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Contrary to everyone’s expectations, the new Chevrolet Aveo did not make it to the 2010 Auto Expo. It was unveiled today in China by Shanghai GM as the Chevrolet Sail. The small sedan has been co developed by Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) and Shanghai GM, both of which belong to the GM-SIAC group, which now owns a 50% stake in GM India as well. The modern lines and overall turn-out are way ahead of its predecessor. Even the interiors seem to be more in line with its newest rivals.The Sail/Aveo is available with a choice of two petrol engines, a 1.2 litre S-TECH II and a 1.4 litre S-TECH III. The base 1.2 litre variant retails for just 3.9 lakh rupees in China. However, don’t expect it to cost anywhere below 6 lakh rupees in India. If priced competitively in India, this car can easily take on the might of established rivals like the City, SX4, Fiesta, Linea and even the upcoming Etios Sedan.
Mahindra seems to be starting the New Year by filling up its bag of awards at a very high rate. To start with, India’s first ‘Sedan Plus’ from the Mahindra stable christened XYLO recently bagged three awards from the automotive media namely, MUV of the Year from the NDTV Profit Car and Bike Awards, UV of the Year from the CNBC TV 18 Overdrive Awards and MPV of the Year from the Zigwheels Car and Bike Awards!
NDTV Profit Car and Bike Awards also declared the recently launched Mahindra Duro Power Scooter as the Scooter of the Year.
M&M’s path-breaking FuelSmart system with Micro Hybrid technology also bagged the Auto Bild India Golden Steering Wheel for Technology of the Year award. The environment friendly and economic technology was developed by the Mahindra Research & Development team along with the assistance of M/S BOSCH.
The Hyundai Genesis sedan which was first launched in the Korean and the North American market won many accolades for itself including the coveted title - ‘North American Car of the Year 2009’ and the prestigious ‘Canadian Car of the Year 2009’. On display at the Hyundai pavilion this year will be the all new high performance Genesis Coupe – the sports variant of the Genesis sedan with focus on performance and luxury. The new Genesis Coupe highlights upscale new design, responsive driving dynamics and class-leading technology. The Genesis Coupe which followed the Genesis sedan comes in two performance-focused engine variants - a 212-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a range-topping all-aluminum 306-horsepower, DOHC 3.8-liter V6 engine with the new rear wheel drive architecture.
Maruti Suzuki has launched its Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) at the Auto Expo. The five-seater variant of the MPV has been priced at Rs.2,59,000 while the seven-seater variant will retail for Rs.2,75,000. The manufacturer had earlier also unveiled an electric version of the vehicle. Maruti Suzuki intends sales of the Eeco to hover around the 40,000 unit mark annually. The electric EECO's will be on taxi duty at the 2010 commonwealth games, while the petrol powered EECOs go on sale from today.
The electric Eeco is powered by a 5KW lithium ion battery pack which gives the MPV a range of 100kms and pushes it a top-speed of 100kph.
Toyota has announced that the Etios Hatchback will retail for around Rs.4.5-5 lakh and will be powered by a 1200cc petrol engine. The Etios will mark Toyota's foray into the B+ car segment and will compete against the likes of Hyundai's i20, VW polo's and Maruti-Suzuki's Swift. The Etios sedan will be priced around the Rs.10 lakh mark and will be powered by 1500cc petrol engine. It will compete against the current C segment offerings like Ford's Fiesta and Honda's City top name a few.Toyota officials did not release any more information as the scheduled launch of the Etios concept is in December 2010. Toyota is expecting tthe Etios to register sales of around 7,000 units in the first year of its launch.
Speaking to the media at the Auto Expo, Kazuo Okamoto, Global Vice-President, Toyota Motor Corporation, said that the manufacturer is very excited to finally showcase the Etios Concept which has been specially developed for customers in India. He further said that Toyota's tagline of 'World First, India First' represents the manufacturer's choice of India for the global premier of the Etios concept following which exports to other countries will be evaluated.
Okamoto also said that India is a very important market globally for Toyota. He further commented that the developed markets will not grow at the pace of the comapny's needs and it will be the emerging markets like India and Brazil that will grow faster. Speaking about the manufacturer's future plans, he said that India will play a pivotal role in Toyota's global expansion plans and the time has come for us to strategically accelerate our growth here. He also revealed that Toyota is aiming for a 10% share of the car market by 2015.
The Etios, orginally known as the EFC or the Entry Family Car will don a 1.4 litre diesel engine that's housed in the Yaris and a 1.2 litre or 1.3 litre petrol engine. T It also has the I-real mobility tool. Toyota will set up a new plant and supplier base where the Etios will go under production. The Etios will be initially avaialble in 10 cities including Mumbai, Cochin, Lucknow, Chandigargh and Ahemdabad by the end of this year.
Fiat India showed a nice mix of vehicles lined up for their Indian debut on day 2 of the 2010 Auto Expo. Fiat unveiled the 110 bhp turbo-petrol Linea, to overcome its power deficit compared to rivals like the Honda City. The new turbo petrol might be a a couple of bhp down on power, when compared to the City, but it more than makes up for the power deficit with 55 more torques compared to the City. There were also a couple of Puntos on show. The most important of them being the one with the Linea's 90 bhp, 1.3 diesel. Fiat also showcased a CNG-petrol flex fuel variant of the Punto and some interesting design editions.
Price: Rs. 9.4 lakh (On-Road). It will be available only in the top-end Emotion trim. Launch: Q1, 2010. Engine Specifications: Petrol (l4) 1.4L 16V Turbo Jet (T-Jet). Displacement: 1368cc Max. Power: 110 bhp @ 5000rpm Peak Torque: 200 Nm @ 2500rpmTimed, Sequential Electronic Multi-Point Fuel Injection
5-speed, Dualogic semi-automatic gearbox. Rivals: Honda City, Toyota Etios sedan, Maruti Suzuki SX4, Ford Fiesta 1.6 Petrol Grande Punto Sports: 1.3 Multijet90Price: Rs. 6.5 lakh (On-Road). It will be available only in the top-end Emotion trim. Launch: Q1, 2010. Engine Specifications: 1.3-litre Multijet diesel with variable geometry turbocharger. (same as the Linea), Max Power: 90 bhp @ 4000rpm Peak Torque: 205 Nm @ 1750rpm Rivals: Maruti-Suzuki Swift, Toyota Etios hatchback, Maruti-Suzuki Ritz, VW Polo, Ford Figo, Skoda Fabia.
BMW just unveiled the new 5 series Gran Tourismo and X1. The GT will come with a price tag of Rs.63 lakh and only 100 of these kinds will be produced. Also on display in the BMW pavilion were the BMW X6 M and the 760 Li. The 5 Series GT will come with a price tag of Rs.63,00,000, the new BMW X6 M will be priced at Rs. 1,30,00,000, and the BMW 760 Li will cost Rs. 1,29,00,000.The 760 Li houses a mighty 6.0 litre v12 engine with Twin Power Turbo technology, High Precision Injection and double VANOS camshaft and is able to churn out a max torque of 750 Nm at just 1,500 rpm. The 7- Series comes with brand-new eight-speed transmission, with its innovative gear set configuration, offering additional gears while maintaining the dimensions and weight of a conventional six-speed automatic.
