An all-new generation of the Fiesta hatch has made its debut at a special event by Ford in Cologne, Germany. Ford, in fact, has revealed four production variants in the form of Fiesta Titanium, Fiesta ST-Line, the upscale Fiesta Vignale and a crossover called Fiesta Active.
Featuring revised exteriors, a more ergonomically laid out interior including a floating touchscreen display and Ford’s SYNC 3 infotainment system, the new Fiesta is here to take on existing mid-size hatchbacks in the US and Europe.
Underneath the revised exterior is Ford’s Global B platform from the old car. Ford has soldiered on with the platform to keep R&D costs in check. As for the powertrain, the big change comes with the 1-litre EcoBoost engine. Ford has introduced cylinder deactivation technology to improve fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions. The new tech can disengage or re-engage the cylinder in 14 milliseconds.
The new Fiesta is set to go on sale in European markets during the first half of next year.
Maruti Suzuki and Gujarat government initiative teaches driving to 10,000 tribal youths
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Maruti Suzuki India and the government of Gujarat state together took an initiative called ‘All Gujarat Institute of Driving, Technical Training and Research (AGIDTTR)’. The objective of this public-private-partnership was to provide lucrative employment opportunities to the tribal youth through comprehensive driver training program. And now this initiative has achieved a milestone of training 10,000 tribal youths in professional driving.
Set up in 2009, under the Gujarat Government’s Vanbandhu Welfare Scheme, the AGIDTTR is coaching the tribal students in a 45-day residential training program, imparting the students with driving skills as well as soft skills such as basic English-speaking, table manners, workplace etiquette, yoga, crafts, map reading and entrepreneurship. The institute is spread over 20 acres and comprises of a driving track, classrooms along with four driving simulators and 18 vehicles for the training purposes.
Maruti Suzuki has also introduced a new course in the program for Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) which will be carried out on the recently launched Super Carry. At present, the driving training is offered for light motor vehicles, heavy motor vehicles, HMV trucks and forklifts.
The programme has provided placement opportunities to 73 per cent of the students, with employers including large scale companies from pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, auto manufacturers and telecom industries.
R S Kalsi, executive director of marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki India, commenting on this milestone said, “Our objective is to make the students employment-ready through driving training and soft skills and help them get suitable employment. These youth have shown tremendous enthusiasm in improving their quality of life. With support from the state government, the institute has witnessed an increase in enrollment as compared to same time last year. We are optimistic on sustaining the momentum and providing the youth with opportunities through more such establishments.”