India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India is planning to launch a new version of its small car Alto, the highest selling model in India, with a bigger engine.
Car makers Volkswagen, BMW, Nissan, Ford, Fiat, Skoda, Maruti, Tata, and Toyota are all set to make 2010 a delightful year for car lovers.
Maruti Suzuki has outperformed Suzuki Motor Corp in terms of profitability, with the Japanese parent today posting a consolidated net profit of 28.91 billion yen (about Rs 1,395 crore) for the fiscal 2009-10, almost half of that of the India's largest carmaker.
"We are pleased to join hands with Reva to bring affordable small car platform-based electric vehicles to the market in line with government objectives to reduce fossil fuel dependence," General Motors India, the Indian subsidiary of GM, President and MD Karl Slym told reporters in New Delhi.
Concerned over sales growth coming mainly from two of its models - Dzire and Swift - country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India said unless its other products contribute equally the company could face problems in the long-term.
Mitsubishi Motors, Japan's fourth largest carmaker, is looking to grab a slice of the 1.2 million per year Indian small car market and is mulling the launch of a compact family hatchback over the next three to four years.
Both the carmakers do not have a strong presence in the SUV market and with these products they are aiming at filling the gap in their Indian portfolio.
So far, the current year has not been great for the leading car exporters from India. In the top five list of exporters -- Hyundai, Ford, Maruti Suzuki, General Motors and Volkswagen -- it is only Hyundai which is clocking a growth.
Suzuki will also meet Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, industry sources said. The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India, majority owned by the Japanese firm, is investing up to Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion) in building test tracks and an R&D centre in Rohtak, Haryana.
The Passat 1.8 L TSI is priced at Rs 19.20 lakh or Rs 1.92 million (ex-showroom New Delhi) while the Jetta 2.0 L diesel Comfortline is priced at Rs 15.92 lakh or Rs 1.59 million (ex-showroom New Delhi).
Domestic fuel sales at 11.39 million tons in February were 0.2 per cent lower than 11.41 million tons of petroleum products consumption in the same month a year ago.
The world's largest carmaker, Toyota, is evaluating options to introduce a diesel version of its small car to be launched in the Indian market by 2011.
The new vehicle is available at all BMW dealerships.
It will launch nine models in the next two years.
The head of Toyota was handed a stark warning just over three years ago of significant problems with the safety of a number of models as the result of cost-cutting and the use of temporary workers, says a media report.
Carmakers have realised the importance of using alternate fuels to power cars.
US carmaker Ford on Tuesday launched its much anticipated global small car 'Figo' in the Indian market, priced at Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 4.48 lakh.
Japanese carmaker Nissan on Tuesday said it is in talks with Hinduja flagship company Ashok Leyland for developing a small car for the global market that could be priced around $4500-5000.
Kizashi, Suzuki's first entry into the all-wheel-drive sport sedan segment, arrived in dealer showrooms of North America in December last year and the company has so far sold about 300-400 units in the country.
The limited edition of the Gran Turismo comes with a 3.01 litres diesel engine and only 100 units of the car will be available.
The outsourcer said it is supposed to get $8 million from the US firm. Wipro further added that it is in constant talks with the firm to monitor and assess the situation.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday said it plans to have an output of 15 lakh (1.5 million) units by 2015 to maintain its 50 per cent market share in the Indian car market.
The country's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, on Tuesday said it expects sales to grow around 10 per cent in 2010.
However, the company is expecting a double digit growth during this year on the back of a host of new launches.
Mercedes has agreed to take a 75 percent stake in Formula One leaders Brawn GP within the next three years, German magazine Auto, Motor und Sport reported on Wednesday.
Kawasaki have pulled out of motorcycling's MotoGP world championship as part of the company's efforts to cut spending amid the global financial crisis. Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd on Friday became Japan's latest motorsport casualty after a trio of the country's carmakers announced similar plans last month.
Mercedes and the Brawn GP team declined to be drawn on Monday about reports the German carmaker planned to buy a stake in the Formula One championship leaders.
The company expects sales to cross 27,000 units this year on the back of newly launched small car Grande Punto and sedan Linea.
Buying a four-wheeler this month can help save on cost, but check first.
The company plans to produce only 60 units of this special edition vehicle in order to maintain exclusivity. The company earlier this week also announced plans to invest Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion) in network expansion in the country.
Buoyed by a rising demand, German luxury carmaker Audi aims to increase its market share in India to 25 per cent from the present 20 per cent by this calender year-end.
A diversified workforce can help improve performance and growth, but it has its challenges too
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday said its flagship export model, A-Star, has crossed one lakh-mark of overseas shipments in less than a year of selling the car in the global markets.
Popular new models like Maruti Ciaz and Hyundai Elite i20 are reported to get dearer in a few days time.
Mercedes-Benz India will increase prices of its vehicles across all models by up to 2 per cent from January 1, 2016, to offset rising input cost.
BMW plans to launch 15 models during this year, with four brand new models that would be imported from our global centres and the rest will be re-launches.
The country's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, on Monday said it has stopped working on LPG models as it will roll out CNG variants of the entire range of its cars from early 2010, the first of which could be its highest selling model Alto.
Over 12,700 participants from 91 countries are expected during the one-week contest, which features a variety of athletes - young and old, male and female, straight and gay.
The model is the pinnacle of luxury motoring coupled with the highest level of safety
The judge overseeing GM's Chapter 11 case has set Friday as the deadline for objections to its restructuring plan. The report noted that GM and its advisers are confident that none of the roughly 500 objections submitted so far would derail the timetable, under which the court is due to consider the sale of most of its assets to a new entity on June 30.
