Toyota Etios Liva, Japanese carmaker's small treat to India.

As there is much demand for mileage in India, small cars, mostly hatchback sell as no other segment does. After Chevrolet, now the Japanese automaker, Toyota, launched a hatchback(small car), named Etios Liva. Petrol version is now available and, priced between Rs 3.99 lakh and Rs 5.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Toyota Etios Liva is powered by a 1.2L, 16V DOHC engine and has a 5-speed manual transmission and said to have a good mileage of 18.31 kmpl.

Etios Liva is built on the same platform which Etios sedan is being built, specifically developed for the Indian customers.

Etios Liva inherits its name from its sedan, Etios. The word Liva has been coined from the terms Lively and Live Life to the fullest.

Etios Liva is set to join the 'Q Class Hatch' the Etios Liva will be available in four variants, J, G, V and VX.

Toyota also invested Rs 3,200 crore to set up its second manufacturing facility in Bangalore.

Car sales in India increased by 21 percent.

According to the data revealed by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), car sales in India jumped 21 per cent in November from a year, sales last month climbed to 161,497 cars from 133,703 a year earlier.

But the number of cars sold was down from October, when car sales rose 38 per cent year-on-year to 182,992 units, the highest ever monthly total, buoyed by the religious festival season, when buying is considered auspicious.

SIAM forecast passenger car sales for the fiscal year to March 31 should grow by at least 25 per cent - far higher than the group's initial forecast of growth of 12-13 per cent.

Sales of commercial vehicles jumped by 18.26 per cent to 48,314 units from a year earlier.

The Indian market, Asia's third-largest, is projected to triple over the next decade to six million cars a year from the current two million, according to industry estimates.

- AFP Inputs

Made in India BMW start at Rs.38.9 Lakhs.

Chennai: German luxury car maker BMW has started rolling out new 5-Series sedans from its Chennai facility at a price between Rs 38.9 lakh and Rs 58 lakh (ex-showroom).

The company had unveiled the new 5-Series sedans with petrol and diesel options in April.

"The BMW 5 Series is the core product in our model range and has significantly contributed to the image and success of BMW in India. We are confident that the new BMW 5 Series produced in Chennai will further increase our momentum in the Indian luxury car segment," BMW Plant Managing Director Juergen Eder said in a statement.

The company will start the deliveries of the cars by end of this month, the statement added.

While the 523i, 530d and 525d will be produced as completely-knocked-down units at the Chennai facility, the 535i will be imported as a completely-built-unit.

The company has sold over 3,700 units of the 5-Series sedans in India since 2007. The luxury model accounts for over 50 per cent BMW's total sales globally.