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Maruti Alto K10 Pictures, Test Drive Report and Gallery

Today is Maruti Alto K10’s launch. Friends, here we are ready with all the pictures of Alto K10 along with a test drive report.

To book the Alto K10 click http://www.vicky.in/car/model/maruti/altok10/

Catch the exterior pictures of Alto K10 @ http://www.vicky.in/slideshow/maruti-alto-k10-exterior-photos/

Catch the interior pictures of Alto K10 @ http://www.vicky.in/slideshow/maruti-alto-k10-interior-pictures/

Catch the test drive and review of Alto K10 @ http://www.vicky.in/blog/maruti-alto-k10-test-drive-and-review/

For more pictures of Alto K10, please click our gallery link @ http://vicky.in/gallery/cars/maruti/altok10/

For Alto K10 Wallpaper http://www.vicky.in/gallery/cars/maruti/altok10/wallpaper/

GM gearing the production in top notch

The survival of the fittest is once again for GM since the demand for its hatch-back Beat and sedan Cruz versions has made the company increase the production. The set up is to diversify the production to two shifts in Halol and Talegaon, said the company’s VP. By this the increase in production is from 6000 monthly units to 12000 units, he added. The combined production capacity of these two plants is 2.25 lakh units per year of which the Talegaon’s primary small-car plant’s annual capacity is 1.4 lakhs whereas Halol has the capacity of 85000 units. He was hopeful that GM will meet the demand from the customers in India and the backlog demand for Beat and Cruze will be cleared this month. The factors that made fruitful yield for GM are reverted economy( a projected 8.5% growth) during FY 2010-11 and other beneficiaries are Tata with its Nano and Ford India with its Figo.

General Motors on the verge of fund raising from PSUs

The Indian wing of General Motors is on fund raising venture from PSU of Indian banks out of a consortium. The amount earmarked is Rs1000 crore for the expansion projects of five models in India, in association with the Chinese SAIC. The period targeted for this project is 2012, by the time, there will be three LCVs and two passenger cars, said the company’s President and MD for India. GM is in a JV with the Chinese SAIC on 50:50 basis for launching the LCV during the end of 2011 followed by other models. The amount benchmarked for each category is 50million US dollars and to generate such fund, GM has in a tie-up with the consortium of Public sector banks, he added.

The consortium will be led by IDBI and include SBI, Canara Bank, PNB and Bank of India. The split up of the fund will be Rs800 crore as term loan for 7 years and Rs200 crore as working capital. The vehicles, to be ready by 2012, will bear GM Chevrolet brand image and Halol facility will take care of LCVs while the passenger vehicles will come from Talegaon plant, he said. The passenger car might have the Spark platform and the Aveo platforms. The vehicles coming under SAIC flagship will have 90% localized components from Talegaon plant, which is on the slot of delivering powertrains from this November. The LCVs will be dealt in market by the current GM dealers though proposal is there to have separate division for distribution. The JV between GM and SAIC as GMSAIC Investment Ltd, has already invested 650 million US dollars. The JV has given distribution in functioning by six member board for GM India with equal number of members from two companies.

Alto fetches new mark(et) for Maruti

The refined version of Alto K10, the entry-level version which is slated for launch soon, may cost Rs3 lakhs. Maruti sees more hope and promise from this new 1000cc Alto to boost its presence in the A2 segment. Further, there would be more first time buyers for this fascinating car in the Indian car market. Maruti has designed this car at the measurement of 3629mm net length, more than the current model by 125mm. Maruti is keen that this new version shall be longer than others in this A2 segment- Estilo, WagonR and Hyundai i10.

The new Alto is expected to run for 20.2 km/lit at the speed of 0-100/h in 13.3seconds(while other cars in this segment has the time of 14 seconds). The CGM of Maruti claimed that the company is fully aware of the pros and cons of this A2 and A1 segments. He explained that there has been no increase in this segment for the past four years despite the net growth of 200% in the car market. The reason cited, among many, is the launch of such cars by Hyundai, GM, Renault-Bajaj. There might be hike in this segment in coming days therby evoking stiff competition, he said. According to his classification, the A2 segment consists of Santro standard(non-AC), Alto 800, and Chevy Spark. The torch bearers in this segment are Tata Nano and M800.

The sale of Alto is on the high with 20000-21000 monthly units in the net volume of 32000-34000 units in this segment alone. Hence the prospects of the share in this segment may be around 25-30% with the launch of Alto K10, he added. The cost of existing Alto 800 is Rs2.28 lakhs for standard and Rs2.6 lakhs for Delux model, while the Lxi is Rs2.79lakhs. this makes the assumption that the new version may cost around Rs3 lakhs(mid-range price between entry level Estilo and Alto Lxi whose cost is Rs3.3 lakhs). The new Alto might grab new buyers and first time owners, making them awake from the gloomy picture of a car’s purchase on financial grounds.

Maruti

In a bid to compensate the delay in delivering the new version of WagonR, Maruti Suzuki is going ahead with sale of the old version LPG WagonR. This follows the suit of withdrawing the duo version of WagonR having both petrol and LPG. As of now, Maruti will supply the old version WagonR LPG until the company can supply the new version (probably not within this fiscal), said its Chief Manager, Marketing. The fate of Duo version hangs on the output demand for LPG version of WagonR, he added. However, there is another model in this segment at Rs.3.28 lakh and Rs3.81 lakh.

The LPG version of WagonR costs Rs3.68 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi) and constitutes 20-22% of the net volume of WagonR. In another move, Maruti is launching the CNG version of WagonR fitted on plant. This includes the five model launch on a single day with Alto, Eeco, Estilo and SX4. The latest version of WagonR is based on the technical know-how of the Japanese technology and runs on BS-IV compliant 998cc K-series engine. There has been an investment of Rs290 crore for this WagonR alone the sale of which has already crossed 9 lakhs since its inception some 11 years ago. Maruti is shielding its market with this WagonR against Chevrolet Beat(Rs3.41 – Rs4.43 lakhs), Hyundai i10 (Rs3.47 – Rs3.83 lakhs) and Ford Figo(Rs3.49 –Rs3.99 lakhs).

CNG or LPG? Here, we answer your doubt!

Confused between choosing a CNG or a LPG powered car? Catch the answer@http://www.vicky.in/slideshow/alternate-fuels-cng-and-lpg-cars/

Maruti hikes prices

Maruti Suzuki has raised the prices of all its models between Rs2000 and Rs7500. The new Wagon R will cost Rs 3,500-4,500 more, the swift will get costlier by Rs 4,700 across allvariants. The Estilo gets dearer by Rs 3,500 and SX4 sedanby Rs 7,500.

“Due to sharp increase in the input costs, Maruti Suzuki has decided to pass on a part of this cost impact to customers. The new prices are applicable with immediate effect,” Maruti said in a statement.

Toyota

Sensing the growth of small car in India, China and SEAsia, the Japanese car maker Toyota has carved a niche to launch small car by 2012 at a cost of 1 million Yen. The small car will be on the lines of its Vios and Vitz/Yariz models and might involve 30-40 domestic components to save cost, said a report from Toyota. The small car made from its unit Daihatsu (for SE Asia) may get Toyota brand for sale. Toyota’s announcement of these two models and other entry level cars is mooted to boost its strong presence in the growing market. However, final word is yet to come from Toyota. Though being the world biggest car maker Toyota has not secured penetrating market in India, Brazil, China and other growing markets. The other players like Hyundai and Volkswagen are doing well. Toyota is on the verge of launching its entry-level car Etios shortly.

World Bank comes to the rescue of Piaggio projects

The expansion activities of Piaggio in India will be covered under the financial assistance to be released by International Finance Corporation(IFC), a wing of World Bank. The project, also to cover Vietnam, will get an aid of Rs273 crore as loan. The Italian company will utilize this fund for manufacturing eco-friendly cars, scooters, motorcycles and LCVs. The project will yield job
opportunities numbering an approximate 300 and offer better platform for fuel-efficient auto industry, said IFC. Piaggio’s plant at Maharashtra is manufacturing engines for two wheelers and LCVs and the aid might make the company involve in projects related to new products, said its Chairman.

Charm for scooters from Bajaj still on

The fragrance of the once whipped out scooters from Bajaj is back. Yes,the company’s chairman revealed that his company is on the verge of launching scooters again, once the strength of motorcycles is stabilized. The dream of getting the global market must be realized before anything on the scooter materialized, he added. He stressed the need to acquire great market by reputation arrived at on the brand concept rather on the product ranges. For this his company is ready for any sacrifice, similar to the winding of scooters, he quoted saying. He is not contented with just 10% of global market with the sale of 3.5 million bikes and he aims for 30-40%. He mentioned about the ongoing car project at Walui by reducing the cost factor, by which the company might yield money. The car may enter the market in 2012 and the capex of the project is to be around Rs500 crore.
He explained that 20% EBITDA margin is the base for the company’s operations.