Honda aims big for India, hopes to sell 1 million cars by 2015-16

     Honda has never been so serious in Indian markets. The tragedies in Japan and Thailand prompted the Japanese motorcycle to car manufacturer ‘Honda Motor Corporation’ to focus more on the developing markets to break even volumes and thus profits.

     Honda first entered India in 1998 with a sole mode ‘City’ sedan. The City since then almost ruled the segment in spite of being priced high, just because of the sheer pleasure it give to its customers. In fact the ‘City’ lost its dominance recently to the new entrants Volkswagen Vento and Hyundai Verna. It was not due to the better quality and value for money of the new enterants, but just for the lack of a diesel option.

     Honda has developed a 1.6 L diesel (i-DTEC) which will power the ‘City’ sedan and hopefully the Civic as well. Though the engine and its technology is the first from Honda in the segment, the strong heritage of quality products of Honda assures us to have a wonderful diesel engine which could surpass its competitors in most of the parameters. A smaller 1.2 L diesel is also under development to propel Jazz and Brio to be launched early next year. The diesel Brio has already been spied testing in Noida, which means the Brio diesel will come sooner than expected.

     With range of diesel vehicles in the Honda’s portfolio, the company aims to sell over 1 million units in India by the next 4 to 5 years. To attain this Honda has to sell over a lakh of vehicles per year which is possible only when it prices its vehicles cheaper than its competitors. Also Honda has to bring more range of cars in different segments to get the volumes going. The launch of Brio petrol with a price tag of Rs. 3.95 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi) and re pricing of Jazz petrol is a classical example which has made Honda to rethink about its strategies in India.

     We at AutomobilePlanet.com have faith that Honda has all the capabilities to be another Suzuki Motor Company in India. With Honda’s brilliant technology, futuristic design, strong quality maintenance, environmental awareness and the zeel to make a better automobile, we Indians will have a wonderful time motoring in the coming days. We would also like to see Honda Freed, Honda Concept S and Honda Odyssey plying on our roads. 

Renault Duster to be priced at Rs. 6 - 7 lakh?

     We found an interesting article posted at Indianautosblog which mentioned the Duster to be priced at Rs. 6 lakh for the petrol version and a lakh more for the diesel one. It is indeed very surprising to hear about Renault vehicle price so competitively. Assuming Renault prices Duster at Rs. 6 lakh for petrol and Rs. 7 lakh for diesel, of course it would be ex-showroom New Delhi, which means Duster petrol will cost around Rs. 7.5 to 8.5 lakh on road  Bangalore. It is a very competitive price and seems that Renault will hit the nail at the right place.

     Renault with its three launches till now – Fluence, Koleos & Pulse has not been able to sell good volumes to get desired market share. The fourth launch which will be the Duster is a trump card for Renault, which Renault do not want to lose out. With clever packaging and such competitive price Renault could finally get a food hold on Indian market.

     The Duster will be powered by the same 1.5L petrol and diesel engines which powers the Nissan Micra and Sunny. A more powerful diesel option with a turbo having 110 Bhp will also find its place under the Duster’s hood. The great ground clearance, solid build and practicality will place the Duster at the top in the minds of customers looking to buy Ertiga or any other SUV. Any comments?

Skoda Superb facelift spied

     Skoda had launched the new Superb three years back and now has plans to give it a facelift. The facelifted Skoda Superb was spied with some camouflage, but in spite of it lot of details are visible.

      In the front there is the new headlamps look good with angular design, the front grill seems to be big and bolder than the current one. The front bumper has been redesign to suit the changes. The most striking feature is in the rear which gets sharp tail lamps which resembles with current generation Volkswagen and Audi.

     Apart from the front and rear changes there is absolutely no change in the overall design of the car. There will be no change in the chassis, suspension and engine department. 

Hyundai’s unique Petrol Price Lock Assurance

     With the petrol prices rising, Hyundai Motor India has structured a new Petrol Price Lock Assurance to protect its customers from the steep petrol price hike. Under this scheme, petrol car buyers will be offered huge discounts on Eon, Santro, i10, i20, Accent and Verna. The Petrol Price Lock Assurance will be valid on bookings made before May 31st 2012. The scheme comes in addition to the 5 Star Assurance Scheme which covered Santro and i10 Models.


     Speaking about the offer, Mr. Arvid Saxena of Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said that the petrol price hike is a huge burden on its customers and the company has taken initiative to protect the customer from this steep petrol price hike.

Chevrolet Cruze facelift unveiled at Busan Motor Show

     General Motors has unveiled the Chevrolet Cruze facelift at the 2012 Busan Motor Show. The Cruze facelift gets upgrades on the front grill and fog light section. The important addition is in the inside. The new Cruze gets MyLink in-car infotainment system with a 7 inch touch screen playing almost all sorts of media from a USB pen drive.

     It is not clear weather General Motors will bring the facelifted Cruze to India. But a new version of Cruze, with a new diesel engine will be launched in June. The Cruze will be powered by a 2.0 Liter Z Series diesel which produces 163 Bhp power and 360 Nm of torque. The new engine will reduce the turbo lag improves the drivability. The NVH levels will also be improved as well.


     The upgraded Cruze will be priced Rs. 40,000/- more than the current model when launched in India next month.

All new Toyota Camry spied testing in India

     The next generation Toyota Camry which was showed at the Auto Expo 2012 was spied testing near Bangalore. Toyota hopes to regain the lost battle ground in the D+ segment with the launch of then the new Camry. The new Camry will be assembled at Toyota’s plant near Bidadi.

     The new Camry will be powered by a 2.5 Liter 4 cylinder DOHC 16 valve Dual VVT-i petrol engine. The engine pumps out 178 Bhp @ 6000 rpm. However the 268 Bhp 3.5 Liter V6 will not come to India.

Engine capacity and fuel options: 2.5 liter VVTi petrol
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Power: 178 HP at 6000 rpm
Torque: 230 Nm at 4100 rpm
Expected launch date: 14th march 2012
Expected price: Rs 17 to 21 lakh 

Outstanding features of the EcoBoost turbo petrol engine

     The 1 Liter EcoBoost turbo petrol engine comes with a small, low-inertia turbocharger that spools up quickly and also comes with an overboost function.

     The engine comes with variable timing on both intake and exhaust camshafts which work in two ways, by increasing power and torque when your right foot demands by offering a higher lift and by lowering the valve lift during cruising to reduce fuel consumption.

     A water-cooled exhaust manifold integrated into the cylinder head lowers exhaust temperatures and delivers an optimal fuel-to-air ratio at all engine speeds to improve fuel economy across the rev range.

     Offset crank and variable oil pump to improve engine performance and lubricate the engine thoroughly by varying oil pressure more accurately at different rpms.

     High pressure solenoid direct injectors are located centrally and this positioning helps to provide a much more cooler and denser fuel-to-air ratio, delivering better combustion and higher fuel economy.

     Dual-split cooling system with two thermostats which supports a quicker engine warm up, reduced friction within the engine, lower fuel consumption and less emissions when engine is cold.

     Cambelt running in oil results in low friction and noise levels. This will lead to zero maintenance across the life of the EcoBoost 1 liter engine.

     Unbalanced flywheel/pulley is a brand new design to counter the vibrations that three cylinder engines produce due to their inherent design. The unbalanced flywheel/pulley obviates the need of a balancer shaft by functioning like one.