24 new cars to choose from next year

Car buyers who had postponed their purchase till next year may have done justice to themselves and their pockets.

The industry will see as many as 24 new launches in 2008, from 14 car makers across the country, with nearly all of them being unveiled at the upcoming Auto Expo in New Delhi. New model releases from the top three manufacturers will include Tata's much awaited 'One lakh car' concept (almost production ready), new compact car Indica, mid-sized car Indigo and the Sumo multi-utility vehicle. Hyundai will launch the Santa Fe sports utility vehicle (SUV) and Maruti Suzuki is mulling the sedan version of the Swift.

Utility vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) will take the covers off its multi-utility vehicle (MUV) Ingenio which is expected to take on the successful Toyota Innova. This year's surprise performer, General Motors India will launch its premium SUV, the Captiva badged as a Chevrolet.

Captiva will be positioned against the Honda CR-V. Also making the debut will be a face lifted Tavera. The Tavera has been the largest seller for the company so far this year and a facelift will only mean better yields for the company.

Tata Motors' joint venture partner Fiat will unveil two of its globally renowned models - Grande Punto and Linea. Even as both cars will be produced locally, they are expected to carry high premium price tags.

The Grande Punto, a large hatchback, car will compete for space in the booming B+ segment, against Maruti Suzuki Swift, Hyundai Getz and the new Tata Indica. Linea, an attractive sedan with Italian flair that is built to a price, will be pegged against the Chevrolet Aveo, Ford Fiesta and Hyundai Verna models.

One of the most awaited launches for the past few years has been the small car Fabia from the Czech car maker Skoda. This model, experts believe, will bring the company respite from a relatively flat sales growth this year.

Company officials refused to talk on pricing details, but the car is expected to be priced in the range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh. The Fabia will be positioned as a premium alternative to the all-conquering Maruti Suzki Swift.

An all new Superb, the costliest car in the Skoda stable at Rs 20-22 lakh, will also see a launch by the end of the calendar year after its launch at the Geneva Motor Show in March, apart from a face lifted version of the successful Octavia sedan.

Apart from this, the budgeted luxury class of buyers, will get see the launch to the new C-Class from Mercedes Benz which was unveiled in the European markets early this year. In addition, fellow German counterparts Audi will launch the all new A4 sedan, shown first at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show.

The new A4 will eventually be assembled at Skoda's facility in India. BMW will launch the 3-Series coupe and convertible along with the M3, the 3-Series coupe based sports car. Volkswagen will introduce its second offering for the country after the launch of the Passat luxury sedan this year.

The company will launch the premium SUV, Touareg in the markets after the model is unveiled in January.