5 upcoming launches!

After gloomy July , a volley of a launches to start from tomorrow.

The past couple of months and the current month have not been very exciting for the auto industry in India. There haven’t been many launches, sales have hit an all time low, and apart from the Ford Ecosport and the Honda Amaze, not many cars have made good news. In fact, the established segment leaders like the Swift, the Swift Dzire and the Renault Duster have actually posted significant decreases in their growth.

However, we can look forward to an exciting month ahead as a lot of manufacturers are readying their launches to boost sales during the upcoming festive season. Indian car sales typically peak in the months of October, November & December and most manufacturers have their goals set.

Here is a look at the new car launches scheduled for this month and the next:

9 August: New Skoda Octavia

The VW-owned Czech car maker has been pretty silent after the launch of the Skoda Rapid and more recently, a new variant of the Rapid. However, this is set to change tomorrow with the launch of the eagerly awaited all new Octavia. The new Octavia has received rave reviews at many places and is expected to replace the ageing Laura in India. The new Octavia will have a 1.8 litre petrol and a 2.0 litre diesel engine currently being used in the Laura and the Superb.

20 August: Nissan Terrano

Nissan will unveil its variant of the Renault Duster, called the Terrano on the 20th of August. While the initial speculations about the vehicle were about it being a cheaper version of the Duster, we now know that this is in fact, a premium version and will be costlier than the Duster. We expect it to have a better dashboard, styling changes in the front and rear and better quality interiors. Also see: Terrano launch soon

3 September: Hyundai i10 Grand

This is Hyundai’s most significant launch after the i10 since the Grand is Hyundai’s Swift beater. As we had told you earlier, the Grand will have a 1.1 litre diesel engine producing 75BHP and 180NM of torque. More about the Hyundai Grand i10 here

3 September: BMW 1 Series

Riding on the success of its X1, BMW will now launch the 1 Series on the same day as the Grand. The 1 Series is BMW’s answer to the Mercedes’s A-Class and is a premium luxury hatchback. It will sport one petrol and one diesel engine option with very attractive fuel efficiency figures.

More importantly, BMW is offering its BMW Service Inclusive, more commonly known as its BSI package free of cost to the first 100 customers who pre-book the 1 Series.

Yes, you can pre book it today.

Last week of September: Maruti WagonR Stingray

This much hyped and awaited premium hatchback from Maruti is expected to be launched during the last week of September. While the Stingray looks extremely chic and modern in the pictures, its performance and other parameters are yet to be tested and experienced. Read more about the Maruti Suzuki WagonR Stingray