On August 11, 2009 Jaguar Land Rover, the British automaker told the U.K government that it does not require the bail out money as the company was able to collect necessary funds from bank. Tata Motors, the owner of the brand, was able to obtain fund worth $561 million from European Investment Bank. It has been more than a year, since Tata Motors acquired the company from Ford Motor Company for $1.7 billion. Due to world wide economic recession, both the JLR and Tata Motors came under serious pressure. Due to falling car sales, the JLR cut down production at its three main manufacturing plants in the U.K. On the home front, Tata Motors also suffered heavily from falling car sales.
British government offered to give financial support but the deal was not finalized as there were disagreements regarding the terms and conditions between the two parties. Lord Mandelson, U.K. business secretary played a key role in the financial deal between European Investment Bank and Tata Motors. This is a good sigh for the economy because it is showing that the credit crunch is ending and investors have now become confident about investments.
On May 15, 2009, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL) is going to launch Maruti Suzuki Ritz, the premium hatchback car. Maruti Suzuki Ritz will compete in the A2 segment. In the last four years, this is the eighth launch of MSIL and its fourth hatchback model car followed by Maruti Zen Estilo, Maruti Swift, and Maruti A-Star and seventh car in the A2 segment. Designed to attract youngsters, the car is spacious and offers great driving experience. Maruti Ritz is designed on Maruti Swift platform. Maruti Ritz is 3.7 meters long. It is 30 mm shorter than Maruti Swift in length and 8 centimeters wider than the Wagon R+. Designers of the car focused a lot on shoulder space. Five passengers can easily fit into the car.
Maruti Suzuki Ritz will be positioned between the Maruti Suzuki A-Star and Maruti Swift. It will mainly compete with Hyundai’s i10 and i20, Skoda’s Fabia, Ford’s Fusion, Fiat’s Palio and Tata Motors’ Indica Vista. A similar version of the model, which will be named Maruti Suzuki Splash, will be launched in the international market. The Maruti Suzuki Splash will be thirty millimeters shorter than the Maruti Suzuki Ritz.
Currently, in the A2 category, Maruti Swift holds 75% market share, Hyundai Getz11%, Chevrolet U-VA 8%, Hyundai i20 4% and Skoda Fabia 2%. MSIL has a 58% market share in the A2 segment. Shashank Srivastava, chief general manager (marketing), Maruti Suzuki India, said that his company’s main strategy is to offer more products in the same category in order to fetch greater market shares. Mr. Srivastava believes that Maruti Suzuki Ritz would succeed where Maruti Swift failed. He also admitted of “some cannibalization of Swift by Ritz” at the initial stage but customers would gradually understand the differences.
Maruti Suzuki Ritz engines and variants:
Maruti Ritz is fitted with the all aluminum K12M engine. The 1.2-litre, four cylinder, petrol engine is the latest in lightweight K-series engines that are very much fuel efficient. To achieve fuel efficiency and NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) reduction, plastic parts have been used along with shortened piston skirts, plastic intake manifolds, rocker-less DOHC cam shaft and nut-less conrods. The raisin coatings on the pistons reduce transmission losses.
There will be six variants of the Maruti Ritz- three in petrol and the other three in diesel. The K12M is an 1197cc petrol engine. It generates 85 bhp at 550 rpm. The common rail diesel engine is a 1248 cc engine that produces 75 bhp.
Environment friendly and fuel efficient:
To make it a more environment friendly car, Maruti Ritz has been ridded of harmful substances like chromium, cadmium, mercury etc. This makes Maruti Ritz more recyclable to salvage valuable materials.
The Maruti Suzuki Ritz is the first car from Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. that complies with BS-IV emission norms.
The Maruti Ritz has Smart DistributionLess Ignition (SDLI) that enables the car to achieve a fuel efficiency of 17-18 kmpl. Maruit Ritz will also be able to run on 10% ethanol-petrol blend. The diesel version will have a fuel efficiency of 21 kmpl.
Other features of Maruti Suzuki Ritz:
The Maruti Suzuki Ritz will come with a 5-speed manual gearbox. Rumor is that a auto-gear version will be released.
The Maruti Ritz will be available with RR fog lamps.
The Maruti Suzuki Ritz will come with a rear bumper designed to suit the roads of India.
For security, the Maruti Ritz will come with i-CATS (Intelligent Computerized Anti-theft System) on all the variants of the Ritz.
The Maruti Ritz will be available in splash green, lagoon turquoise and eight other metallic colors. The splash green and lagoon turquoise are specifically developed for this car by Suzuki.
The Maruti Suzuki Ritz will come along with high grade engine oil which will be needed to change after 10,000 kms compared to 1000 kms in other engines. The new Maruti Suzuki Ritz will also come with high-tech spark plugs which you will have to change after 40,000 kms.
Price:
Maruti Ritz will cost between Rs.450,000- 500,000.
Maruti Ritz microsite:
Maruti Suzuki launched www.marutisuzukiritz.com, an interactive mini-site to commemorate the launch of the Maruti Ritz on May 15th. The site sports a ticker showing the final count down of the launch. Visitors can also download wallpapers and screen savers. There is a teaser that reveals the car in small portions when the visitor moves his mouse. The micro-site also offers games and puzzles. There is this ‘Sneak a Peek Ritz Contest.’ You can win various prizes including trolley bags, Puma T-shirts, and Ritz desk sets. There is also two personalized sections- ‘Share a Moment’ and ‘Read a Moment.’ In the ‘Read a Moment’ section, visitors can write about their various personal experiences with cars. You will also get to read others’ interesting experiences. The lucky winners will win special Maruti Ritz merchandise.
Fiat India Automobiles Ltd. is going to launch Fiat Grande Punto, a premium category hatchback car on June 17, 2009. Previously, in South Asia Blog, I wrote extensively on Maruti Ritz and Honda Jazz. After Honda Jazz, Fiat Grande Punto is the second car to be launched in the Indian market in June. The Fiat Grande Punto was first unveiled at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show and went on sale in that same year. In India, both the Fiat Grande Punto and Fiat Linea were unveiled at the Delhi Auto Expo in 2008. The Fiat Grande Punto will compete with premium hatchback cars like Skoda Fabia, Maruti Suzuki Swift, Ford Fusion and Hyundai i20, and Honda Jazz.
About Fiat India Automobiles Ltd.:
A 50:50 joint venture between Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. and Tata Motors Limited, Fiat India Automobiles Ltd. started its journey in 1997. However, the definitive agreement between the two companies was signed on October 19 2007. Currently, the company employs about 600 people. The manufacturing plant of the company situated at Ranjangaon in the Pune district of Maharashtra. The manufacturing plant produces the Fiat Palio Stile and Fiat Linea. The board of directors of Fiat India Automobiles Ltd. consists of five members from both Fiat and Tata. Fiat India is also planning to build a strong dealer network that would consists of 100 sales and services outlets within June 17, 2009.
Design:
The current Fiat Grande Punto is the third generation of super-mini car produced by the Fiat Group Automobiles S. p. A. Though positioned as a compact car in India, the Fiat Grande Punto is a large car compared to other premium hatchback models produced so far in India. The new Fiat Grande Punto comes with a new chassis and body shell. Designed by famous car designer, Giorgetto Giugario, the all new Fiat Grande Punto focuses on three qualities- beauty, solidity, and brilliance. The car is built on the platform of Fiat Linea, the sedan version of the Fiat Grande Punto. The Fiat Linea was launched in 2007. After getting good response for Fiat Linea in India, Fiat India decided to launch the Grande Punto.
Awards and accolades:
The new Fiat Grande Punto won several awards and accolades for its high performance and cutting edge design:
In 2005, the car won the 2005 Golden Steering Wheel, Germany’s most prestigious prize. The jury board of the prize consists of car experts, celebrities from the entertainment world, and racing drivers.
In 2006, the Fiat Grande Punto won the prestigious Autocar Magazine’s design award.
In October 2007, the Fiat Grande Punto built in Brazil won the prestigious Auto Interamericana.
In December 2007, the Fiat Grande Punto produced in Brazil won “Imprensa Automotiva 2007.″. The jury panel of the prize consisted of 63 automotive journalists from various Brazilian newspapers, magazines and radio stations.
The Fiat Grande Punto was named “Carro Do anno 2008 ” (Car of the Year 2008) in Brazil.
Won the prestigious Auto Europa in Italy.
Named the BestCity Car in France.
Version & Variants:
The Fiat Grande Punto will be available in both petrol and diesel version. Fiat India will offer three variants of the Fiat Grande Punto- Active, Dynamic, and Emotion. The Fiat Grande Punto Active will be fitted with a 1.2 liter petrol engine. The Fiat Grande Dynamic and Fiat Grande Emotion will come with 1.4 liter petrol engine. There is also going to be another multi-jet diesel engine version which is famous for its high performance and fuel economy.
Safety:
The Fiat Grande has EURO NCAP 5 star ratings. It is one of the safest cars ever launched in the India market.
Price:
The petrol version (Dynamic and Emotion) of the Fiat Grande Punto will cost between Rs. 4,50,000 and Rs.6,00,000. The diesel version will be priced between Rs.5,25,000 and Rs.6,50,000. The Fiat Grande Punto will contain 60-70% parts that will be produced in India and that amount will be gradually increased to 85% in future. Currently, Fiat Linea is produced entirely at the Fiat India’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Ranjangaon near Pune in Maharashtra. Already, Fiat has started training session and product demonstration for its dealers.
