Posts Tagged ‘Small Car’

Skoda’s new model plans unveiled; Four new cars by 2012

August 17th, 2010

Four new cars coming from Skoda - Yeti, new Fabia, Joyster and Felicia

Skoda is getting ready to attack the Indian market as it lines up a slew of launches in the next two years. First up will be the crossover SUV Yeti followed by a stripped down version of the Fabia, both of which will debut before the end of 2010. The replacement for the Octavia will come in the form of Skoda’s version of the Vento in 2011. As you would expect, Skoda’s version will undercut its sister Vento by quite a margin and will retail for approximately Rs 6-10 lakhs. Skoda’s final model in the current plan is a small hatchback priced between Rs 3-5 lakhs thereby taking it into the core of the automobile segment in India. This will come in 2012 and could be Skoda’s version of VW Up!/Lupo small car.

Skoda Fabia sedan – The Felicia rendered Aug 2010

Skoda’s Joyster based on VW Up! rendered Aug 2010

2012 Skoda Yeti Details Jun 2010

Skoda Yeti coming end-2010; To be priced between Rs 13-14 lakh Apr 2010

BS-4 casualties – Fabia, Octavia, Tavera, 800 and more cars shown the way out of metros Mar 2010

Hit the jump for more details on Skoda’s new products.

» Read more: Skoda’s new model plans unveiled; Four new cars by 2012

Maruti Suzuki to launch A-star Automatic

July 10th, 2010

Automatic version of A-star coming soon

Wheelosphere has got news from genuine sources that Maruti Suzuki will launch their fun to drive small car, the A-star with an automatic transmission. The A-star has not set the sales charts on fire so far but the introduction of an automatic might just sweeten the deal for those looking for a hassle-free city car. Currently, the i10 and the i20 are the only two cars available with an automatic transmission in the small car segment. While the i10 retails for over 5 lakhs (on-road) for the base Automatic, the i20 is out of contention retailing at well over Rs 8.5 lakhs on-road.

» Read more: Maruti Suzuki to launch A-star Automatic

Chevrolet Beat Diesel coming in early 2011

June 6th, 2010

Is this mule the diesel Beat?

Not to be left out in the small car segment, Chevrolet will launch a diesel version of the Beat in less than a year from now. It plans to manufacture the 1.0L CRDi engine at its Talegon plant near Pune, the same place where its it will begin producing the 1.2L petrol engine from end 2010. The diesel engine itself is our famous Multijet or DDiS with one cylinder chopped off meaning the Beat will be a 3-cylinder diesel. The Talegon facility can churn out 1,60,000 units per year at full steam. This will make the Beat’s package more tempting as a small diesel commuter car is in great demand, especially looking at the sales figures of the Swift Diesel and the Figo Diesel. Hyundai are also looking at locally producing a diesel engine for the i10 to stay ahead in this fiercely fought segment.

» Read more: Chevrolet Beat Diesel coming in early 2011

Wheelosphere Scoop – Shortened Logan CS Caught!

March 22nd, 2010

The last few months for the Logan have been terrible and Mahindra-Renault are contemplating of what can be done to increase sales. On the sidelines, one idea was to shorten it, bring it under 4000mm and then sell it at a much lesser cost while the other way was to bring in the all new Sandero hatchback that is based on the Logan Platform. We even think that stripping out the features and opening up to the taxi market might have helped but that doesn’t seem to be the way Mahindra-Renault are taking.

So, like the shortened Indigo CS, we present to our readers the Logan CS, courtesy BS Motoring. We have even found some spy pictures of the shortened version undergoing winter testing although the genuinity of the spy pictures is unknown.

Chopping off the boot and bringing it under 4000mm will chop off Rs 30,000-50,000 off the Logan’s price as the taxes are reduced to 10% from the current 18%. It qualifies as a small car in the eyes of the government and combined with the sub 1.5L K9K engine, the appeal of the Logan will be boosted. What’s more, Renault also have the option of slotting in the brilliant 1.2L HR12DE 3-pot from the Micra. This latest generation engine provides decent power of 80ps and since it is being produced in Chennai (apart from few critical parts which are imported), is a lot cheaper than imported engines. What’s more, it will return decent fuel economy as well. Will they do it? We quite think they should make use of such synergies within the alliance. After all, it costs nothing.

» Read more: Wheelosphere Scoop – Shortened Logan CS Caught!

Ford Small Car Launch Planned For 2010

August 30th, 2009

Ford Small car could be a life breather for the company,Ford India is facing fierce competition almost in all segment they are present.In wake of this Ford Small Car comes into picture with great importance.We hope our readers remember that months before we had reported that subcompact car from Ford will be based on Verve platform.

Hyundai 800CC Small Car aka The Public Car To Hit India in 2011

August 29th, 2009

800CC Hyundai Small Car is the next offering from Hyundai Motor India Ltd’s to India’s small car space.Recently we had reported that Hyundai is developing a 800CC turbo charged engine for their small car in co-operation with Kia Motors.During Tata Nano launch Hyundai had expressed their willingness to participate in India’s subcompact car market in big way.Hyundai  800CC small car could be based on Santro the evergreen hit from Hyundai,Hyundai officials refer this upcoming small car as The Public Car.

Entry Family Car:EFC,The Toyota Small Car For India?

August 25th, 2009

Toyota small car in  India is the missing member in our lucrative small car market.But neither Toyota wants to be absent from this segment.Toyota have put their small car program called 800L in fast track and will be launched by end of 2011.Now another interesting news is coming in, Toyota Motors planning a Entry Family Car(EFC) for Asian markets were small car is a huge hit.

Yaris Hybrid Another Hybrid From Toyota

August 12th, 2009

Yaris is an all time hit from Toyota, irrespective of the market conditions and all other factors Yaris in all variants and forms could make it’s strong position.Yaris is present in three different forms, hatchback three door,hatchback five door and Yaris Sedan.Now Toyota coming with fourth variant,Yaris Hybrid.These days Toyota hybrids are making news, during last few days we had seen launch of hybrid Camry and news about Corolla  hybrid in Thailand.

Suzuki Alto Launched In Australia

July 22nd, 2009

Suzuki Alto is A-Star in India, we hope most of you will aware of this fact.Now Suzuki launched  Alto in Australian market.Even though last year Maruti launched A-Star in India it could not pick sales as expected but A-Star a.k.a Alto is a part of Suzuki’s global vehicle program.So if Alto/A-Star fails in one  market still it Suzuki can test  the success in many other markets.

Maruti Developing Hybrid and Electric Cars For Indian Market

April 14th, 2009

Maruti Suzuki is woking on hybrid and electric cars for Indian market.Maruti is aiming to strengthen it’s small car foot print with this movement.