This has been an exciting week for us, three car launches non-stop have kept us on our toes as we work behind the scenes to entice you with the latest happenings in the automotive circus. The week kicked off with the launch of the Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG, the new compact sedan segment that will be the hot favourite amongst luxury car makers as Audi prepares to get the A3. Unfortunately, the wait for regular CLA will be wee bit longer.
The Honda Mobilio too is now available at Rs 6.49 lakhs for the base vpetrol model (without taxes). We have driven the Mobilio a while ago, we have even shared our reviews. Then, the third vehicle that came in the BMW ActiveHybrid 7— the hybrid version of the 7 Series. This week, we even get you the preview of the Renault Lodgy, which will compete with the Honda Mobilio, a seven-seater MPV from Renault. The Honda Mobilio RS is expected to be launched in September.
Honda Mobilio Launched at INR 6.49 lakh
Honda has officially launched it's seven seater Mobilio MPV at Rs 6.49 lakh for the base petrol while the diesel model starts at Rs 7.89 lakh (All Ex-Showroom, New Delhi). First showcased at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo, the vehicle lock horns with Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, Chevrolet Enjoy, Toyota Innova and Nissan Evalia. The booking of this MPV commenced nearly two weeks ago and deliveries have started today. Honda Mobilio will be available in three grades: E, S, V while the sportier looking RS will only be available in diesel as a top-end. Based on the company’s latest philosophy 'Man Maximum, Machine Minimum', Honda Mobilio focuses on sheer driving pleasure with enough space for your loved ones!
Mercedes-Benz India launches CLA 45 AMG at INR 68.50 Lakh
Another AMG is here! After introducing the GL63 AMG and ML63 AMG, Mercedes-Benz has now launched the CLA 45 AMG in India at INR 68.50 Lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi). Underpinned by the A and B-Class hatchbacks' Modular Front Architecture (MFA) platform, CLA 45 AMG is the performance-oriented version of the sub-compact sedan CLA-Class, which will be making its way to the Indian roads early next year. The car follows the CBU (Complete Built Unit) route in India and arrives as a direct import from Germany.
Honda City attracts a waiting period of six months
While Honda was busy with the launch of its MPV Mobilio, the demand of Honda City surged to a new high. As per the latest information available, Honda City now attracts a waiting period of six to eight months (depending on the variant and city). Last month, Honda retailed more than 7700 units of City which is way more than its rivals Hyundai Verna, Fiat Linea and Skoda Rapid.
In Conversation with Mr. Nagesh Basavanhalli on Fiat's Future Plans
Fiat is expanding its footprints in India and for this purpose they launched a unique initiative called ‘K2K Passion Tour’, which goes through various cities in India. Today, the tour reached Jaipur and Mr. Nagesh Basavanhalli, President and Managing Director, FIAT Chrysler Automobiles India inaugurated company’s 116th dealership in India. On this occasion, we got an opportunity to interact with Mr. Nagesh, where we discussed Fiat’s future plans with him.
Honda Mobilio RS to be available by September
Honda finally launched the Mobilio MPV on July 23 at Rs 6.49 lakh for base petrol and Rs 7.89 lakh for base diesel. With the launch of Mobilio, deliveries of standard model will commence while the Mobilio RS model will only be made available in September. Honda Mobilio RS is the sportier version of Mobilio and is priced at Rs 10.86 lakh (Ex-Showroom, Delhi). Bookings for this sportier has started while for the standard model, the pre launch booking skyrocketed to over 5000 units.
BMW launches 7 Series ActiveHybrid at INR 1.35 Crore
BMW has launched it's first hybrid model, the 7-series ActiveHybrid in India at INR 1.35 Crore (Ex-Showroom, Delhi). The flagship model will follow the CBU (Complete Built Unit), and arrive as a direct import in the country.
Nissan considering it's luxury brand Infiniti for India
Nissan will introduce it's luxury brand Infiniti in India soon, claims a recent report. Infiniti, which competes directly with Germans trio (Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW) globally, is even looking at assembling possibilities at the parent brand's Chennai facility.
Maruti Suzuki leads the best-sellers list
Yet again! Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL) continued its dominance on the Indian roads, with four out of five best-selling cars coming from its stable. As per the latest data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Maruti's Alto led the sales chart, followed by Dzire, Swift and WagonR on the second, third and fourth positions respectively. While, the fifth and sixth position was taken by Hyundai Grand i10 and Honda City sedan respectively.
2015 Porsche Cayenne revealed
After being spied for multiple times in the recent past, Porsche has finally taken the wraps off the facelifted Cayenne before its official debut at the Paris Motor Show in October. On the cards are a couple of new variants- a plug-in hybrid and a new S model with a turbo-charged V6 unit.
Volvo XC90 to have world first new safety features
The all-new Volvo XC90 – which will be revealed in August – will offer the most comprehensive and technologically sophisticated standard safety package available in the automotive industry. Volvo has always been pro-active when it comes to safety and the Swedish automaker was the first one to invent seat belts. The new technologies that the company is developing will take it a significant step closer to its vision that no one will be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car by 2020.
Fiat's ideal competition to the Fortuner, a good option for India
Fiat had announced it will introduce Jeep in the coming years, however it seems they have taken off the foot from the pedal as the company has delayed the launch of the American utility vehicle brand for India. We believe the Freemont could be a good option for the Italian car maker for India, especially considering the size of this vehicle. The Cross version of the Freemont is a cut above the rest, a model designed to meet the needs of modern families looking especially for space and practicality.
Tata to offer Zest with 6 years Warranty
Tata Motors is betting high on its upcoming compact sedan Zest. Tata Zest from the homegrown manufacturer is said to come with six year warranty. The six year warranty is actually splitted as first three year’s of company assistance added with three years of extended warranty. The company is also spending a considerable amount of money by delivering 20 i-Pads to its 200 dealership across the country.
Hyundai Eon 1.0 litre Kappa: Expert Review
Are you the types, who like a twist in the tail? Well in today’s context, this is one of those twists that will perhaps make one take notice. Yes, we are talking of Hyundai Eon which has been recently fitted with a new power plant in the form of a 1.0 litre ‘Kappa’ petrol engine alongside the existing 0.8 litre unit. Will it be able to excite the instinct for an actual buyer is something that we are precisely going to find out.
Renault Lodgy Preview
The Duster has been a runaway success for Renault India and it wants to continue with another segment-first product. The French automaker targets to have a five percent market share in India and for that it will have to introduce several new products and also have a better reach. To begin with, it has the Duster, Fluence, Koleos, Pulse and the Scala. By the start of next year, Renault will be introducing another Dacia product in India. This is the Lodgy and it is again based on the Logan platform like the Duster. We share the preview of this new MPV from the Renault stable.
Source : CarDekho
