AutoQ is our weekly round-up of automotive stories
Rs 10,000 Challan or Pollution: What Bothers Vehicle Owners More?
Ever since it came into force on 1 September, the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act has led to quite an uproar among the owners of two-wheelers and four-wheelers.
People are divided in their opinion on the hiked penalty rates – especially the Rs 10,000 challan for not carrying a valid Pollution Under Check (PUC) certificate.
Done by checking the emission levels of a vehicle, PUC certification is mandatory as it tells if a vehicle is fit to be on the streets or not.
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Maruti Suzuki XL6 First-Drive Review: Ertiga’s Better-Looking Twin
Maruti Suzuki has built a legacy over the years of launching new cars by adding a few cosmetic updates to existing models. The Maruti Suzuki XL6 is a prime example of that. The company feels that it needs to target the aspiring 6-seater buyers in the country, especially ones wanting more style quotient along with utility.
The Maruti Suzuki XL6 has been launched in India starting at Rs 9.80 lakh for the Zeta variant which goes all the up to Rs 11.46 lakh for the Alpha automatic variant.
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Iconic Land Rover Defender Returns With a Modern Touch
It’s hard to mess with an iconic design for a capable four-wheel-drive SUV that has been around since the late 1940s.
The iconic British 4x4 SUV was known for being tough and rugged, with go-anywhere capability. And now, it’s back at the Frankfurt Motor Show in an all-new avatar – the 2020 Land Rover Defender. It will be launched in India as well in mid-2020.
Prices start at about GBP 40,000 (Rs 35 lakh approx in the UK) going up to GBP 80,000 for the fully-kitted out variants. Once it comes to India, expect prices to range between Rs 75 lakh and Rs 1.6 crore accounting for duties and taxes.
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Taking A Cab or Owning A Car: Here’s How The Costs Add Up
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently said that one of the reasons for a slowdown in sales in the automobile industry is because millennials prefer taking cabs like Uber and Ola services to buying cars.
That statement stirred up a debate over a cup of coffee, which led to some back of the envelope calculations as to what works out more economical – buying a car like the Maruti Suzuki Wagon-R or riding in one run by Uber or Ola?
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Ola Takes on Uber With Bike Taxi, Now Available in Over 150 Cities
With last-mile connectivity being a problem for commuters in the country, Ola is expanding its base for bike taxi services, with over 150 cities added to its availability list.
Ola competes with its cab aggregator rival Uber in this segment as well. However, the latter only caters to over 11 cities in the country. Ola is looking to expand its availability to even more cities in the next 12 months, as informed in a company statement on Thursday.
Bike taxis are proving to be a cost-effective alternative to cab sharing, as well as autorickshaws in these regions. In addition to Ola and Uber, you have startups like Baxi, Rapido, and Vogo among others also catering to services in the segment.
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