Previous Automotive Week - Summarised

This week at CarDekho was a very exciting one for us. As our readers must be aware, CarDekho has been awarded the prestigious “Website of the Year India 2012” award. This has been possible solely due to the high esteem that our readers hold us in and we would like thank each and every one of you for your valued opinions and support that has helped us win this great honor. Apart from this, we as usual brought to you the major updates from the automotive world including the likes of JLR, Ford, Skoda, Fiat and Nissan amongst others. Let's take a peek at what the previous week was all about.

CarDekho Wins Prestigious 'Website of the Year India 2012' Award

CarDekho won the much acclaimed 'Website of the Year India 2012' award and was also granted the 'Most Popular Website 2012' in the automotive category. CarDekho had the privilege of winning this award last year as well and we have since then been striving to better ourselves in order to furnish our readers with the best automotive information and services possible. 

Land Rover Freelander2 facelift coming to India

The Land Rover Freelander 2 facelift is arriving soon. The new Freelander 2 now certainly gets better at comfort, convenience and driving pleasure. What makes it look more plush and attractive are some add-ons like sharper exterior design, new derivatives, vibrant colours, upgraded equipment levels, however the engine stays the same. Exterior design details have been revamped for an integrated and co-ordinated appearance, including more contemporary lights front and rear using the latest LED technology and a new signature graphic in the front running lights. The XS model gains all-new 17-inch alloy wheels and an enhanced body styling pack.

Ford EcoSport Launch Confirmed for March-End in Nepal

This was one bit of news that got us pretty excited. The eagerly awaited Ford EcoSport is scheduled for launch in Nepal by March end, 2013. According to Go Automobiles, Ford's authorised dealer in the country, only the petrol variant of the EcoSport SUV will be launched at first. From what we can tell, this is probably a move to generate more publicity for the Ford EcoSport in the country before launching the diesel version. Since Nepal has confirmed the launch at March-end, we can safely assume that India will get the EcoSport SUV before or around the same time.

Skoda Teases Public with 2013 Octavia Pictures

Skoda India has taken to the habit of releasing close cropped images of the 2013 Skoda Octavia on social media websites to increase public interest. Skoda has also revealed that they plan to reveal the 2013 Octavia in Prague before the end of this year. We expect the Octavia to launch in India by the second half of the year 2013, most probably around the time of Diwali. Also in the bag is the possibility that the 2013 Octavia will be locally produced via the CKD route.

Fiat's Plans for the Indian Auto Market Revealed

Fiat has recently reveled its plans for India that they have laid out over the upcoming years which involves a sizeable investment in India. Fiats plans to bring in the Abarth hot hatch and the Chrysler owned Jeep brand to India. The Italian auto maker has aims to grab hold of 5 per cent of the Indian auto market share in the coming years in contrast to the 0.7 per cent market share they had back in 2011.Apart from that, Fiat is also planning an update on the already existing Grande Punto and Linea models in 2013 to help them compete better with their rivals. After the update, Fiat plans on introducing the all new Grande Punto and Linea models by 2014. Now, the interesting bit is that this is double the good news for Linea fans in India. Fiat also has plans for a compact crossover in the B-Segment and an SUV in the C-Segment.