After grabbing headlines for the world’s cheapest car, Tata has now introduced a new people carrier at the New Delhi Motor Show. Dubbed the Tata Magic Iris, it seats five, and is meant to compete with three-wheeled auto-rickshaws rather than minivans.
The Toyota Yaris has received a minor facelift for 2010, and can already be seen around the streets of the UAE. It is odd that the dealer is focusing on offloading leftover 2009 models before truly marketing the new version, but then again, the changes seem to be limited to new bumpers and not much else.
Toyota is showing off the Etios “concept” at the New Delhi Motor Show, ready to become the company’s volume seller in the competitive Indian market.
Honda’s Indian division has unveiled the Honda New Small Concept, a concept version for what will become a new sub-compact hatchback model, at the Auto Expo 2010 in New Delhi.
The Mitsubishi Outlander underwent a full redesign only a couple of years ago, becoming a competitive compact crossover with an attractive new face. Then designers decided to plaster a Lancer Evo face onto the likeable 4×4’s front-end, and that facelifted version has been launched as a 2010 model in many countries. But the Japanese were not tired of the outgoing Outlander yet, and so Mitsubishi is still offering the older version, alongside an aggressive version of the new face.
Toyota is having a string of bad publicity in the United States, the company’s largest market, where Toyota’s perception of quality helped it become the largest automaker in the world this year.
An all-new 2010 Chevrolet Sail model has debuted exclusively for the Chinese market, to sold alongside the recently-facelifted Chevy Lova. The Lova happens to be a version of the Aveo that we get here, and by all indications, the Sail may very well become the next Aveo.
Samsung Motors, the South Korean joint venture with Renault and Nissan, has released the first official photos of the 3rd-generation Samsung SM5 sedan, set to go on sale by late January in its home country. Incidentally, the outgoing SM5 forms the basis for the GCC-spec Renault Safrane, so this new car is likely hitting the UAE market sometime next year as a 2010 or 2011 model.
Debuting at the 2009 Dubai Motor Show, the Nissan Altima sedan and coupe models receive a few changes for 2010, including a restyled bonnet, grille, front bumper and rear license plate finisher, along with new wheel designs.
The Toyota stand at the 2009 Dubai Motor Show had some interesting variants of the Land Cruiser, FJ Cruiser and Yaris on display, all of which will apparently go on sale as special editions in the UAE. Photos by Faisal Khatib.