Owner: Car Automobile Blog in India from Carazoo.com URL:http://blog.carazoo.com/ Join Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2008 01:52:20 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Indian car automobile blog from Carazoo.com, India's first car portal with interactive animations, gives comprehensive information on the trends in car industry, car news, reviews and automobile industry updates. It also provides information on launc Site statistics:Click here
Maruti will not cut the price of Maruti 800 to beat Nano 2008-03-28 06:03:00 Many who are expecting reduction in the price
of Maruti-800 after Tata Nano’ appearance at Auto expo, will be disappoint to know the fact Maruti will not reduce any price of maruti-800 in future to compete with one lakh car Tata nano as Maruti does not want to compete with nano and is not even thinking to manufacture any new small car on the lines of ultra cheap car, Tata nano. Before Tata nano’s appearance, Maruti-800 was considered as one of the cheapest small car available in the country for many middle class families. When Tata motors have confirmed its production of one lakh car, many had thought that maruti would cut the price of maruti-800 on par with one lakh car to compete with nano. But now that suspense is over as Maruti openly clarified its intention that it will not re
DZire prices may go up 2008-03-28 05:56:00 All those small car owners who thought that they could now get a DZire sedan by paying just Rs 75,000 more than Swift hatch back’s cost, take note of this. Maruti Suzuki has decided to increase the introductory price for DZire. Rise in input costs of aluminum and copper are forcing Maruti to increase the price of Dzire. The prices are likely to be revised in the next few weeks. So all those who want the new DZire will have to rush to Maruti outlets soon and book your cars, otherwise you will end up paying more than you thought. What with the cost of interest, rising cost of accessory and rising fuel costs. Anything more will certainly burn your pockets.
Lack of incentive will affect exporting of passenger cars 2008-03-28 05:41:00 India’s dream of becoming a global small car hub may not become reality. Car manufacturers, who are till recently beaming over the reduction of excise duty on small cars, are now considering limiting their exports to maintain profitability as the government has not given incentive to encourage the exporting of passenger cars. Lack of incentive from the government is expected to affect the growth of export business of many car manufacturers. Sale of small cars, sedan and luxury cars is increasing in domestic market but lack of incentive for export and continues depreciation of the dollar, is bound to affect the sale of many cars in overseas market. Discouraged by the government’s disinterest in encouraging export business, largest exporter of passenger cars from India like Hyundai m
Mitsubishi plans new models every six 2008-03-28 05:15:00 There was a time when introduction of a new model took years in India. Going down the memory lane, we could find that Ambassador actually rolled out only one model till late 90’s and Fiat had only two models
for India for over twenty years. When Maruti came in the early 80’s it revolutionized car industry, but new models were not forthcoming. But now the time seems to be changing so fast that if you blink you could miss a model.Going a step ahead and breaking all records, one of the most successful sedan manufacturers, Mitsubishi
has now decided to launch one new model in India every
six months. They are even planning to introduce the sophisticated SUV Outlander in few months, which will be manufactured in India. It seems launching of new small cars, luxury cars, SUVs and sedans within Read more:plans
Another jewel in Tata’s crown 2008-03-27 10:13:00 Tata Motors has taken the entire world by storm when it unveiled world’s cheapest car Nano at auto expo and earned the reputation of being mass car producer. By acquiring Ford’s luxury and premium brand Jaguar and Land Rover, Tata Motors has also proved its commitment towards producing high end class cars. It added one more jewel in the Tata’s crown. Tata has taken very decisive and bold step by acquiring JLR brand from global player Ford. Tata has become a world-class car maker by clinching this deal for $2.3 billion. With this deal, Tata Motors has set the entire auto world on fire and also proved global players wrong who thought Tata can only make cheapest car than high end model as it will now produce cars ranging from Rs 1 lakh to 1 crore.
Car sales gear up in small cities 2008-03-27 10:05:00 It seems that B and C cities are emerging as profitable markets for car companies in the last year. The rising income and easy accessibility to loans have been largely responsible for driving car sales upwards in these cities. As metros have been are soon going to become a stagnant market, it makes sense that car manufacturers look for cities other than metros. Most of these car buyers in these cities are first time car owners and obviously go for entry level cars. It is believed that Hyundai accounts 40 per cent of its sales including small cars and luxury cars are in cities other than the metros and six big cities in India. And the most popular models have been Santro and i10.
DZire has replaced Esteem 2008-03-27 09:56:00 Maruti Suzuki India has always been on the forefront to beat competition by providing quality products. Launching its entry level sedan Swift DZire, maruti wanted to rock sedan segment in India. Maruti is very quick to study the minds of its customers and work accordingly as it has suddenly discontinued Maruti Esteem when people felt it was not up to their taste. Now, Maurti has launched DZire that replaced Esteem. Maruti already has achieved a grand success in small car segment by releasing popular brands like Maruti 800 and Maruti Swift. The success of cute, stylish and powerful Dzire which has generated a lot of excitement and curiosity among the car lovers, will be very crucial for Maruti to cement its position in sedan segment.
Maruti looks for new market, finds villages 2008-03-27 08:54:00 Maruti Suzuki is fast expanding its business to the rural areas than ever before. The car major is now looking at more income segments apart from the traditional businessman and urban salary groups. Last year the company has targeted government employees including teachers and also shop floor workers. The campaign received overwhelming responses and was a great success as maruti sold a whopping number of 23,000 cars including small cars and sedans under the scheme, last year.This year the company is targeting buyers in rural areas. The company has devised the panchayat scheme to increase the sale of small cars at grass root level. Under the scheme, Maruti's small cars will be available at discounted prices. Panchayat members, employers of regional rural banks, tahshildars and other governm
Nano may become further cheaper in India 2008-03-26 08:20:00 Tata Nano may further become cheaper when it hit the India
n roads in next few months. The appearance of Tata Nano, world’s cheapest car at auto expo has stirred up Indian auto industry and stunned many car manufacturers who thought manufacturing of 1 lakh car was just impossible. It’s all history now. Tata Motor is again waiting to give one more surprise by further reducing the price of Nano. If reports are to be believed, Tata has formed a team to find out ways to cut down the cost of its Rs 1 lakh car. If the price of nano come down further, buyers of this car will be doubled than present one as all most all families would own it by bidding good-bye to their two-wheeler. It’s time to cheer-up for small car buyers!
Indica is cheaper for Ugadi 2008-03-26 08:03:00 Some car manufacturers make festivals more colourful than the rest. The Indian car giant Tata Motors is coming up with some interesting offers for this Ugadi. It has cut down the prices of its flagship models Indica
and Indigo. The new Indica V2 Xeta will now cost you Rs 39,000 less and the price of Indigo CS has been brought down to Rs 3.60 lakh from the current Rs 4.5 lakh. It would mean a lot of savings for the buyers. So guys! Who are waiting for the new Indigo CS can do so now. Or it will be never. The tradition of offering discounts and special offers during festival season will really encourage people to buy new cars and make the festivals a memorable event in their lives.
Prices of cars may go up at any time 2008-03-26 07:54:00 Many car manufacturers are generously offering good discounts and freebies to encourage people to buy their cars. They also reduced price of small cars after excise duty cut in union budget. But it is not sure how long it will be continued as the rise in the price of steels and other raw materials is forcing car manufacturers to withdraw offers and increase the price of cars including luxury cars and small cars. The generosity and enthuse of car manufacturers would not last for a long time and it would always be a short lived. They can now withdraw all offers and increase the car’s price at any time depending on marketing conditions. People, who have kept their plans of buying new cars on hold in anticipation of further reduction in their prices, could loose more money if they wait f Read more:Prices
Green car contest 2008-03-26 07:20:00 All the green car entrepreneurs take note of this. This may be your biggest chance to win a prize of 10 million dollar prize amount and also get your green car manufactured across the world. This is all about a competition organized by the Progressive Automotive X Prize Foundation. It was unveiled by the New York mayor at the New York International Auto Show this month. The final competition will be held in September 2009 where the newly developed green cars will be tested across the country in US. Now, the tough part is that the car has to achieve at least 100 miles per gallon. It will add one more feather in India’s cap, if any Indian achieves this feat. The entries are still open for contestants. Read more:Green
Audi’s new A4 at the price of locally assembled car 2008-03-25 09:42:00 Audi has always been synonymous with luxury and comfort. It would never give any chance to its customers to blame it for quality as it keeps releasing new version of its luxury cars very frequently to attract more customers. Now, Audi is releasing the new A4 luxury sedan in July with certain modification and additional features. The A4 will be sold at the price
of locally
assembled car in India. Though the new A4 will be imported initially, it will sport the price tag of a locally assembled car. The new version of A4 was already launched in Europe a few months ago and became a grand success there. Audi India will assemble the A4 at its plant at Shndra and expects to sell 500 units of the new A4 in the first year.
Khattar is a phoenix 2008-03-25 09:28:00 It’s quite common that most top ranking officials engage themselves in writing books or memoirs after retirement. But Jagadish Khattar is exception to this. Even after his retirement, his enthuse and spirit to do something new in the auto industry never died away but is still fresh. Khattar, a former bureaucrat who has become an entrepreneur now wants to launch his own chain of multi-brand car service station. The service stations starting from 2009 will offer service to all brands of cars under one roof. If you own several brands, you need not go or search any specific service station for each car. With this service station, all your vehicles get all the servicing required under one roof. It is amazing to see him setting up an enterprise after retiring at the age of 65 from Maruti Su
Toyota will launch Lexus cars in India 2008-03-25 09:19:00 Indian auto industry is undoubtedly becoming a hottest hub for global players. Launching of new luxury cars, SUVs and sedans have become common these days in India by foreign car manufacturers like BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz in collaboration with Indian car manufacturers. Now, Toyota
has joined this bandwagon by announcing the launch of Lexus
cars in India. Lexus brands have already captured the luxury car market globally and became hit all over the world including USA. Lexus is highest selling global marquee and will reach the Indian market through Toyota. Lexus cars are crafted with elegant design, powerful engines and superb interiors to woo people to buy these brands in India. Toyota does not want to release any of the Lexus brands in hurry but will take at least a year to launch them. Read more:India
Dzire rolls on Indian roads 2008-03-25 09:14:00 Swift sedan Dzire is making a sudden appearance on Wednesday and not on Saturday as aired before. It it will be launched on Wednesday. It could give Maruti Suzuki two days of publicity and long queues of buyers booking it over the weekend. Whatever, it is a clever strategy by MSIL to make quick sales and ensure long demand over several months. Its only sedan in market now SX4 which is already on top of the charts and Dzire seem to repeat history. Many believe that though the car similar to Swift in appearance has several firsts in its features.
Force India has a lot of force in it 2008-03-24 08:51:00 Many of us have been hooked on to the Formula one car racing ever since India
made its debut with force India recently. Many Indian were heart broken to learn that it crashed out of the race in the very first lap. It was a disastrous start but it has left some hope in many Indians that there is a tomorrow. In the Malaysian Grand Prix, Force India did not disappoint and came in 12 after completing all rounds. This is great news. Maybe in future Indian name will figure in many more places apart from cricket.
SUV’s the new hot car for men in blue 2008-03-24 08:37:00 Think of the ultimate muscle car in India and you will immediately think Ford Endeavour. It is not just its excellent driving dynamics but its rugged looks which has captivated many car enthusiasts. Muscle SUVs have become the latest fascination for all those who want to live life king size. But did you know that the men in blue also had a passion for SUVs. While Ford Endeavour comes first is owned by Bhajji and Kumble and newcomer Praveen Kumar, Hyundai Tucson is owned by Rahul Dravid.
Jeep gets M&M and Chrysler into Battle 2008-03-24 08:20:00 It seems that old partner have become new foes. Mahindra and Chrysler
are locked in a battle over an advertisement of jeep. Now it all started when Mahindra in its ad published in a newspaper in South Africa used a jeep picture. Nobody in India would make a big fuss about it knowing that Jeep was being assembled and marketed by Mahindra in India. Mahindra has been associated with Willy’s Jeep, for India operations since 1945. Even today Jeep is much sought after vehicle by off road enthusiasts. But outside India, when Mahindra is making a foray into foreign lands, it's a different ball game. Read more:Battle
Think car, Think India 2008-03-24 08:10:00 All those who thought that tinkering with cars was a mechanics jobs, wake up. The car sector has undergone tremendous change in the last few years. Mechanics alone will not be able to do all the jobs. Believe it not! The car industry requires as much as 10,000 automobile engineers in the next decade. They are required by the best names in the industry like BMW, Mercedes, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Ford Motors and others. They are even hiring freshers for their most enterprising jobs. All those who want to associate themselves with the greatest upcoming cars can look into these careers. Read more:India
Hyundai & Women’s day 2008-03-20 12:30:00 Hyundai’s women’s day with Santro scheme has worked magic. The company followed a soft approach towards the rising number of working women drivers and managed to successfully attract customers. It had offered a women’s day special scheme on the Santro Xing model starting March 1st. A 50 % waiver on loan processing fee and loans at 0.75 % lower rate of interest than market rate were offered that brought the car loan percentage to 13.5 or 14 percent. After the success of this scheme, Hyundai has extended the scheme for the entire month of March. Read more:Hyundai
, Women
Tata will get JLR on 26th 2008-03-20 12:14:00 The process of acquisition of prestigious British car brands Jaguar and Land Rover is finally nearing completion. It seemed to drag on forever. Ford is finally signing on the dotted line to hand over the brands to Tata Motors. They hope to wrap the whole thing up by 26th March. The JLR deal has generated much interest in the global media. Tata Motors got very bad press coverage from US and UK. Inspite of it all, they have finally closed the deal. There were a series of hurdles in Tata’s way towards these acquisitions. After clearing these hurdles one at a time, the company is finally set to acquire Jaguar and Land Rover completely.
Spark’s luxury touch 2008-03-19 07:31:00 Small cars are evolving even as luxury cars are imbibing the culture of the west. A centre instrument cluster is not seen only in car like Mercedes. The owner of Chevrolet Spark will feel he/she is seated in a luxury car as well. Spark has its speedometer and other gauges housed on the centre of the dash rather than behind the steering wheels as is seen in all other small cars in India. It is surprising that General Motors has sought to bring in this feature for small cars. They have sought to deviate from the regular looking dashboards in small cars and given it a feel of a luxury car.Spark has really brought in some new aspects to designing small cars. Read more:touch
Cars look beyond cities 2008-03-19 07:27:00 The car manufacturers have now moved from big cities to sell their products. They have found out that the B and C cities have a high market which is waiting to be tapped. Car manufacturers feel that the smaller cities have a higher market for lower segment cars. However, the problem lies in arranging finances as most rural people borrow from private from moneylenders. Assessing this need, market leader Maruti Suzuki has partnered with Chennai based Shriram finances. General Motors, which is already leading in urban areas, has now set its eyes on rural areas. The company has tied up with Reliance, Tata Capital, ICICI and GMAC for special financing schemes. Read more:beyond
Spark to get his younger brother in two years 2008-03-18 20:00:00 The ‘Spark’-ling success of Chevrolet seems to have created new hopes for General Motors in India. The company is set to come up with a new small car exclusively for India with a cheaper than GM's current lowest priced car in India. It will be a new addition to the already crowded portfolio of Chevrolet which currently has cars for all segments like Spark to Tavera to Optra Magnum. Surprisingly, General Motors is doing well when others are witnessing low sales performance. The company is planning two huge facilities and is now planning a small car. Nothing seems to be stopping the Generals’ growth.
Free car care clinics by Hyundai 2008-04-02 08:15:00 Now-a-days, car manufacturers are not only giving thrust to push up sale of their small cars or luxury cars, but also taking much care of their customers even after sale. Realising the fact that maintaining a good rapport with customers is as important as striking a deal with them to push their sales, some car companies have started after sale servicing to keep their customers happy and to help them to get solved any problems in their new cars after buying from them without shelling out an additional amount from their wallets.Maruti, Tata Motors and other companies started free car servicing after sale, now Hyundai
has taken up this task and wanted to build a good rapport with its customers by launching after sale servicing campaign. It has launched a unique campaign of free car care clini
Volkswagen will participate in Olympics 2008-04-02 08:04:00 Volkswagen has become the official car company for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games to be held in Beijing, China, starting this August. Volkswagen will use its luxury cars, SUVs, sedans and other vehicles to ferry players, guests and officials. The company will also involve its subsidiaries Skoda and Audi cars for this purpose. It will supply as much as 6000 of its vehicles for this event. Car manufactures in India could also be shipped for the event. Volkswagen has already established itself in India and has an impressive line up of cars in India. By involving itself with the Olympic Games, Volkswagen will surely receive a huge boost in all over the world especially in India where large number of people will closely follow every Olympic event. It is time that Volkswagen launched a new car Read more:Volkswagen
, Olympics
DZire flares up desire among car buyers 2008-04-02 07:59:00 Maruti DZire is already desired by thousands of buyers in India. It was launched on March 26, and the company has reported that it has already sold over 5,000 units in this financial year. Maruti’s impressive sales record seems to be going over the graph. After the lone rider SX4 helped the company top the mid-size cars category, DZire seems to be helping sales phenomenally. The small car segment has also posted an impressive growth. With such a popular line up of cars, it is time that Maruti enhanced it with some global cars. We already know that A-star is coming in October. But a dash of luxury will spice up the Maruti portfolio very much.
Has time stood still for buyers? 2008-04-02 07:53:00 Is India still stuck in old world? The cars sold in India still carry the age old designs. Interestingly, they are still selling in large numbers despite being put in history books in mature western countries. Look at the line up of cars, sold as premium cars in India like Hyundai Accent, Octavia, Ford Ikon and Mitsubishi Lancer. Moreover, Indians are forced to pay fancy sums for these outdated cars. The only new models which can be called contemporary are Hyundai i10, Volkswagen Passat, Maruti A-Star and Honda CR-V. Car manufacturers are taking marketing old cars as new in this country. Will the car buyer be forced to be stuck in time wrap?
Pay-per-usage insurance 2008-04-01 09:04:00 With the new Insurance premiums rate, it’s good news for both mass of people who use cars occasionally and those who use more than one car. The Insurance Company has planed to introduce pay-per use model of coverage for cars which is already in use in Europe.The new concept works with the help of GPRS system which tracks the car and the rates are charged accordingly. The users will have to pay much lesser charges compare to what they pay presently. The charge will depend on the number of usage, thus reduce the burden on users. In India, this will be helpful for cities like Mumbai and Bangalore where people don’t use cars including small cars, SUVs, sedans and luxury cars much due to traffic problem. Hope it would suit a lot of small users and reduce premiums. Read more:insurance
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