JOIN USIt was a year in which the arrival of new models sparked off stiff competition, while consumers were spoilt for choice.
Chevrolet Beat
Launched in the first week of January, General Motors’ ‘Chevrolet Beat’ was designed and developed keeping in mind the Indian market. The fruit of 27 months of labour by GM’s engineers, it came in as a challenger in the compact car segment dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai.
With a price tag ranging between Rs 3.34 lakh and Rs 3.94 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) when it hit the roads, the car is powered by a 1.2-litre petrol engine and has so far sold 33,845 units since its launch in India. The Beat is the second car from the company’s ‘300 series’ platform after the sedan Chevrolet Cruze. The company plans to launch a diesel variant as well.
Volkswagen Polo
The Polo was launched with two engine options, 1.2-litre petrol and 1.2-litre diesel, priced at Rs 4.34 lakh and Rs 5.32 lakh (ex showroom, Delhi) in February.
The company said the Polo would be its mainstay of its expansion plans in India, where it hopes to capture 10 per cent of the total car market by 2014. The Polo has managed to clock over 17,000 units in the Indian market since its launch. Later on, the company launched a sedan, Vento, which is based on the same platform as the Polo.
Ford Figo
Yet another global small car that made its debut in India, the Figo was a serious attempt by Ford to make its mark in the Indian compact car segment.
Launched in March with two engine options of 1.2-litre petrol and a 1.4-litre diesel, priced between Rs 3.5 lakh and Rs 4.48 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the car indeed helped the company shore up volumes. Ford India had sold over 58,000 units of the Figo till November. The car is also exported to countries like South Africa and Nepal. The company plans to launch as many as eight new car models in India by 2015.
Nissan Micra
The car, priced between Rs 3.98 lakh and Rs 5.29 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) when launched in July, marked the entry of Nissan into the Indian compact car segment. Micra was supposed to set the stage for Nissan’s plans to have nine models in India by 2012, out of which five would be made locally.
The fourth-generation Nissan Micra is powered by a 1.2-litre petrol engine and later in the year, a diesel variant with a 1.5-litre engine.
Maruti Alto-K10
With its rivals breathing down its neck, Maruti Suzuki could not afford to sit back. It decided to enhance its portfolio in the compact car segment by launching a bigger and newer engine variant of the Alto in the form of the Alto-K10 in August.
Powered by the latest generation 1.0-litre K-series engine, the new car was priced between Rs 3.03 lakh and Rs 3.16 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) when launched.
Hyundai’s new i10
Hyundai Motor India Ltd also replaced its existing i10 hatchback with a new generation variant — dubbed the Next Gen i10 — which made its global debut in Chennai, after being showcased at the Paris Motor Show. It was priced between Rs 3.48 lakh and Rs 5.58 lakh.
Czech car-maker Skoda decided to bring out a cheaper version of its hatchback Fabia in both petrol and diesel variants, priced at Rs 4.35 lakh for the entry-level petrol variant and Rs 5.4 lakh for the diesel option, cheaper by Rs 67,000 and Rs 1.1 lakh, respectively, than the existing versions.