The A-star rolling out in October

Time for some garma-garam news. India's leading car company, Maruti Suzuki has just confirmed that it is set to launch the A-star in India right on scheduled – that's October '08. The Jap auto giant will start exports by January next year. The firm also announced that car will be priced between Rs 3-4 lakh.

The A-star will introduce Suzuki's revolutionary next-gen 'K-series' engine in India. The new star-car , if I may say so, is targeted to fight back Hyundai's i-10 assault as the i-10 has not only dented the Waron-R and the sad Zen Estilo, but the Kappa engine has kicked Swift sales below the belt.

Meanwhile, the parent of the Indian company, Suzuki Motor Corporation, has asked its subsidiary to boost its research and development (R&D) for small car engines, according to news reports.

Pics: Team-bhp.com

Motown's big boys visiting India

Auto-majors from around the world are waking up to realize India's importance in the automobile industry, be it in the consumer section or the low-cost of manufacturing.

Come tomorrow and the crème de la crème of the global automobile industry would be making a stop over in India.

Apparently, the top bosses of Suzuki Motors, General Motors, Fiat Spa, Continental AG and Mercedes-Benz are arriving to take part in the annual Indian auto industry meet and would also be taking some key decisions during their stay here.

Suzuki Motor chairman Osamu Suzuki will be visiting India for the next three days for Maruti's AGM. Chairman saheb will also review some the key products of his Indian subsidiary.
Maruti is gearing up to roll out the next gen K-series engines, which would be strapped on to the 'A Star'. The compact car will be produced in India for exports to Europe and is due for launch during Diwali.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is also paying us (read: India) a visit and will be here till Friday.
Marchionne will be busy at the Tata-Fiat joint venture plant at Ranjangaon holding detailed meetings with Fiat officials and suppliers to assess Fiat's journey in India so far.

General Motors' president and COO Frtiz Henderson is arriving at a time when his company has just announced $200 million investment in setting up an engine and transmission facility and is also enhancing the car manufacturing capacity.
The next generation Chevrolet Tavera might be launched in Henderson's presence.

Christoph M Eisenhardt, executive vice president of Continental GmbH, and Rainer Schmueckle, CEO of Mercedes-Benz, are also expected to stop over for some Indian curry by mid-week. And if they get the time from the hot Indian curries, they might also review their future plans with officials of their respective subsidiaries here for India.

Hyundai’s new 800cc car on its way

Hyundai Motor India is developing a small car to compete in the Maruti dominated 800cc segment. The new car is expected to hit the Indian roads in another three to four years - that’s around 2012. Hope it’ll be worth the wait.

Mr. H S Lheem, Director - Hyundai Motor India said, a model smaller than Santro is being researched and developed jointly by Indian and Korean engineer teams at Hyderabad and Namyang. The car would compete in the 800 cc segment and would be catered to the domestic and International markets.

This ain’t great new for Maruti Suzuki, as there are just two models in the popular segment and the Indian car leader offers both of ‘em. Maruti had been comfortably selling the age old 800 car and the Alto in this segment. Guess it’s time for Maruti honchos to jump out of their comfortably warm beds and rush for an urgent meeting with the marketing and design teams.

When Mr. Lheem was asked whether the 800cc car would be pitted against Maruti 800, he quipped, "the Maruti car is an old one."

The other anticipated car by Hyundai is the ‘i20’, which the company plans to unveil at the Paris Motor Show next month. The ‘i20 would be introduced in India by December.

Diesel - Hyundai i10 early 2009

In the wake of 2009 Hyundai may launch their weapon of mass destruction targeting the Maruti Suzuki Swift which is already dented by the super popular i10. The i10 loaded with a diesel engine would mean no 'Swift' sales for Maruti Suzuki.

The Korean car maker is planning to launch a 1.1 CRDI, 80 horse powered i10 early next year. If they price it sensibly and pack it with goodies like all round discs, ABS, airbags etc. this could well be the last nail for Swift.
Time can only tell and we shall continue speculating...

A-star is born!

Come September and Maruti will spice up the hatchback segment with it's much awaited A-star. The A-star better known as new-age Alto in European countries, will be unveiled at the upcoming Paris auto show this October. In India the Maruti Suzuki A-star will have to live along with the Alto and Wagon-R.

The Maruti Suzuki A-star concept was showcased earlier this year in India at the Auto Expo, though the production car will not be as futuristic in designed as the concept car. With a low slung front grill like the Audi accompanied by high bonnet line and the vertically stacked headlights make the car distinct yet its not over the top. The tall-boy design assures roomy interior and legroom.

The A-star will sport a 1 liter K-series engine which can produce 65 BHP and we can expect better fuel economy. This family car will be price around Rs 4 lakh... Beware Hyundai i10!