Kia Sonet to BMW R 18: Top car and bike launches in India this week

The week promises to be an exciting one for auto enthusiasts, with a number of vehicles scheduled to be launched. As we move towards the festive season, the frequency of new car and bike launches are also going to increase.

Here is a quick look at some of the big launches confirmed this week.

On the top of the list would be the much-anticipated Kia Sonet sub-compact SUV. On September 18, Kia is all set to announce the prices for its third offering in India, after Seltos SUV and Carnival MPV. Sonet has already garnered some popularity, clocking more than 6,500 bookings on opening day. It is all set to take on rivals like the Hyundai Venue and Maruti Vitara Brezza among others in a tightly-contested sub-compact SUV segment.

Next on the list is Skoda Rapid TSI Automatic, which is scheduled to be launched a day before Sonet’s price announcement. Pre-launch bookings of the new Rapid have already commenced at all of the company's authorised dealership facilities and on the Skoda's official website at a refundable token amount of ₹25,000. The company has also announced that it will commence deliveries of the new Rapid starting from September 18.

The company launched the new 2020 Rapid 1.0 TSI earlier this year at 7.49 lakh. It rivals other B-segment sedans in the country such as Hyundai Verna, VW Vento, Honda City and Maruti Ciaz.

In the two-wheeler segment, BMW Motorrad is all set to introduce the new R 18 retro cruiser motorcycle in India which has been given a launch date of September 19. The motorcycle was also showcased at a customer event in the country to gather response from the market. Expect the final price of the bike to start from around ₹18 lakh (ex-showroom). Some of its direct rivals include newly launched Triumph Rocket 3 GT and the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy.

Besides these three, a few more are also expected to be launched in the next few days or at least in the next few weeks. Among them is the Urban Cruiser SUV, which is Toyota’s spin off of Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. The Urban Cruiser SUV is expected to be launched this week. As per dealer sources, prices of the new SUV will be announced in the third week of September. Sources also suggest that it will be priced in a similar range as the Brezza, but will be slightly expensive in comparison. The Urban Cruiser sub-compact SUV will be Toyota's second spin-off of a Maruti car, the first one being the Baleno hatchback which is sold as the Glanza in the Indian market.