HM-Mitsubishi may launch Evo X in India in 2010
According to some hard-to-believe reports in the media, HM-Mitsubishi is planning to launch the latest iteration of the legendary Evo - the Evo X - in the Indian market in 2010. The company is expected to display the Evo X at the Auto Expo in Delhi in January 2010 and launch the car in India subsequently.
Unlike the Mitsubishi products currently on sale in India (most of which are completely outdated and offer underwhelming performance at an overwhelming price!), the Evo X is the real deal. It's fitted with a 2.0-litre engine that produces around 280 horsepower, which allows the car to accelerate from zero to 100km/h in less than five seconds!
Indeed, the Mitsubishi Evo is one of those rare four-door saloons that offer near-supercar levels of handling and performance and that can't possibly come cheap. Which is why Mitsubishi, during 2010, will aim for sales of 100 units or less for the Evo X. The car could be priced at Rs 30 lakh or more, which would certainly make it a very niche product - strictly for the wealthy enthusiast only.
[Via: indiautomotive]
Bajaj Pulsar 350 Launch By 2012
Bajaj Auto is half way through the development of a 350cc Bajaj Pulsar scheduled for commercial launch by 2012. The fastest iteration of the Pulsar is expected to come with liquid cooling but Bajaj engineers are finding it tough to design a effective cooling system, which is essential for such a high capacity powerplant.
The reason for using an oil cooled system over a water cooled system is the saving in space and weight. Lesser weight will help in better performance and mileage. The 350cc engine platform would be used in various variants and will help Bajaj to foray into the premium motorcycle segment in many countries including India.
[Via: motorbeam]
Toyota Fortuner Launch On 24th August
Toyota Kirloskar Motors has announced the launch of the much awaited Fortuner. The SUV will be launched in the Indian market on 24th August, 2009. The Toyota Fortuner will be powered by a 3.0 litre Common Rail Diesel engine and will feature full time four-wheel drive. Toyota expects the Fortuner to take away 50% market share in the SUV segment and is eyeing to clock atleast 2,000 units by the end of this year.
"The Fortuner is an important addition to our product line-up in India and we are currently in the process of finalizing details for the launch," Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director, Marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motor. "We are still working out the price details of the Fortuner, taking into account variations in exchange rates, but expect it to be around Rs. 20 lakh," he added.
[Via: motorbeam]
Hyundai Planning i10 Diesel
Hyundai India is planning to launch the diesel variant of its hotselling i10 in the Indian market. According to the media reports, the diesel variant of the i10 could hit the market with in the next 8-12 months.
Hyundai already sells the i10 diesel in the European market where it comes with a 1.1 Litre Common Rail Turbodiesel engine with 75 Ps of power and 153 nm of maximum torque. The new diesel engine in i10 will enable Hyundai to better compete with the likes of Maruti Suzuki's Swift and Tata's Indica Vista.
According to sources Hyundai is also looking for land to set up diesel engine manufacturing plant in India on the lines of Ford which will manufacture its diesel engines in India shortly. The 1.4 Litre diesel under the hood of i20 is currently imported resulting in a higher price tag for the car.
[Via: CC]
Tata-Fiat Plan Ferrari India Launch
talian auto giant Fiat and Indian car maker Tata are in talks about a joint marketing project to sell Ferrari and Mazerati supercars in India. The partners are also discussing sharing new car platforms and have plans for Iveco, Fiat's truck and bus subsidiary. Both brands are under Fiat's control.
"We are talking. We have various projects (including) marketing Ferraris and Maseratis" in India, Tata boss Ratan Tata said. Tata Motors is also present in the luxury car business, having acquired the British brands Jaguar and Land Rover for 2.3 billion dollars from US automaker Ford last year. Fiat and Tata build cars, engines and gearboxes together in India, and Tata Motors is Fiat's sales distributor and service manager in India.
[Via: motorbeam]
BMW Motorrad To Launch Superbikes In India
13 years back BMW has entered the Indian superbike scene with the F650 through a joint venture with the Hero Group, but things did not go as planned. BMW is planning another foray into the country's minuscule high-end motorcycle market and is planning to introduce its Motorrad range of super bikes in India which will cost in excess of Rs. 10 lakh.
However BMW India could take 1-2 years before anything is finalised. BMW Motorrad is a brand used by the German company for its motorcycles, which are in production since 1923. BMW Motorrad's G series, F series, R series and K series are available around the world. These bikes range from 450 cc capacity to 1300 cc capacity and are designed for off road, sport and touring purposes.
[Via: motorbeam]
Mercedes-Benz to offer smaller, more fuel-efficient engines
Mercedes-Benz has announced it will be offering two new engines that are smaller and more fuel-efficient, on the E-Classis. These four-cylinder diesel and petrol engines will be offered on the E200 CDI and CGI BlueEFFICIENCY models.
With 136bhp from the 2,134cc diesel engine and 184bhp from the 1,800cc petrol, these engines are likely to offer less than stellar drivability, but will offer outstanding economy - 19km/l for the diesel and 14km/l for the petrol.
'Sophisticated, efficient four-cylinder engines make for lower fuel consumption and less environmental pollution without having to compromise on classic Mercedes attributes such as ride comfort and driving enjoyment,' says a Mercedes-Benz press release.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Toyota planning another hybrid car for the UK market
Toyota's Auris hatchback is going in for a facelift and will also be released as a hybrid in 2012, according to sources. The car will use the same hybrid drive train as the Prius but will be cheaper. By 2012, the Prius, too, will be available as a petrol-electric and a plug-in hybrid.
The hybrid version of the Auris hatchback will be built at Toyota's UK plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire from 2012. It will be the first hybrid to be completely assembled in Europe with its the engines, battery assemblies, motors and electronics to be imported directly from Japan.
Prices for the Prius currently start at £18,390 ($29,900/€21,400) and it is likely that the Auris hybrid will be starting at around £15,000 ($24,400/€17,400).
[Via: globalmotors]
Bavina to launch electric car in India
Bavina Cars which is working towards launching its first electric car in India by 2011, has now been allotted 100 acres of land in the special economic zone (SEZ) in Ranipet, which is promoted by the State Industries Promotion Corp of Tamil Nadu.
Bavina plans to invest about Rs 300 crore towards setting up its plant in Tamil Nadu, where it plans to produce up to 25,000 electric cars per annum from 2011 onwards. The Bavina car - tentatively named 'Electro' - is being developed in technical collaboration with Velozzi SpA Inc., which is based in Los Angeles, California, in the US.
The Bavina Electro will be a four-door, four-seater hatchback with metal bodywork and 28kW motor powered by a lithium-ion (?) battery pack. There will also be a small internal-combustion petrol engine, which will only be used for charging the car's batteries when the car is on the move. According to the company, every litre of fuel used by the engine will ensure enough recharging of the batteries to ensure another 50km of travel!
According to the information available on the Bavina website, its car will be able to seat four adults and will be capable of hitting a top speed of more than 100km/h. Of course, we're sure that many of the specs and tech details on this car will change by the time it's launched, since EV technology is sure to make a lot of progress by 2011.
As of now, the Reva, built by the Bangalore-based RECC/Maini Auto, is the only electric car available in India. When it was first launched 5-6 years ago, the Reva was quite cutting-edge product for its time. RECC has recently developed a new version, which is powered by lithium-ion batteries, though it's currently only available in Europe.
[Via: infibeam]
Fiat Postpones Bravo India Launch
Fiat has postponed the launch of the Bravo in India, due to the sudden downturn in the auto market. If launched, Bravo would have attracted nearly 100% import duty, just like its three-door hatchback Fiat 500 (which costs above Rs. 13 lakh) in India.
The Fiat Bravo and Fiat Brava are small family cars produced by the Italian automaker from 1995 to 2001. The name was revived for 2007 with an all-new replacement for the Stilo, the new version will use only the Bravo name and is not available with three doors.
Fiat and Tata Motors will not launch models in segments where they would have to compete with each other. However, they will jointly cooperate with each other and be interdependent on each other's forte.
While Tata Motors taps Fiat's technology and support as well as the share of the numbers that the Linea and Grande Punto make. Furthermore, it also gets to manufacture cars in Fiat's brand new Ranjangaon plant. Fiat on the other hand gets access to the Tata Motors' huge sales and service distribution network in India.
[Via: motorcrunch]