Heena Sharma Blog

  Kia Motors India on Wednesday said it has received over 50,000 bookings for its compact SUV Sonet within two months of commencing the process. This record booking number affirms Sonet's status as a game-changer by customers in the highly competitive compact SUV category, the company said in a statement. The 50,000 booking milestone by the model has been attained within two months of opening of bookings on August 20, it added. "The company received a staggering response from Indian consumers, with an average of two orders placed every three minutes since it started accepting bookings," Kia Motors India said. In September, 9,266 units of the Sonet were dispatched, making it the leader of the compact SUV segment within 12 days of its price announcement and market launch, it noted. Read More

  Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Wednesday launched its youngest SUV, the all-new Toyota Urban Cruiser, to strengthen its offerings in the segment. The Toyota Urban Cruiser is the second model to be launched in India under the global Toyota-Suzuki alliance following the the premium hatchback, the Toyota Glanza. Priceranges fromRs 840,000 to Rs 11,30,000 (Ex- showroom, Delhi), the company said in a statement. 'Dual Tone', available only in the premium variant of both MT & AT options, are priced atRs 998,000 and Rs 11,55,000, respectively, it was stated. The compact SUVis powered withK-Series 1.5 litre, four- cylinder petrol enginewithchoice of Manual Transmission (MT)/Automatic Transmission (AT), the statement said. Read More

South Korean auto major Hyundai Tuesday launched its full-electric SUV Kona in India priced at Rs 25.3 lakh, and sought government support for electric vehicles (EVs) for personal usage, not just for fleets. The company, which is present in the country through its wholly-owned subsidiary Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), is also planning to develop a mass market EV for India to add to its newly launched full-electric SUV Kona. "We have seen some positive development in the form of tax incentives on purchase of EVs as provided in the Budget, but we think more can be done by the government to accelerate adoption of EVs in India," HMIL MD and CEO S S Kim told PTI in an interview. He said currently EVs are extremely expensive which require economies of scale to make them affordable for mass adoption. Referring to the FAME II scheme, which provides incentives to four-wheeler EVs only for fleets and public transportation, Kim said, "Our desire is that such incenti...

French auto major Renault Monday launched the updated version of its popular SUV Duster in India, priced between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 12.5 lakh (ex-showroom). The new Duster is equipped with 25 brand new features and technology enhancements, including Apple CarPlay, Android Auto infotainment with voice recognition and EcoGuide along with safety features such as Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and Hill-Start Assist, Renaut India said in a statement. The model is available in two engine options of 1.5 litre petrol and 1.5 litre diesel. While the petrol version has an option for CVT automatic transmission, the diesel also has an automated manual transmission option, the company added. Commenting on the launch, Renault India Operations Country CEO & Managing Director Venkatram Mamillapalle said, "Duster plays a pivotal role in our product portfolio and has the widest offering in the segment, enabling us to cater to evolving customer needs. We are confident that the new ...

Tata Motors Monday launched a new premium variant of its lifestyle sports utility vehicle (SUV) Hexa with 16 new features, priced at Rs 1.527 million (ex-showroom New Delhi). The Hexa XM+ also been made available with an electric sunroof to enhance, which comes with a two years warranty, it said. Hexa, which is based on Aria platform and shares its engine with the Tata Safari Strome, was launched in the country in January 2017. "With turnaround 2.0 in play, we have continued to deepen our focus towards catering to the evolving customer demands by introducing new products and variants at regular intervals," a company statement said. Tata Motors' Turnaround 2.0 strategy is aimed at delivering "consistent, competitive and cash accretive growth". "With the launch of the Hexa XM+, we are further strengthening this product range," Tata Motors passenger vehicle business units vice-president for sales, marketing and customer support SN...

No further plan yet, FCA India will have to keep riding on this solo product at least till 2020 Companies News : Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) looked set for a growth ride in India going by the response to its locally made Jeep SUV, but that didn’t happen. The Jeep Compass , a premium sports utility vehicle (SUV), connected well with buyers in the fast-expanding segment and the product commanded a waiting period of three months. Then came the slowdown in growth as domestic dispatches of the SUV started tapering. Consider this: FCA, which is riding on this solo product, dispatched 8,033 units of the Jeep Compass to its dealerships in the October-December quarter of 2017. This happened to be a festive period, and the volume was strong — 52 per cent higher than the previous quarter (July-August). However, in the following quarter (January-March, 2018), dispatches came down to 6,219 units. The monthly average of about 2,000 units still looked impressive for a company th...