Indigo's streak helps Tata sales

After a Rather Moderate showing in December 2010, Maruti Suzuki's sales crossed the one million mark with the Alto, as ususal, leading with 33,118 units, its highest in the current fiscal year. Cumulative sales of the cars in this fiscal are close to 250,000 units.
The Hyundai i10 had a remarkable showing with sales of 16,694 units but the star of the month across segments was the Tata Indigo which nearly doubled its December tally to over 10,000 units. Combine that with the Nano, which has shown a strong revival after the November low, and Tata Motors was able to just cross the 30,000 mark, nipping at Hyundai Motor india's heels.
The Figo's dream run continues with 8,616 units sold which brings its aggregate sales to 60,000-and-odd since its launch last March. The Micra's sales were up a bit thanks to the availability of a diesel version launched in early December. In the midsize segment, the Ventro recorded 2,308 units and along with the Polo helped VW India top the 5,000 mark in the month.


After an avalanche of booking in December, Deliveries of the Atios saloon began and 1,651 were sold. 
Mahindra's tried and tested Bolero racked up another milestone with 8,463 units. Its highest in this fiscal. In the luxury segment, Mercedes racked up 563 units in the month and Audi, which launched its flagship A8 L, sold 480 units. 

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Indigo surge helps Tata sales

After a rather moderate showing in December 2010, Maruti Suzuki sales crossed the one million mark with the Alto, as usual, leading with 33,118 units. Its highest in the current fiscal year. Cumulative sales of the car in this fiscal are close to 250,000 units.
The Hyundai i10 had a remarkable showing with sales of 16,694 units but the star of the month across Segments was the Tata Indigo which nearly doubled its December tally to over 10,000 units. Combine that with the 6,703 units of the Nano. which has shown a strong revival after the November low, and Tata Motors was able to just cross the 30,000 mark, nipping at Hyundai Motor India's heels.
The Figo's dream run continues with 8,616 units sold which brings its aggregate sales to 60,000-and-odd since its launch last March. The Micra's sales were up a bit thanks to the availability of a diesel version launched in early December, in the midsize segement, the Vento recorded 2,308 units and along with the Polo helped VW india top the 5,000 mark in the month.
After an avalanche of booking in December, deliveres of the Etios saloon began and 1,651 were sold.

Mahindra's tried and tested Bolero racked up another milestone with 8,463 units, its best figures for this year. The Scorpio also had a good month with 4,304 units. Its highest in this fiscal. In the luxury segment. Mercedes racked up 563 units in the month and Audi, which launched its flasgship A8 L, sold 480 units.

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Multijet Sales Multiply

FIAT'S 1.3 Litre Multijet dieses engine whose production began in 2003 has crossed the four million mark worldwide. The engine which evolved from Fiat's common-rail system was developed in 1997 and is being constantly refined and sold in various contries.
The 1248cc engine is available with two power choices ranging from 75bhp with a fixed geometry turbocharger and 90bhp with variable geometry turbocharger.
In 2008, Fiat began manufacturing the 1.3 litre 16v Multijet at its facility at Ranjangaon. The Multijet engine now powers the Swift, Dzire and Ritz (where its is sold as DDiS) as well as the Still, Punto, Linea and Fiat 500. Ity also does duty in the Indica Vista and Indigo Manza where It's known as the QuadraJet. Now the SX4 diesel which will have a 90bhp engine will join the family. So far, an estimated 2.1 lakh units have been installed in cars in india in 2010.
Overseas, the Multijet does duty in the Panda and Punto family. It also powers the Lancia Ypsilon, and Alfa Romeo MiTo (where it is sold as JTDm).

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Rolls Royace on a Roll

Rolls-Royace Posted record sales of 2,711 cars in 2010, and india along with some other markets in the Asia-Pacific region were the biggest contributors, The Goodwood, UK-based company found 70 customers in india, up from just 10 in 2009. Rolls has a dealership each in Mumbai and New Delhi.
Rolls-Royace's global sales in 2010 are more than double its previous best of 1,212 cars in 2008, and a 171 percent increase over 1002 cars in 2009. The company's chief Torsten Muller-Otvos says, "We begin 2011 with a sustainable business model, a flexible workforce and great confidence in the future success of our company".
The company says that demand for its latest model, the Ghost, has been exceptional. Around 80 percent of Ghost customers have never previously owned a Rolls-Royace.
While the US reminded the biggest single market for Rolls-Royace in 2010, followed by China and the UK, strong growth was also seen in markets like India, Korea, Japan and Singapore.

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Brand New THAR from CRDe

Here's a vehicle with an attitude against roads, and proudly so. Its 4 wheel drive mode, extreme approach and independent front suspension, mean that it can humble the most challenging terrain. A 2.5L CRDe engine puts quick, quiet and effecient power to the wide tyres, letting the Thar cruise where most wouldn't even dream of going. So it isn't surprising that Thar feeels offended having to put up with flat tar roads. 

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Jaguar eyes compact, cheaper segments

- New models will include small sports car, saloon
- Rear-wheel drive, new platforms


Jaguar is set ot enter the pforitable but hyper-competitive compact executive market by 2015, says its new company global brand director, Adrian Hallmark. It's likely that the new model range wil kick off with a Boxster-rivaling roadster, inevitably raising comprisons with the legendary E-Type.
According to Hallmark, Jaguar has decided that it need, initially, at least, a small sports car for reasons of "image" and a saloon for reasons of "volume".
Hallmark further added that Jaguar needed smaller models at a lower price point. "We need to play in that world", he said, referring to the BMW 3 series and Audi A4. He added that should Jaguar give the new model line the green light, the aim would be to produce "elegant Cars with great technology that will position us above the competition".
Hallmark revealed that the carmaker was "at the beginning of the development process" which means the first model in the series will probably not arrive in the showrooms until mid-2015. 
I understand that the new cars will be rear-wheel drive, using similar running gear and suspension systems to the XF and XJ and be based on a new platform.
One of the big engineering debates will be the extent to which the new platform will be built of aluminium. At this price point, its' more likely that the new compact Jaguar platform will be a mix of steel and aluminium, though it could still be bonded and riveted together like the XJ structure. The bulk of Jaguar Land Rover production is set to move to Solihull, so bosses are trying to harmonise the construction methods and technology of the Land Rover and Jaguar ranges as far as possible.

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Peugeot's Comeback

PSA Peugeot Citroen's midsize saloon for india is currently being developed at the carmaker's Vigo plant in Spain, a company spokeperson told Autocar India. Production of this car is expected to begin in 2012. The Model is reportedly codenamed 'M3-M4'.
The spokeperson added that Peugeot's priority this year is to select the location for its plant and Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are in the short list.
Starting with the midsize saloon, Peugeot says it will "Sell a complete range of build-up cars" in india. The French carmaker's decision to launch the saloon in india makes it the last of the top ten global OEMs to enter india. Peugeot's short innings here in the late 1990's was called off following labour strife.
PSA Peugeot has not revealed details of its india plant but the fact is that it will be an export hub for some ASEAN markets. The spokepersons said the indian base will contribute to PSA Peugeot Citrogen's goal of reducing its dependence on European markets.
It has set itself goal to achieve 50 percent of its global sales from outside Europe by 2015, up from 39 percent in 2010 and 32 percent in 2009.
Peugeot's india team headed by Rajest Nellore, has already started visiting dealership to get a better understanding of the business dynamics in this market.

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Fiesta to become a 'Classic'

Ford is going to rename the current Fiesta the Fiesta Classic and repsition it with possibly a lower price when the al-new Fiesta is launched. Since Ford is going to sell the old and new Fiesta simultaneously, it is keen to create a strong distinction and price gap between the two models. The older Fiesta is likely to be sold only in a base trim version while the new Fiesta will come with stronger engines and all the bells and whistles. It is likely that the Ikon will be discountinied after the new model is launched to make way for the Classic which, at a revised price tag, will take over the mantle of Ford's entry level saloon.

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