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India’s leading automotive brand,Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) plans to launch a 1000cc small car at a price tag of Rs.2.5 – 3.5 lakhs.The company also plans to set up a new plant in Tamil Nadu for the very first time at an investment of Rs.800 crores.

Pawan Goenka,President of M&M automotive division had already informed that the company will launch two small cars namely a smaller version of Verito and another one small car both on the same in-house platform.The production of the cars is expected to start in 2013-2014.

The company has selected four primary vendors for its project codenamed “BRL” and has shared its prototype with them.The company has a mass customer base for its SUV Scorpio and the Verito around 1,500 sales in June. The small car would be a nice addition to Mahindra’s portfolio.

Toyota,the Japanese auto giant has declared an investment of Rs.1650 crores to increase the localisation of the components and the production capacity of its Indian operations by one lakh units by 2014.Toyota products are marketed in India through Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

The company stated that Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today announced a further increase of its production capacity to 3,10,000 units by 2013.The expansion will come with an investment of Rs.898 crores approximately and generation of new employment opportunities.It added that the production capacity at the first plant will be enhanced from 90,000 units to 1,00,000 units, while the output at the second plant will be increased to 2,10,000 units from 1,20,000 units.

The company said that the first plant will manufacture multi-purpose vehicle Innova and sports utility vehicle Fortuner. The second plant will roll out sedans Etios and Corolla Altis and hatchback Liva.TKM also said it will increase the localisation of components of the Etios and Liva, with Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts Pvt Ltd (TKAP) planning to install and commission aluminum casting and machining lines by early 2014.It added that the installation will see an additional investment of Rs.750 crores approximately and generation of new employment opportunities.

Hiroshi Nakagawa,Managing Director of TKM commemted on the development that in line with the growing demand for their vehicles, they have decided to further expand production.He said the demand for Etios and Etios Liva has been encouraging and they are gearing up to cater to a larger number of customers.

Regarding the new project in India,Vikram Kirloskar,Chairman of TKM informed that Etios and Etios Liva have been designed specifically for the Indian market.He said the localisation project is vital to provide best quality product at a competitive price.

As we all know, Honda is developing the next generation CR-V and testing the car at various conditions.Honda uses an all-new platform on the car along with the CRV concept.The CRV concept holds many styling changes in order to make the SUV more aggressive.

The front end of the SUV features the most prominent changes which includes a better integrated lower front bumper and a much more dominant three-bar horizontal front grille which holds slimmed-down headlights on its either side.

Its sides are featured with heavily sculpted bodywork and more pronounced side sills.The CRV concept also holds new alloy wheels.The rear part of the CRV remains to be the same as the current car.

The engine details are not yet known but Honda has promised the car with improved efficiency and fuel economy.The current CR-V is available with 2 litre and 2.4 litre petrol engines which churns out a power of 143bhp and 161bhp respectively.The 2012 Honda CRV concept will be making its motor show debut at the Orange County International Auto Show in California in the month of September.

Force Motors announced that it will launch a MPV by 2012 with a plan to foray into the passanger vehicle segment.For its production,it plans to set up a new plant in Madhya Pradesh which will have an initial capacity of 24,000 units per annum.The company has signed a licencing agreement with German auto giant Daimler for obtaining technology for the MPV.

Regarding the license agreement,Force Motors said that this comprehensive supply of product technology will facilitate the entry of Force into the passenger and goods vehicles segment, which is adjacent to its current product line of the ‘Traveller’ light commercial vehicle.

The company informed that the uprated versions of this engine are adapted for use in the SUV — Force One — being launched by Force Motors shortly. It said that the similar variants will be adapted for installation in the new MPV, for which the above technology licence is being obtained.Force also added that it is intended that the MPV to be introduced under the new technical license will also receive support from MBtech known as Mercedes Benz Technology.

Force Motors currently has an association with MBtech Powertrain GmbH for originating technical assistance in concern with engine installation, vehicle build quality and electronic refinement among others.

General Motors today launched the much awaited Beat Diesel in addition to the currently selling gasoline model at a starting price of Rs.4.29 lakhs.This 1 litre diesel engine is the company’s smallest dieselengine globally.

Karl Slym,President and Managing Director of General Motors India reported that this is the smallest diesel engine-powered passenger car for GM globally.He said that they do not have any plan to manufacture this engine anywhere in the world.

Slym said that they have taken the expertise from Europe, the hub of diesel technology, but at the same time engaged their engineers in India to make sure that they don’t give a completely European engine.He also said GM India plans to export the diesel engine to Europe as well after meeting the demand here.

He added that the company currently sells 2,700-3,000 units of Beat every month and expects to sell 4,000-5,000 units of its diesel variant henceforth.He further said that it (the car market) used to be 30 per cent diesel and 70 per cent petrol. Of course, that has changed, all thanks to the pricing of fuel.

The base model of this car will cost around Rs.4.29 lakhs and the top-end model will cost Rs.5.45 lakhs in the ex-showroom,New Delhi.The Beat Diesel is expected to give an ARAI mileage of 24kmpl.The company also plans to launch a diesel version of its another small car Spark with the same engine holding some modifications.

The facelift version of Toyota Innova has made its debut at the International Motor Show of 2011 held at Indonesia.Its front end resembles Toyota’s current generation Camry facelift and also holds its similar grille shape and lower bumper air intakes.It features a slightly redesigned dashboard and steering wheel along with a redesigned tail lamp cluster with three sections instead of two sections.

Click here to see the Pictures of Toyota Innova Facelift

GM will soon upgrade the cruze which includes mechanical and cosmetic changes. GM cruze will get a new “Z” series engine. The new  2.0-litre DOHC common-rail diesel engi pumping out 163bhp against the 150bhp from the current engine. GM will also rework the rearseats for better headroom and comfort. Expect the improvement in quality of plastic too. Cruze will also get some exterior treatment to look afresh. The new cruze diesel will be priced higher than the current one. Expect the new ccruze by 2012 auto expo.

Maruti’s much awaited next generation swift will hit the indian market on August 17th. Maruti has already started teaser at marutiswift.com. The new swift is expected to take the swift legacy forward against the likes of Ford Figo, Volkswagen Polo, Hyundai i20 and Nissan Micra. The new swift will come in six variants (lxi, vxi and Zxi, ldi,Vdi and Zdi). The new swift is expected to be priced slightly higher than current model. Bookings are already open in maruti showrooms across india

Royal Enfield has sweetened the sexy classic 500 with introduction of chrome variant of classic 500. The fenders – rear and front, air box cover, tank and headlamp lid all gets chrome treatment. Classic 500 is more classy now but Royal enfield has just launched the chrome variant in europe. Indian customers may soon get the taste of the classic 500 chrome .

Picture of Royal Enfield classic 500 chrome

Earlier the Hero Honda, now the Bajaj. Bajaj seems to have taken a lesson or two from Hero Honda. Recently, we are hearing few cosmetic / sticker job from Bajaj. Pulsar 220 gets dual tone (actually three tone) colour scheme. TO mark 10th anniversary of pulsar, pulsar 220 gets this new colour scheme – red,black and silver combination. Remember, the next generation pulsar will be out in few months from now.