2012 ET ZigWheels Awards felicitates the best of Indian automotive industry

Compact SUV Renault Duster and Bajaj Pulsar 200NS swept the Car and Bike of the Year Awards at the 2012 ET ZigWheels Award ceremony recognising the most definitive automotive achievements in the country at a glittering ceremony in Mumbai on January 24, 2013. 

The Duster and Pulsar 200NS were also the winners of the Readers’ Choice Awards, which were decided through an exclusive online poll held on ZigWheels.com. In all the Duster grabbed three awards, the last being the Entry Level SUV of the Year. Speaking about the wins, Renault India Executive Director (Sales and Marketing) Sumit Sawhney said, “These awards are a result of our teamwork. We’d also like to thank our customers for accepting a product like the Duster.”  Read more about our other award winners in our 2012 ET ZigWheels Car and Bike Awards Special Coverage 

Renault India Executive Director (Sales and Marketing) Sumit Sawhney

accepts the Car of the Year Award for the Duster compact SUV

The year’s Awards also paid tribute to all the young and veteran motorsport talents in the country. The theme of the event ‘Going Pedal to the Metal’ signified challenges, pushing the limits and success – something that’s best demonstrated in the world of motorsports. 

The chief guest of the event was legendary rallying champion Hannu Mikola, who has won 18 WRC rallies among other titles and was instrumental in the development of Audi’s revolutionary Quattro four-wheel-drive system. The awards also felicitated young motorsport talents such as former Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok, rally driver Gaurav Gill, Armaan Ebrahim, Aditya Patel, Miguel Oliviera among others for their achievements in the sport in 2012. Rising motorsport stars aside, veterans such as rallying legends Hari Singh and Sunny Sidhu, and six-time national karting champion Rayomand Banajee were also honoured for their outstanding commitment and passion for the sport. The champions, in turn, presented the awards to the winners of the 2012 ET ZigWheels Awards. 

Toyota Kirloskar Motor's Hiroshi Nakagawa and Sandeep Singh unveil the

ZigWheels AutoTech book penned by ZigWheels Editor-in-Chief Adil Jal Darukhanawala

The Awards also witnessed the launch of a new book on automotive terms called ZigWheels AutoTech authored by ZigWheels Editor-in-Chief Adil Jal Darukhanawala. The book, released in association with Toyota, contains over 8,300 terms of reference supported by rich visuals and is the nearest anyone can come to terming as the definitive automotive dictionary in the country.

Speaking on the book launch, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) Managing Director Hiroshi Nakagawa, said, “This is not a dictionary or an encyclopaedia. It’s a message from Adil to the youngsters.” TKM Deputy Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer - Marketing & Commercial, said, “The book explains complex automotive terms in an easy to understand manner and is designed for everyone – from students to professionals and even those from within the industry.”  

The fourth edition of the ET Awards ZigWheels Awards supported by Apollo Tyres and co-partners Total Lubricants and television partners ET Now. A special episode of the Awards function will be telecast exclusively on ET Now on February 2nd at 6 pm and February 3rd at 5 pm. You can also read all about the coverage in a special ET Award supplement on Jan 31, 2013.