Its official, Honda Brio sedan to be named AMAZE

Yesterday we bought you the news that Brio sedan could be named as ‘AMAZE’. Now the Honda Thailand website has confirmed that the name of the Honda’s new sedan will be ‘AMAZE’ indeed. The good news is Honda Amaze will be launched in Thailand on 23^rd November and will make it to India by March next year.

Honda Amaze will be launched only in petrol model in Thailand where as in India we will get both petrol and diesel models. Honda has announced that it will keep pricing of ‘AMAZE’ competitive by increasing the local sourcing and production.

Honda Amaze Interior Pictures

As the Honda Amaze is built on Brio platform, it offers smaller exterior dimensions with higher interior space. Honda has stuck to its philosophy of Man Maximum Machine Minimum which is evident from the design. The ‘AMAZE’ diesel will be indeed an amazing car when launched in India and we at AutomobilePlanet.com are furious to see one. 

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Honda Brio sedan could be named ‘AMAZE’

Honda AMAZE, is indeed an amazing name to one of the going to be amazing cars in India. This is because Honda will bring in its first diesel in India through Amaze/Brio sedan. Off late lot of interesting news of the Brio sedan is coming up and the name ‘AMAZE’ is the latest one.

GTO of team-bhp has mentioned that a friend of his has dropped some information about the Honda Brio sedan. According to him the Brio sedan will have a 5 alphabet letter which could be ‘AMAZE’. He has also mentioned that the new diesel engine will be a light aluminium one with 24 Kmpl of fuel efficiency.

AutocarIndia has posted a nice rendering of the Brio sedan but the teaser picture on the Honda Thailand has a different thing to say. The changes in the rear door and C pillar are evident and the new Brio sedan will not just be a Brio with the boot. The Brio sedan/AMAZE was thought to be powered by a 3 cylinder 1.2L diesel engine developed by eliminating one cylinder from Honda’s recently revealed 1.6L i-Dtech eninge. But sources say the Brio sedan/AMAZE will have a 1.5L 4 cylinder diesel which again has been downsized from the 1.6 L iDtec to get benefits of tax sops in India.

Honda Amaze Interior Pictures

More details about 1.5L 4 cylinder i-Dtec engine

The engine is believed to have two different power outputs, so that Honda could use the same engine in its range of cars. The lower power one which could deliver 75 Ps power could be used for Brio and Brio sedan/AMAZE while the higher is likely to use a Variable Geometry Turbo (VGT) to deliver 100 Ps power, could do the job for the City and Brio based MPV.

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Suzuki to exit US market, files for bankruptcy

The Suzuki brand may be big in India but on the other side of the world it is facing big problems. Suzuki operates in the name of American Suzuki Motor Corporation in USA which has filed for bankruptcy. The ASMC is facing low volume sales from past 2-3 years and its latest models SX4, Kizashi and Grand Vitara has not managed to pull the company from losses.

Suzuki mentioned that it was difficult to make decision to stop selling its car in US but it was inevitable under current situations. However Suzuki will continue to sell motorcycles, all terrain vehicles and marine outboard in the US market. The bankruptcy doesn’t involve the parent Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan. ASMC debt ranges from $100 to $500 million.

A Suzuki statement -

“These challenges include low sales volumes, a limited number of models in its line-up, unfavourable foreign exchange rates, the high costs associated with growing and maintaining an automotive distribution system in the continental U.S. and the disproportionally high and increasing costs associated with stringent state and federal regulatory requirements unique to the U.S. market.”

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Maruti Ritz with Automatic Transmission

Along with the facelifted Ritz, Maruti Suzuki has silently added an Automatic Transmission variant in petrol VXi model. The Ritz Vxi AT comes with ABS and EBD as optional safety features and delivers 17.16 Km per litre of petrol (As per ARAI). The Ritz Vxi AT uses a 4 speed automatic gearbox which ensures you smooth ride in the hectic city traffic.

The price of the Ritz Vxi AT has not yet been announced. We expect it to be priced little higher than the regular Vxi model. The automatic variant of Ritz gives the customers an option of easy driving with good comfort in a small car. So after the Ritz, will it be the Swift. May be, but an automatic diesel variant is what the people are waiting for. We hope Maruti and other manufacturers are listening...

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Das WeltAuto, the Volkswagen’s used car business in India

Volkswagen today entered used car business in India through its subsidiary Das WeltAuto with its first dealership opened in Mumbai. Currently VW has commenced operations with 15 dealerships across country which will be increased to 21 by the end of next year.

Das WeltAuto deals not only deals with VW cars but also cars from all manufactures will be traded. VW with its stringent 160 point checklist ensures the car provides a hassle free ownership experience. It offers 1 year warranty on all VW cars and 6 months warranty on non VW cars.

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Volkswagen to reposition Skoda brand in India

Good news for Skoda lovers. Volkswagen has decided to reposition Skoda brand; that is Skoda will be positioned below the Volkswagen. This can happen only if Skoda car prices are reduced which is good news. Volkswagen owns Skoda and Audi and all over the world the parent VW sits between Skoda and Audi in terms of brand value. Here in India Skoda and Volkswagen have similar brand value which is seriously hampering Volkswagen’s brand image.

Skoda with its first vehicle in India ‘Octavia’ has built a reputation of a luxury car maker. The launch of Superb and Fabia which are best in terms of luxury in their respective class has put Skoda brand at the top of the chart. The Larua took off from where Octavia left. Having a good brand value is an asset to the company. But here the parent company Volkswagen thinks otherwise because Skoda is seriously denting Volkswagen’s image in India.

Volkswagen known to make quality cars is struggling to build the brand. Rivals such as Hyundai and Ford are delivering products which are better value for money cars. Volkswagen cars are no doubt the best in their class but somehow are not able to sell in numbers the company expect.  With reducing Skoda car prices Volkswagen can position itself clearly where it deserves to be, but in India it will take some time, may be another 2 to 3 years. 

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India car market sales data for October 2012

CHEVROLET
Spark	-	829
Beat	-	2904
Aveo U-VA	-	22
Aveo	-	37
Optra Magnum	-	5
Cruze	-	332
Tavera	-	2131
Captiva	-	63
FIAT
Grande Punto	-	531
Linea	-	37
FORD
Figo	-	5610
Fiesta Classic	-	1660
Fiesta	-	179
Endeavour	-	128
HM-MITSUBISHI
Ambassador	-	285
Lancer & Cedia	-	4
Pajero Sport	-	119
Outlander	-	2
Montero	-	0
EVO-X	-
HONDA
Brio	-	3700
Jazz	-	306
City	-	3976
Civic	-	60
Accord	-	43
CR-V	-	0
HYUNDAI
Eon	-	7872
Santro	-	3826
I10	-	8988
I20	-	9058
Accent	-	240
Fluidic Verna	-	5050
Fluidic Elantra		668
Sonata	-	20
Santa Fe	-	56
MAHINDRA
Verito	-	1553
Bolero	-	11071
Quanto	-	2497
Xylo	-	2044
Scorpio	-	4681
XUV500	-	4320
MARUTI SUZUKI
800	-	1438
Omni	-	26600
Alto	-	71
Eeco	-	4232
Estilo	-	1217
Wagon R	-	13608
A-Star	-	587
Ritz	-	5809
Swift	-	15433
Dzire	-	14389
Ertiga	-	7289
SX4	-	695
Gypsy	-	111
Kizashi	-	35
Grand Vitata	-	0
NISSAN
Micra	-	649
Sunny	-	1007
Evalia	-	195
X-Trail	-	0
Teana	-	2
370Z	-	0
RENAULT
Pulse	-	483
Duster	-	5406
Scala	-	737
Fluence	-	107
Koleos	-	57
SKODA AUTO
Fabia	-	256
Rapid	-	1131
Laura	-	236
Yeti	-	6
Superb	-	163
TATA MOTORS
Nano	-	4004
Indica+Vista	-	6692
Indigo+Manza	-	5748
Sumo	-	3318
Venture	-	205
Safaria	-	1005
Aria	-	147
TOYOTA
Liva	-	2491
Etios	-	2015
Innova	-	5889
Corolla	-	332
Fortuner	-	1378
Camry	-	61
Prius	-	1
Prado	-	9
Landcruiser	-	15
VOLKSWAGEN
Polo	-	3399
Vento	-	1894
Jetta	-	207
Passat	-	93
Beetle	-	0

Source: team-bhp.com

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