Motor

Range Rover's new Evoque arrives in Sri Lanka

The Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover's sensational new SUV - a car that won 34 international awards in the three months after its first production model came off the line in September 2011 - has arrived in Sri Lanka.

The smallest, lightest, most fuel-efficient Range Rover ever produced, the Evoque has been described as 'one of the most desirable cars that money can buy'' for its concept car looks, lightweight technologies and the capability to deliver 50mpg fuel economy, while retaining the agility and terrain capability characteristic of a true Range Rover.

The new Evoque is also Land Rover's most eco-friendly drive yet, with its 2.2-litre 150hp Diesel engine emitting only 145g/km of CO2. A 190hp diesel engine and a 2.0-litre Si4 turbo charged petrol engine producing 240hp are also available.

"The Range Rover Evoque is easily the most talked of new vehicle in decades," said Frontier Automotive, CEO Sheran Fernando, the sole agent in Sri Lanka for Land Rover and Range Rover. "Its bold, mould-breaking styling is an evolution of Range Rover design language, while its driving dynamics are reinforced with the class-leading all-weather, all-surface capability of the legendary Land Rover Terrain Response feature," he said.

Reflecting its global appeal, the Evoque received more than 20,000 advance orders before it made its showroom debut in the UK.

By November 2011, the Range Rover Evoque had been named Best Compact SUV as well as Car of the Year by Britain's biggest-selling motoring magazine Auto Express; Scottish Car of the Year and Best Compact SUV by the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers; 2011 Car of the Year by Stuff magazine; and 2011 Car of the Year by the BBC's TopGear magazine, for which it beat competition from the BMW 1 Series M, McLaren MP4 12c, the Ferrari FF and the VW Up!.

Even before it went in to commercial production, the Evoque had been adjudged Production Car Design of the Year 2010 by Car Design News following a review of its groundbreaking design, and was awarded a coveted MSN Cars 5-star car review.

The Evoque was also awarded a Euro NCAP 5-star safety rating by the European New Car Assessment Programme in November 2011.

The Range Rover Evoque is available in three design themes, Pure, Prestige and Dynamic, and 16 tailored designer interiors, together with a selection of metal finishes, wood veneers and contrasting headlining colours.

To heighten the hand-crafted feel, a full soft leather interior can be specified with twin-needle stitching.

Hyundai Motor aims to sell 7 m cars in 2012

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group said Monday it aims to sell a record seven million cars worldwide in 2012 by strengthening production and sales abroad to outpace competitors amid the global slowdown.

Group chairman Chung Mong-Koo, in a New Year's message to employees, said the world's auto industry would see growth stagnate this year and competition intensify as the downturn cuts demand.

"We should lay the groundwork to become a global leading player by firming up management," he said, calling for closer cooperation between its sales and production networks abroad.

Hyundai, South Korea's largest automaker, and its smaller affiliate Kia together form the world's fifth-largest carmaking group by sales. The group sold 6.6 million cars worldwide in 2011, Chung said, adding its 30 overseas plants in nine countries, including new factories in Beijing and Brazil, would reach full capacity in 2012.

"We will continually expand investment... to develop environmentally-friendly vehicles and secure latest technologies in electronics engineering," he said. AFP

India's Maruti sees 7.1% fall in monthly sales

India's biggest auto maker Maruti Suzuki on Monday said that its monthly sales for December fell 7.1 percent year-on-year, as demand for cars weakened due to rising fuel costs and high interest rates.

The company, which is majority-owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp, said it sold 92,161 cars last month, down from 99,225 in the same period in 2010. The figure represents the seventh straight year-on-year monthly fall in car sales for Maruti, which has been dogged by a series of crippling labour disputes at one of its plants in the northern Indian state of Haryana. In October, Maruti sales slumped more than half from their level the previous year - its worst monthly figures in a decade. AFP