Tata Motors Embarks on A Green Drive

“Environment-friendliness is a growing basic requirement for premium vehicles,” said Tata Motors in a recent presentation to analysts. Premium competitors in the auto industry are realizing this fact and taking responsible initiative towards eco sub-branding. Steady development of economic solutions is also an indicative of this trend. Traditional SUVs are being moved towards crossover, multipurpose and smaller SUVs, and there are similar movements towards small premium cars as well.

Keeping in tandem with the above changing trend, Tata Motors has charted a strategy for a 25 per cent carbon dioxide reduction in its Jaguar and Land Rover models. The company has taken into account volatile fuel pricing, continuing legislation on emission and taxing, while banking on two ongoing research projects — Limo Green and Range-e.

Jaguar has already displayed the Limo Green concept, a hybrid XJ equipped with a 145 kW, 295 full-load motor torque electric motor. This gasoline-electric hybrid claims a fuel economy of 57 miles per gallon (10 km/litre) and less than 120 g/km carbon dioxide emission at its top speed of 112 miles per hour.
Range-e uses a plug-in parallel diesel hybrid system to offer a premium SUV that can run as a pure electric vehicle minimizing emissions.

Indian Auto Industry Sales Report for April 2010

After a stunning year-end performance in March 2010, Indian auto industry once again recorded an impressive growth in April 2010. Despite the recent price hikes and discontinuation of some car models in 13 big cities across the country due to BS 4 implications, all major car makers managed to increase their sales during this period. Almost all of them posted double digit growth figures that took the total sales of the domestic car market to a new height altogether.

Maruti Suzuki India reported a significant growth of 29.70% in total sales at 93,058 units as compared to 71,748 units sold during the corresponding period last year.

Tata Motors registered a 52.47% increase in total vehicles sales at 57,202 units, as compared to 37,518 units in the same month last year.

April 2010 total sales for Ford India witnessed a three-fold jump at 7,509 units. The company cited the good response to its small car recent launch Figo for this growth performance. It sold 2,034 vehicles during the corresponding period last year.

Hyundai Motor took its total sales figure for April 2010 to 52,020 units from 44,370 units in the same period previous year, which is a growth by 17.24%.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor, the Indian subsidy of Toyota registered a growth of 77.23% at 6,001 units against 3,386 units in the corresponding period previous year.

In the two wheeler segment, market leader Hero Honda put up a plateau performance. It managed to sell only 3,71,652 units as compared to 3,70,575 units in April 2009.

Suzuki Motorcycle India reported a growth of 53.22% in sales in April 2010. It sold 20,771 units compared to 13,556 units in the same period last year.

TVS Motor Company posted a 27.91% rise in sales at 1,44,689 units compared to 1,13,119 units in April last year.

Finally, India Yamaha Motor, regardless of premium pricing of its motorbikes, registered a growth of 42.01% in sales. It sold 24,960 units as compared to 17,576 units in the same month last year.

Tata Aria to be Launched in India Soon!

Tata Aria is raring to set the Indian roads on fire. Slated for a May/ June launch this year, the all-new seven-seater SUV-MPV crossover is going to be one of the most sophisticated vehicles from Tata Motors. Though the exact price of this latest Tata launch has not yet been finalized, it is expected to come with a price tag of around Rs 12 Lakh-Rs 14.5 Lakh.

Tata Aria comes with a 2.2-liter direct injection common rail diesel engine that currently powers the Tata Safari and Fiat Grande Punto. The engine is capable of generating a maxaimum power of 140 Bhp with maximum torque of 320 Nm. The newest SUV model from Tata Motors wil be the world's first utility vehicle to feature all wheel drive option, ABS (Anti-lock Braking System), EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution), Six SRS Airbags and Traction control with Cruise control.

Tata Aria will be available in three variants:

- Tata Aria EX to be priced around Rs. 12,00,000.00
- Tata Aria GX to be priced around Rs. 13,00,000.00
- Tata Aria LX to be priced around Rs. 14,00,000.00

Tata Motors will offer four-wheel and two-wheel drive options in all its variants.

With an array of advanced features that stylize other vehicles like Ford Endeavor, Chevrolet Captiva, and Toyota Fortuner, Tata Aria promises to give all its contemporaries a tough competition ahead. Tata Motors plans to roll out this flagship SUV model in markets of the U.S., the UK and Europe in the next ten years. For the European markets, the company would be catering to a wide range of power-train options.

Tata Nano Prices to Increase Soon

If you thought your dream of owning Tata Nano will come true at a price of Rs 1 lakh, then this piece of information would shatter your dreams into pieces. The world’s cheapest car may no longer stay as cheap as Rs 1 lakh, the price at which this small wonder was launched. Tata Motors may increase the price of Nano.

Though the automaker has not disclosed the hike in price, the reason for the expected increase in prices has been made clear by Tata Motors. The increase in prices of commodities and logistics is the major reason that will affect the cost of Nano. Mr. Ravi Kant, vice-chairman, Tata Motors said,"Deliveries to the first lot of customers should be over by December. And prices of commodities and logistics have gone up, so we’ll look into the pricing of the car closer to the date of fresh bookings."

The other factor that may lead to increase in price is the commencing of Nano's production at Tata's plant at Sanand, Gujarat from April, 2010. The Sanand plant in Gujarat does not get tax concessions as the Pantnagar plant in Uttarakhand. This will lead to increase in tax outgo thereby affecting the 1 lakh price tag of Tata Nano.

The second phase of bookings for Tata Nano is expected to begin a couple of months later.

Nano Electric Vehicle at 80th Geneva Motor Show

We have said it earlier that its the age of Tata Nano. The small car from Tata Motors is hogging the limelight through out the world. Nano has now reached the ongoing Geneva Motor Show. Tata Motors, the automaker displayed its small car at the 80th Geneva Motor Show. But, the small car displayed by Tata was not the basic model, it was the Nano Electric Vehicle (EV).

The Nano Electric Vehicle is an eco-friendly car that uses super polymer lithium ion batteries, as in the Tata Indica Vista EV. The Electric Nano showcased at Geneva Motor Show gives an output of 160 km and an acceleration of 0-60 kmph in under 10 seconds.

Jaguar Land Rover has a New CEO now

Dr Ralf Speth is now the CEO of Jaguar Land Rover. The automaker has handed over the overall responsibility to Dr. Speth who would report to Carl-Peter Forster, the Group Chief executive officer of Tata Motors.

Tata Motors has expressed complete faith in the newly appointed CEO. The vice chairman of Tata Motors, Mr. Ravi Kant said, "The introduction of Dr. Ralf Speth into Jaguar Land Rover under the guidance of Carl-Peter Forster will considerably strengthen the management of the company and enhance the position and reputation of the two iconic brands in line with the long term strategy of the company.”

Dr. Speth was earlier the working with BMW. He has an overall experience of 22 years in the European auto industry.

Nano in New York - Wow!!

When Ratan Tata started working on his brain child - Tata Nano, he must have never imagined that this small wonder would be such a success. The latest auto news is adding another feather into the cap of the Tata Motors, the automaker.

Tata Nano would be seen at the Hewitt National Design Museum, New York from Thursday. more at Tata Nano Being Displayed at Hewitt National Design Museum

Tata Motors Shining - Global Sales in January Up by 93%

What can be a better start for Tata Motors for 2010 than a 93% increase in the first month of the year. India's very own automaker - Tata Motors has recorded a 93% growth in the global sales in the month of January, 2010.

The immense growth in sales is a combined calculation for the entire Tata Motors Group that include Tata Daewoo, Tata, Hispano Carrocera and Tata passenger vehicles along with distributed brands in India, and Jaguar and Land Rover. The group sales for the month of January reached 85,714.

Vehicles	Sale (in January,2010)	% Growth
Commercial Vehicles	40,334	115%
Passenger vehicles	45,380	76%
Tata passenger vehicle(sold & distributed)	29,111	44%

Scanning Pictures on Wheels

I was searching for some good quality images for a particular car when I noticed this page. With interesting details of the latest models of cars, two wheelers and various sports vehicles, I found eye catching images of cars, commercial vehicles and bikes.

Ford Figo, Tata Nano, Tata Motors Prima Range of Trucks to Renault Twizy, this photo gallery is a one stop platform to access both information and images of almost all the automobiles in India.

Tata Motors Board Meeting on January 29

A meeting of the Board of Directors of Tata Motors Limited will be held on Friday, January 29, 2010, to consider, inter alia, the Audited Results (Standalone) for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009 of the Accounting Year 2009-2010, pursuant to Clause 41 of the Listing Agreement.

Tata Motors follows the footsteps of Maruti Suzuki

In the last post, we told you about the price hike of all Maruti models. Now Tata Motors is the next automaker to do almost the same. Tata Motors has also announced increase in the price of some of its popular models. At present, its just the Tata Indica and Tata Indigo for which the prices have been raised. The increase is almost between Rs. 5000 to 8000.

Shouts of Eco Echo Through Auto Expo

It's the age of eco-friendly vehicles. The impact of the global warming has also appeared in Auto Expo, pushing the automobile companies to produce the cars which are environmentally friendly.

Bollywood Megastar Shah Rukh Khan got down to ongoing Auto Expo to kick off the new electric version of Hyundai's i10, presented by the Korean auto giant. The Hyundai i10 Electric is an emission free car that will go on sale on the company's home market in the second half of 2010.



The i10 Electric will be powered by a 49kW (66.6 PS) electric motor under the hood and driving its front wheels. The exhibition of the i10 Electric reasserts Hyundai's commitment to develop environment friendly cars in the global market.



Another Giant of automobile- Maruti Suzuki displayed a small multi-purpose concept vehicle 'rIII' at the Auto Expo, claiming it will fulfill the need of Indian consumers. On the other hand Honda unveiled small car concept, for now known simply as the Honda 'New Small'. The car is slated for a 2011 release in India and Thailand.The design of the car looks utterly new, with extensive use of LED lights an the overall shape of the car is from a new school of design altogether.

Tata Motors Plans to Display Indicruz At Auto Expo

The 2010 Auto Expo is setting the stage for a number of car modells' launches. This time it is Tata Indicruz that would be showcased at the upcoming event. Indicruz from Tata Motors has been in the news for some time for being the automaker's first MPV. Tata Indicruz is a cross over of three existing models and is expected to come with several features. This flagship model of Tata Motors will be available at Rs. 14 lakhs.