The Magic was launched a couple of years after its successful sibling, the Ace, created a storm in the compact commercial vehicle segment. Since then, its sales have gone beyond 3 lakh units and its manufacturer, Tata Motors, is now gearing up to launch the more powerful Magic Mantra in the coming months.

This passenger equivalent of the Ace Mega can reach speeds of up to 90kmph.

“The Mantra is the beginning of a new story in mobility solutions. Many more things are possible in the future with the Magic platform,” Ravindra Pisharody, Executive Director (Commercial Vehicles), said in a recent interview.

It is eight years since the Magic was first launched in its original avatar as a dedicated passenger-carrying commercial vehicle. The best part about the product is that a passenger who does not want to travel by bus can pay for a seat in the Magic and save money in the process. Likewise, there are people who use the whole vehicle for private use, especially during the pilgrimage season where it is a cheaper option than a larger alternative. In the school season, similarly, the Magic is popular thanks to its generous space.

The tougher part, though, is that obtaining a permit for the vehicle is not always a hunky dory exercise. Since this is a “new animal”, some states/RTOs do not know whose feet they are treading on. For instance, the Magic has not made much headway in Maharashtra. In Chennai, the permits for the vehicle were granted only between 2009 and 2011.

Local performance In Kerala, there are no small autorickshaws and, barring Kochi, almost all three-wheelers are six-seaters. Tata Motors got a breakthrough in 2012-13 where the Kerala government saw the logic in a stage carriage permit and today the (Magic) Iris sells about 700 units per month.

The vehicle is also doing well in Gujarat, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

In this backdrop, the Mantra could be a good option for longer routes. “One of the lessons we learnt over the years is that operators are reluctant to experiment with higher fares. They only think they can offer more comfort at the same price but we think this could change with the Mantra,” says Pisharody.

Some clinics have already been carried out and the company believes a better rate could be charged with a more powerful engine on a stage carrier permit. Some of the more likely markets for Mantra include Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and the North-East.

“Of the three lakh vehicles on record, we are carrying one crore people in India everyday which is not a bad number. We need to get more permits and this is where State governments need to appreciate its use better,” says Pisharody.

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