Prada, one of the worlds leading brands in the luxury goods industry, has signed an agreement with Hyundai to create a special edition Genesis Sedan. Over a four month period of time, three “Prada” Genesis luxury sedans will be built and they will combine the best industrial design with quality materials, craftsmanship and an innovative new approach aimed at creating a new driving experience.
One of the cars will make its appearance at the Busan Motor Show in April next year and later displayed at Hyundais South-Korean headquarters in Seoul. Other two special edition Genesis sedans will be auctioned at the Prada Transformer, a unique, temporary building that will accommodate a range of different art, cinema, culture and fashion events from March to July 2009. The proceeds will be donated to a charity under the joint Hyundai Motor Company - Prada Transformer name.
Skoda, which exhibited the new Superb in India recently, is all set to launch the car in the country by February 2009. With its smart, contemporary styling, host of safety features, full range of electronic gizmos and more interior space than its predecessor, Skoda expects the 2009 Superb will be a hit with Indian buyers.
In India, the new Skoda Superb is likely to be offered with three engine options - 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol, 3.6-litre V6 petrol and a 2.0-litre turbodiesel, which could actually be the bestseller among the three. Skoda’s seven-speed DSG gearbox will also be a part of the package.
Pricing for the new Superb is yet to be announced, though we expect Skoda to price the car at around Rs 22-25 lakh, ex-showroom. Since it’s a much bigger car than either the Accord or the Camry, and is also quite high-tech, the Superb would be a brilliant deal at that price.
Fiat India has announced the delay in the launch of its popular model and mid-size sedan, Fiat Linea. It now plans to launch the sometime in December. Moreover, the launch of its Grande Punto has also been pushed back further to sometime next year rather than December 2008.
“We are optimistic that the market will improve in the last quarter of this year. We have pushed back new launches as the series of government initiatives are likely to bear fruit and improve sentiment by then. So, we will launch our new cars at an appropriate time,” said Rajeev Kapoor, CEO, FIA.
According to GM India President and MD, Karl Slym, Chevrolet is looking at launching its new mid-size sedan - the Chevrolet Cruze - in the Indian market within the next six months. Positioned a notch above the Optra, the all-new Chevy Cruze is expected to take on cars like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla Altis.
The Cruze, which may be launched with diesel and petrol engine options, will be built at GMI’s plant in Halol, Gujarat, and could have up to 30% locally sourced components right from the begining. The company will then look at increasing the percentage of local content in the car over the next few months.
Of course, GMI realizes that for volumes, it will have to continue to concentrate on the smaller cars segment. In recent months, GMI’s sales growth has primarily been fueled by the Spark compact hatchback, which is now being made at Halol as well as Talegaon.
