The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday said it will launch a new variant of its compact car A-star with automatic transmission early next week, as it bids to strengthen its hold over Indian car market.

“By early next week, we will be introducing the automatic transmission (AT) variant of the A-Star. We see a growing market for the automatic transmission cars in India, as traffic congestion is increasing by the day resulting in driver fatigue,” Maruti Suzuki India chief general manager- marketing Shashank Srivastava said.

This is a first in automotive marketing: Ford is revealing the design of the 2011 Ford Explorer on Facebook. The reveal is coming six months prior to the car appearing on showrooms, and taking a much different form than any of the car reveals that came before it.

Ford has been using the Ford Explorer Facebook Page to drum up excitement in anticipation of the all-day event. The automaker has already far surpassed its goal of 30,000 fans prior to the reveal, which means the the company will be giving away an Explorer to one random fan.

Fiat India launched the Punto 90 BHP version today. The more powerful version of the Punto diesel has been priced at Rs 6.79 lakh ex-showroom Delhi.

Powered by an 89 bhp 1.3-litre Multijet diesel engine, the Punto 90 HP borrows its engine from the Linea and is some 15 bhp more powerful than the existing 75 HP Multijet diesel engine found in the hatchback. This has been possible thanks to a re-tuned engine that also boasts of a variable geometry turbocharger instead of the fixed geometry turbocharger found on the 75 HP.

German car-maker Volkswagen on Tuesday unveiled its entry-level sedan, ‘Vento’, in India. The car will be launched in the last quarter of this year.

After launching its compact car, ‘Polo’, in February this year, the ‘Vento’ is Volkswagen’s second car targeting the mass market and will be positioned at the upper-end of the mid-sized sedan segment in the country. “This is the first car which has been designed and manufactured in India,” Volkswagen Group Board Member (Sales & Marketing) Christian Klingler told.

We told you already about the arrival of Evolution series to India and soon we will see Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X on Indian roads. Mitsubishi has decided to sell the car in Indian market through the dealership network already in place thanks to its alliance with Hindustan Motors.

It is expected that presently the company will aim at selling 100 numbers of cars in India. Like most high end cars that have made their way into the country, the Evo X will be imported and sold as a Completely Built Unit (CBU). Mitsubishi will have this legend available to deep pocketed Indian motoring enthusiasts from the next month on.

Nissan Motor India Tuesday claimed that it has pre-order bookings of 1,049 numbers for its small car Micra to be launched next month.

The company opened bookings for the model in May for an undisclosed price. The booking were accepted on payment of Rs.50,000.

According to the company, Delhi has the highest number of bookings followed by Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Chennai.

The country’s second largest car maker Hyundai Motor India on Wednesday launched an advanced version of its mid sized sedan Verna, priced between Rs 6.56 lakh and Rs 9.22 lakh (ex showroom Delhi).

The new car – Verna Transform – will be available in two engine variants of 1.6 litre petrol and 1.5 litre diesel.

“The Verna Transform is all set to boost Hyundai’s already superior line-up of products in India by raising the benchmark in the sedan segment,” Hyundai Motor India Managing Director and CEO H W park told reporters here.”