Suzuki reveals S Cross compact concept at Paris Motor Show

     Suzuki today revealed its new S-Cross compact crossover at the ongoing 2012 Paris Motor Show. The S-Cross compact crossover will make into production by late next year. Suzuki aims to offer largest luggage areas in its class combined with four wheel drive performance in the form of S Cross concept. 

Nissan not partner with Bajaj on ULC project

     The ambitious Ultra Low Cost (ULC) project of Bajaj Auto Ltd. seems to be heading nowhere. In 2009 Bajaj had an agreement with Renault-Nissan for contract manufacturing of an low cost car which could be sold under Renault-Nissan brand. Seeing the prototype of the car RE60, Nissan has announced that it will not partner with Bajaj in making the low cost car. Will this mean Nissan will develop a low cost car on its own? It might be so as the company is working on a low cost Micra for the developing markets .

     Nissan-Renault had hoped Bajaj Auto will develop a lost cast car which could be rivalled against Tata Nano. But what Bajaj Auto developed in the form of RE60 was a low cost 4 wheeler which had no essence of a car. The overall design was no where rear the Nano and so do the mechanicals, engine, windows etc. We might see Bajaj launching its low cost vehicle in mass passenger movement segment soon.

BharatBenz launches its range of trucks in India

     Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (DICV) today launched its first set of trucks in India under the BharatBenz brand. The three trucks launched are 2523R and 3123R for the haulage segment and 2423C for the construction segment. These trucks is available at BharatBenz state-of-the-art dealerships. 

2523R

3123R

2523C

     Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Llistosella said: “Today is an important milestone for all of us at Daimler and Indian trucking as, from today on, Indian truck buyers will have a new choice. A choice of trucks that are more fuel efficient, more reliable and in the end makes them more successful. BharatBenz is here, and we are proud to have delivered on the promise we made since 2010, to launch our trucks in September 2012. We will drive the change in the Indian market with a new product experience, a new sales experience and a new service experience for our customers.”

     BharatBenz also has tied up with four leading Indian financial institutions – HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Sundaram Finance and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., who will offer tailored financing solutions for customers. Additionally, several other banks & NBFCs have also approved BharatBenz products with attractive terms & conditions. Cholamandalam, SREI, Magma, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, YES Bank, Reliance Capital, L & T Finance, to name a few.

Source: BharatBenz

Next Generation Hyundai i10 spied again in Chennai

We in our earlier post had showed you the spy pictures of Hyundai i10 being tested in India. Thanks to MotorVikatan, for new spy pictures of next gen i10 surfaces as the cars were being tested near Chennai.

     The next gen Hyundai i10 features an all new front grille and bumper, larger swept back headlamps, new fluidic sculpture design and new side lines. The most important features will be a diesel engine, probably a 3 cylinder one presently in the European spec i20. A more powerful 1 liter Kappa petrol engine is also on the cards.

     The new Hyundai i10 will debut at Frankfurt Motor Show next year and will go on sale by 2014.

Hyundai i20 WRC to debut at 2012 Paris Motor Show

     Hyundai to debut i20 WRC (World Rally Championship) specification vehicle at the 2012 Paris Auto Show beginning on 27th September 2012. Hyundai had earlier participated in WRC from the year 2000 to 2003. The Hyundai i20 WRC will take on Volkswagen Polo-R. The i20 WRC will be powered by a petrol engine with 200 horse of power and immense ride and handling capabalities.

Source: Korean Car Blog

Maruti to launch new Alto 800 on 16th October

This festive season you will see lot of new launches form auto makers in Inida. The all new Maruti Alto 800 is one of them, which will be launched officially on 16th of October 2012. In our earlier post we had posted clear spy pictures of the Alto 800. Maruti in last April stopped the production of M800 and will soon phase out the existing Alto. The new Alto 800 will replace both 800 and Alto, which is likely to be priced competitively at Rs. 2 lakh to rival Tata Nano.

     The new Alto 800 will be powered by the same 800cc engine but the engine has been extensively modified to improve performance and return a high mileage of 22.7 Kmpl. Now the 3 cylinder 796cc petrol engine will have power of 47.5 bhp @ 6000 rpm and torque 69 Nm @ 3500 rpm. Maruti has brought in new technologies – DSA (Down Shift Assist) and DPT (Detent Pin Technology) to improve the performance of transmission.

     The new Alto 800 has better interiors. The all new dashboard with neat central console gives a premium look to the car. Outer styling has been very conservative with lot of styling being copied from other cars such as Ford Figo and Hyundai i20. A CNG option will also be available right from day of the launch. Maruti has got a habit of delivering cars which are going to be a sure success. In case of new Alto 800 it will be tough as the market is flooded with competition with Renault, Nissan & Mahindra also planning to launch a car in that segment. 

Maruti Alto 800 Specifications

Nissan Evalia launched in India, priced at Rs.8.49 Lakh

Japanese auto major Nissan has launch Evalia MPV in India with price ranging from Rs. 8.49 lakh for the base XE variant and going up to Rs. 9.99 lakh for the top end XV variant (prices ex-showroom, New Delhi). The Evalia comes in 4 variants – XE, XE+,XL and XV.

Nissan Evalia Prices (ex-showroom, New Delhi)

Nissan Evalia XE - Rs.8.49 lakh

Nissan Evalia XE+ - Rs. 8.92 lakh

Nissan Evalia XL - Rs. 9.49 lakh

Nissan Evalia XV - Rs. 9.99 lakh

     The Evalia is powered by Renault sourced 1.5 L dCi diesel engine producing 84 Bhp of power and 20.4 Kgm of torque, mated to a 5 speed manual gear box. It delivers fuel efficiency of 19.3 Kmpl as per ARAI. Nissan keeping the safety features first, ABS and EBD are standard on all variants.

     The Evalia is built on Nissan’s NV200 platform. It has 7 seats in three row configuration and two sliding doors like the famous Maruti Van. Nissan doesnot want to call the Evalia a MPV, instead refers its as n a ‘Urban Utility Class Vehicle’ (UUCV). Is that a new segment in the making, we will have to wait and see.

     The Evalia will compete with Toyota Innova, Mahindra Xylo and the latest entrant Maruti Ertiga. Having priced close to Ertiga, the Evalia has an advantage over its competitors. Nissan aims at family car buyers but we feel it will certainly end up in the fleet operator segment.