Car industry in India – fastest growing sector in the world

The Car industry in India has seen a tremendous growth and seems to be the fastest growing sector in the world. This sector has responded with an exponential progress in the number of new models launched in the last few months. The craze for cars amongst people is growing day-by-day. Hence, all the car manufacturers are giving tough competition to each other by opting innovative and unique ideas to capture the market.

India is presently ranked 17th amongst auto car manufacturing countries in the world. Keeping in pace with the ever growing demand for cars, the production of cars has also been high, off late; thanks to a huge export potential and favorable Government policy. Multinational companies have been eyeing at India to set up their manufacturing facilities. According to auto experts and analysts, India is poised to become third largest auto car manufacturing hub in the world by 2020./p>

One of the factors that have characterized the impressive growth of Indian automobile market has been the dramatic and positive changes that have earmarked the Indian car landscape. From old Ambys to a range, color and design of Marutis, Opels, Tatas, Hyundais and Toyotas, the Indian car market is surely something to watch on.

The Indian car market basically thrives on volume, the fact that the market leader Maruti Udyog basically is a small car manufacturer is a testament to this fact. But, slowly the Indian car market is growing with cars such as the honda city, Toyota corolla; international products finding favor with the Indian consumer. Also, products such as the ford fiesta and the new Chevrolet Aveo that have been specifically developed for the Indian market show how important India is today on the world market.

Every car in India is today either custom made for the Indian market or is a niche car, which buyers from all over the world crave. Technologies such as CRDi, ABS, ESP, climate control, adaptive dampers, ride control and so on are making their presence felt in the market today. The average car buyer is now pampered with the latest launches from all over the world and is able to lay his hands on the state of the art cars at rather affordable prices.

In the multi utility vehicle segment, General Motor's Tavera is directly competing with Toyota Innova and Mahindra Scorpio. Tavera has been doing consistently well and has been delivering best in class mileage to its customers.

GM India is now foraying into the premium A-segment cars in India with the Chevrolet Captiva which is all set to hit the road later this year.

Hyundai's new all-rounder diesel i20

We have talked about the Hyundai i20 before. We know that Hyundai has been in India for just 10 years (though it feels much longer) and that there is a Hyundai car for every one. We know that from one car initially the company makes 33 variants of passenger cars across different segments. So why should Hyundai’s new i20 have me intrigued again? Because the car we drove earlier had the i10’s Kappa engine in it and now Hyundai has just introduced two new engines – a 1.4L petrol and a 1.4L common rail diesel. With these two new engines Hyundai has just moved up into a new segment and issued a challenge to the other players in the market.

Most things have not changed – Its still a five-door car, with the same dimensions as that of the Kappa-engined version (LxBxH = of 3940mm x 1710mm x 1505mm) and a wheelbase of 2525mm. Features have not changed much either – the AC/heating, the tilt & telescopic steering, split folding rear seats, front & rear power windows, and the multi information display are all there along with keyless entry, height-adjustable driver seat, electrically adjustable door mirrors and airbags.

The i20 definitely attracts attention. It attracted a lot of attention when it was launched at the Paris Motor Show and it still gets eyeballs to turn appreciatively on Indian streets. Under the skin you have MacPherson struts with gas-charged dampers at front and a torsion beam suspension. The rear dampers are also gas-charged shock. The i20 received a5-star rating at the Euro-NCAP crash because of all the active and passive safety equipment incorporated in it, including antilock brakes (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD).

Ford unleashes new Fiesta

Ford seems to have finally woken up from it's Fiesta siesta. The car had very bland, non-offensive styling and did not bowl over too many people with its design. Until now. Take one look at the face-lifted Fiesta and you will realise that this car could resurrect Ford's success in India.

The aggressive triangulated lower grille with the smart black insert and new headlamps are reminiscent of the 'kinetic design' ideology that prevails in Fords across our shores like the Mondeo and Focus. Interiors have been revamped too with new instrument clusters and the top-of-the-line luxurious SXI now gets soft leather seats and a mahogany central console as standard. Production of the 1.4 litre petrol has been discontinued, leaving only the 1.6 DuraTec petrol 1.4 DuraTorq diesel.

Ford claims that the new 1.6 petrol engine with its re-mapped ECU gives similar fuel consumption figures to the old 1.4 engine. The petrol models available now are the 1.6 EXI, 1.6 ZXI and the 1.6 SXI while the fuel-efficiency minded consumer can choose from the diesel 1.4 EXI, 1.4 ZXI and the 1.4 SXI TDCi variants.Safety has become a high priority with the new Fiesta. The SXI versions have dual airbags and inertia reel seat belts as standard. ABS and EBD (Electronic Brake-force Distribution) also feature on these Fiestas.And there's an all-new 'sports' model – the 1.6 S - with tweaked suspension which delivers better feedback and control.

Ford seems to have got the suspension set up right since the car doesn't shock you over the bumps. Sporty elements like a spoiler, body kit, chrome-tipped exhaust and cooler 15-inch alloys also come standard on the 1.6 S. Low-profile 195//55 R15 tyres augment the sporty nature of the car. All in all, finally a desirable Fiesta has morphed into being. Given that the Indian consumer is getting more picky about style and driving dynamics, the new Fiesta seems like a sure winner in this increasingly competitive segment.