Tatas rev up tempo in light carrier segment

In a bid to expand its market share in the light passenger carrier segment, India's second largest passenger vehicle manufacturer, Tata Motors, today launched two new vehicles, the Magic and Winger, at its facility at Pimpri, Pune. The company's market share declined to 42.47 per cent in May '07 from 55 per cent in May '06.

With the prices of Magic starting at Rs 2.70 lakh and Winger beginning at Rs 4.70 lakh, Tata Motors hopes to make a dent in the three-wheeler passenger vehicles and the multi-utility vehicle (MUV) segment in the country.

Speaking at the launch, P M Telang, executive director, commercial vehicles, said that with the new launches, Tata Motors hopes to expand its volumes as well as market share in the passenger commercial vehicle segment. "We have invested Rs 150-200 crore for each of these vehicles and have nearly 100 per cent localisation on both," he added.

The Magic, based on the Ace platform has three seating configurations, while the Winger will be available in 11 models. The Winger, based on the two generations old Renault Trafik was developed after Tata Motors acquired the tooling and machinery from Renault's French facility for what Telang said was a 'very good price'.

"The two have taken 18-24 months to develop," said Neeraj Srivastava, head of sales and marketing, buses. Both the models will be assembled at the Pimpri facility, with the Magic shifting to Uttaranchal after the new facility commences operations. The vehicles will be first launched in Maharashtra and Gujarat, with subsequent launches across India.

The Magic is aimed at the rural market, while the Winger will cater to the intra-city routine. Both are powered by existing powertrains. The Winger will utilise the 2.0 litre Sumo diesel engine. When asked about the possibility of CNG options, the company said that such variants would be introduced in due course of time.

Tata Motors is rapidly expanding its product portfolio in the commercial vehicles segment. The year, 2008, will witness the roll-out of Tata's first global truck from Tata Daewoo's South Korean plant and subsequent launch in India, six months there after.

The company has also recently signed an agreement with Thonburi in Thailand for the manufacture of pick-up trucks and Fiat in Argentina.