New Suzuki Swift spy pictures from India

     New Suzuki Swift did its international appearance few months ago. Now the New Swift has been spotted on Indian roads. Autocarindia have spy pictured the new Swift being tested near New Dehli.


     It seams Maruti Suzuki might launch the new Swift sooner than expected. The waiting period of diesel Swift is still commanding waiting periods up to 2 months.


     The new Swift is bigger than the current one with some changes to the front and rear. The headlamps and tail lamps gets tapper at the ends giving a sharper look. Powering the new Swift are the same K series petrol and DDiS diesel engine. Maruti might launch the new Swift by mid 2011.

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Mahindra Logan CNG launched in India

     Mahindra & Mahindra has launched a new CNG variant of the Logan sedan. Logan CNG will be available on 1.4 GLE and GLX models and is currently available only in Mumbai and New Delhi.

     The Logan 1.4 GLE CNG is priced at Rs. 6.04 lakh and GLX CNG at  Rs 6.33 lakh. The CNG kits are manufactured by Landi Renzo Spa which also supplies kits to other manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra and Renault Worldwide.

     The company claims that the running cost off the Logan CNG will be Rs. 1.62 -2.26 per Km as compared to Rs. 3.93 – 6.11 per Km of Petrol cars.

Speaking on the occasion of the launch, Mr Arun Malhotra, Senior VP, Automotive Sector M&M said “With issues such as climate change and carbon footprint taking centre stage globally, eco-friendly transportation has become the need of the hour and hence the launch of a company approved CNG kit.”  

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Toyota planning to bring a MPV under Innova in India

     Toyota is considering to bring an all new MPV in India to be positoned between Etios and Innova. Speaking after the launch of Etios sedan Mr Vonce S Socco Senior VP Toyota Motor Asia said that there is a room for another model between Etios and Innova and the company is working on it. He however declined to give further details such as time-frame for launch, speculative price etc. He also said that any such vehicle will come to India only after 2012.

     Some days ago a Toyota Picnic MPV was spotted at Nandi Hills near Bangalore. We can remember that Toyota had tested its Yaris hatchback in Bangalore before the launch of Etios concept. We believe Toyota tests overseas projects in India and then build a specified car for the country. The new MPV might also be developed specially for India like the Etios. World's First India First campaign might go a long way for Toyota in India.

     Toyota by launching a Etio with competitive pricing has created a new environment in Mid-Size segments.

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Tata Nano November 2010 sales decline

     The sales of county's much hyped small car Nano has fallen drastically to 509 units in November 2010 as compared to 3,000 odd units in the previous month. Sources say the manufacturing of Nano at the Sanand plant has almost stopped and over 80% of employees have been cut in last 6 to 8 months.

     The fire issues over the Nano has been a major factor for the decreasing sales. Tata Motors has issued a notice of fitting a fire protection device to all the Nano including the one also sold earlier of free of cost. May be this move by Tata Motors is also not working to a greater extent.

     A new initiative to sell Nanos across small outlets is planned in most of the states. Tatas have to work strongly with innovative ideas to woo customers and keep the Nanolution alive.

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Toyota Etios sedan launched in India

     Toyota has launched Etios sedan in India. The base variant 'J' is priced at Rs. 4.96 lakh where are the top end VX variant costs Rs 6.68 lakh (Prices ex-showroom New Delhi). The deliveries of the car will begin by January next year.

     The Etios sedan compete with cars such as Swift Dzire, Indigo Manza and Mahindra Logan. The base variants of these cars are priced at Rs 4.88 lakh, Rs. 5.12 lakh and Rs 4.66 lakh respectively.

     Toyota has worked hard on Etios which is evident. The company has keet the exterior design simple where the interiors will definitely impress everyone. The rear seats are designed very well which makes it the most comfortable car in its class. The boot space is generous at 595 liters. The car also features seven full sized cup holders and a 13 liter chilled glove box.

     Powering the Etios is the 1.5 Liter, 4 valve cylinder, 4 cylinder petrol eninge which produces power around 90 Bhp. The fuel efficiency is the best in class with 17.64 Kmpl as per ARAI certification.

Toyota Etios sedan equipment check list

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Maruti Suzuki developing a diesel engine for mid sized sedans

     India's largest automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki has announced that the company is developing a diesel engine for its mid-sized sedans which will be ready by 2011. Currently Maruti Suzuki enjoys a good market share of around 50%, thanks to its small diesel cars such as Swift and Ritz being sold in good numbers.

     The company is facing serious problems of not having a bigger diesel engines for its mid-size sedan SX4. Though being a good product, SX4 sales have been hit due to lack of a diesel option. Current the mid-sized sedan segemet is hotting up in Inida and no wonder companies like Toyota and Volkswagen are launching a good diesel powered sedan under Rs 10 lakh.

     Swift based sedan Dzire is also expected to get a bigger engine in coming future.

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Suzuki plans to make India as export hub for its cars

     After Hyundai, Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan is planning to make India as its export hub for its cars. The company intent to export cars to Europe and African markets from India.

     Speaking at a Business Summit at Nikkei, Chariman of the company Mr Osamu Suzuki said, India has to develop its infrastructure to make it a major export hub. He emphasized on development ports which facilitate smooth export processes.

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