BS Motoring and a couple of other auto websites have quoted Bajaj Auto as officially confirming that the first Bajaj KTM for India will be a 200cc machine that will be launched during the Auto Expo 2012 in Delhi. There is further speculation that Bajaj and KTM are working on another India specific model which will be of 350cc capacity. Exciting times seem to be ahead.
Yearly Archives: 2011
BS Motoring has reported that the ultra low cost car from Bajaj is shelved. It was quoting the Wall Street Journal as having said so. Other websites have reported that Bajaj will now go ahead with the making of another type of passenger vehicle on the four wheeler platform and are speculating that it maybe a vehicle in the mould of the Tata Magic Iris. However there have been no confirmations of any of the above by the companies involved including Nissan-Renault and Bajaj itself.
The Bolero from Mahindra has been the main stay of the company’s UV business. Mahindra to its credit has been giving the product facelifts every once in a while to sustain consumer interest in the product, and that strategy has been paying rich dividends. Now Autocar India has scooped pictures of the Bolero with yet another facelift which should make the Bolero more interesting to prospective customers
Picture Courtesy: Autocar India.com
Riot Engine was there when Ford finally completed the launch of the much awaited Fiesta sedan and revealed the prices.
Jump to the recently added video where Sriram Padmanabhan, General Manager-Marketing, Ford India answers some interesting questions.
Below are the prices according to the trim and fuel type.
Ex-Showroom New Delhi Price (In INR)
Variant |
Petrol |
Diesel |
|---|---|---|
| Style | 8,23,500 | 9,27,200 |
| Trend | 8,77,200 | 9,77,200 |
| Titanium | 9,17,200 | 10,17,200 |
| Titanium+ | 9,42,200 | 10,42,200 |
You have seen the prices now just see the list of what comes standard in every trim.
Take a deep breath and look at the list of standard items.
ABS with EBD
Dual Airbags
Audio controls
EPAS with pull drift compensation technology
CD MP3 with aux
Outside RVMs with integrated turn indicators
Remote key
Riot Engine also managed to get Mr. Sriram Padmanabhan, General Manager – Marketing, Ford India to answer our questions about the One Ford concept, and how ‘child parts’ fit in the strategy, the possibility of a Ford SUV/Crossover embracing Kinetic Design and finally, if there are plans to bring down the automatic transmission variant of the Fiesta.
Offering his deepest condolences to the victims of the horrific blasts in Mumbai the previous day, Mr. Michael Boneham, President & Managing Director, Ford India reminded those gathered how resilient the people of Mumbai are, and in that spirit, the launch was not postponed but instead, the festivities were forgotten and a quiet launch ensued, after a respectful thirty seconds of silence.
Michael Boneham, President, Ford India, Nigel E. Wark, Executive Director (Marketing, Sales & Services)
After being handed over the microphone by Mr. Boneham, Mr. Wark, Executive Director (Marketing, Sales and Services) ran through the various features of the Fiesta, the engine options and most importantly, the extra effort put into the Fiesta for India. Seemingly the most insignificant change, the horn circuit being beefed up highlights the time spent by Ford India in getting its game right. The brake booster characteristics have been worked on to get the modulation right, taking into account the traffic conditions in India. The suspension characteristics have been worked on to deliver a better ride, and the tyres are of a higher profile to improve robustness on impact, give the car a higher ground clearance and ultimately, better ‘water-wading’ capacity.
The Fiesta is constructed with different types of steels in different parts of the body, including the high strength ‘Boron’ steels to achieve the best possible compromise between body stiffness, energy absorption during impact, cost and weight.
The Royal Enfield Classic duo of the 350 and 500 have definitely upped the ante for RE. To cater to the growing demand for its motorcycles worldwide, Royal Enfield has announced a second plant, in Chennai. On July 12th, 2011 the Tamil Nadu Government allotted Royal Enfield land at the SIPCOT Industrial Growth Centre, Oragadam for the new plant. The proposed Royal Enfield plant, spread over 50 acres, is slated for completion by the first quarter of 2013. Once completed, the new plant will increase Royal Enfield’s current capacity of 70,000 units per annum to 1,50,000 units per annum. The new plant will be equipped to produce the entire product range of Royal Enfield motorcycles.
Orgadam is already home to other big names like Renault Nissan, BharathBenz, Apollo Tyres, Delphi Automotive Systems and is also home to the Global Automotive Research Centre, one of the testing centres that fall under the NATRiP (National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project) umberella.
View Automotive majors in Oragadam in a larger map
For Royal Enfield, expanding in Chennai comes with several advantages. Royal Enfield claims that being in proximity to its first plant will bring synergies for the supply chains as well as its human resources.
Mug shots of the Mahindra W201 have started making the rounds on the internet. It all started on Facebook and since has made it to many websites. The picture seems to have been shot by one Suraj.
Picture Courtesy: Motorbeam.com
Volkswagen’s Chakan plant near Pune manufactures both the Skoda Fabia and the Volkswagen Polo and Vento cars. In a land mark of sorts the company’s plant which was constructed well ahead of time has rolled out its 100,000th car.
Picture Courtesy: Indian Autos Blog.com
Motorbeam.com has reported that Mazda Motor Company, the fifth largest maker of cars in Japan is considering entering the Indian car market. Mazda has small cars that could be well suited to India where there is a strong demand for small cars. The plans for entering India are still in a very nascent stage according Motorbeam.com
Picture Courtesy: Motorbeam.com
In three years after their first introduction the K series engines produced by Maruti have found their way into ten lakh cars. The K series was originally introduced in the A Star (Alto for export markets and also Pixo for Nissan) as the K10B and subsequently in the Swift and Ritz as the K12M. The K10B also does duty in the Alto K10, the Estilo and the Wagon R and garners most of the volumes for Maruti.
Tata Motors has plans of sharing engines with Jaguar/Land Rover products according to a report on BS Motoring.com. Most of the engines that are presently used on Jaguar and Land Rover owe their lineage to Ford from whom Tata purchased J-LR. Tata also relies on Fiat for engines for some of its cars. The Tata Group has now decided to embark on a plan of engine development that could see the new engines utilised by Tata, Jaguar and Land Rover.