AutoQ is our weekly round-up of stories from the automotive industry.
2020 Hyundai Verna Launched To Rival Maruti Ciaz & New Honda City
Hyundai India has launched the facelifted 2020 Hyundai Verna with prices starting at Rs 9.30 lakh ex-showroom and going up to Rs 15.09 lakh ex-showroom. The car is available in three engine options: two petrol and one diesel.
The car will come in five trim variants with various levels of features and equipment, starting with the S and going up to the SX (O) variant. The car now is BS6 compliant with three engine options.
Read more about the new Hyundai Verna here.
Ola & Uber Resume Services In Some Cities Under Strict Guidelines
Ride-hailing service Ola said it has resumed normal ride operations in more than 160 cities with enhanced safety protocols applicable to every trip as per relevant state government guidelines.
As per the latest guidelines issued by various state governments today, driver-partners operating three and four-wheelers on the platform will be available to serve mobility needs on the Ola app, with the highest levels of safety precautions in the states of Karnataka, Telangana, Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu (except Chennai), Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Assam.
Read more here.
Renault Triber AMT Variant Launched, Prices Start at Rs 6.18 Lakh
With carmakers beginning production, new vehicles are slowly driving into showrooms. Renault India launched an automatic variant of its Triber MPV. Prices for the Triber AMT that comes in three variants start at Rs 6.18 lakh.
The Renault Triber AMT will come with a five-speed automated manual transmission with a 1-litre petrol engine. It is available in RXL, RXT and RXZ trims with prices being about Rs 40,000 more than the manual variant equivalent. Renault calls its automated manual transmission the Easy R.
Read more here.
What Happens If Car Dealers Are Stuck With Unsold BS-IV Inventory?
Maruti Suzuki recently informed the stock exchanges that it had written of Rs 125 crore worth of parts meant for Bharat Standard (BS)-IV cars. The company clarified that it had completely exhausted its stock of BS-IV cars much before the 31 March 2020 deadline to switch to BS-VI emissions compliant vehicles.
However, it did have a number of components in the system for the earlier cars. The company has discontinued most of its diesel offerings as the shift to BS-VI norms was not cost-effective when it came to ex-showroom prices for its vehicles.
While Maruti managed to just write off parts, there are other companies, including two-wheeler makers that have had to write off fully built BS-IV vehicles that couldn't be sold by the deadline.
Read more about the story here.
Maruti Suzuki Launches ‘Buy-Now-Pay-Later’ Offer; Details Below
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Friday, 22 May, announced a partnership with Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company Ltd to provide custom auto retail financing solutions to retail buyers.
The new solution 'Buy-Now-Pay-Later Offer' is aimed to provide customers with easy financing options. Under the partnership, the companies are offering a two-month deferment of EMI to car customers who currently are under resource crunch amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more here.
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