Tata to hike prices of Nano

Nano to lose Rs1 lakh price tag

Tata Motors has finally decided to take off the Rs1lakh price tag from Nano. Tata will raise the prices of Nano by up to 4%. However the price hike will come into effect only after the completion of delivery of 1 lakh vehicles. Despite a steep increase in input prices, their (retainee-customers) Tata Nanos are being priced only three- four per cent higher, depending on the model, than the price announced at launch,” the company said in a statement. “This is the final step, before the company opens up sales of the Tata Nano,” it added.

GM Chevrolet launches Aveo CNG 2

GM Chevrolet India today launched CNG variant of its Aveo hatchback. Aveo CNG will run both on petrol and CNG comes with a three-year/100,000-km standard warranty and a service interval of 5,000 km or six months (whichever comes first). Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Slym said, “The launch of the Aveo CNG is a testament to the importance that GM India attaches to green technology and environmentally friendly mobility solutions. Its running cost is approximately 57 percent lower than a similar vehicle powered by petrol and 25 percent lower than a similar vehicle powered by diesel. Because of the lower operating economics and the growing number of
CNG stations being built across India, this new offering is expected to appeal to both individual and fleet customers. Under normal driving conditions, the Aveo CNG has a range of 180 to 200 kilometres on a full tank of CNG and is BS IV compliant.”

HOG from Harley-Davidson soon on roads of India

The US bike mentor Harley-David is on the cruise of super biking with its wide range under Harley Owners Group (HOG). The world’s largest owners’ group has 1.4 million members and the Indian bike riders will have this privilege to join the elite group. In the meanwhile, Harley’s Indian subsidiary Harley Davidson India announced the release of super bikes at the price range of Rs6.95 lakhs – Rs34.95 lakhs. Nearly 150 Harley bikes are in the Indian market and are direct imports as CBUs made by individual customers not through the dealer.

With these models, the company is on the verge of building the brand reputation in the country, said its MD for India. The country’s third dealer, after Chandigarh and Hyderabad, is appointed in Delhi and there will be two more, Mumbai and Bangalore, by the end of 2010, he added. The dealer show room offers, other than bikes, merchandise like jackets, caps, t-shirts etc. The bikes, targeted at the customers in the age group of 25-65 suited with 12 models in the
country under cult bikes.

The introduction of HOG will see new entrants to the fold of the company, he said. Under the scheme, every individual dealer will be directly linked to the HOG chapter. Harley is unique that the other major superbike players like Ducati, Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki deliver bikes on sporty touch. However, the net range of models in the global market is 40 and the starting range of the engine capacity is 883cc with the maximum capacity of 1550cc. The company’s manufacturing facilities are in the US, Brazil, Singapore, Brazil, Indonesia. Harley has made its entry delayed by three years due to the whooping taxation of imported
components.

The bells start ringing in Honda camp for small car

The most famous Japanese auto company Honda is entering into the small car segment in India. The car is slated for launch in Q3 of 2011 and may cost Rs5 lakhs for its base model, said its VP for marketing of HSCL. Honda had earlier displayed this car in the Delhi Auto Expo. With the 1.2 lit petrol engine, Honda is not in a hurry to go in for the higher versions or diesel versions or even LPG/CNG versions, he further stressed, quoting the lack of global technology for the company.

Honda’s practice is to have major portion of localized components and this applies for the new car too. Honda’s City [images], Civic [images], Jazz [images] and Accord [images] have domestic components of 76%, 74%, 77% and 28% respectively. The company visions to fetch double digit growth during 2010-11 with the installation of a second facility as the first facility is expected to reach the full capacity. The Noida facility is capable of delivering 1 lakh units but the current production range is 60000 units. He added that the company is pinning hope on the small car and there will be a perfectly created dealer network prior to the formal launch.

Mercedes launches Rs2.5 crores SLS AMG

Mercedes today launched its super sports car SLS AMG in India. Priced at Rs2.5 crores SLS AMG sets a new benchmark in sports car segment in Indian market. Powered by a 6.2L engine and capable of doing 317km/hr. However since Indian billionaires have already booked for the car, you have to wait for 6-8 months to get one for your garage. “We are very excited to come with SLS in India. We have started the production couple of weeks ago in Germany, there is no time lag to launch the vehicle in India,” Mercedes Benz India Managing Director and CEO Wilfried Aulbur told reporters in New Delhi

After FIFA world cup, it

With increased fervor to go global, M&M is all confident to enter the lands of South Africa for setting up a plant. The company’s move comes in the wake of the unprecedented growth of 80% in the country and felt that the benefits are aplenty in installing a plant there, said the company’s Group President. The details about the site location, amount involved and the size will be made known alter, he added. He added that South Africa would become the gateway for M&M to enter the entire Africa. M&M’s presence in the region is on high spirits in the countries of Gambia, Nigeria, Ghana and Chad and Mali. M&M’s venture of opening a plant in SA comes after a feasibility study and the visionary growth. The product range in this plant will include LCVs and tractors.

Renault

The new sedan version from the French car manufacturer Renault, Influence, is expected to please the customers sometime during the next year. This will be followed by Koleos, the SUV in the subsequent year, said the company’s GM for
India. The Influence is slated for designing and manufacturing in the company’s Oragadam plant near Chennai, which is a JV with the Japanese Nissan at an investment of Rs4500 crore. Most of the products will see the major localization of components, he added. The new Micra [images] is fixed with 60% domestic components and the company intends to increase this to 80% soon, he disclosed. The recently held AUTOSCM 2010 seminar proved to be an ideal platform for resolving the Indian contribution in the overseas products. The meet was told about the prospects in the Middle Easter, Asian and Latin American markets. Representatives from various governments sought the government of India to expedite the relaxation norms for the global players. It was informed that India promised to be a reliable hub for the auto industry due to the domestic market.

Fiat launches Punto 90bhp

Fiat today launched Punto 90bhp in New Delhi. Fiat Punto 90bhp comes with a 1.3L multijet engine which is already doing its duty under the hood of linea. Punto 90bhp is priced Rs6.79lakhs (ex-showroom delhi). Punto 90bhp comes in emotion trim only and it will be available in six colours – red,white, grey,azure and wine. Fiat will also sell Punto 75bhp along with the punto 90bhp. Along with the engine change, Punto 90bhp also comes with new features like

* red stiching

* chrome door handles

* white back instrument panel

* black roof

Shoot out: Bajaj Siblings War between Pulsar 135 LS and Pulsar 150

Catch the shoot out between Pulsar 135 and Pulsar 150 @ http://www.vicky.in/slideshow/comparison-drive-pulsar-135-vs-pulsar-150/

Introduction |Styling and Design I | Styling and Design II | Engine and Performance I | Engine and Performance II

| Ride and Handling | Features | Verdict

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Royal Enfield to double production

Contrary to other manufacturers, Royal Enfield is facing a problem of different kind. It struggles to meet the customer demand. Recently, it has stopped booking for its Classic series motorcycles. Royal Enfield currently produces 52000 units (including exports) and it plans to double the production to 1,00,000 units by 2013. Royal enfield plans to expand the production in a phased manner 70,000 units in 2011,90,000 units in 2012 and 1,00,000 units in 2013. The end result! more thumpers on the road