2012 Honda CR-V spotted in China

     Last week we had showed you the teaser of 2012 Honda CR-V on Honda’s US website. Now the next generation Honda CR-V has been spotted in China. The 2012 CR-V is expected to be unveiled at Gungzhou Auto Show later this year. Will it come to India? We feel it definitely will. With the strong competition for Honda in India for its cars, Honda will try to launch the 2012 CR-V as soon as possible and hopefully with a diesel powertrain.

Toyota Etios Liva well received, clocks 1000 bookings in 3days

     Toyota Etios Liva was launched on 27th of last month in India and in just 3 days has clocked over 1000 bookings. Earlier when Toyota had launched the Etios sedan, it too got an overwhelming response with waiting periods going up to 6 months. If the things go the same way, even Etios Liva might demand a huge waiting period.

     As we have always said, it is the Liva diesel which the people of India are waiting for. It is the Liva diesel which is expected to give run for its money for the market leader Swift. If not the petrol Liva, the diesel version will definitely create a long waiting period. Toyota is running full capacity with 2 shifts at its Bangalore plant. The company is hiring over 2000 professionals to meet the market demand. Even after this, we feel Toyota will fall short in fulfilling the demands - only in quantity and definitely not in quality.

India car market sales data for June 2011

Chevrolet

Spark : 3318
Beat : 1614
UVA : 95
Aveo : 160
Tavera : 1738
Optra : 241
Cruze : 860
Captiva : 161

Fiat

Linea : 350
Punto : 1150
Palio : 6

Ford

Fiesta Classic : 1077 
Figo : 5698 
Endeavour : 248 

HM-Mitsubishi

Ambassador : 250 (approx)
Pajero : 107
Outlander : 41
Montero : 8
Lancer + Cedia : 7
Evolution X : 0

Honda

City : 2802 
Civic : 175 
Accord : 103 
Jazz : 361 
CRV : 14

Hyundai

Santro : 7114
i10 : 10969
i20 : 7152
Accent : 941
Verna : 4102
Sonata : 24
Santa Fe : 100

Mahindra

Verito : 1510
Xylo : 2573
Scorpio : 3645
Bolero : 7558
ST + Maxx + Marshal : 767

Maruti

M800 : 1823
Omni : 6683
Alto : 23240
Estilo : 1532
WagonR : 12215
Dzire : 2486
SX4 : 713
Eeco : 5499
Swift : 9468
A-Star : 905
Ritz : 5239
Kizashi : 32
Gypsy : 182
G.Vitara : 3

Nissan

Micra : 1609
X-Trail : 16
Teana : 5
370Z : 2

Skoda

Laura : 693
Fabia : 1461
Superb : 325
Yeti : 132

Tata

Nano : 5452
Indica : 8188
Indigo : 4882
Sumo : 1470
Safari : 1223
Aria : 356
Venture : 423 

Toyota

Innova : 4,665
Corolla : 629
Fortuner : 990
Etios : 5,002
Liva : 737 
Camry : 9
Prius : 2

Volkswagen

Polo : 2,679
Vento : 2,457
Jetta : 59
Passat : 197
Beetle : 3
Phaeton : 2

Source: Team-Bhp

Audi Q3 India launch in 2012

     Audi has confirmed the launch of Q3 SUV in India next year. The Q3 SUV will come with both petrol and diesel engines. An all wheel drive system might also be incorporated in the Q3.


     Recently Audi unveiled the Q3 SUV at Shanghai Auto Show. Q3 has been essentially developed to compete against BMW X1. In India too Q3 will be pitted against the X1 and Audi will definitely work to price the Q3 very close its BMW counterpart. Expect the Q3 to be priced between Rs. 23-25 lakh.


     Audi Q3 will be manufactured at Audi's Aurangabad plant. Audi hopes to sell 5000 units of Q3 in 2012 and 30,000 units by 2020.

New Volkswagen Touareg spied in Pune

     The new Volkswagen Touareg was spied testing near Pune. According to the report the new Touareg is roomier, more powerful, more efficient and lighter than the current generation model. The vehicle spied had a V6 TDi badge on the rear. The new Volkswagen Touareg will make its Indian debut in August 2011.

Source: Overdrive

Peugeot Citroen to set up plant in Chennai

     French automobile manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroen has zeroed in land in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu to set up its first plant in India. The plant will have capacity of 3,00,000 units per annum catering to domestic and international markets.


     PSA Peugeot Citroen is the fifth company after BMW, Hyundai, Ford and Renault-Nissan to set up a plant in Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu has been attractive for automobile investments India because of its good labour environment.

     The company will create 20,000 jobs in the region and is likely to pull some automotive component manufacturers from France. 

Suzuki to buy Fiat’s 1.6L Multijet diesel engine

     In what could a dramatic development, Suzuki has agreed to buy Fiat’s 1.6L diesel engine to mount on a new car to be built in Hungary in 2013.


     Suzuki is tightlipped about the new car but we guess it would be a crossover based on the SX4 platform. Will Suzuki bring the 1.6L diesel engine to India? there is no news about it as of now.

     An SX4 with 1.6L diesel engine would be a great option considering the car and Maruti’s popularity in India. Bigger tyres, high ground clearance and masculine looks of SX4 with power of a 1.6L diesel could have been a perfect recipe for Indian conditions. Who knows, Suzuki might consider the 1.6L diesel SX4 in India at a later date. 


     What is more interesting is Suzuki not opting for VW’s 1.6 TDi. VW and Suzuki are in collaborative terms for mutual benefits and everyone in the auto industry had expected Suzuki to use the VW’s 1.6L TDi diesel engine. Choosing the Fiat’s 1.6L instead of VW’s 1.6 TDi has come as a surprise!