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Pratiko’s smart car Tiger Kubs for india

After Bajaj-Renault, Reva, Hyundai and Xenitis it seems that yet another carmaker will chase the Tata’s people car ‘jeh'(1 lakh car). Dubai-based engine manufacturer Pratiko plans to become the UAE’s(United Arab Emirates) first mass producer of automobiles. The low budger smart car will be called as ‘Tiger Kubs’. Tiger Kubs will be a two-seater car and is being built on a lightweight frame. It will be priced at Rs 117,885 (Dh11,016 (or)$3,000). Tiger Kubs prototype will be ready by early 2008 and will be displayed in the 2008 Dubai auto show. Three Dubai-based investors have recently acquired a German kart enginemaker, Diland, that will manufacture a light weight, hi-power and fuel efficient car with a speed of 100 km/hr. Pratiko will decommission the plant in Germany and ship it to Dubai Investment Park. Tiger Kubs will be produced in dubai international park and will be exported to primarily to the Indian subcontinent and Africa. Praktiko’s Layland SA250 engine will be the first complete automotive engine produced in the UAE.

From the manufacturer

We have officially entered the highly competitive ‘one lakh race’ to supply cars to these countries (the subcontinent and Africa), where demand is incredibly high for small, quick, economical and affordable cars.

“This is no mean feat as we are going up against automotive giants, such as Suzuki, Tata, Maruti and Bajaj, to efficiently produce a car aimed at budgets of around Rs one lakh with 100 kilometres to the gallon(around 22kmpl) and a speed of 100 kilometres per hour,” Massoud, Managing Director of Pratiko GT said.

“These types of cars make a great deal of sense in countries where the emphasis is on economy and practically”. “The Tiger Kub’s impressive fuel economy will also be attractive to environmentally conscious buyers”, Massoud said.

Maruti Suzuki’s small car Concept ‘A-star’

Concept ‘A-star’ to be made in India

Suzuki has been very aggressive nowadays, it surprises everyone when it showcased its Kizashi-1(Honda’s civic competetior) and Kizashi-2. In Tokyo motor show , Suzuki exhibited a wide reange of products – PIXY, xhead and ssc. Suzuki’s largest market – India will receive most of these concepts soon but what is going to be more exciting for Indian customers is Concept ‘A-star’. Maruti and Suzuki is jointly developing the concept car. For the first time in the history of Indian Auto Industry, an international carmaker will be using the New Delhi Auto Expo for the global laun ch of its concept car. The concept ‘A-star’ will be shown at other shows after the Indian exhibition. Few years ago Maruti engineers worked with the Suzuki counterparts and designed the Swift which later went on to become Suzuki’s grand success. Suzuki wishes to repeat the same for the concept ‘A-star’. A-star will be manufactured by Maruti Suzuki at its Indian plant and will be exported to western markets. Concept A-star will satisfy the thirst of both european and indian customers. Production version of A-star will be a premium hatchback and will hit the market in 2009. The car is likely to carry 1.2 litre to 1.6 litre engine and will be available in both petrol and diesel versions.

Maruti Suzuki – Nissan JV:

Maruti will produce 2lakh units of production version of concept ‘A-star’. Under The existing agreement between Suzuki and Nissan will begin with Suzuki supplying 50,000 units per annum (p/a) of a new small car model from the fiscal year beginning 1 April 2008. Hence 50,000 units of this new small car will bear the Nissan badge, another 100,000 units will be exported under the Suzuki brand for global markets and the remaining 50,000 units will be sold in Indian market under a joint Maruti-Suzuki brand.

India in global radar:

Recently, Hyundai made its world premiere for in india. Renault is building a India specific low cost car in alliance with bajaj. In 2009, Honda will launch its compact small car designed and manufactured in India. Volkswagen ‘up’ concept will target asian markets. Really,India is in the radar of Global automakers not just for selling thier car but also for producing them. What’s more interesting is all these cars will be exported to western markets including america. Indian engineers and other technicans are making us to stand tall in global arena. Chak de India!

Eye opener for Auto Expo 2008, New delhi

Second largest two wheeler market, 11th largest passenger car market, Fourth largest commercial vehicle market – wondering whom we are refering to??. It is none other than our India and these are the obvious reasons why World’s biggest Automakers bets big on India. Even in the normal days, they are dying hard to capture the attention as well as market, just imagine the happenings in an exclusive automobile show where 1 million people is expected to visit in a span of 7 days. Yes, we are talking about the India’s biggest auto show, Auto Expo 2008.

Auto expo is one of the most biggest and popular events related with Automotives in India and its 9th version, Auto expo 2008 will be held between 10 to 17 January 2008 at the Pragati Maidan Exhibition Centre, New Delhi. The exhibition is being jointly organized by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India, (ACMA) Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Though it is far away from being one of the best shows in the world, this time India’s auto expo has many incredible items in its menu. Starting from much expected and hyped Tata’s One lakh car – World’s most cheapest car, to long waiting Skoda’s Fabia in four wheeler segment, a concept car from a global auto car maker, Honda’s new scooter to Yamaha’s premium bikes in two wheleer market, lots and lots of innovative and attractive products across two wheeler, four wheeler and commercial vehicles segments are expected. Let’s create a list which we have to look seriously in the Delhi Auto expo.

Maruti Suzuki:

While Hyundai made its world premiere of i10 in india few days back. A concept car from Maruti Suzuki will make its global debut (the first time that an international car maker will be using the New Delhi Auto Expo for the global launch of its car). Apart from the A-star India’s largest car maker will exhibit atleast 20 models at the delhi auto expo. Kizashi which earned more vows in Frankfurt and Tokyo Motor show is sure to attract many indians.Diesel hawkers check the hood of Maruti Suzuki’s Swift sedan (replacement for esteem), you may find a surpise thing!

Tata Motors:

Tata Motors which plans eight new products in 2008 will showcase its entire range of products. Expect the Tata Indica V3, next generation Indigo, Indigo compact and new Sumo phoenix to decorate the Tata’s stall. There will be lot of crowd around the 1 lakh car, so if you want a closer look, you have wait there, in that mean time look for the hybrid Indica and electric Indica.

Honda Siel India:Honda will introduce green vehicles next year in india. The civic hybrid will be the Honda’s star of show. Fell in love with the Honda’s next generation accord, just wait till january 2008. You can look the car in flesh at the 2008 indian auto expo.

Bajaj – Renault:

It is believed that Bajaj Auto is finalising plans to display its concept car at the Delhi Auto Expo from January 10 to 17. Bajaj – Renault’s compact car will give Tata’s people car a tough fight. Similar to tata’s 1 lakh these proposed $3000 car will have tall boy design.

General Motors:Chevrolet India will launch the much awaited Captiva SUV at the delhi expo. The refurbished Aveo-UVA will join the GM’s line-up at the show. Chevrolet’s asia specific beat concept will be the treat for indian eyes

Mahindra and Mahindra:Mahindra and Mahindra will try to show its proweness during the expo since it plans for a big launch next year(M&M plans to launch automatic Scorpio in United States). For domestic market, the Ingenio MUV might be shown.

Skoda India:

Skoda will finalyyyyyy launch its premium hatchback Fabia at the show.

Suzuki:

Suzuki will display its concept motorcycle Biplane at the auto expo in January. Biplane concept made its debut at the recently concluded Tokyo motor show. Biplane has been inspired by aircraft and has been designed with an intent to give the rider the same feeling as being in Biplane. Similar to Yamaha, Suzuki will launch its premium bike in the auto expo. Suzuki’s premium bikes will hit the market by april 2008. “India is a major market for our parent company. We had introduced bikes in the mass market category (100-125cc) under the brand name Heat and Zeus. We are now ready to introduce premium-powered bikes in the country,” Suzuki Motorcycle India vice-president (sales and marketing) Atul Gupta told

Yamaha:

Yamaha will show its true Yamaha bike at the expo. Yamaha’s proposed premium bike is believed to be powered by a 4 valve, water cooled engine. Yamaha will showcase its premium scooters in the show. Yamaha’s stall will also have 1000cc YZF R1 and 1600cc MT-01. This time alone you can see a R1 or MT-01 on delhi roads.(Yamaha will launch the bikes in december 2007)

Honda:

Honda will unleash its new scooter (possibly new lead) , sporty shine and a performance bike at the auto expo. Honda will also display high end bikes like ~~hayabusa~~ CBR1000RR and few concepts at the show. “We will be launching a new scooter, but cannot confirm its specifications. We have plans to launch some new motorcycles, but it’s too early to comment on them. We will be showcasing HMSI’s entire range and high technology products including a few concept two-wheelers of our parent Honda Motor Company’s at the upcoming Auto Expo” told Honda Motorcyles and Scooters India head sales and marketing NK Rattan.

Wondering Bajaj Auto, Fiat, Ashok leyland is missing in the list. Will follow in the coming posts ..

Update: TVS star city 110cc

More information has come out on TVS new Star city 110cc. Star city’s 110cc is bored(51mm to 53.5mm) out of 100cc engine. The new CVTi(Charge motion Variable Timing intelligence) engine combines swirl and tumble motion to achieve a very high in-cylinder charge leading to improved combustion. In addition, high energy ignition, projected spark plug and optimised ingition timing makes the star city more economical according to TVS. Star city’s 110cc CVTi engine produces 6.1 KW (8.1 Bhp) at 7500 RPM and 8.1 Nm at 5000 RPM. Design changes for the 110cc star city includes – sleek body graphics, and white back speedometer with large ‘R’ letter. TVS will offer an incredible 5 year warranty for the new star city 110cc. To know more about star city 110cc visit www.tvsstarcity.com

Update: TVS Apache RTR FI

More information has come out on TVS apache RTR FI(Fuel Injection). The 159.7cc of apache RTR is equipped with Fuel Injection Technology. Apart from the new heart, apache also features disc brake in the rear to provide necessary control for apachians. TVS has made few vital changes in design department too. Apache RTR FI slim chain cover (open type) and Hunk(hero Honda’s 150cc) like muscular shrouds on both sides of the tank. These design addition has made the beast more masculine. New stickerings FI) on panels and on tank shrouds gives the necessary exclusiveness.

Tata Indica LPG

Tata which rolled out 1 millionth vehicle on Indica platform on November 24th will soon launch a LPG verison of indica Xeta. Maruti wagonR LPG and Hyundai santro CNG has been receives well by mileage conscious indian customers. Hyundai already confirmed that it will come out with LPG variant of santro. Tata indica Xeta is one of the low priced hatchback available in the country. More details are expected. In 2006 Tata Motors launched the Bharat Stage III compliant CNG versions of the Indica and the Indigo Marina. The CNG option for Indica was available as an after-market fitment at the dealer level through a tie-up with Shrimankar Gas Car Services, the Indian distributors for Bedini CNG kits, Italy.

Update: Mahindra Scorpio M2DI

Mahindra and Mahindra now targets rural market and taxi drivers with the new scorpio. The new scorpio called ‘Scorpio M2DI’ is priced Rs7,28,387 (Rs70,000 less than the basic variant of Scorpio 2.6L CRDe). The new scorpio M2DI is powered by direct injection engine developing 70hp at 3200 rpm and 200Nm @ 1800 – 2200 rpm. Mahindra M2Di is available in three colours – mist silver, ivory grey and Fiery Black. Scorpio M2Di ia available in 7/9 seating configuration, Air-conditioning and Power Steering.

update: Tata’s 1 lakh car

Dealers across the country are tweaking their parking space and enhancing their information systems to handle Tata Motors’ Rs 1-lakh small car(might be named as ‘jeh’). Tata Motors has informed its dealers to expand their showrooms and open more outlets. Dealers have been asked to open three to four new outlets in metros and fewer in non-metros to accommodate the small car. Additional 15-20 outlets for Tata Motors are likely to come up in Mumbai. The dealers have been told that the small car would be trucked out in June after unveiling at the Auto Expo in January 2009.

Tata Motors is planning to begin its sales in a gradual manner to meet production capacity. A dealer from South India says he expects a mad rush for bookings, similar to that for Indica, which saw 250,000 bookings on the day of its launch in 1999. “We have developed space to sell 1,500 cars a month from 300 now,” says a Tata Motors dealer. “We are also investing in our software to accommodate the rush.” The company has still not officially communicated to its dealers the guidelines to sell this car. “We have space to park up to 50 cars in our showroom and 500 in our stock yard,” says another dealer in Mumbai. “We are preparing ourselves as, unlike other models that rake in high margins, this car could be a volume game,” says a dealer in Kerala.

Update: Yamaha’s YZF R1 and MT01 in India

Yamaha R1 and MT01 will soon take the credit of being the first legally available hi-powered bike in india. You no longer have to go grey market for bigger bikes( the super rich in India buys around 250 imported bikes every year but most of them in the grey market). Indian government allowed the import of bigger bikes with engine specifications of 800-cc and above in april 2007. The bike-maker is required to adhere to Euro-III emission norms.Tension free bike buying is here! Yamaha has homologised the YZF R1 and MT-01 and got the approval from ARAI. Yamaha will use the YZF R1 and MT-01 (imported as CBU) for its brand building. In 2008 it plans to roll out a 150cc bike and an automatic scooter. Now, Yamaha is gearing up for big launch. Really big!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally India will receive true Yamaha bikes. But one thing makes the launch more special, though indians are new to high end bikes, Yamaha decides to treat India on par with developed markets. Yes, India will get 2008 YZF R1 and MT-01 similar to western peers. But india will get these beasts in particular colours – YZF R1 in two colours only (Two-tone Team Yamaha Blue / White and Midnight Black) and MT – 01 in only one colour (Midnight Black). Check out the new features of 2008 Yamaha YZF R1 and 2008 MT-01

It is preparing to provide good service to those special YZF R1 and MT-01 buyers at an unheard standard. The training programme for service men are already over. Yamaha has already announced this YZF R1 and MT-01 will be available only through hand picked showrooms across the country. The servicing will be done in those showrooms only(which developed the facility to service r1 and mt 01). Yamaha YZF R1 will be available only in two colours – black and blue stripes on white back. Few customisation has been made by Yamaha for india which include a saree guard. The price of both the YZF R1 and MT-01 will be above 10 lakhs. Yamaha will launch both the YZF R1 and MT-01simulatenously in the first week of december(possibly December 5th). Wanna test drive the YZF R1 or MT-01 when launched? only one way, you have to buy it(book it). Test drive bike may not be available in the showroom.

In 1997 , BMW entered India in a joint venture with the Hero Group and launched F650. The plan was to locally assemble and sell high-end bikes. However, the venture failed to take off and the company made an early exit from the two-wheeler market. However Indian two wheeler market has grown a lot in last 10 years. Yamaha’s global competetiors Honda and Suzuki will also launch their high end bikes soon.

Update: Yamaha YZF R1 and MT-01 will be launched on December 04th in Delhi. In Bangalore it will be available from December 07th.

Update 04/12/07: Now you can book YZF R1 and MT-01 through http://vicky.in. Leave your details in the contact us form(below) so that we can get back to you.

10 lakh Indicas fly on Indian roads

Tata Motors today(Novemeber 24th) rolled out the one millionth passenger car off the Indica platform at its Car Plant in Pune, in its ninth year since the commencement of production in January, 1999. While it achieved the 100,000th car in March 2001, and the 500,000th car in February, 2005, the progression from the 900,000th car to the millionth car was achieved in just 7 months.

Starting with the Indica, the company launched the Indigo in 2002, the Indigo Marina in 2004, and the Indigo XL in 2007. The plant started with a capacity of 150,000 p.a., which was subsequently expanded to 225,000 p.a. in 2006.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Tata said, “I am very pleased that the company has rolled out the one millionth car off the Indica platform – something that was considered inconceivable by the project’s critics during the investment and the initial gestation period. The team of people involved with the journey to this milestone should feel satisfied today of having created a robust car business for the company.”

The Indica, the Indigo and the Indigo Marina, apart from being successful brands in the domestic market, have made a mark in several overseas markets in Asia, Europe, Africa, Middle East and South America. As part of the celebration of the one-millionth milestone, Tata Motors has planned several activities involving key stakeholders in recognition of their contribution towards the achievement of the milestone. Free service check-ups, free service camps, discounts on accessories and value added services for existing customers and a contest for free upgrades for lucky customers are coupled with special retail offers for new customers. In addition, special retail offers and finance schemes for employees of vendors, financiers, dealerships and Tata Motors are also planned.