Car sales in the country have been bleak in last few months. Moving on to the second half of 2019, we expect to see a positive growth in sales owing to new product launches. Here below are five new cars that are due for launch in India in July -
Hyundai Kona Electric
The world’s first compact electric SUV, the Hyundai Kona EV is due for India launch on 9 July. The Kona EV will be the first locally assembled electric SUV for the Indian market. The first lot of Kona EVs is expected to be around 1000 units but we are not sure if it will come with the 300km setup or the 470km setup. The Hyundai Kona electric vehicle is expected to be priced in the range of Rs 25 lakhs to Rs 30 lakhs. We have driven the car and you can read about it here.
Renault Duster facelift
The updated Renault Duster is due for launch in the country on 9 July. The new model gets a redesigned front and rear fascia, and there's also a set of new machined alloy wheels. Up front, the new Renault Duster facelift gets a large V-shaped grille with chrome embellishments, redesigned projector headlamps with LED DRLs and a re-profiled front bumper. At the rear, it gets a flatter tailgate with a matte black applique and a revised rear bumper. On the profile, apart from the new alloys, there are no changes whatsoever.
The BMW X7 is an SUV to the 7 Series and is due for launch on 25 July 2019. The X7 has been cast in the typical BMW mould with the kidney-grille up front and the twin-barrel LED headlamps and the signature corona rings around them. The hood sits high for the big-burly SUV and the lines are square. The three-cab profile makes no bones about its size. The tail will also toe the design cues of BMW. For the Indian market, the X7 will be offered in the m50d state of tune. This means a 3.0-litre inline-six diesel engine. It produces 400bhp/760Nm. There’s an eight-speed auto and xDrive AWD system mated to this engine. A petrol variant may also be on the cards later on and we might get both, the 300bhp 3.0-litre straight-six and the 444bhp 4.4-litre V8, as well.
The BMW 7 Series has received a comprehensive mid-life update. This is the first update for the 7 Series since 2015 and now the Bavarian flagship sedan gets an imposing design language with a rejigged powertrain and updated interiors. The fascia of the refreshed 7 Series takes its inspiration from the 2014 Vision Future Luxury Concept. The 40 per cent larger air dam – which takes its cues from the X7 – is flanked by sleeker BMW Laser lights. As seen on the new X7, the new 7 Series’ grille too is upright and daunting and gets a chrome surround.
Mahindra XUV300 AMT
Mahindra’s popular selling compact SUV, the XUV300 will soon get an AMT option. Visually it appears identical to its manual variant, except for the ‘autoSHIFT’ badge over the tailgate. The AMT transmission comes mated to the existing 1.5-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine that produces 115bhp at 3,750nm and 300Nm between 1,500 and 2,500rpm. We have driven the car and you can read about it here.
