Tatas' Rs 1-lakh car may steal the show

RUN UP TO 8th AUTO EXPO 2006

If you had thought that Suzuki's next sports utility vehicle Escudo, General Motors' Chevrolet Aveo or the Honda Civic would be the top draws at this month's AutoExpo here, think again.

The market buzz has it that Tata Motors might steal the show by exhibiting the prototype of the "people's car", which has come to be referred to as the Rs 1-lakh car.

Even though the response of a Tata Motors' spokesperson was a cryptic "not to my knowledge", speculation is rife that there may be something, maybe an epoxy prototype, displayed by the company.

Market analysts are not surprised at the prospect of the Tatas springing a surprise. Last heard, Tata Motors had already placed an order for some critical parts for this car. Canadian firm CVTech Group Inc has been mandated to produce the continuously variable power transmission (CVT) unit for the Rs 1-lakh car, in India.

According to CVTech's notice to the Toronto Stock Exchange, this component will be made in India from a plant that will have an annual capacity of 350,000 units. Tata Motors has agreed to buy 250,000 units in the first year of operation, which will be in 2007. Tata Motors has also indicated to the Canadian firm that an annual volume of 1 million units is a distinct possibility.

There seems to be more certainty over the Xover. Sources inside Tata Motors confirm that the "crossover" vehicle will be on display at the Auto Expo. The Xover was first exhibited at the 75th Geneva Auto Show in March 2005.

Yet another "concept car" from Tata Motors, the Indiva, is expected to be displayed at the Auto Expo this time. This is likely to be a multi-purpose vehicle based on the Indica platform.

As a concept, the Indiva was first displayed at the 2002 Geneva Motor Show. Sources said it could be described as a mini-Innova. (Innova, Toyota's multi purpose vehicle, is priced in the Rs 5-6 lakh bracket.)

Organisers of the Auto Expo have been told by Tata Motors executives to expect Ratan Tata on January 13, the second day of the Auto Expo. Incidentally, the Tata Motors' pavilion will be the largest in the 8th Auto Expo, with a total area of 3300 square meters.

A good portion of this is expected to be occupied by the Tata-Daewoo range of commercial vehicles. These vehicles will include the Novus range of trucks and the Globus range of commercial passenger carriers.