Chevrolet Trailblazer: Coming this October

Chevrolet has announced that the Trailblazer SUV will be launched in our market sometime in October this year. This body-on-frame SUV will take on the likes of the popular Toyota Fortuner, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Ford Endeavour.

Although its rivals come with the option of various trims that offer 2WD, 4WD and manual as well as automatic gearbox combinations, Chevrolet will initially bring the Trailblazer SUV in only one guise – the 2WD model mated to an automatic gearbox.  

While customers would’ve expected Chevrolet’s mighty Trailblazer to come with 4X4 tech, sources in the company say that the carmaker is currently focussing on buyers who mostly use the SUV on tarmac. What the India-bound Trailblazer SUV will get is tech like Hill Start Assist, Hill-Descent Control and it'll also have the capability to wade through 800mm of water. Under the hood will be a 2.8-litre Duramax DOHC turbodiesel engine good for 197bhp and a massive 50.99kgm of torque.

Creature comforts will include a touchscreen infotainment system with CD/USB/aux/Bluetooth compatibility, cruise control and leather seats, among others.

We expect the Chevrolet Trailblazer 2WD auto to be priced at around Rs 29 lakh (ex-showroom).

Source: Autocar India

Top Ten Best Selling Cars in India - July 2015

The car sales figures in India for the month of July 2015 are out and again Suzuki has remained undisputed number 1. Out of the top 10 cars, first four positions are held by Suzuki. A total of six cars in this top 10 list are from Suzuki. The gap between Suzuki and other competitors is still massive. Hyundai at No. 2 is having just 16.67 per cent market share against 50.43 per cent share of Suzuki. Among other car makers, Honda has continued at No. 3 position leaving behind Mahindra at No. 4 with a good margin. Toyota and Tata are at No. 5 and 6 respectively. Graph below shows the top 10 cars sold in India in July 2015:

With the launch of Jazz, Honda has one more product in its store to fight with Hyundai. Jazz is pitted against i20 who is in great demand along with its smaller sibling i10.

In spite of all the efforts by Hyundai and other car manufacturers, Suzuki has only strengthened its position in the market and its share has now crossed 50 per cent. With the launch of its S-Cross, it is only expected to make the gap bigger. 

For others like Fiat, Renault, Nissan; they seem to be here only to show that they exist.