AutoQ is our weekly round-up of the top automotive stories
Budget 2019: Buying Electric Vehicles in India Now Easier
If you have been considering buying an electric car or bike, well, India's Union Budget 2019 just made it slightly easier to acquire one. The Union Budget 2019, however, didn't offer much respite to the auto industry, besides encouraging manufacture and purchase of electric vehicles.
In addition to the FAME II scheme, where there’s a Rs 10,000 crore subsidy being offered to manufacturers of electric vehicles, the government has now made it easier to pick up electric vehicles by offering more incentives to buyers.
Here’s a look at what’s on offer.
Car Makers Roll Out Discounts As Sales Continue to Slide
Three months into the new financial year and the mood is still somber in the automotive industry. Overall sales are down across car makers for the third consecutive month in a row, despite some new launches trying to shore up numbers. It’s not very different in the two-wheeler segment as well. In fact, sales have been on a downward spiral for eight months now.
Even after the general elections, sentiment has not improved due to a number of factors. This includes buyers waiting for newer models that will enter the market after India’s new safety norms kick in.
Here are some discounts carmakers are offering to try and boost sales
Lee Iacocca, the Man Behind Iconic Ford Mustang, Dies at 94
Lee Iacocca, the auto executive and the man who put the Mustang in Ford's lineup in the 1960s and became a corporate folk hero when he resurrected Chrysler 20 years later, has died in Bel Air, California. He was 94.
In his 32-year-long career at Ford and then Chrysler, Iacocca helped launch some of Detroit’s best-selling and most significant vehicles, including the minivan, the Chrysler K-cars and the Ford Escort.
Here’s more on the man who played a key role in the automotive world.
Soon Petrol Pumps in India Could Charge Up Your Electric Vehicles
So far, we have seen CNG points available at some petrol pumps in the country, reducing the load on standalone CNG stations to some extent. But now reports suggest the Indian government is proposing the idea of having electric charging points for electric vehicles at petrol pumps as well.
In addition to this, the government is reportedly going to put a framework in place, which will focus on building battery manufacturing and charging infrastructure in the country.
For more on how this will pan out, click here.
Mahindra Launches Automatic Variant of XUV300 With AMT Gearbox
Mahindra has launched the automatic transmission variant of the XUV300 in India, priced at Rs 55,000 more than the manual variant. The Mahindra XUV300 autoShift (automated manual transmission) version is available on the W8 diesel and W8 diesel option variant.
The ex-showroom prices of the Mahindra XUV300 W8 AMT variant is Rs 11.50 lakh and the W8 AMT (Option) variant is priced at Rs 12.70 lakh. The diesel engine on the XUV300 is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder unit that puts out 115 bhp of power and 300 Nm of torque.
Both these variants are loaded with features including dual-zone climate control and cruise control, while the latter has the option of a sunroof.
Click here for more details on these variants.
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