Volkswagen Passat to launch in July 2017

Volkswagen India has confirmed that the all-new Volkswagen Passat and Tiguan models to be launched in this year in the Indian market. The Tiguan to be introduced in the coming month of May 2017, whereas the VW Passat is expected to enter the passenger vehicle market in July 2017. There is no official confirmation about the Passat launch but, it will be assembled at the company’s Chakan plant along with the Tiguan.

Related: Next generation Volkswagen Polo production starts in June 2017

Both cars, Tiguan and Passat will be received the VW group’s MQB platform for the Indian market. The VW Passat will enter the Indian market in its latest B8 avatar with the measurements of 4,767mm length, 1832mm width and 1456mm height. It comes with the wheelbase of 2,677mm and single engine that will be the four-cylinder 2.0-litre TDI turbo diesel.

The Passat GTE petrol hybrid to be featured with the combination of 115bhp electric motor and 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine rated at 154bhp of power. As per the information, the VW Passat will also get the sportier version with the 2.0-litre 177hp diesel engine for the Indian market.

Related: Volkswagen to focus on petrol hybrids

To expand the network as well as become as one of the strong players in the passenger market, Volkswagen India is introducing all-new models with different platforms. The upcoming cars will be expensive compared to the existing cars and priced Rs. 30 to 35 lakhs on the Tiguan and Rs. 32 to 34 lakhs on the Passat.

Mahindra Z101 (Next-gen Scorpio) to launch in 2020

Economic Times Auto reported that the Mahindra Z101, fourth generation Mahindra Scorpio is expected to launch in the domestic market in 2020. Also, it will be launched in the international markets. The company’s North American Technical Center (NATC) is working on the future Scorpio, which will be redesigned based on the advanced architecture of the existing model and featured the new design layouts and features.

Related: Mahindra launched TUV 300 in South Africa

The integration and testing of the product to be handled by the Resource & Development centre in Chennai Mahindra Research Valley. A few of the reports stated that the future generation Scorpio to be based on the ladder-frame platform. The new SUV will get the advanced telematics, safety features and exterior styling.

The future generation Scorpio will be offered as an SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) and the pickup truck to target the North American Market. Speaking of the engines, it will be offered by the both four-cylinder diesel and petrol engines, which will be mated with the either manual or automatic transmissions.

Related: Mahindra launched 2017 XUV 500 Sportz at Rs. 16.5 lakhs

Some reports recommended that the new Scorpio diesel will be available with the 2.2-litre mHawk engine rated at a 128bhp power and 280Nm torque. The new Scorpio will receive the 4-wheel drive system for the international markets.

It is the second project from Mahindra’s Technical Center in North America and the product will hit the market in 2020.

Maruti Suzuki has 2,000+ dealerships in India

The Indian biggest PV carmaker, Maruti has more than 2,000 dealerships in the Indian market, according to the fresh news from Economic Times. The company has reached a new milestone in the automotive market with the well-acceptance from all-generation people in the country.

On an average basis, Maruti Suzuki added nearly 200 dealerships in the last five years. The car manufacturer has 1,100 dealerships in the duration of 2011 – 12 and the number increased to 2,007 outlets/dealerships in 2016 – 17. In India, the domestic car maker has presence in 1,643 towns and cities.

Related: Maruti Suzuki reports 47.6% share in domestic PV market in ongoing fiscal

Along with the general dealerships, the company has established the premium NEXA network to retail the premium products, including Baleno, S-Cross and Ignis. Maruti has opened the 200th NEXA showroom on 30th January 2017 and also planned to expand the network to 250 units by the fiscal end of 2016-17.

Maruti Suzuki aims to retail around 20lakh units annually by expanding the sales network to 4,000 units by 2020. The number includes regular dealerships, commercial dealerships, NEXA dealerships and the company’s true value dealerships.

Related: Suzuki expects India to be third highest car market by 2020

To sell the new LCV Super Carry, Maruti has already planned to open new 50 commercial dealerships by the end of 2016.

Two days back, Maruti Alto K10 Plus has launched in the country without any announcement in the country. The carmaker will four next-generation models in the next fiscal, such as Maruti Ciaz Facelift, Maruti S-Cross Facelift, 2017 Maruti Swift and 2017 Maruti Swift Dzire.