[rahul_intlad]

Yes agreed that the Naza company is nothing to talk about but just wanted members at team -bhp to know that a new manufacturer is coming to town[Tamil nadu].It is a sister concern of Kia-hyundai motors I believe.

Here are some details:

Naza Automotive Manufacturing Sdn Bhd has plans to set up an assembly plant in southern India, possibly in Chennai. Chennei is home to a number of automotive plants like Hyundai, Ford, Mitsubishi, BMW, Mahindra and Apollo Tyres, and is base for 30% of India’s auto components industry and 20% of the Indian vehicle industry.
Naza plans to go international with it’s Naza Sutera and Naza 206 Bestari models, and India is one of it’s target markets. The Indian passanger car market is big - 1.3 million new car registrations in 2005 alone, and the middle class group of Indians who can afford to buy cars is growing. As import duties for cars in India is high, CKD assembly in India itself would be Naza’s best option to be competitive

Source:
Naza website.

[rahul_intlad]

The naza sutera:




The naza bestari:

[Mpower]

I had heard of the Sutera. Its supposed to be a Chinese design.

Bestari is a license built 206 and is therefore unlikely candidate for India.

[theMAG]

The model in hte 1st pic looks like a combo of the Hyundai Getz and the Suzuki SX4 - altho the overall effect seems to be good.The 2nd pic looks like an almost 100% facsimile of a Peugeot.

Its amazing how little is known even in todays' world - Lada is probably more famous than "Naza"

[Steeroid]

Dont know about this Naza thing, but the first car was offered for sale here in Dubai under some Chinese name Jialing or some stuff like that - same company that makes copies of the old Toyota Hiace van. The 2nd is obviously the Peugeot 206.

The suffix SDN BHD (Senderan Berhad) seemed to indicate its a malaysian company and sure enough they are franchisees for Kia in Malaysia. They are not a 'sister concern' because it seems Kia is likely to set up operations in India too. Bestari = Smart (?) and Sutera = Silk in Bahasa.

Seeing that they are not exactly popular in their home country (Malaysia) as a manufacturer though they are reasonably successful as traders, I cant see how they can be successful here.

[maxbhp]

Originally Posted by Mpower

I had heard of the Sutera. Its supposed to be a Chinese design.

Bestari is a license built 206 and is therefore unlikely candidate for India.

If they can price Bestari competetively it will find takers, infact its going to be a real hot hatch if given the right engine options like 1.6 petrol .... Design of Sutera looks un appealing , something like Santro but if they market it well......its gong to be another Hyundai-ish story

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by maxbhp

If they can price Bestari competetively it will find takers, infact its going to be a real hot hatch if given the right engine options like 1.6 petrol ....

Since its based on the 206, you might want to read this:

www.dontbuypeugeot.com

[esteem_lover]

Well, all the best. more the merrier, i would say. the bestari is cute. sutera is not bad either, considering we love santro. any unknown commodity has to be aggresively priced to attaract the mass' attention. if they do that, no saying what will happen. good luck NAZA.

[Poseidon]

Bestari has contemporary looks. Notwithstanding this, there too many unknowns here. After sales service and resale will be a bother, for one.
Other than being another addition from Detroit-of-India Chennai, there is very little to cheer about, right now.
I personally would prefer cheering for that other new car Chennai, the Verna!

[iraghava]

I would be highly suspect of a manufacturer like Naza. Since I assume they outsource/assemble both cars they would have minimal R&D and that usually spells trouble. Building a brand from scratch is also not easy and certainly calls for some brave moves & deep pockets, especially for a manufacturer like Naza which is a small player even in its home market.

I would be interested in seeing how their products fare in the Indian market but I won't be holding my breath for them.

[yeis]

Me too had heard of Sutera but never knew there is a brand called Naza!

[Steeroid]

FINALLY tracked down the original chinese car and its the HF (Ha Fei) Lobo.

And surprise, surprise - its designed by Pininfarina.

See this link:

http://archive.cardesignnews.com/new...11pinin-hafei/

And along the way I also came across a long list of cars made in China today, which works out to 272 models. See Attachment.

[Mpower]

Thanks for the list. China is now world's #2 car market after the USA. They have really gone places in no time.

[rahul_intlad]

Thanks for the list.Did not know so many cars come out from chinese assembly lines.

[spadival]

I would be the last person to buy a Malaysian product.. considering the way they treat Indians over there.
Let them first learn to treat Indians with respect.