Entries from May 2009 ↓

Honda will launch CRV (2WL Codename) in November 2009 ,Improved ront grille.

TOKYO–Nissan Motors wants a bold design for its upcoming electric vehicle–one that doesn’t make it look like a hybrid.

The goal is a look that screams green but stands apart from the wedge-shaped silhouette that has come to signify environmentally friendly driving in the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight hybrids.

“We need some kind of difference so that when people see our car, they will realize this is an EV, not a hybrid,” Nissan chief designer Shiro Nakamura told Automotive News.

Nissan has not released pictures of the car, which is scheduled to go on sale next year. But its new styling cues include:

* No grille, to underscore the electric drivetrain
* A low hood enabled by the lack of an engine
* A visible recharging plug at the nose of the car
* A profile that is flowing, instead of triangular

A concept version of the EV will be unveiled in August and will be a front-wheel-drive, five-seat hatchback, Nakamura said.

The working design has a drag coefficient of 0.30, he said. The third-generation Prius has 0.25 and the Insight 0.28. Nakamura expects to eke out further improvements in drag by tweaking the design and adding underbody fittings to smooth air flow.

In pursuing a design that stands out, Nakamura is taking a page from Toyota–which gambled on the Prius’ wedge shape and scored a hit when the car became the benchmark for green styling.

Because EVs lack a bulky engine and gasoline tank, they open up new design possibilities. Nakamura said he couldn’t maximize such flexibility because the EV uses an existing platform. He wouldn’t be specific about the platform, but said the car will be comparable in size to the Cube or Versa.

“It is not designed completely from scratch,” Nakamura said. “We will go step by step. Later on we will bring more advanced, tires-extreme designs. We want to be economical.”

Source:Automotive News

(Gasgoo.com) Nissan Motor will launch its fourth-generation March small car in early 2010 and will introduce the five-door model to its Chinese venture Dongfeng Nissan for production. The China-made Nissan March small car is likely to be rolled out in the first half of next year.

Nissan launched its first-generation March in 1982 as a classical small car. The current March model on the global markets measures 3,695mm x 1,660mm x 1,525mm, with a 2,430mm-long wheelbase. The new model is reportedly based on a revamped B-platform with a new engine of 1.2 liters – 1.3 liters and also retaining the HR15DE.(Actually will be used A-platform Not B-Platform)

An executive of Dongfeng Nissan recently said that the Nissan March will be introduced in the original to the joint venture for Chinese production, but it is also possible to modify or revamp some parts of the small car to meet the needs of Chinese buyers. It may be priced between 70,000 yuan ($1,030) and 90,000 yuan.

Nissan Motor (China) Ltd has also revealed that the company will start selling electric cars in China by 2012, believing the world’s most populous country is one of the most important markets for electric cars.

Source : MAG-X

By George Gao  From:Gasgoo.com

Honda, leading premium car manufacturer in India, is soon going to start work on another small car for Indian roads, reports says. The car will be priced around Rs 5 lakh and will make Honda a major player in small car segment.

EVEN AS Honda Siel Cars India prepares itself for launch of premium small car Jazz, the parent company Honda has started to work on another small car for India.

Just like the Tata’s, the Japanese car manufacturer is starting its work wit the price. It has been learnt that a new research and development team will arrive in India and start work on the new small cars, said to be priced below Rs 5 Lakh. In comparison, the upcoming car Jazz has a price tag of Rs 7 Lakh. Honda hopes to unveil the new car in three years time.

The new car will make Honda a prominent player in the small car segment, which generates big volumes of sales. Currently, the premium car segment includes Hyundai Getz, Skoda Fabia and Chevrolet U-VA and Maruti Suzuki Swift in bother variants.

India will be the lead market for the new small car. Honda expects the large volumes of the new small car to compensate the slow selling Jazz in terms of revenue. Since, the new car will have high localisation content resulting in less expenditure. Also the production facility will be kept busy between the two small cars.

The research and development team comprising of 25 members will be headed by a senior official from Japan. The priority of the team will be to develop a car within Rs 4.5 Lakh margin. The new plant in Rajasthan will be the production centre for Jazz and the new car. Currently, it has a capacity to produce 60,000 units but this number could go up to 2.5 Lakh units annually, indicating the big plans by Honda.

Honda is launching Jazz in June this year. It will be the first small car from Honda Motors for the Indian car market. Apart from this product the company sells – CR-V, Accord, Accord 3.5L, Civic and City.

Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. (SVW) will suspend the production of Santana in 2012, said sources.

As a veteran brand, Santana witnessed the growth of the Chinese automobile market. When Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co., Ltd. (DPCA) suspended the production of Fukang, another earliest domestic nameplate, analysts questioned about the lifecycle of Santana, as well as Jetta, the trademark owned by FAW-VW Automobile Co., Ltd., the other joint venture of Volkswagen in the country.

In 1983, the first Santana rolled off the production line in Shanghai. Till now, its sales has reached 3.21 million vehicles. From January to April 2009, SVW sold 56,012 Santanas, including 16,765 units in April alone, citing the data by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), indicating that the market still has a strong demand for the car model.

On the strength of advanced technology and high-quality after-sales service, SVW can easily snatch a large market share in China’s underdeveloped areas, even without large-scale publicizing and marketing. In the bullish Chinese auto market, SVW sold 190,500 vehicles in the first four months, 30% of which were contributed by Santana.

The company’s sales targets of Santana for the following years before 2012 are respectively 86,572 units, 62,640 units, 48,438 units, and 30,437 units. Judging from current market situation, SVW clearly undervalues the market demand.

However, with the advancement of technologies and changes of market demand, Santana is bound to disappear from the market, despite of its high performance and large sales. In the light of the robust performance of Lavida, the top management of SVW believe that they can get large sales without the veteran brand.

Previously, Winfried Vahland, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group China (VGC), said that the auto giant would rely on Lavida and New Bora for a bigger market share in China in the future. Analysts guess that SVW and VGC had considered the retreat of Santana and the debut of Lavida for long.

Even before the debut of Lavida on the market, SVW has kicked off promotions around the country. With a German heritage, beautiful shape, and comfortable driving experience, Lavida is believed to repeat the hesternal success story of Santana in China’s medium-class auto market.

SVW plans to sell 90,000 Lavidas in 2009, 93,500 in 2010, 109,000 in 2011, 130,000 in 2012, 139,700 in 2013, 140,100 in 2014, and 142,400 in 2015. In 2012, when the company decides to suspend the production of Santana, its sales target of Lavida surges, indicating that SVW is well prepared to replace Santana with Lavida.

Toyota Motor Corp has received more than 80,000 pre-sale orders for the new Prius in Japan, Executive Vice President Akio Toyoda said on Monday, unveiling the third-generation model.

Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker, said it was targeting monthly sales of 10,000 units in Japan.

The car, which will start at 2.05 million yen ($21,620), will be sold alongside the entry-level grade of the second-generation Prius, which will cost 1.89 million yen, equal to Honda Motor Co’s new Insight hybrid.

The NISSAN GT-R, winner of the 2009 World Performance Car of the Year, has improved its lap time at the renowned Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany to 7min 26 seconds 70 on April 23.

This new time underlines Nissan engineering team’s commitment to constantly challenge the GT-R’s performance. Previous recorded lap times at the ‘Ring’ were:

* 7 minutes 27 seconds 56 on April 15, 2009
* 7 minutes 29 in April 2008
* 7 minutes 38 in September 2007

“This record demonstrates our commitment to the continuous evolution of the Nissan GT-R,” says Kazutoshi Mizuno, Chief Vehicle Engineer and Chief Vehicle Specialist. “We would like to continue delivering the passion and pride of ownership to our customers by improving its performance every year.”

The Nissan GT-R has won more than a dozen awards globally including Car of the Year from CAR Magazine in the UK, and Car of the Year by both Motor Trend and Autombile Magazine in the US.

While the Nissan GT-R benefits from a strong image and heritage amongst performance car aficionados, its updated 2010 version will be the first to be sold globally. It was launched:

* in Japan in December 2008,
* in the US in March 2009
* in Europe, GCC, Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan in April 2009

Europe is currently in the process of delivering the first GT-Rs to more than 2,200 pre-order customers.

The model R35 GT-R was first launched in Japan in December 2007, selling 5,900 units until March 2009. It went on sale in the US in July 2008, where 2,100 have been sold so far.

Next Generation Honda Civic could be downsizing to 1,695 mm by width for pay less 5 number body tax and directly compete to Corolla and Tiida.

Exterior Design will be Keep Concept.