Yamaha kicks off FZ series in three new variants

India Yamaha Motor,one of the leading two-wheeler maker in the country has launched new FZ series bikes in three variants.The company declared that India Yamaha Motor has introduced new variants of the FZ, FZ-S and Fazer bikes of its popular FZ series with a complete makeover.

The new variants feature a kick start option and will be available in many colours.It holds new logos and graphics to match the changing tastes of the discerning customers.The ex-showroom prices of FZ,FZ-S and the Fazer bikes are Rs.67,000,Rs.69,000 and Rs.74,000 respectively.

The Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of India Yamaha Motor,Mr.Hiroyuki Suzuki quoted that the FZ series has gained immense popularity among youngsters since its launch in September 2008. They are confident that the new variants too will be an instant hit among the biking enthusiasts.

The company stated that it will launch a media campaign featuring Yamaha brand ambassador and Bollywood actor John Abraham to promote these models.

BMW to roll out 1-series and Mini compact in india

BMW in order to stay ahead of Mercedes Benz and Audi in the Indian car market plans to unveil its 1 series hatchback and the Mini within two years in India.BMW leads the luxury car market holding a record of 70% with more than 15,000 cars followed by Mercedes and Audi.

Regarding this issue,the President of BMW India,Mr.Andreas Schaaf revealed that the Indian market is evolving fast and, as the leader of luxury car, they are looking at their compact range of cars to meet varied preferences of customers.He said that they are doing everything to stay ahead of the competition and drive into new segment that would keep the customers delighted.

Andreas Schaaf told that they will get as many products from their global lineup depending upon the local demand including the best of technology and new concepts developed by their parent company.He also informed that at this point of time, their completely knocked down (CKD) operations are fully fulfilling the new regulations. They are paying 10% duty and there will be no price hike.

He added that the company has been assembling its engines and transmissions since the launch of these models in the country.In their engines, about 50% of the assembly is done in India and so it is considered as locally produced.

The luxury carmaker announced that despite new import duty norms on completely knocked down units,it would not hike the prices of its locally-produced models,3 and 5 Series sedans and SUV X1 as it has already been assembling the engines of the vehicles in the country.

Audi launched A7 Sportback and RS5 Coupe

Audi,the luxury car maker has launched two new cars in India namely the A7 Sportback and the RS5 Coupe at a price tag of Rs.64 lakhs and Rs.76 lakhs respectively.A7 will be available in both petrol and diesel engine options whereas RS5 in only petrol version.

The A7 Sportback available in India features both 3 litre TDI and 3 litre TFSI petrol engines and is based on the Sportback concept.It offers both the elegance of a coupe and the comfort of a sedan.

Similarly,RS5 coupe,the another release of Audi is powered by a turbocharged V8 engine which pumps out a power of 450bhp at 8250rpm.This model features a capacity to move from 0 to 60mph in just 4.6 seconds.

Regarding this,the head of Audi India,Mr.Michael Perschke informed that going by the growth that they have seen in the first four months of this year, they believe that they can sell more cars in 2011 than they expected before.He also told that earlier, they were looking to sell about 4,500 units and now they think, they can sell between 4,800 units to 5,000 units this year.

The company has sold about 1986 units in this year during the period of January to April which was just 967 in the last year in this same period.Also,the company has sold 198 units last year in the month of April which now became 375 units this year in the month of April.

HMSI kicked off its first 250cc sports bike

Honda has rolled out its first 250cc sports bike in India.HMSI believe that despite of the sharp increase in the interest rates,its sales volume can grow up to 20-25 percent.

At the launching ceremony of CBR250R,the Company head sales,Mr.N.K Rattan quoted that they sold 16.85 lakh units in February 2011. In the current fiscal, they plan to increase it to 21 lakh units. They will continue to grow faster than industry. The turnover is also expected to jump to Rs.7,500 crores this year.He added that they invested Rs.500 crores in the second plant so far and plan to sell 30,000 units in India and export 10,000 units.

The new sports bike has been priced in the range of Rs.1.46 lakhs to Rs.1.71 lakhs in the ex-showroom Kolkata.The company in order to increase its production sales and to meet the growing demand has planned to begin its production from the second half of this year in its second plant at Rajasthan.The new plant has a capacity of producing six lakh units per year in the first phase.

Tata Motors gears up Magic Iris and Ace Zip

Tata Motors has launched two new four-wheelers Magic Iris and Ace Zip at a price of Rs.1.95 lakhs and Rs.1.90 lakhs respectively.The Magic Iris is a 3-4 seater small passenger carrier which will be a better substitute for passenger-carrying three-wheelers.It is equipped with a 611-cc, water-cooled engine that churns out 11HP power.It is available in four different colours namely arctic white, ruby red, school yellow and jet black.The Ace Zip is the only vehicle in the sub-600 kg category to be powered by a water-cooled engine.

Click here to see Pictures of Tata Magic Iris and Ace Zip

Hyundai launches verna in India

Hyundai India have launched the new Hyundai Verna at a starting price of Rs.6.99 lacs.The new Verna has been offered with fluidic design sculpture and four engine options.It has both petrol and diesel engine variants.  It features 1.4 litre and 1.6 litre petrol and diesel engines.The 1.4 litre petrol engine churns out a power of 107PS at 6300rpm and a maximum torque of 138Nm at 5000rpm.Its 1.4 litre diesel engine delivers 90PS power at 4000rpm and 224Nm torque at 1750-2750rpm.

The most powerful 1.6 litre petrol engine of the new Verna generates 123PS power at 6300rpm and 158Nm maximum torque at 4200rpm.Likewise,its 1.6 litre diesel engine gives 128PS at 4000rpm and produces a maximum torque of 265Nm at 1900-2750 rpm.The 1.6 litre engines of the new Verna are fitted with automatic transmissions.

The comfortable features of the new Verna are a high end music system with integrated USB, i-pod, Bluetooth and Aux-in connectivity, a driver information system, a rear view camera, a cooled glove box and a cluster ionizer fitted to the air-conditioning system in order to circulate clean air at all times.It also holds six airbags, ABS and EBD for safety purposes.

Its variants are Verna 1.4,Verna 1.6,Verna 1.6 SX,Verna 1.6 SX(O) and Verna 1.6 SX(O) AT.The prices of its petrol and diesel variants ranges between 7 to 10 lakhs and 8 to 10.75 lakhs respectively.

2011 Maruti Swift specifications

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Maruti will launch the much expected next generation swift will hit the indian shores in July.  Swift introduce in 2005 earned millions of fans across india and globe. Still Maruti sells over 10000+ units of swift every month. However as the competition is getting hot, Maruti will bring the globally launched swift soon to India

Here are the engine specifications of swift 2011. The diesel variant of new swift develops 75PS of peak power at 4000rpm and 190Nm of peak torque. The spec remains the same as the current swift. However the only difference is D-13 engine produce peak torque of 190Nm at 1750rpm (2000rpm in current swift) which means lesser turbo lag and ease to drive in city. Going by the Maruti histor, the current swift may continue to sell along with the new generation swift but at lesser price tag.

Tata launches Magic Iris and ace zip

Tata today launched the magic iris and ace zip in Mumbai. Magic iris and ace zip are expected for a longer time ever since it was unveiled at the 2010 auto expo.

Magic Iris

Magic iris 4 to 5-seater passenger carrier is aimed auto rickshaw customers. “Magic IRIS is a better alternative to auto rickshaws and other similar three-wheeler passenger carriers. This small passenger vehicle segment is doing well and we hope people accept this vehicle,” Tata Motors President, Commercial (CVBU), Ravi Pisharody said.  Magic iris is priced Rs1.95 lakhs

Ace Zip

Ace zip is priced Rs1.90 lakhs and is the cheapese variant of Ace family.

Bajaj and TVS hike prices of bikes

The impact of the rising input costs made both Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor to hike the prices of their products in India.TVS Motor company has made a hike of 1.5-2% in the first week of April.Likewise,Bajaj Auto declared a price hike for the domestic market in the first week of April and for other countries in the beginning of May.

Regarding this,the President of TVS Motor,Mr.H.S Goindi quoted that this was on account of steel and rubber price hikes and the increase in overhead costs for suppliers.They have passed on a miniscule part of the cost increase and so they will definitely look at the price line again once they come to know the full extent of the impact by the end of May. They will take a call on further price revision in June.

On the other hand,Hero Honda is also mulling plans to increase the costs of its products. The price line for Hero Honda remains unchanged and still the company is in a mode of invigilation.Anil Dua,the Senior vice-president of Hero Honda informed that they are monitoring the commodity situation closely and keeping all their options open.

Renault to launch five new cars in India

Renault to launch five new cars in India in the next 2-3 years.With the start of Fluence in June 2011 with 14 dealers in 12 cities,it also plans to extend its dealership by up to 100 in 55 cities by 2012.It is going to launch its Koleos and Duster in the months of January and July of 2012.Its small car is to be launched in 2013 and its Sedan in 2014.

Click here to see the Pictures of new Renault cars