New artist impression of Volkswagen Vento

     Soon to be launched Volkswagen Vento has been rendered by Jorge L Fernandez. The picture above looks very similar to the VW sketches of Vento released some days ago. Autocar India magazine had also rendered the pictures of Vento which was published in the May 2010 issue. However we feel this picture is very clear and will be very close to the actual shape of the car.

Mahindra buys 55% stake in Reva, renames it as Mahindra Reva

     Mahindra & Mahindra have bought 55.2% controlling stake in Bangalore based Reva Electric Car Company and has renamed it as Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicle Company.

     Mahindra Reva will continue the production of Reva electric cars and hopefully sell it through the Mahindra’s existing dealership network. The EV technology will slowly be incorporated in the entire range of Mahindra vehicle in the coming years.

     Reva had collaborated with GM to provide EV technology for its small cars. GM had showed its electric small car concept eSpark at this year Auto Expo which was slated for December launch. However with the Mahindra buyout, GM is expected to back out from the venture.
Press release:
Mahindra enters high growth electric car segment; acquires majority stake in REVA


• Mahindra to have 55.2% equity in REVA Electric Car Company (REVA).

• Company to be renamed Mahindra REVA Electric Vehicle Company (Mahindra REVA)

• Mahindra REVA to leverage Mahindra’s vehicle development expertise

• Mahindra REVA electric technology to be deployed in Mahindra vehicles

• Dr Pawan Goenka elected Chairman of the newly constituted board

Nissan’s next plan for India - Micra sedan

     It looks Nissan and Renault has come to India with some serious plans. After launching the Micra small car, Nissan is contemplating to launch a sedan based on the Micra. Booking for Micra has already been started and the response so far has been very good.

     Though the sedan will be based on Micra platform, technically speaking - ‘V Platform’ which is created by Nissan and Renault JV for low cost vehicles, the exterior styling will be different as compared to Micra. As seen from the picture the sedan boast a very aggressive look with some sharp edges in front and rear.

     Micra Sedan might be a late entry to the crowed Indian mid sized car market, but if priced competitively as done for the Logan, who knows it might snatch a good share of its pie from the market leaders.

VW starts Vetno production in India

     Volkswagen has started the production of its mid sized sedan Vento at its plant at Chakan, Maharashtra. Vento is the sedan version of the small car Polo which was launched couple of months back.

     Vento will be positioned to rival segment bench marker Honda City. It would be hard for VW to match a Honda product, the diesel option will surely make it a definite winner. Thanks to the competition, Honda is also considering to power its cars with diesel engines now.

     Vento is expected to be launched by August-September this year. It is expected to be priced competitively between Rs 7 to 9 lakh.