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India Auto News DriveInside.com |
Auto News Highlights - Tata Motors to launch Freelander in India this week- Nissan makes its electric cars noisier as a safety measure - Tata Motors gets 10 million pound loan from UK government - Ultimate Aero to be launched in India within the next few months - Volkswagen India gets 100 million euros from European Investment Bank - Tata Nano selling at a premium in used-car market - At least one Indian company will be among the world's top carmakers by 2020, says study - India to have 7 auto testing centres within 2 years - Nissan launches new versions of X-Trail, Teana |
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Tata Motors to launch Freelander in India this week Tata Motors will be launching Land Rover’s Freelander 2 in India on September 22, 2009. The Freelander is the cheapest model built by Land Rover, and is expected to be priced at approximately Rs 35 lakh in India. The vehicle offers an all-wheel drive and is currently sold in China and several European countries including the UK, France, Italy and Spain. It will be available in India as a Completely Built Unit (CBU). |
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Nissan makes its electric cars noisier as a safety measure Japanese car company Nissan has developed a new sound system to be used in its electric cars. Electric car engines are known for their noiseless performance, a feature that makes them unsafe for pedestrians. Nissan's noise and vibration expert, Mr. Toshiyuki Tabata, said that he was asked by the company to re-create the sound of an engine for its electric vehicles, three years back. Tabata's team decided that this sound had to be ‘beautiful and futuristic’. The team finally settled on a sound very close to that of the flying cars in the 1982 Hollywood film, Blade Runner. The sound system will be automatically turned on when a car is started, and will be turned off when it reaches a speed of 20 km/hr. |
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Tata Motors gets 10 million pound loan from UK government Tata Motors has managed to get a 10 million pound loan from the UK government for its electric car project. The loan has been made available to the company through UK's Automotive Assistance Programme (AAP). Tata Motors will be investing a total of 25 million pounds in the development of the Indica Vista electric in Norway. The company recently issued a statement saying that the electric version of the Indica will have a range of up to 200 km, and will be available in European markets within an year. |
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Ultimate Aero to be launched in India within the next few months The world's fastest car, the Ultimate Aero, will be launched in India within the next few months. Manufactured by Shelby Super Car (SSC) in the US, the Aero can touch a top speed of 413 km/hr. SSC will first launch the car in Mumbai and later in Delhi. It will be priced at over Rs 6 crore. The Aero is powered by a fuel-injected, 6.35-litre, V8 engine and can accelerate from 0 to 60 km/hr in just 2.7 seconds. Its luxury features include suede interiors, a multi-speaker music system, on-board video and DVD screen, an automatic back-up camera, navigational backup, power windows and mirrors. |
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Volkswagen India gets 100 million euros from European Investment Bank Volkswagen India has received a loan worth 100 million euros from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to set up its manufacturing facility in Chakan, Maharashtra. The financing contract was signed in Luxembourg last week, and will aid the Volkswagen Group in manufacturing small cars in India. Mr. Kurt Rippholz, the head of Volkswagen India Group Communication, said that the loan is a part of the 580 million euros that Volkswagen plans to invest in India. |
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Tata Nano selling at a premium in used-car market The hype surrounding the Tata Nano has still not died down, with the mini car already selling at a premium in the used car market. The car is attracting a premium of 18-20 per cent of its booking price, amounting to Rs 25,000 to Rs 35,000, in the used car market. The greatest demand for second-hand Nanos is coming from affluent customers belonging to Delhi, Mumbai and Gujarat. Dealers of the car say that it has entered the used-car market because of the ‘snob value’ attached to it, and not for any practical reasons. |
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At least one Indian company will be among the world's top carmakers by 2020, says study A study conducted by global consultancy firm, Deloitte, says that at least one Indian automobile company will figure among the world's top six carmakers by the year 2020. The study, titled ‘A New Era: Accelerating toward 2020 - An Automotive Industry Transformed’, talks about six carmakers dominating the global auto industry by 2020. China and India will emerge as the major hubs of car manufacturing, as the world's major car companies shift their production operations to these countries to minimise costs. Another factor that favours the two countries is their vast pool of trained manpower. |
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India to have 7 auto testing centres within 2 years In a move that is expected to provide a major thrust to the Indian auto industry, the Ministry of Heavy Industries is setting up 7 auto testing centres in the country. These will be operational by September 2011. The auto testing centres will be used for testing new cars before their introduction into the market. Car manufacturers from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia too will be allowed to use these centres for testing purposes. Currently, car manufacturers in India have to go to either Europe or the US to test their cars. |
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Nissan launches new versions of X-Trail, Teana
Nissan India launched new versions of the
X-Trail and the Nissan Teana in Mumbai last week. The new Teana comes with plush interiors, dual sunroofs and Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT). It is powered by a 2.5 litre V6 engine and is priced between Rs 21.03 lakh and Rs 25.40 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).The X-Trail is powered by a diesel engine and is priced between Rs 20.81 lakh and Rs 25.08 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The company hopes that the cars' new versions will give a boost to their sales. The X-Trail and the Teana are brought to India as Completely Built Units (CBUs) and attract a duty of 109 per cent. |
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NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES - Auto News Roundup, 17-September-2009 - Auto News Roundup, 15-September-2009 |
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