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Tata Engg rolls out Indica 2000

Our Correspondent in Pune

The Pune-based four-wheeler manufacturing major Tata Engineering and Locomotives Limited today launched the Indica 2000 car, the state-of-the-art Euro-II compliant and 75 bhp multi-point fuel injection petrol engine car.

"In launching the Indica 2000, our focus has been to offer a new dimension of drivability and performance in the hatch-back category, backed by the assurance of the core Indica brand," said a Tata Engineering official.

Available in Indiana red and Mica black exclusive colours, the Indica 2000 LEI model will be priced at Rs 318,000 in New Delhi while the Indica 2000 LXI will carry a price tag of Rs 396,000. The same cars will cost Rs 338,000 and Rs 422,000 respectively in Bombay, the commercial capital of the country.

"Packed with a 16-bit microprocessor-controlled engine management system, the Indica 2000 is the most powerful car in its class and is being launched in two trim levels," he said.

The Indica 2000 offers more space, style, safety and special features. Its interior is complete with power steering, power windows, dual tone centre cluster and console, soft look dashboard and back-lit white instrument dials.

The car’s safety has been proven on the Indica’s first and only internationally certified crash test facility at Tata Engineering plant in Pune.

Emboldened by the sale of 55,000 Indica cars last year, the company has targeted to manufacture and sell 90,000 Indica 2000 units in the fiscal 2000. When the company achieves sale of 85,000 to 90,000 cars, the Tatas will reach a break-even point. "Our market survey has revealed that there is more demand for the MPFI petrol range vehicles," he said.

The Indica 2000 will be marketed through a network of existing 57 dealers, which was being expanded. All dealers had separate facilities for the passenger car range and had undergone comprehensive training at the Tata Engineering plant, ensuring quick and efficient service.

The Tata Indica, India’s first indigenously-developed passenger car, was launched in December 1998. It had attracted a record fully-paid bookings of over 115,000.

Dube said the car had gained a market share of 8.8 per cent of the total passenger car market and 21 per cent of cars in its category during its first full operating year, achieving a sale of 54,480 cars in 1999-2000. It clocked a sale of 50,000 cars in 12 months since commencement of deliveries, he added.

"The Indica has begun the new year on a robust note, registering a sale of 5,143 cars in April 2000, a gain of 207 per cent over the sale of 1,676 numbers in April 1999", Dube pointed out.

He added that Tata company had emerged as the second largest passenger car manufacturer in the domestic market, with a sale of 82,836 passenger cars and utility vehicles during 1999-2000. It had also exported 5,000 cars to overseas markets.

In 1954, the Tatas embarked on the manufacture of diesel commercial vehicles at Jamshedpur under a 15-year technical and financial collaboration with Daimler-Benz AG, West Germany and in 1969 the company became an independent producer of medium commercial vehicles with negligible import content.

With its headquarters based in Mumbai, the company has three major plants in Jamshedpur, Pune and Lucknow. A fourth plant at Dharwad, Karnataka has recently commenced the assembly of special purpose vehicles.

The Tata company has recently been restructured to operate as two distinct business units-one for commercial vehicles and the other for passenger cars.

The Tatas group is India’s largest and the world’s sixth largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles. The company today commands over two-thirds market share in the medium, heavy and light commercial vehicles segment and close to a fourth in the multi-utility segment.

The company is amongst the first companies in the auto sector to introduce the stringent Euro I and Euro II norms and currently its entire passenger car and multi-utility vehicle range is Bharat Stage II (Euro II) compliant.

The company has invested in a joint venture with Cummins (the global leader in diesel engine technology) in a pioneering effort proactively designed to ensure state-of-the-art engine and emission control technology for its commercial vehicle range in India.

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