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Category: Automotive

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Auto and Car news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • New 2018 Hyundai Santro Launched In India

    New 2018 Hyundai Santro Launched In India

    Hyundai India has launched the all-new 2018 Hyundai Santro in India at a starting price of Rs 3.89 lakh. The new Santro will be available in five variants for the petrol manual version while the petrol automatic and the CNG manual versions gets two variants each. The new Hyundai Santro Prices for the petrol manual range from Rs 3.89-5.45 lakh while the ones for the petrol automatic AMT range from Rs 5.18-5.46 lakh. The new 2018 Hyundai Santro CNG is priced at Rs 5.23-5.64 lakh. The new Hyundai Santro will take on the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Celerio, the Tata Tiago and the Renault Kwid 1-litre apart from the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Wagon R, a new version of which will be launched very soon. The new Hyundai Santro will be slotted in between the Hyundai Eon and the Hyundai Grand i10. Here is a detailed table with all the prices below.

    The Hyundai Santro will be powered by a 1.1-litre, 4-cylinder, naturally aspirated engine, which makes 69 bhp of peak power and 99 Nm of peak torque when powered by petrol. The petrol engine is mated to a 5-speed manual or a new 5-speed AMT gearbox that has been developed by Hyundai in-house. The petrol engine, in both manual and AMT guise are fuel efficient and the Hyundai Santro Mileage is 20.3 kmpl.

    Hyundai Santro Price In India
    Variant Price (ex-showroom, Delhi)
    Santro D-Lite ₹ 3,89,900
    Santro Era ₹ 4,24,900
    Santro Magna ₹ 4,57,900
    Santro Magna AMT ₹ 5,18,900
    Santro Magna CNG ₹ 5,23,900
    Santro Sportz ₹ 4,99,900
    Santro Sportz AMT ₹ 5,46,900
    Santro Sportz CNG ₹ 5,64,900
    Santro Asta ₹ 5,45,900

    There is also a new Hyundai Santro CNG version on offer straight from the factory that makes 59 bhp of peak power and 84 Nm of peak torque. The engine is mated to a 8 kg CNG tank that is mounted in the boot of the Hyundai Santro. The new CNG version of the new Hyundai Santro will offer 30.48 km/kg of fuel economy on CNG fuel. The CNG version also gets duel ECUs to provide a seamless switch between petrol and CNG along with a matrix injector and a filter valve for better performance and more safety respectively.

    The Hyundai Santro gets five variants i.e. D-Lite, Era, Magna, Sportz and the top of the line Asta. The car is available in seven colour options ranging from a bright blue, red or green to the more sombre whites, greys and golds. The new Santro gets no alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights or projector headlamps abut it does get 14-inch wheels as standard along with a set of silver wheelcaps on the higher spec versions while the lower variants will get plain silver wheels with small wheel-hub covers.

    The overall design on the new Santro is quite contemporary. Athough Hyundai claims that the Santro is a tall-boy design, the design is actually a great blend of the conventional Santro tall-boy look and a very typical entry level hatchback. The new Santro also gets a flat back with two mid-set tail lamps. The tail lamps too are conventional and not LED versions. The Santro is also much larger than its predecessor measuring in at 3610 mm in length, 1645 mm in width and 1560 mm in height. The wheelbase on the new Santro is now at 2400 mm and it does offer best in class rear legspace.

    On the inside, the new Hyundai Santro offers a range of features like a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system that offers mirrolink and Bluetooth connectivity. The infotainment system also offers the likes of Apple CarPlay aad Android Auto. The new Hyundai Santro also gets rear AC vents – another first in class feature, but does not get climate control. The new Hyundai Santro will also offer a single driver side airbag as standard on all models but will offer a secondary passenger side airbag only on the Asta model. While all variants of th Hyundai Santo will get a beige and grey interior, the Diana Green version in the Asta model will get an all-black interior along with colour matched interior trim and colour matched green seatbelts.

    Hyundai Santro Engine Specifications

    Hyundai Santro Petrol CNG
    Engine 1.1-litre petrol 1.1-litre petrol + CNG
    Max Power 68 bhp @ 5500 rpm 58 bhp @ 5500 rpm
    Max Torque 99 Nm @ 4500 rpm 84 Nm @ 4500 rpm
    Transmission 5-Speed MT/AMT 5-Speed MT
    Fuel Efficiency 20.3 kmpl 30.48 km/kg

    Speaking at the world premiere of the all new Hyundai Santro, Mr. Y K Koo, MD & CEO, Hyundai India said, “Today is a Historic moment as we announce the world premiere of the all new Santro. The Hyundai Santro is an iconic and legendary brand in India that has won the hearts of millions of customers for last two decades. The magic of Santro continues with The all new Santro receiving overwhelming response in less than two weeks.”

    The all-new 2018 Hyundai Santro has already received over 23,500 bookings in just 12 days even before individuals had the chance to see the new car in the metal. Although these bookings were exclusively available online, bookings at dealerships have also officially begun today. The introductory pricing will only be applicable for the first 50,000 customers. Considering the fact that Hyundai will only be making about 10,000 units of the new Santro every month, expect waiting periods of a few weeks to follow. Currently, over 30 per cent of all bookings for the new 2018 Hyundai Santro are for the AMT model.

  • Fiat Chrysler Sells Magneti Marelli For $7.1 Billion

    Fiat Chrysler Sells Magneti Marelli For $7.1 Billion

    Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its automotive components business Magneti Marelli S.p.A. to CK Holdings Co., Ltd, a holding company of Calsonic Kansei Corporation. Following the closing of the Transaction, CK Holdings will be renamed as Magneti Marelli CK Holdings. The combined businesses of Calsonic Kansei and Magneti Marelli will create the world’s 7th largest global independent automotive components supplier based on total revenues.

    The agreement represents a transaction value of 6.2 billion Euros ($7.1 billion). The Transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2019 and is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The new entity will operate out of nearly 200 facilities and R&D centres across Europe, Japan, the Americas, and Asia Pacific.

    FCA has also agreed to a multi-year supply agreement that will further strengthen a mutually beneficial relationship for both Magneti Marelli and FCA’s expanding model range and which will sustain Magneti Marelli’s Italian business operations, positioning it strongly for continued growth and success in the future. The combined company will be led by Beda Bolzenius, currently CEO of Calsonic Kansei, based in Japan. Ermanno Ferrari, CEO of Magneti Marelli, will join the Magneti Marelli CK Holdings board.

    Mike Manley, CEO of FCA, said: “Having carefully examined a range of options to enable Magneti Marelli to express its full potential in the next phase of its development, this combination with Calsonic Kansei has emerged as an ideal opportunity to accelerate Magneti Marelli’s future growth for the benefit of its customers and its outstanding people. The combined business will continue to be among FCA’s most important business partners and we would like to see that relationship grow even further in the future. The transaction also recognises the full strategic value of Magneti Marelli and is another important step in our relentless focus on value creation.”

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  • GM Korea votes to spin off R&D unit

    GM Korea votes to spin off R&D unit

    A GM Korea shareholders’ meeting Friday decided to spin off its R&D and design department, reigniting conflict with its labor union and the state-owned Korea Development Bank (KDB), the automaker’s second-largest stakeholder.  “The plan to establish a dedicated engineering unit, GM Technical Center Korea, was approved during the shareholders meeting,” GM Korea said in a statement.

    However, the decision is guaranteed to be controversial since KDB, which owns 17-percent of GM Korea, intended to vote against the spinning off of R&D and design unit from production but missed the shareholders’ meeting.

    “We received notification of the shareholders’ meeting, but the decision was made in our absence,” an official at the KDB bank said. “We were not able to exercise our veto rights since we weren’t there.”

    GM Korea’s unionized workers occupy the hallway leading to the GM Korea chief executive’s office at the company’s headquarters in Bupyeong District, Incheon, on Friday in an effort to stop a shareholders’ meeting from taking place

    It’s not clear why KDB representatives didn’t attend. KDB said it will be looking into the legality of the meeting.

    On Thursday, KDB released a statement saying it would ask GM Korea’s management to explain fully its decision to spin off the R&D and design center and decide whether to exercise its veto rights.

    The statement was released after a court in Incheon rejected KDB’s request for an injunction to stop the shareholders’ meeting.

    “Although we respect the judgment of the Incheon court, we have deep concerns about GM Korea’s push to spin off [R&D and design] without sufficient explanation or agreement from the interested parties during the shareholders’ meeting,” the bank said in the statement.

    GM Korea’s union claims the spin-off is the first step in a long-term plan to completely halt domestic production.

    KDB has the right to nullify any GM Korea decision to sell more than 20 percent of its total assets, which is supposed to prevent the U.S. automaker from pulling out of Korea or restructuring without the consent of the bank.

    That right, which expired in October 2017, was reinstated after GM and the Korean government reached an agreement in April.

    However, it’s not clear whether that veto right can be applied to spinning off units within GM Korea. There’s even arguments that the newly forming center may not account for 20 percent of the automaker’s total assets.

    The union tried to stop the shareholders’ meeting by occupying a hall leading to GM Korea CEO Kaher Kazem’s office in Bupyeong District, Incheon. The union earlier this week voted in favor of a walkout that will likely take place next week.

    A crisis that led to the shutdown of one of GM Korea’s four plants in Korea in May seemed to have been solved when GM and the Korean government reached an agreement after long negotiations to inject $7.15 billion into the struggling automaker. GM agreed on covering $6.4 billion while KDB put up $750 million. GM agreed to keep the local unit going for at least 10 years.

    But in July, GM Korea announced the spinning off of its R&D center, which will turn Korea into its global strategic development and design center for next generation models.

    Meanwhile, production of compact vehicles will end in 2022 and factories will concentrate on SUVs.

    “The establishment of a dedicated GM Korea Technical Center is an important development in continuing our organization,” said GM Korea CEO Kazem in a letter sent to employees on Monday, adding that the new center would help to “more effectively respond to and secure and execute global engineering projects.”

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  • 50,000 Units Of The Honda Amaze Sold In 5 Months

    50,000 Units Of The Honda Amaze Sold In 5 Months

    Honda Cars India Ltd today announced that the all new Amaze has crossed the 50,000 sales mark in just 5 months since its launch in mid May 2018. The Honda Amaze currently contributes to 50 per cent of the total HCIL sales during April -Sept 2018. This is fastest 50,000 sales number recorded by any new model launched by Honda in India. The company says that the Amaze attracted more than 20 per cent first time buyers, while the car has been well received across markets with 40 per cent sales coming from Tier 1 cities and 30 per cent each from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

    Makoto Hyoda, Director, Sales and Marketing, Honda Cars India Ltd said, “The overall concept of All New Amaze was to develop a one-class-above sedan for Indian family use that exceeds the expectations of customers in the compact sedan segment. The response to the car with 50,000 sales in 5 months is overwhelming. The advanced CVT technology has found very strong acceptance among customers with 30% of Amaze customers opting for automatic variants in petrol and diesel.”
    The new Amaze takes on the very popular Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire and has impressed us by winning the comparison test. The Honda Amaze is completely different as compared to the first generation. While the design is a little conservative, buyers might appreciate the balanced look the new car has. While you do get features like daytime running lights or 15-inch alloy wheels on the top of the line variant, the Amaze loses out on the likes of LED headlamps or even projector headlamps. Diamond cut alloy wheels like the one on the City could have made it a nicer package too.

    On the interior though, the new Honda Amaze is much nicer as compared to its predecessor. It now gets a larger 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, called Digipad-2 with both Apple Carplay and Android Auto. It also gets a start-stop button, automatic climate control and as we mentioned earlier, the CVT variants get paddle shifters too. There is also more space in the cabin as compared to earlier and that is mainly due to a longer wheelbase. The new Honda Amaze also gets a fold-down central armrest for the rear passengers and rear AC vents.

    Under the hood, the petrol-powered Honda Amaze gets a 1.2-litre, 4-cylinder, naturally aspirated engine that makes 89 bhp of peak power and 110 Nm of peak torque. The engine is mated to either a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 7-step CVT automatic. The CVT also gets paddle shifters – a first-in-class feature in this segment. Fuel economy ratings for the petrol manual are at 19.5 kmpl while the CVT petrol is rated at 19 kmpl according to ARAI test figures.

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  • Audi’s Electric SUV Faces Four Week Delay Due to Software Issues

    Audi’s Electric SUV Faces Four Week Delay Due to Software Issues

    Audi’s first electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) will hit showrooms four weeks later than planned because of a software development issue, a spokesman for the German luxury car brand said on Sunday. The spokesman said Audi’s e-tron midsize SUV faced delay because the carmaker needs new regulatory clearance for a piece of software that was modified during the development process.

    Audi staged a global launch of the e-tron in San Francisco last month as part of its effort to expand the market for premium electric vehicles and grab a share from California-based Tesla, which has had the niche largely to itself.

    The e-tron delays were first reported by German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, citing sources close to the company. The paper said delivery could be delayed by several months. The paper also said Audi was locked in price negotiations with LG Chem, the South-Korean supplier of batteries for its electric vehicles, which wants to increase prices by about 10 percent because of high demand.

    LG Chem supplies electric vehicle batteries for Audi, its parent Volkswagen and Daimler. An LG Chem official declined to comment on the report, citing the confidentiality of its relationship with a client. The Audi spokesman also declined to comment on price negotiations with LG Chem.

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  • What To Expect from the 2018 Hyundai Santro

    What To Expect from the 2018 Hyundai Santro

    Hyundai is all set to launch the new Santro in the country on October 23 and we’ve already told you a lot about the car. The Santro badge is making a comeback into the country and it’s opportune that the new hatchback comes at the same time as the 20th anniversary of the Santro badge in the country. The Hyundai Santro has enjoyed a lot of success in the country and the company would want to add to the popularity of the car with the launch of the all new model. The Santro continues to carry the tall boy stance that it always had and that brings in a lot of tech which adds to the appeal of the car.

    The company has already received an overwhelming response for the Santro as it has already received more than 14,000 bookings for the car till date. The new Santro will also only come with a set of steel 14-inch wheels with wheel covers and there are no alloy wheels on offer – even on the top of the line Asta variant. Although we can’t show you what the car looks like just yet, we have spent a fair amount of time in the car and we told you all about it in our first drive report

    The 2018 Hyundai Santro is likely to come in 4 variants – Era, Magna, Asta and Sportz. We expect the Sportz and the Asta model to get a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment setup that will support Bluetooth, mirror link and inbuilt navigation. More importantly though, the infotainment setup will also – for the first time in class – support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

    The Santro will replace the Eon in the company’s line-up in India and will be the company’s entry level hatchback in the country. This will see it take on cars like the Maruti Suzuki Celerio, Renault Kwid, Tata Tiago among others and this means that the pricing will be around the ₹ 4 lakh bracket. However, it is very likely that the company will undercut its rivals and the base variant will be closer to the ₹ 3.85 lakh mark. The introductory prices are applicable on the first 50,000 units and Hyundai has made sure that there’ll be no changes in the prices for the first 50,000 customers.

    The 2018 Hyundai Santro has grown in dimensions. It’s 45 mm longer now and has a wheelbase of 3610 mm. The company claims that it is a tall-boy design as the Santro has always been, but the overall angular proportions will deceive that at the first glance. On the outside, expect nothing more than what you get in an entry segment car. Essentially, fancy fitments like LED DRLs and alloy wheels won’t be offered on the Santro. It will have halogen headlamps as standard and the Santro will ride on 14-inch steel wheels.

    Hyundai is offering the Santro with a 1.1-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine. The engine develops 68 bhp and 99 Nm of peak torque and will be mated to a five-speed gearbox as standard. Though, the Santro will be the first Hyundai to get the option of an AMT gearbox. There will be also a CNG option on offer where the engine will develop 59 bhp and deliver a fuel economy of 20.3 kmpl.

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  • Why Vietnam’s auto industry never stepped on the gas

    Why Vietnam’s auto industry never stepped on the gas

    Vietnam’s auto industry has suffered from rewards not being connected to production and the neglect of domestic suppliers.

    It is evident that while joint ventures have continually received financial support and incentives without developing production, domestic suppliers have been ignored.

    In this context, the emergence of VinFast – the year-old auto-making subsidiary of Vietnamese realty and retail giant Vingroup – is being seen as a keystone element in the development of the Vietnamese auto industry.

    Standing alongside Vingroup are major incumbents, like Truong Hai Auto Corp and Hyundai Thanh Cong. Although it seems the right time has come for Vietnam’s car industry to move to a new level, the industry has failed to take shape for the last 20 years.

    Car making projects in Vietnam have been around since the 90s. Production was first undertaken by the Hoa Binh (Vietnam Motors Corporation-VMC) and Mekong Auto Corporation in the form of business cooperation contracts (BCC) with other automobile manufacturers.

    VMC assembled and manufactured different product lines for BMW, Mazda and Kia, while Mekong produced for Fiat and Ssangyong.

    Subsequently, foreign companies began to invest in Vietnam in the form of joint ventures, like Toyota, Honda, Daihatsu, Ford and Mercedes.

    The developmental strategy for the first stage of the industry was clear: attract FDI, create jobs, and create a favorable environment to nurture local producers of materials needed to produce cars.

    The social rationale for this strategy was also to use the projects to provide growth opportunities for low-income provinces such as Vinh Phuc and Hai Duong.

    At that time, even though consumption was primarily in the south of Vietnam, most manufacturers were located up north. To protect the fledgling joint ventures, which primarily manufactured CKDs (completely knocked down cars, to be assembled by the buyer), the government enforced a protectionist policy, closing the market for imported CBUs (completely built up cars).

    In the early 2000s, tariffs on imported CBUs were very high, at 120 percent. This rate was reduced to around 60-80 percent after Vietnam joined the WTO in 2007; and it was to be further lowered pursuant to the ATIGA trade agreement’s reduction schedule.

    2018 is the first year in the schedule where imported cars of ASEAN origin (C/O form D) are subject to zero percent tariffs.

    Since the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) agreement was signed between ASEAN countries in 1992, car manufacturers have been forced to reconsider the strategy of producing and consuming cars within this region.

    With Vietnam’s accession to ASEAN, a country with a large population and unrealized market potential, car makers revised their long-term business strategy, reducing CKD production and moving towards 100 percent importing of CBUs from other countries in the region.

    The only manufacturing hope lay with Korean firms Kia and Hyundai, both of whom had just begun to establish production and consumption in the Vietnamese market.

    The emergence of Vietnam’s first home-made brand, VinFast, is a notable step forward, but it is still far too early for this to mean anything.

    A strategy that failed

    The strategy of using FDI to foster growth of the auto industry and increase localization has not been successful. Why?

    A new car must go through a rigorous testing process by the manufacturer and the relevant independent accreditation bodies. Therefore, manufacturers are very careful when choosing components for their car models. Original Equipment Manufacturing Suppliers (OEM), otherwise known as parts suppliers, are selected at the development stage of the model, long before the car is introduced to the market.

    Each vehicle has a Homologation Document that contains a complete set of vehicle assembly information. This kit must be approved by an independent body after testing, prior to the issuance of a Vehicle Type Approval. Compliance with technical documentation is compulsory to ensure quality and safety of the car.

    Because Vietnam’s auto market is small and production is predominantly in CKD form, models are usually introduced to the markets one to two years late. This makes it impossible to change component suppliers. There have been many cases of joint ventures in Vietnam suggesting replacement of components with those sourced from inside the country, but not getting the parent company’s approval.

    The Kia models sold in Vietnam are a good example. They run on Continental tires from Germany instead of Kumho, a Korean brand produced locally.

    In 2006, import taxes on CKD cars were restructured. Instead of being taxed per whole kit, the tax was levied on individual components to make it more favorable for manufacturers who source components locally. Despite this, the localization ratio has not increased as desired by policy makers.

    According to statistics compiled by McKinsey & Company, components sourced overseas make up 55 percent of the total cost of a car. Manufacturers cannot achieve the 40 percent localization rate required by the ATIGA trade agreement if the supply source is not available.

    Because of the failed developmental strategy for domestic manufacturers, Vietnam is instead becoming a market for major production centers based in Thailand and Indonesia.

    Over a long time, policies and resources have been poured into automotive joint ventures, but OEM Suppliers are key players in shaping the game. Most companies in the list of the 100 largest OEM suppliers are from Japan, Germany or the United States.

    While China is the largest market for automobile production and consumption, accounting for 30 percent of the world market, only two companies make the above list, mainly producing aluminium chassis components.

    So how can any real change happen?

    If local OEMs, not joint ventures, receive these huge resources and are facilitated to build factories in Vietnam, then the production and business strategies of automakers in the ASEAN region might not be what they are now. -Bui Sinh-

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  • Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo To Go Into Series Production

    Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo To Go Into Series Production

    It was at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, that Porsche first unveiled the Mission E Cross Turismo concept. Back then, we’d told you that the car looked great and did not have that concept feel to it. It’s very close to something you’d see on actual roads and it was as production ready as it gets. However, Porsche still called it a concept as the Supervisory board of the company had not given the green light for the project. But now the company has said that the Supervisory Board of Porsche AG gave the green light for series production of the concept study Mission E Cross Turismo. The sports car manufacturer will create 300 additional jobs at its headquarters in Zuffenhausen for production of the vehicle, which was presented at the Geneva Motor Show next year.

    The Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo is a derivative of the Taycan

    The Porsche Cross Turismo includes an emotional design with striking off-road elements as well as an innovative display and operating concept with touchscreen and eye-tracking control. It measures in just under 5 metres and has all-wheel drive and can also be charged by induction, at a charging station or using the Porsche home energy storage system.

    The four-door Cross Turismo has an 800-volt architecture and is prepared for connection to the fast charging network. It has a system output of 600 horses and a range of 500 km (NEDC). This enables the Mission E Cross Turismo to accelerate to 100 km/h in less than 3.5 seconds and to reach a speed of 200 km/h in under 12 seconds. The vehicle is a derivative of the Taycan which is the first purely electric Porsche that will be launched in the market in 2019. Porsche plans to invest more than six billion euros in electromobility by 2022.

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  • Mahindra Marazzo MPV Gets Apple CarPlay

    Mahindra Marazzo MPV Gets Apple CarPlay

    Mahindra’s latest launch- the Marazzo will now be equipped with Apple CarPlay. The MPV was launched in India on September 3 and it’s infotainment system was Android Auto compatible. The UV maker has now confirmed to carandbike of having received the licence for Apple CarPlay. The company has sold over 4500 units of the Marazzo, which were rolled out of the Nashik plant. All these units did not have Apple Carplay but the company has informed us that all the models sold will be updated with the Apple CarPlay in their schedule service, without any additional cost.

    The timing for the license couldn’t have come at a better time as Mahindra is all set to launch the Y400 in the country in November this year and well, the SUV of course will get both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto now.

    The 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system in the Mahindra Marazzo is claimed to be the most updated unit in Mahindra’s product portfolio boasting of some cool features, for example configurable home screen. Buyers can add personalized images on the infotainment system’s internal memory via the USB socket and select it as the background wallpaper. Moreover, Mahindra has also been innovative with the creature comfort features in the Marazzo.

    The new Mahindra Marazzo is powered by a new 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine that has been tuned to offer a maximum of 121 bhp and develops a peak torque of 300 Nm. The engine only comes mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox, and right now, there is no automatic transmission on offer. Mahindra is also working on the petrol engine and an automatic transmission for the Marazzo and could introduce the same when the BS VI emission norms come into effect from April 2020.

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  • Tesla Chief Elon Musk Unveils a $35,000 Model 3

    Tesla Chief Elon Musk Unveils a $35,000 Model 3

    Tesla chief Elon Musk said late Thursday that the automaker was preparing to sell the cheapest version yet of its newest electric car, the Model 3, signaling an attempt to get back to business after months of controversy. Musk said on Twitter that the sedan, with its “midrange” battery pack, would cost $35,000, bringing it in line with the mass-market model he had promised for years would revolutionize the availability of electric cars.

    But that price takes into account federal and state tax rebates. Before the discounts, it will sell for $45,000 – though the company says buyers should think of the car as far cheaper, because of the money they’ll save on gas.

    Musk sparked a frenzy of customer reservations in 2016 when he said the Model 3 would cost $35,000 before incentives, such as a $7,500 federal tax credit – a price point that would help Tesla expand beyond its traditional range of well-heeled buyers. That model, however, remains delayed until 2019, the company said Thursday.

    The surprise announcement, delivered via tweet to Musk’s 23 million followers, comes as Tesla seeks to steer attention away from a chaotic period in which Musk battled with critics, smoked marijuana during an interview and pledged that he had the money to take Tesla private – a promise for which he was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and which he recently settled.

    Musk agreed as part of the settlement to step down as the company’s chairman for three years, opening a prominent void for which the company has yet to fill. But the announcement again highlights Musk’s enduring role as the company’s chief executive, designer and hype man.

    Musk said Thursday the car would be sold via Tesla’s “super simple new order page,” which estimated that delivery for its midrange model would take six to 10 weeks. That model, the company said, could go 260 miles on a single charge.

    The only available Model 3 for the last year has been a long-range version, offered mostly at luxury prices. But Musk said a “truer cost of ownership” for the midrange version would be about $31,000, his estimate for discounting the cost of gas.

    The move could ratchet up the pressure on Tesla’s already-straining California factory and its nationwide system built to deliver cars to customers, which Musk described last month as mired in “delivery logistics hell.”

    “As Model 3 production and sales continue to grow rapidly, we’ve achieved a steady volume in manufacturing capacity, allowing us to diversify our product offering to even more customers,” a Tesla spokesperson said in a statement.

    The move could frustrate Tesla fans who put down a $1,000 deposit two years ago for what they believed would be a sleek electric sedan costing about $27,500 after tax incentives.

    Tesla says the “standard battery” version will not be available for another 4 to 6 months. Musk has said the company, a cash-burning giant that faces billions of dollars in impending debts, must push out more profitable and expensive versions first: Shipping the cheapest “Model 3 right away (would) cause Tesla to lose money & die,” he tweeted in May.

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  • Honda Active Has Crossed The 2 Crore Sales Milestone

    Honda Active Has Crossed The 2 Crore Sales Milestone

    Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) has announced that the company’s top-selling two-wheeler, the Honda Activa, has recently breached the 2 crore sales mark in India. Evidently, the popular Honda Active is now the first scooter in the country to cross this huge sales milestone. Interestingly enough, it took the Honda 15 years to breach first one crore sales mark, while the next one crore units were sold in just 3 years, which is four times faster than the time taken to acquire the first 1 crore customers.

    Minoru Kato, President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. today announced this feat and expressed his gratitude to the 2 crore happy Indian customers, and said “Over 18 years and 5 generations, Honda 2Wheelers India continuously added value to exceed Customers expectations & making Activa the most preferred choice of Indian 2wheeler buyers. We are delighted that Activa partnered over 2 crore Indian families on the move in realizing their dreams. As India’s Love for Activa grows, we remain committed to take on new challenges and bring joy to our customers.”

    2018 Honda Activa 5G was launched at the Auto Expo

    The Honda Active was first launched in the year 2001, and since then we have seen five generations of the scooter in India. The fifth-gen model, the Honda Activa 5G, was launched this year in February, at the 2018 Auto Expo. The Activa was truly a ground-breaking product from the Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer and it has been the country’s top-selling two-wheeler for quite some time now. In fact, in 2017 the Activa becomes not just India’s, but the World’s largest selling two-wheeler.

    The current-generation model – Honda Activa 5G, is powered by a 109 cc, single-cylinder engine which puts out 8 bhp at 7,500 rpm and 9 Nm of peak torque at 5,500 rpm. No other scooter on sale in India has been able to come close to the Activa’s sales success in its segment. In addition to features like Honda’s Combi-break system and HSE technology, the new Activa also comes with a semi-digital instrument cluster with the display showing information like additional service due indicator and ECO options. The scooter also gets a 4-in-1 hook with the seat opener switch like the Grazia and a retractable rear hook.

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  • New Hyundai Santro Bookings Cross 14,000 Units

    New Hyundai Santro Bookings Cross 14,000 Units

    The Hyundai Santro is back with a bang. And as if to proclaim that this nameplate still commands the kind of strength it used to, the small car has already garnered over 14,000 bookings. Sources have shared with carandbike that the small car has notched up 14,208 bookings within the first 9 days of pre-bookings having been opened for a token of ₹ 11,000, on October 10 2018. This is even though the variants and prices are not known, and customers have shown a preference for the top spec (Asta) manual variant followed by the top spec (Sportz) AMT version.

    These are pan-India bookings, but sources have shared with carandbike that a large chunk of the bookings are from the southern states, with Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Karnataka and Kerala accounting for just under half the total bookings so far. The above figure does not include bookings taken on Dussehra (celebrated on October 18 in Western India, October 19 in North India), and so the overall number is expected to shoot up with Dussehra bookings and then more so over this weekend too. Bookings are only open online, and not at dealerships since there is no car in showrooms as yet that people can see. But a number of dealers have shared with carandbike that many potential customers have been visiting their showrooms, and then making the bookings online with their help.

    The Hyundai Santro has bagged over 14,000 bookings in just 9 days

    Hyundai had opened online pre-bookings for the Santro the day after it unveiled the car to media at its Chennai plant. At the time, the Hyundai India MD, YK Koo had also announced a price protection for the first 50,000 customers. and had pretty much guaranteed that the prices announced at launch will be hiked soon after. At that preview we had the chance to see and drive the car, and have told you plenty about it. What we have been unable to do is share our pictures and videos. And while that remains embargoed until launch day – i.e. October 23 2018 – a lot of leaked pictures have already emerged that show the car’s exterior and interior in fairly good detail.

    The 2018 Hyundai Santro will get a 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system

    We know there will be a base version – most likely the Era variant, followed by the Magna variant, the fairly well-loaded Sportz trim and the top spec Asta. All variants will sport a driver-side airbag and ABS (anti-lock braking) as standard equipment. The Asta will have dual airbags standard. The Sportz will also get the 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, MirrorLink and Voice Commands. The car’s cabin will be finished in a dual-tone palette of beige and black. On the outside, buyers will have 7 colours to choose from, though only the green will get a special interior package in its Asta trim.

    Under the hood, the new Hyundai Santro features a 1.1-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that comes from the company’s Epsilon engine family. The motor is capable of churning out a maximum of 68 bhp and develop a peak torque of 99 Nm, and Hyundai says that it’s already BS-VI ready. Additionally, the 2018 Santro will also come with a factory fitted CNG kit, which can hold up to 8 kg of gas, and offer a reduced power output of 58 bhp, while developing the same 99 Nm of peak torque. Transmission duties are taken care of by a 5-speed manual gearbox in both the versions, however, the petrol trim also gets an optional 5-speed automated manual transmission (AMT) unit. The AMT unit is developed by Hyundai in-house and uses an electric actuator instead of a hydraulic, which is controlled by a separate electric unit. The petrol engine offers a mileage of 20.3 kmpl, while the fuel efficiency of the CNG version is yet to be revealed.

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  • Porsche Expects To Repeat Record Vehicle Sales

    Porsche Expects To Repeat Record Vehicle Sales

    Volkswagen’s Porsche sports car brand is confident it can repeat last year’s record sales in 2018, the division’s chief executive told. Porsche sold 196,562 vehicles during the first nine months of the year, with Europe showing a 9 percent increase and China, the world’s largest car market, growing by 4 percent.

    “In light of these good numbers we expect that we can reach last year’s record again,” Oliver Blume said in e-mailed comments on Thursday.

    Porsche delivered 246,375 vehicles in 2017.

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  • Skoda names new compact the Scala

    Skoda names new compact the Scala

    Skoda says it will rename its Rapid compact hatchback the Scala when the new model goes on sale next year. The car’s name comes from the Latin word for “ladder,” Skoda said in a statement.

    The Scala was previewed as the Vision RS concept that was unveiled at the Paris auto show this month.

    The name change signifies the step up Volkswagen Group’s Czech subsidiary has made with the new car, Skoda CEO Bernhard Maier explained in the statement. “This is a completely new development that sets standards in terms of technology, safety and design in this class,” he said.

    The Scala will be pitched further upmarket compared with the current budget Rapid to create a more credible rival for cars such as the Ford Focus.

    “I think the problem of the current Rapid is maybe it’s too low-market. Maybe we went too far toward value for money,” Bjorn Kroll, Skoda’s head of product marketing and the brand’s commercial leader on electric cars, said at a preview of the concept ahead of the Paris show. “With this one, we tried to balance it out.”

    Skoda said the car would offer innovative features that “have only been seen in higher segments,” without being specific about those features.

    The Scala will be engineered for Europe on the VW Group’s small-car MQB A0 platform. The current model uses a version of the low-cost PQ platform.

    The name change also signifies a break with the Rapid sold in China and Russia. A future replacement for the Rapid in those markets is expected to use an updated version of the PQ platform to keep costs down.

    Instead of a badge, the Scala will feature the word Skoda affixed to the tailgate — the first Skoda to feature this, the brand said.

    The range is expected to include an RS high-performance version using the same plug-in hybrid drivetrain previewed by the Vision RS concept. It combines a 150-hp, 1.5-liter gasoline turbo engine with a 102-hp electric motor to accelerate the car from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in 7.1 seconds. The 13-kWh battery provides a range of 70 km (43 miles), compared with 50 km (31 miles) in the discontinued VW Golf GTE plug-in hybrid.

    Skoda sold 35,206 units of the Rapid notchback and Spaceback hatchback in the first half of this year across Europe, down 2.7 percent compared with the year before, figures from JATO Dynamics show. The notchback will be discontinued in Europe, Skoda said.

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  • Softbank, Toyota form JV for mobility services in Japan

    Softbank, Toyota form JV for mobility services in Japan

    Japan’s Softbank and automaker Toyota announced plans to form a joint venture by April 2019 to provide launch Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) in the country. The company, called Monet Technologies, will combine Toyota’s mobility services platform and information infrastructure for connected vehicles with Softbank’s Internet of Things platform, the companies said in a joint statement.

    Initially, Monet plans to roll out just-in-time vehicle dispatch services for Japanese public agencies and private companies to meet user demand. Those services include on-demand transportation service and corporate shuttles.

    By the second half of the 2020s, Monet intends to launch an autono-MaaS (autonomous mobility as a service) businesses, using Toyota’s e-Palette battery electric vehicles.

    These vehicles will deliver meals with food prepared in the vehicles, provide hospital shuttles where onboard medical examinations can be carried out onboard.  These vehicles can also serve as mobile offices, Softbank said.

    Softbank said Monet will roll out its mobility services in Japan before focusing on future expansion to the global market.

    The joint venture will have initial capital of 2 billion yen ($17.49 million), and this will be increased to 10 billion yen in future.

    Softbank will own 50.25% of the JV and Toyota take the remaining 49.75%.

    SoftBank Corp representative director and CTO Junichi Miyakawa will be president and CEO of the new joint venture.

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