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Our Bureau

Mumbai, Aug. 23 Tata Motors launched the new generation of its flagship passenger car Indica on Saturday. The new model called ‘Indica Vista’— 3.8 m long and 1.7 m wide — is larger than the existing Indica and has more interior space than the original one. The car will initially be available in seven variants across 170 dealerships in the country at a price range of Rs 3.49 lakh to Rs 4.88 lakh.

“There is virtually no carryover of the existing Indica in the new Indica,” said Mr Rajiv Dube, President (Passenger Cars), Tata Motors, at the press conference announcing the launch of the new car. “It will certainly be a step-up from the existing Indica,” he said.

Indica Vista will be produced at the Fiat-Tata plant at Ranjangaon near Pune which has an annual production capacity of 2 lakh cars. Tata Motors has invested Rs 1,700 crore for the development of the new car which took about four years to make. “The investment is for both this product and what we are doing in Ranjangaon for Fiat,” said Mr Dube.

When asked why the launch of the new model was delayed, he said, “We were not satisfied with the product. When we aren’t quite certain that we are launching a fine product we would rather delay it.”

Mr Dube said that this was a conscious delay to fine-tune the product. “We wanted to fine-tune the way it drives. There were some small points that discerning customers will notice. We were giving attention to those attributes regarding its fit and finish,” he said.

Mr Dube said the Indica Vista would surpass the sales volume achieved by its predecessor over a decade.

About 9 lakh Indicas are running on Indian and overseas roads. Certainly, if we had launched in a market that is not slowing down, the sales would have been higher.

About exports, he said, “We would be hesitant to open multiple markets at a time. We will be ready for exports in six months’ time.” He also said that the alternative fuel variants of the car would come at a later date.

“I am not diffident about the fact that it is one of the most loved cab cars. Why the commercial segment prefers Indica is because it is the most economical car to own and maintain. No other car has a diesel offering at that price,” Mr Dube said when asked about the existing Indica widely being used as a taxi car. About the sales prospect of Indica, he said, “What we would not want is the car to be preferred by the commercial segment alone,” he said.

With the launch of Indica Vista, Tata Motors is phasing out seven of the 14 variants of the existing Indica. The seven variants will exit the market in a year’s time.

The existing Indica will continue with a rationalised portfolio — the lower versions of the 1.2L Xeta and the 1.4L naturally aspirated IDI diesel and one version each of the DICOR and TCIC diesel within the Rs.2.6 lakh to Rs.4.88 lakh price range.

More Stories on : Cars | Announcements | New Products & Services | Tata Motors Ltd

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