Mercedes-Benz to hire 250 engineers for Bangalore R&D centre

German auto major Daimler Group firm Mercedes-Benz said it will hire about 250 engineers for its research and development centre in Bangalore during this year to support its global facility.

"We have a R&D centre in Bangalore, which is working in association with our global development centre in Germany… We will enhance the strength [...]

All new Hyundai i20 : New variants, Features and Price

Facing fierce competition from new entrants, like Volkswagen Polo, GM Beat, Ford Figo and others in the compact car segment, strong player Hyundai has been forced to release a low-cost model in this segment. … All new i20 has been launched with many smart features: *six-speed manual transmission gears.. additional sixth gear to facilitate smooth and fuel efficient driving more fuel efficient diesel engine : sixth gear will enable low rpm operation of the engine, and hence more fuel-efficient This will lead to a lower NVH (Noise, Vibration & Harshness)..

Ford Figo – The ‘cool’ car : Price, Review & Test drive

We had written here when Ford unveiled its ‘cool’ compact car for India, Figo. This has now been launched and is available for the Indian car buyers. It is built on the same platform as Fiesta, and has been built specifically to fulfill the needs of small car buyers in India. Ford wants to make [...]

Chevrolet Beat – GM follows suit with Ford, Volkswagen, Nissan – Launches new small car model in India

Recently we saw new hatchback segment cars launched by Volkswagen, Nissan and Ford.General Motors, world’s largest auto manufacturer, has launched the much awaited small car model Chevrolet Beat in Indian auto market to make its stand more strong in the small car segment. Indian automobile market is dominated by the small cars as more than 70% of car buyers fall in this segment. SUVs are only less sold and already dominated by Toyoto and Honda.The company launched Chevrolet Beat in both petrol and diesel trims and they also plans to set all variants of Chevrolet Beat price in the range of Rs 3.5 to 5 lacs to make its prices highly competitive. Chevrolet Beat will be build on General Motor’s all new M300 platform and it will be sharp on styling for both interior and exteriors…. They plans to set Chevrolet Beat price to compete with the other premium hatchback cars in its segment like Nissan “Micra”, Maruti “Swift”, Hyundai i10, i20, Maruti Ritz, Fiat Punto, the latest Volkswagen Polo.

Ford Figo, Nissan Micra, Volkswagen Polo – Stiff competition ahead in small car segments

With economy coming up again, the spending power has again increased and the first sector to show signs of great recovery is Automobiles. December month sales figures for many Autos were significantly higher than the previous months and companies have geared up with new models and releases to make good use of the feel good factor in the market.The small car segments is heading for stiff competition due to new models planned by Ford, Nissan and Volkswagen. The models include “Figo” from US auto major Ford Motor Company, the “Micra” from Nissan-Renault and the much awaited ‘Polo’ from Volkswagen…. The company currently has a manufacturing facility at Sriperumbudur near here, which produces models for the domestic market and some for the International market.Japanese auto-major Nissan’s proposed small car, “Micra” in collaboration with Renault of France. The two are jointly setting up its Rs 4,500 crore facility at Oragadam near here, with a capacity to manufacture four lakh units annually.

Ford expansion in Chennai at $500 million – hiring 1000 more people

Ford india has a manufacturing facility at Maraimalai Nagar in Chennai (suburb)…. Recently, the company launched Ford Figo cars – an India Engineered car and announced it would be manufactured from the Chennai unit. In line with the news, Ford entered an agreement with TamilNadu government few days back for expanding its current manufacturing unit.Ford is infusing $500 Million for this expansion and it is planning to hire more than 1000 people. The plan is to help engineer and manufacture the all new Ford Figo in the first quarter of 2010. Seems Ford India unit is going to play a strong role in the future of Ford Motor Company.

Ford Figo : One more small car to choose from

Ford unveiled its small car for India this week, called the Figo, which means “cool” in Italian. Ford plans to launch it in first quarter of 2010. The Ford Figo has a new contemporary shape & large side windows, that makes it distinctly different from other brands in this segment. It will be powered by a [...]

Maruti Suzuki SX4 to be revamped

Maruti Suzuki SX4 is scheduled to undergo a revamp. SX4 currently is not in complaince of Bharat Stage-IV emission norms. Hence, the company has decided to halt its production. SX4 will be available again in 6-8 weeks with a compliant engine and a change in model. Reports also say that the new SX4 will have a 1.6-litre engine [...]

Maruti Suzuki to design and develop a car on its own – 100% Made In India Car

Maruti Suziki, the largest car maker in India has manufacturing houses at Gurgaon and Manesar and builds more than 1 million units per year. Apart from these production houses, as part of the plan recently announced, the company is going to invest around 1000 crores for these R&D facilities in Haryana. The land allotment agreement recently got singed.

This unit at Haryana will house a R&D centre for passenger cars including India’s first state-of-the-art test track with a proving ground, wind tunnel, crash facility etc. While the development of the allotted land and construction of the test tracks will be completed during the first phase by 2012, the overall R&D facilities will be progressively completed by 2015…