Mercedes To Launch The E-Class Hybrid In January

Mercedes-Benz is opening a new chapter in its brand's core segment and at the same time setting new standards for luxury-class business vehicles: the E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID, available as a Saloon and Estate, impresses with new record values when it comes to efficiency. The 4-cylinder diesel engine of the E300 BlueTEC HYBRID has 204bhp and 500Nm. Combined with an electric motor producing 20 kW and 250 Nm, this results in a coherent overall concept. The E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID is the most economical luxury-class vehicle in the world.

The V6-cylinder petrol engine in the E 400 HYBRID produces 306bhp and 370 Nm, and is also supplemented by a further 26bhp and 250 Nm from the electric motor.

Now Renault All Set To Launch The Diesel Versions Of Every 2012 Models!!

With diesel variants now accounting for over a fourth of India's passenger car sales, French major Renault has decided to roll out this fuel's versions in three of its new launches next year with more locally-sourced parts to cut costs.

"Every model which we launch next year will have a diesel version," said Len Curran, Renault India vice president for sales and marketing. "Our focus is on diesel cars," Curran told IANS in an interview over phone from Chennai. 

Last year, diesel cars accounted for 27 percent of the 2.52 million passenger cars sold in India and the Society for Indian Automobile Manufacturers ( SIAM), the apex lobby for the auto industry, expects this share to go up to 33 percent by the end of this fiscal.

Renault has made this strategic move at a time when the auto industry is facing a rough patch, following falling passenger car sales due to high fuel cost and soaring interest rates. Petrol prices were hiked five times this year, while diesel remained stable.

Renault has plans to launch Pulse, a hatchback in B segment, at the New Delhi Auto Expo in January 2012. In the second half of the next year, it will launch Duster, an SUV. In the fourth quarter of the year, it will roll out a sedan.

Renault launched a luxury sedan, Fluence, in May, that runs on petrol and diesel. In September, it came up with a compact SUV, Koleos, that operates only on diesel. The company also has big plans for its K90 diesel engine in the Indian market.

Curran, who expects India to be the second fastest growing market after China, said his company aims to cover a minimum of 35 Indian cities through its distribution network before August 2012.

He said local sourcing was a strong strategy to cope with currency fluctuations. "The two vehicles launched in May and September have a very low level of localisation. But Pulse and Duster will have over 60 percent of localised parts."

Asked whether the company would raise prices of its models if the rupee plunges further, the Renault executive said the company will follow the strategies of other auto firms. "Our benchmark is the strategies of competitors. We will be following the market."

On Wednesday, the company said it will raise the price of Koleos from Rs.22.99 lakh to Rs.23.99 lakh from Jan 1, 2012, due to rupee depreciation and rising input costs.

Honda India Launches The New City & Cuts Prices Of Sedan

Desperate times call for desperate measures. After losing out to Volkswagen's Vento, Japanese carmaker Honda is striking back by slashing prices and improving features of its flagship City sedan.

The carmaker has cut prices of City for the second time in six months and launched a new version priced at Rs6.99 lakh (exshowroom, Delhi).

This will pit the sedan, which had been a market leader for many years, in direct competition with Hyundai Verna and Volkswagen Vento that are also priced at Rs 6.99 lakh.

"We are adding features and cutting prices to make our cars more realistic to the prevailing competition in the market," Seki Inaba, who took over as director (marketing) at Honda's India subsidiary in March this year, told ET.

BMW Mini To Be Launched On 5th Jan!

My dear Indians, you will soon be introduced to a new brand of cars that have never been seen before in the country. Well, there may be a few exceptions to this, I agree. But for now, let’s consider no one has seen a Mini roaming around on our streets before. Having said that, BMW, who now own the British iconic car brand- Mini will be launching the cars in India soon. If Volkswagen Beetle is for Germany and Fiat 500 is for Italy then, Mini would be the brand loved by one and all from Britain. Unlike the other two Minis have even raced around the globe.

Small and agile Mini Coopers have raced in the World Rally Championship. They’ve even featured in touring car races. So that’s about the macho image of the Mini. Even the ladies have had a special bonding with these cars. They are favorite among girls for their looks and practicality. Dr. Andreas Schaaf, who heads BMW’s India operations has been big fan of the brand and had always wished to see the cars coming to India during his tenure as the President of BMW India. His efforts seem to have thus paid off and he has finally managed to convince the top bosses at BMW to launch the Mini brand in India.


That said, like the Beetle and Fiat 500, Mini is a lifestyle product and as history suggests, such products haven’t especially done well in India. We too had our doubts when BMW chose to go for the Mini instead of the 1-Series. But times have changed since Volkswagen launched the Beetle and there could be a surprise in store for us. If the Mini does catch the imagination of the Indian buyer and BMW manages to sell a decent number, it will be a true triumph given the price of the car which is expected to be over Rs 18 lak depending upon the model.

We think, BMW might offer the complete range of Mini cars including the four-wheel drive crossovers, but that is just a hunch and we will have to wait till BMW makes the final announcement 23 days from now. So, the Mini will be launched at the upcoming Delhi Auto Expo and IndianCarsBikes.in will be there covering every other launch in detail. We hope to catch up with you during the Auto Expo. We will keep you updated with all the happenings from the show. Until then you can checkout Mini’s official India website.

Nissan Launches The New Diesel Version Of Sunny

Japanese auto major Nissan today launched a diesel version of its mid-size sedan Sunny. 

The 1.5-litre diesel version is priced at Rs 7.98 lakh for the base model and Rs 8.78 lakh for the top-end model (ex-showrooms, Delhi), the company said in a statement. 

"We are delighted to introduce the diesel variant of the Sunny. At a time when the market is witnessing an increase in demand for diesel cars, Sunny diesel, with high fuel economy will be the right choice for our valued customers," Nissan Motor India managing director and chief executive Kiminobu Tokuyama said.

Targeted at the youth, the Sunny diesel mirrors the petrol variant's sophisticated style and roomy interiors.

It is the second model after the Micra hatchback to use Nissan's pre-eminent 'V' platform that carries advanced engineering to deliver a modern, light weight structure that provides integral strength, robust ride refinement and dynamic on-road behavior, it said.

The Sunny is manufactured at the Chennai facility, which the company jointly owns with French maker Renault, its international alliance partner.

Tata Aria For The Indian Roads?!

Tata Aria is creating news more than often these days. Now, a left hand drive version of the Tata Aria is spotted while doing the test runs. Quite obviously, the Tata Aria LHD version means an export vehicle, definitely not meant for India. Country’s leading car manufacturer had mentioned about an automatic gearbox earlier. But, the spotted Aria LHD version does not carry an automatic gearbox. So, we will have to wait and see when is it that Tata India will introduce a Tata Aria AT in the country. The slow sales of the Tata Aria SUV have bugged the auto major right from the beginning. There is nothing actually wrong with the car as such.

It’s another case of wrong pricing from an auto major as sensible as Tata India to place the Tata Aria price in a tad too expensive range. The SUV might have attracted enough consumers on its own, but the cost has driven them away for other contemporaries in the segment. Then earlier this year, the auto major finally made a smart move.

That is by introducing the 4x2 variant of the Tata Aria with some price cut. Though initially, things started to look bright, but the sales slowly fell back to the usual. The November month had been particularly nasty with just 140 units sold. Now, however, the discount offer of Rs 2 lakh seems to be more tempting for any consumer to withstand, the straight Rs 1.60 lakh cash discount is definitely mouth-watering.

It’s after the discount that the Tata Aria 4x2 sells at Rs 9.9 lakh, which should have been the real Tata Aria 4x2 price to begin with. The price discount on one side which is likely to continue for some time, the consumers on the other hand are eagerly waiting for an automatic variant of the Tata Aria. Will the company go for an engine replacement to override the existing 140 Bhp 2.2 L DICOR engine producing 320 Nm torque or continue with the same is yet to be seen. But, one thing is for sure, the discounts now can benefit to a certain extent while placing the Tata Aria AT price more smartly this time. Stay tuned for more updates on this.

Luxgen5 Sedan: The First Car With Android Launched!

Luxgen Motors, a Taiwan based automaker, has unveiled a first of its kind car with an infotainment system based on Android operating system. The car, named Luxgen5 Sedan, is a premium sports sedan.

Luxgen Motors has partnered with HTC, the famous Taiwan based smartphone maker and together they developed THINK+ system. When an HTC mobile phone is connected to the THINK+ Touch system, all of the mobile phone calls will then be controlled directly through the 9 inch smart touch screen on the central console. Users can also access Facebook, send and receive e-mails or look up local sights through the touch screen.

The Luxgen think+ Touch system's five key functions include Multimedia, Phone, Safety, Information and hTC mode. Apart from using the touch screen itself, shortcut buttons are provided below the screen.
Another feature allows GPS navigation function using the HTC mode. Users can check the map and set routes in the car. The hands-free Bluetooth system means users can also make calls using the car's convenient hands-free interface.

You also have a very convenient phone dock in the car adjacent to the central control. Although no details have been provided, from the pictures available it is evident that the dock will charge your phone apart from keeping it safe.

The Android interface will also tell you better about the cars' state of health, though no details have again been offered. You will no longer need to decipher codes (that is what you get in other cars) to know the problem with the car, you will get clear words stating that to you.

While this is the first car to have this system but the company promises that even other cars and SUVs in its lineup will get it too. And we promise you, similar systems will start appearing in other cars from other manufacturers soon enough.

Happy Days For Automobile Industry As Car Sales Go Up By 7%

Domestic passenger car sales increased by 7 per cent to 1,71,131 units in November, 2011, from 1,59,939 units in the same month last year.

According to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) today, motorcycle sales in the country grew by 22.67 per cent to 8,69,070 units during the month from 7,08,476 units in the corresponding month last year.

Total two-wheeler sales grew by 25.27 per cent to 11,63,294 units last month from 9,28,660 units in November, 2010, as per the data.

Sales of commercial vehicles grew by 34.99 per cent to 66,264 units in the month under review from 49,087 units in the year-ago period, SIAM said.

Total sales of vehicles across categories registered a jump of 22.22 per cent to 14,89,714 units in November from 12,18,885 units in the same month last year, it added.

Maruti Suzuki To Launch SUV & MUV's For The Indian Roads

 Maruti Suzuki India has announced the launch of new vehicles in the sports utility and multi utility segment in their bid to regain 50% market share by 2015 according to the company MD, Shinzo Nakanishi.

Maruti, which is a 54.2% owned subsidiary of Japanese carmaker Suzuki Motor Corp, would develop these vehicles with the parent company and target their launch in the upcoming Auto Expo 2012 and beyond.

"There is a vast chunk of market, almost 18% of the passenger vehicles sold in India where we don't have any presence. So, as we aim to regain our market share and take it to beyond 50%, we will introduce vehicles in the new segment that are not in our current portfolio," Maruti MD S Nakanishi said.

Maruti sells 15 models in the Indian market and almost a dozen of these are in the compact vehicle segment. It has lost almost 5

India To See The Launch Of Porsche Sports Car Marqueein In 2012

Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest carmaker, will launch the iconic Porsche sports car marquee in India next year and appoint a new team to steer its sales in the overcrowded Indian automobile market. 





Two people close to the development said Volkswagen will import the Porsche models 911, Cayman, Boxter, Panamera and Cayenne SUV for the Indian market and look at local assembly at one of its facilities in Maharashtra when volumes pick up.  The cars, to be distributed and sold under the Volkswagen banner in India from next year, carry price tags ranging from Rs 70 lakh to Rs 3 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Toyota Unveils Fun Vii A Concept Car; A Smartphone On Wheels

Toyota has announced the launch of it's concept car Fun-Vii prior to its official debut at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. The concept, dubbed as a “smartphone on wheels” by Toyota President Akio Toyoda, will let the drivers customize the skin of the car which will to display anything they wish for, ranging from stock quotes to advertising to pictures downloaded from their phones.

Seating three individuals, the Fun-Vii’s ultimate goal is to add a fourth dimension to the driving experience. That is, interconnectivity will join driving, turning and stopping. Toyota of course has no realistic release date for such a concept (if it even goes into production in any form), but has envisioned it to have other features such as auto-pilot and an onboard 3D hologram avatar for a year 20XX release. That’s right, 20XX – Toyota is pretty confident something like this will be manufactured in this century.

Now BMW Enters The Preowned Market In India!!

BMW India has announced the launch of its pre-owned car business, BMW Premium Selection, which will offer ‘carefully selected' and ‘comprehensively examined' luxury Beemers  starting at Rs.16 lakh. “The pre-owned car business will play an important role in the success of the company in India...we expect the used car business to be about 10 per cent of new car sales,” BMW India President Andreas Schaaf told journalists here. “Till October, we have sold 8,042 cars in India, accounting for 40 per cent of the luxury car market.

With the BMW Premium Selection, we are looking to enhance our position…a decisive factor in the development of pre-owned car business will be through establishment of exclusive and luxurious ‘BMW Premium Selection' showrooms of international standards at important commercial centres across the country,” Mr. Schaaf said.

Initially, BMW's pre-owned cars will be available at seven locations — Gurgaon, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad — and soon extended to other cities.

Mr. Schaaf said all cars selected under BMW Premium Selection are less than five years old and would have clocked under 1.2-lakh km. The pre-owned BMW vehicles come with up to two year/2-lakh km warranty (whichever is earlier), while the owners also have the option of taking round-the-clock roadside assistance. To push sales, BMW is offering 13 per cent finance rate on purchase of its pre-owned cars through its financial services arm — BMW Financial Services.

Commenting on the luxury car market condition, Mr. Schaaf said this segment was growing well till October, but since then the condition was getting difficult to push sales. “We had set a target of selling 10,000 units this year, which is becoming difficult now,” he added.

Hyundai Launches The New LPG Variant Of Its Hatchback i10

Hyundai Motors on Tuesday announced the launch of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) powered variant of its hatchback i10. The car is priced between Rs.416,144 and Rs.430,659 (ex-showroom Delhi).

"The LPG version of our next-gen i10 is a viable alternative for customers looking at low running cost," said H.W. Park, managing director and chief executive, Hyundai Motor India Ltd.

This new variant is to be powered by a 1.1 litre iRDE2 engine which has the ability to run on both LPG and petrol. The car has a factory-fitted LPG kit.

"With separate petrol (35 litre) and LPG (34 litre) tanks, the customers have an option to choose from LPG and petrol modes," the company said in a statement.

The car sports a special LPG tank which offers larger boot space than other LPG-fitted cars.

"The LPG kit in i10 blue drive is impact resistant and is approved by the department of explosives," the statement said.

The car has been fitted with an alternator management system which controls delivery of power to the battery, which extends the battery life and improves mileage.

Now Get More At The Same Price With The New Tata Nano!

Yesterday team Tata Nano announced the "introduction of a bouquet of features -- of new colours, new interiors, a more powerful gasoline engine and even greater fuel efficiency of 25.4 kmpl, further improving on its record as India's most fuel efficient petrol car. The car is already available at dealerships, at the same price as before."

In their bid to improve the sales figures, Tata Motors is giving its small car Nano a makeover, with a more powerful engine and new features, while keeping the prices same.

"Making the Tata Nano even more desirable, the car's 624cc engine has been made more powerful, delivering an impressive 38 PS of power (earlier 35 PS) and 51 Nm of torque (earlier 48 Nm)," the company said in a statement.

The new Nano will give you a mileage of 25.4 km per litre of petrol as certified by Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) compared to 23.6 km a litre earlier, Tata Motors claimed. In addition to that the company also claims the new Nano to be highly fuel efficient "with a low kerb weight of 600 kg, ensures that the Tata Nano at 92.7 gram per kilometre has the lowest CO2 (carbon dioxide) emission among cars in India". The earlier Nano had an emission record of 101 gram in every km.

The All New Range Rover Evoque Unveiled By Nargis Fakhri...

Last night Bollywood newbie Nargis Fakhri revealed the all new Range Rover Evoque at the DLF Emporio in Vasant Kunj in Delhi. Evoque was first launched in India on the 4th November under the banner of 'Evoque Experience' which let the customers to get up close to the car whereby with the help of interactive displays, provided an insight into the oh so sophisticated design and the functional and technological qualities of the car.


At the launch Rohit Suri, Head of the Premier Car Division, Jaguar Land Rover India said: "We are extremely excited about the arrival of the Range Rover Evoque in New Delhi, as this car has made a huge impact on potential customers in this city as it has done across the world".

The Range Rover Evoque is the most perfect culmination of bold and sophisticated design with clever technology that is relevant and intuitive to use. The Evoque is designed to endure all surfaces and weathers as a result of using its legendary Land Rover all-terrain technologies.

In India, the Evoque will be available in both 5 door and Coupe body styles. The Coupe is available in a petrol variant and the 5 door version in diesel. The Range Rover Evoque (5 door) is available in three distinct derivatives - Pure, Prestige and Dynamic and the Coupe is available in the Dynamic form. Tata has once again outdone itself. This is one luxury car you will not want to miss out on, thats for sure...

Maruti Diesel Car Prices To Be Hiked By Rs 10,000

 It's trouble in the Maruti Suzuki, India land again as they have announced the increased the prices of its diesel cars by up to Rs 10,000. Which means that starting this week the Swift, Dzire and SX4 will cost you an extra Rs 10,000, the price of the Ritz hatchback has been raised by 2,000.

"There has been a critical upswing in the inputs cost and an adverse appreciation in the Japanese currency yen that had made imports costlier and forced this hike," a company spokesperson said. 

Following the persisting strike of 59 days since June at the Manesar plant the carmaker is in the process of revival by normalising production after it saw a 55% decline in October to a mere 50,487 units. Subsequently, the waiting time for some of Maruti's diesel model has gone up to nine months. 

According to some reliable industry sources other carmakers, including Hyundai Motor and Toyota, are also looking at price revisions. 

With the new diesel car prices hike we highly recommend opting for a preowned car which can often be made available from as good as new. 

BMW Reveals Carbon Fiber Frame, Glass Exterior Concept Cars...

Earlier this week BMW unveiled a pair of concept cars, a hybrid and an electric car each manufactured of light-weight carbon fiber and a see-through glass exterior.

These set of hot wheels are expected to see the day of light within the next two to three years. The carbon fiber in the i3 city car and i8 sports car significantly reduces the weight of the vehicle and the size of its frame, giving designers more flexibility and creating more interior space for passengers, said Richard Kim, the man who designed the exteriors of both vehicles.

For the German automaker, it allowed for more glass where there is traditionally metal, Kim said. The doors of both vehicles are mostly made of glass, along with much of their roofs and tail ends.

BMW said the car offers “superb safety in the event of a collision. You may not see as much glass, but you will be able to see the light coming through,” Kim said at a sneak peak event on Wednesday in New York. The cars officially debut next week at the Los Angeles auto show.

The all-wheel drive car has a battery and a gas engine that work together, with the battery powering the front wheels and a gas engine powering the rear wheels. Without the gas engine, the car has a range of about 20 miles, but fully charges in less than two hours.

Whilst these cars are bound to be expensive, hold on tight as they too will soon from it release be available in the used car market like all great one's do...

Suzuki Motors Sales Figures See 5.3% Rise Despite Indian Strike!!

Japanese Suzuki Motor giant has reported a 5.26% hike in their net income for the six-month period ended September 30, despite the persisting operational strike in India during the same period. This makes it one of the other success story of the year.

During the period of April-September, the company's net income has reported an increase to 32.01 billion yen (about Rs 2,010 crore) from 30.41 billion yen (about Rs 1,910 crore) in the same period last year, Suzuki Motor said in a statement.

The net sales during the period, however, declined by 6.82% to 1.23 trillion yen (about Rs 76,907 crore) from 1.32 trillion yen (about Rs 82,715 crore), it added.

"The domestic economy is somewhat recovering from the stagnation following the Great East Japan Earthquake, but it is exposed to a downward pressure from various factors including the flood in Thailand and a further appreciation of the yen," the company said. It also said the decreased sales in India had an impact on its net sales. "...sales amount (in Asia) decreased by 36.1 billion yen to 427.6 billion yen year-on-year due to decreased sales of Maruti Suzuki India and the exchange rate factor following the Yen appreciation," it added.

Whilst it is interesting to note that the Maruti Suzuki India had posted 59.81% fall in its net profit at Rs 240.44 crore for the quarter ended September 30, in the global spectrum Suzuki still manages to be a leading brand.

Hyundai Launches Eon Hatchback, Its Cheapest Vehicle Yet!!

The Hyundai Motor Company has now began selling the new Eon hatchback. This new version of Eon is priced even lower than the Santro, company’s cheapest vehicle to date, selling for around a mere Rs. 280,897. This is sure to give Maruti a run for their money as it has previously held the record for India’s best-selling car, with Alto, which sells from Rs. 235,413. 
Eon hatchback is sure to cause some major issues for the Maruti Suzuki clan, especially since it is still trying to resolve the labor issues at its production plant. Hyundai is expected to reveal the new vehicle for the first time this week at a press conference which is by invitation only. 

Maruti Suzuki had around 43 percent of all the sales of passenger vehicles for the past six months, while Hyundai has only around 20 percent. The head of sales for Maruti Suzuki refused to comment on the new Eon hatchback until he has had a chance to see it. He commented that everyone has always known that India is a good market for small vehicles, and now everybody ts to be a part of it. 

The deliveries of vehicles are expected to grow slowly due to the fact that the India Reserve Bank has recently raised its interest rates 12 different times, since last year in March. This was done in an attempt to slow down the inflation, and it hugely brought down the demand for vehicles because in India around 80 percent of all vehicles purchased are funded by loans. 

Chevrolet Celebrating It's 100 Years Of Excellence...

Chevrolet celebrates it's 100 years this week. So,m as a tribute to Louise Chevrolet, the great man who started it all we'll take you down the memory lane to show you where & how it all started...Check out this video to embark on the Chevrolet journey...

Since it's advent 100 years ago, Chevy has come a long way ahead. Wherein as a brand Chevy has made a mark globally as a result of the strong emphasis it places on fuel efficiency and fuel alternatives. The new Chevy models for 2012 include the much awaited 2012 Cruze Eco and the 2012 Chevy Sonic.

As for what can we expect from Chevy in the next 100 years? Only time will tell if there will ever be an actual transforming Bumblebee Camaro on the market one day.