Maruti Suzuki to launch Kizashi in January

MARUTI SUZUKI India Ltd is all set to launch its much awaited D-segment car Kizashi, a sedan by the end of January. Pronounced ‘Kee-Zah-Shee' which in Japanese means ‘something great is coming', it is an executive sedan to be launched in the third week of January 2011.

Kizashi is set to take on Honda Accord and Skoda Superb, Toyota's Corolla and Camry , Honda's Civic and Accord in features and pricing.This will be the first car by Maruti Suzuki catering to high-end customers entering into a segment where an average of 1,000 cars are sold every month.

Maruti will launch its first luxury car on January 28, 2011. Kizashi will be the first of the several new launches the company is planning in 2011 including a updated version of Swift and Dzire and a small SUV.

Sources indicate that the pricing is expected to be around Rs 18-20 lakhs, some other says it will cost around Rs. 11-12 Lakhs.The company is expecting upto 250 cars to be sold per month. Kizashi will have a 2.4 litre petrol engine, and will come in both manual and automatic versions.

Maruti recently raised its sales forecast for the current fiscal ,and said it expects to sell 31% more cars compared with the 10,18,365 cars it did in last year. Maruti currently produces 1,10,000 lakh cars a month, as compared to 84,000 per month last fiscal.

Launched first in 2007, Kizashi is already running successfully in Europe.The Kizashi version to be launched in India is a new model developed in 2010.So when are you grabbing one for you.

Toyota hopes to drive Prius in India with 'green car' subsidy

Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM), the Indian subsidiary of the Japanese car major that is currently facing some roadblocks with its hybrid car Prius in the global markets, is hopeful of working out a subsidy for the car as it enters the Indian market as a completely built unit (CBU) in March this year.
Currently, CBUs attract a duty of over 100 per cent in India, and the Prius is expected to cost between Rs 26.55 lakh and Rs 27.86 lakh here thanks to the high customs duty. The company has been in talks with the Centre since the last six months, and is eagerly waiting for this year’s Union Budget to have some good news for them.

Hiroshi Nakagawa, managing director, TKM said, “We are expecting the government to offer some incentives for buying an environment-friendly vehicle,” adding that the quantum of incentive is not specified. Toyota India feels that this is not just any other imported luxury vehicle and that the government could allow an incentive in the form of a subsidy to encourage the sales of ‘green’ cars.

TKM plans to sell around 200 units of the car this year. Prius is the world’s first mass-produced and largest-selling hybrid vehicle, having sold nearly 1.5 million units so far. Toyota has already received orders for 54 units in India.

The global trouble with Prius follows close on the heels of Toyota’s recall of 8 million cars (including Corolla and Camry) around the world because of sticky accelerator pedals. The Prius was recalled for brake software flaws. When asked if this could impact the launch of the car here, Nakagawa said that TKM would go ahead with its India launch plans as usual.

TKM had initially approached Toyota Motor Corporation for subsidies, but was advised to talk to the government of India.

As a part of the launch campaign, TKM is organising road shows across the country, and also showcasing the vehicle at auto shows to enable the potential consumer to have a touch and feel of the Prius.

Meanwhile, the company is all set to go ahead with the production of its new car Etios that will be available in a hatchback and a sedan version. Production is scheduled to start from December this year at its Bidadi plant and the car will hit the roads during the first quarter of 2011 calendar year. The company had sold 55,497 units in the country in 2009 and targets to sell 70,000 units this year. In 2011, however, TKM plans to sell 70,000 units of the Etios, taking its net sales number to above 1.4 lakh.

Suzuki Kizashi to Hit Indian Markets by 2010-End

Official reports have confirmed that the Japanese automobiles manufacturer Suzuki is all set to launch its first ever luxury sports model, which has been specifically designed for the rugged Indian roads, the Suzuki Kizashi.

The company's official website describes the new offering as "One of the most exciting cars of 2010".

Although the official release date of the car has not been revealed by the company yet, word is that it will fall somewhere towards the end of 2010.

The Kizashi intends to give head-on competition to Honda Civic, Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Corolla, Volkswagen Jetta and Skoda Octavia.

Expected to be priced at about 10-13 lakhs, the mid-sized sedan will see an Australian launch in the month of May, and it was already released for the American market in December of 2009.

The new vehicle has been equipped with a Euro IV 2.4 liter engine, six speed manual transmission and CVT.