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Chevrolet India Small Electric Car Coming In April 2011
Chevrolet India Will Increase Car Prices Again !
Kia Motors India Launch Called Off
Delhi Police Gets Maruti SX4 Cars Instead Of HM Ambassadors

Chevrolet India Small Electric Car Coming In April 2011

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 05:36 AM PST

General Motors India (Chevrolet) MD, Karl Slym, in his interaction with media, has quoted:

"Some time in April, we will showcase a production-ready mini electric car in India. But that will not be for immediate sale. This is a step towards introduction of electric vehicles. It is not possible to give an exact time frame. It depends on the market response."

This is a big news for Indian auto market and also shows a drift towards the inclination and dedication of Indian auto Industry towards developing practical and usable electric cars on large scale. The Indian Union Budget 2011 also announced some policy measures which provide financial and tax sops to Electric Vehicles In India. We are looking forward to more details and announcements in April. As of now, GM has not revealed about the name, model or make of the car.

We can just speculate that the car maybe developed on the popular Chevrolet Beat Platform and may use in-house developed technology and powertrains from General Motors. So Stay tuned until something official is unveiled. You can sign up for our free email newsletter for latest updates.

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Chevrolet India Will Increase Car Prices Again !

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 05:23 AM PST

Chevrolet India is doing good sales in India with the competitively priced cars like Chevrolet Beat and Chevrolet Spark which are a great value cars for the price segment. Many consumers consider initial cost of a car as a primary factor for their buying decision especially in small cars, which largely favors Chevrolet cars in India. Another thing which favors the sales of Chevrolet is the three years free maintenance offer which is rarely offered on any other small car in India.In January 2011, Chevrolet increased its car prices by about 2%, as a matter of fact, most car makers of India increased prices during that duration. But its been only couple of months since the last price hike and General Motors India is already considering another price hike.

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General Motors India Vice-President P Balendran, while talking to media quoted:

"We may consider increasing prices again for the second time this year if prices of raw materials continue to increase.The increasing input cost is now the biggest concern for auto makers. We will review the situation (cost of raw materials) by this month-end and will take a call by early next month."

This is certainly a good news for the upcoming buyers of Chevrolet cars and will hit the sales of Chevrolet cars India. Lets wait and watch until any hikes are announced. We hope that even if they decide for a hike, it will not be a major one.

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Kia Motors India Launch Called Off

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 05:08 AM PST

In December 2010 we informed you about the expected plans of Kia Motors to enter the Indian Automobile market but disappointingly the firm has called off its plans. A lot of expectations were in the air but this Hyundai subsidiary did not find our market lucrative enough.

For the time being the company has dropped its plans and will continue to manufacture products for developed markets such as Europe, China and U.S. We doubt why our market, which is the world's second fastest growing one failed to attract this giant but some positivity has been shown at the company's end as it says it will continue monitoring the market and will make a move when needed.

Kia Motors Spokesperson Micheal J Choo , in a recent conversation with Economic Times said, "Our hands are full right now. Currently we are not looking at India but concentrating on other overseas markets where we aim to produce over 1 million cars this year. We will, however, continue to monitor the Indian market as it holds sizeable potential and may be on our future radar."

Surprisingly it is the second time when the company has done the same as earlier it also appointed a consultancy firm Synovate to perform the task of preparing a feasibility report for our market. Despite the positive nature of the reports the company decided to monitor the Indian market for another couple of months.

Whatever the approach of Kia may be, we wish to see the brand coming to India soon and offer new cars which would refresh the minds of new buyers.

Delhi Police Gets Maruti SX4 Cars Instead Of HM Ambassadors

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 03:20 AM PST

Delhi Police has decided to refresh their ride, now on, Delhi Police Official will get a Maruti SX4 from Maruti Suzuki rather than a Hindustan Motors classic Ambassador which has been serving Govt. and police officials for years now ! The main reason behind going for this decision is Ambassador is low on mileage, high on maintenance and not as quick considering the modern cars.

Earlier, the Commissioner of Police Delhi, BK Gupta stated: "We are in the process of buying vehicles like Maruti SX4 that are easy to maintain and save fuel." A proposal was sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs long time ago which was finally accepted.

Although, phasing out of Ambassador Cars have just started with police department receiving twelve SX4 cars. Commissioner BK Gupta was the first to get his car replaced with a brand new SX4.

The Commissioner of Delhi Police stated that four basic things were kept in mind while choosing a replacement for Ambassador which included fuel economy, maintenance cost, comfort and speed. Maruti Suzuki SX4 was the first choice for Delhi Police, as the car is equipped with a fuel efficient yet powerful engine. This will certainly bring down the running cost of police vehicles. On the other hand, SX4 is amongst the most comfortable sedans in the Indian market.

Along with being economical, comfortable and maintenance free, the muscular look and lavish interiors of SX4 left Delhi Police with no other option to choose from. The SX4 delivered to the Commissioner of Delhi Police is equipped with a number of luxury and safety features which certainly raise the bar when it comes to government vehicles.

The SX4 cars being provided to Delhi Police Officials is equipped with a radio tag which is installed for security reasons. This is the only difference in the features of the luxury sedans provided to Delhi Police officials. Police officials seemed quite upbeat about the move. Some of the senior police officials believe that replacing the old Ambassadors cars with SX4 will certainly change the way people perceive police cars. It is certainly the beginning of a new era when it comes to police vehicles.

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