Mahindra XUV 500 Has The License To Thrill

Mahindra XUV 500 is all set to rule the roads from the 28th September this 2011. The XUV 500 will be a first of its kind from the house of the Mahindra. In fact the car has been designed by taking inputs for style and development inputs from customers all over the world. The car has been also tested in various parts of the world across Europe, Australia and South Africa among others.

Mahindra is looking to create a niche identity for itself in this category. It is looking at a place between the Scorpio and the upbeat SUVs. The car is aimed at the gen next and will be styled according to the taste of the youth. The 00 in the name of the Mahindra XUV 500 is not just mere numbers. They are similar to that of 00 in the James Bond character. In short the car wants to convey that it is a class ahead in terms of fashion and high tech features. To testify this gen next breed the car has been manufactured using the best in class quality standards.

The Mahindra XUV 500 also owns the distinction of being the country’s first indigenously developed monocoque SUV. It is also equipped with a novel transverse engine from the Mahindra. The XUV 500 is truly niche and world class and this is further exemplified in the way it was conceptualized and created. Right from ensuring the global standards, quality, technology, testing norms, regulations and emissions every aspect related to the car has not at all been comprised.

The XUV500, in fact seems to indicate the future path of the Mahindra. The Mahindra XUV 500 SUV will be run by a 2.2-litre mHawk diesel engine and generates a maximum power of 140 bhp and a torque of 326 Nm.

Pawan Goenka, President, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, M&M Ltd. told “We are all set to create a new milestone with the launch of the Mahindra XUV 500 which truly embodies and encapsulates the essence of the Mahindra Rise philosophy. Having extensively tested and validated our product with global and Indian customers alike, I am happy to add that we will simultaneously launching the XUV 500 in South Africa under the same brand name. I am confident that the XUV 500 will follow in the footsteps of its illustrious predecessors to evolve into an iconic brand.”

Rajesh Jejurikar, Chief Executive, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd. said, “The Mahindra brand has evolved over time. Today it enjoys the strongest equity in the SUV category. Therefore, Mahindra will now be the lead brand for the XUV 500. Additionally, with the XUV 500 we are attempting to create a new category in the SUV segment, that will not only challenge the conventional but will also certainly translate into double customer delight.”

Mahindra has now sort of made a track record in the SUV category with a huge share of the market. The company leads the pack with a market share of 60.5 percent. The success of Mahindra is largely attributed to the Indian and global iconic brands like Mahindra Scorpio, Mahindra Bolero and Mahindra Xylo.

Fiat Linea, Fiat Punto is the flavor of this Diwali

Fiat Linea and the Fiat Punto seem to be flavor of this festive season. The special festival discounts go up to Rs. 1, 30,000/- on the Fiat Linea and Rs. 75,000/- on the Fiat Punto. The special festival offer also includes an attractive exchange benefit of up to Rs. 20000/- package. This means that customers can actually exchange their old Fiat cars to buy new Fiat cars. The icing on the cake is the festival discount also extends to 50 months road side assistance package along with 1st year insurance for 1 Rupee only.

President and CEO, Fiat India, Mr. Rajeev Kapoor says that “With the launch of this campaign we portray our commitment towards the Indian market and communicate that this campaign has been designed keeping in mind the emotions, sentiments and key values deeply portraying our Indian connect. We at Fiat India hold the same values that an Indian holds. Fiat has exhilarating plans for this festival season. This is our first offering this festive season to celebrate and share the festivities with our customers."

This is looked upon as a bid to increase sales during the festival season. "With the launch of this campaign, we portray our commitment towards the Indian market and communicate that this campaign has been designed keeping in mind the emotions, sentiments and key values, deeply portraying our Indian connect," said Fiat India chief executive Rajeev Kapok.

Fiat India has also gone ahead in terms of its brand building in India with a new Ad campaign. The company says that the new ad campaign is not just for mere brand presence but also for generating a real feel with the customers. Fiat wants to show case how exactly it thinks about its customers. The new ad brings in the festivities of the desi tradition and the fashion of La Italia which in turn signifies the combo of Fiat’s path breaking technology and creations.

India which is rightly referred to as the land of festivities follows a wide range of festivals being celebrated in all parts of our country. Not to forget that the common vein that links them is its preparations and celebrations, that are carried out very passionately. The outcome is being happy, excitement, enthusiasm and its affection because it is reflected in its honesty and stronger ties.

At Fiat, we are proud of working in a synonymous way executing passionately at every platform related to car production. Starting from the guaranteed designs of our car are as timeless and stunning as always, to them a matter of convenience and comfort for drivers and passengers at every point of time. Also, not to forgot the creation of the heart of the car- The Engines, in a way no body would even possibly think of. This isn’t just engineering, it’s a philosophy and a vision because we believe that when you combine passion and inner drive you can create wonders.

Nissan Sunny Launched in India

The wait is over for the much awaited Nissan Sunny. It is now on Indian roads, the Nissan has launched it on 20/09/2009 at Mumbai. After getting a huge success through Nissan Micra. The Company is expecting the same result from the Nissan Sunny also. This car is expected to directly compete with the upcoming Volkswagen Up.

Nissan Micra has already set the benchmark in the Indian auto markets. In spite of it’s out of the box looks, the car is being held as the best in its class. The Nissan Sunny is expected to come with a 1.5 litre engine and with a price starting from 5.78 lakh up to 7.68 lakhs for the high end variants.

The Nissan firm has a target of selling more than 40000 cars in the Indian market. The company top sources also revealed that for the Indian markets, “We are planning to sell 40,000 units across all models available in India by the end of this fiscal year. Of this, we aim to sell around 12,000 units of the Sunny”.

The Nissan is expected to come in 3 variants XE, XL and XV. It is also expected to sport an airbag for all the three variants. The Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd on the launch of its Nissan Sunny petrol version sedan in Mumbai on Tuesday said that the company is also planning to bring out a diesel variant. The corporate vice president Gilles Normand says the diesel version is due to the market demand in India for the diesel variants.

“We have been talking to our engineers to see if we can pull forward the launch,” said Normand. He also added that the petrol diesel gap is widening from the earlier figures of 45:55 to the earlier 20:80. The diesel variant is expected to be available by the end of this fiscal year, he said.

Honda City Old Cars Recalled

Honda India has recalled 2005 and 2007 Honda City cars. The main reason to recall is to replace power wind switch. This shows the credibility of the customer service. Honda City is one of the successful sedans in India. till to date Honda City has got high demand and recently the company has launched the upgraded version of it in Indian market.

The Honda's Indian unit, Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI), spokesperson said the recall was part of a global exercise by Honda Motor Company‘s promise of “stringent quality standards for its products" in spite of no faulty complaints with regard to the power switch in India. Jnaneswar Sen, senior VP, sales & marketing, HSCI, explained that "Every time we have done a recall or product up gradation, we have done it proactively." The company also said that the replacement would be completely done free of cost and no extra charges will added for the replacement.

The news has been passed onto the dealers and the replacement parts are being distributed to the contact points in batches for a smooth execution of the same. The company sources also added that any expenses arising out of the process will be invested by the Honda Motor Company (HMC) while also indicating that there would no loss borne by the Indian division of the Honda enterprise. The parts for replacement shall be sourced from Japan in phases.

HMC also cleared airs about the power switch problem is not a worrying factor in its current City models operational in India. This effectively means that the Honda Jazz and Honda CR-Vs sold in India will not be affected and does not need any recall program me or replacements to be undertaken.

This does come us a set back to the company as they already had to reduce the prices of the Honda City car to clear up volumes in stock in spite of ten years of dominance in the mid-size category. The same story was also endured by its Honda Jazz which too underwent huge price slashes after which the sales showed an upward trend.

On the global auto market, HMC declared that around 9,62,0000 Honda City sedans will be recalled for the replacement of the power windows and the computer systems. The models are Honda Jazz in India, CR-V crossover and Fit Aria (named as City in India) in North America, Asia, Africa and Europe. The Company is also planning to launch Honda Brio.

Honda To Launch Small Car in India

Honda Brio is the most awaiting hatchback in Indian market. The truth is finally out. If reports are anything to go by then Honda is indeed rolling out a new small car, the Honda Brio. The car will be launched by the fag end of September, giving the Indian eye balls yet another choice to be spoilt for in the small car segment.

The Honda Brio will be launched in trio version aka three models while the pricing has been kept unwrapped till the ribbon cutting ceremony. Though Honda is the bag daddy in the car segment, the Honda Brio is surely a bit out of their forte, as the Honda Brio is surely smaller in size. The i10, polo and swift hopefully will have their hands full and would be all ready set and match for this new competitor in the market. This beast is expected to fight with recently launched Toyota Etios Liva and upcoming Maruti Cervo in India.

What makes the Brio stands out is actually the least concentrated aspect in all the previous Honda cars. You guessed it right, it’s the tail lights. The Brio has triangular shaped tail lamps at the back end corner of the car. The light from these tail eyes will surely light up any one’s eyes.

Though lacking on the boot lid and a not so alluring alloys it does spice up with some fantastic interiors, dashboard and other attractive features. The car seems to have been trimmed as much possible to keep the entry price as low as possible and so one can look forward to yet another car that will surely pinch your desires and not your pockets.