2014 – Launched and Upcoming All-New Cars in India

Snapshot – 2014 is somewhat of a subdued year when it comes to new car launches with just a smattering of new cars making it to Indian shores. On the other hand, facelifts and refreshes have occupied a bigger chunk of the launch spectrum. Since facelifts and refreshes simply don’t have the same kind of ring that a new car has, we’ll save those for another list that details them in specific.  CarToq rounds up the year gone by in terms of new car launches in the sub-30 lakh rupee segments, and upcoming cars.

The year gone by saw the following cars being launched:

Honda City

The 2014 Honda City sedan is now available with petrol and turbo diesel engine options. A Honda badge and a diesel engine make for a potent combination in India. With a competitive price tag to boot, this combination really shines at the hustings. Honda got most of the things right with the new 2014 City sedan. The car is now the best seller in the C-Segment sedan class. Enough said.

Hyundai Santa Fe

Big, feature loaded and with a completely new design. That sums up the 2014 Santa Fe SUV. Now assembled in India, the 2014 Santa Fe sits at the very top of the Hyundai car line up. The SUV is diesel powered and comes with manual and automatic gearbox options. Front wheel and all wheel drive options are available on the Santa Fe, which is loaded to the gills with safety and comfort features. The 7 seat luxury SUV is also the priciest in its segment.

Maruti Suzuki Celerio

The Maruti Suzuki Celerio gave Indian car buyers their first taste of automated manual transmission technology. With the success of the Celerio, AMTs are here to stay and a slew of car makers will launch their own iterations of the AMT technology. The Celerio replaced the A-Star and Estilo, two slow selling cars in Maruti Suzuki’s line up. The sales of the Celerio have more than made up for the poor show of the cars that it replaced.

Datsun Go

Nissan has trained its guns on the biggest volume segment of the Indian car market with Brand Datsun, its low cost car brand. The Datsun Go is a heavily watered down version of the Nissan Micra, and comes with completely different brand attributes. The Datsun Go is larger than its competition, the Maruti Alto 800/K10 and the Hyundai Eon, but hasn’t really clicked as well as Nissan would have wanted it to. The Go’s performance at the hustings, remains pedestrian at best.

Hyundai Xcent

The Hyundai Xcent is the latest compact sedan in town and the car has immediately gone on to displace the Honda Amaze, and is now the second largest selling compact sedan. The Xcent is sold with petrol and turbo diesel engine options, and the car is essentially a sedan styled version of the Grand i10 hatchback, which in itself is a big success for its South Korean maker.

Isuzu D-Max

Isuzu is looking at bigger volumes with the D-Max range of pick up trucks. The D-Max is Isuzu’s bread and butter product and the Japanese utility vehicle maker has big plans lined up for the D-Max range, including heavy localization and local manufacture from 2016. The D-Max pick up truck range was just launched in India yesterday.

The remaining 7 months of the year will see the following all-new cars being launched:

Toyota Corolla Altis

Expected Launch Timeframe – May 2014

The 11th generation Toyota Corolla Altis bows into India on the 27th of May 2014. The car is larger than the outgoing version and also offers a better quality interior. The new Altis is expected to be pricier than the car it replaces and for the engineering changes that Toyota is said to have made, should ride better. For starters, the 204 Corolla Altis is a better looker than before.

Maruti Suzuki Ciaz

Maruti’s second high voltage launch of the car, due in the next few months, will be the Ciaz. The Ciaz will sit in the C-Segment sedan space and will replace the SX4, whose production Maruti Suzuki has already stopped. The Ciaz is based on the Ertiga platform and the car will be offered with petrol and turbo diesel engine options. An AMT variant of the Ciaz has spun the rumour mills and we wouldn’t be surprised to see such a variant on offer.

Tata Zest

Expected Launch Timeframe – June/July 2014

The Zest is one of Tata Motors’ comeback cars and the compact sedan will pack in class leading features such as a touchscreen based infotainment system and an AMT option on the diesel engined model. Fit and finish levels are expected to go up by quite a bit and Tata Motors has also promised that the Zest will offer a modicum of driving pleasure, a factor previously missing in Tata cars.

Tata Bolt

Expected Launch Timeframe – June/July 2014

Like the Zest, the Bolt is another comeback car for Tata Motors. The Bolt is a B+ segment hatchback that is expected to get all the class leading attributes of the Zest. The Bolt, like the Zest, will also get a 1.2 liter turbo charged petrol engine, the first such engine option on a Tata car. The Bolt will replace the Indica Vista, and is a new top hat design on the modified X1 platform.

2015 Hyundai i20 

Expected Launch Timeframe – End 2014

The all-new Hyundai i20 is set for a Paris Motor Show reveal. The car is expected to land in India by the end of this year, forming Hyundai India’s third major all-new car for this year. The i20 will feature a new top hat and platform. Engines and gearboxes could be carried over though. Expect more features in the new car, underscoring the i20’s appeal as a feature rich B+ segment hatchback.

Fiat Avventura

Expected Launch Timeframe – August/September 2014

The Fiat Avventura is a crossover styled hatchback based on the Fiat Punto. However, the car is quite different from existing offerings such as the Volkswagen Polo Cross and the Toyota Etios Cross, in that is comes with a higher ground clearance than the Punto, putting it directly in SUV territory. Interiors and mechanicals will be shared with the Grande Punto though.

Honda Mobilio

Expected Launch Timeframe – July 2014

The Honda Mobilio is an MPV based on the Brio platform. In India, the 7 seat MPV is likely to be positioned in between the Maruti Ertiga and the Toyota Innova. The Honda MPV will be sold with petrol and turbo diesel engine options. Longer than the Ertiga, expect the Mobilio to offer more comfort and space for its occupants. At a lower price tag than the Innova, the Mobilio could prove to be poor man’s Innova.

Datsun Go+ 

Expected Launch Timeframe – October 2014

The Datsun Go+ is the seven seat MPV version of the Datsun Go hatchback. More of a station wagon than an MPV per se, the Go+ will use the same 1.2 liter petrol engine borrowed from the Go hatchback. However, expect the Go+ to be priced about 50,000 rupees higher. The car could be one of the most affordable 7 seaters in the Indian market, with families as its target market.

Audi A3 sedan 

Expected Launch Timeframe – July 2014

The Audi A3 sedan is based on the MQB platform and will be the German luxury car marque’s least priced offering in India. The car is just weeks away from being launched here and with a starting price well under 25 lakh rupees, the car could give many the opportunity of upgrading to a luxury car label at a relatively affordable price point. The A3 sedan will be sold with turbo petrol and turbo diesel engines.

Mercedes Benz GLA

Expected Launch Timeframe – October 2014