The 250,000th Cayenne To Roll Off The Line Is A Fuel-Efficient Diesel Vehicle

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, has today produced the 250,000th Cayenne at its Leipzig plant. The milestone vehicle is a white, 6-cylinder model with a diesel engine that will be delivered to a customer in Austria. The Cayenne, an sporty SUV, has been produced in Leipzig since 2002. “The introduction of the Cayenne as the third model in the series was an important strategic step for Porsche. The five-seater is not only a great addition to the range for our many long-term Porsche customers, but it also opens up to us an entirely new customer segment on international markets,” explains Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking, Chairman of the Board of Porsche AG. Thanks to its typical Porsche genes, the easy-to-handle Cayenne uniquely combines sportiness with robustness and absolute off-road capability.



Porsche has sold 150,000 vehicles worldwide from its first generation. Since the market launch of the second generation in February 2007, Porsche has been able to increase sales even further thanks to the vehicle's fuel efficiency, higher drive performance, and improved drive-handling. For this reason the sports car manufacturer has also continued to expand production at the Leipzig location. In the 2007/08 fiscal year just expired Porsche was able to sell 45,478 units of the Cayenne series. Important Cayenne sales markets are, apart from Germany and the USA, the future markets of China, Russia, Latin America as well as the Middle East.



Today the Cayenne series is available in seven different models: The entry-level model comes with a 3.6-liter, six-cylinder engine with 290 HP (213 kW). The diesel model, which Porsche will unveil for the first time between March 5 - 15, 2009 at the Geneva International Motor Show (Automobilesalon), has a three-liter cubic capacity engine with 240 HP (176 kW) and has a fuel consumption of, on average, only 9.3 liters per 100 kilometers [25 mpg]. The more powerful S version is driven by an 8-cylinder engine with 4.8 liters cubic capacity with 385 HP (283 kW) while the Cayenne Turbo achieves a 500 HP (368 kW) performance. The leading model of this product line, the Cayenne Turbo S has a twin turbocharger with a 550 HP (404 kW) engine. The particularly athletic GTS model offers, in addition to its 405 HP (298 kW) powered 4.8-liter engine, a specially developed sports suspension and an accentuated dynamic design. The seventh model is the Cayenne S Transsyberia for on-road and off-road driving. The road version of the robust Cayenne Transsyberia rally car is based on the Cayenne S, however with the increased improved-performance engine model from the Cayenne GTS.

The most recent survey results from US market research institute J.D. Power rate the Cayenne for its excellent manufacturing quality and high reliability. Last year the renowned company surveyed 81,500 new car buyers in the USA on their satisfaction with the vehicle. The result: Porsche achieved the best ratings. The Cayenne customers surveyed were impressed by all aspects of their athletic SUV. This also applies to owners of older models: In used car analyses trade magazines confirm the Cayenne's “fantastically low defect rates.” Even with high kilometer readings and engine stress, there were practically no engine and transmission damages, axle problems or worn-out steering. The early Cayenne vehicles from 2002/2003 have already covered distances of more than 300,000 kilometers, often on dirt roads and uneven terrain.

The Love Bug Bites

Will the Volkswagen Beetle frighten customers with its Rs 22 lakh price tag?

IN 1931, when Adolf Hitler asked Ferdinand Porsche to develop a volks-wagen (people’s car), he had in mind a small car that could transport a family, at a price then commanded by a motorcycle. Sound familiar? The only resemblance between Ratan Tata’s dream car, the Nano, and the iconic Beetle that Porsche produced, is that they are both small cars.



Come October, Indians will have a chance to experience the Beetle, but as a completely built unit (CBU) imported from Volkswagen’s factory in Mexico. The car is to be introduced only in the TDI 1.9-litre diesel variant and will come equipped with a host of added features like cruise control, acoustic rear parking sensors and rain sensors. Volkswagen will also make state-of-the-art safety additions like airbags, traction control and an antiskid system. Unlike its European counterpart, the Beetle variant for Indian roads will come with a front engine, and be capable of achieving speeds of 180 km per hour. Although no one is commenting on the colours, historically the Beetle has been available in bright shades of red, yellow, blue and sparkling white.

However, as an imported CBU, the price is hardly likely to be that of a people’s car — don’t expect it to provide the Nano with any serious competition. The new Beetle is priced at just over Rs 9 lakh in the US; but with custom duties, freight and other charges, the price tag could virtually double in India. The other Volkswagen CBU in the market, the Touareg which was launched last year, is more than double its Rs 20 lakh US market tag. “We haven’t had any official announcements yet, but it should be tagged in the higher price bracket of luxury or lifestyle cars. There are a lot of different buyers in the market and I am sure many would think it worth investing in such a globally acclaimed car,” commented SK Gautam, Vice President, Operations, DD Auto World, a Volkswagen dealer in Delhi.



Volkwagen’s first car in India was the Passat, launched in 2006 and priced at just over Rs 20 lakh. The Jetta came in the next year, the price of which ranges between Rs 12 and Rs 16 lakh. Although sales of Volkwagen cars have not been revving up globally, in India the company reported a 69 percent increase in sales in 2008, reportedly from growth in sales of its two subsidiary companies Skoda and Audi.

Volkswagen doesn’t seem to be concerned by the downturn in the automobile industry. Ludwig Geerken, the project director for Volkswagen India, has already announced that Volkswagen’s investment decisions for India will not be altered.

This includes an investment of over Rs 3,000 crore for a new plant in Pune and an automobile research centre to improve quality of upcoming products. Volkswagen is also set to introduce the Polo hatchback in India by next year. “I don’t foresee any problems in making new investments and launching a new car at the end of this year,” says a confident Gautam.

But with car sales down by 7.5 percent in January this year, and the only excitement likely to be the upcoming Nano launch, the Beetle is unlikely to take a major bite out of the Indian market.

Hyundai i10 Achieves New Milestone, Records Fastest 3 Lakh Sale

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. India’s second largest passenger car manufacturer and the largest exporter today achieved yet another key milestone in its decade old journey in India by clocking the fastest three lakh i10 sales since its launch on 31st October, 2007.



Of the three lakh i10 cars sold, over 1.44 lakh cars have been sold in the domestic market and around 1.56 lakh units were exported to over 100 countries across Latin America, European Union, Middle East and South East Asia. Hyundai i10 has achieved the fastest 3 lakh sales in a very short span of time which is the fastest amongst its competitors. The ‘Made in India’ car from Hyundai’s stable went global in December, 2007 when it was unveiled at the Bologna Motor Show, Italy and since then its total export orders have reached a remarkable 150,000 plus units in just over15 months.

Speaking on this momentous occasion Arvind Saxena, Sr VP, Marketing & Sales, HMIL said “Hyundai Motor India Ltd has constantly focused on providing the best for its customers be it design, technology or the best value for money proposition. And the resounding success of the i10 just proves that our customers value these parameters as well and have reinforced our belief that, if we provide the best, we will always be on the fore front be it the domestic or the overseas market. The i10 which meets the stringent safety and emission norms even in the European market has become an undoubted segment leader in both the domestic and overseas market and I sincerely thank our customers in India and in over 100 countries across the world for choosing to drive Hyundai i10.”

The customers and the automotive media were both equally impressed by the i10 when it was launched and the media which backed its belief by conferring upon the i10 all the ‘Car of the Year 2008’ awards making it the first car to win all the Car of the Year awards including the coveted ‘Indian Car of the Year’ (ICOTY) from a jury comprising of the most respected automotive journalist in India – the i10 truly has become a global car.

Bajaj low cost US$ 2500 small car delayed

Bajaj says that its low cost US$ 2500 small car project has been delayed by around 5-6 months. This means that the car may not be able to see the light in 2011 as was being expected.

The car had given hope that the race for cheap car would not remain confined to Tata’s Nano car that is slated to be launched in April. Nano too has been delayed by several months.

Tata Motors had announced to launch its lakhtakiya (RS 1 lakh) car last October. But so far the company has not been able to launch the car.

Bajaj Auto in association with Renault SA, Nissan Motor Co. had said in January last month that they were going to throw competition to Ratan Tata’s pet project Nano. The two companies had said that that they would collaborate to produce a small car that would cost around $2,500 (Rs1 lakh at that time’s exchange rate), making it the second car in the world and in India with ambitions to be the cheapest four-wheeler on the road.

It was said at that time that the three firms will set up a joint venture company in which India’s No. 2 motorbike maker, Bajaj, will hold the single largest majority with half the ownership, while partners Nissan and Renault will hold a quarter each. On sale from 2011, the cars—some 400,000 of them each year—will be produced in Maharashtra, at Chakan, near the existing manufacturing facilities of both Bajaj and Renault.

But now Rajiv Bajaj says: "The project remains largely on schedule, though in the course of development some specifications have been reviewed, leading to adjustments in the overall schedule." It had been reported in a section of the media that the ultra low-cost (ULC) project would be delayed by more than a year as Rajiv Bajaj was not happy with the work done so far, and he demanded major modification in the design.

Rajiv Bajaj went on to add “Bajaj has primary responsibility for the design, development, manufacturing, and supply chain activities of this project. Bajaj is proceeding as before to implement this project and any financial or other constraints that Renault-Nissan may have, have no bearing on the ability of Bajaj to implement this project".

Luxury carmakers BMW and Mercedes slug it out in India

In recessionary times, the Indian luxury car market is seeing a battle of sorts between two of the biggest global brands i.e. Mercedes Benz and BMW. In January, BMW managed to beat Mercedes Benz in sales for the first time in the history of Mercedes in India. However, in February, Mercedes managed to regain the top slot in February.

The battle so far

Mercedes Benz sold a little over 250 cars compared to BMW’s 244 cars in February.In January, Mercedes Benz sold 132 cars compared to BMWs 272.

So cumulatively, for the months of January and February, BMW is still leading the pack by a margin of 132 cars.



Going ahead

Analysts say that ahead it is going to a much tougher battle because BMW will try its best to keep the lead, as far as a cumulative sale is concerned. During the second half of this year, BMW will launch all new models in a new segment.

Peter Kronschnabl, President, BMW India, says, "We believe this year you will see a maximum growth of 10-20% and this is only in the second half. The first half will be very challenging for all manufacturers and then hopefully, things will smoothen out."

Geneva fever

THE car industry might be in the middle of its worst recession ever, but you would never have guessed it as Geneva was bursting with new motors.

More than 85 new models made their debut and they were the best reasons for governments around the world to back the motor industry.



The threat of redundancies and the feeling car firms were tightening their belts was always lying just under the surface of every new model’s launch.

But for at least a day I would prefer to celebrate some cracking new cars of all prices and styles.

Starting with the world’s cheapest four-seat car, the dinky Tata Nano is about to go on sale in India for 100,000 rupees (less than £2,000). It will go on sale in the UK and Europe in 2010.

Tata boss Ratan Tata, who also owns Jaguar/Land Rover, had good news for his British luxury car firm when he revealed that Jaguar would be adding a two-seat sports car to their range. But the most important new family car was the Ford Iosis Max concept.



It gives a very strong indication, particularly from the front, of how the next generation Focus — the UK’s best-selling car — will look but without the sliding doors.

Elements of the Iosis Max design will also be found in the next version of the Focus C-Max people carrier when both new models arrive in late 2010.


Volkswagen unveiled arguably their most crucial model with the stylish new Polo, It goes on sale here this autumn.

It has definite shades of the new Golf and the Scirocco coupé from the front. It is a guaranteed sales hit with prices expected to start around £8,000.



Renault unveiled four new models, including the new Scenic, Megane estate and a face-lifted Clio.

But the car that really caught the eye was the racy RS high-performance version of the Megane coupé. The RS badge clearly throws down the gauntlet to the latest Focus RS.

Although the Renault is slightly less powerful at 250bhp, it will still be more than fast enough to lose you your licence and will undercut the Ford’s £25,000 price tag by a couple of grand.



French rivals Citroen and Peugeot also had plenty to shout about.

We’ve already reviewed the Citroen DS Inside, but this French rival to the Mini gets better every time I see it. It goes on sale next year. The Peugeot 3008 is more practical than pretty, a very versatile five-seat family car.

It’s another example of just how much the French makers are raising their game when it comes to interior quality. On sale later this year.

I still can’t quite believe that Skoda are bringing out a car called the Yeti.



But ignore the name and you find another sound motor from the Czech firm that is like a rugged people carrier. On sale this summer, expect prices to start from £12,000.

Fiat are looking to maximise the boom that the 500 supermini has given to the brand with a cabriolet version just in time for summer.

It gets a sliding fabric hood and is set to be the newest fashion statement for the ladies.

The big message from Geneva was that the motor industry may be like a boxer up against the ropes taking a lot of punishment.

But it showed it is in great condition and more than capable of going the distance of the recession.

Toyota launches CNG version of Innova in India

Toyota Kirloskar Motor finally launched CNG version of Innova in India, its multi purpose vehicle that has become ubiquitous on Indian roads. Besides personal use a large number of agencies providing taxi services have included it in their fleet.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor before launching the CNG variant tested various types of CNG kits on Innova at its Bangalore based facility. The new kits for CNG are being supplied by Minda Auto Gas, which is also the original equipment supplier to Hyundai for its flagship car Santro and Maruti Suzuki for its LPG based WagonR Duo.

It is said that Toyota is looking at the CNG option to tap the vast commercial segment of tour operators and fleet owners. Innova is the market leader in this segment.

Toyota is banking on the high-demand of CNG vehicles, which deliver high mileage and offer low cost of operation. Already a large number of CNG and LPG cars are available in the market including General Motors Optra, Hindustan Motors Lancer, and popular compact cars like the Santro and the WagonR Duo.

The Innova, launched in India in 2005, created a different experience for customers with its exterior and interior features that redefined the automobile segment in the country. Since then, the Innova has cut a niche for itself by offering the luxury of a sedan with the performance of an MPV.

The Innova has continued its market leadership in 2008 with a 36% market share in the MPV segment. The Innova is a result of the unique IMV project from Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) that has broken new grounds in the way automobiles are created.

BMW zips past Mercedes in India's luxury car market

For the first time ever, luxury marque Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, better known as BMW, has overtaken arch rival Mercedes Benz in terms of sales in India, taking the fight for supremacy in the luxury car segment to a new level.

BMW sold 270 cars and sports utility vehicles (SUV) or three times the total number of cars sold by Mercedes Benz, which stood at 89 units in January. Officials from both the companies say that 2009 will be the year, which would clearly define whether the generational domination of the three pointed star will be lost to BMW.

While announcing the launch of the X6 model (a luxury SUV) Peter Kronschnabl, president, BMW India said, "We were able to take the lead in January thanks to the success of the 3 and 5-Series. Around April we will get a clearer picture of market demand and will be in a better position to predict on following months."

Although sales in 2008 at 2,908 units was the best for BMW so far in India, it was still 24.5 per cent short of Mercedes tally of 3,621 units.

However, in the current financial year BMW has sold 994 units of the 5 and 6 Series sedans as compared to 490 units sold during the same period the previous year. Both models are in the range of Rs 40 lakh to Rs 85.5 lakh.

Meanwhile, Mercedes saw a rise of only 9 per cent in sales of the E Class at 883 units as against 810 units in the same period.

"Our customers are not that different from our competitors but the key to our success lies in the fact that we have been able to create the environment at our dealerships, service points, buying experience, which is on par with our global standards. Most of our 3-Series customers are young professional", added Kronschnabl.

The company launched three models in one month (January) including the new 7-Series, new 3-Series and the diesel variant of X3. The new luxury SUV X6, launched today is priced at Rs 65.9 lakh for the diesel variant and Rs 82.9 lakh for the petrol model.

According to industry experts the market for luxury cars expanded at a much faster rate than anticipated in 2008, however due to the on-going economic crisis the growth will be subdued this year.

Despite this luxury car makers are confident that the market will grow to 9,500 units by the end of next year from 7,500 units sold last year.

Sales for BMW began to show an upsurge ever since the company started local assembly of the 3-Series and 5-Series sedan in the Chennai plant from March 2007, thus making it substantially cheaper than their imported counterparts.

Mercedes Benz, meanwhile has decided to postpone the launch of the all-new E Class due to some technical glitches. Sources say that the launch is hampered due a delay in converting the model into a right-hand drive vehicle for markets like India.

BMW however, will go ahead with one more launch, which company officials say will not be a sedan, perhaps by the middle of this year.

Both companies have made special arrangements for financing their cars through tie-ups with banks and also through in-house financing arms. Although BMW has withdrawn the zero per cent interest rate offer, officials say that the company is working on different concepts along with the dealers.

Honda Jazz launch ontrack, Accord 3.5 V6 slated for next month roll out

Honda Motors India has reaffirmed its commitment to launch its latest small car Jazz in June as per prior schedule, even though it will go slow on its production. The Jazz is powered by a specially developed 1.2-litre engine crafted keeping in interest of the Indian customer. It will share its platform with the Honda City.

Furthermore, it is gearing up to roll out a 3.5-litre V6-engined luxury sedan-Accord, by next month. The i-VTEC-powered 6-cylinder car, which is likely to be retailed at around Rs. 19-21 lakh (ex-showroom India), will be pitted against Toyota Camry. The company has, however, refused to share any details of the product.

Honda Motors India Ltd president and chief executive officer Masahiro Takedagawa revealed to the media that the trial production of the Jazz had already started. Talking about the upcoming Accord he said that the company aims to occupy the top spot in the luxury car segment as confirmed and its entire team is working towards attaining leadership in the premium segment. He concluded by saying that HSCI has already become the number one player in the D-segment, with the tremendous response received by both its D-segment offerings - Accord 2.4L and CR-V - launched last year. He further added that Honda is confident that the Honda Accord V6, which promises to set new standards in the segment by delivering an unmatched driving experience, will only strengthen its lead further.

Tata Nano to be launched on March 23

Tata Motors on Thursday announced that the much-awaited Tata Nano will be launched at a function in Mumbai on March 23, 2009.

The cars will be on display at Tata Motors dealerships from the first week of April 2009. Bookings will commence from the second week of April 2009.



Since it's unveiling on January 10, 2008, the Tata Nano has evoked an unprecedented interest in the country, with its Web site having recorded over 30 million hits in the past one year and the creation of over 6,000 interest groups and communities.

Tata Motors is making arrangements for the widest possible network to book the car, so that prospective customers can conveniently avail of booking facilities at their locations, across the length and breadth of India. The booking process and other details will be announced on March 23, 2009.