Weekly Car News Fix: Altroz Turbo, BMW 3 Series GL And Fortuner Facelift Launch Dates, Thar 6-Seater AX Variants Axed And More

With the final week of 2020 almost upon us, there was plenty of action in the auto industry. From a ton of 2021 car launch announcements to an important safety feature being made mandatory for the future, here’s a look at what went down this week:

Tata Altroz Turbo Launch Date

 

Tata has been preparing to introduce a turbocharged petrol engine to the Altroz hatchback for quite a while, it’s likely not far away now. The engine will be a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol motor pushing out 110PS and 140Nm. What’s more, this motor could be paired to a 7-speed DCT automatic transmission, a first for a Tata car. To know more about when the Altroz Turbo could launch in India, head here.

Facelifted Toyota Fortuner Gets A Launch Date

After making its debut in Thailand around June 2020, Toyota is finally set to launch the facelifted Fortuner in India. Aside from boasting plenty of upgrades inside and out, it’ll also be offered in the sportier Legender trim. For more on when the updated Fortuner will go on sale in India, head here.

BMW 3 Series Gran Limousine Launch Date

This week saw BMW India announce its first car launch for 2021 - the longer wheelbase iteration of the 3 Series sedan called the Gran Limousine. India will be the first right-hand-drive market to get this iteration of the 3 Series as it was originally meant for the Chinese market. Head here to find out what’s different in the 3 Series Gran Limousine and its launch date for India.

Mahindra Thar 6-seater AX Variants Axed

Ever since the Mahindra Thar received a 4-star Global NCAP crash test safety rating, there’s been talk of scrapping the AX variants that lack forward-facing rear seats, seatbelts for the rear seats and a roll cage, as well as child seat anchors. The Mahindra Thar base AX variants are no longer on sale. It’s now only offered in the AX (OPT) and LX variants. To know more about the Thar’s new base pricing, head here.

Dual Front Airbags To Be Made Standard For All Cars

Cars in India are set to be put through even stricter safety standards as a new draft notice issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), has revealed that all cars will soon feature passenger airbags as standard across all variants. It's yet to be known when this will be implemented, but it's a huge boost to safety standards in India. To know more about cars that will be affected by this change, head here. 

Bonus

Price Hikes For Nissan, Datsun, Renault And Volkswagen Cars

With 2020 coming to a close, more carmakers have announced price hikes for their model lineup. In the case of Renault, Nissan and Datsun, the price hike will affect their entire model lineup. For Volkswagen, it’ll be the Polo and Vento that will see an increment.