Paul Tan's Automotive News » India

Chevrolet MPV Concept unveiled at Delhi Auto Expo 2012

Paul Tan — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 04:21:53 +0000

General Motors India unveiled the Chevrolet MPV Concept at the 11th Auto Expo in New Delhi this week. The MPV Concept is a joint venture project between GM and SAIC, engineered for the B-segment MPV market in India and developed for emerging markets, which pretty much means it is a low cost Toyota Avanza/Nissan Grand Livina competitor.

GM’s India Technical Center worked with Lotus Engineering for about a year and a half to tune the chassis. The body and chassis uses high strength and ultra high strength steel for chassis stiffness and safety. It can seat ether 7 or 8 people in a flexi-seating setup.

Live photos by MotorBeam.com

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Tata Safari Storme – updated SUV debuts in New Delhi

Anthony Lim — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:40:27 +0000

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Tata has unveiled the Safari Storme at the Auto Expo 2012 in India. The new-generation SUV’s exterior has been reworked, with a new front grille, side cladding, new projector headlamps and all-new rear looks heading the list.

Elswhere, the bonnet has also been given a restyling job to include a ‘power bulge’ to lend the Storme a sportier look, and the spare tyre has been relocated to under the vehicle. Other fresh items include new pull-type door handles and side footsteps, as well as newly-designed roof-rails, side cladding and a new tailgate trim, replete with an ergonomically-designed grab handle.

The Safari Storme is powered by a 2.2 litre DiCOR diesel with a Variable Geometry Turbo, and has 140 PS at 4,000 rpm and 320 Nm at 1,700-2,700 rpm for numbers, with a five-speed G-76 Mark II manual transmission in attendance. There’s electronic shift-on-the-fly (ESOF), enabling switching from 2WD to 4WD mode while on the move, and the Storme offers a generous 200 mm of ground clearance, handy for those off-road moments.

Tata has dressed up the Safari Storme’s cabin with the inclusion of beige seats matched with a leather-wrapped steering wheel, chrome highlighted gear knob, wood-accented dashboard and door trim, a new instrument cluster, chrome-lined speaker grilles and inside door handles.

Other interior kit includes tilt-adjustable steering, dual air-conditioning with a separate integrated roof mounted blower for rear passengers and integrated 12V-gadget charging points across all three rows of seating.

Safety-wise, there’s four-channel ABS with EBD, dual front airbags, disc brakes throughout and an Inertia Switch, which automatically cuts off the fuel supply to the engine, unlocks all the doors and switches on the hazard warning light in the event of a crash.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Tata Indica Vista Concept S2 – sporting things up, again

Anthony Lim — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:34:24 +0000

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The party at Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi wouldn’t be complete without Tata Motors, and as expected, the Indian manufacturer has brought a number of new wares to the show, one of them being the Indica Vista Concept S2.

The car is a reinterpretation of the form, as previously seen on the Indica Vista Sport, which came about at the last Auto Expo in 2010. The Concept S2 has a wider and wedge-like stance, and the design features a central volume that’s encased by two arrow-like flanks. A two-tone paint scheme – a matte metallic dark shadow and bright silver combination – and the use of aluminium and red accents helps highlight the shape further.

Dress-up kit includes a metallic brow for the headlamps, a lower grilled with a polished black lip surround and signature LED daytime running lights at the front, while the rear gets a spoiler, restyled rear bumper and a stylised LED tail lamp cluster. The inclusion of side skirts completes the picture.

Inside, the Vista Concept S2 gets a black-themed cabin, with sporty race bucket seats clad in black leather and a smaller diameter, sportier steering wheel among the cue changes.

On the mechanical front, the car wears a turbocharged 1.4 litre petrol engine offering 140 PS at 6,000 rpm and 188 Nm of torque at 3,500 rpm, mated to a five-speed Fiat C510 manual gearbox with revised gear ratios. With disc brakes all around and a retuned and beefed up suspension, as well as 17-inch alloys and 205/40 series rubbers, Tata says this one is every bit the handler as it looks suggest.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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DC Avanti – 2.0L Ford Ecoboost-powered Indian sports car

Danny Tan — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:32:20 +0000

Indian design house DC Design has come up with a sports car. Called DC Avanti, the red flat nosed two-door was unveiled at the India Auto Expo by Bollywood legend and car buff Amitabh Bachchan. DC plans to put India’s first sports car to production in 2013.

“We intend to produce 300 units of the Avanti in 2013-2014 and if all goes well we could ramp up the production to go into four figures per annum,” DC Design founder Dilip Chhabria said.

No big engine here, the mid engined DC Avanti will powered by a Ford 2.0L four-cylinder turbocharged EcoBoost engine with 261 bhp. A V6 variant with 394 bhp will follow. Both mills can be had with a 6 M/T or a six-speed dual clutch transmission. The Avanti, which uses aluminium extensively, weighs 1,560 kg, and 0-100 m/h will take less than seven seconds.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Bajaj RE60 – not a car, but a four-wheeler vehicle

Anthony Lim — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:01:59 +0000

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It has four wheels, has a car-like shape (can’t say if it drives like one though), but its maker says it isn’t a car. It’s the Bajaj Auto RE60, which was unveiled yesterday, ahead of the 2012 New Delhi Auto Expo.

You’d be forgiven if you thought that the rather ungainly RE60 has come about to compete with the Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, but Bajaj says it’s not the case – rather, the 400 kg hatchback has been designed to give drivers of three-wheeled vehicles the chance to move up to the safer performance of a four-wheeler, on the cheap.

Click to enlarge.

The boxy vehicle measures in at 2.75 metres long, 1.31 metres wide and 1.65 metres tall, and is powered by a whopping 20 hp 200 cc engine, which is rear-mounted. The little mill is capable of running on LPG and CNG as well as petrol, and gives the RE60 a 70 km/h top speed. Bajaj says that the car will give 35 km to the litre in regular use.

The RE60, on which work began in 2007, will be made at Aurangabad, which is where Bajaj produces its three-wheeler range. It’s expected to roll in cheaper than the Nano, but then again, it’s not being tagged as a car.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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India’s Mahindra & Mahindra linked to bankrupt Saab

Danny Tan — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 02:50:15 +0000

Saab may be bankrupt financially, but it has no lack of suitors. After rumours of a sale to the Turkish government surfaced last week, word has it that India’s biggest SUV maker is an interested party. The said company is Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, which is interested in buying at least parts of bankrupt Swedish carmaker, two people familiar with the situation said.

The maker of the Scorpio is in the process of trying to set up meetings with the two court-appointed administrators who are overseeing Saab’s bankruptcy, according to the sources, who want to remain anonymous because the plans are private. M&M spokeswoman Roma Balwani declined to comment.

M&M is no stranger to buying a bankrupt company. In early 2011, the Indian brand completed the purchase of a 70% stake in SsangYong Motor Co for about $368 million, as it sought to benefit from the South Korean company’s technology and international sales network. After the takeover, SsangYong revealed that it plans to spend more than 240 billion won ($208 million) on product development and brand building in the year, hinting at M&M’s financial muscle.

Recently, Mahindra also bought out Renault’s stake in the Logan sedan joint venture and took control of Bangalore-based Reva Electric Car Co, so its appetite is obvious. Is Saab about to join the list?

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Tata Nano improved for 2012 – more power and economy

Danny Tan — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 03:00:45 +0000

The Tata Nano, famous as the world’s cheapest car, hasn’t been as hot-selling as Tata has hoped, although it has been hot enough to catch fire occasionally. Tata seeks to reverse this (sales, not fire risk) by improving the small car for 2012. More power, more economy, more features, but at the same price, is the formula used.

The 600 kg Nano’s 624 cc engine gets slight improvements – it now puts out 38 PS (was 35 PS) and 51 Nm of torque (was 48 Nm). Claimed best case fuel consumption is now 25.4 km/l from 23.6 km/l. The nano has a top speed of 105 km/h and the ability to climb 30% inclines.

There’s also a revised suspension set-up, including an anti-roll bar at the front, a “steering mechanism made even easier” plus a racier sounding exhaust note for “a more assertive road presence.” Booster-assisted brakes, already available in the CX and LX trim, have now been added to the Standard as well. There’s also the addition of bright new colours, including the likes of Neon Rush, Mojito Green and Papaya Orange.

The better news for Indians is that there will be no price increase. The Nano Standard is priced at Rs.1.40 lakhs (RM8,500), the Nano CX Rs.1.70 lakhs (RM10,300) and Rs.1.96 lakhs (RM11,870) for the top spec Nano LX, which includes kit like central locking, front power windows, body coloured bumpers, fog lamps, electronic trip meter and full wheel covers. Downpayment starts from a low Rs.15,000 (RM908) with financing tenure up to 60 months.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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India’s Premier Rio CRDI is a diesel-powered Kembara!

Danny Tan — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:23:13 +0000

Miss the Perodua Kembara? Some might, but we reckon most don’t. Here’s something you might not know – the Kembara a.k.a. Daihatsu Terios is still on sale in India today, where it’s known as the Premier Rio. Billed as “India’s first compact SUV”, the Rio is available as a 1.2 petrol (77 PS/104 Nm) or a 1.5 turbodiesel with 65 PS and 152 Nm.

India’s car buyers have embraced diesel big time, but the Rio diesel hasn’t been selling well. That’s because the current oil burner doesn’t meet the country’s Bharat Stage IV emissions standards (we’ll just have to wait till 2014) that most big cities already use – it’s just BSIII compliant. But reports mention that from next year, the Rio will be adopting a BSIV compliant diesel engine to be more competitive.

This diesel engine is question is said to be the 1.3-litre Multijet sourced from Fiat. Indians are very familar with this license built engine, as it also powers top selling cars like the Maruti Swift and Tata Indica Vista, among other models. The proven engine puts out 75 PS and 190 Nm at 2,000 rpm, which should be very useful in small cars.

Perhaps if we had such an engine with the Kembara, we would have missed it more!

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Mahindra launches XUV500 in India – 2.2L VGT Diesel

Danny Tan — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 07:50:49 +0000

Mahindra has launched a new SUV called the XUV500 in India. This modern looking seven seater SUV, viewed as the company’s most important SUV since the Scorpio, is also a landmark model – the XUV500 is the first Indian SUV to be built around a car-style monocoque chassis, which means no ladder frame and truck like suspension here.

The XUV500 is powered by a 2.2-litre mHawk engine with Variable Geometry Turbocharger, VGT. This diesel engine is already found in the old school bodied Scorpio, but boast better figures here: 140 hp and 330 Nm of torque from 1,600 to 2,800 rpm. Indian customers can choose between FWD and AWD variants, but both share a six-speed manual gearbox.

By the way, the Mahindra Scorpio is sold in Malaysia by USF, and the RM113k seven seater comes with a 120 hp/290 Nm version of the mHawk diesel lump, paired to a six-speed auto ‘box.

Quantum leap in looks aside, the XUV500 should be a more comfortable ride than the Scorpio, since it comes with monocoque chassis, front MacPherson struts and rear multi link suspension. It sits much lower to the ground on those 235/65 R17 rubber, and the wheelbase is quite long at 2,700 mm. The AWD is of the full-time on demand variety, and it’s not a serious off roader. No diff lock, but there’s hill descent control.

Attractive ex showroom Delhi prices start from Rs 10.8 lakh (RM70,400) for the 2WD W6 spec to Rs 12.88 lakh (RM83,900) for the range topping AWD W8 model.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Honda Brio debuts in India – set to take fight to Suzuki

Anthony Lim — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:59:25 +0000

Honda has given its Brio hatchback its Indian debut – the car was officially introduced two days ago, and enters the country’s most popular vehicle segment looking to chip away the dominance held by the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Swift and Hyundai’s i10.

Reports state that the 1.2 litre Brio will be priced between US$8,040 (RM25,635) and US$10,381 (RM33,100) in showrooms in New Delhi. Honda Siel Cars said that the competitive price has been achieved through efforts to control costs, maximising production efficiencies and minimising the impact of currency fluctuations, primarily through parts localisation.

The company says it sources 80% of the Brio’s parts locally, with an aim of increasing it to 90%, adding that Brio parts are already being exported from India to Thailand, where the model made its global debut in November last year, and its production debut in March; the company also provides Indian-sourced parts for the City and Jazz models it assembles in Thailand. The Brio is set to be sold in Indonesia next year.

Honda also said that it is mulling the possibility of exporting the Brio to neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal in the near future, though it had no immediate plans to bring out a diesel version of the compact for the Indian market.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Hyundai Eon launching soon in India, sits below i10

Danny Tan — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 05:06:53 +0000

Hyundai is ready to roll out a small car in India that sits below the i10. Called Eon, the affordable five-door hatch will be Hyundai’s weapon against India’s best seller, the Maruti Alto (not to be confused with our Suzuki Alto, which is called A-Star there) as well as high spec versions of the Tata Nano.

These sketches show that although the Hyundai Eon will be a bargain basement model, design is still very much on the agenda. We can see the company’s Fluidic Sculpture design in full play here – familiar cues include Hyundai’s hexagon grille, long headlamps and wavy surfacing on the profile.

The rear end is also unmistakably Hyundai with those long vertical lamps. With such sophisticated design, this is a cheap car that doesn’t look cheap.

The same goes for the interior, which is dual toned and equally curvy. The design, which directs one’s eyes to the centre console, is also in line with Hyundai’s latest products.

Reports from India are speculating that the Eon, codenamed HA, sits on a new platform that’s not shared with the i10. Apparently, it will be powered by a 814 cc SOHC 3-cylinder petrol engine with 56 PS and 75 Nm. The speculated ex-showroom price is 2.5 to 3 lakh rupees, which is roughly equivalent to RM16.2k to RM19.5k.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Tata GoldPlus Nano finally debuts – clad in 80 kg of gold, 15 kg of silver and 10,000 semi-precious gems

Anthony Lim — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 03:10:25 +0000

The edition was announced some time back, but now it has finally made its official debut – the Tata GoldPlus Nano, all Rs 220 million (US$4.6 million) worth of compact car, was unveiled in Mumbai yesterday.

Working on the idea that nothing succeeds like excess, the one-off Nano’s exterior is completely covered by 80 kg of 22-karat gold, 15 kg of silver as well as 10,000 semi-precious stones and gems. It’s all good enough to make the US$220,000 D.C. Design Nano a poor man’s choice. And let’s not even bother to count how many basic Nano‘s you could get for the price of this one.

Unfortunately, all that glitter can’t be bought – the car is to be used for branding and promotional purposes by GoldPlus Jewellery, which happens to be part of Titan Industries, which is a Tata Group company. GoldPlus happens to be the largest jewellery retail chain in Tamil Nadu.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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New Maruti Swift off to a great start, 80% ordered diesel!

Danny Tan — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 07:06:13 +0000

Maruti Suzuki launched the new Swift in India last week, and the supermini has got off to the best possible start. Even before the price was announced at the launch, Maruti received an amazing 50,000 bookings for its latest model, and the waiting period starts from three months.

Maruti plans to sell 18,000 units of the new Swift per month, making it the market leading brand’s second biggest model in terms of volume, second only to the Alto. It’s looking like a successful sequel to the success that is the previous gen Swift, which found over 600,000 new Indian owners since it was launched back in 2005.

Here’s something more interesting: of the 50k pre orders, 80% of them were for the Swift Diesel, proving that diesel torque and economy is really catching on in the subcontinent!

The oil burner in question is a Fiat sourced 1.3-litre DDiS engine with 75 PS and 190 Nm of torque from 2,000 rpm. Maruti quotes 22.9 km/l economy, which should be a best effort cruising figure. The other option is a 1.2-litre K series petrol engine with 87 PS and 114 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. This one does 18.6 km/l.

Wouldn’t it be great if Suzuki introduces a diesel option when they launch the new Swift here?

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Toyota to launch diesel powered Etios in India next month

Danny Tan — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 09:01:46 +0000

Toyota’s decision to make a small saloon for India, and its first hatchback for the country, seems to be paying off. Sales of the Etios is currently above expectations – in the seven months since it was launched, the Etios has found 37,000 new homes, 7,000 above Toyota’s estimates. The Etios Liva hatchback received 1,400 bookings in just four days after its June 27 launch.

The Etios was launched with a 2NR-FE 1.5-litre engine (90 PS/132 Nm), while the Liva is powered by a 1.2L with 80 PS and 104 Nm of torque. While they should be entirely adequate for the compact duo, Toyota will be wheeling out a diesel powered Etios sedan, and the estimated date of arrival is in September, a festive season in India where sales peak.

According to Autocar India, the oil burner in question is a 1,364 cc turbodiesel that also powers India’s Corolla. However, the version in the cheaper Etios will not get the bigger car’s Variable Nozzle Turbo (VNT), and will make do with fixed geometry boost.

The mag speculates a max power figure of 75 hp, 12 horses less than in the Corolla. But we all know that diesels are all about low rpm torque and the D-4D in the six-speed manual Altis makes 205 Nm at 1,800 to 2,800 rpm.

Sounds good, and fuel consumption in the 900-plus kg Etios should be brilliant. While it looks rather bland, the Etios has the same 2,550 mm wheelbase as the Vios (meaning it’s quite roomy) and a huge 595-litre boot.

Do you think something like this will work in Malaysia?

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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New Hindustan VEER is an Ambassador pick-up spin-off

Danny Tan — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 02:21:11 +0000

No such thing as living forever? Bet they haven’t found the Hindustan Ambassador from India. Based on the Morris Oxford III from the 1940s, it was once India’s most popular car, and is still sold today with little changes from the original. Not only is it still selling, Hindustan Motors has just launched a pick-up variant of the Amby called VEER.

The VEER is a 0.8-tonne (200 kg short of our usual 1-tonne) small commercial vehicle. Based on the (very) tried and tested Ambassador platform, it carries changes in transmission and suspension systems suitable for a load carrier. It is available in both diesel (BS III) and CNG (BS IV) versions. There are two models – VEER and VEER LX. While VEER has a separate load tray, VEER LX’s load tray is seamlessly integrated with the front cabin.

Hindustan says that the uniqueness of VEER lies in the fact that it offers the comfort of a car. Inside the cab is a three-seat bench. Priced at Rs 3.30 lakh ex-showroom Kolkata (RM22k), the VEER is now available in East India with plans to go nationwide over the current financial year.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Renault-Nissan to independently develop cars for India

Anthony Lim — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 01:40:59 +0000

According to reports, the Renault-Nissan Alliance has announced in a statement that it will be independently developing several passenger cars for the Indian market, which will include entry-level designs. This follows on an announcement made by Bajaj Auto last week that it has effectively canned a project to develop a low-cost minicar model for the Alliance members.

Initial plans for the minicar had Bajaj Auto, India’s second-largest motorcycle manufacturer by sales, teaming up with Renault and Nissan in a JV project on a 50:50 basis, with Bajaj holding half the stake and Renault and Nissan sharing the other half – the effort was to see Bajaj introduce the low-cost model next year to compete with the Tata Nano in its home market.

With several differences coming about, the three companies then decided to settle on a partnership that would have seen Bajaj developing the model and Renault and Nissan responsible for its branding and marketing.

Now, that’s off too – Bajaj’s MD Rajiv Bajaj stated that the company has shelved the minicar project because it found the venture commercially unviable. “From 2007 until 2009, we had an initial plan with Renault and Nissan to develop a low-cost small car which would be like the Nano,” Bajaj was qouted as saying, but during a meeting in November 2009 he told Carlos Ghosn that the minicar was unviable.

Bajaj stated that the partnership with Renault and Nissan continues intact, adding that his company will unveil a low-cost commercial vehicle – which will have passenger applications as well – in New Delhi in January that will also be showcased to both Renault and Nissan which, should they decide to go ahead with the project, will develop the passenger application aspects of the platform.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Indian market Toyota Etios Liva takes on the Maruti Swift

Danny Tan — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 08:57:01 +0000

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Toyota has launched its first ever hatchback in India, the Etios Liva. A five-door hatchback version of the earlier Etios compact sedan, the Liva is being branded as a “Q-Class hatch” with the “Q” supposedly standing for “legendary Toyota quality”. Priced from Rs 3.99 lakh, the Liva will have to lure Indian buyers away from the popular Maruti Swift and the Nissan Micra, among other hatchbacks.

There will be four trim levels for the Liva, but all share the same 3NR-FE, four-cylinder 1.2L petrol engine. This DOHC unit makes 80 PS and 104 Nm of torque. It’s not much, but the peak figures are developed at relatively low rpms – 5,600 rpm for power and 3,100 rpm for torque, which is a suitable for a car like this. It’s exclusively paired to a five-speed manual gearbox – no auto option is available.

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The suspension is par for the class – front McPherson struts and a rear torsion beam – while the brakes are ventilated discs up front with rear drums. Lower spec versions ride on 14-inch wheels while the costlier ones come with 185/60 R15 rubber.

The Etios Liva is 3,775mm long and 1,695mm wide, which makes its footprint slightly larger (15mm longer, 5mm wider) than the Suzuki Swift. The Toyota’s 2,460mm wheelbase is also longer than the Swift, and by a substantial 70mm, so it wins the space war. Boot volume is 251 litres.

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Toyota will be selling four trim variants – J, G, V and VX. The equipment list isn’t very long on the baseline J, which gets air con, body coloured bumpers, digital trip meter, wheelcaps, a cooled glovebox and an engine immobiliser. The G spec adds on electric power steering with tilt, power windows, central locking, intermittent wipers and a 12v power outlet.

One step up is the V, which has niceties such as a tachometer, 2-DIN CD/MP3/USB player, driver seatbelt warning, fabric door cards, rear wiper and washer, rear window defogger, fog lamps and 12-spoke alloys. The Rs 5.99 lakh VX gets the two-tone cabin you see here, leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, chrome door handles, and chrome shift knob. Dual airbags, ABS and EBD are optional on the G but standard on the V and VX.

An inexpensive Toyota hatchback like the Liva is bound to sell well here, but don’t count on it coming for obvious reasons.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Maruti to launch Suzuki Cervo in India later this year?

Danny Tan — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:25:18 +0000

Maruti Suzuki has a large family of small cars in India, ranging from the super basic 800 to the Swift, which is actually a big hatchback there. In between them is the best selling Alto (based on Mk5 Suzuki Alto), the tallboy Estilo (MR Wagon in Japan), the Wagon R, the A-Star (we know it here as the Suzuki Alto) and the Ritz, which is called Splash in Europe.

According to reports, the market leading brand will add another model to that large family of hatchbacks, and it’s the Suzuki Cervo, which comes in a modern monobox design. Launched in Japan in 2006, the Cervo is one of Suzuki’s many kei cars, which means that it conforms to the usual footprint and 660cc limits.

Some Indian commentators say that it will be positioned as a Tata Nano rival, while others claim that it will be placed a notch above the Alto. Its arrival is more certain though, and some say that it will be launched in October, in time for this year’s Diwali celebrations.

Other upcoming models for Maruti are the new Swift and the R III MPV. The latter, which is a “made in India for India” model shown in concept form at last year’s Delhi show, has already been caught undergoing testing lately.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Funny little things: New Tata Magic Iris and Ace Zip

Danny Tan — Tue, 31 May 2011 07:05:36 +0000

Not sure if you remember that funny little penguin that was spotted back in 2009, but it has just been launched as the Tata Ace Zip in India. Together with covered sister Magic Iris, the duo look soft toy cute (to me at least) with their wide open eyes and odd proportions. Eyelashes will work well here, don’t you think?

Wait, it gets funnier. The one with the roof, Magic Iris, is described as a four-wheel, 3-4 seater small passenger carrier, a good alternative to those three-wheelers that are popular in India. The pick-up bodied Ace Zip on the other hand, is described by the press release as a 600-kg micro truck “for deep-penetration goods movement”. By the way, this is not Google Translate playing tricks, the release is in English. Deep penetration goods movement, I like!

Both are powered by a 611 cc, water cooled engine with 11 hp and 31 Nm of torque. Those wheels are 12-inch items. No performance figures are given, but the Ace Zip’s payload is 600 kg. Turning radius is a small 3.5 metres. The body is all steel, including the hard top and double steel sheet doors on the Magic Iris.

The Magic Iris is priced at Rs 1.95 lakh (about RM13,000) while the Ace Zip costs Rs 1.90 lakh, ex showroom Thane without octroi tax. They come with a warranty of 36,000 km or 12 months.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Jaguar Land Rover opens its first Indian plant at Pune

Danny Tan — Mon, 30 May 2011 18:28:52 +0000

Jaguar Land Rover has officially opened its first assembly plant in India last week. Located in Pune in the Maharashtra region, the facility will first assemble the Land Rover Freelander 2, supplied to it by in Complete Knock Down (CKD) form from JLR’s Halewood plant in the UK. It has the capacity to assemble 3,500 vehicles annually.

Two variants of the SUV will be available, the TD4 SE Automatic and the SD4 HSE Automatic. They’re now cheaper by Rs 2.5-3 lakh compared to previous fully imported CBU units.

According to the Tata owned company, the Pune facility (it’s not newly built, production line at the Tata owned building was earlier used by Mercedes) will be subject to JLR’s mainstream launch quality processes and will be overseen by experienced manufacturing and quality managers who have moved to India from the UK.

“Today marks a significant step in our growth strategy for the Indian market. The opening of this plant demonstrates close co-operation between the parent company Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover and we are keen to develop this further,” said Carl-Peter Forster, CEO and MD of parent company Tata Motors.

JLR is also planning a new £400 million engine plant in India, supposedly a “carbon copy” of a facility JLR has already announced for for the UK. It will churn out four-cylinder engines that are modular in design and up to 2.0 litres in capacity.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Jaguar-LR to build four-cylinder engine plant in India

Danny Tan — Fri, 27 May 2011 02:57:50 +0000

Tata owned Jaguar Land Rover is planning a new £400 million engine plant in India, sources told Autocar India. Apparently, the plant will be a “carbon copy” of a facility JLR has already announced for for the UK, which is believed to be in Wolverhampton. It’s possible that the Indian plant will be in Pune, a city that will also host a previously announced Land Rover assembly plant.

The Indian plant will make four-cylinder engines that are modular in design and up to 2.0 litres in capacity, according to sources. This fits in with JLR’s intention to replace the relatively expensive four-cylinder diesel and petrol engines it buys from previous owner Ford. The V6 and V8 engines they use will continue to be made by Ford in Bridgend and Dagenham for the time being.

It won’t be so soon though, as work on the Indian plant will only start after the UK plant. But when both new factories are up and running, they can churn out up to 500,000 units a year, enough to supply assembly in China, which was announced by CEO Carl Peter-Forster mid last year.

Jaguar Land Rover is doing pretty well under Tata ownership. They have just announced the biggest-ever profit in British automotive history with after-tax earnings of £1.043 billion for the recent financial year. This is few fold more than the £300 million previous record posted in the 2007, JLR’s last full year under Ford custody. Vehicle sales in China and India have made this possible – sales rocketed by 33% and 61% respectively.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Honda developing diesel engine for Indian market City

Danny Tan — Wed, 25 May 2011 05:52:28 +0000

The Japanese are a long way behind Europe in diesel technology, but catching up has never been a big priority for them. Understandably so, since their major markets Japan, North America, China and ASEAN are petrol dominated, and they’re just bit part players in Europe.

But with high growth markets such as India embracing diesel in a big way, Japanese brands may lose out in the long term to rivals like Volkswagen. Market leader Maruti Suzuki buys oil burners from Fiat, and No.2 brand Hyundai has its own diesels, but companies like Honda have nothing in the bag at present. They realise this, and are doing something about it.

“The rapid dieselisation of the market has happened only in the last one year, as the price difference between diesel and petrol has gone up from Rs 10 to Rs 21. We had to prioritise our efforts to be a big brand with big volumes, which will come from Brio. We are developing a diesel engine in Japan to power City,” revealed Jnaneswar Sen, Senior VP Sales & Marketing at Honda Siel India.

A City Diesel won’t debut anytime soon, though. “It could take us more than two years,” Mr Sen added. Surely they’ll be hoping that not too much ground is lost in the process.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Indian market Ford Fiesta Sedan 1.6L TDCi with 203 Nm!

Danny Tan — Mon, 09 May 2011 20:15:21 +0000

Ford launched the new Fiesta in India last month, and at the same time renamed the car it replaced as Fiesta Classic, which is cheaper than the new car. However, unlike us in ASEAN, the Indian market gets only the sedan version without the sporty five-door hatchback. The Fiesta is the first of eight global models Ford will be bringing to the fast growing market by 2015.

There are two engine options in India, the 1.6-litre Ti-VCT petrol engine with 120 PS or a 1.6-litre TDCI engine, an option we don’t have here in Malaysia. The diesel puts out 90 PS and 203 Nm of torque, which is about 30 horses less, but 51 Nm more than the petrol unit. The latter will certainly be felt more in urban traffic. No Powershift; both engines work with a five-speed manual.

Both powerplants are better than those in the Fiesta Classic, in line with Ford’s positioning. The older car makes do with a 101 PS 1.6 Duratec petrol and a 68 PS/160 Nm 1.4L diesel unit.

Aimed at the Honda City, the Chennai made Fiesta comes well equipped with Voice Control and all the kit our 1.6 Sport has. However, the Indian car adds on cruise control with buttons on the right steering spoke.

The instruments are identical, but they’re lit up in a light blue hue as opposed to white. The rim design is also new.

All very nice, but if there’s anything we envy, it’s the diesel option.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Indian market Ford Fiesta Classic slots below the new one

Danny Tan — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 01:33:24 +0000

The current Ford Fiesta sedan will be unveiled in India today, where it will take on cars like the Honda City and VW Vento (Polo sedan). But there are plenty of sales to fight for below this price segment, where Toyota’s Etios and the Maruti Swift Dzire play in. So instead of pensioning off the old Fiesta sedan, Ford has decided to give it a new name – Fiesta Classic – and position it below the new Fiesta.

No Kinetic Design going on here, but the Fiesta Classic doesn’t look too bad with its square cut lines and small scale Focus sedan look. The front design adopts the “mouth” of the new Fords while the rear looks a bit like the Proton Saga. In fact, this 4,282 mm long, 1,686 mm wide Ford’s footprint is largely similar to the Saga as well. The proportions are certainly better than some hatch turned sedans on sale today.

The Fiesta Classic is powered by two engines – a 1.6 Duratec petrol and a 1.4 Duratorq diesel. The gasoline engine puts out 101 PS and 146 Nm, while the 8-valve SOHC TDCi unit makes 68 PS and 160 Nm from 2,000 rpm. Sounds paltry, but the oil burner should be good enough for a small car – I didn’t have any hardship in a Renault Kangoo diesel with the same amount of twist. The gearbox is a five-speed manual.

Ford says that “a leading automotive magazine” tested the Fiesta Classic in a cross country drive and the diesel delivered 30 km/l while the petrol did 20 km/l. Even if you deduct 5 km/l to compensate for realistic use, it’s still quite good. The petrol variant starts at Rs. 549,030 while diesel models are from Rs. 648,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The Classic should be a welcome budget saloon for the Indian market, as it’s tried and tested, familiar, and economical to buy and run. I like the fact that there’s always a diesel option in budget segments, something we don’t get to enjoy here in Malaysia.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Mahindra completes Ssangyong deal as scheduled

Anthony Lim — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 02:59:58 +0000

As scheduled, Mahindra & Mahindra has completed its acquisition of a majority stake in SsangYong Motor Company, and now owns a 70% share in the Korean automaker.

The deal, which has seen Mahindra forking out US$463 million for the purchase, will see Ssangyong investing heavily this coming year on product development and brand building, now that cash is flowing in. Around 240 billion (US$211.8 million) Korean Won has been projected for expenditure, with 200 billion set for product development and 40 billion for brand builidng.

Mahindra says that no decision has been taken yet on whether there would be any changes involving renaming Ssangyong or with the branding of its products. Plans to launch the Rexton and Korando-C in India have already begun – the two vehicles are expected be introduced there by the end of this year.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Tata keen to work with Proton, says DPM Muhyiddin

Danny Tan — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:27:03 +0000

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is on an official visit to India, has revealed that Indian carmaker Tata Motors has expressed interest to enter the Malaysian market. The maker of the world’s cheapest car plans to do this by working with national carmaker Proton.

“Mr Tata (Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Group) is keen to work with Proton again. About seven or eight years ago there were some joint discussions to manufacture cars but nothing came out of it. Now our automotive policy is more liberal and there are new opportunities,” Muhyiddin said.

“It’s now up to the Proton management to study this proposal and whether a car like the Nano can be brought into Malaysia. Perhaps we can also come up with a kereta rakyat costing about RM20,000, modelled after the Nano,” the DPM suggested to Malaysian journalists in Mumbai.

“He felt there should be some synergy because they had been in the automotive industry for a long time. He can bring his technical team to discuss with Proton or Perodua,” added Muhyiddin, although we’re not sure if Perodua, which is part owned by Daihatsu and has its own compact car plans, will be interested in such a development.

A cheap Tata Nano based kereta rakyat, anyone?

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Honda to launch BRIO compact later this month in Thailand

Anthony Lim — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 06:23:23 +0000

Honda is slated to officially unveil the production BRIO in Thailand later this month, according to reports. Initial news filtering through had the car set for its world premiere – on March 17 – in India, but it seems that Thailand is where it’s all going to happen first, in this case the Royal Paragon Hall at Siam Paragon in Bangkok on that date.

The A-segment hatch, developed for Asian markets, emerged as a prototype last November at the Thailand International Motor Expo; we were there at its world debut.

The entry-level car is designated as an urban commuter, with easy-to-handle characteristics through a small form (smaller than the Jazz and the City), but with lots of cabin space achieved by highly efficient packaging.

Both Thailand and India will get unique versions to reflect different customer needs in those markets, and the car is set to compete with the likes of the Suzuki Alto, Hyundai i10 and Kia Picanto, among others.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Tata Pixel: Four seater Nano based concept for Europe

Danny Tan — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 06:45:29 +0000

It’s based on the world’s cheapest car, but the Pixel concept Tata showed at Geneva looked anything but cheap. The Nano based city car concept looks like it could have been from any Japanese carmaker; in fact, it looks very familiar, just that we can’t point out exactly where we’ve seen this before!

Designed with Europe in mind, the Pixel, which is just over three metres in length, is claimed to be the most package efficient four-seater in the world. Tata says that it can comfortably accommodate four adults, which makes it more capacious than the 3+1 Toyota iQ. Tata says that those tall scissor doors allow effortless entry for all passengers in the tightest of spaces – I’m sure they didn’t have a shopping mall car park in mind!

A 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine sits in the rear of the Pixel. It’s said to be a low-friction design featuring variable coolant and oil pump and rapid warm-up systems. With a slippery shape, low rolling-resistance tyres and stop-start, the Pixel’s fuel economy is rated at 3.4 l/100km on the European combined cycle while CO2 emissions are just 89 g/km.

What’s unique here is the “Zero Turn toroidal traction-drive Infinitely Variable Transmission”. This efficient, cost-effective system assists rotation of the outer rear wheel forwards and the inner rear wheel backwards during low-speed manoeuvres, while the front wheels turn at acute angles. The result is a turning circle radius of just 2.6 metres.

Gallery after the jump.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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New Tata Pixel to be unveiled at Geneva this week?

Paul Tan — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:02:53 +0000

The Tata Nano hasn’t exactly been the runaway success that Ratan Tata was hoping for it to be, but that hasn’t stopped Tata from planning a new larger car to complement the Nano in its next generation product family.

The new car is expected to be called the Tata Pixel and it will be unveiled at this week’s Geneva show in concept form, powered by a 3 cylinder turbodiesel engine. It will be bigger than the Tata Nano and the concept version will feature gull-wing doors, something not likely to make it to production.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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Proton in talks with Hindustan Motors for Indian contract manufacturing deal – annoucement expected in February?

Anthony Lim — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 03:45:28 +0000

More news has emerged about Proton’s anticipated move into the Indian market – the company is said to be in talks with Hindustan Motors, India’s oldest automaker, to sign a contract manufacturing deal in which it will be using HM’s platform to assemble its portfolio cars in India.

Reports indicate that an announcement regarding the tie-up is likely to be made by around end of February, and Proton is expected to use HM’s Chennai plant, which was initially established for the assembly of the Mitsubishi Lancer. It has also been speculated that the new contract manufacturing tie-up might be extended to HM’s ailing plants that are located in Indore and Uttarpara.

The Proton models that are expected to be initially launched in the Indian market are the Saga, Persona, Exora and Emas hybrid models.

According to an Indian daily, Hindustan Motors’ MD Manoj Jha was qouted as saying otherwise recently. “In the automobile business, there are all kinds of discussions with all sorts of companies at all points of time, but the discussions with Proton that you are talking about is not taking place.”

It has been more than a year since Proton has been mulling to enter into a contract manufacturing tie-up with an Indian firm. In previous years, the company had been in talks with the likes of Mahindra & Mahindra and the Hero group.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 12 Feb 12 07:58:40 +0000.

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