Toyota will launch its much awaited hatchback Etios Liva on 27th of this month. Toyota is banking lots on the Etios Liva hatchback which has been specially designed for India. Toyota has been testing the vehicle in and around Bangalore for some time and wants to make sure it is has no nigglings when launched.
Toyota Etios Liva is the hatchback version of the Etios sedan. Etios sedan was launched on 1st December last year and the company received overwhelming response for the Etios sedan. The Etios Liva was to be launched in March this year but due to the devastating earthquake in Japan, the company had to postpone its launch of over 4 months.
Toyota has developed Eitos platform for developing markets most importantly for India. So the Etios will make its first debut in India and later will go to other parts of the world. This shows Toyota’s commitment to Indian car market which it has been studying for over a decade.
With the launch of Eitos Liva, Toyota will definitely create a price war in the B segment hatchback segment. Only time can say who will be the winner, but by the strong history of Toyota we would bet Toyota will be the winner altogether.
When the Swift was first launched in India, it was entirely a different design from the Maruti stable. We have seen boxy cars from Maruti till then and we do see some even today. The sporty muscular look was never the essence of a Maruti car. The Swift changed the company’s entire design language, to be precise it changed the company’s fortune as well.
The Swift had a mixed reaction, some liked it, some criticized. With the launch of a diesel Swift a new winner was born which is still invincible in India. Did the diesel engine did the trick? Or was it the sporty muscular design of the car? We feel it’s the combination of the two which has worked for Maruti Suzuki.
The Swift design has been carried on to the SX4, though SX4 has been built on Fiat’s SUV platform. The wheel arches and muscular body of SX4 does resemble the Swift to some extent.
The new concept Splash, which is named as Ritz in India too has some DNA of the Swift. Now the new MPV from Maruti Suzuki too has all the ingredients of the Swift design. On the other hand the next generation Swift has some metamorphosis but it still sticks to the basic Swift design. With the way the company is going, we might see much more vehicles on the Swift design theme.
With the petrol prices rocketing, car buyers have a sign of relief in the form of Chevrolet Beat diesel. The diesel powered Beat is completely ready and will be launched next month. The company feels the diesel Beat launch has come at the right time, though it would liked to have it much before.
Mr. Siddharth Vinayak Patankar of NDTV’s Car and Bike Show has revealed the Beat diesel on his show. He compares the Beat diesel with that of the Figo’s.
Here are the details of Chevrolet Beat diesel given in the Car n Bike Show:
- Diesel engine 3 cylinder, 936cc with 57 Bhp power and 150 Nm of torque coupled with a 5 speed manual gearbox.
- Diesel engine developed by downgrading the famous Fiat’s 1.3L Multijet diesel which powers everything from Fiat Punto to Maruti SX4
- The turbo lag is minimal as the turbo is small and comes to optimum operating speed quickly
- The suspension tuned for a better ride and comfort, cabin more silent than Figo’s.
- Same variants available as that of petrol, steering system shifted from hydraulic to EPS
- ARAI approved fuel efficiency of 24 Kmpl
According to President and MD of GM India Karl Slym, the Beat and Spark have different set of customers. The Beat diesel is aimed at Wagon R and i10 fans.
The 2012 Mercedes Benz B Class hatchback was snapped without camouflage when shooting for the promos. To remind our readers, Mercedes Benz has plans to launch A and B Class hatchback cars in India soon.
The 2012 Mercedes Benz B Class will be a front wheel drive vehicle like the A Class. The new B class looks like a mini MPV with lots of boot space. The rear tail lamps resemble the E Class sedan. The creases on the side uplift the vehicles profile.
With the big high profile tyres and so many Mercedes goodies, the B Class is surely going to create a benchmark in luxury hatchbacks in India.
Nissan has rolled out 1,00,000 Micra cars from its Oragadam near in Chennai. The milestone has been achieved in over a year since Micra was introduced in India.
Micra is exported to International markets in both LHD and RHD versions. Nissan plans to launch a sedan based on Micra and a MPV for India next year.
Official press release
CHENNAI, 16 June 2011 – Employees at the Renault Nissan Alliance plant in Chennai, India are celebrating today after producing their 100,000th Micra in just over a year.
The first Micra compact hatchback rolled off the production line in May 2010. Since then the workforce has expanded to nearly 4,000 (from an original 1,500) to meet demand from within India and across the world.
The 45-billion Rupee (990 Mn USD) facility is the first dedicated Renault-Nissan Alliance vehicle manufacturing plant, and the 4th generation of the iconic Micra is the first model to be produced there.
It will be joined later this year by an all-new global sedan, and in 2012 a commercial vehicle will be added to the line-up as part of a joint venture with Ashok Leyland Ltd.
Since its launch in India last July the Nissan Micra has driven a sales boost within the market, with over 15,000 units sold to date. The innovative Micra is also produced at plants in Thailand, Mexico and China.
Chennai, which will have an overall plant capacity of 400,000 units at full ramp up, will ultimately supply Micra to over 100 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. To date nearly 70,000 units have been shipped from the nearby Ennore deep water port.
Gilles Normand, Nissan Corporate Vice President for Africa, the Middle East and India, commented: “I would like to congratulate everyone associated with the Chennai plant on reaching what will be the first of many production milestones.
“The plant, which provides us with a skilled and localised production base, is a key part of our strategy for profitable and sustainable growth within India, and Micra’s success is only the first step in realising our potential within this market.
“Chennai is also crucial in terms of manufacturing high-volume, high-quality products for export to many world markets. With the continued strong support of the Tamil Nadu government, I hope that the facility will develop into one of Nissan’s most important production hubs.”
In addition to Micra, Nissan also sells the X-TRAIL lifestyle SUV, Teana sedan and 370Z sports car in India. By 2013, Nissan is aiming to have 85% coverage of the Indian market by expanding the number of dealers from 35 to over 100.
Managing Director and CEO of the Chennai Plant, Kou Kimura, added: “I am very proud of the effort that our Chennai staff, supported by our suppliers, have made to produce 100,000 Micras in such a short period of time.
“Today’s announcement not only reflects Micra’s popularity – both domestically and within export markets – but also Nissan’s long-term commitment to India.”
Hyundai has been testing its small car HA in India for quiet some time. This time we have found the spy pictures of HA small car in South Korea. By far these are the high resolution clear pictures of the Hyundai HA we have seen.
Since the small car has been spied in South Korea which is home to Hyundai, we guess Hyundai has plans to launch this car not only in India but in International markets as well.
From the pictures it is evident that the design is a mixture of i10 and Santro. The head lamps look similar to the Fluidic design family, going up till the A pillar. In the rear the tails lamps has been positioned longitudinally like the Tata Indica which is the first in a Hyundai car.
The HA small car is expected to be launched in India by 1st half of 2012. It will take on market leader Maruti Suzuki Alto with its aggressive price of Rs. 2.5 lakh.
Last month during the launch of the Fluidic Verna in Andhra Pradesh, Mr. YK Koo, Senor Director (Sales and Marketing) HMIL said “We are planning to launch it in the first half of next year. The car will be manufactured in Indian plant. HMI is very strong in compact car segment. With this launch, we hope to dominate the rural market also. That is our strategy. If we have a small car it is easy to penetrate into the rural market,”
Cars in India will bear a fuel efficiency tag on them in India. Buyers can compare models based on Govt. certified fuel efficiency labels before buying a car.
As we see in the Maruti Suzuki ad, Indian customer is more concerned about the fuel efficiency of a vehicle (Kitna deti hi). The Bureau of Energy Efficiency has almost finalized the fuel efficiency labeling rules.
The cars in India will bear the fuel efficiency labels from March 2012. No car without the label will be on the road after March 2012.
The fuel efficiency labels will make the manufacture to meet the norms and bring in new technology for a greener vehicle. According to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency the Govt. expects industry wide fuel efficiency to improve by 20-25%.
