GST cess on luxury cars increases to 25%, LS gives approval to the bill.

The bill to increase the GST cess on luxury car to 25% (from the original 15%) has been given approval by the Lok Sabha. This bill is expected to increase the funds to the center and the compensation to the states for the revenue loss due to the earlier rollout of the GST.

Looking into the steep decline in the prices of the premium cars due to earlier GST rollout in July 2017, which resulted in a revenue drop for the states, the government recommended to increase the cess on them. The revenue of the states dropped by around 9-11% due to GST rollout, hence this move is seen as to compensate for the revenue loss of the states, bringing it back to pre-GST era.

GST council looked into the revenue for each state and recommended the hike in cess to 25%. Now the Lok Sabha has also given an approval for the revision in tax structure. However, the final revised tax structure will only be applicable once the law is amended.

So if you are looking to buy a car, this is the best time to do.

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Petrol is the new Keyword – XUV 500 Petrol Launched @15.49L

A lot of BuZZ has been created for the smog in NCR , the NGT has also swung into action. Looking into the current trends, Mahindra has launched a Petrol version of XUV 500. This new XUV will is only available in automatic transmission and is termed as G AT.

The Petrol XUV is powered by 2.2 L, 4 –cylinder mhawk petrol engine that will deliver 138 BHP and 320 Nm of torque. The automatic transmission comes with a 6 speed gearbox with a creep manual and automatic mode option available. The gearbox is said to be sourced from ASIN (Japan).

Some of the features in the XUV includes rain sensing wipers, automatic headlamps, besides a 7-inch Infotainment system with Android connectivity and emergency calling feature. Other features include a cruise control, automatic climate control. It also get an ABS and EBD with dual airbags as a safety feature.  

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Wait Over!!! Much Awaited Ford Ecosport facelift Launched, Base variant @7.39 L INR

The wait is over for the much awaited Ford Ecosport Facelift, the SUV is launched with new features and  all new Dragon (1.5 L Petrol, naturally aspirated) engines developed in India. The TOP spec diesel variant goes up to 10.31 L INR. It is the first major facelift that the Ecosport has received. It has major changes both interior and exterior besides getting a new 1.5 L 3- cylinder petrol engine.

                The biggest change is the exterior with the all new and bigger grille along with a re-styled bumper. The new Ford Ecosport Facelift now gets sharper exterior with a new set of bumpers (both front and rear) and a new head lamp and grille. This SUV also gets a set of well-designed 17-inch wheels on the top of the line Titanium models while the other versions get 16-inch steel or alloy wheels. Some of the key features are LED daytime running lights and the signature spare wheel mounted on the tail gate unlike the international versions.

The interior too has revamped with the floating display screen that replaces the older ICE. The new ICE features include built in navigation, Apple Car Play and Android Auto in the top spec car too, which makes smartphone integration easy and keeps you connected. You also get features like a cooled glove box, start-stop button, keyless entry and rear parking sensors and camera.  For has also added features on the safety front, the Ecosport gets 6 airbags in the top spec car while the other models get two airbags as standard. The Ecosport also gets ABS as standard on all variants.

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Emergence of TATA Motors as a key player in the Passenger car segment

The volumes in terms of Passenger Vehicles have gone up since the last one year for TATA Motors. This is due to the paradigm shift in the way TATA designed its product and services. It has also led to emergence of new design concept on which the latest cars are based on. Tiago being the first car to follow this design culture and is generating good numbers for the company. The monthly sale for Tiago is around 7000 units which is a huge success (Source: Autopunditz). The footfall in TATA showrooms have increased since Tiago came to the market. Banking on the success of Tiago, the company launched multiple another products like Tigor, Hexa and Nexon in various other segments. Tigor is a sedan version Tiago with some renewed changes. Hexa is a 7/8 seater car which is directly in competition with Toyota Innova and Mahindra XUV 500. Nexon is a sub 4 meter SUV in competition to Maruti Suzuki Brezza, Ford Eco sport.

Besides the renewed product strategy, TATA has also increased their focus on Service. Tata was jointly No.2 (Maruti Suzuki and Tata rank second in a tie at 893) for the recent JD Power (Source: JD Power website) for the After Sales Satisfaction. This survey was done on parameters like Service Quality, Service Initiation, Service Advisor, Service Facility and Vehicle Pickup.

Now it is for the market to decide the future of these products and services.

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Tyre specifications

Tyre specifications are mentioned on the sidewall of the Tyre and have some alphanumeric values mentioned on it. What does these values mean to us? How can we use these numbers while buying a Tyre? What difference would it make if we get oversize or undersize tyres? To answer all these questions, let us understand the tyre structure.

From the above picture we can have the following information:

·         P stands for Passenger Tyre.

·         225 is the width of the tyre in millimetres.

·         75 is the aspect ratio or tyre profile.

·         R means it is radial construction.

·         16 is the diameter of the wheel rim in inches.

Let us now understand how these numbers would help in our buying decision. Firstly look at the manufacturer recommended tyre size, the tire size is configured for display of your speed in speedometer and the efficiency figures. If you get a oversize/undersize tyre you will get error in speed and in efficiency figures.

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BS VI fuel roll out pre-poned due to Delhi smog

The ministry of oil and natural gas has decided to make BS VI fuel available in Delhi by April 2018.  The date for the availability of fuel has been pre-poned by 2 years, this decision has come after Delhi has been witnessing high level of smog during the first week of November. It is believed that the vehicular pollution is also one of the major contributing factors to this dense smog in Delhi. The automakers are required to be compliant on the BS VI fuel by April 2020. This decision has been welcomed by the automakers as it is believed as the BS IV vehicles which are in market today can run on BS VI fuel however, the vice versa is not possible. The ministry has also trying to explore the possibility of availability of BS VI fuels across the NCR by April 2019.

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Facelift for Scorpio @ Rs 9.97 L

Mahindra Scorpio get a facelift with some aesthetic changes and a more powerful 140 PS 6-speed manual engine.

The Mahindra Scorpio facelift has been launched at Rs 9.97 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi) for the base variant. Scorpio which is generating good numbers for Mahindra is competing with The Tata Safari Storme, Renault Duster, Captur and Hyundai Creta.   

 The key changes in this version are:

• New grille (Jeep-inspired with seven slats) and a redesigned front bumper 
• Turn indicators have been move to OVRMs from front fender.
• New five-spoke alloy wheels are also a part of this facelift. 
• At the rear,  you get a redesigned license plate housing and bumper.
• Tail lamps have changed from clear to red- lense setup.
•  The interior continues to be with the same theme.
• 6-inch ICE unit has been retained while the other products like XUV 500 or TUV 300 get a bigger 7-inch unit. Parking camera support is now available with the touchscreen unit
• Upholstery has changed to faux leather.
• The key changes are in the mechanicals; it is now powered by XUV 500 2.2 liter engine which churns out 140 PS of power with a 6-speed gearbox for the Top 2 variants.
• However , the lower variants get the same old 120PS version of the 2.2-litre mHawk, while the base version will have 2.5-litre m2DICR engine as before 
• Mahindra Micro-Hybrid technology will still be at core for this Scorpio.   
• The updated Scorpio comes in six variants: S3, S5, S7 (two variants) and S11 (two variants)
• Base S3 variant: 2.5-litre m2DICR with 75PS @ 3,200rpm and 200Nm @ 1,400-2,200rpm (5-speed manual) 
•  Version S5 and S7 will have the same 2.2-litre mHawk engine same as of the outgoing model 

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Profit for Tata Motors on each Tigor EV sold to EESL

Profit for Tata Motors on each Tigor EV sold to EESL

After the statement from TATA chairman that none of the TATA cars are profitable till now, this news came as a welcome message from the 4^th largest Indian passenger vehicle manufacturer. Tata Motors had set a record by getting the largest electric car order from EESL (Energy Efficiency Services). Tata Motors has also said that it would make a profit on each electric vehicle sold to the government. TATA is ticking the right boxes in the Latest car news category which is giving them due attention.
Tata recently bagged a government order for 10,000 electric sedans by out-bidding rival Mahindra. Tata undercut Mahindra’s bid by Rs 2.3 lakh. Tata Motors had bid for Rs 11.2 lakh including annual maintenance contract, which was Rs 2.3 lakh lower than M&M's bid. 
If Mahindra is able to match Tata’s price, the latter would be supplying around 6.5 K units over the course of a year. The first batch of 500 cars is to be delivered by later in the month, out of which Tata will supply 70% of the units, while Mahindra will deliver the rest.
The Tigor EV will be Tata Motors’ first electric vehicle in India. The car will be rolled form its Sanand plant on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

On the other hand, the M&M chairman has given issued a statement that this deal is not going to be profitable for them. M&M has electric products under its Verito label and will be utilizing the same. M&M claims that the Verito is bigger and more powerful than its competitor. M&M is the only company that already has the electric car in the Indian market as of today.

Source: Economic Times

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Introduction to tricityautoblog

In order to provide a platform for the users to share automotive experiences/updates/ thoughts specific to chandigarh tricity we would like to introduce tricityautoblog. This platform will also help you to know more about the latest in the industry. We will also have other value added services to help you with your automobile requirements e.g. “Authorized car dealers” &  “Authorized Tyre dealers”.Based your valuable feedback we will enhance our services to help you with all your automotive needs. Happy Blogging!!

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