The small car segment has traditionally been the one which has made up for highest numbers and the trend is only going to continue for some decades to come. There have been quite a few car makers that have tried their hands at introducing ultra compact cars at low cost, but only Maruti clicked with their 800 and went on to make merry as hundreds of thousand of people laid down their cheque books for this car.
Things are about to change though. The introduction of Tata Nano will change the face of small car segment altogether and will bring in much needed zeal into the market. Indians are increasingly becoming smarter and the demand is shifting towards better VFM products, irrespective of the segment. The induction and subsequent performance of Nano will also give a lot of other manufacturers (who are waiting to see the market reaction towards such a car) an impetus to develop and market a compact car on similar lines. There are, however, some manufacturers who’ve already started working on research and development.
Nissan-Renault coalition has just announced that they are going to form a joint venture with Bajaj to build a low-cost car while Toyota and VW have plans to manufacture iQ and Up! respectively.
The Toyota iQ, though still in the concept stage, looks almost production ready. The design revisions have endowed an aggressive stance to the iQ. Toyota iQ is just under 3 meters in length and stands 1.48 meter high. It is being called a 3+1 which means that it will carry three adults and a child along with luggage in decent comfort. The 2-meter wheelbase will make sure that there is enough space inside the car and the environment is airy. There are several unique technological advancements like compact differential, rear-angled shocks, flat fuel tank under the seats, smaller HVAC unit, asymmetrical dashboard etc which enabled Toyota to package the iQ so efficiently. Toyota is rumored to be talking to Yamaha for the development of an engine for the iQ and it is most likely that it will be a 1-litre mill under the hood. The iQ has been crash tested to Euro NCAP terms and received a 5-star safety rating. Expected to go hit the production line in late 2008, Toyota expects to sell close to 1,00,000 units of the iQ globally in its first year of production.
The Up! from VW has been in the news all over the world, and for all the right reasons. Having veered off towards the luxury segment for some years, VW is back doing what it does best – hot hatchbacks. However, how much of a ‘hot-hatch’ it will be, remains to be seen. As a product, the VW Up! is pretty much bang on as far as markets like India are concerned. It is 3.45m in length and stands 1.63m wide which makes it the perfect size for our congested roads. The engine will be mounted at the back and will power the rear wheels. The folks at VW have said repeatedly that the production model will not look much different from the concept, which is a good thing. The Up!, VW says, will offer more space inside than any class rival. VW engineers are in the process of developing an economical engine which will be around 600cc in capacity although the possibility of a 1.2-litre engine cannot be ruled out. The rear engine format is also a spacing saving practice since it will allow VW to keep ample crumple zone at the front, keeping the compact dimensions undisturbed.
Everyone’s been hearing about Nissan’s small-car project for India for a long time, but now it seems like things are finally taking a good form. Bajaj Auto and Renault-Nissan coalition have announced that they are entering a joint venture to develop, manufacture and market a low-cost car which would battle against the likes of Tata Nano. Bajaj already benefits from a huge following that the company has in the two-wheeler market and it will not be very difficult to convert those riding on two wheels as customers of the ‘yet-another-one-lakh-car’. Bajaj Auto will have the controlling stake of 50% while Nissan and Renault will get 25% stake each. Nissan chief, Carlos Ghosn, said that the USD 2,500 car should be on road by 2011. Besides this, Nissan is also aiming to get off the ground with the electric cars by 2012. We speculate that the Bajaj small car (may be named Lite) will be powered by a 600cc rear-mounted engine that will drive the rear wheels.
Research on Volkswagen:
Research on Toyota:
