Car launches that stole the limelight in 2015

The year 2015 marked the entry of car models which could be owned at price as low as Rs 4 lakh. The market saw the competition heating up after the launch of Maruti Baleno and Renault Kwid, among others. We take a look at other models which made news in this year.

French auto major Renault on May 20 unveiled its global entry-level car Kwid to be priced up to Rs 4 lakh in the country. The car will hit the Indian market around the festive season this year. Developed with an investment of around Rs 2,000 crore, the SUV-shaped small car will be powered by an 800cc petrol engine. The company is looking to make India a regional hub for exporting the new car.

Nissan, the Japanese carmaker, on May 14 launched a special edition of its sports utility vehicle (SUV) Terrano in India priced at Rs 11,45,123 (ex-showroom Delhi). Nissan Terrano Groove limited edition comes with features including precision speakers by Rockford Fosgate, one of the leading brands in high-performance in-car audio. The model also comes with branded fabric mats and upmarket LED scuff plates on the doors as well as chrome highlights for fog lamps, tail lamps and tailgate.

Volvo, the Swedish car maker, on May 12 unveiled an all new variant of its sports utility vehicle (SUV) XC90 in India, priced up to Rs 77.9 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi without Octroi). "The all new XC90 will be available in Inscription and Momentum trims, priced at Rs 77.9 lakh and Rs 64.9 lakh respectively", Volvo Auto India said in a statement.

Hyundai Motor India launched a new variant of its premium sedan Elantra on April 20 priced between Rs 14.13 lakh and Rs 17.94 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). "The sedan will be available in both diesel and petrol options. While the petrol variant is priced in a range of Rs 14.13 lakh and Rs 16.45 lakh, the diesel option is priced between Rs 14.58 lakh and Rs 17.94 lakh (all prices ex-showroom Delhi)", the company said in a statement.

E-Class Cabriolet
Mercedes, the luxury car manufacturer, on March 26, launched two new speciality cars, E-Class Cabriolet and CLS 250 CDI Coupe priced at Rs 78.50 lakh and Rs 76.50 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) respectively. The new E-Class Cabriolet is powered by a V6 turbocharged petrol engine with a maximum torque of 480 Nm between 1600 - 4000 rpm. The car, which accelerates from 0 to 100 in 5.3 seconds, can do a top speed of 250 km/h.

Luxury carmaker BMW on 18 february introduced its costliest car in the country by rolling out the 'i8' sports car, which also is its first model hybrid car. At Rs 2.29 crore ex-showroom Mumbai, BMW i8 was also the first offering from the German car major's sub-brand i, which focused on sustainable mobility and hitech car development.

Seeking to regain its lost market share in the mid-sized sedan segment, Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) on 18 February launched an updated version of Verna, priced between Rs 7.74 lakh and Rs 12.19 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The model, which competes with Honda City and Maruti Ciaz, will be available in both petrol and diesel options and have ten variants.

Mercedes-Benz, German luxury carmaker, on 22 January launched CLA Class sedan, priced in the range of Rs 31.5-35.9 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), to further strengthen its position in the country. The car is available in both diesel and petrol options in three variants with prices ranging from Rs 31.5 lakh to and Rs 35.9 lakh (all prices ex-showroom Delhi).

Nissan Motor India on 16 January launched its compact multi purpose vehicle (MPV) Datsun GO+ in the national capital, with price starting Rs 3.79 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi). The Datsun GO+ range starts at Rs 3.79 lakh with the top end model priced at Rs 4.61 lakh (all prices ex-showroom Delhi). The compact MPV comes with a 1.2 petrol engine, a fuel economy of 20.6 km/litre and a luggage space of 347 litres.

German auto firm Volkswagen on Wednesday launched a petrol variant of its premium hatchback Cross Polo in India, priced at Rs 7.07 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The new vehicle, which comes with 1.2-litre petrol engine, delivers a fuel economy of 16.47 kmpl, Volkswagen Group Sales India said in a statement.

Honda Cars India on January 13 introduced a new variant of its compact sedan Amaze, priced up to Rs 8.2 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The petrol variant of the sedan is priced at Rs 7.32 lakh while the diesel grade is priced at Rs 8.2 lakh. The company has also expanded the Brio hatchback range by adding two new variants in the lineup.

Tata Motors on May 19 launched all-new version of its entry level car 'Nano', priced up to Rs 2.89 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The GenX Nano comes with a starting price of Rs 1.99 lakh for the XE variant and goes up to Rs 2.49 lakh, for the XT variant, in manual transmission.

Maruti Suzuki in February launched the updated Swift Dzire in India at a starting price of Rs 5.07 lakh, ex-Delhi. There are both petrol and diesel options to choose from (total seven variants) and four new colours as well with the top-end Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire diesel variant priced at Rs 7.81 lakh.

German luxury carmaker Audi launched 'S5 Sportback' model in India, priced at Rs 62.95 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The five-door coupe, which can attain a top speed of 250 km per hour, comes with various advanced infotainment systems.

Audi launches A6 Matrix sedan at Rs 49.5 lakh
German luxury carmaker Audi on August 20 launched an updated version of A6 sedan in India, priced at Rs 49.5 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The updated version, Audi A6 Matrix, comes with a new engine comprising seven-speed S-tronic transmission, Matrix LED headlights and an advanced infotainment system. The sedan also features eight airbags and advanced voice dialogue system.

Audi launches super sports car RS6 Avant priced at Rs 1.35 cr
Audi India launched the Audi RS 6 Avant sports car in India on June 4. The car, priced at Rs 1.35 crore (ex-showroom New Delhi and Mumbai), will be brought in India as a completely built unit (CBU).
The Audi RS 6 Avant has a 4.0 TFSI twin-turbo V8 petrol engine with a capacity of 3,993 CC, which develops 560 hp. The car can achieve a speed of 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 305 km/h.

Maruti Suzuki brought back its Baleno badge in a new hatchback avatar to take on arch rival Hyundai's i20, the segment leader of premium small cars, amid the buoyant festive season, when car sales peak in the Indian market. The new Baleno is priced at Rs 4.99 lakh for the entry level up to Rs 8.11 lakh for the top end. It's available in both diesel and petrol variants with the engines borrowed from the highly successful Swift hatchback but delivers higher mileage due to lighter weight.

German car firm BMW unveiled two new ultra-high performance sports cars from the M series-the BMW X5M and X6M-  and said it will open six more super luxury sales outlets under the M Studio label next year. The launch is primarily aimed at cashing in on the booming performance car segment in the country. The all-new X5M, sporting a 4.4-litre 8-speed petrol engine, comes at Rs 1.5 crore while the X6M with the same engine specifications costs Rs 1.6 crore, all ex-showroom, India, as these are imported from its Munich plant.

BMW launches 6 Series Gran Coupe at Rs 1.15 crore
BMW India launched the diesel version of 6-Series Gran Coupe in New Delhi May 29. The new sedan will be available at all BMW dealerships across India as a completely built-up (CBU) unit. The company has launched two models of the car in India: BMW 640d Eminence (priced at Rs 1.15 crore (ex-showroom) and BMW 640d Design Pure Experience priced at Rs 1.22 crore (ex-showroom).

Mercedes launches C-Class diesel priced up to Rs 42.9 lakh
German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz launched the diesel variant of its C-Class sedan, priced up to Rs 42.9 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The company has launched the C-Class diesel in two trims, the 'C 220 CDI Style' variant priced at Rs 39.9 lakh and the 'C 220 CDI Avantgarde' priced at Rs 42.9 lakh (all prices ex-showroom Delhi), Mercedes-Benz said in a statement.

Hyundai launches i20 Active, priced starting Rs 6.38 lakh
Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) on March 17, 2015 launched the new i20 Active, a sports-styled version of its premium hatchback i20, priced starting Rs 6.38 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Petrol variants of the car are priced between Rs 6.38-7.09 lakh, while diesel versions are in the range of Rs 7.63-8.89 lakh.

Diesel-only utility vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra announced entry into the petrol segment with the unveiling of its first compact SUV, KUV 100, which will come with both petrol and diesel engines.
The company will commercially launch KUV 100 on January 15. It will come in four models in petrol and diesel versions, executive director Pawan Goenka told reporters here after announcing the name of the new SUV and petrol engine.

Nissan launches Datsun GO NXT at Rs 4.1 lakh
Nissan Motor India on August 13 launched a festive season limited edition version of its multi-purpose vehicle Datsun GO priced at Rs 4.1 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The Datsun GO NXT limited festive edition will be available between August and December 2015 across all 196 Datsun outlets in India, the company said. It will offer add-ons worth Rs 20,000 at a minimal price increase of just Rs 5,000, it added.

Renault's Kwid launched at Rs 2.56 lakh
Renault launched its much awaited hatchback Kwid in India at a starting price of Rs 2.56 lakh. Its top end variant is available at Rs 3.54 lakh (ex showroom Delhi). It is expected to compete with Maruti Suzuki's best seller Alto and Hyundai Eon. While Maruti Alto800 is priced between Rs 2.83 lakh and Rs 3.4 lakh, Hyundai Eon is priced between Rs 3.09 lakh and Rs 4.22 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

Volvo Cars introduces V40 Cross Country petrol variant
Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo Auto India (VAI) has launched V40 Cross Country petrol variant at Rs 27 lakh.
The new Cross Country petrol variant will be available in T4 engine, 1.6 GDTi 4 cylinder,6 speed automatic transmissions with class-leading 180HP and a 240Nm torque.

Maruti launches WagonR, Stingray with auto gear shift
Maruti Suzuki India launched variants of its compact cars, WagonR and Stingray, equipped with auto gear shift (AGS) technology, priced between Rs 4.76 lakh and Rs 5.31 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), respectively. The auto gear shift transmission will be available in VXi variants of both the models, MSI said in a statement.