Maruti Suzuki launches ‘Ertiga'

Aiming to offer the comforts of a utility vehicle at the price of a car, Maruti Suzuki launched its brand new utility vehicle ‘Ertiga' in the city on Thursday. Priced between Rs.6.16 lakh and Rs.8.76 lakh, Ertiga comes in seven colours and has three variants each in petrol and diesel segments.

“The car has been designed for Indian conditions and is aimed at catering to the urban Indian families. It offers more flexibility and space than a sedan without being bulky and expensive like an SUV,” Managing Executive Officer - Engineering, Maruti Suzuki, I.V.Rao said during the inauguration ceremony.

“With a fuel efficiency of about 16 kmpl in petrol variants and 20.77 kmpl in diesel variants, Maruti Ertiga offers about 40 per cent more mileage than other vehicles. With lighter weight and a reasonably powerful engine, it also offers the best power to weight ratio,” he said.

Addressing the concerns of longer waiting time for Maruti cars, Mr. Rao said that the diesel engine production facilities are being ramped up to meet the demands and the waiting period will soon be eliminated.

Volkswagen to enter used car segment

Carmaker Volkswagen is planning to make a foray into used car market this year. It will start with a pilot, either in Delhi or Mumbai, and by year-end, offer the facility at 8-10 dealerships across the country. Stating this here on Tuesday, Neeraj Garg, board member, and Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, said the company wanted to launch the service in Tier-I and Tier-II cities.

“Customers do not have a disciplined used car market,” he said, adding that they looked for convenience and trust. It is to fill this gap Volkswagen had decided to get into the used car market. It would deal with any car brand. “When I sell it will be after upgrading the [used] car and with a warranty,” Mr. Garg said. Volkswagen Financial Services, set up recently to finance cars, would enhance the level of convenience for customers in this segment too, he added.

On the car financing arm, he said it was unique as, apart from the repayment component, the EMI would factor in the cost of maintenance and insurance for three years for those purchasing new Volkswagen cars. While the rate of interest would be similar to those prevailing in the industry, what would set apart the financing model would be its emphasis on offering greater convenience to customers.

Mr. Garg was briefing presspersons on the launch of IPL editions of the Polo and Vento.

KTM Duke 200 launched by Bajaj Auto at Rs 1.18 lakh

To strengthen its position in sports bike market in India, Bajaj Auto , in collaboration with Austrian manufacturer KTM, on Tuesday launched its 200cc power bike Duke 200, priced at Rs.1.17 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

"Between the Bajaj Pulsar and the KTM Duke, we intend to further strengthen our dominant position in the sports motorcycle segment in India," said Rajiv Bajaj, managing director.

He said the company will be launching at least one new KTM bike every year in the country.

Bajaj Auto has a 39% stake in the Austrian company with whom it produces two models - Duke 125 and Duke 200 - at its Chakan plant near Pune.

The bike would be retailed through 34 KTM stores which were earlier known as Bajaj Probiking showrooms.

Duke has nearly 95 local components and is powered by 200cc, liquid cooled, four-valve engine which generates peak power of 25 bhp and a maximum torque of 19 Nm.

"We will be producing 3,000 units per month at the Chakan plant. We are very optimistic about the sales prospects as we have a very attractive price," Hubert Trunkenpolz, chief sales officer, KTM Power Sports, said.

The total capacity at the plant for the two KTM bikes currently stands at 30,000 units.

Maruti Suzuki 2012 A Star hatchback launched with a price of Rs 366,000

Currently available Maruti A Star hatchback had some issues which heeded to be fixed. Agreed it offers excellent handling, is a 1 liter petrol engine but it has failed to receive any importance primarily due to its cramped interiors especially in its rear seats. Maruti A Star has failed to appeal to buyers as a family car due to its space constraints.

Now Maruti Suzuki has learnt from their previous mistakes and are offering the 2012 Maruti A Star with a number of upgrades first among which is more space in its back seats. The seats are split in two and this is what offers a comfortable ride to passengers. Besides this the new A Star also has beige upholstery and trims which make its interiors smart as well as comfortable.

Where engine updates are concerned the 2013 A Star has a 1 liter K series engine offering 67 Bhp peak power and 90 Nm torque. Transmission options would include a five speed manual and four speed automatic gearbox while air bags are an option. New alloy wheels and roof spoiler at the rear are also added to the 2013 model which Maruti Suzuki is offering in Caffeine Brown and Glistening Grey.

The company has exported over 2.81 lakh units so far to over 130 countries, primarily to the European markets such as the Netherlands, Italy, the UK, Spain and Germany. Other markets that have also contributed the car include Australia and South Africa.

Bajaj Launches Low Cost Car RE60

Bajaj in its eighty years of history has launched its first car ever today and taken on Tata Nano.

The Bajaj RE60 has high fuel-efficiency ratios, the company said.

Bajaj has been working with Nissan Motor Co and Renault SA on a project to develop what was originally planned to be an ultra low-cost minicar.

To be christened as Bajaj RE60, the four-wheeler is an epitome of not just a car-like vehicle, but even Bajaj's future range of three and four-wheeler passenger and goods transport vehicles.

With speculation rife about the fact that retaining its three-wheeler genes in the car which essentially is a three-wheeler, Bajaj has added an extra wheel to it just to give better balance, comfort and safety.

The four-wheeler, as the observers point out powered by a two or three-cylinder petrol motor with a displacement of 700-800cc at most. With power on the slower side, the vehicle may not hit more than the speed of 90 Kph. But what would give the car a definite edge over the existing players in the segment is its better fuel efficiency which is expected to be around the 30 Kilometer per liter mark.

As a complete in-house product, the Bajaj RE60 was originally conceived as the ULCC project or Ultra Low-Cost Car under a joint-venture between Renault-Nissan and Bajaj.