The competition between Maruti and Hyundai is just beginning. These two are without a doubt the top manufacturers in small cars in India along with TATA. Maruti had made the first move to start selling cars with CNG with the launch of the new Wagon R. With the rising crude oil prices and subsequent rise in fuel prices this is a tactic which would definitely give them the edge in that market segment.
Hyundai has decided that it will compete in the CNG market with the launch of the CNG Santro. The Hyundai Santro CNG will start selling by next year and will come with a factory fitted CNG setup. This will also be a secondary fuel option almost identical to the Maruti Wagon R.
The Hyundai Santro CNG will be compiled in their Chennai unit.
One of Europe’s largest car manufacturer will soon launch the Volkswagen Jetta model next year and this car will be completely made in a factory in India itself.
Volskwagen has planned to introduce the Passat this year and will also start work on selling the Volkswagen Beetle in India. The company are looking to make full use of the upcoming small car market in the country. The Volkswagen Jetta has been the top seller in China for the year FY2006.
“India is one of the few automotive markets with strong growth,†Busch said. “The Jetta will enable us to employ the first workers and start building up our production system before we get into full-scale production in 2009.â€
The Volkswagen Passat will be assembled in the Skoda Auto AS factory in Aurangabada (Maharashtra). The new factory will be built in Pune with a huge investment of 400 million dollars.
[tags]Volkswagen, Volkswagen Jetta, Volkswagen Passat, Volkswagen India[/tags]
Volkswagen March 18th 2007
Ford India announced the launch of the all new Ford Ikon 2007 on Friday at a press conference in Mumbai. The new model of the Ford Ikon will be priced at Rs. 475,000 ex-showroom Delhi price.
The higher model comes with accessories like rear spoilers, sporty alloy wheels, sporty seat covers, anti-theft alarm and chrome deck-lid handle. This will cost you about Rs. 35,000 extra but is definitely worth it in our opinion.
Ford has also decided to launch this car in a new ‘Jeans Blue’ color and hopes to bring some life into this model.
[tags]Ford, Ford Ikon, Ford Ikon 2007, Ford India[/tags]
Mahindra & Mahindra has come out with the all new Mahindra Bolero and this time Gujarat is getting to see this tough SUV on the streets. The price of the new updated version is around Rs. 460,000 for the lowest model which climbs up to almost Rs. 580,000 for the higher end one.
The 2006 sales figures of the Mahindra Bolero pushed the company to launch a new variant for this year. Last year the company sold over 50,000 SUVs and were pretty pleased with their performance.
The Bolero has firmly established its place in the Indian SUV market with over 40% market share in its segment.
