The Indian utility vehicle manufacturer, Premier launched its SUV the Rio in the Indian market but the SUV had drawn flak from the consumers because of the very low brand presence of the company in the Indian automotive scenario and the not-so-impressive model. The company after taking a lot of feedback from their customers have improved many aspects of the Premier Rio SUV and the refreshed model was showcased at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo held in January.
Now, the company has started trials and testing of the vehicle on the Indian roads. Mr. Rakesh Mehta, Head – Automobile division, Premier confirmed that the company is planning to launch the car shortly in the Indian market. The Premier Rio will be equipped with a 1.3-litre Multijet diesel engine sourced from Fiat that produces 87 BHP of power. The upcoming 1.3-litre is BSIV compliant unlike the current TUD5 diesel engine that complies with just BSIII norms. With this, Premier will be able to sell the Rio in all the metros.
Premier is also planning on a new advertisement campaign for the model to change its brand positioning. It will be focusing on the Rio as ‘India’s first and only compact SUV’ as compared to the current positioning as ‘India’s first compact SUV’. Premier will also be witnessing some heat later with other big players like Renault, Ford, Mahindra, Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki all working to enter the compact SUV segment.
Source – Autocar India