Some more cars coming to India

Carmakers offer huge discounts on all vehicles The slowdown in the sales growth to a mere 1.6% in June 2011 has forced carmakers in India to reduce car prices and offer discounts and other benefits such as charging lower interest on car loans. Honda has reduced prices by a whooping amount of approximately Rs. 1,70,000 on its premium hatchback Jazz, while Maruti Suzuki is offering its largest selling cars, namely Alto, WagonR and Estilo, at a rebate of Rs. 50,000. In the discount war among the carmakers, Honda is now offering its highest selling City sedan at a discount of Rs. 50,000, apart from the price cut of Rs. 66,000 in the month of June 2011. Popular Hyundai cars such as the i10 and the Santro are also being offered at a discount of upto Rs. 45,000.

Seven cars to be launched by Skoda India by mid 2013 Skoda India is set on expanding its line of cars by mid 2013. Skoda Laura RS along with the Skoda Rapid Sedan, which is based on the Fabia small car, will be the first ones to be launched towards the end of year 2011. The beginning of year 2012 will see the launch of a stripped down and low cost version of Skoda Yeti SUV. It will be followed by the Skoda Fabia Scout, a compact crossover SUV which will compete with the existing SUVs such as Mahindra Scorpio, Mahindra Xylo and Tata Safari. The company will launch the next generation Skoda Octavia 2012 by the end of year 2012. Two small cars are also expected to be developed by the Czech car manufacturer.

Car sales in India witness a slowdown Car sales growth in India saw a new low in June 2011 and confined itself to 1.62% rise from 141,086 to just 143,370 cars. Hike in the fuel prices and rising loan rates are seen as the main cause of the decline in sales. The growth is the lowest since March 2009 when sales dropped to a 1.16% increase owing to the global economic slowdown. In March 2010, the Reserve Bank of India raised the lending rate by 2.75%. Further, the Rs. 5 hike in the petrol and diesel prices in May 2011 and June 2011 by the state-run oil retailers further discouraged the customers from new purchases. Another major factor for the decline in growth was the worker’s strike at one of Maruti Suzuki India’s factories resulting in a production loss of 12,600 vehicles. Thus, its sales fell 6% in the month of June 2011. Other automakers such as Tata Motors, General Motors, Ford India and Honda also saw a significant drop in their sales with the exception of Hyundai Motors whose sales grew by 11%.

Volkswagen to launch small car Up in India Volkswagen is set to showcase its small car ‘Up’ in August 2011 in its production guise ahead of its launch in India. The car priced between Rs. 3,00,000 - Rs. 5,00,000 will compete with market leaders like Maruti Suzuki WagonR and Hyundai Santro. It is being speculated that the powertrains used in the ‘Up’ will be the ones currently being used in the Polo and will be designed to provide a minimum fuel economy of 20 kmpl. On the other hand, Volkswagen might also source the 1.0 litre K-Series motor from Suzuki, its global partner. The global model of ‘Up’ is a two-door car, but for the Indian market, the company might transform it into a four-door vehicle.

Maruti offers upgrade to new generation Swift Maruti is offering its customers an option to upgrade to the new model of the Swift. The revamped model is expected to arrive in the Indian market by August 2011. As per their preference, the customers who have prior bookings for the current Swift can instead get delivery of the new model. The production for the old model has been put on hold to make way for the new one. It will feature various changes and upgradations in the exterior body design, the console and interiors. Owing to the enhanced length, the rear seats and boot in the new model are expected to be more spacious. It will also feature better fuel economy.

New manufacturing facility for Royal Enfield Eicher Motors announced on July 12, 2011 that a new manufacturing facility will be established by its two-wheeler division, Royal Enfield, at Oragadam, Chennai by March 2013. A statement by the Tamil Nadu government says that an amount of approximately Rs 350 crore will be invested over the next five years for the proposed 50-acre facility. The plant is expected to be functional by the first quarter of 2013, says Eicher Motors Managing Director and CEO, Siddhartha Lal. According to him, the enhanced capacity of 1,50,000 units per annum will help the company address the current waiting period for its bikes which ranges from 6-8 months. The current engine manufacturing capacity stands at 70,000 units and will be increased to 1,50,000 units per annum to support the new facility.

Upcoming Car Preview Volkswagen UP - Expected August 2011 After much success with the Polo and Vento, the German car maker is all set to enter the small car market just like every other car maker in India. The VW Up which has shown great success in Europe will come to India with an attractive price tag of Rs 3 lakh. The company is also planning to produce 250,000 units of the vehicle in India itself which has helped keep the price low. The engines have still yet to be decided but we predict a 1.2 litre power unit with 4 cylinders managing to create anywhere between 60 to 85bhp. The car will also be fitted with a 6-speed manual or 7-speed automatic version of VW’s DSG transmission. The USP of this vehicle however might be its fuel efficiency. Sources say that the Up will be able to consume just one litre of petrol for every 20-25km traveled. For the Indian consumer this is like a pot of gold. Expected Price: Rs. 3,50,000

Recent Car Launches Toyota Etios Liva G SP The G SP variant has 1.2-litre, 16V DOHC petrol engine with 80Ps of power output and 104Nm of maximum torque. It includes extra safety features like ABS, dual SRS airbags & seat belt warning system.