MG introduces AI in cars for Indian Market with Astor, featuring Paralympic athlete Deepa Malik's voice

 MG Motor India has unveiled MG Astor, India’s first SUV with personal AI assistant and first-in-segment Autonomous (Level 2) technology. Astor is based on the MG’s successful global platform, ZS. 

 

Based on MG’s design philosophy of Emotional Dynamism, Astor’s contemporary style will connect with consumers. It has a prominent Bold Celestial Grille that makes a solid on-road impression. The SUV poses an elegant and ready-for-action stance with a classic leopard jump shoulder line. Astor’s nine crystal diamond elements in the LED headlamps make for a distinct hawk-eye expression with precise details.

 

The interiors are elegantly crafted with soft-touch and premium material. It will be coming in two engine options – the Brit Dynamic 220 TURBO petrol engine with a 6-speed AT delivering a whopping 220Nm of torque and 140ps of power. And the other – VTi Tech petrol engine with a manual transmission & an 8-speed CVT, delivering 144Nm of torque and 110ps of power.

 

The much-awaited mid-size MG Astor will be on display at MG showrooms from 19^th September and bookings will start soon thereafter

 

Talking about the appeal of Astor, Carl Gotham, the Advanced Design Director at the MG’s Global Design Centre in London, UK, said, “The concept of Emotional Dynamism brings a premium feel to Astor. The mid-size SUV is a visual delight with an exceptional level of detailing and remarkable features. We have placed design at the centre of creating the car to make it look as good as its technology. It takes forward the MG’s brand’s legacy with cutting-edge technology and design excellence. India can look forward to immersing into a seamless driving experience with personal AI assistance inside MG Astor.”

 

Speaking on the unveiling of Astor, Rajeev Chaba, President and MD, MG Motor India, said

, “We have introduced several industry-firsts with our SUVs to the Indian automotive market. This time we have Autonomous (Level 2), MG Astor, with a personal AI assistant. With its elegant exteriors, luxurious interiors, and futuristic technology, we believe that Astor is a desirable package that will strike a chord with the customers.”

 

MG Astor’s personal AI assistant depicts human-like emotions and voice. The Paralympic athlete Deepa Malik has lent her voice to the personal AI assistant, thereby humanising the experience. The AI technology in Astor is developed around MG’s vision of Car-as-a-Platform (CAAP) of possibilities, which will enable the users to personalise the services as per their requirements.

 

·         MG has partnered with BOSCH for ADAS (Advanced driver-assistance systems) in Astor. AI technology, six radars and five cameras equip the SUV to manage 14 advanced Autonomous Level 2 features. The car ensures a safer driving experience with 27 standard safety features like ESP, TCS and HDC. Among its host of comfort, convenience and safety features include 6 airbags, 6-way power-adjustable driver seats, electric parking brake, heated ORVM, rain-sensing wiper, PM 2.5 filter, panoramic sky roof, rear AC vent and front and rear armrest,10.1-inch HD infotainment system for the cinematic experience and full digital cluster with 7-inch embedded LCD screen

 

 

Astor has 80+ internet features residing on MG i-SMART technology. On top of it, building on CAAP (Car as a platform), MG Astor hosts subscriptions and services, including maps and navigation with MapMyIndia, Jio connectivity, the first-of-its-kind Blockchain-protected vehicle digital passport by KoineArth and more. MG car owners will also get access to music on the JioSaavn app, along with the industry-first feature of reserving a parking slot through a head unit (powered by Park+, select cities to begin with) and access to unlimited information with Wikipedia.

Read More

Mahindra launches 'Bring the Showroom Home' for a 360 degree Virtual Showroom experience

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M Ltd.), part of the USD 19 billion Mahindra Group today announced an industry first initiative in the automotive retail space with the launch of its ‘Bring the Showroom Home’, a portable, mobile based, interactive Virtual Reality experience. This is a unique initiative wherein a customer would get a 360 degree, all-encompassing and immersive virtual showroom experience.

Screen Grab from the App

Bring the Showroom Home is part of a series of initiatives under Mahindra’s Digital Transformation Strategy. Through an immersive technology experience, the customer can co-create and identify his Mahindra vehicle with any specification, in the convenience and comfort of his home as well as involve his family in the decision making process.  ‘Bring the Showroom Home’ platform will have 3 salient features of Virtual showroom, Self-explore and Make my SUV which will enable customers to experience the vehicle of their choice, in its entirety.

Speaking at the launch of the initiative, Veejay Nakra, Chief of Sales & Marketing – Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.  said, “At Mahindra we have always been at the forefront of disruption with the customer at the epicenter. Hence we reimagined the whole customer purchase experience by embarking on a digital transformation journey for an end-to-end solution from the pre-purchase stage to the post purchase ownership phase. These include industry first initiatives such as SYOUV and With You Hamesha, in addition to our multiple tie-ups with portals for online booking of our vehicles. Now, we are ready to take this disruption to the next level by changing the way automotive retail is perceived in India. Bring the Showroom Home is one such industry first immersive experience.”

Mr. Nakra further added, “In India, where vehicle purchase decision is mostly influenced by the family, Bring the Showroom Home will get the showroom closer to our customers and their families. After all, we want to take customer experience to the next level through convenient, transparent and personalised services at every step.”

Pre-Purchase Stage: Redefining Auto Retail 

The Mahindra SYOUV platform fortifies Mahindra’s engagement in the pre-purchase phase by providing class leading customer experience. The Platform integrates the virtual world with the real world and is the core offering under the pre-purchase phase. We have also ensured a robust backend mechanism to ensure superlative customer experience. Key features of SYOUV platform are as follows :-

• Dealer Stock Availability: The user gets complete transparency of the stock at dealerships in his vicinity. In case a stock is not currently available, the user can view the estimated next availability date for the selected stock at a particular dealership of his/her choice.
• Collaborative Exploration (CE): Co-create your SUV with friends/family online

• Talk to Our Expert (TTE): Connect with a Mahindra expert either through chat, audio call or video call.
• Compare Cars: Compare your prospective Mahindra SUV with other market leading SUVs. A key feature of the platform is photo compare which is not available on other platforms.
• Finance & Insurance: The user gets to browse several finance and insurance options offered by leading banks and insurers. Basis their selection, they can request a quote from the bank or insurer.
• Test Drive – Anytime, Anywhere: The user has the option to browse available slots online and block a slot for test drive. He can also track the TD vehicle coming to his location through google maps.
• Book Your Customized SUV Online: The user can book an SUV online and also add accessories available for the selected variant. He also has the option of selecting a vehicle model, variant, colour as well as viewprices and available offers/schemes online.

In the next phase of SYOUV, we plan to include on-road price, online order tracking, deal maker and several other differentiating features. SYOUV is a one-stop destination for Mahindra in the pre-sales phase of the auto-purchase journey which promises three customer benefits – Transparent, Personalized and Convenient.

The Bring the Showroom Home platform will allow customers to research a new vehicle by enabling them to view the vehicle in a virtual showroom, in city or off-road environments. At the pre-purchase phase, it will feature a 360-degree voice assisted virtual reality (VR) experience powered by state-of-the-art Samsung VR Gears. All of these can be experienced from the comfort of the customer’s home without compelling him to visit the showroom.

Purchase Stage – Convenience of Online Booking

Mahindra has redefined automotive retail through multiple tie ups with key auto portals for sales of its automotive products, thereby providing customers with the convenience to book their vehicles anytime, anywhere. The company has tied up with Cardekho, Carwale, IBB, Car&Bike and M2ALL.

Under the digital initiatives for enabling sales, Mahindra has also installed tablets and kiosks across most of its dealer network. Meant to assist customers in making suitable buying decisions, these gadgets offer realistic visual depictions of Mahindra vehicles, with various options related to accessories, colours etc.

Post Purchase Stage – With You Hamesha 

The new generation With You Hamesha platform provides class-leading customer convenience in the ownership phase.

‘With you Hamesha’ (WYH) is Mahindra’s digital platform for its existing customers and aims to sustain their satisfaction levels by constantly offering various online services. The platform has undergone a complete digital transformation and offers a customized and convenient experience with a whole lot of transparency. WYH is a versatile platform that offers a range of services, including:

• Convenient Service Booking: Convenient service booking facility from anywhere as per required date and time slot (Like Book My Show), with a facility of creating own e-jobcard and get cost estimate (for scheduled services)

• Smart Notifications: Service reminders and RSA/extended warranty/PUC/Insurance renewal reminders
• Instant Chat: chat with our executives to address customer’s queries
• SOS: SOS button for raising assistance request with location capturing facility
• RM Video Call: Video call with the relationship manager to get updates on vehicle service and other queries (Available for XUV & Rexton)
• Online Payment: Online payment facility with all credit/debit card and wallets

In the next phase of WYH, we plan to include Driver tracking, Breakdown Van Tracking and Vehicle tracking in workshop and many differentiating features. We aim to redefine the future of auto retail by providing transparency, convenience and a personalized experience to our customers with our integrated digital offerings across the consumer lifecycle journey.

Read More

Hyundai Launches 2017 Verna with starting price of Rs 7.99 lakhs

In grand event held in National Capital Delhi, Hyundai India announced launched of its much anticipated Next Gen Verna i.e. 2017 Verna with starting price of Rs 7.99 lakh for Petrol variant and 9.19 Lakhs for Diesel one. The pricing however ex showroom Delhi Price and reserved for first 20,000 buyers. Which implies that we can expect a hike in price after that threshold.

Hyundai Verna 2017

The fifth generation of Verna comes with several firsts in segment as well as from Hyundai as well. The 2017 Verna is based on K2 Platform as opposed to K1 on its predecessor. FYI, K2 platform is used in Hyundai Elantra. The other changes includes cascading front grill, projector and cornering head lights, projector fog lamp, LED tail lamps, day time LED lamps, length  and wheelbase is increased. 

Inside the car, you will get ventilated front seats, seven inch infotainment system with IPS touch display which also supports Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, MirrorLink. Other than that you will find rear AC vents and an Electric Sun roof. Other unique features of the car are handsfree opening of trunk when you stand behind the car and Hyundai's Patented Eco-Coating which is said to kill odor creating microorganisms in car AC.

Under the hood the car comes in two power variants. 1.6 Dual VTVT petrol and 1.6 VGT Diesel engines with Power output of 123 PS, Torque 15.4 KGM and 128 Ps , 26.5 KGM respectively. The company claims the fuel efficiency as 15.92 kmpl for Petrol automatic and 17.70 for Petrol Manual, while for the Diesel the figures are 21.02 kmpl for automatic and 24.75 for Diesel. 

@HyundaiIndia #NextGenVerna 360 view. pic.twitter.com/AukiVWSr7Q

— Rahul Kasana (@RahulKasanaTech) August 22, 2017

Along with that the car will also be available in 7 color variants in each power terrain. Refer below for pricing of different variants.

Ex showroom Del prices for @HyundaiIndia #NextGenVerna for different variants. pic.twitter.com/gATItEWWvJ

— Rahul Kasana (@RahulKasanaTech) August 22, 2017

Read More

Book Mahindra KUV 100 online exclusively on Flipkart now

India's largest market place Flipkart, and most loved SUV manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra have announced first of its kind initiative in automobile industry. Mahindra will open online bookings of its much awaited SUV K100 exclusively on Flipkart. The bookings will be open from mid-night of January 18^th, 2016.

While the deal  is being touted as first of its kind in automobile industry but we know similar alliances have been made in past in ecommerce space for example Snapdeal offers prebooking of Yachts on its portal, similarly Mahindra is also selling its Mahindra Gusto on Paytm. 

Mahindra KUV 100

Mr. Anil Goteti, Vice President - Business, Flipkart said, "Online today is a must have strategy for all players to respond to the growing demand of their customers who are spread across different cities and towns in the country. First time in the automobile category, this exclusive tie-up will allow Mahindra access Flipkart’s extensive reach and network to connect with their customers and provide them the ease to book Mahindra KUV100 online.”

Flipkart launched Automobiles as a category last month with a vision to change the way vehicles are bought in India. The association with Mahindra is another step in that direction. The two entities have come together to deliver superior customer experience with assured in-a-month delivery. Flipkart currently also offers a wide range of automotive accessories as part of its endeavor to become a destination for all automotive needs.

Mahindra's much awaited compact SUV KUV100 (pronounced as KUV '1 double Oh'), has been conceptualized and developed with the aim of creating an entirely new category. The KUV100 is a compact SUV where 'K' stands for the 'kool' & trendy generation of youth, while UV represents an SUV. The numeric '100' represents the pecking order of the series which comes in below TUV300 and XUV500. With its aggressive styling and dominating SUV stance, the KUV100 remains true to the tough and rugged Mahindra DNA.

Speaking on the association with Flipkart, Veejay Ram Nakra, Senior Vice President, Sales & Customer Care, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, "We are happy to announce this tie-up with Flipkart, one of the pioneers in the e commerce category. Being two young brands, both KUV100 and Flipkart complement each other. This tie-up with Flipkart further reinforces our customer centric initiatives. With the ever increasing population of internet users, this was a step in the right direction for us, especially for brand KUV100 that targets the young and trendy. I am sure that this association will be mutually beneficial for both the companies. "

Designed in-house and engineered at Mahindra's world class research and development facility, the Mahindra Research Valley at Chennai, KUV100 will be powered by the world-class mFALCON, an all-new engine family with options of both petrol (mFALCON, G80) and diesel (mFALCON, D75). The mFALCON is a compact lightweight engine built to deliver peppy and high performance.

Targeted at the youth and first time car buyers, the KUV100 is contemporary to the core and truly stylized with best in class technologies.  An indigenously developed monocoque SUV, the KUV100 will have many firsts to its credit including the first ground up petrol engine offering from Mahindra. In fact, all research & development activities for this compact SUV were aligned with global standards of quality, technology, testing norms, regulations and emissions from the very start.

The KUV100 will be available in 7 exciting colors of Fiery Orange, Flamboyant Red, Dazzling Silver, Aquamarine, Pearl White, Designer Grey and Midnight Black

Read More