Scoop: Tata Motors compact SUV concept to be named ‪#‎Nexon‬ will be showcased at @AutoExpo2014

It is a scoop from the official twitter account of the auto expo 2014@AutoExpo2014 that Tata Motors may call their Compact SUV they were developing to rival the king ford ecosport and the renault duster as Nexon. It will be showcased in the event . Stay tuned for more updates.

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Tata Nano, including other small cars failed independent crash tests

Courtesy- NDTV
Some of India's best-selling small cars have failed independent crash tests conducted by a global car safety watchdog.

All five small cars popular on the Indian market last year, including the famous Tata Nano and the Hyundai i10, failed the crash tests performed by London car-safety watchdog Global NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme).

The cars that were tested were the Tata Nano, Maruti Suzuki Alto 800, Hyundai i10, Ford Figo and Volkswagen Polo. All cars had to be made-in-India models only, and the most basic or entry-level version available in the market was selected for testing. This meant none of them had airbags - one of the most basic prerequisites globally to pass a safety test.

There were two tests carried out on identical cars of the same make - meaning two of each car were procured by Global NCAP from Indian showrooms, and shipped to Germany for the tests. One crash test was performed at 56 kmph, the other at 64 kmph.

All five cars failed the test, landing a zero on a scale of 1-5.

Representatives from each manufacturer were invited to witness the test, and the results have been shared with them all too. Automakers said the issue of car safety is complex, involving not just passenger safety, but also the safety of those outside the car. That means cars need to handle well and drivers must be educated about the rules of the road, and roads should be in good condition.

As NDTV's Automobiles Editor, I was consulted on which cars should be tested.  Of the five cars, only the Figo and Polo showed good structural rigidity and therefore a safer cabin, while the smaller cars performed rather poorly. What is rather surprising to me is that a car like the Hyundai i10 - which is only made in India for global markets - also did badly. The made-in-India for export to Europe i10 has a good rating in its Euro NCAP test for instance, which begs the question - are the cars for Indian buyers made differently?

India's growing middle class has helped fuel a booming auto industry, making the country the world's sixth-largest car market.  But nearly 140,000 people die on Indian roads every year in nearly five lakh accidents. That's the worst road safety record in the world.

Given those grizzly statistics, it is staggering to think India is the only country in the world's top ten car markets that does not have a comprehensive testing programme that measures the safety of cars.

Reactions from car-makers:
TATA MOTORS
"Tata Motors sees safety as a priority, and is going to closely review the results of the Global NCAP test, before drawing any conclusions vis-a-vis its product strategy. However all its cars do meet all Indian safety regulations as mandated by the government, at this time."

FORD INDIA
"Safety is one of the higher priorities in the design of our vehicles. Our vehicles consistently meet or exceed applicable industry standards. We are monitoring the progress of this review."

VW INDIA
"At Volkswagen, we recognise this need, given increasing driving speeds, more women drivers, longer driving times and a younger driver. Therefore, we have decided to have front dual airbags as standard on the Polo, as our continuing commitment to safer and better driving. We are the first automaker in India to do so, making the Polo the safest premium hatchback in the market today."

HYUNDAI MOTOR INDIA"Hyundai Motor India Ltd affirms that Hyundai vehicles are designed and build to meet all the prescribed safety standards set by Indian Regulatory Authorities."

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Mercedes-Benz C-class Grand Edition launched

Courtesy-Auto car india, Indian autos blog

Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz is taking its 'Year of Excellence' initiative in all earnest and after recently launching the latest avatar of its flagship S-class luxury saloon, the company has now launched a C-class Grand Edition, to commemorate the 50,000th car produced from its Chakan facility. Merc's entry-level saloon here is set to be replaced soon by the next-generation car which was officially revealed at the 2014 Detroit motor show.  

The Mercedes-Benz C-class Grand Edition gets an AMG styling kit on the outside with front and rear aprons, side sills, 17-inch alloys with AMG hub caps and chrome tailpipes. The 'Grand Edition' badging appears on the wings. On the inside, it comes with a new brushed aluminium trim and in terms of features, the multi-function colour display now gets satellite navigation, and there's a new panoramic sunroof, in addition to the kit on the standard car. 

Neither the petrol nor the diesel C-class Grand Edition see any changes mechanically and the C 220 CDI continues to be powered by a 167bhp 2,143cc turbo-diesel engine while the C 200 CGI retains the 186bhp, 1,796cc four-cylinder motor. 

The Grand Edition is available on the C-class 220 CDI, priced at Rs 39.16 lakh (ex-showroom, Pune), and the Blue Efficiency C 200 for Rs 36.81 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom, Pune). 

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Car Review: Toyota's latest-gen Camry Hybrid is quietly impressive

Courtesy- oncars india

Toyota Camry Hybrid

Price: Rs 29,75,000

Design Review
The Himalayan Brown Bear is not a rare breed to us Indians. Hybrid cars are. For years, the Indian car market has seen constant evolvement in some form or the other and to this day, we cannot help but wonder how car buyers of today rarely shy away from writing cheques for newer breed of vehicles such as compact crossovers and premium hatchbacks.

But when it comes to hybrid vehicles, things are less compelling. The uncertainty probably lies within the belief that making use of two power sources to propel a car is not feasible just yet. Toyota India, however, thinks otherwise. Which is why the company has rolled out the Camry Hybrid – a more fuel efficient and eco-friendly version of the popular luxury sedan. We recently had a quick spin in it to tell you just how good it is at saving the environment.

Based on a regular Camry, this Hybrid version comes with little embellishments to differentiate itself from the former. Since the regular model already is a fairly good looking car, the added bling only lifts up the road presence. The front-end design benefits the most with redesigned headlamps, chrome infested fog lamps, new radiator grille and front bumper which features a wider air dam.

Toyota has also added bigger, 17-inch wheels although it’s shod in lower profile rubber from Yokohama. In contrast to the striking looking fascia, the rear-end looks rather tamed as there’s not much to differentiate between the Camry Hybrid and the regular model.

Overall, the Camry Hybrid is aesthetically well-rounded and there’s no denying the fact that it looks sedately premium, even in the company of formidable rivals including Skoda Superb and Volkswagen Passat.

Performance Review
The Camry Hybrid features not one but two sources of propulsion. One is the 2.5-litre VVT-I petrol engine and the other one is an electric motor. While the petrol engine belts out 160PS of power, the electric motor makes 45PS, taking the total output to around 202PS. In the real world, the car can be driven purely on electric power for short distances but once past 40kmph, the petrol engine will come into play.

As you would expect, the Camry Hybrid is dead silent at slow speeds. All you hear from the front is a gentle whir. When put in EV mode in which only the electric motor works, one can almost sneak up on other motorists! Then there’s the Eco mode. Here the 2.5-litre petrol engine works in combination with the electric motor to wring every ounce of performance available onboard.

With both the motors working, performance is fairly good although it goes without saying that the Camry Hybrid is not the car for driving enthusiasts. While the steering offers decent feedback, it isn’t as good as some of the other similarly priced offerings. The handling, as a result, is safe but uninspiring. Plus, there is only one choice of gearbox – an automatic e-CVT (electronic continuously variable transmission) – that is admittedly slow to react. Having said that; the rubber-band effect usually present with CVTs isn’t as obvious in this hybrid version.

Now, on to the all-important aspect of the Camry Hybrid – fuel efficiency. Toyota says the Camry Hybrid is capable of retuning close to 19 kmpl, making it one of the most economical luxury sedans on the road. During our stint with the car, we managed to attain 14.5 kmpl which is mighty impressive considering the size of the vehicle and the fact that there’s a petrol engine hiding under the hood.

With not many options to choose from when it comes to buying hybrid cars in India, the Toyota Camry Hybrid and the more popular Prius are the only cars you will see on the road for a long time to come. While the Prius has been around for quite some time, Toyota has now added the Camry Hybrid, which offers all the distinctiveness of the Prius but with added comfort and practicality of a premium luxury sedan.  Despite tasting immense success all over the world, sales of the Prius never really took off here in India. Now with the launch of the new Camry Hybrid, it seems Toyota believes that there is a market for hybrid cars in India and that the Camry Hybrid can deemed as a workable alternative to regular petrol and diesel powered luxury sedans.

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Soon, India to have complete crash test of all cars

The Government of India is likely to make crash tests of all new cars mandatory in the near future.

Times of India reports that National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP) is in the process of setting up a new facility under Centre of Excellence for Passive Safety to conduct crash tests at GARC-Chennai. Two more facilities are being set up at International Centre for Automotive Technology (iCAT) and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). The Chennai centre will be capable of performing frontal car to car crash tests, sled tests, full vehicle crash tests and angular car to car crash tests. The facility will also be able to measure loads on the impact block with a load cell wall. The centre features equipment to measure and film crash tests and will be able to perform EuroNCAP and USANCAP tests as well.

The Government is consulting other ministries and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) to decide on the standard for the New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP). Once these standards are set, samples of all new cars sold in the country will have to obtain a certificate of their structural strength after being subject to the necessary safety tests.

The Government claims that the crash tests complying with the new standards could be started in the next 18 months.

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Karl Slym's suicide note indicates domestic discord: Thai cops

Courtesy-HINDUSTAN TIMES

A day after Tata Motors managing director Karl Slym died in a Bangkok hotel after falling from the 22nd floor of the building, Thailand police investigating the case indicated he may have committed suicide due to domestic discord on the basis of a three-page suicide note that was found in his room.

Tata Motors managing director Karl Slym

"We didn't find any sign of struggle," said police lieutenant Somyot Boonyakaew, who is heading the investigation. "We found a window open. The window was very small so it was not possible that he would have slipped. He would have had to climb through the window to fall out because he was a big man. From my initial investigation we believe he jumped."

The police said the initial belief among the investigators was that Slym killed himself because the suicide note contained a reference to domestic problems. He said police were analysing the letter to confirm if it was written by Slym.

The letter was found in the room where Slym and his wife Sally had checked in on January 24. They were slated to check out and return to India on Sunday evening.

Slym's body was found on the fourth floor of Shangri-La hotel early morning on Sunday. He was in Thailand to attend a board meeting of the company's subsidiary in the country.

An autopsy was conducted on Monday and the initial report suggested severe damage to the body. Institute of Forensic Medicine chief Pornchai Sutheerakhun said the results showed that the skull of the victim was broken and that his brain and inner organs were severely destroyed.

Slym's wife was with him in the room and was woken by hotel staff on Sunday morning after his body was found. She has been distraught and Tata Motors officials are with her.

Slym was leading Tata Motors at a time when the auto industry was grappling with a prolonged slowdown. He joined the auto major in 2012 as part of a major management overhaul and was responsible for charting the company's strategy to regain momentum in the Indian market.

His stint in India began in 2007 when he was appointed as the president and managing director of General Motors India. Last year, Slym found himself in the spotlight after a government panel held GM guilty of corporate fraud in the case of recall of its multi utility vehicle Tavera. The government probe had said GM officials had collaborated in fudging technical specifications of the engine to meet emission norms and the top management of the firm were aware of it.

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Suzuki Motorcycles launches new 110 cc Scooter,gixxr 150cc bike model

Japanese two-wheeler maker Suzuki Motorcycles on Monday unveiled two new products -- a scooter and a motorcycle.

The company has also roped in Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra to endorse its new scooter model, while superstar Salman Khan, who has been endorsing the Japanese company’s bikes for the past two years, unveiled the new motorcycle.

The company did not reveal the prices of the new models.

The 110-cc scooter Let’s comes in the personal segment while the 155-cc Gixxer is a premium luxury segment bike, Suzuki Motorcycle India (SMIL) executive vice-president Atul Gupta said here. SMIL is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan.

Forecasting a flat growth for the two-wheeler industry in the current fiscal, Mr Gupta said the entry of the new players is intensifying competition.

Mr Gupta also said SMIL will further consolidate its presence through a strong product portfolio and by strengthening distribution network.

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Maruti ready to unveil Celerio

Chennai: Maruti Suzuki is gearing up to launch the latest small car from its stable. Due to be unveiled next month, the Celerio will replace the A-Star globally. However, in India, it is expected to sell alongside the A-Star and the Estilo for now.

The Celerio is likely to take on B-segment peers such as the Hyundai Grand and i10 and the Nissan Micra. It will also seek to woo customers looking for a small car with an affordable automatic transmission.

The Design

The Celerio is unmistakably Maruti. Featuring a tall-boy design and a short bonnet, the car speaks Maruti’s new-age design language.

It has been built on a completely new platform and will only be offered with a petrol engine — the K10B engine (currently in the Alto K10, Wagon-R and A-Star). A diesel version is not expected anytime soon.

With large headlamps on either side of a two-slat grille and the Suzuki logo prominently displayed at the centre, the Celerio has a good road presence. The rear design is simpler but contemporary while the cabin and dashboard layout focuses on providing a modern, upmarket feel.

The Mileage

The story of a Maruti hatchback always revolves around the mileage it can deliver. So, Maruti’s engineers have tried to ensure that both the automatic version and the 5-speed manual transmission variant deliver a high 23.1 kmpl.

This has been achieved by keeping the weight low – the heaviest variant is just 830 kg. The car’s aerodynamism has been optimised. Also, the engine has been tuned to reduce frictional losses. Low rolling resistance tyres enhance the fuel efficiency further.

As with the A-Star and Wagon-R, the Celerio, too, will have a 998cc, 3-cylinder K10B engine, producing 68 PS of peak power at 6,000 rpm, and peak torque of 90 Nm at 3,500 rpm.

The Price

Maruti is hoping that the Celerio’s auto-shift gearbox will revolutionise the market for automatics. Given the price sensitivity in the automatic hatchback segment, the carmaker is likely to start from a sub-Rs 3 lakh price and go all the way to Rs 5 lakh plus

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Tata Motors’ Managing Director Karl Slym passes away

Industry shocked by Slym’s tragic and untimely death.

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Jan 26, 2014

courtesy-Auto car india

Tata Motors’ Managing Director Karl Slym, 51, died today in a freak accident in Bangkok where he had gone to attend a Tata Motors Thailand Ltd board meeting. Company sources say that Slym fell fatally from a higher floor of a hotel in Bangkok. 

 

Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry expressed his shock and condolences at Slym’s untimely death and said “Karl joined us in October 2012, and was a valued colleague who was providing strong leadership at a challenging time for the Indian auto industry. In this hour of grief, our thoughts are with Karl’s wife and family” 

 

Before joining Tata Motors, Slym was with General Motors for two decades where he held various posts all over the world, which included a four year tenure from 2007-2011 as the president and managing director of GM India. During his stint in India, Slym became the face of GM India and endeared himself to his colleagues with his affable and approachable personality. Slym can be credited for taking GM India’s market share to an all time high and was solely responsible for pushing through a US$ 54 million investment to bring the 3-cylinder diesel engine for the Beat in India. It was also during this tenure that Karl and his wife Sally got smitten by India and didn’t want to leave. 

 

Slym who described himself as a “Britisher who can’t stay away from India” on his Twitter handle was happy to quit his next post as Executive Vice-president, SGMW Motors, a General Motors Joint Venture in China and grab the offer to head Tata Motors as the company’s managing director. 

 

Leading Tata Motors through its toughest period and in a turbulent automobile industry was the toughest challenge in Slym’s career. Internally too, Slym had to navigate the bureaucratic Tata Motors culture and a management with multiple layers which was often at odds with his own easy going and simplified working style. Sylm was under tremendous pressure to prop up Tata Motors, which has seen its market share under his leadership fall to an all-time low. Slym launched several new initiatives to turn around the company. His ‘Horizonnext’ strategy included multiple upgrades or facelifts of the existing model range and changes in the management structure. His task was sadly cut short but promising new launches like the Nano Twist and the ‘Falcon’ hatchback and saloon will be remembered as a part of his legacy. 

 

Slym will also be remembered as a people’s person who was as comfortable dancing at a dealer’s wedding reception as in a boardroom. He had a great sense of humour and like any true Indian loved cricket and Bollywood in equal measure. Karl is survived by his wife Sally, who was always by his side, even at the time of his tragic demise. 

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