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Tata Motors has launched its small car Nano in Srilanka at a starting price of Rs.3.80 lakhs.Nano will be sold in the country through its 50-year old distributor,Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO).

Tata Motors Managing Director and Group CEO,Mr.Carl-Peter Forster said that Tata Motors has already established a firm footprint in international markets…The Tata Nano will play a major role in the next phase of growth of their international business.

The company stated that Sri Lanka has become the first international market for the Tata Nano, with the people’s car being commercially launched in the country today.It also informed that the ex-showroom price of the three variants of Nano in Sri Lanka ranges between Rs.3.8 lakhs and Rs.4.5 lakhs.

Renault,the French carmaker has announced today that it will expand its dealership in India from 14 to 100 by the end of 2012.It aims at 100 dealers across 75 cities in the country.Renault which is the second largest carmaker of Europe also plans to increase the localisation of its products following its proposed launch of four more car models in India over next one year period.

Renault’s spokesperson informed that by the time they have five models on Indian roads the localisation of products can go up to 60 per cent.The company earlier launched its luxury sedan – Fluence in India.

Renault India Vice President,Mr.Len Curran informed that they are looking seriously towards India, which is amongst the top three strategic markets for them. They shall have 40 dealers by end of this year and ramp it up to 100 by 2012 end, when their five models shall be on Indian roads.

He said that they plan to launch Koleos, a high-end SUV, in October this year, which shall be followed by roll-out of three more cars next year including a B-segment hatchback.He also added that they shall be moving from tier I cities to tier II and III, and as they move ahead dealer network shall get expanded.

DOST,the first LCV produced by the joint venture of Ashok Leyland and Nissan has been recently unveiled in India.The new DOST will mainly compete with Tata Ace and Piaggio Ape Truck.Its three available versions are a base version,a mid version and a higher version.It is powered by a specially-developed, 55 hp high-torque, 3-cylinder, turbo-charged Common Rail Diesel engine and has a payload capacity of 1.25 Tonnes.It will be launched in the second quarter of FY 2011-2012.

Click here to see Pictures of Ashok Leyland Dost

Renault,the French Auto major plans to introduce a fully developed hatchback in the B segment in India in early 2012.The Mumbai R&D centre plays a vital role in the development of this hatch.The company also plans to launch its SUV Koleos in this year.Renault plans to start with 14 dealers in the country which will be increased up to 40 by December 2011.

Regarding this,the Managing Director of Renault India,Mr.Marc Nassif quoted that this will be part of five cars from the Renault stable that the company plans to introduce in India by December 2012, and include another SUV and a small car. No manufacturer has ever rolled out five models in less than two years in any market.

He also said that they have made a relatively late entry into India but are confident of making up the lost time by rolling out cars at a rapid pace. Every car will be further developed and designed to suit Indian conditions. All of them will be made in the Chennai plant, where they are investing about Rs.4,500 crore along with venture partner Nissan.He added that the company’s expansion of its manufacturing plant would also include a facility to manufacture power trains.

Skoda plans to bring the Rapid,the Fabia based Sedan in India with a reasonable price tag.The Rapid may make its debut at the Delhi Auto Expo to be held in 2012.It is code-named as VW SK251 and will come under the C-segment cars.It may feature the same 1.6 litre petrol and diesel engines of Vento delivering a power of 106PS.It will get a Fabia look-alike front with similar headlamps, grille and the bumper.

Click here to see Pictures of Skoda Rapid

Ferrari makes its Indian debut with the launch of its first dealership in Delhi.It plans to sell its entire range of cars in India starting with California at a price tag of Rs.2.22 crores.The other models to be launched in India are the 458 Italia,the 599GTB Fiorano and the flagship FF at a price tags of Rs.2.57 crores, Rs.3.57 crores and Rs.3.41 crores respectively.Bookings for the cars start today and the delivery time for a Ferrari could take between 3 to 12 months depending on the model and level of customisation.

Click here to see Pictures of Ferrari cars

Tata Motors today opened its first factory for Land Rovers with the major aim of making inroads in the South Asian market.Auto sector analysts claimed that the move will help Jaguar and Land Rover lower costs and become more competitive in India, the world’s fastest-growing major car market, where rivals BMW, Daimler and Audi are already well-established.

Jaguar Land Rover launched the Freelander 2 SUV as its first product in India.Jaguar and Land Rover were first in the hands of Ford which later shifted to Tata Motors in the year 2008.It is expected that the production of Jaguars will begin at a later date at the new plant started by Tata Motors.

The chief executive of Tata Motors,Mr.Carl-Peter Forster quoted that India is a huge market with immense potential and sees it with China, where demand for Jaguar and Land Rovers rocketed last year, as a key target for growth.

Indian spokesman Del Sehmar told that JLR is beginning to customise its cars to meet Indian needs offering more space and rear-seat comfort because most luxury cars in India are chauffeur-driven.He also said the company sees India as a “second home market” after Britain, with a rosy future.

Jaguar Land Rover owned by Tata Motors plans to set up an engine manufacturing plant in India.According to Autocar india,the Indian plant will make four-cylinder engines that are modular in design and up to 2.0 litres in capacity.The plant will be a carbon copy of a new engine which is set by JLR to start building in the Midlands in UK within few months.

Paul Chadderton,JLR’s spokesperson quoted that Jaguar Land Rover has ambitious plans for growth and there are many matters related to that.He said that they learn that the initial investment in the engine plant could be in the range of 400 million Pounds.

The annual cumulative production capacity of both the plants of India and UK is half a million units.The Indian plant will come up only after the Uk plant starts to run.

Click here to see Pictures of Ambassador Pick-Up Truck

The new Honda CBF featuring a 700cc dual clutch has been spied.The entry-level CBF seems to feature an automatic transmission as it does not hold a clutch lever on its handlebar.Honda mainly targets the new CBF for the beginners and tourers seeking for a cheaper alternative to the VFR1200F.

It also seems to feature the same V4 engine of the VFR1200F with smaller engine displacement.So far,the CBF series is composed of upright standards of varying displacement sizes.It seems Big Red has groomed a naked standard with the dual-clutch transmission.

This entry level CBF seems outward from its conventional fork and single-disc brake up front.It is unknown that what engine configuration exactly powers the new Honda CBF.It is expected that it will make its first debut at Milan.