The French car maker is thinking in line with its Japanese partner, Nissan which has planned to launch low cost cars under the Datsun brand name in emerging markets like India, Indonesia and Russia.

Photo: Renault will soon launch a small car to take on the Alto and the Eon targeting the masses

Renault has appointed Gerard Detourbet, as the alliance managing director for developing the upcoming small car. Detourbet is known in-house, for his expertise in developing low-cost cars.

“We are the most successful car maker globally in entry-level cars as our design cost is the lowest and this is linked to the Indian preference for frugality,” Carlos Tavares, chief operating officer, Renault, was quoted as saying by The Hindustan Times. He added that Renault is trying to evaluate an entry-level strategy for emerging markets and the company is eager to kick off with India.

Expect the Renault global small car to debut in the Indian market and later to be exported to other markets. Also, to keep the costs under check, Renault may share its small car components with the Datsun brand cars.

At present, the most affordable cars from Renault and Nissan are the Pulse and the Micra respectively which are priced in the Rs. 4 lakh – 6.5 lakh range. The majority of small cars sold in India have a price tag in the range of Rs. 2.5 lakh – Rs. 4.5 lakh as models such as Maruti Suzuki Alto, Maruti Suzuki Wagon R and Hyundai Eon which belong to this price range sell at more than 10,000 units per month. Keeping this in mind, over the next few years, expect the Renault-Nissan-Datsun alliance to dish out many small cars with low prices targeting the masses.

The Tata Nano is a classic example, of how low cost car projects even when offered by an established Indian car maker like Tata Motors can end up struggling on the sales charts. That said, it will be interesting to observe the market success of the Renault-Nissan-Datsun low cost cars as these brands are less popular and are yet to establish their sales and service network in tier-II and tier-III cities where the demand for low cost cars would likely be high.

CarToq member Toms Mathew reports that his Swift ZXi’s brake lack bite when used at low speeds and half-clutch. Initially, we thought it’s a one-off case, but it has now come to light across other forums that other new Swift buyers are facing similar problems. Some of our members have also reported about poor braking in the VXi / VDi and LXi /LDi variants of the Swift. Can other new Swift owners confirm if this problem exists in their cars? ZXi / ZDi owners try this: Drive slowly in 1st gear, with half clutch and try braking (like in city bumper to bumper traffic). Or try reversing slowly and braking gently. Do your brakes feel soft and pedal travel increase? Let us know, as this looks like its a larger issue than we initially thought it to be.”

Photo: Diesel automatic variants may help Hyundai boost Verna sales even further by roping in buyers

Hence, when Verna is offered in the lower variants, expect the same price difference (Rs. 73,000) between the manual and automatic variants.

Nearly, 10% of the Verna’s sales come from the diesel automatic variant and Hyundai is planning to increase this to 25%. The Verna is the only car in its segment to offer an automatic transmission in the diesel version. Diesel automatic cars have two advantages: low running costs (diesel) and easy city driving (no clutch). The Verna has attractive styling, is loaded with features and has plenty of variants to choose from. Also read: Top three sedans under Rs.11 lakh with maximum features

The Verna is a hot selling car in its segment and the company has sold 27,533 in the last six months at an average of 4,588 cars per month.  A few days ago, CarToq reported about Hyundai’s plan to make the reverse camera a standard feature across all Verna variants. Now, the company is planning to offer automatic transmission in lower variants of the Verna diesel which will make this sedan, more attractive. If the response is good, other car makers may also launch diesel automatic cars in future.

*Estimated price, actual price may vary

(Source: Autocar India)

Last year, India became the third largest exporter of cars among Asian countries. Almost all the car companies, both home-grown and international, are tapping export potential from the Indian market – some more than others. Here are some of the car companies that are doing very well in terms of car exports from India, and there are some surprises here.

Nissan: Micra

Photo: Micra is a big export hit for Nissan

Did you know, that although the Nissan Micra sells only about 1,650 cars a month in the domestic market, it exports over 1 lakh cars from India, which include nearly 87,000 units of the Micra in the past one year? The Sunny, which was launched in India in September, last year, is also now among the most exported cars from India, selling in South-east Asia and the Middle-east. The Micra and the Sunny share the same platform – Nissan’s V platform – and are made at the company’s plant near Chennai. Nissan also shares the manufacturing facilities with sister company Renault for the Pulse and Fluence. Check out our car research hub for Nissan Micra.

Nissan will be doubling export volumes this year, as it has ramped up its production capacity from 2 lakh cars to 4 lakh cars. The company also plans to bring in the Datsun brand, which will have a larger domestic focus and lower cost cars.

Maruti: A-Star

Maruti is India’s largest carmaker and one of India’s largest car exporters too. It sells cars in 125 countries around the world, including Europe, Africa and the ASEAN region. The biggest selling car from Maruti is the A-Star, which has sold over 300,000 units cumulatively.

The A-Star is branded differently in different countries. It sells as the Celerio in Algeria and as the Alto in Europe. Other exports include the Alto that has sold 250,000 units cumulatively and the 800. The company’s top three export markets are Algeria, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, where it recently launched the Ertiga as well. The company also exports the Swift to markets in Europe and the Ritz to South Asian markets. Check out our car research hub for the Maruti Suzuki A Star.

Ford: Figo

Photo: Figo a big hit in India

Ford India has been slowly scaling up exports of the Figo, which was developed first as an India-specific model. By the end of the year, Ford plans to sell the Figo in 50 countries. It currently exports about  2,400 units of the Figo a month to 35 countries, to markets like Cape Verde, the Carribean, Mexico, Africa, and the Middle-East. Ford currently has only a single plant in Chennai, with the second one coming up in Sanand, Gujarat. By 2014, Ford sees India, China and Thailand, all countries where it has manufacturing facilities, as key components of its global “One Ford” program. Check out our car research hub for the Ford Figo.

Mahindra: Scorpio, Getaway

Photo: In India, the Scorpio is overshadowed by big brother XUV500 now

Mahindra’s plans of exporting the Scorpio to the U.S. have hit rough weather and been in the news for all the wrong reasons. However, the company has been scaling up exports in many of its other markets such as South Africa, South America, European markets like Italy, France and also Russia, Australia, the Middle East and South East Asia. The Scorpio sells under the brand name “Goa” in some markets. It also sells the pick-up version (which we know as the Getaway). The Bolero and the Thar are other Mahindra vehicles that are exported, while it has been going slow on its XUV500 export plans because of production constraints. Check out our car research hub for the Mahindra Scorpio. 

Tata: Indica, Telcoline

Photo: Indica is value for money in India and abroad!

Tata is another large exporter of vehicles. The Tata Indica is one of its largest exported vehicles, followed by the Tata Safari, Tata Xenon and Tata 207 (which sells as the Telcoline pick-up in some markets). South Africa is one of Tata’s biggest markets followed by Europe. Tata has also begun exporting the Nano and has big plans for further development on this platform. Although at present Nano exports are miniscule, the Nano Europa is likely to be developed as a purely international car. It has already caught the imagination of car enthusiasts around the world – being the cheapest car in the world, with even TV host Jay Leno adding a Nano to his collection of cars recently. Check out our car research hub for the Tata Indica.

Hyundai: Santro Xing, i10, i20

Photo: The Santro is still popular among buyers looking for a low cost car

Hyundai has been big on exports from its India plant near Chennai. It builds and exports the Santro and the Accent, and in the past couple of years it added the i10 and i20 to its growing export portfolio. , It sells its cars to South Africa, Australia, UK and South East Asia. Since starting exports in 1999 from India, Hyundai sold over 10 lakh vehicles overseas by 2010. The Santro has been its most popular export model so far. Check out our car research hub for the Hyundai Santro.

Toyota: Etios, Liva

Photo: Slow starter in India, now sales are picking up

The latest company to start exports from India is Toyota, with a first lot of shipments of the Liva and Etios being sent off to South Africa in April this year. These cars were developed specifically for the Indian market and find takers in similar markets. It plans to send about 20,000 cars to South Africa this year. Check out our car research hub for the Toyota Etios.

Other companies such as Volkswagen plan to also make India an export hub, by making and selling the Polo from India in other countries in Asia. Next time you hop into a familiar looking car in a foreign country, don’t be surprised to see the “Made in India” stamped on it.

This comes as no surprise as its bookings had crossed 10,000 number mark, within the first ten days of the launch.  Let’s take a look at what this will mean for buyers. Also read: Ertiga crosses 10,000 bookings

Photo: The Ertiga has crossed yet another milestone by clocking 32,000 bookings, a month after its launch

Increase in waiting period

The demand for the Ertiga is so high that the Maruti Suzuki will take significant time to deliver the MPV to its customers. This is primarily because Maruti Suzuki manufactures only 6,000 units of Ertiga every month. Hence, the Ertiga joins the Swift and Dzire, which are plagued with long waiting periods due to a huge demand in the car market.

“Right now our team is trying to increase the capacity of the Ertiga and use the flexible manufacturing operation to give a net increase,” Mayank Pareek, Managing Executive Officer (Sales & Marketing), Maruti Suzuki was quoted as saying by NDTV.  He added that the company has five manufacturing units in Gurgaon and Manesar now.  Most of these units are flexible in manufacturing so Maruti Suzuki can move capacity of models from one plant to another.

Imminent price hike in July 2012

Pareek mentioned that Maruti Suzuki is certainly looking at increasing the price and will be reviewing it in a few months. Ertiga prices are expected to go up marginally by July 2012. In April, the Ertiga was launched with introductory prices ranging between Rs. 5.89 lakh and Rs. 8.45 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi.

Why the Ertiga is in such high demand?

The Ertiga MPV comes from the largest car maker in India and is more affordable when compared with established MPVs such as the Toyota Innova and Mahindra Xylo. Being a Maruti Suzuki, the Ertiga will have low maintenance costs and good resale value.

The Ertiga is high on fuel efficiency (16 kmpl for petrol version and 20.77 kmpl for diesel version) when compared with the Innova and the Xylo. Besides, the Ertiga is compact in dimensions making it easy to drive and park in urban areas. It is also easy to drive and handles like a car.