Tata Motors seem really determined to claim the 3rd largest PV-maker tag soon and possibly are aiming for the second spot in the coming years. The recent sales trends have shown Mahindra falling from the third spot and Honda & Tata battling up real close for the third position.
Latest developments from Tata Motors suggest that the company is really aggressive with both its product portfolio expansion and its sales targets. Tata Motors had displayed 2 new concepts at the 2018 Auto Expo. The H5X concept which we saw will be transforming into the Tata Harrier, which has been scheduled for a launch next year.
The other concept which was displayed was the 45X hatchback. The concept is expected to be in production-ready form by end of next year and post launch it will compete with Baleno, Elite i20 and Honda Jazz. Additionally, latest reports suggest that the same platform underpinning the 45X will be used to spawn 2 more vehicles, a micro SUV and a sedan.
The micro SUV under consideration will be positioned under the Nexon and will compete with the likes of Mahindra KUV100 and Maruti Ignis. As reported earlier, the car is known as ‘Tata X445’ internally and might be baptized as Tata Hornbill post launch.
The same platform will also be used to develop a sedan as well which will be competing with Honda City, Hyundai Verna and Maruti Ciaz. It will mark the re-entry of Tata Motors in the segment where their last launch was the Indigo Manza, which didn’t get the expected response from customers.
This new premium sedan from Tata could be powered by the same set of engine which we have seen on the Nexon. This is 1.5 liter diesel and 1.2 liter petrol. Both engines deliver 110 PS power via manual transmission as well as AMT. Pricing could be in the region of Rs 9-13 lakhs, like rivals.
It is safe to presume that Tata might price the upcoming vehicles aggressively as they had done with the Nexon. Timelines for launch of the two vehicles haven’t been confirmed as of now however the launches aren’t expected to take place before 2020.
