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The Delhi International Auto Expo is just around the corner and starts on the morning of January 5th and continues till 11th in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The event which occurs once every two years promises to be an event to look out for and is very different from the smaller events that have been held in Mumbai like the Autocar Performance Show and the works. This will be an international standard motor show with almost every manufacturer in India (or not) participating and showing the latest cars that they offer for each segment. So it is large scale. What is more significant is that we will be able to see those cars which are not yet launched and are in the coming soon status. Many of these cars are very important strategically for the manufacturers and for us as customers because they promise to change the face of Indian Motoring really soon. We are going to probably see Maruti loose it's target of maintaining 50% market share of the Indian market which they have been holding on to for years now. Every one, from Toyota and Ford to Suzuki have small cars lined up for launch and many are as good if not better than the Japanese. What Maruti has going for it is the number of service stations which is second to none and Indian customer looks at those points first and the maintenance cost no matter how shoddy the vehicle itself is. India is possibly the last market that maruti has on the globe where it rules the sales. In USA, it is grouped in the last 5 manufacturers in the country with Subaru and Mitsubishi out of the total 35. It is not even a choice for 99.9% of the market. Suzuki's japanese sales have gone down this year by 40%. Even Hyundai has pulled out of the Japanese market because it's cars are considered lower in quality compared to Japanese Big 3 - Toyota, Nissan and Honda, though they have been doing fantastic in every other market in the world and that is not the case with Suzuki.  

Well this article is not about Suzuki but since they sell majority of the cars in out country, they demand some space in this article. I am going to list down cars that we can expect to see in the Delhi Motor Show and subsequently on our roads. Many cars have exciting turbo petrol engines and many small cars are coming with diesels. Again, Indica might also get hit since that was the USP of this car when it debuted a decade ago. It was the only small car with a diesel engine at a price equivalent to smaller petrol cars. Now many small diesels are on their way, so it changes a lot. Let's begin with Maruti Suzuki.

Maruti Suzuki:

Maruti will show the Cervo small car which it will replace the Alto with, not the car but segment wise. The Alto will be positioned lower and into the Maruti 800 category and the legendary 800 will be phased out. Maruti is in no mood to plunk a K series engine into this 3 decade old car. The existing engined car will not be sold from April 2010 becuase of the newer emission norms coming into force. Maruti 800 will then not sell in the 9 major cities in our country. The Cervo on the other hand will be positioned where the Alto is now and will be an entry level car possibly aimed at the Spark 800cc (which I will later talk about). The Cervo is powered by a 660cc engine instead of the 800 but will be an excellent city car and more modern also. It remains to be seen, What Maruti removes from it to get it to the Alto price point but I am sure it will not be difficult for them considering the previous cars  have been tremendous value for money. 

I am not sure if it is too early but there could be the next genration Suzuki Swift also on display. The present car has lived it's life and has been super successful at that too. The next gen Swift is long due and will come with the K Series 1.2L engine.

We could also expect to see a limited edition Swift 1.6 sport in the existing body shell to revive some interst in the brand. The 1.6L Swift Sport as it sells in UK, Australian and New Zealand markets generates 125 bhp with goodies like variable valve timing and low profile wheels. 

Suzuki could also bring in their Kizashi sedan to at least show it to us. Internationally, the car is aimed at the Honda Accord, Skoda Superb segment. I doubt there would be any takers for this car of it is launched but it could be a brand repositioning exercise for Maruti if managed properly. No one will buy a Suzuki at 20 lac that's for sure. 

General Motors (Chevrolet):

Spark 800: It gets a bit more exciting here. Let's start from the lower end. GM is busy tweaking the Spark with the (older) 800cc engine which powered the Matiz. So expect the 800cc Spark to be positioned lower than the existing car and also cheaper by about Rs. 30000 which will bring it to the Alto category, as if it was not already. The 800cc 3cylinder mill is ideal for the city and generated 52bhp in its Matiz avatar. Expect a few more horses and better refinement levels. The car will retail approximately at 2.5 lacs which makes it value for your money like no other with even better fuel efficiency.

Aveo UV-A: The UV-A will be back with a bang yes. This car initially failed to make a mark in the Indian buyers minds just like the Getz, Getz still sold since it was a Hyundai but the Aveo, formerly the Daewoo Kalos did not. Blame the sleepy boring looks and the Suzuki Swift killed it while it was asleep. Not any more. The new facelift with the traditional new Chevy grill looks agressive than ever. Combine this mean looking car with the fierceness of the little Multijet diesel that powers almost all Indian diesel cars and you almost have a winner. Don't forget the beige interiors GM for the wanabe Merc owner Indian middle class and the UV-A will promises to be an excellent package. See it below.  

Aveo Sedan: The Aveo Sedan sells in very bad numbers, the looks are not to blame here. Originally the Daewoo Gentra, this car suffered from a pathetic gear box and not a very exciting engine. The Ford Fiesta and Hyundai Verna killed it. The GM brand definitely did not help either. Expect a facelifted Aveo sedan, more aggressive design similar to what all the Chevy's have been showing off lately, Cruze, Beat and the UV-A. Expect the diesel too, the same multijet that does duty in the Linea's and Manza's. 

Beat Hatchback: We have already read about the Beat and looks like it will be launched formally in the Motor Show. Expect pricing in the Hyundai i10 territory or a notch below. The B+ segment will never be the same. 

Spark Electric could also be on display. GM has inked an MOU with Bangalore based Maini who manufacture the Reva (more popular as the G-Wiz in UK) and the Spark electric will be on roads in less than a year. The Optra will be positioned lower down in the segment, probably against the Honda City and Fiat Linea. This is evident from the recent price cuts on this car and they also have to make way for the Cruze.

TATA Motors: 

Tata Motors have already launched a lot of cars this year. The Vista and the Manza and the Nano issues have kept them busy. A lot of bookings (about 20%) of those 2 lac made have been cancelled mostly by customers who were at the far end of recieving the Nano. So what do they have to show us. Tata has been testing their Indicruz MPV worldwide for a while now. The car aimed squarely at the Xylo and the Innova promises to be a good looking van at a price which will make it a hit with the cabbies. The Innova will remain largely unaffected because after the Xylo novelty got over, the Innova is selling even more than it used to, which is almost three times as much the Xylo. Xylo was never good looking and certainly not as good as the girls shown in its TV ad. The Indicruz could have an edge here. It will look good and will also be in private car buyers radar as a prospective purchase. Well a lot remains to be seen in 2010.  

TATA Indica Vista Ignis 1.4: The car that Tata might use to inject some freshness into the Vista brand. The car that looks like a bus from the rear will get the FIAT 1.4L powerplant which is also used in the Linea, Indigo Manza and the Punto. It will generat about 90BHP and will be a good change after the slow-mo 1.2L CVCP Saffire unit. 

FIAT: 

FIAT could launch the most sought after mid-size car in January. The Fiat Linea 1.4 T-Jet. Now this car is awesome and is already selling in a lot of markets including Germany. The car is the same but the lethargic petrol engine is now turbo charged generating a whopping 120BHP which shoots this car to a ton in a mere 8.9 seconds. The speed is in BMW category, the size is almost in the Corolla catogory and the price should be in Fiesta's. Does that make it a winner, you bet it does because the turbo petrol engines are 30% more fuel efficient than similar naturally aspirated ones. I want to buy one the very first day. Well this website does not generate any money. Until then...

FIAT could also launch the 1.6 MultiJet Variable Geometery Turbo powered Linea which is a more powerful diesel. The present 1.3L diesel is not all that exciting and this could fill in the gap since the Linea is doing well in the market and is averaging about 1200 units a month and that's good for a brand called FIAT. But I am not sure about this being launched. What is confirmed news is the Turbo Petrol one. I compared the prices of Linea turbo and the regular Linea on one of the international websites. The price difference is such that this little turbo monster could be yours for as less as 8 lacs. FIAT pppplllleease. 

FIAT Bravo could be seen on the stands. The localised production might of this car might start anytime now but I am not sure if it will sell in decent numbers let alone large numbers. The price would be in Octavia category though and the car is a looker.

FIAT still has a long way to go and needs to refinish the damage that the Palio, UNO and Siena a.k.a Petra did. The Palio weekend did not help either. So it will take time but they will get there. Look at GM. They are doing pretty well with rebadged Daewoo's but that is what Indian customers want. Small cars which are inexpensive to maintain. Unless you can deliver that, you can head to the OPEL direction read 'exit'.  

HYUNDAI MOTOR: 

Hyundai has been celebrating the world over. It has become the 4th largest manufacturer this year and recession has done more good to it than bad. Japanese are getting wary of this Korean marque because it is giving almost Toyota like quality at ridiculous prices. Globally, it has become a more sought after brand than ever before and in the USA, it has launched two very exciting cars, the Genesis sedan and the Genesis coupe which have been acclaimed by car enthusiasts in the most demanding car market in the world. They are the largest exporters of small cars in India and ship the Santro, i10 and the i20 to half the world from Sriperumbudur near Chennai. So what are they giving us in 2010. Well for starters...

The i10 Diesel: Yes, you heard it right. The i10 will be powered by a 1.1 Litre 3 cylinder CRDi diesel engine which is rated at 75BHP. This will be significant car for Hyundai because this would be the first small car with the smallest production version diesel engine in the world. This will also be important for the segment because this will be the first diesel in that segment at that quality. Yes, Indica was there but we all know about the Indica and the less we speak about it the better. This will be a car to look out for. The firsts though will not last long. The beat is coming soon with its own diesel engine that is a smaller version of FIAT's multijet. 3 cylinders to be precise and we all know about it already since it does duty in almost all diesel cars in India. 

Verna facelift will also be there, though not a major one, this has already been introduced in other markets around the world. The engines are going to be the same.

VOLKSWAGEN:

VW is the most bullish on the Indian Automobile Market. They have been trying to make their brand a household name really hard and the advertising that they are onto is something never attempted before by any car manufacturer. They have just launched the Touareg and the iconic Beetle. None of them are mass market cars and will serve as brand building modes for this German manufacturer which in 2009 has become the worlds number one overtaking Toyota in the first 10 months of the year. 

VW Polo: The 2010 VW Polo will come to India in January and if speculation is to be believed, they have done a damn good localization job, so much that you could have yours for as low as 4 lacs. Yes that’s right. VW Polo at Maruti prices. Expect the docile 1.2 petrol, the midrange 1.4 diesel and the 1.2 Turbo Petrol which gives more than 100BHP of power and a 0-100 time of about 9 secs. All the cars will be well under the small car definition as per the government. We can expect legendary build quality in addition to these award winning engines. The car will be available as soon as February for delivery because the trial production of this fantastic car started months ago from VW’s chakan plant. VW aims to be big since it is already the second largest car manufacturer in China.

Polo Sedan: Yes, VW is readying the Polo sedan on the same platform as the hatchback. It will give them economies of scale and two mass production models. No one knows what it looks like (the 2010 model) but I am sure it will be a lot similar to the Passat and the Jetta in design which is a good thing, only smaller. Expect a 8lac price tag which is aimed at the Linea, Fiesta and the City. This will be available in the second half of 2010. So if you are planning to buy a Fiesta, Verna, Linea or even the Honda City in the near future, this VW will not disappoint you. It will be a handsome one and at a great price. Didn't we hear VW wants 10% of the indian car market. They better price it nicely then. 

The Germans could also show the Up concept. The UP is still a concept and is aimed squarely at developing markets. The small car will be shown in the Auto Expo to gauge consumer interest and will be the basis of the small car that VW is readying for the indian market by 2011-2012.

NISSAN:

Nissan is readying a new Micra for the Indian market and all we have seen till date are some sketches of what this car might looks. They might show this car in flesh to the consumers but I really doubt that because it has not been long since they started developing it. So it could be too early or they could show us the prototype standing at the stage. Brand building is what they need to focus on since they are almost non-existent in India. They already have two cars in the market, the Teana and the X-Trail which are awesome machines but I don't know where to go and buy them from even if I could that is. 

This is what it looks like on paper but cars always look good on paper. 

The Nissan X-Trail and The Teana which I don't know where to buy from.  

FORD: 

Ford is the slow-mo of the car brands in India. They are slow in adapting to the market but very fast in launching special schemes and limited editions on the Fiesta and Ikon. Their cars are driver oriented and fast with smooth engines but they both look old already. Endeavor sells well in the market though and so does the Ikon. Fiesta of course is the mainstay of Fords Indian operations which averages about 2000 units a month. Another 1000 for the Ikon which is surprizing and about 250-300 units of the endeavour. The Fusion sells in double digits which is okay.

FIGO: Figo was already shown to us when Alan Mullaly came all the way to India from Detroit. Figo will be the first small car in India from them and a serious attempt to attack the mass market from being a niche manufacturer all this while. The difference would be that the the Figo will be shown with open doors. The real vehicle as it will be available in the showrooms will be there to look at. The last time it was heavily tinted probably because the interiors were not finalised. Expect the real car to look at now and it will come with the excellent and torquey 1.2L Duratec petrol engine for starters and even the 1.4L Duratorque Diesel straight from the Fiesta. Both engines are known to us and set standards of refinement and economy without sacrificing the performance. 

Ford could also go ballistic (I doubt that but would really want it to) and show the next generation Fiesta (already launched all around the world and sold 500,000 units) but I really doubt that. It could show the sedan version of the car as well and launch it by the end of the year as a replacement of Fiesta or additionally as Splash. It is already selling in China and the UK and everywhere but India. Why the f$%@ Ford?

RENAULT: 

Renault does not have much going for them in India except their determination. They will showcase the facelifted Logan which is a great car but will still look bad no matter how much make-up they put on it. That was the bad news.

Good news is the Sandero. The Sandero is based on the same platform as the Logan but it is far better looking than it's ugly cousin. The hatchback that we have written about before will be displayed by Renault for sure but could carry a different name because Hyundai had objected to the name Sandero because it is too similar to Santro and accused Renault of building on Santro's popularity and dragged them to court. So the name could be different if the Korean's won.

The Logan Facelift 

The Sandero Hatch 

TOYOTA: 

Toyota will show it's small car offering for India and frankly speaking I don't know what it looks like. Actually, no one knows for sure and all people can do is speculate. It sould be similar to the Yaris that I have shown here but it's the best kept secret of the Japanese and we will see only when everyone sees. The Yaris has been seen testing in the South but that does not necessarily mean it is the one from Toyota. They could even be testing some engine which is in the Yaris and will come in the small car. But you never know. Expect a price upwards of 4 lacs but it is too early to say anything. 

SKODA:  

Expect a new Skoda Octavia, it will be an India specific model but I am not sure if it will be ready already. The newer Octavia will be built on the Polo platform and will be similar in size to the Polo Sedan. The Laura is actually the new Octavia worldwide is selling well in it's present form. Octavia is getting a bit too old and needs an update that it had but is already stolen away from it and called the Laura. Expect a price lower than the VW Polo sedan. 

YETI: Yes the Yeti is coming and it is awesome to look at. It will be the first vehicle in this mini SUV segment and we can expect a price of about 11 lacs. The Yeti will at the same time fill in the gap between the Scorpio and the other more expensive SUV's and it's niche positioning will make sure it sells in small numbers. All depends on the pricing. If Skoda can place it at about 8lacs, it will sell for sure. It is powered by the same 1.2 Turbo petrol of the Polo, which makes a bit of economic sense. 

MAINI REVA: 

The other cars will include the Reva NXR which might replace the original Reva. The NXR is a Tata Nano segmented three-door (a little longer though), four-seater hatchback family car that is suitable for urban driving. Top speed is 104 kph with a range of 160 kms per charge. If using the 90 minute fast charge (normal charging is eight hours), the REVA NXR offers an effective range of 320km a day. A fast charge for 15 minutes will provide a 40 km range which sounds practical but will only be seen when it starts being produced in January 2010. Volumes for this car will be low because it will clearly be a niche product and sales are expected in the developed economies of EU more than in India where infrastructure is supportive.

The rest of the show could include the Xylo Pick up from Mahindra, another Mahindra Global SUV still under development, a few modded Dilip Chabria branded Nano's which look nothing like the original ones and the new Tata Sumo, which will in all possibility be the same as the Indicruz mentioned before. Expect the Porche Panamera on display and the diesel versions of the Honda CRV and Toyota Corolla. VW's midsize sedan production will only start in the second half of 2010 so I doubt now that it will be on display. There would also be a facelifted S class, the BMW X6m and X5M along with the exotic Harley's on stands. Expect the Rolls Royce Ghost too. The Touareg with Beetle will also be there, Volvo XC-60 and the new aggressive looking Lancer that looks like the Nissan GTR. Here is a pic. 

It promises to be an excellent show and is a must visit for any Indian Automotive Enthusiast. The experience will be unprecedented if all you think is cars day and night. Be there at Pragati Maidan, I will try to be too, towards the weekend which is the 9th and 10th January. Drive safe.

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