Ford India launched its first compact car in the country, the Ford Figo, this week. Priced at Rs 3.49 – Rs 4.42 lakh for the petrol version, and Rs 4.47 – Rs 5.29 lakh for the diesel version, the Figo will compete with a host of other cars in the segment including the Chevrolet Beat, the Maruti Ritz, and the Hyundai i10. The car offers a number of Read More...

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• Filed Under: Ford

German auto component maker, Bosch, closed down its production plant at Naganathpura, near Bangalore after workers attacked a company officer during a strike to demand wage revision. Bosch produces starters, generators, spark plugs and alternators at the Naganathpura plant, and has already lost a Rs 30-crore order from Maruti Suzuki because of the Read More...

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India’s largest two-wheeler company, Hero Honda, launched a special edition version of its popular scooter, ‘Pleasure’, to celebrate the International Women’s Day this week. The special edition Pleasure is available in a ‘pearl white’ colour with a blast of red and is priced at Rs 37,250 (ex-showroom, Delhi). It comes with attractive new features Read More...

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Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) launched a ‘Select Edition’ version of its premium hatchback, the Honda Jazz, this week. Priced at Rs 7.21 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the special edition Jazz has been launched to celebrate the ‘Car of the Year’ award that it won at the NDTV Profit – Car India and Bike India Awards 2010. The car comes with several Read More...

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• Filed Under: Honda

All vehicle segments in India continued to grow in February 2010 on the back of new launches and the expected price-hike in the coming months. Almost all passenger car companies announced an increase in their vehicle prices after the excise-duty was hiked last week. There will be a further increase in prices in April, following the implementation Read More...

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• Filed Under: Chevrolet, Hyundai, Maruti Suzuki, Tata

American car companies, General Motors and Ford, may be able to win over a good share of erstwhile Toyota loyalists if they continue to focus on quality. Until its recent spate of car recalls, Toyota was considered the most reliable of all auto companies in the US. However, customers are now seriously considering switching to GM or Ford, which Read More...

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• Filed Under: Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota

Japanese auto company Suzuki Motor has increased its stake in Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) to 55 percent, according to recent media reports. Industry analysts say that the move may be a part of a larger plan by Suzuki to take over MSIL – India’s biggest passenger car company. The change in strategy by the Japanese company is also being seen Read More...

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• Filed Under: Maruti Suzuki

Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) organised a 77-kilometre car rally – the ‘Miles and Smiles Rally 2010’ – in Ahmedabad last week. As many as 80 Hyundai i10 owners participated in the rally, which was sponsored by the Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Wynn’s Mekuba (as associate sponsor). The ‘Miles and Smiles Rally’ is an initiative by Hyundai Read More...

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• Filed Under: Hyundai

Japanese car company, Nissan, said this week that it would review its sourcing deal with Suzuki only after 2013, when its contract period between the two companies ends. Suzuki has a deal with Nissan to supply the small car Pixo to the latter at a ‘committed transfer price’ till 2013, said Nissan Motor Co Executive Vice-President Collin Dodge. He Read More...

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• Filed Under: Maruti Suzuki, Nissan, Volkswagen

General Motors will be focusing increasingly on India, China and Brazil to expand its business in the coming years. The company’s President, Mr Timothy E Lee, said last week that India offered a very good opportunity to GM to grow its Chevrolet brand, a process which is already well under way with the Chevrolet Cruze and the Chevrolet Beat Read More...

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• Filed Under: Chevrolet

Nissan Motor Co. has announced a recall of 540,000 vehicles across the world to repair faulty brake pedals and fuel gauges. The affected vehicles include the Nissan Titan pick-up truck, the Nissan Armada, the Nissan Infiniti QX56, the Nissan Quest mini-van, the Nissan Frontier pick-up and the SUVs Pathfinder and XTerra. Nissan has said that the Read More...

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• Filed Under: Nissan

US-based auto company, General Motors, is planning to recall 1.3 million units of the Chevrolet Cobalt and three models of the Pontiac brand to replace a motor in the power steering systems of the cars. GM announced the recall plan after US authorities received over 1,000 complaints regarding the cars’ power steering. These included 14 car Read More...

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• Filed Under: Chevrolet

Budget 2010 has increased the price of diesel by Rs 2.55 percent per litre and that of petrol by Rs 2.71 per litre. The hike in fuel prices has led to a massive protest by members of opposition parties, as well as allies of the ruling Congress Party including Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and the DMK. In spite of the protests, however, Read More...

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Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) increased its expenditure on social sector schemes from Rs 7.3 crore in 2008 to Rs 7.67 crore 2009, according to the company’s sustainability report. The report added that from 1999 to 2009, MSIL managed to cut down on its electricity consumption by 18 percent, and its water consumption by 57 percent. The company Read More...

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• Filed Under: Maruti Suzuki

Car prices in the country will be pushed up further in April 2010, after the implementation of the Bharat Stage IV emission norms in 13 cities, and BS III norms in the rest of the country. The recent hike in automobile prices following the increase in excise duty has made passenger cars costlier by 2 percent. A similar increase in prices is Read More...

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The 2 percent hike in excise duty announced last week may lead to an increase in tyre prices sometime soon. According to Mr AS Mehta, Director - Marketing, JK Tyres, it is only a matter of time before the increased excise duty is passed on to consumers. The tyre industry is disappointed with the budget, said Mr Rajiv Budhraja, Director General of Read More...

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Mahindra & Mahindra is planning to launch 9 new vehicle models across the various segments it operates in, including two-wheelers, by March 2011. Mr Pawan Goenka, the President of the company’s automotive sector, said that the new models will include the electric version of the Maxximo, which was showcased at the Delhi Auto Expo in January. Read More...

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• Filed Under: Mahindra

A number of auto companies in the country have hiked car prices following the announcement of Budget 2010-11 last week, which increased the excise duty on all non-oil products from 8 percent to 10 percent. The excise duty on bigger cars, which stood at 20 percent earlier, has also gone up to 22 percent. The companies that have announced definitive Read More...

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• Filed Under: Chevrolet, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Tata

Toyota Motor Corp President, Akio Toyoda, said in Washington this week that he was ‘deeply sorry’ for all accidents that involved Toyota cars. While Mr Toyoda looked composed at the three-hour long congressional hearing in the US capital, he broke into tears a few hours later at an event organised by Toyota. He said that his company had always Read More...

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• Filed Under: Toyota

South Korean auto company, Hyundai, announced the recall of 47,000 units of the Sonata this week, to correct a fault in the car’s front-door latch. The automaker had earlier said that it would halt the sale of the Sonata in the US. Hyundai’s quick response to the problem is in sharp contrast to Toyota’s rather slow waking up to the serious defects Read More...

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• Filed Under: Hyundai

Tata Motors-owned Land Rover raced past German luxury-car maker BMW in premium SUV sales in January 2010. While Audi India sold the maximum number of premium SUVs in the month at 114 units, Land Rover jumped to second place with a sale of 35 units, as against BMW’s 16 units. Land Rover’s biggest advantage over its German competitor is its cheaper Read More...

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• Filed Under: Audi, BMW, Land Rover

The Railway Minister of India, Ms Mamata Banerjee, said this week that the Ministry had decided to set up auto logistics hubs at 10 locations across the country, and that she would want domestic players to invest in the project. She had introduced the idea of mega-logistics hubs for the auto industry in the last Budget. The Ministry will also soon Read More...

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General Motors (GM) India this week introduced an automatic version of the Chevrolet Cruze, priced at Rs 13.7 lakh. The Cruze was launched in India in October 2009, and has been doing remarkably well in the country. The new Automatic Transmission (AT) version of the car is expected to push up its monthly sales by 250 units. GM India Vice Read More...

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• Filed Under: Chevrolet

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has recalled approximately 1 lakh units of the Maruti A-Star to fix a defect in its fuel pump. A Maruti spokesperson said that the company would replace a rubber gasket used in the car to prevent possible fuel leakage. The recall will affect nearly one lakh A-Stars manufactured before August 22, 2009. The Read More...

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• Filed Under: Maruti Suzuki

Volkswagen India launched the New Polo in Mumbai this week. The premium hatchback is priced at Rs 4.34 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the 1.2-litre petrol variant and Rs 5.32 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the 1.2-litre diesel variant. Mr. Neeraj Garg, Member of Board and Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, said that the car had received an Read More...

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• Filed Under: Volkswagen