Blog

Tata to invest £750 million to boost production
Tata will invest £755 million to boost its production capacity in the next five years.
The Indian carmaker plans to invest £755 million into its Pune plant, add new products and build vehicle testing facilities, announced Tata Managing Director Ravi Kant at a press conference. Kant said that the investment will help to increase capacity in its Pune plant by about 40% to over 600,000 units a year.
The company has also announced that it will raise a debt of £2 billion for its local and overseas expansion plans. Tata Motors is India’s largest vehicle maker, with revenues of £3.6 billion in 2006-07.
April 1, 2008
Giant BMW billboard in Russia
BMW has installed a massive billboard featuring real size vehicles to promote its M range.
Located in Moscow, the billboard is large enough to host real M models from the Z4M to the M5 thanks to its gigantic size of 6,000 square meters.
Source: Englishrussia

April 1, 2008
Hyundai Genesis not coming to Europe
Hyundai spokesman has announced that the carmaker doesn’t plan to import the Genesis on our shores due to Lexus’ poor sales results.
The new Hyundai flagship won’t cross the Atlantic Ocean to hit the European showrooms revealed Hyundai spokesman Oles Gadacz. The company executives took the decision after looking at Lexus’s track record in Europe. Despite selling its models in Europe for the last fifteen years, the luxury Toyota brand struggled to sell 40,636 cars last year.
The stricter CO2 emission regulation due to apply in Europe in 2012 is also the other reason given by Hyundai not to sell the Genesis on the European market. With its 4.6-litre V8 engine, it is certain that the Genesis would penalize the company’s fleet average.
April 1, 2008
Holden Captiva 60th anniversary
Holden has launched a special edition of the Captiva to celebrate its 60th anniversary.
Simply called 60th anniversary, the special Captiva comes with 18in sports alloy wheels, silver premium painted skid plate and fog lamp inserts, silver premium painted roof rails and door handles, and new tail lights. On the inside, there are 7in screen with navigation and DVD player. The equipment list also adds leather front gear lever and rear view camera.
April 1, 2008
Renault to sell two other SUVs.
In an interview with Autocar, Renault head of design, Patrick Le Quement reveals that the carmaker has two other SUVs in development.
After hesitating for ten years before launching its first SUV, Renault plans to boost its lineup by launching two more SUVs on the market in the near future. Renault will offer a larger model which will be company’s attempt to take on BMW X3 and Mercedes GLK and a smaller model intended to compete with models like Toyota Urban Cruiser, Land Rover LRX, and Audi Q3.
The Koleos’ big brother will be based on the Nissan Murano and be manufactured in the same factory located in South Korea. The SUVs are expected to arrive on the market within 24 months.
April 1, 2008
Mitsuoka to build LHD Orochi
The Japanese car designer Mitsuoka will build a left-hand drive version of the Orochi to export it in countries such as Qatar or South Korea.
The small carmaker from Toyama has decided build a left-hand drive Orochi after a potential customer from Qatar made an offer that company executives couldn’t refuse. Aware of the demand generated by the Orochi in left-hand drive countries, they decided to sell the Orochi in countries such as South Korea, Thailand and Jordan. Mitsuoka delivered 70 Orochi last year. The Orochi generally attracts wealthy people like Wilmslow entrepreneur Spencer Davies and Watford based Communications mogul Mr. James Connolly McGuigan who want to drive exclusive cars.
The Orochi is powered by a 230bhp 3.3-litre V6 petrol engine. Mitsuoka plans to build only 400 Orochi cars.
April 1, 2008
Bugatti to increase production
Bugatti has announced it will increase its production to 90 vehicles this year instead of the 85 initially planned.
With 135 cars already delivered, the carmaker has still a waiting list of 85 future owners to satisfy. Bugatti is considering reduce the three week summer break to just one to build 5 more cars.
The company built 5 vehicles in 2005, 44 in 2006 and 83 last year. Of the initially 300 planned vehicles, Bugatti has already sold 220 of them.
April 1, 2008
Audi rules out R4 model
An Audi’s spokesman has revealed in an interview that there was no pan to build the rumoured R4 which was said to take on the Porsche Cayman.
The rumour had emerged on the Internet one year ago and had been “confirmed” by a leaked official document from Audi. However a company spokesman told Automotive News the carmaker had no plan to build a smaller R8. At a time Ferrari officially denies working on a new 2+2 model despite several prototypes spotted during testing, Audi’s statement should be regarded with suspicion. In the meantime, the rumour itself should also be regarded with suspicion.
According to the rumour, the R4 was a sportier TT expected to take its styling cues from the R8 supercar. The coupé was reported to be based on a mid-engine platform and hit the showrooms by 2011.
April 1, 2008
Skoda might build the Up!
Along with the production site due to be built in India to produce the future Up! model, Volkswagen is seriously considering manufacturing the budget small car in a Skoda facility.
Building the Up! production version in Czech Republic would be a return to its roots as the low-cost VW initially started at the Skoda offices in February 2005. However the Pamplona production site is also in the running to build the Up! model. The car will initially be built up to 250,000 vehicles annually. The output figure will likely be increased when production starts in Russia and in India.
The future Up! will be sold under the group’s brand, VW, Seat and Skoda. Each brand will have its own range among a choice of a three and five door hatchback, a minivan, a convertible and a SUV. The future model will be powered by turbocharged two and three cylinder units while an electric version is also being considered.
April 1, 2008
Future Nissan spotted in Beijing
A Nissan saloon which might be the future Teana has been spotted in the streets of Beijing.
The saloon has been spotted near the place where the Beijing Motor Show will be, suggesting that Nissan will unveil the Teana at the event. Partly covered, the saloon reveals the aft which is similar to that of the Intima concept car. The interior, still secret, will focus attention as the concept-car featured an appealing combination of leather, wood panels and ambient lighting.
Technical details remain scarce although it is believed that the next-generation Teana will replace the FF-L platform by the D platform seen on the new Maxima at New York Auto Show. Engine range will also be modernised by replacing the current 170bhp 2.3-litre and 231bhp 3.5-litre petrol units by engines from the HR family. The entry-level will likely be powered by the 225bhp 2.5-litre petrol unit and the topping engine will be the 315bhp 3.5-litre V6 unit. The two engines will enable the Teana to compete with the new Toyota Crown on the Japanese and Chinese markets.
Launching the Teana at the Beijing Motor Show will be Nissan’s serious attempt to reinforce its offer on the upper market segment in China. Indeed, the current model recorded poor sales as a result of increased competition.. Last year, 37, 803 Teana have been delivered compared to 45,629 vehicles in 2006. The next-generation Teana will also help Nissan to achieve its sales target for this year: deliver 500,000 cars.
Source: Autoblog China
April 1, 2008