Hyundai which is already making a statement across the world with the indian made hatchbacks like santro,Getz and i10 plans to make hybrids in India. Hyundai entered the environmentally-friendly auto market in October 2004, when it supplied the korean government with 50 Getz hybrid cars.This number increased to 730 cars in 2006 and 1,682 cars in 2007, totaling about 2,800 cars so far, including the Verna model. Hyundai has also been testing hybrid vehicles in association with the Korean government, supplying thousands of prototype compact-sized Accent Sedans and Getz models to various corporations for testing. Having analyzed the results, Hyundai has confirmed that it is ready to produce and sell greener versions of its Avante and Sonata with hybrid drivetrains. Hyundai will market the Avante Hybrid as a propane-powered vehicle, a fuel selected for its lower CO2 emissions, whereas the Sonata will run on standard gasoline. The first Avante Hybrids will go on sale during 2009, with hybrid Sonatas arriving a year later. There’s no word on whether the hybrid system will be a mild hybrid simply assisting the internal combustion engine or a full hybrid capable of powering. The good thing is Hyundai plans to develop hybrid technologies for smaller cars too and that too in India. “We have been slow in the field so far but have aggressive plans given the fact that high oil prices have made hybrids almost a necessity now. From next year, we will sell hybrid cars in Korea and by 2010 we will be selling them all over the world,” said Seok San Jang, a senior vice president for Hyundai’s international business operations. “India is our hub for small cars and hybrids for smaller cars will also eventually come from there.”
2008 Himalayan Odyssey kicks off
The fifth edition of the ‘Himalayan Odyssey” kicked off on 28th June. Himalayan Odyssey is an annual event organised by Royal Enfield offers the best way to the ‘ Enfield ‘ biker lovers from different parts of the country to put their wheels, hearts, spirits and beats together with the mighty Himalayas to experience the lofty mountain ranges from the saddle of a motorbike. Since this kind of organized drive to tune the riding skills are little in the country, riders across india rushes to register their spot in Himalayan Odyssey. RE awards the places based on a zonal format on a first come first serve basis. The 15-day adventure ride will traverse about 2500 kilometres in some of the roughest terrains, breathtaking corners, and highest mountain passes in the world. Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Eicher Motors Limited, flagged off the first leg of this Odyssey from historical India Gate in New Delhi.It’s a ride which we have been organizing for last five years. It is the soul of Royal Enfield because before this the riders used to go on their own to Himalayas enjoying the ride. What we said that we are going to organize it in such a manner in which they (Riders) enjoy it more, where the organization is good because in the middle of the hills you don’t get very good organisation. So here we have back up trucks, we have mechanics and the people who know the trip very well and we have the best riders in the country who are accompanying these people, said Lal. From last year an exciting new section on the return leg from Keylong to Amritsar was introduced in Himalayan Odyssey. Since the safety is the main concern, the main pre-requisite for participation is that the bikers have to be physically fit. The organizers have been working on this to get our bikes and everything set up. To meet the emergency situation the organizers has ensured that a doctor is always at hand on demand.
In the 2008 Himalayan Odyssey two lady bikers are participating. “I have participated last year in this rally too. My last year’s experience has encouraged me to participate this year too and I want to have that experience this year too. Last year I made a lot of new friends and I’m expecting to make a lot of new friends this year too. Besides this every day is a new day in the rally and I want to experience a new challenge which comes with each day”, said Snigha. The Himalayan Odyssey will conclude in New Delhi on July 12
To know more about the participation visit http://www.royalenfield.com/app/IN/odyssey/faq.asp
To know the itenary of the 2008 Himalayan Odyssey http://www.royalenfield.com/app/IN/odyssey/itinerary.asp
Harley Davidson to partner Royal Enfield
When west meets east
Harley Davidson the american cult bike maker may finally relent from its policy of building Harley’s only in US. In 2007, under a quid pro quo between US and indian Government, India Government relaxed the import policy to facilitate import of super bikes of capcity over 800cc while the US Government allowed the entry of Indian mangoes. But the high import duty on CBU (Completely Build Unit) continues to haunt Harley Davidson. Harley has several times expressed his displeasure on high import duty. It also heavily lobbied for the duty cut. But the Indian Government never budged to its demand. In the meanwhile, Yamaha and lunched their superbikes ranging from Rs10 lakh to Rs50 lakh to lure high profile indian customers. Realising the other’s move, it seems Harley has finally decided to assemble bikes in India. (CBU attracts 110% duty while the CKD attracts only 60%) Harleys will be imported as CKD units and assembled hers. The latest buzz Harley Davidson is looking for a local partner. Who may be the best mate for Harley other than homegrown cult bike maker Royal Enfield. Yes, the big ‘H’ may tie up with big ‘R’ of motor industry to sell bikes in India. “India imposes a duty of 60% on heavyweight motorcycles which, coupled with the tax rate of 30%, creates a significant barrier for our entry into the Indian market. Harley-Davidson continues to seek a solution to the barriers. We are in the process of laying the groundwork for a possible entry into the Indian market should those barriers be lifted,” a Harley Davidson spokesperson said.
Honda 2008 city – Pictorial Preview
When reporters asked about the new city Takedgawa, Honda’s MD said he has no idea. Unlike other manufacturers, Honda never reveal anything about their future products. But we all know the new city is cooking when the all new Honda jazz is out.
Honda new city: The current city is based on the previous generation Jazz and is more a hatch with a boot rather than a sedan. The front heavy design makes it look ugly at some angles. The 2008 Jazz or Fit on which the new city is based has a less boxy look, with a plunging nose and upswept waistline. From the spy shots of new city, it seems that the new city inherits the same. Thailand is the major market for the city family and in the local market it has to compete with Toyota’s vios. The sharp radical design is gone. Bland look is in. The new city looks bulky from the front with large stepped grille. The hood lines flows through the grille to large front bumper which houses the large fog lamp inserts. Except for the sleek headlamps everything is big. But never put aside this kind of styling, this kind of design often makes the car spacious and easily tops the list of chauffeur driven cars. Also unlike the current city the boot gels well with the car.
Honda 2008 city: All our future cars will feature ABS,aitbags,G-CON body and i-Vtec engine” said Takedgawa, Honda’s MD at the Auto expo. Hcnce the 1.3 liter Jazz’s i-VTEC engine which cranks out 100 PS of max power at 6,000rpm and 127Nm of max torque at 4,800rpm and an 1.5 liter Jazz’s i-VTEC engine whcih makes 120 PS at 6,600rpm and 145Nm of torque at 4,800rpm will get under the hood of the new city. A continuously variable transmission may also be offered for the new city.
Honda 2008 city: Though the sales of the current city is still strong even after the advent of SX4 from mighty Maruti Suzuki. But as a company policy Honda will replace the existing one with the new city. The new city is expected around the festive season. Spy shot by Arjun Warty of Team bhp.
Ford considers price hike for Fiesta
Owing to the spiking input cost, Ford plans to eeview the prices of its Fiesta model in September. The prices of the Fiesta currently ranges from Rs 6.57 lakh to Rs 7.57 lakh for the petrol variant and from Rs 7.44 lakh to Rs 8.54 lakh for the diesel version. Fiesta prices may go up by 1-2%. Ford recently hiked the price of its SUV endeavour by Rs30,000.
Volkswagen to launch Polo in India
Volkswagen has finally put off all the speculations, Volkswagen will launch two cars – a hatchback and a sedan bases on its Polo platform in India. The polo based hatchback and sedan will hit the market in 2010. “The VW brand is currently developing two cars based on the compact car ‘Polo’ platform, which could be rolled out from our Chakan facility by 2010. One will be a hatchback and the other will be a small sedan,” Volkswagen Group brand communications head Kurt Rippholz said. Volkswagen has also confirmed that this new model will be called the Polo in India. As Volkswagen eyes 10% market share in next 5-6 year, it wants to compete with other manufacturers too. To price the Polo competitively the company is aggressively pushing for higher localization. “The car on the Polo platform will have about 50 per cent localisation to start with and eventually go up to 70-80 per cent,” Rippholz added.
Chrysler to sell Tata Ace electric in US
As we earlier reported, Tata Motors teams up with Chrysler to market its electric version (EV) in the US market. Tata has entered into a development contract with the US carmaker’s Global Electric Motorcars (GEM) division and the two companies plans consider a joint venture depending on the performance of the Ace globally. The Ace EV prototypes are ready and the products are currently undergoing testing . Tata Motors will export Ace EV as a completely built unit minus running gear while Chrysler will fit the battery motor and controller and retail it in the US market. The price of Ace EV (electric version) will be around $5,000 U.S. Chrysler will market the Ace EV (electric version) as delivery vehicles for metropolitan areas like those in California and New York where stringent emission standards are to go into effect. Tata and chrysler are also in discussion to develop electric versions of former’s trucks.
Update: Tata has bagged an order for 250 units electric version of Ace from United States (US) postal department.
Hyundai to launch i20,i30 and i40 in India
Following the runaway success of i-10, SouthKorean car maker Hyundai Motor India plans to roll out three new i-series cars for the domestic and overseas market.The next in pipeline is i20, which will debut during the festive season in October while the other two variants i30 and i40—will come to India in the next few years.HMI managing director and CEO HS Lheem told, We plan to bring the entire portfolio of our new i-series cars to India. As a full range car company, the premium i30 and i40 cars have a significant potential in India. These new generation cars are ideal for the fast growing Indian market. Besides, we will also strengthen the i10 portfolio with a new engine and an automatic transmission in the next few months. Hyundai to launch i20,i30 and i40 in IndiaThe i10 hatchback will come with a new generation 1.2 litre Kappa series engine delivering 13 horsepower more than the current 1.1 litre 67 horsepower intelligent Repressive Drive Engine (iRDE). Now the company is focusing on alternative fuel powertrains, soon it will launch the Santro hatchback and Accent sedan on LPG fuel. The 1.2 produces a maximum of 76bhp, which gives it a 0-62mph time of 12.8 seconds and a top speed of 102mph. It’s therefore considerably quicker than the 1.1, but the official combined fuel economy.
Reva launches Revai in Delhi
Reva today extended its footprint in India with the launch of Revai in Delhi. Reva launched its first electric car in Bangalore seven years ago but the absence of any subsidy and the high cost keeps the normal buyer away from Reva. But Reva has made its foot mark in England where the car was launched in London in 2004 and selling over 1,000 units every year. Reva also sells electric cars in Norway, Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Japan, Malta, Sri Lanka, Cyprus and Greece. With today’s launch Delhi becomes the second Indian city to get the Reva in India. Unlike other states, Delhi has given ample subsidy to reva. A 15 percent subsidy on the base price of the vehicle, a 12.5 percent exemption on value added tax (VAT), and refund of road tax and registration charges from the Delhi government has made the car to come with a price tag of Rs.299,000. Without these subsidies Reva is retailed around Rs4 lakhs.
Reva’s plan:
Reva plans to ramp up its production capacity by five fold this year on account of increased demand amidst rising petroleum prices. Reva currently has a capacity of 6,000 cars a year and is expanding its production to 30,000 units by the end of this year. The investment for this expansion plan is $20 million and the company would start utilising the full capacity after three years. Reva will introduce one new model and one new variant each year for the next 3-4 years.
Volvo introduces Road Traffic Information System in India
RTI, this is not Right To Information but Road Traffic Information (RTI) to avoid the riding difficulty to predetermined unfamiliar location.Volvo India has introduced a new system called Road Information System in its luxury sedan S80 and sports utility vehicle XC90. Road Traffic Information (RTI) facilitates you to travel in a unfamiliar traffic environment and functions on the basis of the information stored in a hard disk in the car and then it communicates with the satellite system to guide the driver to the defined destination.This Navigation system would be available on demand at a addition cost of 1.5 lakh for S80 and XC90.