As part of its marketing plan for the Nano, Tata Motors is offering the mini-car to potential customers for a free 15-day trial. A Tata Motors spokesperson told reporters that customers who come for a test drive are also being invited to keep the car for 15 days to get better acquainted with it. The company has so far delivered 50,000 units of the Read More...

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• Filed Under: Tata

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) will be launching a new version of its 5-year old hatchback, the Maruti Swift, by the end of 2010. The new Swift, to be first launched in the UK, will be sportier and more spacious than its current version. It will be built on a new platform, with a longer wheelbase and a 90 mm increase in overall length. The Read More...

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• Filed Under: Maruti Suzuki

Maruti Suzuki’s net profit fell by 20 percent in the April-June quarter of 2010, due to increased input costs and higher royalty payments to parent company Suzuki. Maruti is now paying a royalty of 5.9 percent to Suzuki Motor, compared to 3.6 percent earlier. The market leader has also had to grapple with recurrent hikes in steel and tyre prices, Read More...

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• Filed Under: Maruti Suzuki

French auto company, PSA Peugeot Citroen, may use Hindustan Motors’ Tiruvallur plant near Chennai for its small-car project with Mitsubishi. Peugeot plans to develop a small car in India through a joint venture with Mitsubishi, which already has a tie-up with HM. While the Tiruvallur plant may help the companies save time and costs, it may not be Read More...

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• Filed Under: Hindustan Motors

German sports-car company, Porsche, last week launched the second-generation version of its luxury SUV, the Porsche Cayenne, in India. The new Cayenne comes in five variants, priced between Rs 65.82 lakh and Rs 1.27 crore. One of these is the Cayenne S Hybrid which, at Rs 75.46 lakh, is the most expensive hybrid vehicle in the country. The company Read More...

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• Filed Under: Porsche

Mercedes-Benz India’s used-car business – Proven Exclusivity – launched in May 2010, has received an overwhelming response, with the company selling 200 used cars in just 2 months. The pre-owned car segment is expected to make up 10 percent of Mercedes’ sales in India in 2010, according to the company’s Director, Sales & Marketing, Mr Debashish Read More...

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• Filed Under: Mercedes-Benz

Maruti Suzuki will launch a new version of its highest selling car, the Maruti Alto, in August 2010. The new Alto will be powered by a 1-litre K-10 engine, also used in the Estilo, and will give a mileage of approximately 20.2 km/litre. The car will also be 125 mm longer and more spacious than the Alto’s existing version. It will be available in Read More...

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• Filed Under: Maruti Suzuki

Mahindra & Mahindra is planning to launch motorcycles ranging from low-cost to premium models, within the next few months. The company’s two-wheeler unit, headed by Anoop Mathur, is expected to break even in FY 2011-12, and will equal its immensely successful tractor and SUV businesses in size within the next 7 years. For its motorcycle unit, the Read More...

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• Filed Under: Mahindra

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) this week launched a diesel version of the Corolla Altis, priced between Rs 10.95 lakh and Rs 13.75 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The car is powered by a 1.4-litre D-4D Common Rail Diesel Engine, and comes with 6-speed manual transmission. It delivers a mileage of 21.43 km/litre – the best in its segment. TKM Deputy MD, Read More...

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• Filed Under: Toyota

Following in the footsteps of its main rival, General Motors, American auto company Ford Motor, too, is planning to launch its commercial vehicles in India. According to media reports, Ford India will be making a formal announcement regarding the CV launch within the next few months, and will introduce light and medium-duty trucks in the country Read More...

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• Filed Under: Ford

The road transport ministry of India will soon complete its ‘transport project’, under which the details of all driving licences and vehicles sold in the country will be recorded in a national register. This will make it easier for the authorities to track stolen vehicles and detect fake licences. Already, 919 of the 990 Regional Transport Offices Read More...

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• Filed Under: None

Italian auto company, Fiat, is planning to re-launch its premium compact car, the Fiat 500, in India. The company had earlier discontinued the car, due to its low sales, but is now launching it again seeing the success of the very steeply priced Volkswagen Beetle. Officially known as the Cinquecento, the Fiat 500 was first launched in the country Read More...

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• Filed Under: Fiat

General Motors India (GM India) will soon be launching a separate advertising campaign for online media. The company will start with a campaign to promote the Chevrolet Cruze, followed by six others. GM’s decision to creative exclusive online content to advertise its products comes in the light of more and more customers researching cars on the Read More...

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• Filed Under: Chevrolet

Fiat India has launched a new variant of its premium hatchback, the Grande Punto, priced at Rs 6.79 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Powered by a 1.3-litre Multijet diesel engine, the Fiat Grande Punto 90HP MULTIJET will set a new benchmark for diesel hatchbacks in the country. It delivers a maximum power of 93 PS and a fuel efficiency of 20 km/litre, Read More...

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• Filed Under: Fiat

Mercedes-Benz launched its new super sports car, the SLS AMG, in India last week. Priced at Rs 2.5 crore, the car will compete with the Porsche 911 and the Audi R8. It comes with a 6.3-litre V8 engine, and can touch a top speed of 317 km/hr. The SLS is set to become one of the most successful sports-cars in India, with customers booking all ten Read More...

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• Filed Under: Mercedes-Benz

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) may soon launch a smaller version of the Mahindra Xylo, priced at Rs 4.5-5 lakh. According to media reports, the compact Xylo will be less than 4 metres in length, and will attract an excise duty of 10 percent, applicable to small cars. The vehicle is expected to be launched by 2011, and will be the smallest SUV in the Read More...

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• Filed Under: Mahindra

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) will be launching a diesel variant of its premium sedan, the Toyota Corolla Altis, by the end of July 2010. The car is expected to be powered by a 1.4-litre D-4D engine, also used in the international Corolla and the Toyota Yaris, and will compete with the Chevrolet Cruze and the Skoda Laura. TKM Deputy MD, Mr Sandeep Read More...

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• Filed Under: Toyota

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is planning to build an assembly plant in South Africa, where its sales have gone up by almost 80 percent since the beginning of 2009. The company had earlier decided against setting up a local plant in SA. However, with sales picking up at a rapid pace, it has started looking at the benefits of having an assembly plant Read More...

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• Filed Under: Mahindra

Japanese auto company, Nissan Motor, launched the Nissan Micra in India this week. The Micra is Nissan’s first car to be manufactured in India, and is priced between Rs 3.98 lakh and Rs 5.28 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Nissan India Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Mr Abhijeet Pandit, said that the company was overwhelmed by the response to the Read More...

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• Filed Under: Nissan

BMW India started the production of the new 5-Series at its Chennai plant this week. The car, which was launched in April this year, is priced between Rs 38.9 lakh and Rs 58 lakh, and comes in both petrol and diesel versions. BMW Plant Managing Director, Juergen Eder, said in a statement that the 5-Series would further increase the company’s Read More...

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• Filed Under: BMW

Tata Motors and its UK-based subsidiary, Jaguar & Land Rover, have decided to synergise operations by jointly developing engines, vehicles and platforms. Tata Motors said that the joint operations would ‘yield substantial savings’ for both parties. The company’s non-executive chairman, Mr Ravi Kant, has played a major role in initiating the Read More...

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• Filed Under: Jaguar, Land Rover, Tata

Iconic USA-based motorcycle maker, Harley-Davidson, opened its first Indian dealership in Hyderabad last week. Mr Anoop Prakash, Managing Director at Harley-Davidson India, said that the company would open dealerships in other cities, including New Delhi and Mumbai, before the end of 2010. He also said that Harley-Davidson bikes were well-suited Read More...

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• Filed Under: None

Volkswagen India unveiled its new entry-level sedan, the Volkswagen Vento, this week. The Vento is the German automaker’s first car to be designed and manufactured in India, and has been built on the VW Polo’s platform. The company will disclose the car’s expected price in August 2010, and will launch it in the Indian market by the end of this Read More...

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• Filed Under: Volkswagen

Japanese auto company, Nissan Motor, is planning to expand its range of hybrid vehicles. While the company will introduce its much-awaited electric car, the Leaf, later this year, it will also launch a gas-electric version of the Fuga in Japan by December 2010, and in the US by 2011. The hybrid Fuga will be marketed in the US as the Infiniti M35. Read More...

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• Filed Under: Nissan

Toyota Motor is planning to set up a new auto-component plant on the outskirts of Bangalore, to manufacture engines for its upcoming small car, the Toyota Etios. Expected to be operational by 2012, the plant will be used to produce engines and transmissions, and will be built at an initial investment of Rs 500 crore. Mr KG Mohan, Senior Vice Read More...

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• Filed Under: Toyota