Toyota overtakes BMW as the World’s Most Valuable Automobile Brand in 2011

     According to BrandZ top 100 annual study, Toyota has regained the tag World’s Most Valuable Automobile Brand, which it lost to BMW because of the recalls. Toyota saw 11% increase in its brand value which is now rated as $24.2 billion.


     Toyota was named most valuable brand for 4 consecutive times from 2006-09. In 2010 Toyota lost the first place to BMW because of recall issues. BMW ranked second this year followed by Mercedes Benz, Honda and Porsche. The other companies in the Top 10 Automotive list are Nissan, VW, Ford, Audi and Lexus.

Petrol price hiked by Rs. 5 per liter, diesel price to follow soon

     The Union Government of India has hiked the price of petrol by Rs. 5 just within 24 hours of the election results. We had mentioned earlier about the fuel price hike recommended by RBI to Govt. on India to maintain the fiscal deficit. Oil companies were facing huge losses due to raising international crude price.


     This is the 7th time in 11 months petrol prices have gone up. If you are thinking this is not enough, there is still more hard news to come. The diesel and cooking gas prices are also going to be up by Rs. 4 per liter and Rs. 25-50 per cylinder respectively.


Here are the new petrol prices in different cities of India


Bangalore – Rs. 71.10/liter
New Delhi – Rs.63.37/liter
Mumbai – Rs. 68.33/liter
Kolkata – Rs. 67.71/liter
Chennai – Rs. 67.22/liter

Honda City diesel? Wait till 2013

     With the rising fuel prices, people are switching to diesel cars, thanks to the latest diesel engine technology which has improved the performance and fuel efficiency of diesel cars.

     Honda City had been the market leader in the C Segment cars in India because of its sheer performance and better fuel efficiency than its competitors. Well we have to say that it no longer stays at the top because of the Vento diesel.

     Volkswagen had targeted the Honda City before launching and it is succeeded to some extent in tress passing the Honda City category. Volkswagen’s Vento diesel has indeed caused damage to the Honda City party.

      Honda seems to be the worried automobile manufacturer. First it was the Tsunami and Earthquake in Japan which has caused damage to Honda and secondly the raising fuel costs. Since Honda has no potential diesel engine for its medium segment cars, it is finding difficult to sustain the markets especially in India.

      Honda had announced that it is developing a small diesel engine for it s cars. But that will not happen before 2013. We feel Honda has speed up its diesel engine development to sustain in this cut throat competitive market.

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.