Toyota's new UV by end of the year

The Toyota Avanza


There are unconfirmed reports about a new Utility vehicle code named NVX being launched in India by the end of the year[2008].Remember it is around the same time Toyota would face competition from the Mahindra ingenio and the Tata MPV.

Toyota being Toyota have denied the development and so more details about the vehicle is unknown.

The new vehicle is going to be based on the innova[IMV] platform.Their is a good possibility the vehicle could be the avanza given that the avanza is a much cheaper offering.The avanza is a smaller vehicle than the innova and is a seven seater.I have a feeling it could be the avanza since a toyota dealer had informed me of a qualis replacement just a few months back and infact toyota may even consider the possibility of stopping production of the present innova .

Another possibility ofcourse is an all new innova.

However since the fortuner too is based on the innova platform don't rule out the possibility of the fortuner launch either.

Since everything is so unclear my suggestion is if you are looking for a vehicle in the UV segment,please wait till the end of the year or atleast till diwali[2008].

[Image source:bucksdigger.com]

My wish,how about a seven seater Dahatsu terios/Toyota rush

Update:
The latest is that Toyota plan to launch the fortuner only by 2009[between june-september to be precise],pricing expected within the range of Rs.16-20 lakhs.

Roewe's new MPV

Update:
There seems to be a mixup as far as the manufacturer is concerned.Unlike originally reported this MPV is from Roewe and not GM.So much for the new Tavera dreams.

When it rains it pours,I had not even finished posting about the possibility of Tata and Mahindra competing with Toyota and we have another competitor in the foray and this time its GM.

The spy photographers have some documents from GM which indicate that this would be sold as a Chevrolet MPV in markets across the world and that includes the US.The R&D work for this vehicle has been done in Korea by GMDAT.

This is supposedly a global mass market MPV which can seat seven passengers built on GM's global delta platform. And that is precisely why I feel there is a possibility that this MPV could make it to the Indian markets too as a replacement for the Tavera possibly since the Tavera looks way too outdated in front of its competition.However unlike the Chevrolet BEAT this MPV may not be here in a hurry.

For more pictures of this MPV please visit the Winding road website:
Here

[source,image source:Winding road]

Also read:
Chevrolet Tavera -The difference between GM and Toyota

Coming soon :Tata's new MPV.

Tata are looking at going one up on mahindra once again.They are all set to launch an MPV rival for the Toyota innova and the Mahindra ingenio just before the ingenio hits the Indian markets.


Although the car is being manufactured in India ,Tata has an eye on the european markets and is supposedly designing the vehicle along with London based Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC). Remember worldcar fans had caught a Tata Car testing and passed it off as the new Tata Safari somehow I have a feeling it is this new MPV in the pictures[spy picture above].


There is a possibility this new MPV could be based on the Tata Xover concept.Though there is no official confirmation on this. Toyota surely have their work cut out now they will have not one but two rivals to worry about and the new MPV may just match the standards[or come very close] to the offering from Toyota since the Tata MPV is designed keeping in mind the european markets.Tata say the new vehicle offers the comforts of a luxury car with the features of a sports utility vehicle.

Plans are to start trial production of the crossover in June-July and commercial production for a October- November[2008] launch," said one vendor of Tata Motors.

Sumo grande or the Xover,I'd prefer the Xover anyday.

[source:Autoindia]

[image source:dancewiththeshadows,worldcarfans]

Also read:
Mahindra ingenio details

Mahindra-Our desi version of Land Rover

Mahindra plans to make it big with its UV's[includes Muv and Suv] and pick-ups.Mahindra plan its own version the difference being we are talking about the cheapest possible UV and not a car.Being a UV prices would be a bit more and are expected to be between Rs.4-5 lakhs.Now although this is a cheap vehicle I hope mahindra designers do keep the Urban markets in mind and the fact that we live in the twenty first century.If mahindra keep this in mind then it will have be a runaway success and it will have to face no competition from any competitors at all.

Not much is known about this vehicle except that it is a five seater and that a prototype is ready so expect a few spy pictures soon.The full production version is expected in our markets by next year[2009].

And now for the next vehicle in the line-up which would surely send Toyota india back to the drawing board as far as their UV line-up is concerned.The innova's magic run could soon end with the introduction of the ingenio and somebody has told me expect some class first features in the ingenio.The ingenio would be powered by the 2.6crde engine[mhawk or not I am not sure].But the killer blow would be on the price front it is expected to be a lot more cheaper than the innova[Business Standard reports Rs.6.5 lakhs].The ingenio is expected by the year end[2008 end] yes that's right the wait is not that long any more.

Mahindra also have a new suv in the pipeline remember[expected in 2010] and it is expected to take on the likes of the Honda crv,Toyota Fortuner.

As far as the Land rover tag don't know if that is a good thing these days Mahindra would like to see themselves more as a successful brand associated with suv's.

Also read:
India: Mahindra looks at raising the bar with its next SUV

Chevrolet Captivates The Indian Buyer

The Chevrolet captiva is all set to become a runaway success for GM with approx 1200 now expected to be sold when GM was targeting only 1000.What GM[and other manufacturers in India for that matter] should realise is that they seem to be spending too much time and valuable $$$ on the small car segment when there are other segments still waiting to be tapped.

On a personal level I like the looks of the Captiva and that it gives you a seven seater option plus it being a diesel gives the Captiva the edge over its rivals.

Once again emphasis the importance of diesel in Indian markets and that even the super rich are bothered when it comes to their monthly fuel bills.Whatever manufacturers like Honda tell I believe, our market too has matured like the European markets and accepted diesel and its really important for manufacturers to offer diesel as well no matter what the segment.The Tata nano buyer or the Mercedes/BMW buyer will go in for a diesel if given a choice.

While at the topic of SUV's what I picked up is GM is also looking at introducing new variants of the Tavera[MUV] with even possibly an all new engine to take on the likes of the Toyota Innnova,Tata Sumo Grande and the yet to be launched Mahindra Ingenio.About time since the Tavera is now mostly a Call centre cab and as far as the individual buyer is concerned it has become a strict no no.

[Image source:About.com]

Update:
Honda have responded and shall bring in their diesel CRV soon:
Honda To bring in its diesel CRV soon,Marutis new small car.

Toyota to launch new variants of The Innova

Now that the competition [Mahindra scorpio and the Tata safari] have raised the bar its time the innova gets a few added luxury features.The Mahindra scorpio for instance now comes with cruise control,rain sensing wipers ,automatic headlamps,tyre pressure monitoring systems,Reverse parking assist.

Toyota may also thinking along these lines for the newer variants but expect a rise in prices too.Since the innova is not that new a facelift cannot be ruled out completely but at this point looks unlikely and toyota may just come out with only newer variants of the Innova.Toyota could do well if it also gives an engine upgrade option too since the competition has somewhat left behind the innova with regards to this[even the Tata sumo is shortly going to be launched with a 120 bhp engine].

For those waiting for the fortuner a bit of hope is that once again toyota talk of launching new products on the innova platform for India.However it may not be here that soon.What we could see in the near future apart from the changes to the innova is the All new Corolla which is hitting ASEAN markets by march so we could get it here real soon.Also work on the new small car is going ahead at full steam and a lot more details could possibly come out when Toyota President, Mr Katsuaki Watanabe comes here by the end of january.

Edit:What I have learnt is that for 2008 ,Toyota is indeed thinking of a facelift for the Fortuner and the Hilux pickup in markets like South Africa , so the possibility of an Innova facelift cannot be ruled out completely.