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We’ve also packaged pointers from yesterday’s press conference for an overall idea of where Mercedes stands in India today, after the break.

• A target customer for M Class in India is a developer from Delhi or Mumbai who has to travel to his sites or place of work in luxury under rough road and weather conditions
• There are only 500 units of the model allotted this year for the Indian market
• M Class is still CBU and Indian assembly has not been started yet
• Last year 770 units of M Class were sold in India
• Mercedes started selling the M Class in India three years ago
• Compact luxury offerings is part of Mercedes India’s next growth phase
• The big launch for India this year is the B Class followed by cars like the A Class and a sedan previewed by the Concept Style Coupe in the next two-three years
• Last year Mercedes sold around 200 units of GL Class; Assembly of the GL Class will begin next year in India and the company expects the volumes to get better with time
• If demand for any CBU model increases Mercedes have a flexible assembly line that helps them take the CKD route
• Mercedes says current market scenario and government policies with increased tax structuring making it difficult to draft a formidable future plan for expansion

Mercedes M Class Images from the launch floor

Mercedes M Class Edition 1 Studio shots

Mercedes M Class Studio shots

Currently in a very good position compared to its rivals and announcing its plans to launch around 18 new models that would include completely new vehicles and upgrades in the current offerings, it seems like achieving goals will happen sooner than expected.

Reports from European news services have revealed that Audi has applied for many new name trademarks for its imminent launches. These include seven new ones: Q6, Q8, S2, S9, RS1, RS8, R6 and three trademarks ‘E-Gasoline,’ ‘E-Diesel’, and ‘E-Benzin’ for its eco-friendly line-up of vehicles.

From this information we can speculate that the Q6 would fight against the BMW X6 and the Q8 might be a bigger more luxurious SUV than the Q7, slotting right below the production versions of the Lamborghini Urus and Bentley EXP 9F belonging to the Volkswagen Group.

The S2 and S9 are more than likely to be S-line versions of the A2 and A9 respectively. The A2 is expected make a return as a sports tourer while the A9 could be a 4 door luxury sedan and probably the most expensive offering by the four rings on sale. The RS1 and RS8 badges cannot be but sporty versions of the A1 and A8 respectively.

The R6 monicker suits a vehicle smaller and less expensive than the R8. If the TT brand gets a shot of steroids it can be eligible to wear the R6 badge.

The E-names would probably be used on the petrol- and diesel- hybrid offerings from Audi, while the E-Tron terminology connotes electric vehicles.

The BangkokPost reports that the Mirage is a massive hit in Thailand. It has moped up some serious bookings since the launch. This has prompted Mitsubishi Motors Thailand to step up production at its assembly lines.

Orders for 20,000 units have been placed for the Eco-Car since its launch in late March. And thanks to the enhanced capacity Mitsubishi is aiming to deliver all the bookings by the end of this year. That’s a waiting list of more than half a year.

The Laem Chabang plant is Mitsubishi’s largest manufacturing and export facility outside Japan with an initial annual capacity of 150,000 units, upgradeable to 200,000 units.

Of course, Mitsubishi has plans to export the Mirage to Japan, Asia and Europe. But Mitsubishi India has not confirmed anything about the the Mirage’s debut in India. The company is still evaluating its partnership with Hindustan Motors.

In order for the Mirage to be launched in India and become successful, Mitsubishi has to focus on 3 things – Local Production, Aggressive pricing and widening its Sales & Service network.

Most Mitsubishi products in India are not doing the volumes the competition is able to simply because they fail on either of above mentioned three factors. More importantly, Mitsubishi’s Cedia, sitting in an important segment, does not have diesel power.

The Mirage is a perfect mass market product that can be placed as a rival to the likes of the Polo, Micra, Swift and i20. It needs a diesel engine and a determined set of decision makers who can act in sync with the market changes.

[Source: bangkokpost.com]

Now the Great Escape has been clubbed under an umbrella brand called ‘Mahindra Adventure’ which will also include Mahindra’s motorsport division.

The Mahindra Adventure Season 2 will consists of three type of events:

• Great Escape
• Challenges
• Multi day Escapes

The really existing ones are the multi-day escapes which are as follows:

• Monsoon Challenge (South to West) – 19th – 22nd July
• Monastery Escape Classic – 26th July – 5th August
• Authentic Goa – 16th – 22nd August
• Spice Challenge (South) – 7th – 9th September
• Trination Escape (North to East) – 15th – 29th September
• Wild Escape (Central) – 16th – 21st November
• Royal Escape Classic (North) – 27th December – 1st January

The enthusiasm is literally palpable. Mahindra claims that more than half the events are sold out already.

In order to keep the off roading community entertained on the move, the company has also launched an adventure focus e-magazine called ‘Get Lost’. Currently only available on iOS platform, the magazine has a wealth of information on Mahindra’s off roading activities and other adventure related topics. An Android version will be available very soon.

If we had to pick one event for you, we would blindfoldedly sign up for the Monastery Escape which takes to Leh and Ladhak through drop-dead gorgeous scenery and unbelievably stunning landscapes.

Don’t know what it feels like to be a part of the Great Escape? Head to our experience of the Saklespur Great Escape

The Duster Ice Edition starts as low as € 12 290 (around 8.5 lakhs). For that money, you get front electric windows, roof rails, four airbags and central locking with remote control. That’s it!

Almost everything else is an optional extra. ESP will cost 360 euros and if you want a radio, cough up 400 Euros please. It does not even have a height adjustment for the steering wheel. The Ice Edition can be ordered with front-wheel drive but cannot be bought in green. It does come with a three year warranty (or up to 100,000 kilometers).

The Duster Ice Edition is powered by a 1.6-liter gasoline engine. If you want it in a diesel avatar, that’s 13,890 euros (around 9.5 lakhs)

Well, you get what you pay for!

[Source: AutoKiste.de via AutoPassione.ro]

But a Tata Nano entering the Jay Leno epic garage is no ordinary occasion. Thus, the Tata Nano was welcomed in a Bollywood setting with Jay Leno dressed in a Sherwani.

This is probably the first time I am seeing Jay leno not wearing a denim jeans or a suit as he generally does on The Tonight Show. Quite a car eh?

Jay Leno is one of the biggest petrol heads in the world only next to the Sultan of Brunei. He has a garage that houses nearly 200 mouth watering cars and 90 motorcycles. He has a dedicated web series called ‘Jay Leno’s Garage’ wherein he road test cars that come to his garage. A special tri-color Tata Nano will be a part of this web series which will air shortly. Don’t worry, we will get it for you as soon as it is released.

From the look of things, it seems that the upcoming web episode will be full of Bollywood sequences with dancers showcasing their jhatkas and matkas. We can’t wait to hear Jay Leno’s opinion on the Tata Nano. But it seems that it will take some time for the review to air because Jay Leno just finished shooting it.

In the meantime, you guys can head to Jay Leno’s website to see some of his cars.

[Source: businesstoday.intoday.in]

In the mean time, Skoda has showcased the Citigo Rally Concept which will be heading to the Worthersee Tour in Austria to accompany Audi’s Q3 Red Track Concept.

The Skoda Citigo Rally Concept symbolizes Skoda’s true love for Rally Racing, perhaps the only sport that Skoda is present in. The Concept dons massive front bumper and wheel arches, bonnet vents, roof-mounted air intake and rear spoiler. It also features low-profile tires wrapped around forged 18-inch white alloy wheels and a centrally positioned exhaust pipe. Considering this is just a sketch, no information is given about the power train.

Accompanying the Citigo Rally Concept will be will be the Citigo DJ Car Concept. It has widened B-pillars to create an open stage for a DJ inside the car. The music mixed in the Citigo DJ Car will be played on centre stage at night during the Tour through a 100,000-watt sound system.

[Source: carscoop.blogspot.com]

Having known that the target for the new M Class is 500 bookings in the whole year, that’s a pretty remarkable achievement!

The reason has to be Mercedes’ strategy of sending vehicles to dealerships weeks before the official launch. Dealers have conducted special previews of the new M-Class to its customers and many have been impressed with its features, performance and styling.

Mercedes wants to bring more models into the market via the CKD route. It already assembles C, E and S Class cars at its Chakan plant. The M Class’s assembly will begin in the second half on the year while the GL Class will be assembled about a year from the time of M-Class’ start of production.

The automaker believes that it will change the game of the Indian luxury car market by pricing the cars very competitively. The CKD operations help Mercedes avoid the steep import duty.

The automaker has also lined up a slew of launches like the A Class, B Class and the  upcoming BMW X1 rival – Mercedes GLA. All these efforts are keeping one thing in mind – to achieve a profitable growth and regain the top spot of the global luxury market (that it lost to BMW/Audi) by 2020 .

The Chinese love lots of leg space at the rear and because the Chinese market is such a high volume game, manufacturers, big and small, are more than happy to oblige the Chinese demands and make an exclusive variant.

Most manufacturers have stretched versions of their existing cars already running in China. Volvo also plans to introduce a stretched version of their popular contender S60. The normal S60 is available in China as a CBU import from Europe. The company will be producing the Volvo S60L at the Chengdu manufacturing plant where it also makes the S80L.

The key would be to not make it look disproportionate in length. The S60′s aggressive styling is a double edged sword. The smartness of Volvo’s designers will be on view while they deal with masking the extra length.

Surprisingly, none of the auto manufacturers sell LWB sedans in anywhere in the world apart from China. Personally, I think LWB sedans would work great in India as we too love our rear leg space like the Chinese.

[Source: ChinaCarTimes.com]

This one replaces the earlier marketing campaign started in 2008 that used “Drive One”, it conveyed the message of the global approach that Ford utilizes for its products. India can recognize an earlier slogan “Feel the Difference” used widely during the introduction of the Figo two years ago.

As you’d know Ford does not make market-specific moves and an important update like a change in a tagline will make its way into the Indian market in quick time.

“We are not trying to invent a new reality at Ford. We are just telling people what we are doing.” Mr. Jim Farley, the head of global marketing and sales for Ford commented on the shift.

Though Ford has made fast progress in USA and is expecting to take over the SUV market in China with its B and C size offerings, it still has a long way to go here in India where the Figo and Fiesta Classic are the only decent performers. The new Fiesta has been a hit in diesel, but the combined volumes have not been anything to write home about.

Ford is taking its time with the EcoSport and if it can work out a fabulous pricing strategy, there are no deterrents to its success. Its going to take Maruti, Hyundai and Mahindra time to develop a mini SUV that can compete with the EcoSport. Renault’s dealer network and brand image are under construction and that leaves Ford with an unattended playpen. Maruti’s XA Alpha may not come out before Auto Expo 2014 giving Ford roughly 12 months to serve all the mini SUV buyers they can find.

At the marketing front Ford is planning to make the Blue Oval logo less visible and in the long run make the product brand stand out and make the oval logo vanish, at least from the mind of the customers. The company is trying to infuse more confidence into names like Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo, F150 and Taurus. It hopes these products, with their respective USPs, can be a bigger brand than the Blue Oval.

These steps are also being taken in order to refrain people from making any negative conclusion about the brand based on the badge it carries. Makes sense?

[Source - Blogs.WSJ.com]