Auto Expo 2012: Amitabh Bachchan unveils Supercar DC Avanti (India)

Auto Expo 2012: Amitabh Bachchan unveils Supercar DC Avanti (India)

New Delhi: 

According to Indian Express's News Report, automotive design firm DC Design launched its Avanti sports car at the 11th Auto Expo here today with a price tag of Rs 30 lakh (ex-showroom). 

The company said it will start producing the Avanti from 2013, with initial production of 300 units, which may increase later. 

Image Credit: desi-radio.com

Speaking on the launch, DC Design Founder and Promoter Dilip Chhabria said: "We intend to produce 300 units of the Avanti in 2013-2014 and if all goes well, we could ramp up production to go into four figures per annum."
The car was unveiled by actor and star Amitabh Bachchan. 

This is the first time Dilip Chhabria is producing his designs instead of one-offs. The car will be produced at the DC Design facility at Talegaon, near Pune. 

"We are extremely ecstatic to present the DC Avanti today... also as a calling card for our own capabilities, which have now progressed from mere styling in the early days to full prototyping and bespoke one-off manufacturing," Chhabria added.

The company said it will be using proprietary parts from various car-makers, especially in the areas of the drive train and suspension of the car, which would be powered by a Ford EcoBoost 2.0-litre four-cylinder, dohc, 16-valve engine.

The cars will be available at the firm's self-owned and managed sales and service network in five major metros in the country (Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad). An additional four outlets would also be opened in the course of 2012, the company said.

Bookings for the Avanti will start after the Auto Expo and the deliveries will be from the last quarter of calendar 2013, it added.

Dilip Chhabria Design Pvt Ltd was founded by Dilip Chhabria and has an over 600-strong portfolio of unique cars/vehicles built and on the road.

source: Indian Express

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Bajaj unveils Nano's rival RE60 Brand new Car 2012, promises 35 km per litre (India)

Bajaj unveils Nano's rival RE60 Brand new Car 2012, promises 35 km per litre (India)

NEW DELHI: 

According to News Report of Times of India,  Bajaj Auto on Tuesday unveiled country's latest ultra-low-cost car, a 200cc four-seater that looks set to compete with the Tata Nano for the title of the world's cheapest auto. 

The group gave no price for the low-emission vehicle which will have a top speed of 70 kilometres an hour (43 miles an hour), but the build quality indicated it was pitched firmly at the bottom of the market. 

Image Credit: www.autoevolution.com/

The "RE60" is the first foray into the passenger car market by Bajaj, a motorbike and rickshaw specialist which entered into an ultimately aborted alliance with Nissan and Renault in 2009 to develop the vehicle. 

Group managing director Rajiv Bajaj said the core market for the RE60 would be owners of three-wheeled motorised rickshaws who wanted to upgrade to four wheels, but it was also for anyone who "wanted to take it home." 

One of the models on display was fitted with a taxi meter, an indication that Bajaj hopes the snub-nosed car with small wheels might replace India's iconic rickshaw as the commercial passenger vehicle of choice. 

Marketing material aired at the launch also showed the RE60 as a mass market product pitched at urban commuters, with the emphasis placed on its extremely high fuel efficiency and its low carbon dioxide emissions. 

"At Bajaj Auto, we believe the people of the planet deserve much better, much faster," Bajaj said of the car, which will be launched some time this year. 

The petrol engine will do 35 kilometres per litre (83 miles per US gallon) in normal driving conditions and emits just 60 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre, the company said. It weighs just 400 kilograms (880 pounds). 

Bajaj said that emissions were "typically half of what the small cars currently emit in our market." 

India has become a centre of low-cost innovation exemplified by the Tata Nano, which was launched to great fanfare in 2009 as a means for poor families to get their hands on their first car. 

A no-frills model costs as little as Rs 140,880($2,770). 

But the Nano has so far failed to take off as expected, with analysts blaming poor marketing by the company which sold it as a cheap product rather than an aspirational one for the burgeoning middle classes. 

There have also been a series of technical problems, as well as some highly publicised engine fires, meaning sales have been a fraction of the 25,000 a month the company once expected. 

Parent company Tata Motors reported this week it had sold 7,466 Nanos in December, a rise of 29 per cent from the same month last year. 

Bajaj took several digs at the car during his presentation, saying "I am personally not sure what the Nano is." 

Bajaj, Renault and Nissan abandoned their joint low-cost car project in July last year amid differences over the direction of the project. 

Renault had voiced concern about the quality of the final product. 

Small, fuel efficient cars are set to take centre stage at the auto expo which kicks off Thursday in New Delhi, while luxury brands such as BMW will look to increase their presence in a market that is one of the few global hotspots. 

The market is forecast to grow this financial year to March but at a slower rate than earlier forecast as the economy slows due to higher borrowing costs and global economic troubles. 

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers has sharply cut its forecast for Indian car sales growth in the fiscal year to between two and four percent, down from an earlier projection of 10-12 percent.

source: Times of India

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