The best B Segment car in India

     It is no doubt that everyone will agree that Maruti Swift is the best B Segment car in India. We have a question on it. Why does Swift is the best B Segment in car in India. There are more than one answer.

     The Maruti Swift compared to its competitors namely Polo, Micra, i20 is priced lesser. The other most advantage of Swift is that it is a Maruti. Being a Maruti it is easier to service your car with much cheaper spare part price. 

     

     The design of the Swift is so fresh, it will go on selling like hot cakes for another 5 years. The only disadvantage of Swift is its rear seats. The rear seats are cramped and you will find hard to get in and get out if the front seats are pushed even little behind. Suzuki has worked on it and has developed an all new Swift which is wider and has good leg room for rear passengers.

     The million dollar question arises now? Does Maruti launch the all new Swift along the the existing Swift. We see many cars in India being continued along with its last generation model. We at Automobile Planet feel, Maruti is in big confusion perhaps the biggest confusion it has faced in its history. 

     If Maruti launch the new Swift along with the old generation one, it has to price the new Swift above the current Swift. This would make the new Swift come into Micra, Polo and i20 category which we feel are over priced. If the new Swift replace the current one, Maruti will lose the customer base who have showed great interest in the present Swift. It is indeed a tricky situation which Maruti has to sort it out cleverly. We feel Maruti has been good at strategies and would come out with good solution in regards to its one of the best cars Swift. 

Yamaha FZ new variants launched in India

      Yamaha Motor India has launched three new variants of its FZ series of bikes with prices ranging from Rs. 67,000/- to Rs. 74,000/-. The new variants of the FZ series – FZ, FZ-S and Fazer has undergone complete makeover and costs Rs. 67,000/-, Rs. 69,000/- and Rs. 74,000/- respectively. (Prices ex-showroom, New Delhi).

     The company will soon launch a media campaign featuring Yamaha brand ambassador John Abraham to promote these bikes. The new variants come with kick start, new logo and range of colours to match the changing tastes.


     Mr. Hiroyuki Suzuki, CEO and MD of Yamaha Motor India expressed happiness about the way FZ has been received in India and hopes to have same attention from the customers on these new variants.

Audi A7 Sportback and RS5 coupe launched in India

     German luxury carmaker Audi added two more cars to its portfolio in India with the launch of A7 Sportback and RS5 coupe. Guess who was at the launch ceremony? It was the gorgeous Deepika Padukone on the stage unveiling the car. The A7 price starts form Rs. 65 lakh going up to Rs. 85 lakh for the fully loaded version.


     The A7 Sportback is a style statement rather than a practical luxury car. The coupe like design of A7 gives it a sporty feeling and we feel it does impress every one with its design. The A7 will compete against Mercedes Benz CLS, Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin in the Indian market. The A7 has an upper hand in the contest because of the price.

     The A7 Sportback comes with two engine options. A 3.0 liter TDi V6 diesel engine with 245 Bhp of power and 50.98 Kgm of torque and 3.0 liter TFSI petrol engine.

     The RS5 coupe features typical Audi styling. It gets a reworked version of the 4.2 liter R8 engine with power of 444 Bhp at 8250 rpm and torque of 43.96 Kgm at 4000 rpm. The coupe does 0-100 Kmph in 4.6 seconds with a top speed of 250 Kmph. The RS5 coupe is priced at Rs. 74 lakh and only 20-30 RS5 coupe will be sold in India.

(All prices mentioned above are ex-showroom New Delhi)

All new Hyundai Fluidic Verna finally launched in India

     Hyundai today launched the much awaited next generation Fluidic Verna in India priced in the range of Rs. 6.99 – 10.74 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi. All these days we were seeing at numbers spy pictures taken near Chennai where the new Verna was extensively tested.


     The all new Verna features Hyundia’s Fluidic Sculpture design philosophy. The front end of the car reminds you of the facelifted i10 which too has some hints of Fluidic Sculpture design. The dual tone interiors looks fresh and attractive.

Multi fuel engine? Thats what powers the Altius Scimitar

     Altius Automotive Technologies, founded by former Hyundai Motor India boss Mr. BVR Subbu, in partnership with California’s Hayes Diversified Technologies is manufacturing an eninge which runs on various fuels including diesel.


     Both the companies are working on a plan to manufacture a small displacement multi fuel engine for a motorcycle in India. The bike named Scimitar will get a 670cc engine which will run on more than one fuel.


     The 670cc Scimitar engine is a single cylinder, liquid cooled onew which produces 33 Bhp of power at 5700 rpm a 5.4 Kgm of torque at 3300 rpm.

Tata Magic Iris and Ace Zip launched in Thane

     Tata Motors today launched its small passenger carrier ‘Magic Iris’ and smart micro truck ‘Ace Zip’ in Thane priced at Rs. 1.95 lakh and Rs. 1.90 lakh respectively (Prices ex-showroom Thane).


     The Magic IRIS is a 4 wheeled, 4 seater small passenger carrier aimed to target 3 wheeled auto rickshaws. Being a 4 wheeled it is a better alternative to the auto rickshaws in terms of safety.

     The Magic IRIS is powered by a 611cc, water cooled engine with 11 HP of power. It comes with One year or 36,000 Kms warranty. Four colours are in the offering – Arctic white, Ruby red, Skool yellow and Jet black. Tata Motors has worked hard to keep the maintenance cost of IRIS on par with the auto rickshaws.

     The Ace Zip is based on the Magic IRIS but has been designed as a luggage carrier. It too comes with 1 year/36,000 Kms warranty.










P M Telang ,Tata Motors' Managing Director (India Operations) -


"Tata Motors has been a pioneer in creating and growing the small commercial vehicles market in India with the Tata Ace and the Tata Magic. With the introduction of Magic IRIS and Ace Zip the company will more comprehensively address the burgeoning need of public transportation and goods movement."

Mahindra not to bring Ssangyong cars in India, to focus on SUVs

     India’s largest utility vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra has said it will not bring Ssangyong car to India as it wants to focus on SUV segment and want to become a global utility vehicle manufacturer. To remind, Mahindra bought majority stake in Korean’s automaker Ssangyong recently.


     Mr. Rajesh Jejurikar, who heads Mahindra’s automotive business operations said, they feel appropriate to have a single car in the portfolio of SUVs. The focus of the company is on global SUV.


     Mahindra has a lone car model in its portfolio in the form of Verito. The company is planning to launch a hatchback version of Vertio by early next year.
Saying no to the Ssangyong cars, Mahindra will bring in Ssangyong SUVs to India. Ssangyong SUVs include Korando and Rexton which are seen decent success in US markets.


     We feel the Mahindra’s strategy of preferring a single car in its portfolio of SUVs may have fueled the rift between its JV partner Renault. Renault wants to bring in its series of cars to India which Mahindra was not intending to as it wanted to focus more on the SUVs. All is well that ends well. Now we can get to see Renault’s range of cars as well as Mahindra’s SUVs together in Indian market.


     Ssangyong Motors which as 'Chaiman H' as its flagship car could wait for some more time to make it to India.