GM-SAIC may roll-out Chevrolet Sail sedan in India

General Motors India, a joint venture between China based Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation Group (SAIC) and American General Motors Company, is likely to launch the new Chevrolet Sail sedan in the Indian market soon. The new Sail compact sedan was showcased at the Auto China 2010 recently. The Sail is the first ever made-in-China vehicle which has been manufactured in partnership with a foreign company. Besides China, the model will also be exported to emerging markets like South-Asia.



After its launch in the Indian market the Sail sedan will be pitched against other popular cars of this segment including Maruti Swift Dzire, Tata Indigo Manza and Hyundai Accent. The new model is expected to be competitively priced in the range of Rs 5.5 to 7.5 lakh range. It is expected that, initially, the sedan version of this model will be launched in the Indian market and a hatchback version will follow after a few months.

The new Sail model comes equipped with two engine options including a 1.2L S-TEC II and 1.4L S-TEC III engines in the SAIC's domestic market,. Where the 1.2-liter engine offers an impressive fuel economy of up to 16 km/l, the 1.4L engine offers fuel economy under 15 km/l. The 1.2 L power-train generates the maximum power of 53.1 kW/L and accelerates from standstill to 100 km/h in just 12.9 seconds. On the other hand, the 1.4-liter engine delivers a power of more than 54.3 kW/litre and reaches from 0 to 100 km/h in just 11.9 seconds.

Source:- GM-SAIC may roll-out Chevrolet Sail sedan in India - New Cars

Volvo recalls over 29,000 cars worldwide

Volvo car, a leading Swedish auto-maker, announced on Monday that it would call-back around 29,299 units of its cars globally due to some possible faults with the gear shift that could pose difficulties for drivers while changing gears. The company said, in a statement given to a leading news agency, that the cars in question are all Volvo's models for 2010 and 2011 that possess a six-speed manual gear box.



While Further explaining the fault, Volvo's spokesman said that the company has identified that the ball-joints hand cylinder pin on the gear shift lever may be mounted (incorrectly), which may lead to the ball-joint coming loose, which would imply that the driver will not be able to change gears. The vehicle recall will affect auto-markets worldwide including Britain, Sweden and Germany, which are among the most affected markets from this recall.

According to the company, there are no accidents or casualties reported so far and the problematic gear box can be repaired very easily. The customers whose cars fall in this criteria could visit company's local dealership where the ball joints would be adjusted properly within an hour, the company said in a statement.

Volvo is currently being sold to the Chinese Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, after operating as a Ford brand for over a decade.

Source:- Volvo recalls over 29,000 cars worldwide - New Cars

Kia Motors to mark its debut in India market soon

Kia Motors, one of the largest car maker in the South Korean market is all set enter the Indian car market with establishing a new manufacturing facility here, reported a leading news daily today. The company will initially mark its debut in the segment of compact cars, hatchbacks and entry-level sedans in India, and will enter the SUV segment after a few months, the news report further elaborates.



Currently, the European market accounts for the most of the sales of Kia Motors. But as countries like India and China are emerging as one of the fastest growing auto-markets, the company is switching its focus towards these Asian markets. The prospective cars which are expected to hit the Indian roads include company's best-selling vehicles in its domestic market like Forte and Rio. With this, Kia's popular hatchback Picanto and Proceed are also expected to make a debut in the Indian market.

While the prospective sedans of the company are speculated to be pitched against popular cars of this segment like Honda City, the hatchbacks will possibly compete against Hyundai i10 and Maruti Swift. Moreover, company's compact SUV's, Soul and Sorento would compete against popular utility vehicles of this segment like Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Safari.

Source:- Kia Motors to mark its debut in India market soon - New Cars