February
Mercedes Benz commences operations at its new plant in Chakan, near Pune. The Chakan plant has the capacity to produce 5,000 cars and 1,200 trucks and buses annually.
March
Tata Motors launches Nano commercially. Powered by a 2-cylinder aluminum MPFI 624-cc petrol engine, Nano will be available in three variants ? standard, CX and LX.
Deliveries will commence from July 2009.
April
Volkswagen commences operations at its Chakan plant, near Pune. The plant has an installed capacity of 1,10,000 units per annum. To start with, the plant will produce Skoda Auto?s Fabia and later VW Polo, scheduled to be launched in early 2010.
May
Tata Motors unveils its world truck range, comprising multi-axle trucks, tractor-trailers, tippers, mixers and special application vehicles. Other markets include South Korea, South Africa, SAARC countries and the Middle East. The product is jointly developed by Tata Motors and its two subsidiaries, Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company in South Korea and the Tata Motors European Technical Centre Plc in the UK.
Mahindra & Mahindra launches first scooter, Flyte, after its takeover of Kinetic Motor Company. M&M acquired business assets of Kinetic for Rs 110 crore, plus 20% stake to KMCL in the new company to be formed. M&M will hold the balance 80% of the equity.
June
Fiat launches Grande Punto, priced between Rs 3.99 and Rs 6.11 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). It will have three versions ? Active, Dynamic and Emotion. The Grande Punto is available with two petrol engines ? 1.2 and 1.4 FIRE and one diesel 1.3 multijet.
Tata Motors launches Jaguar and Land Rover models in India. The company will launch four models from the stables of Jaguar and Land Rover later this year in India. It will import the Jaguar XF and XKR and the Land Rover
Discovery and Range Rover models through a newly-formed premium car division.
Honda Motors launches Jazz, marking its entry into the mass market segment. The Jazz is available in three variants priced in the range of Rs 7.43-Rs 7.78 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai).
July
Tata Group chairman Ratan N Tata hands over Nano keys to Ashok Vichare, the first owner of the car. He becomes the first of the select 1,00,000 lucky allottees.
Daimler-Hero Group commercial vehicle JV falls apart. Daimler plans to go alone with its Chennai CV plant project of Rs 4,400 crore. The economic slowdown made Hero Group take a conservative view on the JV and withdraw from the commitment. The German firm was to have a 60% stake and the Hero Group the rest in the JV.
September
General Motors India and Reva Electric Car Company enter into a collaboration agreement to develop electric vehicles for the Indian market. This partnership will look at developing car platforms, electric vehicle technology and advanced control systems. First product out of this partnership will be GM?s electric Spark, to be launched in January.
October
Four-door sedan Porsche Panameraa, designed to offer luxurious and comfortable seating as well as driving experience, will be available in three variants priced between Rs 1.44 crore and Rs 2.5 crore.
Labour unrest in Gurgaon, with around 30,000 workers of auto ancillary units in the Gurgaon-Manesar belt agitating for around a month, spells tough times for major auto companies.
November
Sedan Chevy Cruze could give a major fillip to GM India’s plans. GM India launches its latest mid-level sedan in India, the Chevrolet Cruze, aggressively priced between Rs 10.99 lakh and Rs 12.45 lakh.
The new Premier Rio is the cheapest SUV in India from Premier Auto, the makers of the one-time popular Premier Padmini car, priced at Rs 5.25 lakh.
Harley would launch bikes in India with a price tag ranging from Rs 4 to Rs 14 lakh via the CBU route (which will see 60% import duty) by the end of 2009.
December
Volkswagen, Suzuki enter into a strategic partnership to manufacture environmental-friendly cars. VW picks up 19.9% in Suzuki, which, in turn, will invest half of the amount received by VW back into VW?s shares. The JV will focus on designing small cars in India.
Chevrolet will launch their next small car, Beat, in the Indian market on January 4, 2010, on the eve of the Auto Expo 2010. The hatch would be priced between Rs 4 and Rs 5 lakh.
VW announces launch of its most-awaited luxurious small car model, Volkswagen Beetle, in the Indian market in C-segment. It will be priced in the range of Rs 18-20 lakh.
General Motors and its main Chinese partner announced a venture to sell vehicles in India. The 50:50 joint venture of GM with China-based Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation will manufacture light commercial vehicles and passenger cars, particularly in the smaller segment. The company aims to cater to the domestic as well as export markets.