We are in the second quarter of the 2017 fiscal year, and the Indian car industry has already witnessed a respectable number of new cars enter the market this year. While July wasn't all that busy in terms of new car launches, the same cannot be said for August 2016. With the festive season approaching, this is truly a lucrative time period for car manufacturers to launch new cars in the market. A number of long awaited car launches have been lined up for this month in particular and we have the list here.
Toyota Innova Petrol
Ever since the Supreme Court put a ban on 2000cc and above diesel vehicles in Delhi and NCR, there have been speculations that Toyota is working on petrol engines for the Innova and Fortuner. These speculations grew more after the launch of the new Innova Crysta in May. All the speculations were put to an end by the Japanese carmaker, which revealed the Innova Crysta petrol's arrival last month. Expected to be launched in early August, the petrol powered Innova Crysta will come mated to a new 2.7-litre engine that churns out a maximum of 164bhp and develops a peak torque of 245Nm. Transmission options will include both a manual unit and an automatic gearbox. Other than the new petrol engine, the upcoming Innova Crysta will receive no other change and will continue to offer the same features across the variants as the diesel trims.
Toyota Innova Crysta
This will finally allow Toyota to sell the new Innova Crysta in Delhi/NCR and Kerala, where there is a ban on registration of diesel vehicles with 2000cc or above engine capacity. Toyota hasn't officially announced the price of the Innova Crysta petrol yet, but we expect the company to launch the MPV at a starting price of Rs.14.7 lakh and the bookings for the car is already underway.
Expected Launch Date: Early August 2016
Expected Price: Rs.14.7 lakh
Jeep Grand Cherokee
We had already reported earlier that Jeep, the American SUV manufacturer, will officially enter the Indian market later this year. Slated for an end-of-August launch, the most awaited SUV from the Fiat-owned carmaker is the Grand Cherokee. The India-spec model will be available in two variants - Grand Cherokee Limited and Grand Cherokee Summit. Moreover, Jeep will also bring the to-of-the-line, performance derivative of the SUV - the Grand Cherokee SRT version to India. The former two are powered by a 240bhp 3.0-litre V6 EcoDiesel engine, mated to an 8-speed automatic gearbox accompanied by paddle shifters. On the other hand, the SRT version will be powered by the 475bhp, 6.4-litre HEMI V8 petrol engine, paired to the same 8-speed automatic transmission as the standard Grand Cherokee.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Expected Launch Date: Late August 2016
Expected Price: Rs.35 Lakh (Starting Price)
Jeep Wrangler
Along with the arrival of the brand in India, Jeep will also launch the popular Wrangler Unlimited SUV in the country. The classic SUV from the American carmaker's stable has garnered a bit of a reputation in the off-roading circuit and with the growing trend for the sport in India, Jeep is likely to see some considerable demand. The India-spec Wrangler Unlimited will be powered by the carmaker's entry-level 2.8-litre diesel engine that produces 197bhp and 460Nm of torque. To further enhance its off-roading capabilities, Jeep also offers the Command-Trac 4X4 system.
Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
Expected Launch Date: Late August 2016
Expected Price: Rs.25 Lakh
New Audi A4
We have been waiting for this car for a long time now. The next-gen Audi A4 will be the fifth generation model and will come to India in the last week of August. The carmaker has already imported a few units of the new-gen model to India, which further confirms its imminent arrival. The new Audi A4 sedan comes with a number design changes and cosmetic updates along with a host of new features. Audi India will initially launch only the petrol variant of the car, which will be powered by the new entry-level 1.4-litre TFSI engine that we reviewed earlier this year. Audi also plans to launch a diesel variant of the car, the 2.0-litre TDI version, which was spotted testing in India a couple of months back, but later around November 2016. If reports are to be believed, both the petrol and diesel variants will be joined by a more powerful 2.0-litre TFSI petrol version as well, but we do not expect to see it anytime before 2017.
Next-Gen Audi A4
Expected Launch Date: Last Week of August 2016
Expected Price: Rs.32 Lakh to Rs.42 Lakh
