Do you know that these cars were having different names abroad ?
India is one the biggest market for automobile industries and every year diverse models are launched in India to capture more and more Indian customers.
But sometimes there are issues with launching a new car, like, the car’s name. This is because the name of the car may already be registered by someone else, or the brand hasn’t been doing well and the company wants to replace it. Whatever the reason, there have been cars that have been given a different name in India.
Here is the list of car’s name whose name was different from other countries while launching in India :-
1. Maruti Ritz aka Suzuki Splash
In 2009, when Maruti wanted to bring the Splash to India, the spanner in the works came courtesy Ford. The latter had already registered the name back in 2002, so Maruti went in for a new name – the Ritz. The car sold fairly well, but has now been discontinued.
2. Honda Jazz aka Honda Fit
The Japanese car maker has a different naming convention for the Japanese, European, American and Asian markets. So the same car, the Jazz in India, is sold as the Fit in Japan and Americas.
3. Skoda Laura aka Skoda Octavia
The Czech car maker had a great run with the first generation Octavia in India. The car gained a loyal following thanks to punchy engines and sporty yet comfortable ride quality. So when the next generation was launched in Europe, Skoda decided to sell it alongside the old model here and named it Laura.
4.Maruti A-star aka Suzuki Alto
Maruti was building the A-star (Alto-star) in India for export to Europe as the Suzuki Alto and the Nissan Pixo. But in India, the earlier generation Alto was already selling remarkably well thanks to its low price and efficient engine. So Maruti rebadged it and sold it as the A-star here
5.Chevrolet Tavera aka Isuzu Panther
General Motors may have announced their exit from India, but at one time it had big plans for the country. Unfortunately the product mix never worked out. To emulate the success of the Toyota Qualis, Chevrolet chose the Panther that partner company Isuzu was selling in Indonesia. But it came when the Qualis was on the way out and Innova was being launched and it never did succeed.