DWS Auto India

Bajaj Auto is all upbeat about its small car project and has said that the four-wheeler plans will be on stream as scheduled even if the joint venture between the company and the Renault – Nissan combine fails to take off.

Maruti Suzuki launched its premium A2-segment hatchback, the Maruti Suzuki A-Star, on November 18, 2008.

The 800 cc brigade is just waiting to get bigger with automotive majors such as General Motors India and Hyundai Motors all set to unveil their small cars in the country.

Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest passenger carmaker, is on a hiring spree keeping in view the plans of the car maker to design cars from scratch in India by the end of 2010.

Toyota’s answer to the Tata Nano will come in the form of a $5000 car (Rs 2 lakh). That is twice the official price of the Tata Nano which is priced at $ 2500 (Rs 1 lakh).

Hyundai i20, the five-door five-seater premium hatchback from Hyundai Motor India, is set for its launch in November 2008. Recently launched at the 2008 Paris Motor Show with much fanfare, the Hyundai i20 will see bookings on a fast basis by the end on next month, say industry sources.

Nissan plans to launch their next generation small car model Nissan March in 2010, in India. The Nissan March would mark Nissan's entry into the automatic passenger car market.

Honda plans to launch its premium hatchback car, the Jazz in India in 2009 - but the company has said that they are moving towards a launch date for a five-seater small car. A really small car. It is expected that the car would debut by the beginning of year 2010.

Oreva Super, India's smallest electric car in the pipeline, is poised to give serious competition to the Tata Nano. Oreva Super e-car, that is manufactured by electric bike maker Ajanta Group, will be priced between Rs 85,000 - Rs 1 lakh making it the cheapest small car in India.

A step up from the Oreva brand of electric scooters, the Ajanta Group is said to be fast racing toward launch of its small electric car. Significantly, the car which also has its manufacturing base in Gujarat, as is the case with the Tata Nano, is also expected to sell for Rs 1 lakh.