BMWs and Lamborghinis

The number of luxury cars available in India are growing. BMW is launching made in India 3 series cars and will soon follow up with 5 series cars. They are also contemplating on launching their small car Mini a few years down the line.

And Lamborghini is about to launch one of its most well known models - Gallardo in India.

Now most of the car companies have made it to India, either by setting up dealerships who import fully built units or by assembling in India on a small scale. Who knows, with Detroit on the verge of collapse and more and more companies setting up a base in India, we may even become the automobile hub of the world in the next decade.

Better Days for Fiat?

Fiat had never had things going good for them in India. It dates back to the days of tie up with Premiere whose plants were closed due to a forgettable strike and their models died a slow death. When Fiat returned to India with Uno, and then Palio, Siena and Petra, they had good cars with them but poor economy and bad after sales let them down.



Now there is some chance that Fiat may see better days in India. A new, re-worked Palio, which is expected to be more efficient and economical is hitting the Indian roads in April. Most Indian car buyers do understand that Palio is a great car from a great company, but fuel efficiency and after sales worries had kept them away. The deal with Tata Motors for sales and service should help them get over the worries of bad service. Current Palio sales have also increased marginally since the service agreement with Tata Motors. And if the new Palio can actually give a much better fuel economy, it could eat some market share from Swift and Getz, and even the smaller cars. But a 54bhp engine seems to be a very underpowered compared to its counterparts and should be something for Fiat to worry about.

Bajaj wants to make a one-lakh car?

Rahul Bajaj seems to be unhappy with all the publicity that Tatas are getting for their one-lakh car. He says that Bajaj will take the plunge and follow the footsteps of Tata Motors to build an 'economy' car. See more details here.

From the tone of his words, it looks more like a statement he made in a rush rather than a decision taken by careful analysis and discussion with his managers. So I would still wait for believing that Bajaj will actually make a budget car.

New Mahindra Bolero

Mahindra has launched a new version of the Bolero, which is basically a face lift of the original one. But most important - the new Bolero is priced less than the old one. The changes are primarily cosmetic - both interiors and exteriors have been spruced up. Bolero is one of the best selling vehicles from Mahindra, and it sells even more than the popular Scorpio. The face lift and reduction in prices should be able to improve its sales further.

New cars to be released in 2007 in India

March issue of Overdrive magazine reports that Hyundai is about to launch a new small car priced at around Rs 3.5 lakhs in October. Another small car in the same range - Chevy Spark is due from the plants of General Motors later this year. With two new models on the roads, small car market could see some heated action and Maruti may see a bit of it's market share eroding. Overdrive expects the new Hyundai to be released in both diesel and petrol versions, threatening all the Maruti models as well as the Indica.

Maruti is expected to roll out Suzuki SX, a mid-sized sedan that could compete with Hyundai Verna, Chevy Aveo, Ford Fiesta and Honda City. Maruti is also expected to come out with a series of new releases, with five new models in the cards by 2008.

Mahindra Logan is another car from Mahindra-Renault partnership, expected to roll out in mid-2007. Logan is a low-end sedan in the range of Ford Ikon and Maruti Esteem. Entry of Logan would give some life to this much neglected segment where no new models have hit the road in many years.

Its time for price rise

Car makers are now increasing the prices post-budget though the increase is marginal. Skoda alone seems to be an exception, as they are reducing the prices by a good amount aided by cut in import duties.

Read the details about increase in the prices of cars from Hyundai, Maruti,

Ford Ikon 2007

Ford has released a new version of Ikon with some cosmetic changes. Changes are primarily in the interiors, with a new dashboard and beige seats to make it look luxurious. The Ikon still remains a good value for money with prices starting at 4.76 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi. Ford website has details on the car.

Ford website also mentions of a a CNG variant of the Ikon. But it seems to be a fitment outside the factory provided by a third party vendor and facilitated by Ford.