Vicky.in Blog

Following the launch of Pulsar 200 NS, Bajaj is now eyeing to launch its new full-faired Pulsar 200 SS model soon in the market. SS stands for Super sports. But anyhow, Bajaj Auto remains silent about the launch of the Pulsar 200 SS. It just informed that the deliveries of the Pulsar 200 NS would start by July. There will be no changes in the mechanicals. Pulsar 200 SS would be a formidable opponent against the likes of Honda CBR and Yamaha R15. The Pulsar 200 SS is expected to be priced Rs.5,000 to Rs.7,000 more than that of Pulsar 200 NS.

Mahindra plans to introduce a new hatchback based on its Verito sedan in the September of this year. The company aims to sell the new hatchback around 3000 units per month. The car is also expected to retain the Renault sourced K9K, 1,461cc turbo diesel engine.

Regarding this, Mr.Arun Malhotra, Senior vice-president, sales and customer care of M&M informed that “We had launched the Verito in 2007 in collaboration with Renault, which had a 41 per cent stake in the joint venture. In 2009, Mahindra bought over Renault’s stake fully. At that time, the vehicle was selling only 350 units a month. We turned that around to sell 5,300 vehicles a month in 2009-10 and by 2010-11, sales climbed to 10,100 units, marking a growth of 86 per cent. In 2011-12, we sold 17,980 Veritos.”

He said that they have plans for Verito. They will launch a hatchback version of the car four months from now. He added that they are known to be commercial vehicles and SUV-makers. They do not have the expertise or the technology for sub-compact vehicles. Malhotra finally concluded that company’s Nasik plant would continue to manufacture all variants of the Verito, including the upcoming hatchback.

It seems that TVS may soon launch its all-new 125cc bike, the Radeon which was showcased at the 2012 Auto Expo. The styling of the bike looks not much new but it features many new additional features which are rarely seen in the 125cc bikes. The bike will be powered by a new four-stroke, button-started, carburetted, single-cylinder and air-cooled engine which is expected to deliver good power, torque and an impressive mileage.

The other attractive features of the bike include

i) Blackened six-spoke alloy rims

ii) Smart stitching for its riding saddle

iii) Flush-mounted tail-light at the rear

iv) Novel shock absorbers at the rear

v) Petal-type disc brake at the front

The standard features of the bike include a single downtube tubular steel frame with a box-section swingarm at the rear and the hydraulic telescopic forks at the front suspension. The bike may be launched around September of this year.

Mahindra plans to restart the bookings of XUV500 from June 8,2012. Now, the XUV500 will be available all over the country.

Mr.Pravin Shah, CEO, Automotive Division, M&M said, “It has been an incredible journey so far for the XUV500 and we are pleased to take the product national. Now that we have ramped up our production capacity significantly, we are confident that we will be able to take care of the growing all-India demand for the XUV500.”

Though nine months of capacity has been sold out across the two rounds of bookings, Mr.Pawan Goenka, President of Mahindra’s Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors, had said that the company has been wary of investing in increasing the production of the SUVs beyond 4,000 a month.

Maruti’s new small car which is to replace the company’s 800 model will enter the market by Diwali. The new car is codenamed as YE3. The car looks somewhat similar to Alto K10 but is taller and features a new design. The interior is spacious and is completely new. The engine offered will be the same 796cc, three-cylinder F8D engine of Alto which is upgraded to meet the BS4 emission norms.

The other features of the car include

i) Hexagonal shaped air dam at the front

ii) Single chore slotted grille with the Suzuki badge at the centre

iii) Bonnet with sweeping lines

iv) Bumper with nicely designed fins

v) 12 inch wheel tyres of Alto

The new car of Maruti is expected in the price range of Rs.2.5 lakhs to Rs.3.5 lakhs and will be a tough competitor to Hyundai Eon.

Image source: ONcars.in

Yamaha plans to introduce the world’s cheapest motorcycle for India and Africa at a price of less than Rs.28,000. The company plans to produce the bike in India only. At present, Yamaha’s cheapest bike is the 110cc Crux available at a price of Rs.38,365.

Regarding this, Mr.Hiroyuki Suzuki, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of India Yamaha Motor reported that their product benchmark right now (on cost) is the YBR 110 and Crux, but they would like to develop a bike in the low-cost segment for markets like Africa.

He said, “The target is to make a bike that will cost $500 (about Rs. 27,500). I think such a bike will have a lot of demand in Africa as well as in India.”

As Honda has launched its cheapest bike in India, the Yuga, with a price tag of Rs. 44,642, Yamaha might come to this decision in order to take on its rival. anyhow, let us wait for Yamaha’s new cheapest motorcycle.

Nissan in joint venture with Datsun plans to launch two cars in India below Rs.4 lakhs in the year 2014. Two Datsun models will also be launched in Indonesia and Russia where the badge would be functional. These cars would definitely satisfy the needs of the local market and hence will not be built on global platforms. It is expected that the cars would be made at the Renault-Nissan factory at Chennai.

Mr.Ashwani Gupta, Programme Director, Datsun Business Unit of Nissan Motor Corp said that there will be 2 products in each of these markets and they have already decided on them. He said, “Others start with products and platforms; we will start with the consumers and hence price is intrinsic to us.”

Ashwani also added that Datsun is a Nissan brand, as is Infinity. He informed that in the course of product development or production there maybe some commonalities with Renault.

Chevrolet’s new Enjoy MPV had been caught testing in Chennai and Bangalore. Hence, we can expect its launch soon atleast by the end of this year. The spacious Enjoy features three rows of seats in which the second and third rows of seats can either be folded flat or removed altogether. It can accommodate seven to eight members. The two engine options of Enjoy will be a 1.4-litre petrol engine delivering 94.6bhp and the 1.3-litre Fiat’s Muliti-jet diesel engine which will use a fixed-geometry turbocharger (FGT) and will be rear-wheel driven. Expected at a starting price of Rs.6 lakhs, the Enjoy will toughly compete with the Ertiga, Innova and Xylo.

Nissan plans to launch its Sylphy saloon in India in 2014. The spacious Sylphy will be powered by a 1.8-litre petrol engine and the 1.5-litre K9K diesel engine of Renault Fluence which delivers 108bhp of peak power. The 1.8-litre petrol engine is coupled with a six-speed manual and CVT gearbox. Nissan will be positioning the Sylphy in between Aunny and Teana. Expected at a price tag of Rs.12 to 16 lakhs, the Nissan Sylphy will toughly compete with VW Jetta, Toyota Corolla and Renault Fluence.

The new Manza Nova of Tata Motors had been caught testing which is also doubted to be an anniversary edition of Manza. The car features a bright Orange colour with a black roof. Not sure about the car caught testing whether it is Manza Nova or any new variant of Manza. But if it is Manza Nova then it would feature the following as displayed at the 2012 Auto Expo.

i) New Spanish Tan colour

ii) Premium Alloy Wheels

iii) Reverse Parking Sensor

iv) 2DIN Music System With Sound-Stage Effects

v) Chrome highlights on the gear knob

vi) Rear View Camera With Video Display

vii) Plush ‘Plum And Black’ Interior Trim With Genuine Leather Seats

viii) Auto Dimming Rear View Mirror

ix) Perimeter Security Alarm System