The new Octavia is larger, both on the inside and outside when compared to its predecessor and boasts of superior efficiency, features and build quality.
With swanky showrooms and VR-enabled sales platforms Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, and Skoda bet on shine and gloss,and place their faith in experiential branding.
The new Mercedes Benz E-Class (W212) is here - an aggressively styled German luxury sedan worth approximately half a crore (Rs 5 million).
The company, a part of the Volkswagen Group, will also introduce its sports utility vehicle, Yeti, and a stripped-down version of its premium hatchback, Fabia, in India by the end of this year.
Gaurav Gill is all set to take part in World Rally Championship (WRC) 2023 season, starting with the Acropolis Rally of Greece.
Skoda's new flagship offering will compete with the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour and Isuzu MU-X as well as Volkswagen Tigua.
The new Duster will go head-to-head with popular models like Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, MG Astor, etc in the highly competitive mid-size SUV segment.
Stylish, sleek, a coupe-like sedan with generous amount of space is what the Slavia is all about.
With two drive options, three battery options and a design selection option, the Enyaq promises to tick all the boxes.
After a brief lull during the pandemic, there is a strong revival in luxury car sales, bolstered by more launches across price bands, replacement demand, ban on old diesel vehicles in the NCR, and 'revenge buying'.
Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Kia India on the other hand witnessed an increase in their market share based on the retail sales last fiscal. As per the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), the retail sales of country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India rose to 14,79,221 units in 2022-23 fiscal, attaining a market share of 40.86 per cent. It had retailed 12,39,688 units in 2021-22 and grabbed a market share of 42.13 per cent.
With cars like the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic selling in very small numbers and potentially even being phased out, the Octavia has very little competition, says Pavan Lall.
Major carmakers, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors on Friday reported growth in their passenger vehicle sales in June as semiconductor shortage woes showed gradual signs of easing out. Other manufacturers, Kia India, MG Motor India and Skoda Auto India also reported robust sales growth last month. Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) reported 5.7 per cent increase in total wholesales at 1,55,857 units in June as compared to 1,47,368 units to dealers in June 2021.
Automakers Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Kia reported robust growth in their vehicle dispatches in the domestic market for August buoyed by festive demand and easing of semiconductor shortage woes. Other manufacturers like Hyundai, Toyota and Skoda also reported growth in wholesales in August as compared with the same month last year. The country's largest automaker Maruti Suzuki India said its domestic passenger vehicle dispatches increased by 30 per cent to 134,166 units in August as compared with 103,187 units in the year-ago month.
That means a manufacturer looking at a market like India needs to decide whether small, cheap cars or small, expensive cars or both will work better for them, says Pavan Lall.
The country's leading automakers Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor reported a decline in dispatches to dealers in March as shortage of electronic components impacted production. On the other hand, Tata Motors, Skoda and Kia India posted their highest ever monthly wholesales last month. Toyota Kirloskar Motor said its dispatches in March were the highest in the last five years while Mahindra & Mahindra also reported a robust increase in its passenger vehicle dispatches in March.
The Virtus is indeed designed to look, act and behave like a well-built European sedan that swims in the segment between the compact sedan VW Vento and the larger Passat, says Pavan Lall.
This year's edition, three years lost to the pandemic and scheduling, wore a distinctive shade of green, and, as would befit an era of technology shift from internal combustion engines to electric motors, had a clutch of high-technology exhibits and concepts. But the excitement of the expo's heyday was missing.
Domestic passenger vehicles sales rose by 23 per cent to a record of 37.93 lakh units in 2022 led by the likes of Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors as the companies rode on easing of pandemic related challenges and semiconductor shortages to cash in on pent up demand, specially for SUVs. Other manufacturers like Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Skoda India also reported record sales in 2022. "The industry wholesales in January to December 2022 were just short of 38 lakh units.
Volkswagen's new SUV is set to lock horns with half a dozen rivals, says Pavan Lall.
Passenger vehicle market leaders Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai on Saturday reported a decline in wholesales in December 2021, although homegrown majors Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra reported growth, amid semiconductor shortage continuing to impact production. Other manufacturers Nissan and Skoda also reported an increase in December 2021 sales although Honda Cars India witnessed a decline last month. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) reported a 4 per cent fall in wholesales to 153,149 units in December 2021 as against 160,226 units a year ago.
The Mahindra's Scorpio-N becomes the first body-on-frame chassis SUV to secure a five-star Global NCAP rating.
Leading carmakers Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors reported robust dispatches to dealers in May on the back of strong demand for passenger vehicles across regions, even as the global semiconductor shortage continued to impact production. Mahindra & Mahindra, Kia India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Honda Cars and Skoda also witnessed strong demand for their models last month. The month of May also witnessed Tata Motors race ahead of Hyundai in terms of domestic wholesales.
Auto majors, including Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai and Tata Motors, on Sunday reported high double-digit growth in their domestic passenger vehicle sales in July riding on stabilisation of macro-economic factors and better consumer sentiments. Similarly, Honda, Nissan, MG Motor and Skoda also reported healthy growth in their sales last month leveraging on improved market mood amid prevailing lower coronavirus infection rate, despite supply constraints of semi-conductors. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India's (MSI) domestic sales increased by 39 per cent to 1,41,238 units last month as against 1,01,307 units in July 2020, the company said in a statement.
India's flagship motor show Auto Expo 2023 kicked off on Wednesday with the global unveiling of Suzuki Motor Corporation's concept electric SUV 'eVX' which is slated to hit the market by 2025. The company's Indian arm Maruti Suzuki India is among the major manufacturers participating in the show that has returned after three years. The Concept eVX is a mid-size electric SUV concept designed and developed by Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), Japan. It will be powered by a 60 kWh battery pack offering up to 550 km of driving range on single charge.
Leading carmakers Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai witnessed a double-digit drop in sales in October on account of the global semiconductor shortage impacting production. Kia India, Honda Cars and MG Motor also saw a fall in dispatches last month as compared with October 2020. However, companies like Tata Motors, Mahindra, Nissan and Skoda managed to post positive numbers last month despite the supply chain challenges.
Through a combination of local manufacture and imported CBU models, the company makes and sells four SUVs, one hatchback, and one sedan.
The Meridian feels comfortable and upright with the quality of gadgetry, interiors and plastics expected from an international brand car. However, it lacks the overall premium-ness that may come with a top-end Japanese car or even a mid-range German car, says Pavan Lall.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd reported a 17.84 per cent dip in its domestic car sales for February, and said it would soon reduce the price of its high import intensity models 'Elantra' and 'Sonata'.
The global semiconductor shortage hit passenger vehicle sales in September, with major manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Mahindra & Mahindra reporting a decline in sales on Friday. Kia India and Honda Cars also reported a dip in wholesales last month as compared with the year-ago period. Carmakers like Tata Motors, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Nissan and Skoda, however, reported an increase in passenger vehicle dispatches last month despite supply chain issues.
Right now, the 'Lower D' or LD segment -- which the industry defines as a sedan that costs between Rs 1.5 million and Rs 2 million, is longer than 4.5 metres, and powered by an engine of 1.8 litre or larger -- has barely three cars, all of which have been around for over a decade in India. Nevertheless, at least one foreign auto player is looking to bet big on the segment.
Hyundai Motor India said on Tuesday it will hike prices of its cars across all models between 2.3 per cent by January 2008 owing to rising input and freight costs. The official said the price rise was due to the rising input costs and freight cost. HMIL's product range starts from the flagship Santro, the base model of which is priced at Rs 2,70,000, while its top end Sonata Embera is priced at Rs 15,71,000.
The Carens is a warning for cars such as the Tata Safari, Hyundai Alcazar, Maruti Ertiga, Toyota Innova Crista and Mahindra XUV 700, because Kia punches much harder than others in its weight category.
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Among Indian cars Vizag-based Stephen Panchigalla clocked 13.366s in his Skoda Octavia in the same J Class, which was run jointly for both Foreign and Indian cars, to ended up as the 'Fastest Indian Car.' Of the day.
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