Vicky.in Blog

BMW,the German automobile manufacturer announced at the Frankfurt motor show that its MINI model is finally coming to India.The second generation MINI will hit the Indian roads and it features better power plants along with improved safety and comfort standards.

The MINI hatch will mainly compete with Volkswagen Beetle and is the 21 st-century version of the original Mini.Ian Robertson,Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG,Sales and Marketing said that they will come to India with the hatchback, convertible and Countryman range of vehicles at a very competitive price tag.

The Convertible is the open-top variant of the hatch which features a power-retractable soft top.The countryman is a crossover SUV and is the first five-door Mini.In India,MINI will be available in 1.6-litre petrol and diesel engine options.

KTM Duke 200 was officially launched in Malaysia by the country’s Prime Minister,Mr.Najib Razak.The bike is priced at a range of Rs.1.1 – 1.35 lakhs in Malaysia.It will be imported as CKD and will be assembled at KTM’s Motonation unit in Malaysia.The company will start the delivery of Duke 200 in Malaysia from 2012 onwards.

Click here to see the Pictures of KTM Duke 200

India’s leading auto maker,Tata Motors launched the new version of its hatchback Vista at a price of Rs.3.88 lakhs.It is available in both petrol and diesel engine options.The six available colours of the new Vista are summer sparkle,white,silver,red,blue and grey.

The new Vista is powered by a 1.3 litre common rail direct injection Quadrajet diesel engine which offers a mileage of 22.3kmpl and a 1.4-litre MPFi Safire petrol engine offering a mileage of 16.7kmpl.The petrol variant of the new Vista is available at a price of Rs.3.88 lakhs and the diesel variant is available at a price of Rs.4.79 lakhs(ex-showroom,Delhi).

Vista’s new version features a new front chrome grill,complemented with a new triple-barrelled head lamp to ensure better visibility in low-light conditions.It also comes with additional safety and security features which include ABS with EBD, dual airbags, crumple zones and side intrusion beams, an engine immobiliser and remote keyless entry.

Ashok Leyland,the flagship company of Hinduja group has announced the commercial launch of its first LCV Dost.The prices of the base variant and top variant of Dost are Rs.3.79 lakhs and Rs.4.39 lakhs(ex-showroom Chennai) respectively.

Dheeraj G Hinduja,Chairman of Ashok Leyland reported that Ashok Leyland started off as a car maker making Austin cars.Later it shifted focus to commercial vehicles.India is a growing competitive market in the light commercial vehicle industry and today’s launch of Dost is a testimony of Ashok Leyland’s expertise in the field.

He said since the launch of their first product,they have come a long way and they will be expanding their range (in the light commercial vehicle segment) in the next two years.

The LCV Dost has a payload capacity of 1.25 tonnes and is available in three versions.The top end version of Dost features air-conditioning,power steering and fabric seats.Ashok Leyland claims that by partnering with Nissan they would be able to offer products which are Japan quality offered at Indian cost.

India’s largest auto maker,Tata Motors with an aim of regaining its sales and customer confidence plans to launch the Celebration edition of its sedan Manza following the launch of Vista facelift.The price will be known during its official launch which is expected soon.

The Celebration edition of Manza will be placed above the top end variant of Manza,christened the Elan.Manza’s celebration edition will feature similar looks of Elan but holds some additional features which include reverse sensors,leather feel seats and a new rich ebony black interior colour scheme.

M&M in joint venture with Reva,a Bangalore based Electric vehicle maker plans to introduce a new electric vehicle in the next 18 months.Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicle informed that the new electric vehicle will be based on a model from parent group Mahindra & Mahindra’s existing portfolio.

Regarding this,Mr.Chetan Maini,Chief of Technology and Strategy of Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicle reported that in the next 18 months, they will launch an M&M product with electric vehicle technology in India.He said the company has already fitted the technology in M&M’s vehicles and it is currently being tested.

Maini also informed that they will gradually introduce a Reva electric car in all Mahindra outlets.Their plan is to have 50 outlets by the end of this year and go up to 100 showrooms by the end of next year.He also said the company is evaluating the possibility of overseas distribution of its vehicles through M&M dealerships abroad.

The company opens a second production facility in Bangalore and is now increasing its production capacity from 3000 units to 30,000 units.

The next Gen Hyundai i30 has been revealed.It features hexagonal-shaped grille with a muscular shoulder-line in order to attract the younger buyers.As like i30,the new gen i30 also features unique design and styling.The all-new i30 is to be unveiled next week at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Click here to see the Pictures of next gen i30

Toyota,the Japanese auto major launched the diesel versions of its entry-level sedan Etios and the small car Etios Liva in the price range between Rs.5.54 lakhs and Rs.7.87 lakhs.Both the variants will be powered by a 1.4-litre engine which offers a mileage of 23.59kmpl.

Approximately,the diesel version of Etios sedan will be in the price range of Rs.6.44 lakhs to Rs.7.87 lakhs.This price range is Rs.90,000 more than its petrol variant.Similarly,the Etios Liva Diesel is priced in the range between Rs.5.54 lakhs and Rs.5.89 lakhs which is Rs.95,000 more than its petrol version.

Hiroshi Nakagawa,Managing Director of TKM reported that Etios has been received well by their customers in the petrol segment.They are now offering the diesel variant to cater to a wider customer choice.

TKM said that it plans to sell a total of 63,000 units of the Etios family of cars in India this year.Sandeep Singh,Deputy Managing Director of TKM said that the company has already sold 33,000 units of the Etios family this year and aims to sell 30,000 more units in the remaining four months of this year.

Volkswagen,the German luxury car maker announced that it will launch the limited edition of its small car Polo and the mid-sized sedan Vento on the festive season.Polo and Vento are now available at an ex-showroom price of Rs.4.5 lakhs and 6.95 lakhs respectively.

Neeraj Garg,Member of board and Director of Volkswagen Group Sales,India said that they will introduce ‘Polo Breeze’ and ‘Vento Breeze’ in petrol variants, which will have special value additions worth up to Rs.40,000, but will be priced same as the existing models.He said it will be a limited edition launch as done by the company earlier for Vento during the IPL season.

Garg commenting on the festive season said that the company by virtue of having fresh models like Jetta and Passat is expecting good sales number.He informed Volkswagen has sold about 54,000 units in the first eight months of this year, as against 32,500 sold in the whole of 2010.He finally concluded that they are confident of maintaining this level of growth, although the overall market is slowing down.

Renault,the French car maker has launched the SUV Koleos at a price of Rs.22.99 lakhs.It is powered by an all-aluminium common-rail diesel engine with VVT delivering a power of 150bhp.The engine is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

The Koloeos is equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels, a split tail-gate, cruise control,a Bose sound system with Bluetooth, tray tables behind front seats, six airbags, steering-mounted audio controls, and a five-year, 10,000km anti-rust warranty.

The luxurious SUV has a solidity in its interiors with hardwearing plastics,solid switchgear and the vents don’t flap around.It also holds the trim which are tightly screwed down.However,the interior fit and finish is not upto German standards.