Tata Nano bookings to open soon, at Rs 70,000
By the end of this month, prospective buyers will be able to pay Rs 70,000 and book the much-anticipated Nano. Bookings will be accepted at Tata Motors dealerships as well as certain branches of the State Bank of India (SBI), with the latter also providing car loans for the Nano. Tata Motors is looking at accepting bookings for up to 100,000 units of the Nano, by which it expects to rake in about Rs 700 crore over the next few weeks.
Cars will be allotted via a draw, and most people who book a Nano can expect to wait for many months before their car is delivered. That is because while the Nano will be launched in March this year, the car will initially come from Tata Motors Pantnagar facility, which can only produce 3,000 cars per month.
However, things are expected to improve by early 2010, when the Nano's main plant in Sanand will become operational. With a capacity of 250,000 cars per annum, the Sanand plant should certainly be able to satisfy the country wide demand for the Nano.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Bajaj’s future plans
Undeterred by the slowdown and poor sales (or rather bitten by it), Bajaj has drawn up a serious plan to get back to where it belongs-at the top. The home grown manufacturer has drawn up a schedule coming up with a host of launches back to back in the coming year.
The company's Chief Executive Officer, Mr S. Sridhar said, "We are looking to launch a light sports scooter some time next year." We had just got the XCD 135 DTS-Si and following it is the gearless scooter which we reckon is the long overdue Bajaj Blade.The blade will sport an engine in the 100-150cc category and will slot in above the Kristal DTS-i.
[Via: IAB]
Chrysler to sponsor Terminator Salvation movie
Chrysler has announced it will be sponsoring the new Terminator 4: Salvation movie, which will see Chrysler cars being product placed in the movie. Chrysler did not say how much money it would be spending on this though.
[Via: Paultan]
New Toyota Camry
Toyota has unveiled the 2010 Toyota Camry at the Detroit Auto Show. Not much to differentiate the curreny Camry with the new one except a few engineering and design tweaks. On the outside, the 2010 Camry receives a new front bumper with enlarged air intakes, uprated headlamps and a set of restyled taillights. On the inside Toyota has changed the audio system a bit.
[Via: motorcrunch]
VW Polo: Confirmed for the US!
According to Volkswagen of America CEO Stefan Jacoby, the Polo will be larger than a Toyota Yaris three-door but smaller than the segment-leading Honda Fit.
There's no official launch date for the Polo in America, but Volkswagen may be bringing it to future auto shows to test America's reaction to the diminutive Vee-Dub. Not only is this exciting news for consumers in the small car segment, but it will also help Volkswagen reach its goal of 800,000 sales per year.