Mini-Aria Is Tata Motors’ Next SUV
less than 4-metres in length
The mini-SUV / MPV market is hotting
up. When concept versions of the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and Ford ECOSPORT were shown to the world, they generated tremendous
interest. Much was said about the practicality, value for money and
multi-purpose utility for the Indian market. Especially because Indians love
the SUV image, extra ground clearance help with bad roads and of course more
space is always welcome! Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra moved quickly and
introduced the Ertiga and Quanto.
The sales charts are witness to the success
these companies are enjoying.
Ford is yet to launch the EcoSport
and Tata Motors completely ignored the hoopla that surrounded the Mini – SUV /
MPV segment. Tata Motors is struggling with sales due to the outdated old
Safari and extremely overpriced Aria. In spite of Aria being very
technologically advanced, spacious, with a great engine and amazing features it
failed to sell well due to high pricing strategy. So now Tata Motors are
convinced that their latest project, the mini-Aria will help them get more
piece of the action.
The compact version of the Tata Aria
should be less than 4-metres in length. The boot will become smaller and the
last row of seats may become slightly cramped. Also it may be stripped of the
awesome technological advantage that the Aria has. As developing a new platform
and chassis is very expensive, Tata Motors can use the Aria or even the Safari
Strome chassis and platform as a base. As they are already using the Fiat’s
1.3-litre Multijet engine in other cars, they have a good option of using it
for the mini Aria as well.
However all Tata cars are quite
heavy (Aria being 2.2 tonnes), the Multijet engine may be quite underpowered
for this purpose. Developing a new engine from scratch is an option but will
add tremendously to the cost of the car. The engine has to be under 1.5–litres
for tax benefit, so using the 2.2 engine is out of the question. Tata Motors
has to buckle up, get their game straight and develop a very well thought out
product to be able to compete against the already brilliant Ertiga, Quanto and
even the yet to be launched EcoSport. They have to especially price it
competitively to make it value for money. Otherwise it may end up with the same
fate as the Aria.
Tata Motors is also said to be
working on a compact version of the Sumo Gold, which might hit the market as
soon as next year. It will be sub 4-metre in length, giving it excise benefits.
The mini-Sumo will be priced around Rs. 5 lakhs. The vehicle will have 7-seats
(last row will be jump seats similar to the Quanto). It remains to be seen if
there is acceptance for a compact utility vehicle in the Indian market.