Harley Davidson’s Indian Team Announced
According to a report by leading auto magazine BIKE INDIA 3 months after the official entry, Harley Davidson India has revealed its core members for India. After announcing its arrival in India Harley-Davidson is ready with its core team for an initiation in the Indian market. This new team consists of people like Sanjay Tripathi who has been in the Indian motorcycle industry for quite some time and is well aware of the likes and dislikes of the discerning Indian riders. He has been appointed as the director of Marketing.
Other experienced members include Rajiv Vohra - Director of sales and dealer development, who has worked with Honda Siel earlier. Yogesh Phogat, former BMW India employee, is appointed as the company's director of operations and finally Manish Agarwal who will be handling the financial department of HD India. With a team of industry experts HD is surely here to capture the hearts of Indian riders.
Mercedes New E-Class Diesel Is Coming To India
Mercedes Benz India launched the all new E-Class on 23rd September, 2009. It was initially available in only one variant - the top of the line - Avant Garde which is priced at Rs. 47 lakhs (Ex-Showroom New Delhi).
But now as expected they are all set to launch the diesel variant of New E-Class in India which is going to be launched on 12th November. New E-Class 350 CDI will be powered by a 2987cc engine which generates 225 Bhp of power and 540 Nm of torque. The company will also introduce BlueEFFICIENCY technology in the diesel E-Class. This technology reduces CO2 emissions and increases fuel efficiency by upto 12%.
[Via: Cars India ]
Maruti Grand Vitara to be Assembled in India
Maruti Grand Vitara has continuously witnessed falling sales in past few months. Maruti intends to arrest the falling sales figures of its SUV model by bringing its advanced version to India. It currently imports the SUV from its Japanese production facility as a completely built unit which makes the model quite expensive. Now the company is contemplating its options to assemble the model in India itself to offer more features at extremely competitive prices.
"The company is seriously considering bringing in an advanced version of Vitara into India, mainly to arrest the falling sales of the SUV," a source said. Maruti is in talks with auto component manufacturers to supply the parts for the model. An advanced version of the model will be introduced in 2010 and Maruti will decide upon its assembling plans for Grand Vitara after assessing the sales figures of the new model. Grand Vitara is currently available at Rs. 16.67 - Rs 17.97 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) and comes with 2.4L petrol engine with both manual and automatic transmission.
[Via: cartradeindia]
New Low Cost Sedan from Skoda
Skoda is ready to bring a new low-cost budget sedan model in 2012 in the international market. The new sedan model will compete with Renault's Dacia which has recorded the strongest sales in past few months, especially in the sedan segment. Dacia received most of the benefit from the government scrappage scheme and now Volkswagen Group intends to bridge the gap between Renault Dacia and Skoda models which have a big price difference.
Skoda currently sells Octavia as a popular sedan internationally especially in the emerging markets including India and China. Skoda intends to replace the Octavia with new budget model which will be smaller than Octavia. The new budget model will directly replace Octavia in the developed markets.
Skoda CEO, Mr Reinhard Jung, said the new model would cost between 10,000 and 12,000 euros (Rs. 6.7 lakh - Rs. 8.04 lakh) and would launch in two to three years. Skoda has not revealed any more details about the car which will be placed between Fabia and Octavia in coming years.
[Via: cartradeindia]
Fiat to Launch Linea T-Jet With Powerful Engine
Fiat India is getting ready to launch Linea T-Jet model in India. It will showcase the new model at the upcoming Delhi Auto expo in 2010. The new T-jet model will be powered by 1.4L petrol engine which will be a turbo-charged version. It delivered 120 ps @ 5000 rpm and torque of 206 nm right from 1750 rpm onwards. It reached top speed of 200 kmph and reach from 0-100 kmph in 9.2 seconds. The new Linea T-jet will be the only model in its segment that will have turbo-charged petrol engine once it is launched.
The new Linea T-jet will also have additional features like rain sensing wipers, reverse parking sensors, automatic headlamps, and Hill Holder function which means that it will stop the car from rolling backwards when you are on an incline and take your foot off the accelerator.
Fiat Linea was launched earlier this year and the model has been quite successful even since its launch. Fiat intends to regain its brand image in the Indian market and has launched premium models like Fiat 500. Fiat has also decided to increase its headcount at its R&D center to up to 200 to strengthen its research and development function.
[Via: cartradeindia]
TVS To Launch New Star Sport CL 115
After the huge success of recently launched Apache RTR 180 & Flame SR125, TVS India is all set to tap the market of clutchless bikes with the launch of TVS Jaive .
Though no official announcement has been about the price and launch date of Jaive but it is being speculated that TVS is going to launch it in last week of November. TVS Jaive will feature an automatic clutch and four gears. TVS has good experiance in manufacturing bikes with automatic clutch as they are selling TVS Neo in Indonesia and it is selling in good numbers.
[Via: Bikes India ]
Royal Enfield Bullet Classic 500 To Be Launched On 4th November
The Royal Enfield Bullet has for decades been the byword for rugged, refined cool and a bike handcrafted to perfection. The Bullet Classic 500 was unveiled by Royal Enfield at Intermot exhibition in Germany.
They have already launched this mouthwatering classic version of its legendary motorcycle abroad. Bullet Classic was first launched in Germany followed by European launch. It is expected that it is going to be launched in India on 4th November, 2009.
Main Styling Elements Of Bullet Classic 500
- Traditional looking front number plate
- Classic style round headlamp
- Visible steel springs
- Deep-drawn fenders of the rear tire
- 18" Spoke Wheels
- Fuel tank with post war graphics
- Thigh pads and single saddle seat with springs
- Body colored frame
Main Technical Highlights Of Bullet Classic 500:
- 280mm Front Disc brake
- 5-speed Gearbox
- UCE (Unit Construction Engine)
- 27.2 Bhp of Maximum Power
- Peak Torque of 41.3 Nm
- Electronic Fuel Injection System
Though no official launch date and price has been announced for Bullet Classic 500 but it is expected to be launched in India on 4th November, 2009 and is expected to retail for around Rs. 135000.00.
Tata-Fiat Alliance To Launch Jeep Cherokee In India
Tata Motors and Fiat joint venture is apprehended to launch Jeep Cherokee in India soon. This partnership will be launching a number of Chrysler models in India. The iconic Jeep Cherokee will be produced at the Ranjangaon facility near Pune. The Tata-Fiat alliance will initially start retailing the Cherokee and follow up with other products.
Italian car major Fiat acquired a 20% stake in Chrysler after the Michigan-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year. Fiat's 20%, stake in Chrysler could eventually go up to 51%. Chrysler will get access to Fiat's small car technology while Fiat gets a footprint into the US market. With financing from the Federal Government, the `new Chrysler' is supposed to change its product portfolio towards fuel-efficient vehicles. The Tata-Fiat alliance has been expanding production at its Ranjangaon facility.
Recently, Fiat India Automobiles (FIAPL), the Tata Motors-Fiat JV raised $510 million through a multi-tranche syndicated loan, which includes a $200 million term loan for working capital requirements. FIAPL is a 50:50 joint venture between Fiat Group and Tata Motors and manufactures Fiat and Tata cars and produces transmissions and engines.
[Via: Carazoo]
Wuling’s To Launch Vans In India Via GM
By around 2011, Wuling' N200 and N300 series vans will be sold in India, which marks GM's entry into the LCV segment in India. The LCV segment is populated with names like Force, Tata Motors, Mahindra, Piaggio etc. But as GM is going to sell minivans initially, they would have to compete with the likes of Maruti's Omni and Tata's Ace Magic. GM will equip the vans with fuel efficient diesel engines.
Wuling , which operates under directions of GM, is also said to be secretly developing a small car that will be slotted under the Chevrolet Spark in the future in India. Though there is no official confirmation of such a launch, GM officials overseas have spoken about the strategy adopted for the low-cost product which will use a lot of tried and test components from previous generation models.
Wuling's vans are already sold in North Africa, South America and the Middle East as Chevrolets. GM could use the same ploy in India as it enjoys a good status among utility vehicle buyers through the Tavera. GM China sells about 80,000 Wuling minivans every month and cornered a market share of 43 per cent in the Chinese minivan segment. It will look to repeat the same with the Indian market as well.
[Via: BS-Motoring]