Auto firms all set to flood the market with new models to woo buyers

Similarly, Italian car major Fiat will launch its Palio Adventure – costing about Rs 6-6.5 lakhs for those customers who are looking for car a large boot to go for short vacations. This would be Fiat’s second attempt to get into this segment after its Siena Weekend met with lukewarm response from the customers. Fiat officials say Palio Adventure would be priced competively as it has to take on General Motors’ Opel Corsa Swing which is also targeted at the same segment and costs about Rs 6.5 lakhs.

By June first week, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will showcase its Scorpio model, a multi-purpose vehicle targeted at the upper segment of the MUV segment. The Scorpio, to be manufactured at its Nashik plant, would almost Rs 6 lakhs for its basic version though company officials are not divulging any pricing figures.

“The launch of so many models show that Indian industry has matured and it would grow to 1 million figure in the next few years making it one of the world’s top 10 automobile markets,” says an automobile analyst. Hyundai — which has tasted sucess with its Santro — is coming out with a new small car targeted at the upper end of B segment cars (Rs 3 lakh-Rs 5 lakh) called the Getz.

Getz’s India launch will follow the global launch of the car, say Hyundai officials. Getz is expected to take on the intensive competition unleashed by Fiat’s Palio and Maruti’s Wagon R.

Hyundai is also coming out with an automatic transmission version of Sonata powered by a new 2.7 litre V6 engine by the end of 2002. The car will be priced anywhere between Rs 15 lakhs to Rs 16 lakhs. Car manufacturers say that launch of new models is important to grow the market where customers are becoming more and more choosy and availability of cheap finance it making more people to go for a four wheeler.

Japanese car major Toyota Motors is also looking at the option to come out with its Camri model in the next few months after its Qualis model got quite a good response from the Indian consumers. With so many launches and interest rates on car finance coming down every quarter, analysts say the auto industry — which grew by 13 per cent last fiscal — is set for a boom.