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The Mitsubishi iCar will be produced intially in India in SKD form.

This news was originally reported first in the Hindustan Times or by Reuters. We tried to find the original source, but with no success.

Anyway.

The iCar is out of this world. Take one look at the photos, and you will know. You seriously think this car can be produced and sold in India? We are not so sure. Read on to find out more about the iCar.

First, the Mitsubishi iCar is powered by a 600 cc 3-cylinder engine. Power till be at 52 PS.

Now, space age looks or not, can the iCar with a 600 cc engine be sold in India? The small cubic capacity of the engine might be a tough sell in India. On the other hand, the iCar has produces 52 PS - I think that might be more than the power produced by the Maruti Alto. The average car buyer might just get confused and give the Mitsubishi iCar the go-by.

Then, the space age looks. There is a good chance that the iCar might be looked upon as too fragile. I don't think it is, but you know how conservative the Indian market can be. Or perhaps things have changed - the Swift looks too funky too, and it is selling well.

The problem might be the price. Convert the price directly from its UK price, and you get around Rs 7,00,000. Now, no 600 cc car in India is going to be sold, space-age or not, at a price of 7 lakhs. For the Mitsubishi iCar to be a decent proposition in India, it has to be priced below 5 lakh.

So what is going to happen? To begin with, the iCar story that appeared in Hindustan Times might be a misunderstanding. Perhaps, they are just planning to assemble the car in India and export it. Perhaps, Mitsubishi has an ace up its sleeve in the pricing department. Perhaps, the market might be too thrilled to have a state of the art car and might plumb for it. Who knows?

For the time being, all you can do is to enjoy the pictures. So here they are.

Labels: Cars