New Car Reviews, Used Cars, Cars in India

Hoping to be third time lucky, country’s second-largest carmaker , Hyundai Motor India, is launching sports utility vehicle Santa Fe in an attempt to capture a slice of the highly competitive SUV market, said a senior company official. To be priced in the range of Rs 22-24 lakh, Hyundai is targeting the festive season in October for the launch.

“We will launch Sante Fe in October-November, ahead of the festive season. If volumes pick up, then we will consider assembling the vehicle here,” said Arvind Saxena, director, (marketing & sales), Hyundai Motor India. The seven-seater SUV, as against the earlier five-seaters, will be powered by a 2.2-litre diesel engine, and initially the company plans to import it as completely-built units.
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Courtesy:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Thursday said its members will start disclosing the fuel efficiency ratings of their models comparable with their rivals from October this year.

“SIAM has announced the scheme for voluntary fuel efficiency labeling for vehicles. This label, which will be implemented from October 1, would provide information to consumers on the comparative fuel efficiency of vehicles in different categories,” SIAM President Pawan Goenka said at its annual convention here.

Automakers had voluntarily started disclosing the mileage of their own vehicles since last year and the government has geared up to make the process a mandatory one.
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Courtesy:autonews.indiacar.com

Japanese car major Nissan today said it has almost doubled the production of its small car Micra to 500 units per day in order to clear an order backlog of about 2,500 units.

The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary — Nissan Motor India Private Ltd (NMIPL) — had launched the Micra in July and priced the car between Rs 3.98 lakh and Rs 5.29 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The firm also said it will commence overseas shipments of the car from next month, starting with Europe. More
Courtesy:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Mahindra & Mahindra, India?s largest sports utility vehicle (SUV) maker, said on Monday its acquisition of South Korean company Ssangyong Motor would help it emerge as a global force in the SUV market.

?Korea is one of the world?s leading centres of automotive excellence and Ssangyong brings with it a rich legacy of R&D and innovation…The synergies between both the brands, which share a similar heritage, will make us a combined force to reckon with in the global SUV space,? M&M vice-chairman and managing director Anand Mahindra said in a media statement after signing an MoU in Seoul to acquire ailing Ssangyong. More
Courtesy:autonews.indiacar.com

Atul Madanpotra bought his first car last month: a red Maruti Swift. “I liked the styling and the overall value that the car offers; it is well powered, spacious and easy to drive,” says the 24-year-old IT executive in Delhi. The youth is clearly in the driver’s seat at India’s cruising car market, dictating terms and forcing carmakers change the way they build and sell vehicles.

Carmakers say the average age of car buyers in the country has come down to 32 from 39 over the last decade with earning members in the age group of 25-30 becoming big buyers in the market. This has completely changed colour and flavour on Indian roads where trendy hatchbacks and high-performance sports utility vehicles are gaining ground. More
Courtesy:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Indian utility vehicles maker Mahindra & Mahindra and three-wheeler maker Atul Auto Ltd are separately interested in acquiring a majority stake in state-run Scooters India Ltd, two sources in Mahindra and a senior official in Atul Auto said on Monday.

According to reports, government plans to offer upto 74 percent stake in Scooters India. Scooters India, in which the government owns about 95 percent, reported a Rs 220 million loss in the fiscal year ending March 2010, according to data on the BSE.

The company which sold two wheelers under the brands Vijai Super and Lambretta, discontinued two-wheeler production in 1997. Mahindra, which has signed a preliminary agreement for acquiring Korean automaker Ssangyong Motor, is looking at it to add to its three-wheeler portfolio, the company sources said. More
Courtesy:autonews.indiacar.com

Hero Honda Motors, maker of about half the motorcycles sold in India, said demand will grow slowly this year as the central bank raises interest rates to pare inflation. “In the second half, demand should start tapering off,” chief financial officer Ravi Sud said on Monday in an interview at his office in New Delhi. The company plans to boost production about 8.7% in the year ending March 2011 to more than five million motorcycles and scooters compared with a 23% increase last fiscal year.

India may take further steps to damp rising prices, Mr Sud said, after four interest-rate increases since March 2010 failed to bring inflation down from near 10%. Rising prices have stoked public protests and sap demand for motorcycles in India, the world’s second-biggest two-wheeler market. “Growth will definitely come down,” said Umesh Karne, an analyst at Mumbai-based Brics Securities. “Hero Honda may also lose some market share as rivals add new products.” More
Courtesy:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Tata group firm Jaguar Land Rover is understood to have geared up to start assembly of sports utility vehicle Freelander2 from November this year at Chikhli facility in Maharashtra, used earlier by Mercedes Benz.

According to sources close to the development, Tata Motors is currently conducting maintenance work and installing machineries on behalf of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) at Chikhli to start the assembly around November.

“JLR has decided to start assembling vehicles with their cheapest offering in India, which is Freelander2. It wants to start production soon. So it has decided to utilise Tata Motors’ almost ready facility at Chikhli,” a source said. More
Courtesy:autonews.indiacar.com

Mahindra & Mahindra, India’s largest sports utility vehicle (SUV) maker, said on Monday its acquisition of South Korean company Ssangyong Motor would help it emerge as a global force in the SUV market.

“Korea is one of the world’s leading centres of automotive excellence and Ssangyong brings with it a rich legacy of R&D and innovation…The synergies between both the brands, which share a similar heritage, will make us a combined force to reckon with in the global SUV space,” M&M vice-chairman and managing director Anand Mahindra said in a media statement after signing an MoU in Seoul to acquire ailing Ssangyong.
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Courtesy:economictimes.indiatimes.com

In the past two decades Indian car makers have had to grapple with severe competition from Chinese and Japanese players, who stepped into the country?s virgin automarket with sleeker and better fuel efficient products. Now it?s the turn of the local truckmakers who may be forced to change their stodgy ways as two Japanese players?Isuzu and Hino?and two Chinese firms?FAW and Foton? are giving finishing touches to their India plans.

Top executives of these companies have in recent months held a series of discussions with potential dealers to set up joint ventures or enter distribution and marketing tie-ups with companies, according to industry observers and dealers. More
Courtesy:autonews.indiacar.com

Indian utility vehicles maker Mahindra & Mahindra and three-wheeler maker Atul Auto Ltd are separately interested in acquiring a majority stake in state-run Scooters India Ltd, two sources in Mahindra and a senior official in Atul Auto said on Monday.

According to reports, government plans to offer upto 74 percent stake in Scooters India. Scooters India, in which the government owns about 95 percent, reported a Rs 220 million loss in the fiscal year ending March 2010, according to data on the BSE.

The company which sold two wheelers under the brands Vijai Super and Lambretta, discontinued two-wheeler production in 1997. Mahindra, which has signed a preliminary agreement for acquiring Korean automaker Ssangyong Motor, is looking at it to add to its three-wheeler portfolio, the company sources said. More
Courtesy:economictimes.indiatimes.com

The country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India today said it has crossed the five-lakh units production mark of its latest generation K-series engine in less than 23 months of introduction.

First manufactured in October 2008, the K-series engines are available in seven models, including, Alto-K10, Wagon R, Swift, Ritz, Estilo, Swift Dzire and A-Star, the company said in a statement.

“Introduction of K-series engine in India is an example of Maruti Suzuki’s commitment to take the engine technology in India to the next level. In a short span, the company has scaled up the production of K-series engine manifold,” Maruti Suzuki India Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi said. Read more
Courtesy:autonews.indiacar.com

Hindustan Motors last week announced a major overhaul of the iconic Ambassador car in what auto analysts and brand experts see as a last shot at redemption for the car that ruled the pot-holed Indian roads for decades. And not many are excited about its prospects.

?It is a spacey car but the technology is obsolete,? says Murad Ali Baig, one of the country?s best-known auto analysts. Modelled on the British Morris Oxford of 1956 and in production since 1958, the Ambassador accounted for three out of every four cars that plied on Indian roads in the seventies before first Maruti Suzuki and then others such as Hyundai Motors and Tata Motors stole the road show with sleek, fuel-efficient and features-rich vehicles. ?The Ambassador lost out to the contemporary, trendy and the ?in?,? says Jagdeep Kapoor, managing director of brand consulting firm Samsika Marketing Consultants. Read more
Courtesy:autonews.indiacar.com

China’s Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Company Limited (ZELC), one of the country’s biggest locomotive makers, has earned over $700 million from contracts with India, Malaysia, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. In June this year, it signed a contract to supply subway trains to India. Read more
Courtesy:economictimes.indiatimes.com

In the past two decades Indian car makers have had to grapple with severe competition from Chinese and Japanese players, who stepped into the country?s virgin automarket with sleeker and better fuel efficient products. Now it?s the turn of the local truckmakers who may be forced to change their stodgy ways as two Japanese players?Isuzu and Hino?and two Chinese firms?FAW and Foton? are giving finishing touches to their India plans.

Top executives of these companies have in recent months held a series of discussions with potential dealers to set up joint ventures or enter distribution and marketing tie-ups with companies, according to industry observers and dealers. Read more
Courtesy:autonews.indiacar.com