Best first quarter sales record by Audi India

2010 had already been a great start for Audi India and much has not changed since then. The firm recorded best ever sales of 778 cars for the first quarter of the year 2010 (January to March). As compared to last year’s first quarter, there has been a massive growth of 103 percent. The firm had sold 384 cars in the first quarter of 2009. With the countrywide sale of 220 cars, in the month of March 2010, the firm observed a growth of 36 percent as compared to the sales in March 2009 which was 162 cars.

The Indian line up for Audi car models include the Audi A4, the Audi A6, the Audi A8, the Audi Q5, the Audi Q7, the Audi TT and the super sports car Audi R8. These models are available across eight showrooms in the country including Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kochi. Showrooms are also set to be open in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai (West), Jaipur, Chennai, Ludhiana. Further developments may include Lucknow, Coimbatore and Nagpur.

Benoit Tiers, Managing Director, Audi India stated, “The first quarter of 2010 has seen record sales for Audi in India as we have continued to make steady growth toward achieving our progressive goals. True to our philosophy of ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’, in the coming months we will focus on enhancing the entire experience of owning a luxury automobile for our customers in the Indian market. This year, our customers can expect new avant-garde and sporty luxury models.”

New Skoda Superb variant launched!

The new Bharat Stage IV (BS IV) norms have come into effect from the 1st of April, 2010. Since much before this, several firms upgraded or replaced their existing models with ones that would be BS IV compliant. Some firms also decided to leave their vehicles BS III compliant, making them unavailable in BS IV cities. In order that the Skoda Superb remains BS IV compliant, the Czech firm launched a new variant of the car in place of its existing variant.

The car will now be powered by a 1.8L TSI Petrol engine mated with a manual transmission system. The car will come with a price tag of Rs. 18.28 lakh (Ex-showroom Delhi) which makes it cheaper by Rs. 1.5 lakh. The new engine is reportedly believed to return a fuel efficiency figure of about 13.14 kmpl.

Skoda Auto India Senior General Manager (Sales and Marketing) Ashutosh Dixit said, "Ever since the launch, the New Superb has won the hearts of over 3000 customers and acquired the No. 1 position in the D Segment, bagging 6 prestigious automotive awards in 2010. The addition of the 1.8 TSI manual transmission to the current range will offer a wider choice to our customers and also allow us to introduce our newest technologies into the Indian market."

Since the car boasts of a MT (manual transmission) system, it will be able to deliver complete engine performance along with an enhanced driving experience. For its range, this addition to the Skoda Superb is first of its kind. the car will be available in a varied choice of colours including Candy White, Black Magic, Diamond Silver, Rosso Brunello and Cappuccino Beige.

Maruti Suzuki hikes prices with immediate effect!

The year 2010 seems to be cutting a wide hole across the pockets of the consumers of the Automotive Industry. The cost of production has always been increasing owing to the price of raw materials and resources. But to add to the misery, the BS IV emission norms have become the new excuse for price hike. Maruti Suzuki has revised the prices of its products. the prices have gone further up now. the new prices will be applicable with immediate effect.

The price rise on various models varies from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 9,000 approximately. The A-Star and Ritz will now be costlier by Rs. 1,000. The prices of Estilo and Omni has been rised by Rs. 2,500 and Rs. 3,000 respectively. The Swift and Dzire will be costlier by Rs. 3,750 and Rs. 7,000 respectively. The SX4 will observe a price rise by a whopping Rs. 9,000. The firm has also revised the prices of its BS III products including Maruti 800, Omni (LPG) and Gypsy. The Gypsy will be costlier by Rs.10,000 while the Maruti 800 and the Omni (LPG) will observe a price hike by Rs.3,000 each. 

The car manufacturer has also confirmed the withdrawal of the introductory prices of the Eeco. Thus, the Eeco will be costlier by Rs. 10,000 approximately.

VW Polo bags the 2010 World Car of the Year award!

After the judgement of about 59 automotive journalists from all over the world, Volkswagen AG confirmed that the Polo has been declared as 2010 World Car of the Year. Professor Dr Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG stated, ‘We're honoured that the Volkswagen Polo was chosen by this distinguished group of jurors. After the triumph of the Golf last year, we are delighted to repeat this success with the new Polo. This shows that Volkswagen is on the right track and is offering arguably the best range of products in its history.’ Leaving the WCOTY Award aside, the Golf, Passat, and Polo which are included in the Volkswagen BlueMotion product brand were declared 2010 World Green Car of the Year by the World Car of The Year organization. Amongst the finalists in this award were the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius.

The car is know for its compact looks from the exterior and the spacious interiors. In India, the car is available in three variants - Petrol, Diesel and Race Variant. The Polo Petrol is powered by a 1.2 liter MPFI engine that churns out 75 horses at 5400 rpm and torque of 110 Nm at 3750 rpm. The Diesel variant comes with a 1.2 Liter CRDI Diesel Engine while the Race variant features a 1.6 Liter R4 CRDI Diesel Engine.

According to the 59 jury members, it may not always be necessary to replace the combustion engine with an electric motor and a heavy battery assembly to achieve better efficiency. The BlueMotion models boast of an engine based on the Volkswagen’s common rail diesel engines. These engines are reportedly the most efficient engines available in the market. It is believed that the Passat BlueMotion can cover a whopping distance of 1600 km on a single full tank of fuel. Thus, these engines can be a boon not only to the pockets but also to the environment and depleting fuel resources. According to Dr Winterkorn, ‘BlueMotion is one of the most successful efficiency brands worldwide. It stands for tremendous competence in efficient and economical drive trains at Volkswagen.’ 

BlueMotion: 

The BlueMotion is a tradename for certain car models from the Volkswagen stable which emphasizes on high level of fuel efficiency. The tradename was introduced earlier in 2006 on the Mk4 Polo BlueMotion.

VW launches Passat TSI and Jetta 2.0L TDI in India

Europe’s largest car manufacturer, Volkswagen recently introduced the Passat TSI and the Jetta common rail diesel engine in the Indian market. The Passat will now feature the TSI petrol engine which is believed to have the ability to deliver maximum power at the cost of minimum fuel consumption.

The ex-showroom prices (Delhi) of the Passat 1.8 L TSI and the Jetta 2.0 L diesel Comfortline will be Rs. 19.20 lakhs and Rs. 15.92 lakhs respectively. According to a press release, the TSI engines are compact and high powered which enables good fuel efficiency figures, a great driving experience and lower Co2 emissions.

Mr. Neeraj Garg, Member of Board and Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India stated, “The Passat TSI and Jetta common rail diesel engines are so well refined that not only will they provide superior driving experience but also decrease fuel consumption and lower emissions.”

The European car maker which has extended its reach across 150 countries has confirmed its plans to expand the production capacity of its Chakan manufacturing facility near Pune to 1,10,000 units in the next 3 years.

Maruti Suzuki sells more than a million units in 2009-10!

Maruti Suzuki India Limited has finally made a benchmark in Indian Automotive History by managing to sell a total of 10,18,365 vehicles in the year 2009-10. The firm is the first car company in India to sell more than a million units in a financial year. Out of the total sales in the fiscal, 8,70,790 units were sold in the domestic market which again is the highest ever sold by the car company in a fiscal year. To add to this, the company’s export sales of 1,47,575 units of the year proved to be the highest annual exports by the firm.

As compared to the sales in the last financial year which was 792,167 units, the sales of the firm have witnessed a growth of 29 per cent. The domestic sales in the A2 and the A3 segments grew by 23.8 per cent and 30.8 per cent respectively, when compared to the sales figures of the year 2008-09.

The firm’s fuel efficient and compact car christened A-Star topped the exports sales figures with the sale of 1.27 lakh units overseas. The A-Star was exported to various European markets including United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands etc. amongst the non-European markets, the car was exported to Algeria, Chile, Indonesia and neighboring countries. The car was also exported to a few new markets including South Africa, Hong Kong, Australia and Norway.

In the month of March, 2010 Maruti Suzuki managed to sell a total of 95,123 units which is a growth of 11 percent as compared the sales figures for the month, in the last year which was 85,669 units. Out of the total sales, 79,530 units were contributed by domestic sales. The firm observed the highest monthly exports figures of 15,593 units which makes the export figures of August 2009 (14,847 units) second highest.

Maruti Suzuki rolled out its millionth unit of the year 2009-10, just recently on the 23rd of March, 2010. This makes the firm one amongst the few select global auto makers who share similar sales figures. In order to reach the production capacity of 12,50,000 units a year, the firm is reportedly expanding its production facility at Manesar with an investment of Rs 1,700 Crore.

All Variants of Maruti Swift

If you would like to see all the different variants of Maruti Swift, follow this link to have a detailed look.