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The world’s cheapest car, Nano, is likely to wrest the leadership position in the small car segment within a year as the ruling market leaders — Maruti 800 and Omni — will no longer be sold in 11 of India’s biggest cities from January 2010 because of failure to meet current emission norms. These cities account for one out of two cars sold in the country.

Although Nano could become the highest selling car in its segment, it would take some time to contribute to Tata Motors’ sagging bottomline. Tata Motors, which suffered a Rs 2,500-crore loss last year largely due the tribulations of its UK subsidiary Jaguar and Land Rover, needs to sell at least 2.5 lakh units of the Nano to make money from the world’s cheapest car. The company may be in a position to produce the Nano in these numbers only by the end of 2010 once its plant at Sanand, Gujarat becomes operational.

The entry-level Maruti 800, the flagship product of Maruti Suzuki India, is priced at Rs 2.15 lakh. The basic version of the Nano is pegged at Rs 1.35 lakh though other version with more more features cost more.


The pricing strategy of Nano is not decided yet. The price of the Nano could go up. The first one lakh allotments (of the Nano) are price-protected as prices were declared at the launch. For others, should circumstances require any pricing decision, it will be intimated to them (customers who have booked the car) at the time of delivery. The company is also planning to launch the diesel version of the Nano. There has been speculation that the diesel Nano could cost around Rs 2 lakh, making it the cheapest car in the category.

ET

Finally, the beast and the beauty kept their rendezvous with India. The niche, but growing, club of luxury car owners on Sunday got a  booster shot with Tata Motors ushering in the British auto icons Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) after almost a year of acquiring them from Ford Motor Co.

A hot cat, Bollywood hearthrob Hrithik Roshan owns a Jag, or any of the three Rover models Discovery 3, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport would cost anything between Rs 65 lakh to Rs 1 crore. A Tourbillion, the most expensive watch from the Dior stable, too comes at the higher end of that range.

Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata said, “This launch heralds the entry of Jaguar Land Rover brands in India. The brands in days gone by were well received in India. However, in the last few years, they had been disconnected with consumers here.”

The India foray comes at a time when worldwide sales of luxury cars are falling. The global meltdown dragged JLR into huge losses as consumers halted purchases. Sales, after the $2.5 billion takeover by Tata Motors last June, dropped a third to 1.67 lakh vehicles.

“Jaguar Land Rover had been condemned in the downturn but they are terrific brands with terrific products. As we come out of the downturn, we should be able to say it was a terrific decision to own them. As an Indian, I am proud to have these brands and we will bring back to its lost glory,” Tata said.

JLR, whose top management, including CEO David Smith, Jaguar MD Mike O’ Driscoll and Land Rover MD Phil Popham, were in the city for the launch, declined to speculate on sales numbers for India–one of the world’s growing luxury market that has been insulated from the global meltdown to a large extent. In China, which it had entered five years ago, JLR saw a 63% growth with 12.5 lakh vehicles sold in FY09.

The JLR range is comparable to Mercedes S class, Audi A6, BMW 7 series and Porsche’s Cayenne. Luxury car sales in India were up 34% at 10,000 units. With JLR in its arm, Tata Motors caters to various customer profiles and price points from selling the common man’s utility vehicles to the Queen’s fancy toys.

While Tata looks to sustain JLR through the downturn, the UK government’s support is crucial as JLR wants it to guarantee a pound 340 million European Investment Bank loan sanctioned in April. Although JLR has the option of getting guarantees from private banks, it may work out to be an expensive proposition. To get the government’s help, Tata may have part with some equity interest in JLR, besides giving board representation. “We are negotiating at the moment and if there was a large financial package from the UK government to the company then there should be a commensurate level of representation on the board. It is fair and just for them.”

Meanwhile, he said Tata Motors and its UK subsidiary would work together and share intellectual properties over time. “We have our own range of vehicles. But over time, family resemblance of facilities, sophistication of spares will be commonalised.”

TOI

The journey of the first generation Jazz started in 2001 with its debut launch in Japan. The car is now being sold in more than 115 countries across the Globe.

The first generation Honda Jazz set a benchmark by achieving cumulative sales of more than 2 million units. The truly acclaimed and the stunning performer Honda Jazz , in its Second generation avatar, has been launched finally in India but with a price tag starting from Rs. 7 lakhs the prospective buyers may go for the much more affordable and feature rich Hyundai i20.

Honda’s Jazz is one of the cleverest superminis around. It’s a thoroughly modern design that’s innovative in its use of space, with remarkably good head and rear legroom, well specced, and fitted with frugal and characterful engines.

It’s at its best in town where it’s both friendly and fun to drive. From the outside the brilliance of the Jazz is not immediately obvious. It has more than a hint of the MPV (Multi Purpose Vehicle) about it. Though the Honda Jazz is small, Honda’s enviable reputation for refinement and reliability shine through clearly.


Take a little look at the exterior of the Honda Jazz and you will see just some of the great styling and body features that saw the Honda Jazz win the Japan Car of the Year in 2001 and 2002 - with a few updated twists here and there.

The Exterior Design of Honda Jazz is stylish and embellish typical Honda design - sharp lines and central bonnet ridge. Sharp headlamps supplements the steeply raked windscreen but the front grille resembles the CR-V. Alloy wheels and ellipsoidal glass area decorates the Jazz side. Taillamp is the pure attraction as it blends with the rear.

Get inside and the Jazz will easily accommodate five adults and their luggage. The interior Design of Honda Jazz is most likely to don a dashboard as impressive as that of the Civic.

You sit quite high up in the Jazz, although a good range of seat and wheel adjustment makes it easy for most drivers to get comfortable and find good vision. The cabin is well planned and attractive, with big, easy-to-use buttons.

The view forwards is similar to that found in a baby MPV. Steering wheel is fully adjustable and there’s an excellent driving position, although the seats are a little firm. Good all-round visibility from the tall design and large glass areas. Attractive cabin with chunky switches and buttons in all the places you’d expect them. They’re user-friendly, and intuitive to use.

Interior build quality is spot-on with quality materials used throughout. Panel fit is perfect and there are no suspicious rattles or squeaks. Jazz is one of the most desirable small cars on sale, thanks to its clever, spacious interior, frugal petrol engine, and Honda’s reputation for reliability. 

The Jazz practicality has been enhanced with three mode “Magic Seat” configuration to achieve multiple seating and cargo-carrying configurations for long or tall objects in addition to the standard five-passenger mode.

Easy one-motion dive down and reverse operation of the rear seats. The luggage space can be extended to a maximum length of 1,720 mm thanks to the spacious full-flat floor.  In Utility mode, place the passenger seat in the full reclining position to create a space up to 2,400 mm long to carry long objects.  Fold up the rear seat cushions to take advantage of Jazz’s 1,280 mm roof height—the perfect way to make space for tall items like house plants. 

The Jazz has been launched in India with a 1.2 L i-VTEC engine which has been specially developed for the Indian Market. It reflects the company’s commitment towards India and its continued focus on bringing in the latest global technology into the country.  The engine has been exclusively researched and developed at the Honda R&D centre in Tochigi, Japan to suit Indian road & safety conditions. The revolutionary “Made for India” discovery offers a dual advantage of superior power and low fuel consumption. The future ready E10 compatible engine even ensures environment responsibility by matching Euro IV emission levels.

The new powertrain is a 4 cylinder 1198 cc engine featuring Programmed Fuel Injection delivering class-leading power of 89 Bhp at 6200 rpm and torque of 110 Nm at 4800 rpm while giving an impressive fuel economy of 16.1 km per litre as per ARAI test data. It is expected that Jazz will give mileage of around 13-14 kms per litre in city driving.

Honda India has initially launched Jazz with 1.2 litre engine. But they are also planning to launch another variant of Jazz with much more powerful 1.5 litre 118 Bhp engine which is currently available in Honda City. The advantage of the i-VTEC engine is that, it regulates the opening of air-fuel intake valves and exhaust valves in accordance with engine speeds. By regulating valve opening to match engine speed, the engine adjusts its characteristics to deliver both superior power and low fuel consumption.

The Jazz chassis realizes both superior ride comfort and agile handling. The high rigidity body and supple suspension provide an exceptional dynamic performance. The car features a McPherson strut suspension in the front.

The H-shaped torsion beam rear suspension achieves the maximum possible space for the rear seats and cargo area as well as steady ride comfort and agile handling. The Electric Power Steering aids the driver to steer the car with less effort and gives better handling.

Safety of passengers and pedestrians is a top priority for Honda and all safety equipment is standard across all variants. The Honda Jazz comes fully loaded with various active and passive safety features including ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) with EBD (Electronic Brake-Force Distribution System), Dual SRS airbags and pre-tensioner seat belts.

Honda’s Advanced Compatibility Engineering Body (ACE) & G-CON (G-Force Control Technology) provide a high integrity survival zone that enhances self-protection and better compatibility in collisions with other vehicles. Honda’s Pedestrian-injury reduction body design helps protect pedestrians from injury in the event of a collision.

Honda has launched Jazz in India in 3 variants:

- Honda Jazz
- Honda Jazz Mode
- Honda Jazz Active

Honda jazz prices starts from Rs. 6.98 Lakhs going up to Rs. 7.28 Lakhs for the Mode version and Rs. 7.33 Lakhs for the top end Active. These prices are ex-showroom New Delhi.

All Jazz variants come standard with dual front air bags, dash integrated MP3/CD sound system with steering mounted controls and ABS + EBD.