Hyundai's Santa Fe SUV Launched in India

Automobile major Hyundai Motor launched a new variant of its SUV Santa Fe with automatic transmission (AT) system. Priced at Rs.24, 36,500 (ex-showroom Delhi), the new variant of four-wheel drive SUV will come with six-speed automatic transmission for smooth and stress-free driving.

Commenting on the launch, H.W. Park, managing director and chief executive, Hyundai motors said, "The Santa Fe launched last year has been extremely well received, the new offering with automatic transmission further improves our value proposition." He added, “The addition of features as push button start and smart key ensure convenience with one-touch operation. The new supervision cluster enhances clarity of the instrument panel”.

Hyundai's luxury SUV comes with 2.2 liter diesel engine, delivering 197 PS power and a mileage of 11.72 km a liter. Since its launch in October 2010, HMIL has so far sold over 1,100 units of Santa Fe. The company has high hopes for the new offering with automatic transmission which further improves the value proposition.

Santa Fe has been awarded the five-star safety rating by New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). It comes fully loaded with various active and passive safety features including electronic stability program (EPS) and anti-lock braking system (ABS). The electronic brake force distribution (EBD) ensures greater driving stability. That is not all; the six standard airbags and active head rests greatly enhance passenger protection and safety.

Santa Fe is powered by 2.2.L CRDi engine which delivers a maximum power of 197 ps per 4,000 rotations per minute with a fuel mileage of 11.72 km per liter.

Read more »

Nissan's New Sedan Sunny Launched at Price of 5.75 lakh

Nisan launched its new Sedan ‘Sunny’ on Tuesday. It is priced in between Rs.5.75 lakh and Rs.7.68 lakh - (ex-showroom). It will compete with other mid size sedan cars like Ford Fiesta, Honda City, SX4, Fiat Linea and Verna Fluidic.

On the launch, Gilles Normand, corporate vice president, Africa, Middle East and India, Nissan Motor Co mentioned ‘"We are certain that Nissan Sunny will redefine the dynamics of the Sedan segment in India."

Nissan’s new sedan will be manufactured at the Orgadam Plant near Chennai with 85 percent localized parts. The booking for Sunny would commence from September 21st and deliveries would be made in October.

"We have been able to aggressively position it thanks to localization in excess of 85 percent, which also reiterates our commitment to India," said Normand.

It is powered by a four cylinder, 1.5-liter double overhead camshaft petrol engine which can give out a power of 99 PS at the rate of 6000 rpm.

"Sunny with a 16.95 km per litre of fuel economy will be available to customers across the country without any waiting period for delivery," the company said in a statement.

Sunny’s exclusive features include large rear knee room for rear seat passenger, large centre armrest with cup holders in the rear seat.

Read more »

Hyundai Set to Launch Hyundai Eon, Competitor For Maruti Alto

Hyundai, India's second largest car maker is set to launch the much awaited Hyundai EON. Hyundai EON is the major competitor for the so far unchallenged and India's favorite small car- Maruti Alto.

According to unconfirmed media reports, the all new Hyundai EON will be launched at a price of Rs 2.5 to 2.6 lakhs and will take on cars like the Alto, Chevrolet Spark and Tata Nano. Slated for an October launch, the car will roll out around 2 weeks before Diwali. The company has not revealed the price but has assured that it will wear a competitive price tag.

The Hyundai Eon promises a lot more than the bestselling Alto. The car is also positioned below Hyundai`s popular model Santro and is all set to take the small car segment by storm. Commenting on the purported launch, Hyundai India sales & marketing director, Mr. Arvind Saxena expressed, “Eon is beyond comparison with any of the small running models in India. Yes, it is an entry-level car but with no compromise. It is a very spacious car with a large boot – something that you get only in bigger cars. And most importantly it doesn’t compromise on style.”

Though the price has not been revealed by the company, the base version will be priced around 2.5 lakhs. The fluidic design, super stylish exteriors and the spacious interiors, make the Hyundai EON a much awaited car in its segment.

Read more »

Volkswagen Up To Be Launched in 2012

Volkswagen has unveiled its new small car Up at the ongoing 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show on Tuesday. Following the announcement of Japanese auto giant Suzuki Motors to walkout of its alliance with Volkswagen, the company has decided to counter it by going ahead with the launch Volkswagen Up in 2012.

Up is the cheapest entry level car in hatchback segment by Volkswagen. It will be priced anything in the range of 3 to 4 lakhs. It will be competing with Maruti A-Star, Maruti Wagon R, Maruti Zen Estillo, Hyundai i10, Chevrolet Beat and Chevrolet Spark, in hatchback segment.

It will be launched in 3 variants Take Up, Move UP and High UP. The European version of the car will be a bit different from the Indian Version. The salient features of the car include star stop system and Emergency braking system.

Commenting on the launch, John Chacko, President of Volkswagen India mentioned, "We are working on several options to bring in more smaller cars to India." Up will be showcased in India at the upcoming Delhi International Auto Expo in Early 2012.

Read more »

Infibeam Creates Exclusive MagicBox Deals Application for Chrome Users

Infibeam has come out with a delight for Chrome users. Infibeam recently launched a MagicBox Deals Application on Google Chrome webstore. Through this application, chrome users can access exclusive MagicBox Deals from Infibeam.com directly from their browser tab.

To add an element of surprise where a user gets 3 chances to reveal 3 of 8 products at a time using The Magic Stick. The 8 products are also selected randomly. Once a user opens 3 boxes he is not allowed to open any more boxes. While he may again open the app - but deals are randomly generated by Infibeam.com in real-time. Deals once opened will not be repeated. Each of these deals is exclusive to Google Chrome users and cannot be accessed from any other browser.

MagicBox products are carefully selected by a special team of merchandisers who look at user buying patterns, preferences, seasonality, new launches and price while selecting those deals. Each deal is handpicked and therefore is extremely relevant to users today.

Commenting on the launch Manu Midha, VP, Infibeam mentioned, "MagicBox Deals is an extremely popular and a successful concept, it has received an overwhelming response from customers on Infibeam.com. It feels great to have so many satisfied customers. Also Google Chrome is growing in the browser market. Today more than 25% of traffic on our website comes from Google Chrome. It is one of the most popular browser and keeping this in mind, we thought of launching an app exclusively for Chrome users."

Infibeam has been at the forefront of innovation in e-commerce, retail and technology. It is one of the largest electronic retailers in the country and also powers many other stores to sell on its technology platform.

Read more »

Maruti RIII MPV Gets A Name 'Ertiga'

Maruti’s mini-MPV known until now by its codename R III will be named ‘Ertiga’. The concept of R III MPV was first displayed at the Delhi Auto Expo in January 2010. While the company has maintained the hush-hush over it, it is expected to be launched in the mid of 2012. The unveiling of this showstopper is likely to take place at the upcoming 2012 Indian Auto Export.

The Ertiga is designed to meet the needs of big Indian families and will be based Ritz platform. It promises to give tough competition to other players in Indian MPV market, especially the Sumo Grande, Mahindra Xylo, and Toyota Innova. It will be priced within the range of 6 to 9 lakhs.

A 1372cc K14 petrol engine will power it and it will produce 95bhp of max power and 13Kgm of torque. Besides, it is also loaded with 1.3-litre Variable Geometry Turbo (VGT)-equipped diesel engine that will give a power of 89bhp. The wheelbase of this new MPV would be 2740mm, and the length of MPV would be at 4265mm.

The salient features of the car include K14 petrol engine, Automatic driver seat adjustment, Sun roof, two side electric door mirrors, button/ controls on steering, rear armrest with cup holders. It is likely to have parking sensors, remote fuel filler, rear wiper and rear defogger. With all these features, the Eritiga promises to be an ultimate family car.

Read more »

Advit Sahdev's Second eBook on Social Media Released

The use of web based technologies has transformed communication and social interaction. Business, among the other domains is in a state of metamorphosis, owing to the role of social media marketing. Advit Sahdev launches his second eBook on social media marketing with a special focus on marketing objectives. It is a top selling title and has made it to the list of top 10 books and eBook.

Sachin Oswal, COO, Infibeam.com said, "The book is insightful and delves into the importance of setting tangible goals. Advit Sahdev highlights the need for setting realistic objectives and the zest to pursue them to attain success."

Social Media Marketing Objectives is Advit's second eBook. It creates awareness about the business objectives, integral to social media. Social media marketing is incomplete without concrete goals and as it thrives, there are a few enterprises that fail to achieve the purported success. According to the author, the lack of predetermined social media marketing goals poses a major glitch.

The Social Media Marketing Objectives by Advit Sahdev reiterates the need to set realistic objectives. It provides a lucid outlook on the role of objectives in the realm of social media marketing.

To buy this book visit >> http://www.infibeam.com/eBooks/social-media-marketing-objectives-advit-sahdev-pdf-ebook-download/C5EE434AA0604-BEPDF.html

Read more »

Toyota Launches Etios Diesel Variant in India

Japanese auto major Toyota has unveiled the much awaited diesel versions of its small car Etios sedan and the very stylish hatchback, Etios Liva. Etios diesel is priced in the range of Rs 6.44 lakh and Rs 7.87 lakh, (ex-showroom Delhi) and Etios Liva diesel is priced at Rs 5.54 lakh.

Commenting on the launch, Mr Hiroshi Nakagawa, the Toyota Kirloskar Motor Managing Director said, “We are now offering the diesel variant to widen customer base and build Etios brand equity.” The manufacturer plans to achieve sales figure of 63,000 in India this year.

Both the versions offer a mileage of 23.59 km and both the diesel variants are powered by a 1.4-litre engine. Etios diesel comes at a premium of Rs 90,000 to the petrol model, while Etios Liva is Rs 95,000 costlier than petrol variant.

The company has witnessed changes in the past year. Owing to shortage in component supply, due to the earthquake, it has revised the sales projection of 1.45 lakh units to 1.35 lakh units. The company’s present product basket offers 40 per cent diesel and 60 per cent petrol variants, while the market demand is a 70:30 diesel-petrol mix.

The diesel variants will be a hit here in India and the diesel engines will be imported from Japan. The auto giant has no plans of making them in India in the near future.

Read more »

Yamaha R15 Version 2.0 Forays in India

The all new Yamaha R15 version 2.0 has been unveiled in India. The brand new model is positioned in the premium segment and is priced at Rs 1, 07, 000. It offers a mileage of 45 kmpl and gets a slew of cosmetic changes along with performance upgrades.

The new Yamaha R15 version 2.0 boasts of a completely restyled rear end and changes to the side fairing as well. The bike also gets a split seat and LED tail lamp, which have become the norm and were missing on the previous version. The R15 version 2.0 also gets a restyled end can and new set of alloys which look sportier than the outgoing version.

However, one of the biggest visual changes is the new set of tyres. The R15 sports fatter rubber at both ends and the front has 90/80 section while the rear boasts of a meaty 130/70 section tyre. On the technical front, the Yamaha R15 version 2.0 gets a remapped ECU and a first class aluminum swingarm along with upgraded clutch and throttle pulley. The wheelbase is up to 1345mm from the older bike’s 1290mm. The length has been reduced to 1970mm from 1995mm, and the width and height remains unchanged. What`s more, the height of the seat is up to 800mm on the bike as compared to the older bike’s 790mm, and Yamaha claim the new bike will have a sportier riding position with a high rear and shorter front.

There are some changes in the weight of the bike and the Kerb weight for the new bike is 136kg, a 5kg increase over the outgoing model. The power and torque figures remain unchanged. The bike produces 17PS of power at 8500rpm, and developing 15Nm of torque at 7500rpm. The new bike will be available in three colors- blue, red and black. All these changes have resulted on a small premium of Rs 8000 over the outgoing model. The all new Yamaha R15 version 2.0 is surely something to look forward to.

Read more »