Tata Indica crosses one-millionth mark

Tata Motors' Chairman Ratan Tata on Saturday rolled out the one-millionth Indica car manufactured at its Pune plant. The production of one million cars in nine years was a big achievement, Tata said, while addressing a glittering function at the Tata Motors plant in Pimpri.

The company management, however, remained tight-lipped over its plans to launch the much-awaited Rs one lakh car as well as the proposed acquisitions outside India.

The first Indica was delivered on January 1, 1999. The company had manufactured 1,00,000 cars in Pune by March 2001. The one million mark from 9,00,000 cars was reached in the last seven months, a press release stated.

"The car manufacturing project had come under severe criticism from industry observers. None believed that people manufacturing trucks could manufacture a fully indigenous car. However, Indica has proved this belief wrong. Now, the challenge is to raise the standards of our cars to any other car being sold in the global market," Tata said.