The first model to be sold as a Datsun in three decades will start at less than $7,695 when it goes on sale in 2014.

(Read More…)

Renault-Nissan already has Dacia as its “low-cost” brand, to compete with vehicles in the $10,000 range, the auto maker is moving forward with plans to introduce a new car that costs as little as $3,000.

(Read More…)

There had been consistent rumors of an entry-level Porsche, below the Boxster. Porsche CEO Matthias Müller discounted the rumors, again and again. Just to be sure, Müller denied rumors of a discount Porsche again today, but he also admitted that plans for a low price Porsche were not mere rumors. The plans exist. Somewhere on a shelf at Porsche. (Read More…)

I still remember when I accompanied a big cheese of Volkswagen to (then) Czechoslovakia in 1990, shortly after the iron curtain had rusted out. We went to Mladá Boleslav, near Prague, to inspect VW’s latest acquisition: Skoda.  The place was pretty much empty.

“Where are the workers?” asked my guy. (Read More…)

Renault has made a big splash with their el-cheapo Dacia in the European market. In the first 4 months of this year, 17 percent of Renault’s sales came from Nicolae Ceausescu’s former auto works in Romania. France’s PSA doesn’t want to take it any longer, and now plans for their own low-cost line. (Read More…)

After decades of “up-positioning” and premium-branding, the sudden success of cheapskate models such as the Dacia Logan has not gone unnoticed at Europe’s largest automaker Volkswagen. Czech media is abuzz with reports of a new entry model, blatantly codenamed “A Entry,” which may be part of the Skoda line-up.

Reuters cites Czech media reports that the new model could be priced around $13,650, putting it somewhere between Skoda’s smaller (Polo-based) Fabia and the larger Octavia, which sits on a PQ35 (think Golf, Jetta) platform. Priced and positioned like that, it won’t be a Logan-killer. The Dacia goes for under $10,000 MSRP.

In the meantime, rumors that VW aims a lot lower won’t die in Wolfsburg. (Read More…)

Honda, Toyota, Ford, Chevy, Tata, Renault and Volkswagen are all gunning for India’s small car market, with a number of new models unveiled or featured at today’s India Auto Expo. Some, like the Renault ULC, or “Ultra Low Cost” car still haven’t been revealed. For a look at some of the competitors that are on the road or have just been unveiled, check out our gallery below. With Toyota and Volkswagen publicly aiming for ten percent market share (and others surely hoping for a similar performance), the competition couldn’t be more cutthroat.