Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., India’s largest car maker by sales, Wednesday said its recall of up to 106,000 A-Star small cars includes about 30,000 hatchbacks supplied to Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.

Maruti, the local unit of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp., produces the A-Star at its factories in the northern state of Haryana. The same car is supplied to Nissan–which markets the vehicle in Europe as its Pixo model–under a contract manufacturing agreement.

“We have supplied a total of 50,000 A-Stars to Nissan till date,” R.C. Bhargava, Maruti’s chairman, told Dow Jones Newswires. “The Nissan part of it (the recall) should be somewhere around 30,000 units.”

Mr. Bhargava estimated the total cost of recalling the cars to replace a defective fuel tank part at between INR300 million and INR320 million.

“The costs are to be shared between Maruti and the vendor,” he said. “Of the total cost (of the recall), Maruti will have to spend 100 million rupees ($2.1 million) to 120 million rupees.”

Maruti said that there had been no customer complaints but an internal analysis had shown that when fuel was filled beyond a certain point, there was a possibility of leakage. About half of the faulty cars have been fixed. Vehicles affected were in a batch made up to 22 August last year. The company is replacing the fuel pump gasket and O ring on affected models.

Last year, the company exported about 100,000 A-Stars after first launching the line in India late in 2008. It sells 3,500 to 4,000 A-stars a month in India alone.

Maruti said in a statement: “At Maruti Suzuki, we constantly monitor quality of our products through feedback and internal analysis. In one such exercise in November 2009, we came across an anomaly reported in the fuel tank in some of the vehicles and by December 2009 we started contacting the customers by letter. These vehicles belonged to lot made until 22 August 2009 only.”

PARIS — Nissan is projecting higher-than-expected volumes for its new Pixo minicar as the recession forces cash-strapped European car buyers to downsize expectations when buying new cars.

The Japanese carmaker will launch the Pixo across Europe in June, at prices near 8,000 euros, Nissan’s European product manager for strategy and planning Thomas Ebeling told Automotive News.

While Nissan initially forecasted European Pixo sales of 30,000 units, Ebeling now thinks conditions are right to exceed this projection.

“I expect we can do more,” Ebeling said. “The recession has increased the speed with which consumers are moving to the small car segment.”

A green choice

Ebeling says other trends will also contribute to the predicted Pixo sales surge.

The Pixo will be one of the greenest cars on the road in Europe, largely due to a 1.0-liter, three-cylinder 64hp gasoline-powered engine that limits CO2 emissions to just 103 grams per kilometer.

“There is a clear shift in customer preferences for more ecological cars,” Ebeling said, noting that the Pixo will qualify for rebates and tax breaks offered for low-CO2 cars in a number of European markets.

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Maruti Suzuki India Ltd , India’s leading car maker, expects to begin shipping its A-star small car to Nissan from February-March for sale in Europe, Maruti’s managing director said on Wednesday.

Shinzo Nakanishi, however, said Maruti was yet to agree on the exact volume of cars it would supply to Nissan.

Maruti, 54.2 percent owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp , hopes to boost sales in the next three months following price cuts, he added.

Against a backdrop of record oil prices, fears of a global recession and demand for ever lower greenhouse gas emissions, buyers are looking for an inexpensive and fuel-efficient car with a low CO2 output. They need look no further. The new Nissan Pixo, a four-seater producing 103 g/km of CO2, will offer genuinely environmentally-conscious motoring at an accessible price.

With oil prices fluctuating in a volatile global market and governments worldwide agreeing to set ever lower targets for emissions from all sources, the arrival of the Pixo underlines Nissan’s commitment to providing affordable, urban transport which is efficient in terms of consumption and emissions. Its arrival on the Nissan range complements the Micra and Note, giving the company a strong, diverse selection of compact, spacious and efficient cars which are well equipped for the reality of modern urban driving. And when it is launched in Europe, the Nissan Pixo will wear the newly announced Pure Drive badge, which will help car-buyers to identify the most efficient models in Nissan’s range.

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At the 2008 Paris Motor Show, Suzuki has unveiled the all-new Suzuki Alto — the fifth and smallest member of its acclaimed lineup of world strategic models. The new Suzuki Alto combines eye-catching style and easy urban mobility with great performance in terms of fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions, thereby meeting the lifestyle needs of today’s motorists and the pressing global need for environmental compatibility. Plus, it is one of the most fun-to-drive city cars available — a great new example of Suzuki’s “Way of Life!” philosophy.

As the second model in the second phase of Suzuki’s world strategy (a phase that’s focused on user-friendliness and delivering expanded possibilities for family members), the new Suzuki Alto offers good levels of comfort and convenience within a modest overall length.

Plus, a design that combines sporty, European-inspired looks with great aerodynamics means the new Suzuki Alto is the most stylish car of its size.

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It’s a new car but will have three different names. For the first time in the Indian automobile history, the same car—made in India—will don three different badges in the global market.

Maruti Suzuki, manufacturer of the car, will brand it A-Star in India. The same car will be contract-manufactured by Maruti for Nissan Motors and called Pixo. And it will be the new Alto for Suzuki Motor Corporation in Europe. The car will be manufactured exclusively by Maruti Suzuki’s plant at Manesar in Haryana and will be unveiled by both companies at the Paris Motor Show next month at their respective pavilions.

Both Nissan Pixo and Suzuki Alto will compete against Toyota Aygo in the international market while it will be pitted against Hyundai i10, Fiat Palio and Tata Motors Indica Vista in the premium small-car segment in India. An MSI spokesperson refused to comment and said: “A-Star has nothing to do with Alto, which will continue to be the flagship model of Maruti Suzuki in India. It is a totally different segment.”

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Continuing the theme of compact urban motoring, with outstanding green credentials – but this time for the more immediate future, Nissan Pixo is an accessible city car which offers low emissions and consumption at an extremely accessible price.

Nissan Pixo is a five-door, four-seater with a roomy interior and generous luggage space thanks to its efficient design and packaging. It has a lively highly efficient three cylinder 1.0-litre engine. Thanks to its brand new lightweight construction, with resulting benefits in performance, very low fuel consumption and emissions, Nissan Pixo will be among the best value eco-cars in the small city car category.

Nissan Pixo is 3565 mm long, 1470 mm tall and 1600 mm wide. It has a wheelbase of 2360 mm.

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