Maruti Suzuki to Join the Green Car Revolution

Maruti Suzuki is planning to expand its product line by adding CNG hybrids and electric vehicles in a period of three to five years. With the growing concern for the environment many car manufacturers are launching car models with alternative fuel.

Presently, the company is exploring the possibility of developing the electric cars for India. The Japanese partner Suzuki in agreement with General Motors of U.S. has developed a fuel cell technology.  Currently this technology is under testing with the Hybrid SX4 in Japan. Alongside this, the company is also testing hybrid technology with Wagon R for the Japanese market.

The CNG cars in India are a very good because of their economical factor. With many car manufacturers opting for alternative fuel vehicles, the demand is also increasing. The CNG kit costs over Rs 40,000 and it will only become more demanding and popular when there is a CNG filling system from companies like Reliance across the country. However, these eco-friendly cars are expected to hit the market 2010 or 2011.

Audi A6 with Attractive Offer

Global car industry has been adversely hit by the recession and in order to fight and push the sales, the car manufacturers are coming out with various attractive offers. Just like other car manufacturers, the luxury car manufacturers are offering attractive packages.

Audi, the luxury car manufacturer too came up with a great offer “A zero percent financing rate and an extended four years warranty for the Audi A6 range in India”. This package comes with a 0% rate on finance for customers and an extended warranty of two years which is additional to the normal two years warranty. Audi A6 wants to foray passenger/sport luxury sedan segment. Currently it comes in four variants – 2.8 FSI, 3.2 FSI Quattro, 2.7 TDI and 3.0 TDI Quattro. A6 is a car with combination of luxury of a sedan and feel the adrenalin rush of a sports car.

Audi also hit the headlines with “Audi Top Assist”, the emergency road side assistance services across 95% of the major roads across India. Seems like Audi India is thinking big to strengthen its position in India.

Maruti Cars with Best Apeal

Maruti cars won the best APEAL (Automotive Performance Execution and Layout) in the study conducted by JD Power Asia. The international organization conducts a survey on all new cars and offers a list of best cars in terms of new vehicle design and performance, completely based on the response and feedback given by car owners.

Maruti has always been tagged as the biggest Indian car manufacturer. Even in this turbulent time when the car sales are falling and competition is increasing, the company has successfully maintained its grip in the car market.

Four of the Maruti Suzuki cars have won the award for gaining top position in their respective car segments. WagonR topped the compacr car segment, Swift ranked first in the premium compact car segment, Swift Dzire the best option in entry midsize car, and Maruti Suzuki SX4 topped in the midsize car segment.

All the four Maruti car models have given a new reason for Maruti to smile. Though the car market is currently facing a meltdown, Maruti is rejoicing its 25th anniversary and the ranking received by JD Power.

Skoda Low Cost Car for India

Skoda Auto, renowned luxury car manufacturer, is planning for a low-cost car for India. Cheap car project is still a thought and not on the paper, but company is seriously thinking of working on the small car.

The company is studying the  Indian market condition for its project and if every thing falls on track, then the company is expected to start working on the car very soon. Small cars are the best suited for India in every terms. Small car dominates the Indian car market and more people opt for small cars. They are best suited for the Indian roads and easy to park because of their compact size.

Skoda sees a good future in the Indian car industry and plans to roll out more cars to the country. India is the most promising markets in the global auto industry. The company will also roll out all new Superb to India by 2009.

Currently Skoda India stable includes models like Fabia, Octavia, Superb and Laura. All these cars have recorded a good success in the Indian car market since the time of their launch in country.

New Car from Skoda

Tata Nano has created a new trend of ultra-cheap car in the Indian car market. Now we can see many other car manufacturers joining the bandwagon. Czech car manufacturer, Skoda Auto is thinking of creating low-cost cars fro the Indian car market.

Currently, the entire plan is thoughts and not in papers. The company wants to study the Indian cars market in detail before putting its thought in reality. Other models from Skoda’s stable like Fabia, Octavia, and Superb doing well on the Indian roads and the growing sales is the evidence for its product success.

The company sees India as a promising market for its car models. The numbers are not obvious but one thing can is sure that Skoda new models have their future in India.

Tata’s Nano to Launch Next Year

The excitement associated with the Nano launches has not yet subsided. Nano was ready to hit Indian roads by October-December 2008. Buyers will have to wait for some more time to buy the much awaited car Nano in India. Now the low cost car Nano will be postponed its launch to January-March 2009 quarter.

Nano that will be rolled out during the 1 Quarter will be available only in petrol engines. However, the diesel version will be rolled out by the end of 2009. The car manufacturer wants to offer continuous supply to its vendors once it is launched and that is the reason why it has delayed the launch of Nano.

However there was a meeting organized by the company and has proclaimed its 100-odd vendors that there will be around 8-10-lakh Nanos within the next 3-5 years. Tata is trying to attempt different possibilities to increase its Nano production in the country. Hope that Nano will be launched at least next year.

Exceptional discount schemes from Hyundai for Government Employees

Every car manufacturer promotes their products in an attractive way and Hyundai always offers it customers in a unique way. The car manufacturer is offering special discounts of up to Rs 31,000 on some of its cars especially for government employees. It is aiming to cash in on the higher salaries and arrears under the Sixth Pay Commission.

This scheme is offered only for the month of October and November and will be for both state and central government employees. During the festive season, this will be an added incentive for the employees to buy a Hyundai car.

However this is offered considering the fact that the government employees are due to receive the arrears after revision in the Sixth Pay Commission. These arrears can be used to make a down payment for purchase of the car. Moreover, the revised salary increment can be utilized to help them to pay in monthly installments.

The cars that would be offered discount are Santro, i10, Getz, Accent, and Verna.

In addition, Hyundai is tied up with Axis Bank, State Bank of India and HDFC Bank to lure finance schemes to the government employees.

Hyundai Pleased With Car Sales

Hyundai seem to be happy as it has made excellent passenger car sales this month. The company has increased its sales by 28.2 % to 36,152 units in July 2008, against 28,204 units in the same month last year.

However the domestic car market sales determined a marginal growth of 0.4 % at 15,066 units in July, against that of 15,003 units in the same month last year.

The car manufacturer has sold 30,614 units of Santro, Getz and i10, 5,504 units of Accent and Verna, 28 units of Sonata Embera and 5 units of its SUV Tucson in the month of July.

Several auto companies sense that it has been a challenging month for the entire car industry with the pressures disturbing market sentiments like inflation, increase in interest rates and fuel prices.