MotorBeam Daily News Roundup – 6th November

Mahindra – With the launch of the new Mahindra Thar, the Indian carmaker is getting an overwhelming response. Their order books are getting more entries than they would have expected. Waiting period is exceeding 7 months and now they have stopped taking bookings for the most affordable AX variants.

Maruti – The premium hatchback segment got a much awaited contender, the new generation Hyundai i20 yesterday. Now that there’s some action in the segment, the rivals are expected to respond. Maruti has put out a teaser of the Baleno saying “A big surprise is coming soon”. We expect it to be a turbo petrol BoosterJet variant of the Baleno or a new special edition with cosmetic tweaks and additional features.

Ford – After all the leaks and speculations, Ford has finally revealed the new EcoSport Active variant for the UK. It comes with rugged styling elements including black cladding, tweaked grille and raised ground clearance. It is powered by a 1.0-litre turbo petrol EcoBoost petrol engine. We can expect Ford to introduce the Active variant in India as well but with the existing engines on offer.

F1 – Formula One just got more exciting as they have added a new Saudi Arabian Grand Prix night race to 2021 calendar. The city of Jeddah will host the inaugural race in November 2021.

Motor Trivia – Did you know, the Mercedes A180D in the international market has a 1.5-litre Renault sourced diesel engine.

Comment of the day – Uravis – “Looking at sales charts not sure how long other brands will survive. It’s their mistake as well for not expanding service network. Nissan, Ford , Renault should come up with good middle class product.”