This festive season (till November) will be marked by 5 new car launches in India namely- Honda Brio, Hyundai Eon, Mahindra XUV 500, Skoda Rapid and Tata Merlin. All these models are developed from scratch and unlike every year are not just refreshes, facelifts and cosmetic changes in the existing models. Car manufaturers have high hope with the festive season to come out of the sluggish sales.

Topping the list is-Honda Brio which is just on the brink of its launch. Honda Brio price estimated to be Rs 5 lakh will be confirmed only on September 28, 2011 when the hatchback will come out of its cover. Honda Brio will be the biggest launch by Honda India after Honda City.

Hyundai India is set to launch its compact car Hyundai Eon priced at an expected Rs 2.5 lakh. Expected to go on sale in late October Hyundai Eon has been pitted against the Maruti Alto, India's largest selling car that clocks monthly average sales of 25,000-30,000.

Mahindra & Mahindra to launch a diesel-engined powerful SUV known as Mahindra XUV 500. Launching on the same day as Honda Brio in Pune, Mahindra XUV 500 will be price at about Rs 15 lakh.

To compete with this animal SUV, rival company Tata is at its heels to launch Tata Merlin SUV which is presently undergoing a lot of technical tests according to global standards.

Skoda India is next on the list with the application of Skoda Lauretta. The sedan Skoda Lauretta expected to be in the range of Rs. 7-10 lakh will raise curtains in the last week of October.