phone with Bluetooth interface. The Accord range will be available at Rs. 18,52,000/- for 2.4L MT, Rs.19,27,000/- for 2.4L AT and Rs 26,15,000 for 3.5L V6 (all prices ex-showroom, Delhi).
[Via: Motorbeam]
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Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz reported a 78% hike in sales during February this year, at 439 units, as compared to 246 units sold in February 2009.
Mercedes-Benz sold 842 units during January and February this year, of which 406 units were of the new E-Class and 81 units were of the S-Class.
Ford
Ford India reported a 22.67% increase in sales during February 2010, at 3,223 units, as against 2,636 units sold in February 2009.
Tata Motors
Tata Motors sold a total of 26,985 cars during February 2010, as compared to 19,039 cars sold in February 2009. The company sold 4,105 units of the Nano, 11,502 units of the Indica range, 7,373 units of the Indigo and 4,005 units of the Sumo and Safari.
Fiat
Fiat India reported a 78.38% increase in sales during February this year, at 2,335 units, as compared to 1,309 units sold in February 2009. The company, which sold 6,897 units during April 2008-February 2009 period, sold 23,551 units between April 2009-February 2010, which shows the beleaguered Italian car company’s operations might finally be back on track in India.
Mahindra & Mahindra
M&M registered a 39.5% hike in the sales of passenger vehicles during February 2010, at 27,894 units, as against 19,994 units in February 2009.
During February this year, the company sold 26,580 units in the domestic market, as against 19,594 units in February 2009. Of the total sales logged during February this year, M&M’s utility vehicles (Xylo, Bolero and Scorpio) accounted for 14,720 units, as against 14,720 units in February 2009.
Maruti Suzuki
Maruti Suzuki India sold a total of 96,650 units in February this year, it’s highest ever sales figure for any single month, and a 22% increase over the sales figure for February 2009, when it sold 79,190 units.
During February this year, Maruti sold 84,765 units in the domestic market (up from 70,625 units in February 2009) and exported 11,885 units (up from 8,565 units in the year-ago period).
The company sold 3,178 units of the M800, 60,380 units in the A2 segment (Alto, Wagon R, Estilo, Swift, A-Star and Ritz) and 10,254 units in the A3 segment (SX4, Dzire) during February this year.
Hyundai
Hyundai Motor India Ltd.’s total sales for February 2010 stood at 54,617 units, as against 38,235 units in February 2009 - an increase of 42.8%.
HMIL’s domestic sales during February this year accounted for 31,001 units, as against 21,215 units in February 2009, while exports went up from 17,020 units in February 2009 to 23,616 units in February 2010.
In February this year, HMIL sold 50,515 units in the A2 segment (Santro, i10, Getz, i20), 4,051 units in the A3 segment (Accent, Verna), 50 units in the A5 segment (Sonata Transform) and one unit of its SUV, Tucson.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor
Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. (TKM) sold 5,993 units during February this year, a 101% increase over the sales figure for February 2009. During February this year, TKM sold 4,412 units of the Innova, 863 units of the Corolla and 972 units of the Fortuner.
General Motors India
GM India sold 11,111 units during February this year, as compared to 4,921 units sold in February 2009. Since the time when the company was set up, in 1996, this is the first time when GMI crossed the 10,000 units sales figure in a month.
During February this year, GMI sold 4,431 units of the Chevrolet Beat, 3,412 units of the Chevrolet Spark, 1,592 units of the Chevrolet Tavera, 726 units of the Chevrolet Cruze, 420 units of the Aveo, 411 units of Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, 98 units of Chevrolet Optra and 21 units of Chevrolet Captiva.
Honda Siel
Honda Siel Cars India Ltd. (HSCI) sold 6,275 units during February 2010, as against 5,579 units in February 2009, an increase of 12.5%. The company sold 233 of the Jazz, 5,076 units of the City, 538 units of the Civic, 299 units of the Accord and 129 units of the CR-V during February this year.
Volkswagen clocks in 195 per cent sales growth in the initial months of the year 2010
Volkswagen
Volkswagen claims that it registered a sales growth of 168% in February this year. However, the company has not released any specific sales figures to back up this claim.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
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Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Ford India has just revealed the shock prices for its eagerly awaited hatchback, the Ford Figo with the base petrol (Lxi) version being priced at a stunning Rs 3.49 lakh (ex-showrooom Delhi), rising up to Rs 4.42 lakh for the top-end (Titanium) variant. Similarly for the diesel version, the base variant starts at Rs 4.47 lakh, with the top-end variant rising to Rs 5.29 lakh. The Figo competes against the newly launched Chevrolet Beat, Volkswagen Polo and established Maruti Swift. While the entry level Beat is keenly priced at Rs. 3.42 lakh, the base Polo has a price tag of Rs. 4.42 lakh.
Ford is clearly going all out to grab B-segment buyers with this very competitive pricing for the Figo. In fact, the company was believed to have been waiting for the launch of its rival the Beat and Polo before finalising the prices for the Figo. Clearly, Ford is keen to establish its new hatch as the industry benchmark in terms of value for money.
[Via: AutocarIndia]
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Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
The Premier Rio came and we even forgot about it. But now the company claims it has received more than 2,000 bookings from its 34 dealers and will begin deliveries shortly. Premier will also be starting dealers in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerela, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa in a month’s time.
The Rio is nothing but a old generation 1990s re-badged Daihatsu Terios manufactured by Zoyte in China. There is news in the grapevine about the Rio getting the famous 1.3L Fiat Multijet diesel engine but like all things Premier, this won’t come anytime soon.
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Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Honda India have added a new variant to its Jazz hatchback. Christened as Jazz Select , it comes with new features such as rear parcel tray, alloy wheels and front mug guard. Jazz Select has been launched to commemorate the celebration of ‘Car of the Year’ award won by the Jazz in India.
Jazz select is priced Rs7,12,000 (ex-showroom Delhi). The ‘Select Edition’ is an addition to the Jazz line-up boasts premium styling, spacious interiors, versatile utility and remarkable performance and fuel efficiency. The Select Edition aims at getting customers back into the showrooms and give the slow moving hatch a second lease of life.
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Friday, February 26th, 2010
Ford unveiled its new small car Figo in September, 2009 in New Delhi with Alan Roger Mulally, Ford’s president and chief executive, making a lightening visit to the country for the unveiling. And now Figo has been launched and will compete with the likes of Maruti Ritz, Hyundai i20, Honda Jazz & Skoda Fabia. The Ford Figo, a new nameplate and a fresh face on the Indian market, signals Ford’s intention to compete in India’s largest and most important small car market segment. Ford Figo is the result of a significant Ford investment commitment to expand its plant near Chennai for volume production as a small-car centre of excellence regionally.
Variants of Ford Figo
Ford Figo is available in 8 variants, 4 of petrol and 4 of diesel:
- Ford Figo LXi
- Ford Figo EXi
- Ford Figo ZXi
- Ford Figo Titanium
- Ford Figo Diesel LXi
- Ford Figo Diesel EXi
- Ford Figo Diesel ZXi
- Ford Figo Diesel Titanium
The Top of the line “Titanium” variant of Ford Figo comes with:
- Body Coloured Bumpers
- Full Wheel Covers
- Body Coloured Outside Rear View Mirrors
- Chrome Finish Radiator Grille
- Air Conditioning
- Power Steering
- Power Windows
- Remote Central Locking
- Remote Boot Opener
- Remote Fuel Lid Opener
- Driver Seat Height Adjustment
- Removable Parcel Tray
- MP3 Player with 4 Speakers
- Bluetooth Phone Interface
- Rear Washer and Wiper
- Rear Defogger
- ABS with EBD
- Dual SRS Airbags
Engine Options In Ford Figo
Ford Figo has been launched with 2 engine options:
- 1196cc DuraTec Petrol - 70 Bhp
- 1399cc DuraTorq Diesel - 68 Bhp
[Via: CarsIndia ]
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Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Tata Motors will debut its ultra-cheap car Tata Nano in New York this month: next Thursday, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum will put a bright yellow model of world’s cheapest car on display. Incidentally, not many New Yorkers or Americans have actually seen the car. The Tata Nano will be on display at the Great Hall of the Museum at 2 East 91st Street in Manhattan.
“The Cooper-Hewitt is showing the Tata Nano because, as the world’s most affordable car, it is a design achievement,” Cara Mc-Carty, the museum’s curatorial director, said. He also added that Nano has caught public fancy and therefore the museum is putting up the car on display.
Tata Motors has already passed all EU crash tests and safety norms to launch Nano Europe in the European countries. The model will be launched soon in the UK market. Tata Motors also plans to bring the electric variant of Tata Indica to the UK market. Tata Motors had already displayed Electric Indica at the Delhi Auto Expo this year in January. Similarly, the company is planning a hybrid model of Nano soon.
[Via: Indiaautomotive]
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Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
Tata Motors has launched Indica Vista with ABS and Airbags. The new Indica Vista Aura+ variant comes equipped with much needed safety features like ABS and Dual SRS Airbags. Aura+ variant is almost 30000 dearer than the Aura variant. Tata Indica, when launched 10 years ago, was the first “true” Indian hatch.
It has come a long way since but the recent auto expo showed us a new version, not just mere face lifts but more powerful engines, bigger, better interiors and improved quality. So far, 1.12 million Indica cars have rolled out. Indica Vista is a huge improvement after the original Indica platform which spawned a whole gamut of vehicles including the Indigo and Indigo XL Sedan, Indigo Marina the station wagon and Indigo CS compact sedan.
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Saturday, February 13th, 2010
After Toyota incident, automakers have learnt their lessons. Honda has already recalled its vehicles across the globe for faulty electric switches followed by Peugeot Citroen who also recalled their models across Europe. Now Volkswagen has recalled 193,620 vehicles in Brazil and Mexico. Volkswagen announced that there was lubrication problem with rear wheels in its models VW Novo Gol and VW Voyage.
Volkswagen announced on its website the recall as a “preventative” measure where the designated Novo Gol and Voyage cars “can cause noise and continuous use could lead to a blockage of the wheels. In extreme cases, the wheel can come off.” This is the third recall operation by Volkswagen in Brazil. It had earlier recalled its 477,000 models of VW Fox when 8 Fox owners had their fingers chopped off and other 14 suffered hand injuries while folding the rear seats to increase the trunk space.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
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Friday, February 12th, 2010
Maruti has decided not to upgrade its entry level 800 model to meet the upcoming BS IV norms which come into effect in 13 cities from April this year. As a result this iconic little car will no longer be available for sale in these cities, but will continue to remain in showrooms for the rest of the country. Among the cities upgrading to BS IV are Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Kanpur, Ahmedabad, Surat and Agra.
According to R C Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki India, the company has decided against upgrading the 800. In recent years, the 800 has lost popularity due to rising buyer aspirations and its more sophisticated sibling, the Alto, which is currently the best selling car model in the country.
[Via: AutocarIndia]
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