Nano Price Rise. Gets costlier by Rs. 6000

TATA Motors on Friday said it has increased the price of Nano by nearly Rs 6,000 due to rising input costs, but will retain the rate promised to the first 1 lakh customers of the low-cost car. The entry-level price of a Nano is Rs 1.23 lakh while a deluxe variant costs Rs 1.72 lakh.Tata Motors has handed over nearly 45,000 Nanos since it started delivery last July. It plans to deliver cars to the remainder of 1 lakh customers who were selected through a lottery last year from 2.06 lakh bookings before December.

The Mumbai-based company said it has begun intimating the price rise to customers who did not make the cut, but held on to bookings.

"Despite a steep increase in input prices, their Tata Nanos are being priced only 3-4 % higher, depending on the model, than the price announced at launch," the company said in a statement.

With the price rise, which it called ‘fairly nominal’ , Tata Motors joins a handful of carmakers such as Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor India that have raised prices by nearly four times in a year to offset galloping input costs.

The company also announced it would reward customers for bearing with the company through a delay in delivery due to capacity constraints.

"As a gesture of goodwill, the company has announced a choice of one-year free annual maintenance contract, or free accessories worth Rs 4,000, or an extended warranty," the statement added. Tata Motors has been steadily increasing the Nano’s production after its Sanand plant began running since June. The plant can produce 2.5 lakh units a year.

"This is the final step before the company opens up sales of the Tata Nano," it added. Tata Motors is also looking at overseas markets such as Asia and Africa to market the Nano, once capacity starts building at Sanand. It has started work on the car’s marketing in the US, executives said.

Source: IndiaTimes

'India can innovate on cost reduction of cars'

India enjoys the major manufacturing advantage over Europeanand American vehicle manufacturers when it comes to cost innovativeness, a top automobile industry official Monday said.

“We can demonstrate to the world that we can innovate. I saw three years
of conceptualisation of Tata Nano while at Tata Motors. How do you take the extra rupee out of a vehicle is a major challenge,” Hinduja Automotive’s executive vice chairman V.Sumantran said.

Delivering the K.C.G. Verghese memorial lecture on “Frontier of Automotive Engineering andOpportunities for India”, he said: “India has a huge young population and youth have to compete with each other to succeed. This offers many opportunities for India.”

Referring to the increasing number of onboard computers in a vehicle, Sumantran added that miniaturisation of components and electronics needs embedded software systems which India has the capability to provide.

The use of nano technology and increasing onboard electronics will reshape the frontiers of automotive engineering while miniaturisation is becoming important as the focus is on reducing the carbon footprint and be environment friendly, he remarked.

According to him, the role of autonomous or remote management of vehicle will gain importance and already some university students have started working on this area.

“A fair amount of autonomy will be there even in the normal vehicles that are seen on the city roads. Similarly virtualisation is another frontier of engineering which would gain importance as it would cut costs,” Sumantran added.

Delivering the special address on “Industry-Institute Relationships”, Lucas TVS’ chief executive officer N.Ravichandran said: “The need of the hour is to have synergies between industry and academic institution’s efforts. Both should identify areas of common interests and work together”.

He said a forum of experts can be formed - say retired industry officials - which the institutes can approach for advice or to lecture the students on the latest industry trends.

Source: TAT

Tata Venture to arrive this August

After the tremendous success of "Ace" in the market, selling about 5 lakh units, TATA motors said that they have planned to introduce VENTURE on August 2010.
Based on the one tone Ace platform, the Venture, which was displayed at the Auto Expo in Delhi, earlier this year, is a 5,7&8-seater people mover and comes strapped with the tried and tested Indica diesel engine (475 IDI Turbo Diesel) that belts out 70bhp.

Priced is expected to be between 4.5 -6 lakh, Tata Motors sure seems to be on its way to capturing a niche space in this segment, as currently there are no players besides Maruti whose vehicles the Omni and the Eeco, both, come with petrol engines only. Tata’s diesel powered engine should definitely prove advantageous as this comes at a time when there’s hardly any competition for the giant automobile manufacturer.

Besides thanking customers for creating various applications for the Ace and dramatically changing the customer profile, Tata Motors also said that the Magic IRIS would be introduced around September-October 2010. (The Magic IRIS is based on the original 750 kilo Tata Ace platform)

Tata Motors also added that they plan to get into the pre-owned vehicle business as there is a great demand for pre-owned vehicles in the country. This business would be called “Tata Certified”.

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Skoda Auto Clutch Care Tips

Disclaimer: The tips are provided by "Skoda Auto India" and "The Automobilez" does not bear any responsibility of the following post.

Skoda Auto Clutch Care Tips:

1. Do not rest your foot on the clutch pedal.

2. Excess revving of the engine before engaging the clutch may damage the clutch.

3. Do not drive unnecessarily at too high or too low engine revolutions.

4. Always drive no more than about one length of your vehicle in first gear.

5. Always shift up into the next higher gear at approx. 2000 to 2500 engine rpm.

6. Avoid slipping the clutch especially in slow moving traffic.

7. Make proper use of handbrake for hill start rather than letting the clutch slip excessively.

8. Always refer to your car owner's manual for driving tips.

9. Have your car inspected at authorized Škoda dealer only.

Tata Motors provides complete Transport Solution to Queen’s Baton Relay 2010 Delhi

Tata Motors is providing complete transport solution to the Queen’s Baton Relay, as part of Commonwealth Games 2010. The Baton came from Pakistan today at the Wagah Border.

On its 100-day national tour, the baton will visit the capital of each state and union territory, and many other cities along the way, covering more than 20,000 km. By the end of its journey, the baton will have traversed over 190,000 km in 340 days, making the Queen’s Baton Relay 2010 Delhi one of the longest relays in the history of the Commonwealth Games.

As part of transport solution, Tata Motors is supporting with 17 Sumo Grandes, one Land Rover Discovery 4, three Buses, three covered body trucks and one media vehicle. Tata Motors is also providing fuel, drivers and routine maintenance for these vehicles.

About The Relay

The baton’s journey symbolises the unity and shared ideals of the Commonwealth of Nations, and enables communities beyond the Host City to share the Games celebrations. It also serves a functional purpose in carrying Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II ‘message to the athletes’ from Buckingham Palace to the opening ceremony of the Games.

The Queen’s Baton Relay 2010 Delhi commenced from Buckingham Palace on the 29th October 2009. The baton then travelled through all other Commonwealth nations – a historic journey that covered a distance of more than 170,000 km in 240 days. The relay will conclude after the final Baton bearer enters the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the XIX Commonwealth Games on 3rd October 2010 where Her Majesty’s message will be removed from the baton and read aloud, officially opening the Games.

Verna Transform - Launched!

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL), on 23rd June has launched the all new Verna Transform, a ‘Dynamic by DNA’ luxury sedan. With dynamic features and a distinctive sporty styling, the all new Verna Transform aims to answer the customer’s need for dynamic styling by complementing the power-packed performance.
EXTERIOR- About the exteriors, Verna Transform gets a fresh, new look with features like ‘Sharp eye’ headlamps that provide better illumination and also complement the new bumper design. The stylish new front grille with body coloured styled inserts gives Verna Transform a more aggressive look. The ‘cascade mesh’ air dam provides for a smooth yet dynamic look. New circular front fog lamps in stylish trapezoidal bezels make it much safer and easier to drive during the foggy winters. To complement the sporty looks, the Verna Transform has trendy LED Turn Indicators on Outside Rear View Mirrors that enhances visibility. A new set of rear combination lamps and dual tone chrome rear garnish along with two tone rear bumper with smartly placed reflector gives the all new Verna Transform an unmatched road presence and a distinctive sporty look. And as if all this was not enough, the exhaust tip with chrome finish adds to the overall sporty appeal.

INTERIOR- The interiors of the Verna Transform have been changed to increase user convenience and driving comfort. With a view to enhance the interior appeal, a unique blue LED illumination has been introduced that gives the cockpit a refined and premium look and also makes it more soothing for the eyes. The luxurious interiors are complemented by a new instrument cluster with silver surround dials that is neatly arranged and is capable of giving vital vehicle information at a glance.

While the interior and exterior features have been given a completely fresh look the Verna Transform retains the powerful & popular powertrain of its predecessor. The petrol variants include – 1.6 VTVT & 1.6 SX VTVT – while the diesel variants include - 1.5 CRDi VGT, 1.5 SX CRDi VGT & 1.5 SX VGT (AT). In order to appeal to a larger target group, Hyundai will be offering the customer choice of factory fitted or after market audio system on the VTVT and VGT variants.

The 1.6 litre petrol variant develops an impressive power of 103.2PS@5500 rpm and torque of 14.9kgm@3000 rpm. The 1.5 litre diesel variant develops a whopping power output of 110 PS@4000 rpm and an impressive torque of 24kgm@1900 - 2750 rpm. The top end diesel variant will be available with both - a 5-speed manual and the unique to segment 4-speed automatic transmission.

Back Again

I know, I have not been updating the blog for the past few months. I am sorry about that. Actually I was very busy with my studies and all that I didn't get a chance to write, update my blog. But, now I am back and yes, with a change too.

I thought of change the old name "TOP GEAR" with a new one "THE AUTOMOBILEZ". As such the blog address got changed from http://the-top-gear.blogspot.com to http://theautomobilez.blogspot.com . Remember its AUTOMOBILEZ, a "Z" is in there not "S" :). So, friends if you have been bookmarking the old address, then kindly replace it by the new one that is http://theautomobilez.blogspot.com or just press "Ctrl+D" to bookmark "THE AUTOMOBILEZ".

Thanks.

Have fun surfing!

Honda Siel Cars India Ltd Sales : December 2009

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) Ltd., leading manufacturer of premium cars in India, sold 4,061 units and registered growth of 10.71% increase in sales in the month of December 2009 as against 3,668 units sold during the corresponding month last year.The cumulative sales of the company during the fiscal year period April-December’ 09 was 43,626 units as against 33,700 units sold during the same period last year marking an increase of 30% in sales.

Model wise sales break-up: City: 3269; Jazz: 269; Civic: 363; Accord: 113, CR-V: 47

TVS Motor Sales : Decmeber 2009

TVS Motor Company registered significant growth of 34% in December 2009, registering total two wheeler sales of 1,19,701 units against 89,285 units in the corresponding period of the previous year. The company's cumulative growth therefore stood at 10 % with sales of 1,109,054 units in the current financial year up to December 2009 against 1,006,724 units in the same period last year. Domestic sales of the company witnessed a steady increase in sales posting 42 % growth with sales of 1,02,479 units in December 2009 as against 72,355 units in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Motorcycle sales witnessed 24% increase in sales registering 49,560 units in December 2009 when compared to 40,057 units recorded in December 2008.The company's scooter sales grew by 45 % with sales of 21,566 units when compared to 14,912 units in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Showing signs of recovery, exports recorded a marginal growth of 2% registering sales of 17,222 units of two wheelers in December 2009 as against 16,930 units in the corresponding period of the previous year.