With the luxury car and mid-size car market growing rapidly, it makes sense that the BMW group has introduced its MINI brand to India.

MINI has brought four models with them for their Indian debut: the MINI Cooper, the MINI Cooper S, the MINI Cooper Convertible and the Clubman. Kay Segler, senior vice-president of MINI brand management and business coordination said, “We are not looking at volumes initially in India. We are looking to build the MINI brand. The MINI cars will feature 1.6 liter petrol engines. There is no plan of diesel engines for time being.”

MINI has looked at making this move in the past, but up until now has felt that the country and market were not ready for them. “More Indians are traveling and living abroad, they have network overseas and are more aware of trends,” Segler said. For the time being the cars will be distributed from three exclusive MINI dealers, two of them are in New Delhi and one will be in Mumbai.

All of India’s MINI’s will be assembled in the UK with no talk of an Indian assembly plant in the near future. The Indian prices for the MINI will range from Rs 24.90 lakh to Rs 31.99 lakh.

[Source: MyDigitalFC]

We’ve been hearing rumors of a new “global” B-segment crossover from Ford for some time. Now, the Blue Oval has officially revealed details on its latest EcoSport , unveiled at the 2012 New Delhi Auto Expo this week.

The new EcoSport, underpinned by Ford’s latest B-segment vehicle architecture, is the second of eight new models the company plans to introduce into the Indian market by mid decade and will also serve to drive sales in other Asian markets as well, plus in other parts of the world where vehicle demand is growing, notably Brazil.

Looking a lot like a Fiesta on stilts, the latest EcoSport will be produced locally in India at the Chennai integrated manufacturing complex for both domestic consumption and also export, with production in other countries, likely Brazil slated to commence down the road.

Given it shares engineering with the Fiesta, perhaps not surprisingly the EcoSport gets Ford’s 1.0-liter, 120 metric horsepower (PS) three-cylinder, direct injected, turbocharged EcoBoost engine, coupled with a five-speed manual transaxle.

Although at the time of posting this story, other technical features had yet to be announced, don’t be surprised if a four-cylinder engine, a diesel and a choice of front or all-wheel drive options, plus a self-shifting transmission materialize as well, at least in some markets.

GALLERY: Ford EcoSport

Watch out Tata Nano – there’s a new vehicle in town and its aiming to be the cheapest car on the road. The Bajaj RE60 in a new four wheeled vehicle that’s looking to replace the Nano as the most inexpensive car in India.

Tipping the scales at a mere 880 pounds, the Bajaj RE60 keeps its weight down by utilizing a monocoque metal-polymer hybrid structure that’s durable as well as light weight. It gets its juice from a water-cooled 200cc engine that pumps out 20 horsepower, and offers a top speed of 43 mph. Even though it’s a compact car, there’s room for cargo – about 14.1 cubic feet when you fold down the rear seats.

In an effort to keep it eco-friendly, the RE60 will be available in gasoline, liquid propane gas and compressed natural gas models, which will give this vehicle 60 gm/km range and mileage of 35 kmpl.

“At Bajaj Auto, we believe the people of this planet deserve much better, much faster,” said Rajiv Bajaj, MD of Bajaj Auto . “We therefore decided to focus our efforts on developing vehicles powered by engines using available natural resources and infrastructure. We are very excited with the outcome of our efforts and, in the RE60, we believe we have an excellent solution for the mobility challenges arising from the rapid urbanization of India.”

No word on price just yet, but in order to make a dent in India’s car market, Bajaj will have to keep the price on the RE60 below the Nano.

DC Design is scheduled to unveil India’s first supercar at the upcoming 2012 Delhi Auto Expo that’s just around the corner. This is the same firm that was responsible for the Rolls-Royce inspired Phantom DC Concept coupe back in 2006.

The supercar will be a limited edition, low volume vehicle assembled at DC Design’s facility in Pune, India. They anticipate deliveries of the vehicle to begin by the end of 2013.

Details are bleak, but what we do know is that it will probably be powered by a V6 engine sourced from Honda with a custom turbo setup to give it over 400-hp. The power-to-weight ratio will be the focus for this supercar, as DC Design is aiming to have it weigh less than 3,400-lbs.

Right now DC Design is aiming to have 300 vehicles built and if there is enough demand they’ll produce up to 3,000 vehicles a year. Despite being a “supercar” DC Design hopes to price it around $55,000.

We’re sure more details will be revealed once the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo starts on January 5th, 2012.

Ford announced their lineup at the upcoming 2012 Delhi Auto Expo in India, mentioning the world debut of a new global vehicle along with a teaser image. General consensus around here is that this will be Ford’s next EcoSport CUV.

In the release, Ford only mentions that an all-new vehicle planned for global markets will be introduced in India and will be the latest One Ford global product. The second-generation EcoSport will probably be based on the same platform as Ford’s Fiesta, and even though Ford’s all about a global launch, we’re a little hesitant to believe it’ll make it to American shores anytime soon.

Ford will also be showing off their Figo, all-new Fiesta, Classic and Endeavour at the Auto Expo. A total of 12 vehicles will be on display in a new, high-tech booth boasting a 3D theater, live shows and a crowd-sourced interactive driving game.

Suzuki is working closely with Fiat to increase their supply of diesel-powered cars in India.

The two have been working together since 2003 when Suzuki started offering a Fiat-sourced 2.0-liter diesel in their Sedici/SX4 duo. That partnership flew in the face of another deal between Suzuki and Volkswagen that has since imploded.

Recently rising gas prices in India, where Maruti-Suzuki  has a commanding grasp of the auto market, have meant that demand for diesels is outstripping supply. Consequently, a new deal between Suzuki and Fiat will ramp up production from the previous 280,000 Swifts per year to 380,000.

The Swift is the best-selling car in India, and will likely take an even bigger share in January when the increased production will take effect. The diesel version is so popular that Maruti-Suzuki actually raised the price to encourage consumers to opt for the less popular gasoline powered version.

[Source: Left Lane News]

Toyota has announced that starting in 2013, it will sell Lexus vehicles in India. No specific products were announced for sale, but likely contenders include the LS and GS sedans, as well as the RX crossover. Given India’s less than perfect roads, the LX and GX SUVs (based on the popular Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs) may also make it over.

While Lexus has been around for over 20 years, the brand didn’t expand beyond North American and Europe until 2o05. Asia, Russia the Middle East and now India are its latest conquests, and Toyota is hoping to repeat its success in markets like The United States. Unlike some luxury manufacturers, like Mercedes-Benz, Toyota will import Lexus vehicles from Japan and elsewhere. Mercedes chooses to assemble vehicles locally to avoid expensive import duties.

[Source: Left Lane News]

A public disagreement between Volkswagen and Suzuki in early September left the Japanese automaker wanting to end its partnership, but that might not happen. In a news release Monday, the company said it “will retain its stake in Suzuki Motor Corp. unchanged.”

Suzuki requested its shares be returned in light of what representatives say are numerous violations in the 2009 agreement to develop green cars. Two years ago the companies partnered, agreeing to share VW technology with Suzuki in exchange for insight into emerging markets like India. The agreement disintegrated since then, with both companies citing violations by the other.

Suzuki claims Volkswagen violated the agreement in developing hybrids and electric cars several times thus far. On the other end of the argument, Suzuki also bought diesel engines from VW rival Fiat, something Volkswagen said was contradictory to their agreement.

Volkswagen made an announcement about the issue early last month, leading to a public dispute between then two companies. The fight left Suzuki insisting the companies part ways.

Suzuki owns just under a 1.5 percent stake in Volkswagen.

[Source: The Detroit News]

The world’s economy stinks, gas is expensive and we’re all watching our wallets closely.

You might assume that would also indicate less car parts being sold, but not for diesel engine manufacturer Cummins. “Several of the economies where Cummins operates are clearly weakening,” COO Tom Linebarger told analysts last month. “We really don’t know how deep it will go. We are confident in the long-term profitable growth of the company.”

The Columbus, Ind. based manufacturer builds natural gas and diesel engines and despite the worlds money woes is projecting a sharp rise in diesel fuel demand. Last month Cummins told analysts they forecast to grow by more than 60 per cent and reach $30 billion in 2015.

Over the next five years the company also plans to hire 7000 new engineers to compensate for increased demand. They hope doing so will allow them to develop new engines to meet increasingly stringent efficiency standards.

They owe their expansion in large part to overseas demand in emerging economies like China and South America and India where there is still high demand for construction equipment, but it isn’t the only reason.

The company is also expanding its production for consumer vehicles. Nissan is currently working on putting a 2.8-liter direct injection turbocharged four-cylinder from Cummins into its 2015 Titan pickup. Once available, the new generation Titan will be one of the most efficient full-size pickups on the market.

Cummins also supplies diesel engines to Chrysler Group in the U.S. light vehicle market and to Dodge for its line of Ram pickup trucks.

[Source: autonews.com]

A report by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants claims that by 2015, Brazil will be the world’s third largest auto market, with China and the United States occupying the first and second slots respectively.

Brazil will displace Japan as the third largest market, as sales are expected to double to 6.6 million vehicles by 2020. The report also claims that Chinese and Indian auto makers will export vehicles to Brazil en masse and could grab 10 percent of the market by 2020. Volkswagen, Ford and Fiat have long enjoyed market dominance in Brazil, but a flood of cheap cars from China and India could radically alter the balance of market share in an economy where merely having a car is seen as a major step-up from two-wheeled transportation.

[Source: The Truth About Cars]