New Cars

Launched In India In 2012

1.

 

Skoda Rapid:-

Skoda India, today launched its latest Skoda Rapid Ad Campaign titled ‘Big Fat Indian Wedding’. Encapsulating Skoda’s proposition of ‘Being Thoughtful’, the new TVC creatively blends the needs of great Indian family with Skoda Rapid’s Simply Clever solutions. The campaign revolves around the typical Indian wedding, replete with all its flair and flamboyance. The TVC opens with the scene of a palatial Indian house that has workers running through the impending wedding preparations.

“At Skoda we believe that a car is much more than a mere product. It is an extension of an individual and this insight has helped us arrived at the positioning ‘Built to be Thoughtful’. We used the backdrop of Indian wedding in our campaign to demonstrate the emotional connect between a family and a car. The Skoda Rapid embodies that sentiment with its Simply Clever solutions and product values at various occasions during the wedding. Since a wedding for an Indian family is valuable, emotional & a grand occasion, it is a perfect fit to partake in the celebrations with the Skoda Rapid – Family Car of the year 2011” says, Mr. Thomas Kuehl, Brand Head, Skoda Auto India & Member of the Board – Sales & Marketing.

The TVC continues into the different stages in the run up to the wedding ceremony, with the Skoda Rapid playing an integral role in all the diverse situations – from ferrying the flowers to the venue, driving the girls (wearing mehndi) comfortably, picking up relatives & guests for the ceremonies etc. At each occasion, Rapid meets the demands of exhilarating Indian wedding, thereby making life comfortable for the family. The film concludes with an emotional moment which is symbolic of a new bride & groom meeting and is typical of an Indian wedding.

Ramanuj Shastry, Chief Creative Officer – Saatchi & Saatchi says, “To dramatise the 'thoughtfulness' of Skoda Rapid, we chose the big, fat Indian wedding, the torture test for any car. It's the only time where not just the badge value of the car, but its work horse like qualities also matter. A car for the Indian wedding has to be spacious, comfortable, dependable and economical. Director Sam Ahmad has created a delightful film which underlines the fact that the Skoda Rapid is as sensible as it is stylish. We firmly believe the film will be well received and and establish Skoda Rapid as the car of choice in the entry level sedan category.” The Rapid has been created keeping in mind the Indian customer and marks Skoda’s entry in the extremely important C segment. It is a comfortable car for the family with an elegant design, ensuring an efficient drive.

2. Volvo S60:-

                                 

The Swedish luxury car manufacturer, Volvo might want to add another new sedan to its present line-up in the global markets. Last year at the Shanghai Motor Show, Volvo brought a new Volvo Universe concept for a display upon which a new Volvo car could be built to take upon the top-end cars like BMW 7 series and the Patent sketches of future. Before we can comment upon the Volvo concept and its design lines, the Swedish auto major released a sketch which gives us an idea how the future Volvo S100 saloon might look like. What's more, the patent drawings from Volvo do carry strong resemblance with the Universe concept we have seen at the Shanghai Motor Show to explain that Volvo does have the concept car in mind while it prepared the S100 sketches.

The rear end of the concept and the drawings is like any other Volvo car like we see on the Volvo S60 or Volvo S80 in India, the rest is though, a way different featuring steep cut design lines and a unique front end. The headlamps and the grille match with each other with their layered built, while the suicide doors each opening in the opposite direction is a thoughtful addition to offer extreme ease for passengers' entry. The converging alloy wheels at the center are perfect contrast to the rest of the body, quite interestingly designed offering a perfect blend of the rounded shape over the angular frame with the potential to stand out against the rest of the Volvo cars.

 

As the patent drawings are said to appear more like the Volvo Universe concept, one could only hope the interiors are carried forward too. The new Volvo concept is literally stunning with strict design pattern in the porcelain-black combination adorning a flowery design at the gearbox and the power steering to add a feminine touch to the otherwise space ship looking car interiors. Now, that the sketches have emerged, one might only hope Volvo sticks to its plans to see the Volvo S100 in the making, otherwise which the superior design structure of the Volvo Universe concept would be an utter waste.

3. Volkswagen Passat:-

                            

Volkswagen seems to be making an effort to fill in for lack of petrol variants for its premium car line-up fraught will diesel powered cars. It’s high time that Volkswagen brings the VW Passat petrol and the Volkswagen Jetta petrol variants to India in March and April respectively to compete with the luxurious Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry sedans in their respective berths, both of which are already offered in the petrol trims.

Volkswagen is betting high on the  1.8 L petrol engine churning out the 160 Bhp and 250 Nm peak power and torque, respectively borrowed from its Czech subsidiary Skoda’s flagship cars Skoda Laura and Skoda Superb, though the two Skoda cars will be seeing a neck-to-neck competition with the new petrol variants also entering into the Indian car market scenario.  Despite the powerful 1.8 L petrol engine, Volkswagen promises of a modish mileage of around 10 kmpl in the city and bettered mileage on the highways to make a smashing debut for the petrol car lovers especially when the diesel car demand is likely to go down with the upcoming budget session in March when the Government is considering excessive tax on diesel powered cars.

 

The NVH levels in the petrol variants are also expected to be better in comparison with their diesel counterparts. The Volkswagen Passat diesel priced at Rs 24.11 lakh for the base diesel variant is offered presently in two variants, the 2.0 L TDI Comfortline and 2.0 L TDI Highline offering a mileage of 12.5 kmpl making the Volkswagen Passat petrol variant mileage no less in comparison.

4. Honda CR-V (2.2 i-DTEC Diesel):-

                               The 2012 Honda CR-V crossover, whose fourth generation model was introduced in 2011 is ready for a launch in India. The exact date of the launch is yet to be confirmed but it is expected to be after the introduction of the European CR-V which is to be done at some time around the middle part of the year. During the Geneva Motor Show to be held next month, Honda is planning to display the CR-V's European version. The European model of the Honda CR-V holds an edge over the American version because of its new stylish modifications as well as a newish bumper.

 

This version of the 2012 Honda CR-V is anticipated to be launched for sale in the later part of the year. India is also going to receive the European version of the crossover car, and it is thus obvious that the looks of the CR-V will be a bit different from the version introduced in America. The 2012 Honda CR-V will probably be fitted with a 2.2 i-DTEC diesel engine, however it is still not confirmed if this engine will be launched in India or not. Though this engine has been used in the Honda CR-V for a reasonable amount of time now, Honda has restricted itself from bringing the Honda CR-V diesel in India. They say that the diesel available in the country is not of suitable quality which is a necessity for the 2.2 liter i-DTEC engine.

Having said that, this reason may not be very justifiable now after competitor companies like Toyota and Chevrolet have launched their SUVs (Fortuner and Captiva respectively) with diesel engines. Still, the Honda CR-V has managed to gain a wide popularity amongst Indian buyers because of its attractive SUV package. The reason for Honda's famous brand name has been its quality and performance all through the past.

                

5. Volvo S60:-

Few days back there was news about Volvo introducing the new S60 sedan having a downsized diesel engine, referred to as D3, in order to make the car more cost effective. Now there are reports that the diesel engine has a superior role to play than just support the Volvo S60. It is believed that another car from Volvo, the 2012 Volvo XC60 crossover SUV, will be embedded with the D3 diesel engine and the Volvo XC 60 price is expected to be much lower as compared to its predecessor. The Volvo XC 60 price is expected to be somewhere close to Rs 34.4 lakhs for the basic Kinetic model, however the top end Summum model is expected to be sold for somewhere around Rs 37.4 lakhs.

                         

The D3 engine that will be powering the Volvo XC60 is the downsized version of the D5, an in-line turbocharged diesel engine with 5 cylinders. The engine is attached to a six speed auto transmission gearbox with 4 wheel drive mechanism.  The Volvo XC60 is a product of a car manufacturing company from Sweden and it is expected to pose fierce challenge to cars like Audi Q5 and the BMW X3. The advantage that the Volvo XC60 holds over the other two cars is the fact that it has a very reasonable and economic price range considering the fact that it has been brought into India as a completely built unit (CBU). On the contrary, the BMW and Audi models are built in the country via completely knocked down (CKD) units.

 6. Mahindra Xylo Mini:-

Mahindra Xylo MPV which launched today in Mumbai brought more news with itself. Very crucial information was also given by the company on its sidelines. The announcement was made in reference to the launch of Mahindra Xylo Mini which is one of the longest anticipated cars from the company. The Mahindra Xylo Mini is expected to be introduced somewhere around the time of Diwali in the later part of the year. The new compact MPV will be a competitor for B-segment hatchbacks in the country's car market. It will be somewhere around 4 metres long which will enable it to make the optimal utilization of the exemption on excise duty given by the government for cars measuring below 4 meters.

 The benefits to the company from the exemption of excise duty are expected in turn to benefit the buyers, through a very cost efficient new Mahindra Xylo mini. The car will be powered by a detuned common railed turbocharged diesel engine with 1.5 lt capacity, which has been obtained from the MHawk 2.2 lt diesel engine of the Scorpio from Mahindra & Mahindra. This mighty engine is also packed in facelift of Xylo launched today. There are also chances of the launch of a petrol version of the Mini Xylo though the news is still to be confirmed. The displacement of the petrol engine will be around 1200 cc with 3 cylinders. The MPV car will provide seating space for 7 people.

7. Hyundai Elantra:-

Hyundai Elantra 2 door version recently walked the ramp at the Chicago Auto show. The Korean car maker is aware of the publicity and exposure a car gets at the auto shows, could not choose a better place to lift the covers off its show stopper. The 4 door Elantra sedan has already made Hyundai proud with winning the best looking car at the North American International Auto Show. Now it was time for the 2 door new Elantra to grab the spotlight and it sure did!

The Korean car maker, father of Fluidic sculpture continues its evolution process with the transformation of 2 door Hyundai Elantra Coupe to a 4 door sedan. The doors of new Elantra are lengthened since it’s a coupe and jeweled swept-back headlights give it a lean, aggressive demeanor. Fog lights are faintly different with new designed trunk at the rear spoiler. The cabin space is not altered with the increase in wheelbase and over all length of the car. Noticeably the cabin space is still more than the one offered with Honda Civic Coupe and the Kia Forte.

The Elantra Coupe derives its power from the same 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine with 148 horsepower and 131 lb-ft of torque found in the Elantra sedan. The engine also offers Dual Continuously Variable Valve Timing (D-CVVT) with 6 speed automatic gearbox that powers the front wheels. The 6 speed manual gearbox also comes with the engine.  Hyundai will be launching the Elantra in the US market in the latter half of this year. But sadly, it is not likely to see the Indian daylight in the near future. Hyundai, broadening its market reach to youth customers, will launch Elantra Coupe in the American car market by the end of the year. However the wait seems longer for the Indian sporty buyers trying to get hold on this coupe.

8. Mitsubishi Pajero(Sport):-

 Mitsubishi had initially decided to introduce the all New Mitsubishi Pajero sport in the Indian market during this year's Auto expo but the unfortunate natural calamity in Thailand forced the company to withdraw its decision. However Mitsubishi has firmly decided to launch the new version in the Indian market somewhere around the end of the 1st quarter which is just a month and a half away.

The New Mitsubishi Pajero sport is anticipated by Mitsubishi India to turn out to be its trump card since the SUV has the potential to revive the low sales. The Pajero which is considered to be very sporty is a famous brand in the country and it can call for a large demand if the company fixes the cost effectively which should not be much of a problem because the car will be assembled in the country itself at the Hindustan Motor's assembly line. This gives the New Mitsubishi Pajero an edge over its competitors like the Honda CR-V and Renault Koleos which are CBU's due to which their cost is almost double of the Pajero.

9. Nissan 3707:-

Nissan is determined to enhance its image as a sports car manufacturer. The Nissan 370Z sportscar which is offered as a coupe and a roadster variant in the global markets is going to get a facelift in near future. The 2013 Nissan 370Z will be introduced for the first time at the 2012 Chicago Motor Show with considerable changes along the exteriors of the car. The LED daytime running vertical fog lamps will be a standard feature in the new Nissan 370Z sportscar making up for the changes in the front end of the car, while the rear end gets the red colored reflector replacing the black smudge; a fuel gauge meter and two brand new colors across all the variants of Magma Red and Midnight Blue.
Specific to the Nissan 370Z coupe devoid of the sports package will be the 18” alloy wheels, while the Nissan 370Z sportscar variants get a 19” alloy wheels more suited for the sportscar versions, new Brake callipers in red and Euro-tuned shock absorbers. While that was about the global news, focusing on the India-specific news, Nissan India offers just the Nissan 370Z coupe priced at Rs 53.50 lakh with a 3.7 L V6 engine churning out 332 Bhp and 370 Nm of peak power and torque with a six speed manual and a 7 -speed automatic gearboxes. However, it might be interesting to see if Nissan India might decide to bring in the sportscar package for the Nissan 370Z facelift as and when it makes it to India. This said, the Nissan 370Z roadster and the Fairlady Z variants are not offered in India at present.  The sportscar will be unveiled at the 2012 Chicago Motor Show and will be available in markets across the world over the next few months

10. Hyundai I-Flow:-

Hyundai cars in India are quite popular and now Hyundai Motors has pulled up its socks and is ready to unveil its new i-Flow concept at the prominent Geneva Motor Show in the month of March 2012. New i-Flow concept by Hyundai Motors has been jointly developed with BASF, which is  chemical company. The main aim of showcasing i-Flow concept by Hyundai Motors is to display the mobility concept along with use of futuristic material In car.

These material modernizations have not been brought into action as of now in the automobile industry, but will be used in near future. In collaboration with BASF, Hyundai Motors could do way better in achieving superior fuel efficiency, design freedom, lower environment impact along with more safety and comfort.

The new Hyundai i-Flow concept comprise of Hyundai’s signature fluidic design coated with an inventive coating technique from BASF. Besides the fluidic design, the futuristic material being used is also one of the many possibilities that will cut down environmental effect that today’s vehicles have on the environment.

For instance, the seat frame makes use of lightweight material made of a polyamide, Ultramid Balance, which comprise of up to 60% of re-newable raw materials along with some other thermoplastics and few energy-absorbing foams.  In addition to these, Elastollan and Luquafleece also comprise of moisture absorbing materials together with thermo plastic polyurethane elastomers. What is more interesting is that Hyundai’s i-Flow concept features a brawny diesel engine, which is incorporated in a stiff foam poly-urethane insulation system, which guards both the environment and the engine.

In extreme city conditions, the engine acquires substantial time to make it to its most favorable efficiency situations. This particular encapsulation aids the engine to trap heat and obtain it up to best temperatures hence dropping both fuel consumption and emissions. It also employs a huge assortment of infrared-reflecting and infrared-transparent pigments in the interiors of the car, which results in cooler plastic surfaces for seat, center console and dashboard. This technology is identified as Passive Heat Management.

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