Suzuki enters the luxury car segment with its Kizashi

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A new mid-sized sedan from Suzuki, Kizashi has been revealed in Detroit. Suziki which is a successful small car manufacturer is now in race with the luxury sedans like Camry, Accord and Fusion. The company’s portfolio now has a refreshed product Kizashi.

With the success of its SX4 sedan, the company is all set to attract the younger buyers. Suzuki has taken its next big step with the Kizashi which takes the company into a new segment in the market. The Kizashi has been fully engineered and designed by Suzuki.

The company claims that the Kizashi has a good steering, responsive handling and entertaining performance while retaining good ride quality. The car is equipped with a multi-link rear suspension, high performance dampers, 18-inch wheels and high-end Akebono brakes. The vehicle is powered by a 2.4-liter high-output four-cylinder engine with variable valve timing. The engine is mated to either a manual six-speed or CVT transmission.

Stability control and eight air bags are standard. An all wheel drive control will be an option in the sedan. Suzuki is also in work to build a hybrid version of the Kizashi. The hybrid version will be unveiled after the gas-powered model goes on sale. The Kizashi has a 107-inch wheelbase. The sedan is 183-inch in length and 72-inch in width. The interiors are good such that there is nothing less than a luxury car.

The Kizashi will be priced in the range as the Camry. Time says whether Suzuki will be successful in a car segment which is a new for the company.

Toyota to launch its Fortuner in India on August 24

The world’s largest carmaker, Toyota, would launch its sports utility vehicle Fortuner in India on August 24.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) of India expects Fortuner to “take away 50 per cent market share” in the SUV category. The company expects to sell 2,000 units of Fortuner from the launch date to December end. The company believes that Fortuner will certainly add volume into its sales numbers. Fortuner would come with a price tag of around Rs.20 lakh.

Toyota Kirloskar is also in plans to expand the company’s dealerships across India. As the company is looking to sell its small cars in the country, TKM is all set to expand its dealership network. Toyota’s small car will be roled out in India in December 2010. The company currently has 86 dealerships across the country and is in a hurry to make it 150 dealerships.

These dealerships will help Toyota accomodate 70,000 of its small cars and 50,000 cars of its other models. The new showrooms will sport a new concept, look and feel, called Diva. About 60% of the company’s showrooms are to come up in semi-urban and rural areas. With the small cars being introduced, the company will have to go deeper into these areas.

In order to increase the production speed and also cut down on inventory, Toyota plans to get auto component manufacturers and suppliers on to their plant in Bidadi. Company officials of Toyota said there would be limited editions and variants of existing models hitting the roads.

Americans are willing to buy Indian and Chinese cars

A survey in the US says that Americans are willing to buy cars manufactured in India and China.

Results of the survey called ‘Opportunity for Chinese and Indian Brands in the USA’  conducted by AutoPacific has revealed this message. The survey result shows that 15 percent of the new car buyers in the US say they would consider purchasing their next vehicle made in China. 11 percent would consider buying a car that is made in India.

More than 30,000 buyers were interviewed in the survey all over the US. As Hyundai and Kia have been on the American scene for decades now, it’s surprising that consideration for Chinese and Indian brands would be about as strong as it is for the Korean brands. It appears that buyers in America are willing to give Chinese and Indian vehicles a chance right out of the box.

Understanding these consumers will be critically important to the success of any newcomer.Not only are a significant number of people willing to consider Chinese and Indian brands, this group consists of highly desirable buyers who would be coveted by any manufacturer.

The Chinese and Indian car considerers are likely to currently own Japanese and Korean made cars, the study shows. These brands may face a tough competition from the new entries, rather than domestic manufacturers- Chrysler, Ford or GM.

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Toyota’s facelifted Camry launched today

Toyota Motor Corporation launched its facelifted Camry, the new variant of the luxury sedan, in India today. Toyota intends to revitalise the sales of the Camry model with this launch.

The new Camry is equipped with changes mostly on the exterior, with a new front grille, new headlamps, new fog lights, rear view mirrors with indicators, 10 spoke alloy wheels and Aux input and minor changes in the interiors. Other features include Plasmacluster A/C with Minus Ion Generator, intelligent rain sensing wipers and moonroof.

The old Camry was available in five colours and the new Camry will be available in two colours like Dark Green Mica Metallic and Beige Mica Metallic.

The company sold only 44 units of the car compared to 182 units in the year ago. The facelifted Camry be have a 104 per cent import duty on fully-imported cars.

Toyota’s new camry will counter the advent of Honda’s Accord and Skoda’s Superb till an all new model arrives in 2011. Toyota aims to sell atleast 500 units of this model in a year.

The New Camry would be available in four grades with a price tag between Rs 21,26,000 and Rs 23,40,000.

To get the pictures of the new Camry, click here

Hero Honda to produce ultra-low-cost bikes

Hero Honda, world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, is now focussing on ultra low cost bikes to be priced around Rs 20,000. The company says that these low-cost bikes could easily alter the dynamics of the market.

These low-cost bikes will be equipped with smaller displacement engines – one a 75cc and the other 110cc. The company is considering several options to compete with the ‘Made in China’ cheaper bikes from its rival Bajaj and this is one of them. Hero Honda sources indicate that a number of components of these new bikes will be shared with highly depreciated products like Splendor and the bikes will be rolled out in a 12-18 month timeframe.

Hero Honda is likely to shift the manufacturing of its premium bikes like the Karizma and Hunk to its Haridwar plant to take advantage of tax breaks there, which would also free up capacity for the new small bikes at Gurgaon and Dharuhera.

Honda to introduce 100 cc bikes

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Honda CB1000R

Honda Motors Company has sold 21 super bikes in India so far within three months of the launch of the company.  The two super-bikes CBR1000RR and CB1000R are priced at Rs. 12.5 lakh and Rs. 9.5 lakh.

Honda Motors and Scooters India have seen the potential of these bikes in cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Pune.  The company aims to sell 100 units of these bikes in this fiscal.

The super bikes are introduced for the high-end customers interested in super-bikes. The company is also in plans to enter the 100 cc segment as thers is a demand in the segment and to generate volumes for the company.