Powering the Future

It was my first week in Coventry. I was just walking back to my home after my class and I saw a Tata Indica Vista in the parking lot. I was surprised and also wondering what is Indica doing here in UK? Then when I went on to do some googling, I found out it was the Tata Indica Vista EV. It was the electric variant of the vehicle. It was first launched in September 2008 in India. Lot of developments were made to the hatchback in the upcoming years.

Indica Vista EV

Now, it is being assembled and sold in the European Market. The price falls between £24000 to £30000. The vehicle could cover 110 miles in one full charge and can reach a maximum speed of 71mph. The interior is more or less similar to the hydrocarbon fuelled Indica Vista with changes to suit the European market.

With all the Global Players moving their attention to hybrid vehicles, Tata has definitely made the right move but they have not stopped with that. Thanks to one of my friends who brought to the light the information I am about to tell you.

Michelin has selected Tata's design as part of the Michelin Challenge Design for the 2012 North American International Auto Show which started on Januray 9th. Tata's electric Mobility(eMO) engineering study EV, was the one which was selected for the show. With such a big leap into the Hybrid sector, which is definitely a place where every auto maker is fighting to make a mark, Tata has a great opportunity to make it big.

TATA Technologies - eMO

The eMO was designed by the Vehicle Programs and Development(VPD) under Tata Technologies. The design shows the maturity and the thirst to reach the top spot. Though the designs are in the lines of Tata Nano, Nissan Leaf and few other electric cars in the market, it is still a great technology from an Indian company. It would definitely give a competitive edge towards other key players in the market.

With not many companies offering Electric cars around the Globe, with eMO and Indica Vista EV, definitely we can expect Tata to break the barriers very soon.

Aria

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, Tata is bringing out some good models into the market which has never failed to impress in recent times. There are 3 cars which has caught my and people's attention in the past few years. One being the Tata Nano. The next is the Tata Indigo Manza. And now, am going to speak about the last one from the list, the Tata Aria.

Tata Aria

Tata Aria was launched in 2010 Delhi Auto Expo before reaching the customers by October of the same year. It was the first SUV crossover in India. The looks just said it, it had both the muscle of a SUV and the frame of a MUV. The car was actually based on the Tata Xover concept showcased in the 2000 Geneva Motor Show. Tata definitely wanted to get into the Global Automotive pool badly, as I keep on mentioning this term in every post of mine, by stepping up their game in every car they release. Most of the time when they tried to inseminate the world market, the key issue they faced was safety. When they wanted to introduce Tata Nano into the European market, they had to literally overhaul the entire features so as to fit into their safety standards. But this time its not the same, Tata Aria has a slew of features on both safety and aesthetics.

Aria - Interior

It is equipped with ABS, 6 air bags, GPS, electronic stability control, climate control, collapsible steering and more. The best part was it meets the European safety standards. Since, they wanted to make sure that it had fit the bill of a high end SUV crossover they sent sent one of the units here, to UK, to their JLR counterparts to enhance its look and feel. It has both 4x2 and 4x4 variants, which makes it even more powerful than the usual MUVs.

Though Tata had put in lot of efforts into this project, the sales was not expected. The car is priced between 1200000 to 1500000(approx $24000 to $30000) which quite high with the kind of cars offered by their competitors in the same range. Toyota Innova, which has been in the market for over a decade now costs 20% less than the Tata Aria and also there are not many MUVs or SUVs in that range in the current Indian market except for the Skoda Yeti. Even the Indian made Mahindra Xylo is within the million mark. So, Tata slashed its prices by 20% a few months back for the festive season in a move to boost the sales of the car but till now there hasn't been much of a change to the sales.

The Italian Job

Italy, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, stylish, cars and one of the oldest in the field. These are the few words that flashes in your mind once you hear the word "Pininfarina". They are one of the oldest design studios which has given us some awesome cars in the Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Maseratti brands. It was 2008 when they came to an agreement with the banks to which they were indebted to. They were in a move to sell the their family owned major stake of 50.7% to a suitable buyer in 2009. So, guess what was the news going around the rumour mills, Tata Motors was one of the viable customers in line. What made this news to go around the media?

Pr1ma in the making

With already JLR in their pockets and Tata Nano already making the world automotive industry turn their attention towards Tata Motors, they wanted to go global in every aspect, this time being on the aesthetics part. So, where did they go? Pininfarina. They wanted to develop a saloon on the Indigo platform. The result was the launch of Tata Pr1ma(Italian for "First") in the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. The design was elegant and sleek. Both the interior and exterior dimensions were larger than the existing Indigo platform. It is expected to be launched by mid of 2012. The launch price would vary between 1200000 to 1500000 (approx $24000 to $30000). It would compete with market leader in the segment like Hyundai Verna Fluidics, Chevy Cruze and Honda Civic. With both Diesel and Petrol variants on the line and if Tata manages to give the fuel efficiency which they managed with their other models then it would definitely be a run for the money for both Honda and Hyundai fans.

As Pininfarina's collaboration with Tata Motors came into light with the launch of Pr1ma, the grapevine was buzzing in 2009 with the news that Tata Motors might be on a golden run in stepping into the Global market. It is already 2012 now but still nothing has happened regarding the deal. But if Tata really needs to breach that Global niche of clientele then it has to bring its A game, we can see glimpses of it with its Pr1ma.


Sources:
http://www.cartradeindia.com
http://www.insideline.com
http://www.worldcarfans.com

Pulse

It was a topsy-turvy few months for the Indian stocks. The stocks tumbled, Indian Rupee lost is value in the global market, India's economy grew 6.9% in the last quarter which was the least in the past two years and it was looking for revival in the past few days. What it is meant for the companies?

Tata Motors Ltd., the owner of Jaguar Land Rover, lost 3.1 percent to 177.35 rupees. With AutoExpo in January we could expect some revival in the automotive sector though rupee will take sometime to gain value again in the Global Market.

Speaking of AutoExpo 2012, Tata Motors is planning to unveil the diesel version of the Tata Nano. It is expected to give a fuel efficiency of around 30kmpl to 35kmpl and would cost 200000 to 300000(aprrox $6000). With most of the diesel cars starting in the 400000 range and with such a fuel efficiency, I think it would create the magic which the petrol nano missed. It has also given some face-lift for the interiors too. As I often say in my posts, with the rise in fuel costs if they promise to offer the same mileage as promised then it is a definite click in the Indian market.

Fortune 500

And this years "Fortune India 500" is out. The top spot is bagged by Indian Oil Corporation followed by Reliance Industries Ltd. Tata Motors occupy the 6th spot. Tata Motors has moved two spots up from 8th last year. This means that the company is on the right track towards sales and exports. With a slew products about to be launched and in the R&D and also with JLR in their belt its not a long for them to breach the top spot.

The New Breed

Similar to Maruthi Suzuki, Tata has also surprised me in recent times. This time I am going to speak about one such car which had impressed me from Tata Motors' stable.

Tata launched the Indigo sedan in 2002. It went to launch a few more variations of it in the upcoming years. It even had a station wagon called Indigo Marina but nothing was up to the par till 2009. It was the time when Ford Fiesta and Honda City were in the peak of its sales. Tata launched the Indigo Manza, in the third quarter of 2009. It had both 1.4litre petrol and 1.3litre diesel variants.

Indigo Manza

 So, what was the public and media reactions? It got rave reviews and the waiting list for the car started to increase. The design was pretty straight forward with the usual Tata front grill and a quite spacious boot. The interior was clean and neat with good quality plastics and leather, which came as a surprise for everyone from Tata. It was priced between 500000 to 800000 which was almost 200000(aprrox $4000) less than Ford Fiesta and Honda City. There are around four variants with the higher end variant having ABS and Airbags. 

With the increase of fuel prices in India, diesel was always quite cheaper than petrol. So, the first one to get hit was Honda. The sales of the Honda City dropped just within months. Almost ever customer started to get second thoughts. Higher fuel efficiency, cheaper fuel and spares and costs almost 20% cheaper with the same kind of comfort.

I myself have been in and driven one of my friend's car back in India. His was a diesel variant but the acceleration was very good for a diesel car. Very posh interiors, I would say at par with its competitors in the segment. With touches of chrome in both interior and exterior design, it makes a statement on the road. The ride control is pretty good even at higher speeds and the ABS does really work well. The engine though is a Fiat-Tata collaborated one, no complains about it.

Manza 2012

With the sales peaking for Manza, Tata is set to unveil a Hybrid version of Manza in the AutoExpo 2012 in January. It is going to be a tough competition for Toyota, which is still struggling to gain market share for its sedan Etios, Hyundai's new face-lifted version of Verna and also Ford's new Fiesta.