India
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Diesel-engined cars are nothing new these days, even if sales in the U.S. are yet to catch up to ever-popular gasoline vehicles. But little is ever heard of diesel-engined motorcycles. Between gasoline bikes and the new breed of electric models, few seem to have explored the diesel concept. Indian maker Hero is breaking that trend with its RNT concept (via MotorBeam)--a diesel motorcycle with the option of a front hub-mounted electric motor. It's fair to say the RNT isn't the prettiest two-wheeler we've ever featured. With large extensions over the front and rear wheels, it has a face only a...
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World's Cheapest New Car, Tata Nano, Gets Diesel Option
Diesel may be taking a while to catch on in the U.S, but in India the diesel market has exploded in recent years. It's no surprise that automakers have been making the most of this, and the latest to do so is Tata, whose Nano--the world's cheapest new car--is soon to get its own diesel option...
Antony Ingram -
Mahindra Reva e2o: Living With India's Most Modern Electric Car
In just three years or so, the number of plug-in cars on U.S. roads has gone from just a few thousand to over 160,000 units, with over a dozen different models available to consumers. In India though, electric car sales are much smaller--despite a population of over 1.2 billion. And just one single...
Antony Ingram -
Is The 2015 Honda Fit Sedan India's Just-Launched Honda City?
We know what the all-new 2015 Honda Fit hatchback will look like; that car was unveiled in Japan last July, and then went on sale in September there. But have we now seen what the sedan model of the 2015 Fit will look like as well? Yesterday, Honda Cars India unveiled the latest version of the...
John Voelcker -
Tata Nano CNG Emax: India's Most Fuel-Efficient, Least-Polluting Car
The Tata Nano CNG emax can switch between gasoline and natural gas on the fly.
Stephen Edelstein -
New Clean-Ish Diesel For World's Oldest Production Car (In India)
You've likely never heard of a Hindustan Ambassador--and unless you're an old British-car geek, you've certainly never seen a Morris Oxford Series III. But the Ambassador--fondly known as the "Amby"--is both India's de facto taxi cab and the oldest production car in the world. Now it's been fitted...
John Voelcker -
The first new Datsun of the 21st Century is here, though it may not be quite how you remember the brand from its heyday. Datsuns always represented good value, but this time around they're really banging the budget drum. The new Go, previewed a few weeks ago in sketches, will sell for well under $7,000 when it goes on sale in India in early 2014. While the Indian market is awash with cheap new cars--the Tata Nano being a prime example--such vehicles are often significantly below par compared to their European equivalents, a byproduct of a market where consumers value simple transport above...
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New Datsun Budget Car Revealed In Sketches, Eastern Markets Only
Many drivers have fond memories of Datsun cars from the 1970s and 80s, and their modern-day values are testament to the brand's endearing simplicity and fun. Whether the newest Datsun--seen here in official sketches and due to be revealed in India on July 15th--will continue those traits is...
Antony Ingram -
World's Cheapest Car, Tata Nano, Still Not Selling: Image Change Needed
It probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but with hindsight Tata's desire to sell the world's cheapest car hasn't quite worked out the way they hoped. In a nation where many still can't afford a car, the $2,000 Nano was set to be a revolution. But five years after launch, reports Bloomberg...
Antony Ingram -
Mahindra E2O Electric Minicar Launches In India, Nee Reva NXR
The car you see in the images above has actually been in the making for several years, and for drivers in India it's one of the more significant vehicles released this year. It's called the Mahindra e2o, and you may recognise its previous name, the Reva NXR. The Reva name is already big in electric...
Antony Ingram -
Dirtiest Country For Electric Cars? India; Cleanest? Paraguay
Electric cars are often described as "zero emission vehicles". That's true, to an extent - you won't find a drop of any substance eminating from their non-existent tailpipes. But naturally, they get their energy from somewhere, and that somewhere is a country's electricity grid. Those can be less...
Antony Ingram -
U.S. Grid May Handle Electric Cars, But India's Can't
It goes without saying, but the Indian market for bikes and automobiles is very different to that in the U.S. Rather than energy concerns, global warming and owning the latest technology, India's priority is reducing the air pollution responsible for millions of deaths a year. Electric vehicles...
Antony Ingram -
It takes driving an emerging-market car like the Honda Brio—as we did briefly this past week—to understand just how much the small cars we get here in the U.S. (and Europe) have improved over the past decade or so. The five-seat Brio is about a foot shorter than the Honda Fit but about the same width. Quite simply engineered for a price, it incorporates Honda's modern Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) structure, as well as the same so-called “man maximum, machine minimum” design philosophy as the 2013 Honda Accord. But it doesn't even include standard airbags...
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Reva NXR Indian Electric Car Closer To Launch: Spy Shots
Most of the attention paid to plug-in electric cars goes to Nissan, Chevy, and Tesla. But in other countries, the hope of running small cars on grid power--no matter how unreliable that grid may be--lives as well. In India, the large truck maker Mahindra & Mahindra is preparing to launch the...
John Voelcker -
India: 6 Million Electric Vehicles By 2020, Why It May Work
With most electric cars currently selling in no more than four-figure sums each month, a time when they're selling by the million looks an awfully long way away. In India, that time might arrive a whole lot quicker. The country's National Council for Electric Mobility (NCEM) has approved a $4.1...
Antony Ingram -
NXR Electric Car To Replace Infamous G-Wiz
If there's a more vilified electric car than the Reva G-Wiz, we're not aware of it. The Indian electric quadricycle has been the butt of jokes for years, with everything from its poor performance, circus clown car looks and concerns over safety coming in for criticism. Nothing lasts forever, and...
Antony Ingram -
Will Tata Nano Diesel--World's Tiniest & Cheapest--Get 70 MPG?
We won't see it here, but diesel fans everywhere are eagerly waiting for the world's smallest, cheapest four-seat diesel passenger car to be launched later this year in India. The Tata Nano Diesel may get as much as 70 miles per gallon or more, making it the most efficient four-seat diesel vehicle...
John Voelcker -
80 Million Vehicles Built Globally Last Year--A New Record
Well, the numbers are in. Despite the lingering effects of economic recession, the world's auto industry built more vehicles in 2011 than ever in history: 80 million, in fact. That's a new record, and the number is 3 percent higher than the 2010 total. The data comes from the International...
John Voelcker -
When Indian automaker Tata launched the world’s cheapest small car, it gave thousands of people across India the chance to own a car of their own for the first time. While the cheaply-built Tata Nano might combine utilitarian construction, simple engineering and frugal motoring, Tata has come to realize that even those spending less than $2,800 on a car want something a little more...luxurious. At last week’s Geneva Motor Show, Tata Group head Ratan Tata said the humble Nano was about to get a major upgrade, from its peoples’ car roots to must-have fashion item. Almost a...
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How Cheap Is Too Cheap For A Car? Indian Automakers Test The Water
How do you solve a problem like getting a nation of low income people onto the roads? That's the question that Indian carmakers Tata and Bajaj, among others, are trying to answer. Indian automotive mogul and man at the helm of Jaguar Land Rover, Ratan Tata, tried to revolutionize Indian transport...
Antony Ingram -
Indian Maker Bajaj Unveils 94 MPG Rival To Tata Nano Minicar
Living in a country where safe, comfortable and fast cars are often easy to come by, you can forget that some countries aren't quite the same. Take India, for instance. While the $2,400 or so charged for a Tata Nano might raise eyebrows in the U.S, the tiny, narrow body, basic interior and...
Antony Ingram -
Tata's Expansion Continues: Manza Hybrid Due At Delhi Show
As recently as five years ago you could be forgiven if you'd never heard of Indian automotive giant Tata. Now, the company is best known in the States for its ownership of Jaguar Land Rover, and if you're a Green Car Reports regular, the tiny Nano minicar. In its native India Tata is much more...
Antony Ingram -
2012 Tata Nano: World's Cheapest Car Gets Less Cheap
In theory, designing the world's cheapest car for a market in which millions of people are beginning to earn the sort of money that will let them buy a car is a masterstroke. In practice, it hasn't been quite that easy for Tata with the Nano. Amidst concerns about flaming Tatas and with lower sales...
Antony Ingram -
Forbidden Fruit: More Information On Honda Brio Minicar
There's something about the Honda Brio, a sub-Fit minicar now on sale in the Indian market, that really grabs our attention. Maybe it's the funky styling with its sharp creases, unusual weight and money-saving all-glass hatchback, or maybe it's the promise of 52 mpg combined economy, but either way...
Antony Ingram