Ten global launches to set an Expo record

On the eve of the Expo,General Motor’s Chevrolet took the lead by launching a compact car,the Chevrolet Beat,priced between Rs 3.34 lakh and Rs 4.23 lakh.

Tuesday will see the unveiling of concept cars from Honda Siel Cars India and a small car from Toyota Kirloskar Motors exclusively designed for the Indian market.

Though the Honda and Toyota vehicles will only be launched in 2011 and beyond,their unveiling will mark the foray of two Japanese icons into the mass market.

GM will build small car designed in India

New Delhi: US auto major General Motors is working on developing a small car wholly-designed at its Bangalore centre and is expecting to complete the design pretty soon. “We are now developing vehicles for India at the Bangalore centre and the focus is more on small cars as India is basically a small car market,” General Motors (GM) vice-president (Global Design) Edward T Welburn said.

M&M enters heavy CV segment

New Delhi: Farm equipment and utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra has announced its foray into heavy commercial vehicle segment in partnership with Navistar Inc of the United States. Under the joint venture,Mahindra Navistar Automotive Limited (MNAL),the two companies have unveiled 25 tonnes and 31 tonnes trucks,which have been developed for the Indian market at an investment Rs 650 crore.

Mercedes loses out to BMW in india sales

New Delhi: German luxury carmaker Mercedes has said it has lost the leadership position in the premium segment in India to rival BMW and reported a decline of 10.43 per cent in sales in the country for the last year. However,the company is expecting a double digit growth during this year. “We were behind BMW in 2009 because of the limited availability of our E-Class car,” Mercedes Benz India MD and CEO Wilfried Aulbur said.