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Dr V. Sumantran, Executive Director, Passenger Car Business Unit and Engineering Research Centre, Tata Engineering, with the new Tata Indigo car in Pune.

PUNE, Dec. 16

THREE and a half years after it put the first `completely made in India' car, the Indica, on the roads, Tata Engineering on Monday unveiled its second offering and debut in the sedan segment, the Indigo, effectively positioning itself as a car manufacturer on the move.

The Indigo, which is the company's offering for the midsize C segment of the domestic car market, will be available in three models of petrol (85 bhp) including a top end model with power steering and two models in diesel with a turbo charged engine (62 bhp).

The Indigo sports a brand new power train, a three link independent suspension and 14-inch wheels and extra large boot space as differentiators in a segment already crowded with nine players fighting it out for a bit of action in a 70,000 units annual market. The diesel Indigo is the only car in its segment with a turbo charged engine.

Speaking to newspersons at a preview of the car at its manufacturing facilities, the Executive Director, Passenger Car Business Unit and Engineering Research Centre, Dr V. Sumantran, said the launch of the Indigo is the culmination of an extended patch of tough work by the entire staff of the company, tough fiscal discipline and a focussed effort on improving quality, after the company's performance took a beating in fiscal 2001.

The car will be formally launched by Tata head honcho, Mr Ratan Tata, on December 18 where he will also announce its pricing which at the moment seems to be one of corporate India's best-kept secrets.

The Vice-President, Commercial, Mr Rajiv Dube, said the car will be available at dealerships across the country from December 19.

"We are sure that the addition of the Indigo to the segment will see it grow in the next year to touch the level of 85,000 units,'' Mr Dube said. "We hope to sell about 1,200 units every month when we actually start picking up momentum in early January,'' he added.

The Indigo project, which rides the same Indica platform, has roughly taken 23 months from the drawing board stage and has cost the company approximately Rs 350 crore more for modifying the manufacturing lines and developing a new power train among other things.

The company expects to launch the estate version of the Indigo in calendar 2003, Mr Sumantran said. Significantly, top company executives declined to put a firm figure on the car's mileage, preferring to tell a gathering of journalists that it would be inappropriate for them to do so since the test of mileage and fuel efficiency depended on a variety of factors.

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