Home | List of Articles | Submit an Article | Contact Us

New Car Launches in India in 2005

The Indian car industry has gathered steam only in the last decade. Just imagine - 15 years back, there were only two cars being manufactured in India, the vintage Hindustan Ambassador and the venerable Premier Padmini. The Ambassador was the Indian version of the Morris Oxford, while the Padmini was based on an ancient Fiat model. Compare that to today, when every major automobile manufacturer has its cars on the road in India. 2005 is the year when India is poised to see more automobile launches that before. Let's take a look at the vehicles that are expected.

Toyota Innova

Toyota has three vehicles in the Indian market - the Toyota Qualis, Camry and Corolla. The Qualis is the most outdated of the lot, with the looks of a breadbox. However, this model was extremely succesful in India due to its reliability and was used by many taxi operators in the country. Toyota has just withdrawn the vehicle from the market, and is about to introduce the Innova, a much more modern MPV in the minivan mould that can hold its own amongst the latest international vehicles. The pricing is expected to be around that of the now-extinct Qualis, making it approachable for the Indian middle-class.

Skoda Fabia

Skoda will be launching its small car Fabia in India by mid-2005. While the ocompany has yet not decided on whether the model in India should be a sedan, hatchback or estate, this car is bound to have a following. This is partly due to the tremendous reputation Skoda enjoys in India due to its highly succesful Octavia range. The power unit too is still undecided, but what we believe is that it will be priced at the same level as Honda's highly succesful small car, the Honda City.

Chevrolet Aveo

Maruti Suzuki Swift

Maruti is India's most succesful automobile company, and Suzuki recently acquired a controlling stake in it. The Swift will be Maruti's first radical, contemporary vehicle. The company has always preferred to play it safe, and has introduced tried-and-tested vehicle models from the Suzuki stable. The Swift is based on Suzuki's famous Concept S design unveiled at teh 2002 Paris Auto Show, and will be launched in India with the reliable Maruti Esteem's (an older Suzuki Swift version) 1300 cc petrol engine in India.

Toyota Fortuner

The Fortuner will be launched in the later half 2005 in India. It is a small-SUV which should give a run to the Honda CR-V which rules th SUV market in India now. The Fortuner is based on the same platform as the Innova. Excellent styling, car-like interiors and slightly cheaper pricing that its competitors will see it doing well in the Indian market. This ladder-on-chassis, common rail diesel engine (CRDI) seems to the perfect recipe for the penny-pinching but power-loving Indian.

Ford Fusion

The Fusion has already been launched in India. It is a small car, but with SUV style. The car is positioned in India as vehicle for the active young driver who has a family. The car is powered by a 16 Valve, 1600 cc light-weight alloy engine that is good enough for around 100 bhp. The reviewers have loved it, and the market seems to be falling for it too, though it is too early to tell.

There are some other cars too - such as the Chevrolet Aveo and the Hyundai Tucson - but details are still not forthcoming at this point.

About The Author

The author is an ex-motoring journalist, and currently edits the website www.dancewithshadows.com

This article was posted on February 15, 2005

Related Articles:

Site Selection - Slice of Life, A Car Wash and Detail Center DownTown - There is a continual trend we are seeing which I can remember participating in over a decade ago, when cities were trying to figure out how to increase sales tax revenues when the large box stores outside of town came into nearby or surrounding areas. For instance a big and easy example would be Wal-Mart. Sam was smart and built his stores just ...

Adding Express Detailing Services to Your Already Successful Car Wash or Automotive Business - Express Detailing is a term, which has been marketed and inevitably defined by fixed site car washes in their attempt to increase average per ticket transactions. By using express detailing as an "add-on" service for between $35.00-$60.00 they are able to up sell a $4.99 exterior wash direct mail coupon that a customer brings in to a $40.00- 70. ...

How I Bought Exactly the Car I Wanted Using Just the Phone and the Internet - In 2002, the lease was up on my current car, so I decided it was time to get a new one. Like most people, I generally don’t like going to a car dealership to buy a car. At the beginning of my career, I worked for 6 months as a car sales person so I knew exactly what would happen if I went to the car dealership: The sales person would “asse ...

Selling Your Car - Tips on Taking the Phone Calls - Appointments - How to take the phone calls Now that you have advertised you should soon start to get some calls as soon as your ad hits the media. It’s not just a matter of making a time to see the car. This is a turning point and where you start to locate your buyer. A lot of the time I can tell that the person is going ...

Flashy Car Rims – Is It Just A Guy Thing? - Wheel Tips For The Female Of The Species Too If you browse the internet ads for tires and wheels, it seems like flashy car rims is a guy thing. The websites are geared to a masculine point of view. Some websites feature sound and videos that include a pounding rap beat backed up by a view of “shiny things.” Most websites feature Charl ...

Image is Everything - Secrets to Cleaning Car Fleets - A recent survey indicated that clean Taxi Cabs Fleets have higher tip rates and repeat customers. How do you wash a taxicab? You do them four at a time and you go up and over and up and over when you are drying them. If they have a little taxi cab sign, dry that last. But you do the rest of the car the way you do a regular car. The only differen ...

For a Complete list of Articles with summaries Click Here