Tata Motors has released a statement after a few recent media reports stated that the Hexa SUV will be discontinued sometime next year. The reports claimed that the Hexa’s 2.2-liter diesel engine is not likely to comply with BS-VI emission standards pertaining to passenger vehicle category. This news had upset a lot of Hexa and SUV owners.
When one such owner asked Tata Motors regarding the same, this is what the automaker said, “Hexa is a product we are extremely proud of as it encapsulated the cream of our Engineering prowess and Styling skills. The love and passion of Hexa owners towards the car is invaluable for us, as it endorses the sheer multifaceted performance of the car.”
The company further added, “The recent articles on the discontinuation of the product are purely speculative and no official statement on the same has been issued by Tata Motors. However, we would like to clarify that each and every Hexa customer is important to us and we are firmly looking at expanding the HEXA brotherhood.”
The statement is from the company is not conclusive. It neither confirms nor denies the report. Usually a company does not give an official statement when a car is discontinued. For example, Nano and Sumo sales have been 0 for the past 3 months. Are they discontinued? Yes. Was there an official statement about them being discontinued? Not really.
Historically it has been seen that reports about products being discontinued are rubbished by the company. This helps keep existing owners of the product happy and give enough time to dealers to sell stock to the last unit, without giving heavy discounts. Speaking about Hexa sales, they have been declining regularly by more than 60% every month in 2019.
Tata may or may not discontinue Hexa. But that does not change the fact that the Harrier 7 seater (Buzzard) is coming in the months ahead. Spied on test regularly, once the Buzzard is launched, Tata’s premium SUV portfolio will have three products (including Harrier and Hexa) with overlapping price ranges. It remains to be seen how Tata Motors will position the Buzzard to avoid cannibalization within the portfolio.
Tata Motors’ statement strongly suggests (not confirm) that the 2.2-liter four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine will receive BS-VI updates. The Buzzard on the other hand would use the 2.0-liter four-cylinder unit which is sourced from FCA. While the Harrier also uses the same mill, the power output on the Buzzard is expected to be around 170 hp.
While the Harrier and Buzzard have their origins in a Land Rover-derived Omega monocoque architecture, the Hexa is underpinned by Tata’s rugged hydro-formed ladder frame chassis which has a pretty decent off-road capability. The Tata Hexa is currently priced between INR 12.99 lakh to 18.37 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). It is available in both 4×2 and 4×4 configurations. The BS-VI update would result in a noticeable price hike. The Buzzard is expected to be positioned slightly above the Hexa. But it will not come with 4WD, and will have lesser space as compared to Hexa
