Notable announcements at the Industry conference and SIAM convention
Honda Siel to launch Jazz
Honda will launch the company’s first small car possibly the Jazz in the December quarter of 2009. Honda Siel Cars India’s first phase of a new plant in western Rajasthan state will be completed by the end of this month, Jnaneswar Sen, vice president of marketing at Honda’s Indian unit told on the sidelines of an industry meet.
General Motors new Beat and diesel engine
* GM plans to launch an another small car in India which would be launched in second half of 2009. Engineers at its Bangalore R&D centre have been working on the small car, which would also be exported to overseas markets.
* GM is planning to ramp up its dealership network to 200 by the end of December.
* GM is also planning to manufacture a smaller diesel engine which will power its future small cars.
We understand that the natural tendency in India is to look at a smaller diesel and we are actively exploring that option through GM Powertrain.” Dittoed Nick Reilly, president, GM Asia Pacific and GM group vice president, said: “We are looking at different displacements and there is an opportunity for a small diesel as well.” “The diesel engine (in the new plant) will come from the (1.3 litre Fiat multijet) family,” Mr Reilly said.
Skoda to launch Fabia sport, new superb and new Octavia
Skoda plans to introduce as many as eight models in next five years to make India amongst the top-five of its global markets.
“We are looking at introducing sports utility vehicles (SUVs), multi-purpose vehicles and a car below Fabia,”
Skoda Auto India Member of the Board (Sales and Marketing) Thomas Kuehl said on the sidelines of the 48th SIAM Annual Convention 2008.
Skoda’s small car would be in the price range of 3-5 lakh and would compete with Hyundai I10 and Chevrolet Spark. Skoda also plans to bring the recently launched new generation Superb in 2009. Skoda is also planning to introduce a sporty version of its hatchback Fabia, which could be priced around Rs 10 lakh. Skoda will also launch a replacement for Octavia sedan. Skoda is also working on a station wagon version of its hatchback Fabia
Fiat’s cheapest car
Similar to its Indian partner, Fiat also plans to launch a cheaper car in 2010. However the small car will not come under Fiat brand and will not be manufactured in India. “By 2010, Fiat is planning to launch a low-cost car, not under the Fiat brand, but under another brand,” Fiat CEO Sergia Marchionne said on the sidelines of the 48th SIAM Annual Convention 2008.
Mercedes - Benz may bring A-class
Mercedes Benz says it is evaluating a possibility for introducing its small range A-Class car in India.
“We are evaluating the Indian market regarding price positioning and overall perception of the company as far as the A-Class range is concerned. However, we have not taken any decision so far whether and when to introduce the A-Class car in India,” Mercedes Benz COO Rainer Schmuckle said on the sidelines of the 48th SIAM Annual Convention 2008
Maruti Suzuki to launch A-star
As announced, Maruti suzuki will unveil its ‘A-Star’ compact car model in India in October. Also with the launch of new A-star Maruti Suzuki will introduce the K-series engine in India. he global compact car A-Star uses the advanced K-series engine which is not only fuel-efficient but also complies with Euro-V emission norms, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) chairman RC Bhargava said. He also added Maruti Suzuki will launch the splash in India early 2009.
Nissan to launch Murano,new Teana and new X-trail
Nissan which will launch indian based models in 2010 plans to bring the new Teana and Xtrail in India.Nissan also plans to bring the Murano Crossover to India.”We will launch a high-end crossover vehicle Morano along with new Xtrail and a new Teana sedan, which could be launched in 2009,” Kimura said on the sidelines of the 48th SIAM Annual Convention 2008
