Maruti launches CNG variants of Alto, Eeco, Estilo, Wagon R and SX4

India’s largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki launched CNG variants of 5 cars – Alto, Eeco, Estilo, Wagon R and SX4 which can run both on Petrol and CNG. The price of CNG variants ranges from Rs 3.23 lakh to Rs 7.47 lakh ex showroom New Delhi.

Maruti is desperate to regain the supremacy in the Indian automotive industry which it has dominated for more than 15 years. With more number of small cars being launched by other manufacturers, Maruti’s share has been falling for a while. With the launch of these 5 new CNG variants Maruti looks forward to gain more margins in its profits. Also in the pipeline is A star Automatic which will be launched soon.

Prices of Maruti’s CNG vehicles (Ex-showroom, New Delhi)

Alto Lxi – Rs 3.23 lakh

Eeco 5-seater Ac – Rs 3.64 lakh

Estilo Lxi – Rs 4.05 lakh

Wagon R Lxi – Rs 4.11 lakh

SX4 Vxi – Rs 7.47 lakh

Press Release:
“The development is significant on multiple counts. This is the first instance when a car manufacturer has developed and launched factory-fitted, technologically superior CNG engines in India,”.“The company’s big ticket entry into the CNG fuel segment augurs well for the environment,” - Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) managing director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi.

Mahindra Ssangyong deal confirmed

     Now Mahindra is the owner of the Ssangyong Motors of South Korea. Mahindra won the buy out bid for Ssangyong Motors defeating another India bidder PK Ruia Group and a South Korean company Young An Hat Co Ltd, the owner of Daewoo Bus.

VW Polo 1.6 caught in Chakan Plant

     Indianautosblog editor Mr Shrawan happen to click the picture of the Volkswagen Polo 1.6 at the Chakan plant waiting to run for the test track. VW had plans to launch Polo 1.6 somewhere at this time in India, but due to huge waiting peroid for the regular Polos the company has shelved the plan to launch it soon.

     Polo 1.6 with its powerful engine is expected to carve a niche for itself with young performance oriented people option for it. The current Polo with 1.2 L engine though is fuel efficient, lack the performance punch especially on the highways.

     Polo's 1.6 liter petrol engine develops 103.5 bhp of max power and 15.6 kgm of max torque. It is flat 3 seconds quicker than its 1.2 L sibling in 0-100 km mark and cruise to the top speed of 184 kmph.

     VW showrooms have already started booking the Polo 1.6 with a booking amount of Rs 50,000. But neither the showrooms nor the company have disclosed any information about the Polo 1.6 launch at its price.

Honda Jazz X launched in India

     Honda cars has launched a new variant of its premium hatchback Jazz christened Jazz X in India priced at Rs 7.53 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi) with a premium of Rs 42,000/- over the current Jazz.

     Jazz X comes with modifications to both exterior as well as interior. In the exterior, Jazz X sports alloy wheels, new front fog lamps, new grill and rear spoiler. In the interior, Honda has added a USB port to the audio system, rear parcel shelf, height adjustable driver seat and blue black combination of seat colours.

     Under the hood Jazz X has no changes and will be powered by the same 1198 cc SOHC i-VTEC petrol engine with max power of 90 PS@6200rpm and max torque of 110Nm@4800rpm.

     Along with other colours Jazz X is offered with a new colour - Rallye Red. The exisiting colours on Jazz are Tafetta White, Alabaster Silver, Crystal Black Pearl, Sherbet Blue and Deep Sapphire Blue.

Maruti Alto K10 launched in India

     Maruti Suzuki has launched Alto K10 in India priced at Rs 3.03 lakh and Rs 3.16 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi) for LXi and VXi model respectively. Alto K10 is powered by a 998cc K series petrol engine which is also seen in other Maruti vehicles such as Wagon R and A-Star. Apart from engine change the Alto K10 has some cosmetic changes as well.

     In the Exterior, there is a new bumper in the front, new head lamps and a new grill which all together increase the size of the nose and hence the length of the car. In the rear the bumper has been re-designed and so do the tail gate which accommodate the number plate unlike the earlier model in which the number plate was incorporated in the bumper. The tail lamps are also re-designed with a round break lights looking prominent.

     In the Interior, there is all new steering wheel borrowed from Wagon R and many other features such as front power windows, 12v power socket, parcel shelf, colour coordinated fabrics, engine immobilizer etc.

     In the performance category the new Alto K10 does 0-100 kmph in jus 13.3 seconds. It also gets a new cable operated gearbox, upgraded brakes and stiffened suspension. In-spite of more powerful engine Alto K10 returns mileage of 20.2 kmpl according to ARAI.

2011 Porsche Cayenne launched in India

German sports car manufacturer Porsche has launched the new 2011 Cayenne SUV in India, just 4 months after its International launch at Geneva.


The new Porsche Cayenne will be available in all five engine options in India including Cayenne Diesel and the Cayenne S Hybrid. The pricing of Cayenne in India is as follows.

All prices ex-showroom in India

Porsche Cayenne – Rs. 65,82,000/-

Porsche Cayenne S – Rs. 78,62,000/-

Porsche Cayenne Turbo – Rs. 1,27,10,000/-

Porsche Cayenne Diesel – Rs. 59,22,00/-

Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid – Rs. 75,46,000/-

Porsche Cayenne Engine Specifications

Volkswagen small car to be named 'Lupo'

     Volkswagen has been developing a small car to be positioned below the Polo hatchback. The small car based on the 'UP!' concept will be named Lupo. Volkswagen produced Lupo to position below the Golf from 1999 to 2005. Now Lupo will find a place below the Polo which would give large volumes to the company. Lupo falls under a new family which Volkswagon has titled ‘New Small Family’ (NSF).

     The 'UP!' based small car will be also be made by Volkswagen’s subsidiaries Audi, Seat and Skoda in their own versions. The Lupo is also expected to make it to India and positioned below the Polo at Rs 4 lakh. The Indian Lupo might come with a 1 L petrol K Series engine sourced from Suzuki.