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Tata Engg set to launch Indica V2 petrol variant

Anand Krishnamoorthy

NEW DELHI, Sept. 5

ENTHUSED by the resounding success of the Indica V2, Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Ltd. will soon launch the petrol version of the V2, sporting more features than the existing Indica petrol car, company officials have said.

The new Indica V2 (petrol) is likely to be launched in a fortnight and is aimed at giving a fillip to the sagging sales of the petrol version of the large-selling diesel car.

``We will make announcements on pricing and other details shortly. All I can tell you is that exterior and interior changes have been made on the car,'' Mr Rajiv Dube, General Manager (Commercial), told Business Line.

According to some company officials, the new petrol variant may also have some of the features of the Indica 2000, the petrol-driven special edition launched last year.

``All the features that we incorporated in the diesel version of the V2 will be available in the petrol variant also. ``It is only logical that we extend much of the goodness established by the V2 (diesel) into the petrol variant also,'' Mr Dube said.

Fortunes of Tata Engineering's Indica car sales have improved since the V2 version was launched, with much of the teething problems in the initial model being ironed out.

In August, the company sold 5,157 cars, up 49 per cent on year and 23 per cent on month, according to the latest sales figures released by the company.

Cumulative sales for the first five months of 2001-02 was up by 3.5 per cent to 22,130 units, much of it being attributed to the Indica V2.

``The V2 has changed the public perception about Indica. It has now reached a threshold limit, where more Indicas are seen on the road and people are taking note of it. The word-of-mouth is helping the process as well,'' he said.

Sales of diesel Indica constitute about 85 per cent of the total car sales of Tata Engineering, which is planning to launch a three-box sedan on the Indica platform in 2002-03 financial year and a luxury car, Magna, sometime in late 2002 or early 2003.

Mr Dube also said that the company is looking at launching various variants of the utility vehicle `Sumo' in the coming months.

These new products would be aimed at the lower end of the utility vehicle market, known as the commercial vehicle segment.

Mr Dube said that the company is still testing a petrol engine for its utility vehicle range, which includes the Sierra, Safari and Estate.

``We are also going to target institutional segments like corporate houses, government, public sector companies and the armed forces for our utility vehicle range,'' he added.