The Hindu Business Line : Tata pick-up on Thai roads

The second-largest pick-up truck market in the world — Thailand — now has a new entrant, Tata Motors, through the Xenon, which was launched at the Bangkok Motor Show last week.

The one tonne pick-up, styled in England, has been designed exclusively for the Thai market and will be assembled at the Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant on a contract basis.

The Xenon, which features a 2.2 litre Direct Injection Common Rail (DICOR) engine with Variable Turbine Technology (VTT), boasts of low fuel consumption without sacrificing on power.

The pick-up is built with 0.2-1.5 mm thick steel sheets, which is thicker than competing models, and has a high suspension.

Competitive market

Thailand’s pick-up truck market is the most competitive in the world with big names such as Isuzu, Toyota and Honda jostling for a part of the 4,00,000 unit market. Isuzu, which was the market leader, was displaced by Toyota last year. In the first year, Tata Motors aims to sell 5,000 units and eventually is looking at a 5 per cent market share in the next five years.

In the initial period, the Xenon will have just about 45-50 per cent local content and will be assembled from completely knocked down kits imported from India.

The Thonburi plant is a typical assembly line and is still in the process of being fully commissioned.

Meanwhile, Tata Motors’ plans in Thailand got a boost with the company being chosen as one of six players to participate in its “eco-car” project.

The project involves producing a car that is Euro IV compliant with emission of less than 120 gm of CO{-2}.

The minimum investment should be 5 billion baht (Rs 600 crore approximately) and the company should have a capacity of at least 1,00,000 units.

The Nano is obviously a prime candidate for this project but Tata Motors says that it is working on what will be an appropriate vehicle for the market.

Moving to a new platform

For over three years the ‘Bikes & Cars’ page has been the platform for independent drive reviews, automotive technology updates and reader interaction about anything related to the world of automobiles.

We feel that it is time now to move on to a higher, wider platform that addresses a larger class of products and consumers. The ‘Bikes & Cars’ page’s focus and style will be carried forward and improved, but it will now be part of a new lifestyle magazine called ‘Smartbuy’ that will be circulated with Business Line on Wednesdays.

Starting April 16, ‘Smartbuy’ will address today’s consumers — gadget lovers, car and bike buyers, luxury-craving consumers and in general shoppers who want to make a smart choice.

The new magazine will initially be circulated with eight city editions of Business Line. Readers residing in other cities can visit the new website, currently being constructed, at www.blsmartbuy.com to continue reading our reviews and features. Meanwhile, keep those letters and comments coming in. We have benefited immensely from your feedback.

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