The Honda new small car, which was showcased at the New Delhi Auto Expo in January 2009, will not be launched in the segment of volume-driven small cars as the company has decided to place it above the highly competitive compact-car segment in India. The Japanese car maker announced on Monday that its proposed hatchback for India is not aimed at the volume-driven small car segment and will be positioned above this category.
According to Mr Fumihiko Ike, Honda Motor Corporation Chief Operating Officer (Asia and Oceania), Honda's small car project is very much on schedule. The company has not decided the likely price or the engine capacity of the small car, but the small car will be positioned slightly higher than the volume market. The company had showcased a concept of this car at the New Delhi Auto Expo where it was named as 'Honda New Small Car Concept'. At that time, the company had announced that the car will be launched in India by year 2011.
When asked about the possibility of launch of a diesel engine, Mr Ike said that Globally the company has diesel engines of higher specifications and now it is developing diesel engine with lower specification also, but it is basically for the European market.
The price segment of Rs 2 to 4 lakh is generally represents the volume-driven segment in India which accounts for the most of the passenger car sales in the Indian market. Currently, more then half a dozen popular cars are there in this segment which includes best-selling Maruti Alto, Wagon R and A-Star, Chevrolet Beat and Spark, and Hyundai Santro Xing and i10.
Honda India has some of the most popular cars in its Indian portfolio including premium hatch-back Honda Jazz, sedans Honda City and Civic, and luxury SUV Honda CR-V. The company however, has reported a decline of 2.13 per cent in its sales to 3,578 units, in April 2010.
Source:- Honda to launch its small car above volume-driven segment - New Cars
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Honda to launch its small car above volume-driven segment
Sailesh Bolisetti Wins Inaugural Race of Polo Cup India 2010
Mohammed Fahad Kutty had finished in 3rd place but had then been given a 15 second penalty by the stewards for overtaking under yellow flags. It was a close finish as the top 6 were covered by less than 10 seconds at the chequered flag. Sailesh had a great start and led from the start with Saran Vikram and Karthik Shankar behind him. Starting from 6th on the grid, Fahad Kutty (Mohammed) made a brilliant overtaking move to pass Shankar (Karthik) for 3rd position on lap 2.
As he closed on second-placed Saran Vikram he clipped the tyre barrier into the first corner damaging his car in the process. He was unable to challenge Saran after that but did crossed the finish line in third place. He was later penalised for overtaking under yellow flags.
Prof Heizmann, Member of Board of Volkswagen AG, commented, "I would like to congratulate all the drivers for putting on a fantastic performance today. This is a proud day for motorsport in India and Volkswagen is really happy to be a part of it. We look forward to the rest of the season and am sure all the drivers will give it their best."
Karthik Shankar from Hyderabad finished in 3rd position while Vishnu Prasad (Chennai), Sahil Shelar (Pune) and Fahad Kutty rounded off the top 6. The only woman driver on the grid Alisha Abdullah finished in an impressive 14th place in her debut race.
There were a host of dignitaries present for the inaugural race of the Volkswagen-JK Tyre Polo Cup in India. This included Mr. Suresh Kalmadi, President, IOA, Mr. Suresh Shetty, Minister of Sports for the state of Maharastra, Mr. Raghupati Singhania, VP & MD, JK Tyre and Industries, Prof. Jochem Heizmann, Member of Board of Volkswagen AG, Mr. Joerg Muller, Volkswagen Group Chief Representative India and Mr. Kris Nissen, Volkswagen Motorsport Director.
Another surprise was in store as Bollywood actress Soha Ali Khan was invited to flag off the race, along with Prof. Heizmann and Mr. Kris Nissen. The Bollywood star was an instant hit with both the fans and media as she attended her first race.
Source:- Sailesh Bolisetti Wins Inaugural Race of Polo Cup India 2010 - New Cars
DSM joins hands with ARAI for automotive development in India
Two leading organizations of automobile industry in India have joined hands to work in the field of automotive development in the country. The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and DSM have entered into an alliance to take the automotive developments in India to a new level. Where the DSM is a leading organization in the field of Material sciences the ARAI is a well known name in the automotive research.
ARAI, which is a co-operative industrial research association established by the automotive industry and Ministry of Industries, Government of India, plays an important role in providing R&D, testing, certification, homologation and framing of vehicle regulations. The organization is empowered with highly qualified manpower and all required facilities.
Mr Srikant Marathe, director, ARAI, said that ARAI will contribute through its expertise in automotive testing equipments, systems knowledge, and standards for four, three and two wheelers. For ARAI, vehicle weight reduction is a key focus area to address fuel consumption and emission concerns. This alliance will be extremely useful to achieve this objective. This alliance will also go a long way in bringing in the advantages of engineering plastics in areas that were so far the domain of metals.
According to Mr Roelof Westerbeek, president, DSM Engineering Plastics, DSM plays a leading part in addressing some of the world’s most pressing issues such as climate change and energy consumption. Company’s knowledge of the use of its materials in automotive applications and vast experience in integrating parts with engineering plastics has directly contributed in making components lighter – hence lower fuel consumption and reduced pollution. The company will bring in its material science and application expertise to this alliance.
Source:- DSM joins hands with ARAI for automotive development in India - New Cars
Mahindra First Choice inaugurates new outlet in Goa
The Mahindra First Choice is among the leading players of the used car segment with about 125 dealerships spread across 80 cities of the country. To reach more and more buyers of this segment the company is planning to increase the number of its dealerships to 300 in the period of coming three years. Mahindra First Choice is growing at a very good pace with selling more than 18,000 vehicles in the current year.
While inaugurating the dealership, Mr Ashesh Dhar said that the Delsco is first-ever dealership of Mahindra First Choice in Goa. The size of used car market in Goa is approximately approx 9,600 per year and that of new car market is 13,500 per year. Goa thus has a huge growth potential and Delsco with their expertise in the region, coupled with our value proposition of trust, transparency and wide choice will ensure that Mahindra First Choice is well poised to tap the vast potential of the pre-owned car market in the region.
Source:- Mahindra First Choice inaugurates new outlet in Goa - New Cars
GM India to launch an LCV by Dec 2010
Recently, GM India had announced that it will roll-out an LCV in the Indian Market by the end of this year. Mr Karl Slym, GM India president and managing director, has announced that after the partnership with SAIC, GM India has a wider menu to choose from with products from SAIC also available. By the end of next year or early 2012, the company plans to launch LCVs in one-tonne capacity, which could be simultaneously followed by passenger cars.
In December last year, the company had said that it will manufacture its commercial vehicles in India at its Halol facility, following the shifting of production of GM's utility vehicles like Tavera to its Talegaon plant. It is also expected that the company will also analyze the possibilities of exporting these LCVs to markets like South America and Southeast Asia.
GM India has grown considerably well in past few months, after the launch of its compact-car Chevrolet Beat in January. At present is sells more than half a dozen vehicles in India across all segments. This includes small cars Chevrolet Beat, spark, sedans like Chevrolet Aveo, Optra Magnum and Cruze.
Source:- GM India to launch an LCV by Dec 2010 - New Cars
GM India to launch an LCV by Dec 2010
Recently, GM India had announced that it will roll-out an LCV in the Indian Market by the end of this year. Mr Karl Slym, GM India president and managing director, has announced that after the partnership with SAIC, GM India has a wider menu to choose from with products from SAIC also available. By the end of next year or early 2012, the company plans to launch LCVs in one-tonne capacity, which could be simultaneously followed by passenger cars.
In December last year, the company had said that it will manufacture its commercial vehicles in India at its Halol facility, following the shifting of production of GM's utility vehicles like Tavera to its Talegaon plant. It is also expected that the company will also analyze the possibilities of exporting these LCVs to markets like South America and Southeast Asia.
GM India has grown considerably well in past few months, after the launch of its compact-car Chevrolet Beat in January. At present is sells more than half a dozen vehicles in India across all segments. This includes small cars Chevrolet Beat, spark, sedans like Chevrolet Aveo, Optra Magnum and Cruze.
Source:- GM India to launch an LCV by Dec 2010 - New Cars
India to enter in the top 10 list of GM
In year 2009, the company had managed to sell 69,579 units of its cars in India, though it targets to sell 1 lakh units by the end of this year. The company has performed really well in starting 4 months of this year with the help of its popular compact-car Chevrolet Beat, which was launched in India in January this year at the Delhi International Auto Expo. The Beat has become the highest selling car in the GM's Indian portfolio.
At present, China is the second-largest auto-markets for the GM with registering sales of over 1.8 million vehicles, following the US which is the largest car market for GM with the sales of over 2 million vehicles. It is expected that the Indian market will soon replace the Australia from the 10th spot of GM's top 10 auto markets which currently accounts for sales of more than 1.2 lakh units. GM India has recently completed its 13 years of operations in Indian market where it sales vehicles under the Chevrolet brand.
Source:- India to enter in the top 10 list of GM - New Cars
