Top 10 Car Launches of 2012 in India

In 2011, we had quite a few new car launches in India, and some of them like Mahindra’s XUV 500, Hyundai’s Eon and Honda’s Brio went on to become quite popular with the masses. Comparatively speaking, 2012 did not have too many launches, but couple of them were talked about a lot.

Lets take a look at the top 10 car launches of 2012 in India.

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga was branded as a car made for global markets but designed keeping India in mind. India’s largest car maker launched its MPV in April 2012 priced at Rs. 5.89 lakh ex-showroom for the base model. Petrol variants were to be powered by a K-14 VVT 1.4 litre engine while diesel variants featured a 1.3 DDiS turbocharged unit. The car was built on the Swift platform.

Mahindra & Mahindra Quanto

Quanto was launched in September 2012 with an ex-showroom price tag of Rs. 5.8 lakh for the base model. The three cylinder 1493 cc mCR100 diesel engine had a claimed mileage of 17.21 kmpl and the 7-seater came in 4 variants and 6 colours. Over 5,000 bookings were reported to have been made in less than 3 weeks of the compact MUV’s launch.

Mercedes-Benz B-Class

Mercedes launched the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, the cheapest car in its stable in India. The compact sports tourer was also the German automaker’s first sub Rs. 25 lakh vehicle to hit the market. The B-Class tourer’s 1.6 litre petrol engine was mated to the company’s 7-speed dual clutch gearbox.

The car was loaded with safety features including Mercedes-Benz Pre-Safe system and a Collision Prevention Assist system. It was launched with a price tag of Rs. 21.49 lakh ex-showroom for the base B180 model.

Tata Safari Storme

Tata launched a new version of one of India’s iconic SUVs, Safari Storme. Priced at Rs. 9.95 lakh, the new variant had an upgraded 2.2 litre DiCOR engine under the hood featuring Variable Turbine Technology (VariCOR). Safari Storme reportedly used Tata Aria’s chassis and was given a sportier look with a chrome grill, new bumper and headlights.

Renault Duster

Renault Duster was launched in July 2012. The mid-sized SUV was priced between Rs. 7.19 and 11.29 lakh ex-showroom and was available in eight variants powered by either a 1.5 litre DCi diesel engine or a 1.6-litre petrol engine. The car was reported to have a claimed mileage of 13.24 kmpl and 20.45 kmpl for the petrol and diesel variants respectively.

BMW Mini Cooper

The iconic Mini finally found its way onto Indian roads in April 2012 when BMW launched the Mini Cooper in five variants priced between Rs. 25.5 lakh and Rs. 35.9 lakh. The company displayed the range at its exclusive showroom on Linking Road in Mumbai. Apart from Cooper and Cooper S, BMW also launched Mini’s Convertible and Countryman models. All variants were powered by petrol engines mated to 6 speed transmissions.

Maruti Suzuki Alto 800

Maruti Suzuki launched a new version of one of its top selling small car in the third week of April 2012. Alto 800 got a positive response and 10,000 pre-orders were reportedly made before the launch. The car was priced at Rs. 2.44 lakh for the standard petrol version and Rs. 3.19 lakh for the CNG version. Apart from trendy improvements to the interiors and exteriors, a revised 796cc engine delivered a claimed mileage of 22.74 kmpl and 30.46 kmpl for petrol and CNG respectively.

Chevrolet Sail U-VA

GM launched its Chevrolet U-VA just ahead of Diwali to the cheer of hatchback fans for a starting price of Rs. 4.44 lakh ex-showroom. Upon launch, GM reportedly offered a 3 year 1,00,000 km warranty as standard. The 1.2-litre S-TEC II petrol unit and the 1.3-litre SDE had a claimed mileage of 18.2 kmpl and 22.1 kmpl respectively. The sporty exterior was to be made available in 7 colours and prices went up to Rs. 6.62 lakh for the top end diesel variant.

Audi Q3

Audi launched its smallest SUV, Audi Q3 in India at a starting price of Rs. 26.21 lakh ex-showroom. A four cylinder 2.0 litre TDI quattro engine powered the luxury SUV which was packed with features including a concert Bose surround sound system, climate control air conditioning, panoramic sun roof, ABS, EBD and a 6.5 inch monitor.

2013 Range Rover

JLR launched three variants of the 2013 Range Rover towards the end of 2012 – Vogue SE SDV8 at Rs. 1.72 crore, Autobiography SDV8 at Rs 1.79 crore and Autobiography Supercharged V8 at Rs 1.84 crore. The new model had been re-engineered to have more cabin space and was lighter by 400 kg than its predecessor. At 4,999 mm in length, the car had reportedly been made with the use of 3,700 rivets and 160m of adhesive.