New Skoda Superb

The New Superb will be launched in Europe in October 2008. It will come to India as a part of a thought out strategy of Skoda India who wants to strengthen its standing in the D plus segment which is currently owned by Mercedes Benz, BMW and Audi.

Expected Price : Rs. 25,00,000

Expected Launch: Dec 2008

Mercedes to launch 6 super luxury cars

German carmaker Mercedes-Benz will be launching 6 AMG-class cars in India this month. AMG is the company's in-house tuner division which makes high-performance variants for all Mercedes cars. The models to be launched will all be priced between Rs. 1.25 and 3 crore. While there has been a reduction in sales growth for small and mid-sized cars due to the economic slowdown, the market for luxury cars in India is growing rapidly, leading luxury car manufacturers like Mercedes to expand their presence in the country.

Honda cars to get costlier

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) has decided to hike the prices of some of its car models in response to the weakening of the rupee which has caused imported car parts to get dearer. The three cars which will be most seriously impacted by the move are the Honda CR-V, the Honda Accord and the Honda Civic. The CR-V is imported in India as a Completely Built Unit (CBU), and will see a price hike of Rs. 1.5 lakh while the Accord and the Civic will get costlier by Rs. 30,000-50,000 and Rs. 10,000-20,000 respectively. The price of the new Honda City will remain the same.

Maruti Suzuki A-Star Launched

Maruti Suzuki India launched its new compact hatchback, the Maruti A-Star, today. The A-Star is priced between Rs. 3.10 and Rs. 4.35 lakh and Maruti is hopeful of selling 4000 units of the car every month. Its annual target is a sale of 50,000 units within India and 100,000 units globally.

The A-Star is equipped with an all aluminum light weight KB series engine, speed sensitive power steering for better control, and a low turning radius for better maneuverability. The E-10 compliant engine emits a lower proportion of CO2, causing minimal pollution, and the ELV (End of Life Vehicle) feature ensures maximum recyclability of all the car’s parts when they reach end of life. Also, the A-Star boasts the widest track width in the small-car segment, that helps enhance stability.

Major concessions to Tatas in Gujarat

The Tata Nano project in Sanand, Gujarat, has reportedly earned major concessions from the Narendra Modi government. Tata Motors will get benefits worth Rs. 9,570 crore from the state government, to be repaid only from the 21st year, at an interest rate of 0.1 per cent. The company is exempt from paying the value added tax (VAT), which will amount to Rs. 7,500 crore over a period of 20 years, assuming 2.5 lakh cars are produced every year.

The State Congress leaders have termed the agreement a “complete sellout, unacceptable to the people of Gujarat.” According to their calculations, the deferred repayment of loan and various tax concessions would benefit the Tatas to the tune of over Rs. 30,000 crore. Siddhartha Patel, the State Congress President, said, “We will consider what the Congress can do to salvage the situation in the best interest of the people, but the party is not for blocking the passage of the Nano project. Ratan Tata is a worthy son of Gujarat and is welcome to set up five factories instead of one, but he must do business at his own cost and not at the expense of the people of the state.”

CM Narendra Modi defended his decision to support the Nano project at the World Economic Forum in New Delhi; he said, “Our effort to bring the Tatas to Gujarat was part of an honest intention to help a leading industrial house of the country, honour the sentiments of the industry in general and ensure that the common man’s dream of an affordable car does not shatter.”

Honda ends Civic hybrid price cut

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI), which last week took the auto industry by surprise when it announced a massive price cut on the Civic hybrid, has closed the offer after receiving 235 bookings for the car in 4 days. The Honda Civic hybrid was priced at Rs. 21.5 lakh, before Honda brought it down to Rs. 13.36 lakh. The offer is now closed, the company having already achieved the target it was aiming for.

The Civic hybrid, when it was launched in June 2008, was touted as India’s first hybrid car and received an enthusiastic early response with 52 bookings made in the first month. Further on, however, its sales went down dramatically, possibly because of the heavy price, which was more than double the price of the Civic’s petrol version.

In the four days that the offer was open, Honda received almost four times the bookings it received in the five months since the Civic hybrid was launched. Though auto industry analysts and competitors believe the move was an inventory cleaning exercise by Honda, the company’s representatives have refuted such reports.

Hyundai Motor India announces Special Scheme for Govt. employees

India’s second largest carmaker, Hyundai Motor India Ltd announced a special scheme for the state and central government employees. Under the scheme, there will be special pricing, attractive finance options etc to enable the government employees to own a Hyundai car.

In view of the fact that government employees are due to receive the arrears of their salaries after revision in the Sixth Pay Commission, the arrears can be utilized as the down payment for purchase of the car and the revised salary increment will help them to accommodate their monthly EMI’s. The scheme will be run through October and November, 2008.

Hyundai has tied up with State Bank of India, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank to provide with attractive finance schemes for the government employees for their vehicle purchase.

Announcing the scheme, Arvind Saxena, Sr. Vice-President for Marketing & Sales, HMIL, said: "We are pleased to offer this special scheme to all the government employees’ who will soon be enjoying the benefits of their Sixth Pay Commission arrears. It is an attractive scheme and this will be an added incentive for them to purchase a Hyundai car in this festive season."

Nano may be sold on Ratan Tata's 71st birthday

Tata Motors may launch the cheapest car in the world – Nano on the 71st birthday of Ratan Tata which falls on 28th December.

The first car from Tata Motors - hatchback Indica was also launched on the event of Mr. Tata's 61st birthday a decade ago on December 30th, 1998.

Bentley Motors launches Continental Flying Spur Speed in India

Bentley introduced the world's fastest car, the Continental Flying Spur Speed with a top speed of 320 kmph will be available at Rs 2.5 crore (ex-showroom Delhi). With the launch of the new Speed variant, the company is targeting to sell about 10 units of the Flying Spur family in the Indian market.

Bentley also said it would increase the focus on emerging markets like India to boost sales to compensate for the slowdown in other markets. The company has sold 100 cars in India in the past 5 months and expects to sale 30-35 cars every month.

Commenting to the press, Mr. Chris Buxton, Bentley Motors regional director (Middle East, Africa and India) said that India is an important market with huge potential in the long term. There has been a slowdown in the global automobile market and they are expecting to compensate for this with demand from emerging markets like India, China and the Middle East. Although China remains the largest market in Asia and India will emerge the next biggest in the medium to long term. India’s strong growing economy and buoyant auto market is important for Bentley’s overall future growth. They are also looking at enhancing their range in India. All the future models will be simultaneously launched in India along with the global market.

Bentley sells its sedan Arnage and Continental Flying Spur along with convertible Azure and coupe Brooklands and Continental through its dealer- Exclusive Motors based in New Delhi.

Stunning Mitsubishi Outlander lauched in India

Hindustan Motors has finally launched Mitsubishi Outlander in the Indian market.

This SUV already is on sale in North America, Japan, Australia, Canada and West European markets.

Mitsubishi has priced Outlander at Rs 20.2 lakh (ex-showroom).

Hindustan Motors Chairman C K Birla spoke at the launch event: “We have launched the Outlander in India in keeping with the policy of offering the latest from the Mitsubishi stable to the Indian customers.”

The model being sold in the Indian market comes powered with a 2.4 liter petrol engine. It is being assembled in HM plant in Tiruvallur near Chennai.

Upcoming Car Launches in India

1. Fiat Linea When to expect: Nov-Dec 2008 Estimated Price: Rs. 7-9 Lakh Biggies have been pouring in with well-packaged family sedans to lure the fancy of the Indians. It was Honda which came in with its City and then Ford introduced the Fiesta. Hyundai joined the bandwagon too and its Verna became instantly popular. The latest entrant in this segment has been Mar... Know more details

2. Fiat Grande Punto When to expect: Nov-Dec 2008 Estimated Price: 5-7 Lakh Luca di Montezemolo had reasons to be worried. Not a man to get bogged down, he took the challenge of putting Fiat back from shambles to the peak of the mountain. For this, he needed a car, a good one at that. A car that would appeal to the masses and bring in good numbers. The Grande Punto wa... Know more details

3. Hyundai Santa Fe When to expect: End 2008 Estimated Price: 23-26 Lakh SUV. One term which not many will associate the Korean giant - Hyundai with. It is that segment of the auto industry which is tantamount with big, brawny, imposing looking machines to which the word ‘car’ will not really be able to do justice. Hyundai was one of the first to sight the growing... Know more details

4. Maruti Suzuki Splash When to expect: Early 2009 Estimated Price: 4-5.5 Lakh Splash all over the place. And I am not talking about some naughty little boy being the brat that he has always been going about his usual business and splashing muddy water everywhere. If all goes well for India’s largest auto-ma... Know more details

5. Honda Jazz When to expect: June-July 2009 Estimated Price: 5-6 lakh HSCI has advanced the launch date for its premium hatchback, the Jazz, to June 2009. This is the first time that the company has spoken of concrete launch dates for this car. This much awaited hatch that shares its platform with the new Honda City is expected to be powered by a specially-developed 1... Know more details

6. Toyota Fortuner When to expect: Early 2009 Estimated Price: 16-18 Lakh The Land Cruiser is celebrated for being one of the very established genuine off-road vehicles the world has ever seen. And it still is. But this mean, mad machine will be yours only if you have pockets deep enough to shell out over 40 lakh of green paper, and that makes it out of reach of many. Oh,... Know more details