The first 16-day phase for Tata Nano booking begins Thursday, April 9, and will close on April 24. With over 1,00,000 booking forms sold for the small wonder car - the 624-cc jelly-bean shaped Nano - in the past week, there will expectedly be a heavy rush for its booking too!

In spite of the heaviest booking amount ever charged in India for an automobile – Rs. 95,000 as upfront payment, or Rs.2,999, in case of getting it financed - dealers opine that at least 50 percent of people who bought the booking forms, costing Rs. 300 each, will likely book the Nano.

With the aim to strengthen its presence in the Indian market, Skoda, a Czech automobile maker and part of the fourth most established automotive company in the world, has decided to launch four new models by the coming year.

The company said that it will make foray into the small car, MPV and SUV segments with its new launchings.

Moreover, Skoda plans to increase local content in its cars to bring down their cost of production by 2010.

It is also looking to terminate the Octavia by the next few years.

Come September and Toyota's sports utility vehicle 'Fortuner' will hit the Indian markets! The announcement about the SUV's projected launch was made by the Indian unit of Toyota Motor Corp. on Wednesday.

The world's biggest carmaker, which marks its Indian presence through a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group - Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd -, said that the SUV with a three-litre futuristic common-rail diesel engine will cost nearly Rs 20 lakh.

A Special Edition of the blockbuster saloon from Mercedes-Benz India - Special Edition E-Class - has been launched exclusively to cater to the Indian markets! The automaker intends producing just 192 of these cars, which have been tailored to meet Indian style preferences, in order to maintain the car's distinctiveness!

Washington - The US Treasury Department on Wednesday launched a new programme to aid US car suppliers who have struggled to stay afloat as the wider industry stands on the brink of collapse.

The plan would focus on parts suppliers for General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC, both of which face possible bankruptcy within the next few months. The two US carmakers are in a race against time to shed massive debt and cut operating costs or risk losing government support.

Seeking to enhance its presence in the Indian automobile market, Porsche SE, the maker of luxury automobiles and sports cars, announced yesterday that its luxury sports car Panamera will be launched in India by October this year. The Stuttgart, Germany based Porsche stated that it will roll out three models of its expensive sports car Panamera in India.