Latest Car News in India

Cars in India gripped by diesel fuel factor

The diesel fuel that was till recently considered as a dirty fuel is now fast heading towards a fuel that will power most of the cars in India. Car maker GM is soon to launch its new diesel car – Chevrolet Sail U-VA after it has realized that the Chevrolet Beat Diesel has been more than a success in the country only due to the fuel factor. In addition to this, the percentage share of diesel cars in India in overall sales is fast increasing. The share that was barely below 20 percent in 2007-2008 has gone up to over 50 percent this year and is expected to go further up by 5 percent in the coming year. This is considered to be an unprecedented growth in the share.

This fast growth is now on the radar of most of the car makers and almost all of them including Hyundai, Chevrolet, Ford, Fiat and Honda have decided to launch diesel cars in India. Maruti has already switched its gear to the diesel compartment and is already focusing on diesel cars. The deal with Fiat for the supply of multijet diesel engines for three years is a major move in this direction. Similarly, Honda India that has till recently been considered to be the petrol only car maker has also sensed the trend and it will also be launching Honda diesel cars including Honda Brio Diesel, Honda Jazz Diesel and the diesel version of its most popular car Honda City. It will also be launching a Brio based entry level sedan.

Meanwhile, it has also come to knowledge that Hyundai is also thinking of putting in diesel motor under the hood of Hyundai i10 and some believe and take a step further in saying that there could be Hyundai Eon diesel as well. It is also said that if the current diesel car price starts above Rs 4 lakh and this is the growth at which diesel cars are gaining popularity, then there will be a diesel wave if there are diesel cars available at below Rs 3.5 lakh price band.