Established in 1983, Maruti Suzuki has served the nation for more than 28 years with its highly reliable and fuel efficient cars. The Indo-Japanese czar can be truly credited for putting India on four wheels.

The car maker has been consistently dominating the small car market since its inception. While the early sales were dominated with the 800 and the Omni, the new boys such as Alto, Wagon R and Swift contribute to much of sales now.

Maruti Suzuki also revealed a ‘Top 5’ model wise split up of their sales till date which goes as follows

1. Maruti 800 – 26.36 lakh units
2. Alto F8 and Alto K10 – 19.08 lakh units
3. Omni van – 14.37 lakh units
4. WagonR – 11.14 lakh units
5. Swift – 6.85 lakh units

To commemorate the occasion in its own special style, Maruti Suzuki launched the SX4 Celebration Edition. Although the price of the Celebration edition model is yet to be known, the additional features include:

• New seat fabric
• Chrome inside door handles
• Chrome air conditioning louvers
• Cubic printing on arm rest
• Celebration edition floor mats and pillows

Source: TimesofIndia.indiatimes.com

The Fiesta Automatic is does not change much in mechanicals except the 5 speed manual is now replaced by a 6 speed dual clutch transmission.

Ford claims that this gearbox is the most cost effective dual clutch transmission the world has ever seen. Being a dual clutch, the lag between changes is absolutely minimal and the driver is rewarded with a class leading 16.97 km/l.

The new gearbox also comes with Hill/Grade Assist and Creep Function that will help you with your day-to-day driving. Ford claims that the new gearbox will be hassle free to maintain for nearly 10 years. The Fiesta Automatic will be powered by the 110 Bhp/140 Nm 1.5 Liter Ti-VCT petrol engine. There are no plans for a Fiesta diesel automatic as there is very less demand for the car around the world and Ford seldom makes such kind of products after it began following the One Ford global strategy.

What price should Ford Fiesta AT be launched?

Source: India.ford.com

Here’s the new Touareg spotted in Delhi by reader Lakshay Mohan Gupta earlier this week.

The new Touareg is nothing new to IAB readers as right from April last year we’ve been talking about it. For some reason Volkswagen chose not to launch it at the Auto Expo. The price of the new model with the V6 diesel engine is expected to start just above 42 lakh rupees.

Our friends at many Volkswagen dealerships tell us that they’ve suggested the company to price the five-seat Touareg attractively as alternatives from other German SUVs have brand power that can’t be matched.

The CBU-route Touareg uses a 3-liter V6 turbodiesel engine that produces 240bhp/550Nm.

Volkswagen will launch the new Touareg very soon as select members from the media were recently invited to test the off-road capabilities of the vehicle.

2011 Volkswagen Touareg video from Delhi

It will have two engine choices for either 2WD or 4WD. The 2.0-liter MIVEC petrol engine may not be the practical option for diesel-driven markets which is why Mitsu is offering the 2.2-liter MIVEC Clean Diesel engine married to a 6-speed automatic gearbox.

Mitsubishi is working on a plug-in hybrid variant for a 2013 launch that has an astonishing 800km range with CO2 emissions of 50g/km.

Our sources tell us Mitsubishi is unlikely to launch the new Outlander in India this year.

We’ll get more information on the new Outlander as we near the Geneva Motor Show. Stay tuned!

The Volkswagen group has plans to double component sourcing from India, which will not only provide us with new job opportunities but will also shift us a step closer to the developed nations from the importance perspective.

The company will spend €10 million in the Indian market, mainly for expansion which also includes the addition of a new assembly line at its Aurangabad plant in Maharashtra to assemble its premium SUV Q7 and the upcoming Q3 junior crossover, expected to launch in June-July 2012.

Audi India managed to sell 667 units in Jan this year as compared to 480 units last year boosting its sales to a whole 39%. Audi India is revamping its whole fleet of cars with the recent launches like the new A8, A6, R8 cabriolet and RS5 and with its aim to launch 7 new vehicles like the TT Roadster, A4 facelift, S6 and the Q3 this year, meeting its sales target of 8,000 units is going to be very easy in 2012.

When I say ‘little known’, I would be absolutely wrong because as a brand ‘Volvo’ is much deep rooted in the Indian psyche than even the three pointed star. But brand Volvo is more known for its fantastically comfortable commercial buses than its cars.

Anyways, the Swedes have launched the 2012 Volvo XC60 at a much cheaper price tag of 34.4 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi). How did they manage to reduce the price you ask?

Well, essentially they downsized the old D5 engine to make a D3 version. Now this inline in-line five cylinder turbo diesel engine produces 163 bhp and 400 Nm of peak torque. The engine is mated to an automatic six-speed transmission with four-wheel drive system. This engine will play a much bigger role as Volvo plans to launch our favorite Volvo – S60 with the same engine on the 15th of this month.

The Volvo XC60 will directly compete against Audi Q5, Land Rover Freelander 2 and BMW X3. Strangely, the Volvo XC60 is much cheaper than the German rivals despite the fact that the Germans are assembled in India and the XC60 is imported as a CBU. However, only 7 service stations across India are certainly a point of worry.

Tata Motors Goa dealer Auto Industries has launched a special Tata Nano Valentines Edition in Goa. Essentially, it’s a Tata Nano CX with some added features such as:

• Integrated Tata Audio /MP3 System with USB
• A Pen drive on which one can store your favorite songs
• A Mobile phone along with a phone holder stand
• Remote Central locking
• Fog lamps
• Air freshener
• Protective Sunfilm
• Mats and Mudflaps
• Valentine special exterior graphics

And the cost of all this malarkey? Approximately Rs 20,000 more than the normal Nano CX. Yes, we know that this is just some marketing gimmickry to cash in on the opportunity. But pretty innovative we must say!

So will you make your Valentine feel special with this Nano?

[Source: GoaonWheels.com]

Tata Motors has also devised a clever ad campaign called ‘25 ka Tadka’ to emphasize the 25 km/l mileage claimed for the Indigo eCS. 40 Big Bazaar outlets will display the Indigo eCS along with other 25 top discounted household products.

The shoppers will obviously be more interested in the 25 household products and Tata Motors hopes to make the Indigo eCS ride on that wave of curiosity.

Apart from the ‘25 ka Tadka’ , there are also a lot of eye catching branding elements such as bay breakers, danglers, cash counters and standees that help magnify the activation.

As realty companies are going on a mall opening spree, ‘Mall activation’ is increasingly becoming an important aspect of car marketing. Ford went one step ahead and displayed the EcoSport concept in major metropolitan malls to increase the curiosity before the launch. But so far only Tata Motors has given the facility of booking the car in the mall itself.

[Source: Exchange4media.com]