Car News - Latest Indian Car News & Views | CarWalehttp://www.carwale.com/news/Latest news updates on Indian car industry, expert views and interviews exclusively on CarWale.Copyright 2012 CarWaleCarWale RSS Generator8889<![CDATA[The CarWale Daily Fuel, May 3, 2012]]>http://www.carwale.com/news/8889-the-carwale-daily-fuel-may-3-2012.htmlhttp://www.carwale.com/news/8889-the-carwale-daily-fuel-may-3-2012.htmlCarWale Team5/3/2012 4:11:00 PM810http://img.carwale.com/ec/8889/img/m/8889_mhttp://img.carwale.com/ec/8889/img/m/8889_lAudi launches A4, Fiat and Tata India split up, Tata Motors to build new UK factory for F-Type, and Nissan UK to put bonkers Juke R into limited production. 

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  • Audi has launched the new A4, with a starting price of Rs 27.33 lakh, ex-showroom, Maharashtra. It will be available with three engine options, of which two are diesel.
  • Fiat and Tata have decided that it will be better to go their separate ways in India - the JV that saw Tata Motors govern the Italian company in India is no more. A new entity will be formed for the purpose. 
  • GM India's sales dipped by a fifth in the month of April - despite the presence of the diesel Beat and the newly-launched upgraded Tavera. 
  • Tata-JLR will invest in a new plant in the UK. The plant is expected to create 500 jobs, and will manufacture the upcoming F-Type.
  • Aston Martin is likely to launch an all-new model in time for the firm's 100th anniversary next year. A 6.0-litre V12 is expected to produce 550bhp and a 0-100kph time of 4 seconds dead.
  • If you're the kind that prefers virtual reality to the real thing (or just are a hardcore gamer) then this one's for you: Motion Simulation has a driving simulator that will give you a complete view of the track in your racing game. The price? A measly USD 18600. In real money, of course. 
  • We've saved the best for last today - Nissan UK is now accepting orders for the bonkers Juke R. Think Premier Rio powered by a V8 and you'll get there. Nissan will be accepting orders over the next four weeks until it starts production in earnest. Three have already been spoken for.

 

The CarWale Daily Fuel is your quick daily dose of automotive news from India and around the world. If you want to know whatever's in the news but want it short and sweet, here's your solution. 

]]>7239<![CDATA[General Motors to Launch 6 Cars in Two Years]]>http://www.carwale.com/news/7239-general-motors-to-launch-6-cars-in-two-years.htmlhttp://www.carwale.com/news/7239-general-motors-to-launch-6-cars-in-two-years.htmlCarWale Team1/13/2011 12:33:07 PM4384http://img.carwale.com/ec/7239/img/m/7239_mhttp://img.carwale.com/ec/7239/img/m/7239_lGeneral Motors India Ltd. will be introducing six new cars in the next two years in India. The company is converting their Halol facility in Gujarat to a commercial vehicle production hub from 85,000units to 1Lakh units, and are shifting all car production to Talegaon. These six new launches will come in a total of 14 fuel variants, which means that General Motors is betting big on diesel and alternate fuel for their new products. We can look forward to the Beat LPG and the  Diesel this year.

]]>General Motors India Ltd. will be introducing six new cars in the next two years in India. The company is converting their Halol facility in Gujarat to a commercial vehicle production hub from 85,000units to 1Lakh units, and are shifting all car production to Talegaon. These six new launches will come in a total of 14 fuel variants, which means that General Motors is betting big on diesel and alternate fuel for their new products. We can look forward to the Beat LPG and the  Diesel this year.

So what exactly are the new launches then? Well, there are two LCV’s (one a pickup and the second a van), a hatchback, a notchback, a small car and an SUV. Apart from the Beat LPG, the first quarter of 2011 will  see the new facelifted Chevrolet Tavera with a BS IV compliant engine from ICML. This will be a 2-litre common rail turbodiesel engine producing 120bhp.

They will also showcase an all new Chevrolet Electric mini-car in April 2011, standing firm on their commitment to have more environmentally friendly products. There’s also a fair chance that the ever-popular Chevrolet Spark may come with smaller engines making it significantly more competitive in the small car space. With effectively four passenger cars in the pipeline GM is gearing up for another successful year in the Indian car market. Stay tuned for more!

]]>7046<![CDATA[Chevrolet Spark bags J D Power Award for Quality in 2010]]>http://www.carwale.com/news/7046-chevrolet-spark-bags-j-d-power-award-for-quality-in-2010.htmlhttp://www.carwale.com/news/7046-chevrolet-spark-bags-j-d-power-award-for-quality-in-2010.htmlCarWale Team12/6/2010 3:18:28 PM3027http://img.carwale.com/ec/7046/img/m/7046_mhttp://img.carwale.com/ec/7046/img/m/7046_lChevrolet Spark won the top award for quality for the fourth consecutive year in the India Automotive Initial Quality Study announced by J.D Power Asia Pacific 2010. The Chevrolet Spark was ranked the highest in the compact car segment in this year’s study conducted by JD Power. This is for the record fourth time in a row that Spark has bagged this prestigious award. Chevrolet Beat bagged the second position in the Premium Compact Car segment and the Chevrolet Tavera was placed at second position in the Multi Utility Vehicle/Multi Purpose Vehicle segments respectively.  

]]>Chevrolet Spark won the top award for quality for the fourth consecutive year in the India Automotive Initial Quality Study announced by J.D Power Asia Pacific 2010. The Chevrolet Spark was ranked the highest in the compact car segment in this year’s study conducted by JD Power. This is for the record fourth time in a row that Spark has bagged this prestigious award. Chevrolet Beat bagged the second position in the Premium Compact Car segment and the Chevrolet Tavera was placed at second position in the Multi Utility Vehicle/Multi Purpose Vehicle segments respectively.  

Commenting on this win, Mr. P. Balendran, Vice-President, General Motors India said, "This prestigious win from J D Power, coming the fourth year in a row, clearly reiterates that Chevrolet has become the preferred automobile brand in terms of quality and customer delight. These repeat wins reinforce the strong focus we as an organization are driving towards the end to end quality  - design, parts, build, check, dispatch, sell and after sales service to offer best-in-class products that meet and exceed customer expectations. We will continue to leverage the momentum gained this far and build on the inherent strengths of our products in the future also."

]]>7013<![CDATA[General Motors Indias November 2010 Sales grow by 18 percent ]]>http://www.carwale.com/news/7013-general-motors-indias-november-2010-sales-grow-by-18-percent-at-8376-units.htmlhttp://www.carwale.com/news/7013-general-motors-indias-november-2010-sales-grow-by-18-percent-at-8376-units.htmlCarWale Team12/1/2010 6:36:33 PM2384http://img.carwale.com/ec/7013/img/m/7013_mhttp://img.carwale.com/ec/7013/img/m/7013_lGeneral Motors India registered a growth of 18% in sales in November 2010, compared to the corresponding period last year. It sold 8376 units in November 2010 against 7118 units sold in November, 2009.  The November 2010 sales comprised 2786 units of the Chevrolet Spark, 2547 units of Chevrolet Beat, 1476 units of the Chevrolet Tavera, 617 units of the Chevrolet Cruze, 297 Units of Chevrolet Aveo, 291 units of Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, 262 units of Chevrolet Optra and 100 units of the Chevrolet Captiva.  

]]>General Motors India registered a growth of 18% in sales in November 2010, compared to the corresponding period last year. It sold 8376 units in November 2010 against 7118 units sold in November, 2009.  The November 2010 sales comprised 2786 units of the Chevrolet Spark, 2547 units of Chevrolet Beat, 1476 units of the Chevrolet Tavera, 617 units of the Chevrolet Cruze, 297 Units of Chevrolet Aveo, 291 units of Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, 262 units of Chevrolet Optra and 100 units of the Chevrolet Captiva.  

The increase in the sales was primarily driven by the response to Chevrolet Cruze, Beat and Spark. Chevrolet Cruze and Beat have become the industry benchmarks in their respective segments and a winner among consumers in India, with their best-in-class design, performance and other product attributes. Commenting on the performance, Mr. P. Balendran, Vice President, GM India said, "We are excited by the continued overwhelming response to Chevrolet Cruze, Beat and Spark.  Introduction of best-in-segment cars from the 300 series, increase in customer outreach through distribution network, our unique value proposition like Chevrolet Cashless Ownership offer and our promise to deliver quality and performance are the factors that have led to the impressive sales."

]]>6913<![CDATA[General Motors plans to launch Chevrolet Beat LPG in January 2011]]>http://www.carwale.com/news/6913-general-motors-plans-to-launch-chevrolet-beat-lpg-in-january-2011.htmlhttp://www.carwale.com/news/6913-general-motors-plans-to-launch-chevrolet-beat-lpg-in-january-2011.htmlCarWale Team11/22/2010 7:47:46 PM3656http://img.carwale.com/ec/6913/img/m/6913_mhttp://img.carwale.com/ec/6913/img/m/6913_lIn a conversation last week with Mr. Karl Slym (President and Managing Director) & Mr. P. Balendran (Vice President) of General Motors India Ltd., we have learnt that General Motors will launch the much awaited Beat LPG in January 2011. The production lines are all geared up to produce this rather awaited small dual-fuel car and consumers who are keen on a Chevrolet small car but are keeping a close eye on running costs, can choose between the smaller Spark LPG or the newer and trendier Beat LPG. Chevrolet has really turned things around for the better with their 3 Year Chevrolet Promise which offers zero-headache maintenance for the Chevrolet small car range.

]]>In a conversation last week with Mr. Karl Slym (President and Managing Director) & Mr. P. Balendran (Vice President) of General Motors India Ltd., we have learnt that General Motors will launch the much awaited Beat LPG in January 2011. The production lines are all geared up to produce this rather awaited small dual-fuel car and consumers who are keen on a Chevrolet small car but are keeping a close eye on running costs, can choose between the smaller Spark LPG or the newer and trendier Beat LPG. Chevrolet has really turned things around for the better with their 3 Year Chevrolet Promise which offers zero-headache maintenance for the Chevrolet small car range.


In the meanwhile, their newly inaugurated Talegaon Flexi-Line powertrain plant will first start manufacturing petrol engines followed by the small diesel engine which is the one that will power the Beat. The diesel Beat is all set to be powered by a One Litre, 3-Cylinder common-rail turbocharged engine from the Fiat-GM uniJet (JTD) engine range, albeit minus a cylinder and we reckon the engine will produce about 65bhp. The beauty of the newly opened flexi-engine line is that General Motors can produce a mix-and-match of whatever type of engine they want in the numbers they’d like. At the moment they will be producing 1.6Lakh engines but have an additional capacity of 1.4Lakh engines, should they need to ramp up the production.

Currently the Talegaon car plant has a production capacity of 1.4Lakh units and additional 1.6Lakh units as expansion should they need it, so the engine plant and the car plant are perfectly complemented with a total of 3Lakh units per annum each, post expansion. General Motors India Ltd. also plan to use this new engine facility as their export base for the small new diesel engine since this is the only facility in the world which will manufacture this particular variant of the JTD engine.

With General Motors India Ltd. rapidly expanding with six new launches in the next two years, they are converting their Halol facility in Gujarat to a commercial vehicle production hub from 85,000units to 1Lakh units, and are shifting all car production to Talegaon. These six new launches will come in a total of 14 fuel variants, which means that General Motors is betting big on diesel and alternate fuel for their new products. Their investment in bio-diesel (Jathropa) research and testing will prove quite useful. With their new dealership and service outlet expansion (read recent report) General Motors India sure looks like it’s on the right track with GM almost tripling their network from 80 to close to 240.

So what exactly are the new launches then? Well, there are two LCV’s (one a pickup and the second a van), a hatchback, a notchback, a small car and an SUV. (Read earlier post). While we had all hoped for the all-new Aveo just launched at the Paris Motorshow, it’s not going to make it here just yet. And neither is Cadillac! General Motors India Ltd. believes that a 90% localization of parts is critical to its success in such a growing and fiercely competitive market, which is why they are stating a 24month timeframe to launch all these new models. The first quarter of 2011 will also see the new facelifted Chevrolet Tavera with a BS IV compliant engine from ICML. This will be a 2Litre common rail turbodiesel engine producing 120bhp. They will also showcase an all new Chevrolet Electric mini-car in April 2011, standing firm on their commitment to have more environmentally friendly products. There’s also a fair chance that the ever-popular Chevrolet Spark may come with smaller engines making it significantly more competitive in the small car space. Stay tuned for more.

]]>6847<![CDATA[General Motors Indias October 2010 Sales grow by 36 percent]]>http://www.carwale.com/news/6847-general-motors-indias-october-2010-sales-grow-by-36-percent.htmlhttp://www.carwale.com/news/6847-general-motors-indias-october-2010-sales-grow-by-36-percent.htmlCarWale Team11/1/2010 5:20:17 PM2569http://img.carwale.com/ec/6847/img/m/6847_mhttp://img.carwale.com/ec/6847/img/m/6847_lGeneral Motors India has registered a growth of 36% in sales in October 2010, compared to the corresponding period last year. It sold 10051 units in October 2010 against 7413 units in October 2009. The October 2010 sales comprised 3251 units of the Chevrolet Spark, 3021 units of Chevrolet Beat, 1594 units of the Chevrolet Tavera, 957 units of the Chevrolet Cruze, 405 Units of Chevrolet Aveo, 328 units of Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, 333 units of Chevrolet Optra and 162 units of the Chevrolet Captiva.

]]>General Motors India has registered a growth of 36% in sales in October 2010, compared to the corresponding period last year. It sold 10051 units in October 2010 against 7413 units in October 2009. The October 2010 sales comprised 3251 units of the Chevrolet Spark, 3021 units of Chevrolet Beat, 1594 units of the Chevrolet Tavera, 957 units of the Chevrolet Cruze, 405 Units of Chevrolet Aveo, 328 units of Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, 333 units of Chevrolet Optra and 162 units of the Chevrolet Captiva.

The increase in the sales was primarily driven by the response to Chevrolet Cruze, Beat and Spark. Commenting on the performance, Mr. P. Balendran, Vice President, GM India said, "We are excited by the continued overwhelming response to Chevrolet Cruze, Beat and Spark.  Introduction of best-in-segment cars from the 300 series, increase in customer outreach through distribution network, our unique value proposition like Chevrolet Cashless Ownership offer and our promise to deliver quality and performance are the factors that have led to the impressive sales."

]]>6640<![CDATA[General Motors India September Sales grow by 13 percent]]>http://www.carwale.com/news/6640-general-motors-india-september-sales-grow-by-13-percent.htmlhttp://www.carwale.com/news/6640-general-motors-india-september-sales-grow-by-13-percent.htmlCarWale Team10/1/2010 3:43:48 PM2010http://img.carwale.com/ec/6640/img/m/6640_mhttp://img.carwale.com/ec/6640/img/m/6640_lGeneral Motors India has registered an impressive growth of 13% in sales in September 2010, compared to the corresponding period last year. It sold 8617 units in September 2010 against 7654 units in September 2009. The September 2010 sales comprised 2753 units of Chevrolet Beat, 2424 units of the Chevrolet Spark, 1578 units of the Chevrolet Tavera, 847 units of the Chevrolet Cruze, 325 Units of Chevrolet Aveo, 287 units of Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, 236 units of Chevrolet Optra and 167 units of the Chevrolet Captiva.

]]>General Motors India has registered an impressive growth of 13% in sales in September 2010, compared to the corresponding period last year. It sold 8617 units in September 2010 against 7654 units in September 2009. The September 2010 sales comprised 2753 units of Chevrolet Beat, 2424 units of the Chevrolet Spark, 1578 units of the Chevrolet Tavera, 847 units of the Chevrolet Cruze, 325 Units of Chevrolet Aveo, 287 units of Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, 236 units of Chevrolet Optra and 167 units of the Chevrolet Captiva.

The increase in the sales was primarily driven by the response to Chevrolet Beat, Cruze and Spark. Chevrolet Spark continues to register impressive sales, clearly validating it as the one of the most sought after car in its segment in terms of styling, performance and fuel efficiency offering a value for money proposition. Other car lines have also registered impressive growth during the month.

Commenting on the performance, Mr. P. Balendran, Vice President, GM India said, “We are excited by the continued overwhelming response to Chevrolet Beat, Spark and Cruze. Introduction of best-in-segment cars from the 300 series, increase in customer outreach through distribution network, our unique value proposition like Chevrolet Cashless Ownership offer and our promise to deliver quality and performance are the factors that have led to the impressive sales.”

]]>6192<![CDATA[General Motors India's July 2010 Sales Grow by 45%]]>http://www.carwale.com/news/6192-general-motors-indias-july-2010-sales-grow-by-45.htmlhttp://www.carwale.com/news/6192-general-motors-indias-july-2010-sales-grow-by-45.htmlCarWale Team8/2/2010 1:27:37 PM2626http://img.carwale.com/ec/6192/img/m/6192_mhttp://img.carwale.com/ec/6192/img/m/6192_lGeneral Motors India registered a sales growth of 45% in July 2010, compared to the corresponding period last year. The July 2010 sales comprised 2244 units of the Chevrolet Spark, 1722 units of Chevrolet Beat, 1546 units of the Chevrolet Tavera, 639 units of the Chevrolet Cruze, 375 Units of Chevrolet Aveo, 240 units of Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, 225 units of the Chevrolet Captiva and 133 units of Chevrolet Optra.

]]>General Motors India registered a sales growth of 45% in July 2010, compared to the corresponding period last year. The July 2010 sales comprised 2244 units of the Chevrolet Spark, 1722 units of Chevrolet Beat, 1546 units of the Chevrolet Tavera, 639 units of the Chevrolet Cruze, 375 Units of Chevrolet Aveo, 240 units of Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, 225 units of the Chevrolet Captiva and 133 units of Chevrolet Optra.

The increase in the sales was primarily driven by the response to Chevrolet Beat, Cruze and Spark. Commenting on the performance, Mr. P. Balendran, Vice President, GM India said, "There were some delivery constraints for certain models in July due to annual maintenance shutdown of the plant. With the operation back to normal, we should be able to clear the backlog this month."

Having sold 3,00,000 cars in the country already, Chevrolet will look forward to another successful year in India.

]]>3619<![CDATA[Chevrolet Spark Bags the Top J D Power Awards for Quality in 2009 ]]>http://www.carwale.com/news/3619-chevrolet-spark-bags-the-top-j-d-power-awards-for-quality-in-2009.htmlhttp://www.carwale.com/news/3619-chevrolet-spark-bags-the-top-j-d-power-awards-for-quality-in-2009.htmlCarWale Team11/27/2009 3:20:23 PM4305http://img.carwale.com/ec/3619/img/m/3619_mhttp://img.carwale.com/ec/3619/img/m/3619_lThe Chevrolet Spark has won the top award for quality for the third consecutive year in the India Automotive Initial Quality Study announced by J.D Power Asia Pacific 2009.  This is the third year in a row that the Spark has bagged this prestigious award. The Chevrolet Tavera has bagged the second position in the MUV / MPV category while the Aveo U-VA was ranked third  in the Premium Compact Segment in the face of equally stiff competition.

]]>The Chevrolet Spark has won the top award for quality for the third consecutive year in the India Automotive Initial Quality Study announced by J.D Power Asia Pacific 2009.  This is the third year in a row that the Spark has bagged this prestigious award. The Chevrolet Tavera has bagged the second position in the MUV / MPV category while the Aveo U-VA was ranked third  in the Premium Compact Segment in the face of equally stiff competition.

Commenting on the multiple wins for Chevrolet, Mr. P. Balendran, Vice President, GM India said, “We will continue to leverage the momentum gained this far and build on the inherent strengths of our products in the future also.”

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