Hyundai:
Getz diesel:
Hyundai Getz diesel will be rolled out in the first quarter of 2008(january to April). Getz diesel may be powered by a much powerful 1.4L diesel engine since the Hyundai arch rival Maruti swift is currently powered by 1.3L engine. The Swift’s 1.3L engine is going to power the next generation indica – Indica V3 and Fiat’s Punto. Hence a 1.4L engine for Getz may give Hyundai an edge over others. Because of this engine Getz diesel will be priced at a premium over the swift diesel and will compete with upcoming skoda’s Fabia i.e. getz diesel may be priced around Rs6 lakhs.
LPG Santro:
Hyundai may roll out LPG variant of Santro soon. Recently, Hyundai Motor India launched a CNG variant of Santro in Delhi. Since CNG availability in southern states are limited Hyundai is mulling a LPG variant for its Santro.
Santa-Fe SUV:
Hyundai is planning to bring the santa -Fe SUVto india, Hyudai will replace the ageing Hyundai’s Tucson with the new santa Fe since all key players in this segment have launched new variants of their cars Maruti-Suzuki grand vitara, Ford Endeavour and Honda CR-V and new players like chevrolet will enter this market through its captiva. Hyundai will bring the next-generation 2007 Santa Fe debuted at the 2006 North American auto show. A 2.2L 150hp CRDi will power the new santa Fe.
Maruti:
Maruti is working on small car possibly the new WagonR what we already reported. The new Wagon-R named the ’splash’ is based on an all-new platform, the new wagon-R has some hints from both the Swift and SX4. Splash will get Suzuki’s newly developed gasoline engine – a 1000cc, 65 bhp 3-cylinder and a 1200cc, 86 bhp 4-cylinder engine will power the splash.
TVS Motors:
TVS has recently announced it plans to roll out 11 new models before April 2008. The new product line includes motorcycles in both the entry level and the high-volume executive segment, a scooterette and an electric scooter, besides two-stroke and four-stroke three-wheelers. But what TVS secretly planning is a four wheeler which might take on tata’s one lakh car
* It is already reported that Two wheeler giants Hero group, Bajaj and TVS are taking steps to foray into four wheeler market. While Bajaj tie up with Renault is almost done, sources said TVS is developing a powerful two stroke engine which may be used for its four wheeler foray. Though it is not clear that whether TVS will use this engine for a cargo carrier or small car. If this is true, TVS might challenge Tata’s one lakh car in the future.
More two-wheelers:
* TVS Motor has almost firmed up plans for launching a 100cc plus four-stroke scooter during the next fiscal. TVS scooty pep is the market leader in its segment as TVS want to increase its share in the robust scooter segment. As the 90cc TVS Scooty has always been associated with women and TVS hopes the new 100cc plus scooter could bring in male customers into the fold.
* TVS Motor Company plans to launch an electric bike at the end of this year and introduce two to three variants of the bike next year.
* TVS Motor will launch an upgraded Star motorcycle, two new motorcycles in the executive category, two high-end Apache models. The launch of new star variant is expected during the coming festival season.
Tata Motors:
We have already reported Tata’s next generation Indica – indica v3, new sumo and new safari 2.2L. Here’s more scoops on Tata’s Line-up.
Panel van:
* Tata is working on an 18-20 seater called the Panel V. Based on the 207 platform, it is tipped to be along the lines of the recently launched Winger Maxi-van. The Panel V will be fitted with the 2.2 litre engine that Tata acquired some time back from Renault.
Sprint pick-up:
* Tata Motor’s new one-tonne pickup, popularly referred to as the Sprint, will be launched in India soon. The vehicle will be christened the Xenon and sport Tata’s 2.2 litre Dicor engine. Tata aptly named this project Sprint since the entire process from conception and design to development took only 18 months.Tata has developed the vehicle completely inhouse. It is yet to decide on the exact variant of Xenon – be it single, double or space cab – in India, but industry experts believe it will be to Tata’s advantage to have more than one variant in the market. After the India launch, the pickup will debut in Thailand possibly in the first quarter of 2008 through its joint venture with Thonburi Automotive Assembly. Tata has developed both the 2.2 litre and 3.0 litre engines for the Thai market. At present, it is conducting customer research to help it decide on the engine. The company will stick to the utility function of the pickup and promote the Sprint as a workhorse as opposed to the luxury/lifestyle image of many Japanese pickups in Thailand. However, it cannot be ascertained if this is going to be the same strategy for the India market too since Mahindra has introduced the lifestyle segment in India through it scorpio getaway.The sprint pick-up will be subsequently launched in Argentina, where Tata has an agreement with Fiat to use its Cordoba facility from 2008 onwards. It is likely that this sprint will be a little different from the models to be introduced in India and Thailand. Although the company has the option to badge the Sprint as either a Tata or Fiat vehicle, it will most likely be branded a Fiat product in Argentina. South Africa is also another potential market.
Nissan – Renault:
new Logan variants:
Renault – Mahindra would roll out new Logan variants including the Logan 7 seater logan MCV(Multi Connival Vehicle), which could be launched sometime next year.
Serena and Vanette:
* Nissan and Renault is said to be looking at opportunities in the utility vehicles (UV) segment, the company is conducting a market feedback on the possible introduction of the Serena and the Vanette in the Indian market. While the Serena is a multi utility vehicle on the lines of the Toyota Innova, the Vanette is a more van-like multi purpose vehicle that can also seat eight people.In the short-term – before production begins at Chennai – Renault-Nissan could use the serenna,vanette, X-Trail and Teana, to showcase its prowess in terms of quality and reliability. In that sense, these models would a curtain-raiser to potential consumers.
Renault – Nissan two new small cars:
* Nissan – Reanualt is working on two models codenamed XO2A and X02B to be produced in Chennai. The X02A is a compact hatchback, which is slated to debut in 2012. Renault has targeted sales of nearly two lakh units. The X02B is a roomy hatchback, whose projected sales for 2012 is in the region of 130,000 units. The engines options for the cars will be 1.2 and 1.5 litre (petrol) and a 1.5 litre diesel. These hatchbacks and Ghosn’s $3000 car will make renault a serious player in india
Honda Siel:
Small car Jazz:
* Honda’s upcoming small car -jazz will be powered by a 1.2 litre engine specifically for the Indian market – it uses a 1.3 and 1.5 litre internationally. With a price expected to be around Rs 6 lakh, the Jazz hatchback is likely to be positioned against skoda’s Fabia.
Honda’s another small car:
Honda Siel Cars India plans to have at least two small cars in its portfolio. Other than the premium hatch Jazz, the additional, India-specific small car will be in the B-segment, in the Rs 3 lakh-plus price category.
Honda’s MPV to take on Toyota Innova:
* Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) is eyeing diesel options for its MPV debut in India.MPV – Multi Purpose Vehicle is currently dominated by diesel models such as Tata Safari,Mahindra Scorpio, Toyota Innova and Chevrolet Tavera. Hence diesel has to be the natural choice for Honda but since has just only one 2.2-litre diesel engine available in the Accord and CR-V models for the European market, Honda plans to develop new generation diesel engines that will have very low emissions and modern technology. This new diesel is not just for developing markets but also for Europe too. It is important to recall that Honda has tested two multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) – Steam and Odyssey two years ago.
Civic Hybrid:
* Honda is planning to launch a hybrid version of the Civic in India next year. Hybrid cars, which use both a petrol engine and an electric motor, are usually more fuel-efficient and produce lower levels of emissions, making them more environmentally-friendly than the regular petrol or diesel vehicles. The Civic Hybrid will be priced at a substantial 60% premium to the conventional model(because of High import dutie of 105% on the completely-built-up units ), with a selling price of around Rs 20 lakh, compared to the Rs 12-13 lakh on road price for the petrol model. Honda Siel believes that there will be a demand for these cars due to their superior technology, low emissions and fuel efficiency, the volumes will be low, making local manufacture of this model unviable.
Bajaj:
It is already reported on Bajaj new small car, venture with Renault and its Triumph acquisition.
* Bajaj has finally hinted on its acquistion plan “Rajiv and team are looking not necessarily an ACQ, partial ACQ, could be initial collaboration, technical marketing production leading to equity major players in small 2 wheeler fields” said Rahul Bajaj, chairman, Bajaj Auto. Bajaj has enough resources to fund any such acquistion – Bajaj has access to almost Rs 6000 crore and currently it has zero debt. Even if raises Rs 10-15, 000 crore it can bear its impact on equity-debt ratio.
*Bajaj says the company hopes to be among the top 4 two wheeler companies in the world and attain the number one position in India by 2010. Bajaj now has 36% market share in the motorcycle category and is just 30,000 units shy of market leader Hero Honda’s sales for July.
* Final contours of the Bajaj- Renault alliance is expected to be announced in early 2008. A buzz about the venture is that Renault won’t use its brand name for the $3,000 car.