Exclusive: Mahindra World SUV rendering

After having snapped and recorded the Mahindra World SUV in action a zillion times, we decided to try and find out what exactly was under that heavy camouflage. John Paul Xavier, our man at IIT Mumbai’s Industrial Design Centre offered to help and the result is this.

The Mahindra W201 or the World SUV not given away much to the shutterbugs, however, it couldn’t quite hide its LED lights under the headlamps (which we reckon are projector type). This would make the Mahindra SUV the first vehicle with the feature in its segment. A bold chrome grille with six vertical slats defines the face of this new behemoth from Mahindra. We are more than sure that this vehicle will come as a five-seater, as we don’t see Mahindra trying to market it as a people mover.

The high bonnet with two prominent ridges on its ends gives the W201 an aggressive and muscular stance. The slightly flared wheels arches add their bit to the brawny look.
The Mahindra world SUV will be powered by the same 2.2 litre mHawk engine that powers the Scorpio, albeit in probably a different state of tune. We are expecting a price Tag of Rs 13-15 lakh rupees on launch.

Thanks again to John Paul Xavier, IIT Mumbai, for the rendering.

Nissan overtakes Honda in global sales

Honda seem to have somewhat lost their direction in the recent past. Honda was the only car maker in India to register negative growth in the year 2010. And while the company managed a 5 per cent increase in its sales globally, the growth was nowhere close to what its rivals managed during the same period.

Now what may come as another shock development to the top blokes at Honda, compatriot Nissan has leapfrogged them in global sales. While Nissan managed to sell 4.08 million units worldwide, Honda stood at 3.56 million vehicles – a substantial 500,000 units less. Nissan managed a growth of 21 percent in the year 2010.

A major part of Nissan’s surge in volumes came from China where the company is doing exceptionally well. An even more interesting fact is that the Renault-Nissan alliance together managed to sell 7.3 million units worldwide, which is more than even Volkswagen. In the year 2010 Toyota led the automakers in terms of sales. It was followed by GM and Volkswagen in the list.
Hope to see Honda buckling up and getting back with a bang!

Chevrolet Beat diesel coming in a few weeks’ time

During the launch of the new ‘Smartech’ engine for the Beat, the GM India management made quite a few announcements. One of the important announcements made during the event was about the diesel Beat. We have been expecting the car for quite some time now, and think of it as a very important launch. Reason being, the Beat, even today is the cheapest premium hatch available, undercutting its rivals significantly on the price front. We honestly believe that the
Beat diesel may just turn out to be the game changer for Chevrolet.

We have a feeling that the blokes at GM India are going to price it aggressively, and if that happens, the Beat will present itself as a diesel option for the price at which some of its petrol rivals sell. And no one would mind an efficient diesel in today’s times of soaring fuel prices.
Answering a question about his satisfaction with the Beat’s sales during the engine launch, Karl Slym, GM India’s President and MD said “I wish there was a diesel engine in the Beat. We have been developing a diesel engine specifically for India. I am happy with the petrol version’s sales.” He also said very unequivocal that “the diesel engine is just a few weeks away”.

Having heard it from the horse’s mouth, we are sure it’s coming soon now. And we’re already rubbing our hands in anticipation as the Beat with a fuel efficient diesel would really make for a terrific VFM buy.

Chevrolet to bring in the Camaro

Sure there is no dearth of performance cars in India with almost all the premium car makers having set shop in the country. However, there are not many options if someone wants to buy something classy and exclusive without having to spend a fortune on it. It seems GM India is planning to bring all those woes to an end now.
The company is planning to bring its iconic Camaro sports car to the country. The Camaro, along with the Ford Mustang is regarded as the ambassador of Amercian muscle cars. The muscular looking car will be brought to Indian first in the two-door coupe guise. GM India has displayed the car in the 2010 Auto Expo as well.

Although the price if the car or the launch date has not been unveiled yet, the arrival of the exotic on our shores is a surety. We are expecting a price in the region of Rs 30-35 lakh. And for a car of the Camaro’s size, presence and performance, that sounds like just a small price to pay.
Although it should, we are not sure whether the Camaro will do any great numbers in the country. However, the introduction of the legendary car will surely help Chevrolet create a premium image for itself.

Internationally the Camaro is available in LS and LT models, powered by a 3.6 L V6 producing 312 horses, mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic with manual shift. The there is the special SS version which is powered by a 6.2-litre V8 producing 426 hp and is mated to a 6-speed manual box.

Ford India crosses 10,000 monthly sales for the first time in January 2011

Now this is exclusive stuff. Probably a few more websites will soon flash this story, as Ford Indian prepare and distribute the press release, but you’re reading this first on Motoroids. Our sources at Ford have revealed that the company’ after having swept the auto awards for 2010 with their Figo have recorded the highest sales in their history in January 2011. The company also crossed the landmark of 10,000 monthly sales for the first month of 2011. As goes without saying the lion’s share of these sales was contributed to by the extremely successful and capable Figo.

Out of the 10,026 units of total cars sold, 8,600 units were that of the Figo. This is a more than four-fold increase, against 2453 units sold over the same period last year. The previous monthly record for Ford Indian was of 9,478 units set in March 2010.
According to Michael Boneham, president and managing director of Ford India, the record-breaking monthly sales are a signal of more great things to come from the company in 2011.

“2010 was a landmark year for us, with Ford nearly tripling its annual sales volume. Now we’ve begun 2011 with record-setting January sales. We have carried the momentum of last year’s terrific performance into the new year by crossing the 10,000-unit sales mark,” Boneham said. “We are constantly fine-tuning our performance for maximum growth, and this is just the beginning of what I anticipate will be an incredible year for the company.”

In 2010, Ford India sold 83,887 vehicles, an impressive year-on-year increase of more than 184 percent. Ford India has sold more than 68,000 units of the best-selling compact since its launch in March 2010.

“It’s extremely gratifying to see Figo resonating with customers as a great value-for-money vehicle. It is also heartening to see Figo winning so many prestigious awards in the automobile industry, more than any other car in Indian history” Boneham added.

Congratulations to Ford India for studying the market well and coming up with the right product. We are sure the competitors are taking note.

Mercedes-Benz planning small car for India

When it comes to India, small is big. Every carmaker has been trying to get a share of the small car market pie. The turnaround Ford has managed in India with the Figo in just a year goes to explain the importance of the B-segment in the Indian context. And while it’s obvious for the mainstream car manufacturers to hustle for this space, even premium carmakers are eyeing the opportunity.

If some reports are to be believed, Mercedes-Benz is exploring the possibilities to launch a small car for the Indian market. While no specifics have been divulged about this new project, a small car with the three pointed star, and a substantially less price than even the C-class makes business sense. The company has the A and B class cars in its international line-up as options, but the interesting bit here is that M-B is mulling a ground up small car platform for this market. Although the costs involved in developing a car ground-up is enormous, and there has to be sustained volumes for such a project to be feasible, the company is still showing intent to consider the option.

The company is looking at modifying its Smart platform to suit the Indian conditions. Smart is a premium small car brand by M-B which offers two and four seater small cars with the name ForTwo and ForFour primarily in the American and European market. The car will be tweaked to suit the price and practicality sensibilities of the Indian audiences. Mercedes-Benz may utilize its alliance with Renault-Nissan to develop a cost-effective model for India. If all goes well, we may soon see Mercedes compacts zipping around on our streets.

Mercedes-Benz re-launches the Maybach in India

There was a time when parallels were drawn between the Mercedes-Benz Maybach and the Rolls-Royce Phantom, with the latter being known as the most luxurious automobile in the world. The Maybach, however, couldn’t quite keep the promise and the Phantom continued to rule the automotive world.

However, even with its not so enticing sales, Mercedes-Benz believes in the Maybach brand and have supported it with all their force. The company today re-launched the super premium sedan in the Indian market with a hope to catch the fantasy of the high and mighty. The Maybach, in its second innings in India has been priced at Rs 4.85 crore and Rs 5.10 crore (ex-Delhi) for the 57S and 62 variants.