The new Figo is envisioned as the basis of Ford sales in India, a compact vehicle built on the last Fiesta and wearing familiar Ford styling. The Figo will be built at the newly expanded Chennai Plant, where another four nameplates are already produced. While there is zero intention of exporting it the western markets, there are plans for export in the region. Oh, and in case you were interested, Figo is Italian slang for "cool."

Press release:

New Study Shows Willingness to Accept Unknown Brands

Tustin, CA (July 28, 2009) - Newly released research shows fifteen percent of new car buyers in the United States say they would consider purchasing their next vehicle from China, and eleven percent would consider buying a car from India, without knowing specific brands or vehicles.This compares with sixteen percent who said they would consider a vehicle from Korea, which has been marketing vehicles in the U.S. since the 1980s.

"As Hyundai and Kia have been on the American scene for decades now, it's surprising that consideration for Chinese and Indian brands, sight unseen, would be about as strong as it is for the Korean brands," said George Peterson, president of automotive research firm AutoPacific and author of the study. "However, with so many premium and high-tech non-automotive products already being made in China and purchased by Americans, why not automobiles too? It appears that buyers in America are willing to give Chinese and Indian vehicles a chance right out of the box. Understanding these consumers will be critically important to the success of any newcomer."

The just-released study - "Opportunity for Chinese and Indian Brands in the USA" - provides new insight into who these consumers are and what they're looking for in their next car or truck. Based on a national survey of more than 30,000 new car and truck buyers, AutoPacific's 2009 Research Suite database reveals insights into the willingness of Americans to consider cars and trucks coming from China and India.

"Not only are a significant number of people willing to consider Chinese and Indian brands, this group consists of highly desirable buyers who would be coveted by any manufacturer. They tend to be young, well-educated, and affluent for their age and have good jobs in administrative, health care and middle management positions," added Peterson.

The study shows Chinese and Indian considerers are more likely to currently own Japanese and Korean brands, indicating that these brands may have the most competition from the new entries, rather than domestic brands like Chrysler, Ford and GM. The study also revealed that while those who would consider a car from China and India rate reliability and durability high, they are not as interested in the dynamics of a vehicle like handling, braking and acceleration.

[AutoPacific via LATimes]

Disregarding any pop culture references, Honda Cars India decided this would be a great way to represent their home market Honda Jazz (our Fit). Is it just us or does this seem like a crazy bad idea? (Hat Tip To Andre!)

[via Honda India]

Ferrari modified the 612s for India by raising the ride height 1.2 inches and replacing the composite undertray with an aluminum sheet. However, it had no time to fit these two particular cars with the new F1 transmission before shipping out to India. And for some unfathomable reason, the cars are left-hand-drive, contrary to India’s British-inherited rules. Passing is a two-man operation, the navigator’s script usually as follows: “No . . . no . . . no. Okay, go. WAIT!!”

Read more at Car and Driver.

Lax safety and licensing standards and an insufficient infrastructure, combined with heavy and varied traffic (cars share the roads with trucks, rickshaws, motorcycles, mopeds, animals, pedestrians, vendors, carts and bicyclists) are largely to blame for India’s high rate of accidents. But the biggest killer is thought to be the huge numbers of new vehicles and new drivers flooding India’s roads. The already massively overcrowded thoroughfares are being pushed to the breaking point, literally. It’s a problem shared by other developing nations: The World Bank estimates that by 2020, the number of people killed by car accidents globally will increase from 1.2 to 2 million.

India plans to spend $500 billion over the next five years to repair and upgrade its transportation infrastructure, reports Business 24-7, but much of that will be spent on airports and seaports rather than on roads, and what money does reach them is largely expected to be lost to corruption and mismanagement. 90% of India’s passenger traffic and 65% of its freight travel by road.

Business 24-7 goes on to report that, “loopholes in the system put licenses in the hands of those ill equipped to drive, there is also a general apathy among consumers towards seat belts, air bags and even motorcycle helmets.”

Hormazd Sorabjee, the Editor of Autocar India says, “Safety is unfortunately not a big part of the purchase decision of Indian consumers. Our best-selling small cars are typically not the safest vehicles on the road because consumers are more worried about fuel efficiency and the cost of ownership, and would rather not pay for safety features such as air bags and anti-lock brakes."

The Tata Nano, for instance, doesn’t include airbags, antilock brakes or side-impact beams in its $2,500 price, but does claim to have passed the required frontal and side impact tests.

To counteract the increased accident and mortality rates, vehicle manufacturers are setting up their own driver training schools. "We do believe the need for training is becoming increasingly relevant due to the increase in vehicle volumes, high speed roads, enhanced performance of vehicles, and the requirement of specific skills for application on vehicles," says Debasis Ray, head of corporate communications at Tata. [Business 24-7 via Bikes In The Fast Lane]

Well, apparently Mahindra decided it would be best to do some testing of the truck, you know, to see if it's actually any good or not. They're lining up a fleet of 25 trucks to drive 3.2 million miles around the US. We're pretty sure that's the collective mileage split between the 25 trucks — otherwise cheap Indian diesel pickup aficionados might be waiting around even longer. [Automotive News; Sub. Req.]

With a new generation of Fit/Jazz on the market we're not surprised they're updating the City, though we're not exactly blown away by the looks. No word on what revised specs this latest City will get, but we're betting most of you don't know what the old specs were. Maybe someday, if they're really good, they''ll be able to get a Fit-based Honda Airwave. That would be sweet. [Team-BHP]

Well, at aroung $311,820 USD, you could buy something like 124 of the $2,500 Tatas. Actually, we'd rather go on the round trip from Mumbai to New Delhi with 124 Nanos than some Ferrari with an ugly paint job. Though, the money from the auction is supposed to go to some sort of charity, so it's for a good cause. We remember hearing our Jalopnik Bangalore branch was supposed to have a test drive of the 612, but that might have just been a day dream brought on by too much chicken makhani. (Hat Tip to Shrawan!) [ebay]

There isn't even a regular old Appalachian out here. Turns out, somewhere in the reporting of the hybrid diesel powertrain and the import of the Appalachian, the two were put together in an internet version of the phone game. From what FEV tells us, there were actually no plans for that variant of the truck and it will not be at SAE. The regular diesel truck is still intended for US import, but if you're a curry-flavored diesel electric truck lover, there is no joy in Detroit for you today.

The diesel-electric is fitted with a parallel hybrid system integrated into the transmission and provides drive power at start, additional power on command, stop/start functionality and regenerative braking capabilities. For the time being, enjoy that sweet teal train-like goodness seemingly following the GM methodology of making sure everyone knows you're driving a hybrid via large stenciled letters on the side. Also, there's a hood scoop. We're not entirely sure why that's important, but yeah, there it is. We'll be getting more details for you when things open up officially. For now, we have to work on outrunning the Detroit police.

"The Scorpio vehicle is a clear indicator of the enormous implications of globalization on the changing paradigm in vehicle development," said Rogers. "A rapid advancement of technology is occurring on a global scale, and our OEM customers are increasingly leveraging FEV's global presence to ensure around- the-clock development of new powertrain and vehicle concepts. The FEV Group has successfully expanded its capabilities and international reach to accomplish shorter development times and to support these types of global initiatives for its OEM partners."

FEV contributed its expertise in hybrid powertrain systems development and integration, as well as software development to support Mahindra in the hybridization of the vehicle, the first of its kind to be marketed in the Asian market.

"FEV has been a very receptive and experienced partner in the program and is known for their HEV work across the globe. With their support, we were able to meet our aggressive targets. They have made a valuable contribution to the development of the Scorpio Hybrid Diesel SUV," said Dr. Arun Jaura, Chief Technology officer, Mahindra Group.

The Mahindra Scorpio hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) features the following characteristics:

— Diesel-electric parallel hybrid vehicle with four major functions:
- Start-stop
- Electric launch
- Torque augmentation
- Regenerative braking
- Seamless but enhanced driving experience
— 2.2 Liter, I-4, second generation diesel common rail engine with 85 kW
and 270 Nm ratings
— 6-speed automatic transmission
— 30 kW (peak) motor with max torque of 270 Nm (peak) and a max speed
8500 rpm
— 288V, 8.4 Ah NiMH battery
— Quick cold start with e-motor assist

The Mahindra and Mahindra diesel-electric hybrid is representative of the type of advanced vehicle technologies under development by FEV. Further examples of this technology will be on display at the FEV exhibit.

The actual hard news, of course, is that GAZ is most likely trying for a piece of the commercial vehicle market in auto-ascendant India, where Tata recently made headlines by unveiling the $2500 Nano and buying a couple venerable British marques off Ford. Unfortunately, it's unclear exactly which Indian firm would partner with Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, as while their name may be fun to say, they'd be up against current native truckmaker Mahindra, among others. What we can tell you as an absolute press-release certainty, though, is that

"success of cars launched by all global players in India is driving force behind Russia to think over entering Indian auto market."

"As auto is one of the key areas of the India-Russia Forum on Trade and Investment we are looking at business partnership in future."

The company currently sells nearly a full line of BMW vehicles, including M products. Last year the company sold 1,387 units, including about 743 3-series. A feasibility report has been submitted and it'll be up to the company's management to decide whether or not the Mini will actually reach India. If it does we hope they remember to delete the Union Jack roof option. [Economic Times India]

"This is a market that nobody is going to be in for at least three of four years. We're going to be able to give small businesses a truck that can get 30 to 35 miles-per-gallon, and with a diesel engine that's durable. It's a $40,000 truck that we're going to sell in the mid-$20,000s. This is not Chinese junk."

First of all, as we made clear above it'll not only be a diesel pickup, it'll be a hybrid diesel pickup and it's coming in 2010. Secondly, it's got a name — the Mahindra Appalachian and it's based off the Mahindra mid-sized truck currently available on the sub-continent — and which we showed in heavily-modified form last month. Head on over to PickupTruck.com to get the rest of the details. [PickupTruck.com]

And if you believe the various pundits assembled by CNNMoney.com, in a recent report, that infection combined with their penchant for manufacturing eensy proletarian vehicles that your average call-center employee in Bangalore can afford means, yes, pain at the pump for the U.S.A. Gas that tops $5 a gallon for 87-octane has nothing to do with profiteering oil companies and our proud nation's anemic refineries—no, when that day comes and it costs $150 to fuel up a Tahoe, it will be the fault of the wee Tata and its ilk. Little bitty cars that sip gas and are driven by deeply impoverished people. There's your eulogy for relatively inexpensive fuel and the rumbling V8.

Goenka said Mahindra will decide "relatively soon" whether to import the pickup or build it from knockdown kits in the United States. He ruled out building it in Mexico.

Mahindra, of Mumbai, India, has selected about 200 dealers for the launch, Goenka said. The trucks are expected to be available in the next 15 months. The U.S. distributor is Global Vehicles USA Inc., of Alpharetta, Ga.

The truck will have a diesel engine that meets the strictest emissions standards, Goenka said.

From: Belema West Date: Jan 23, 2008 10:17 PM Subject: Biz package (300 of ur cars for senior civil servent in the NigerDelta area in Nigeria. To: tips@jalopnik.com

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Belema West.
President:GrassRoot Peace Ambassadors Forum