AutoQ: Xiaomi’s Electric Bike, Maruti to Stop Diesel Cars & More
Here’s a look at the top automobile news of the week.
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AutoQ is our weekly round-up of the top automotive stories
Maruti Suzuki to Stop Selling Diesel Cars from April 2020
The clampdown on diesel and the shift to Bharat Stage 6 emission norms is hitting the country’s largest carmaker hard. The company sees only 22-23 percent of its sales coming from diesel vehicles. It cannot justify further investment in diesel cars at this rate.
Demand has dropped sharply in cities like Delhi, where diesel cars are taxed heavily and registration certificates are valid only for 10 years, while petrol cars still get a 15 year validity. This has seen resale value of diesel cars also bottom out.
Read the full story here.
Ducati Launches Four New Scrambler Bikes in India
Ducati India has launched four iterations of its Ducati Scrambler in the country. These are called the Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled, Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer, Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle and Ducati Scrambler Icon.
Prices for the Ducati Scrambler range from Rs 7.89 lakh to Rs 9.93 lakh ex-showroom.
Read more about the new Ducati motorcycles here.
Xiaomi Launches an Electric Bike With 120 Km Range for Rs 31,000
Xiaomi makes probably everything that you can think of. The brand has made phones, laptops, shoes and even toothbrushes, but now it’s eyeing a whole new segment which is electric bikes.
With most countries looking at alternatives to fossil fuel, electric bikes are turning into an economical source of transportation.
And Xiaomi is the latest name to venture into this space with its Himo T1 electric bike. The company has launched it in China, but it would likely bring them to India. It’s priced around Rs 31,000 (in Indian currency equivalent), and Xiaomi claims the Himo T1 can run up to 120 km on a single charge.
Read more about the new Xiaomi scooter here.
Hey Toyota Glanza, Why Do You Look Like A Maruti Suzuki Baleno?
Badge engineering – a term used in the automotive industry for when one company picks another company’s product and just slaps on its own name to sell it as a different car.
Yes, that’s exactly what the Toyota Glanza will be: A re-badged Maruti Suzuki Baleno. An official teaser video of the upcoming hatchback is out, pointing to a likely launch of the Toyota Glanza in the coming weeks.
The Toyota Glanza teaser tagline reads “Hatchin’ soon” punning on the hatchback that Toyota has sourced from Maruti.
Read more about the new Toyota Glanza here.
How Much More Expensive Will Cars Become With New Safety Norms?
The year 2019 will see all cars in India having to comply with new Automotive Industry Standard (AIS 145) norms set out by the Indian government. These standards have been brought about with a target to reduce the number of road accident deaths in India by 50 percent in three years.
To achieve this, all cars will have to come with some mandatory fitments. Cars will have to be fitted with at least a driver airbag if not two or more airbags to reduce incidence of death or injury in a frontal collision.
Read the full story here.
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