Shedding their boring boxy structure, the MUVs of today are not only offered with their prime USP of space, but also offer amazing exteriors and feature-filled interiors.
Japanese auto major Nissan Motor Co plans to launch a $3,000 car (about Rs 134,000) in 2012 in India to challenge Tata Nano, the world's cheapest passenger car.
Force India stood by Adrian Sutil on Tuesday after their German Formula One driver was warned he faced an assault charge following a nightclub incident in China last month.
Tata Motors, India's third largest passenger vehicle maker, took pole position in the competitive sport utility vehicle (SUV) market in October, reveals the data from industry sources. Riding high on the Punch - the sub-compact SUV offering launched on October 18 - the Tata group flagship sold a record 23,381 units in October, higher than 20,022 units sold by archrival Mahindra & Mahindra, 18,538 units sold by Hyundai Motor India, and 15,931 units sold by Kia Motors India. Utility vehicles - that include SUVs and multipurpose vehicles - accounted for almost one in every two passenger vehicles sold in India in the first seven months of the current financial year, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.
Nissan Motor Company on Friday said it has appointed Akira Sakurai as the managing director and CEO of Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd (RNAIPL) and has made a few more changes in the management to establish itself as one of the major players in the country.
As other global car makers struggle in India to keep sales consistent, the Korean player has made a heady combination out of design, launches and localisation.
Companies like Volkswagen, Renault, Jaguar, Mercedes et al are planning models against some successful existing ones.
Giancarlo Fisichella vividly remembers how his decision to join Force India evoked sneers from his peers. But it took him just three races to embarrass the naysayers and the veteran Italian driver says he now feels vindicated.
By all accounts, the car industry in India is about to acquire serious scale, as new car plants start dotting the maps of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttaranchal.
Renault discard Giancarlo Fisichella and highly-rated German Adrian Sutil will lead the Force India F1 while another Italian Viantonio Liuzzi will be its another test driver.
Nico Hulkenberg and teammate Paul Di Resta will start at the fifth and seventh rows respectively on the grid as the Sahara Force India team had a decent qualifying session at the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday.
Charting out ambitious plans for India, Japanese automaker Nissan on Tuesday said it plans to have as many as nine models by 2012 out of which five will be locally made as it aims to garner around five per cent of the market.
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella says he joined the Force India Formula One team because he likes a challenge. 'I had other options at the end of the last season. (But) this was the best.'
Maruti Suzuki India continued its grip in the passenger vehicles market in India with five of its models in the top ten best selling models in June.
Stunned Mexican Sergio Perez said he put in the best laps of his Formula One career to get Force India back on the podium on Sunday.
The five door Nissan Micra is an A-segment small hatchback.
Sergio Perez expects to have his Formula One future decided before next month's Malaysian Grand Prix and said on Thursday that he is currently weighing up two options.
Force India's Adrian Sutil lapped quickest in free practice for the Italian Grand Prix on Friday while former team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella was slowest on his first day as a Ferrari driver.
Carlos Ghosn, the iconic CEO of Nissan Motors and Renault, is on a whistle-stop visit to India on Monday to finalise a joint venture and small-car blue-print with India's second-largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto. Renault, Nissan and M&M also have a three-way equity tie-up to make passenger vehicles in Chennai, for which the facility is yet to be built.
Fatherhood has changed Sergio Perez's life since the end of last season and the Mexican hopes the coming year in Formula One could be just as transformative on the track.
According to the Auto Component Manufacturers Association, the apex body of component makers in India, global sourcing of components from the country will double from $2.95 billion to $5.9 billion in 2008-09, and is slated to hit $20 billion in seven years.
Paul di Resta was pipped by Renault's Bruno Senna in the dying minutes of the Q2 session as none of the Force India cars made it to the top-10 in the qualifying session of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Italy on Saturday.
Maruti and Hyundai favoured among used car buyers
7 Maruti models among top 10 best selling passenger vehicles in April
FMCG, automobile industries say if GST regime kicks in, rail hubs can take Make in India to a new high.
Who says the snarling sports utility vehicle is only for men? Three SUVs battle it out to prove they are worthy of women's attention.
Champions Mercedes are chasing a sixth successive double, and Lewis Hamilton his sixth drivers' title, but the task looks tougher than ever.
Team by team analysis of Sunday's Russian Grand Prix (listed in championship order):
According to industry sources, Nissan will roll-out the latest generation Micra from the plant in May for the Indian market.
General Motors India Vice President P Balendran termed the decision as a positive move for the overall economy.
After GM's India exit, Ford-Mahindra 'strategic alliance' under spotlight.
Force India set their sights on breaking into Formula One's top three at the launch of their new car on Wednesday and hit back at suggestions that they lack the budget to match the manufacturers in a spending 'arms race'.
As fuel prices rise, here's a list of cars that will help you save fuel and money too!
Honda cars has strengthend market share in India in the past five years.
The redi-GO will take on Maruti Suzuki's best-seller Alto, Hyundai's Eon, and Renault's Kwid
The traffic tells a story. During the lockdown, it took 45 minutes to zip through the deserted 35-km stretch from Chennai to reach the automobile heart of Sriperumbudur-Oragadam, where the big names of the car industry - Hyundai Motor India, Renault-Nissan India, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, Apollo Tyres, and Royal Enfield - are based.
Why Kia is keen to drive into India? The Korean automobile maker plans to carve out a niche for itself in the crowded Indian market with its compact sedans and SUVs.
Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Hyundai stand to gain the maximum, given their large portfolio of products in the sub-4 meter segment.
As per the agreement, Nissan Motor India 'can enjoy concessions in the wharfage up to 60,000 units per annum.'
