#IndianCars

Renault is in development of an ultra low-cost vehicle, along the lines of the Tata Nano. While the Nano is currently suffering from some awful sales numbers (initial projection of 20,000 a month but only saw 1,200 units sold in September), CEO of Renault/ Nissan Carlos Ghosn is convinced that an extremely affordable vehicle would be a good segment for Renault to venture into when approaching emerging markets.

Tata Sons has named Cyrus Mistry as its next CEO, as current CEO Ratan Tata prepares to retire. The unmarried, childless Tata named Mistry as CEO of the holding company responsible for Tata’s numerous divisions, among them their automotive sector which owns Jaguar and Land Rover, along with the namesake Tata Motors brand.

Look for the little green car in this video. No, not that one. See it?

It’s just another day in Bangladesh (according to the comments), one of the many South Asian countries with more notorious drivers than the last 6 Nicholas Cage movies. After the bus knocks over the other one, the little green car ejects itself from the scene of the crime like a wayward booger. It appears to be a tuk-tuk, traveling alongside the bus without enough time to stop its puny self.

We hope nobody was seriously injured, though Mr. Tuk-Tuk Driver may have to wipe down his seat. Click the jump to see the whole video.

That certainly helped push sales, with Tata selling 9000 units in July 2010. However, after a few vehicles caught fire and concerns over its safety became public, sales took a plunge and resulted in just 509 units sold in November.

If the maker of the world’s cheapest car does move ahead with plans to sell it here in the U.S., the sticker price won’t be the $2,000 figure that the car retails for in its home market of India.

There is such a thing of having too much of a good thing. Like gold… especially when it is on a Tata Nano. The most basic car on the road just got pimped to celebrate the 5,000th anniversary of Indian jewelry.

India’s Mahindra will buy troubled Korean carmaker Ssangyong for $463 million, with Mahindra gaining a 70% stake in the company. The deal is expected to conclude in March, 2011.

In the latest installment of the Mahindra/Global Vehicles Soap Opera, it appears that the first order for U.S. spec trucks, now called Pik-Ups has been placed, according to a statement released by GV.

What’s next? Well, in the ongoing saga of Mahindra’s supposedly U.S. bound pickup, who knows? The latest is an apparent termination of the agreement between the Indian vehicle maker and Global Vehicles Inc., the company it had tasked with importing its HR series two and four-door pickups to the US.  According to an official press release on Mahindra’s US website “the agreement dated 26th September 2006, between Mahindra and GV” has been “terminated.”

India’s Mahindra has nearly completed a purchase of Korean carmaker circus freakshow Ssangyong, maker of the world’s ugliest vehicles.

We’re perhaps starting to wonder if the Mahindra TR20 and TR40 diesel powered pickups will actually ever make it to U.S. shores. Recently it was reported that the trucks had completed all the necessary testing to meet Federal requirements including those set out by the Environmental Protection Agency. However, according to a statement from Pawan Goenka, Mahindra’s President of Automotive Operations, the U.S. launch has been postponed – from Spring until December 2010.

Tata unveiled a new electric version of its Nano at the Geneva Auto Show. The Nano EV joins the Indica Vista EV in Tata’s electric line-up.