Telco to focus more on petrol version with new Indica

Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Ltd. has embarked on its 'petrol focus' with the launch of its Indica 2000, a petrol driven, Euro II compliant, multi-point fuel injection (MPFI) version of the Indica in the beginning of this month.

Positioned on the 'power and performance' plank, as opposed to the 'value for money' associated with the diesel models of the Indica, Indica 2000 comes at two trim levels, the LEI and the LXI, and is priced, ex-showroom, at Rs 3.18 lakh and Rs 3.96 lakh respectively at Delhi, and Rs 3.38 lakh and Rs 4.22 lakh respectively at Mumbai.

"Indica 2000 is Tata Engineering's 'power burst' in the petrol range," says Rajiv Dube, general manager commercial, passenger Cars. Although the company had a petrol model, what moved the market were its diesel models, the petrol model being only an 'also-ran'. The launch of the new petrol model, Indica 2000, marks Telco's decisive foray into the petrol segment.

"Being the youngest player in the industry, we adopted a cautious policy," says Dube, explaining the late endorsement of its presence in the petrol segment. What sets the new car apart form its earlier petrol version is the multi-point fuel injection system with a 16 bit microprocessor control as opposed to the carburetor of the earlier version. This gives the vehicle greater power and performance, better mileage, besides making it Euro II compliant on emission norms.

"For us, the launch of the MPFI engine on the Indica is not the launch of an engine, but a new driving experience," says Dube. Accordingly, the car is being positioned on attributes of power, performance and drivability.

The distinction is also emphasised through the use of sporty attributes, new bold colours such as metallic black and Indiana red, and distinctive features such as white instrument panels, silver toned console, and brighter upholstery.

With the launch of Indica 2000, the company hopes to reach the 90,000 vehicle mark this year from the Indica family of cars, with 20 per cent expected to come from the Indica 2000 alone. The company also hopes it to be the magic figure at which it breaks even.

The Tata Indica was launched in December 1998 and gained a market share of 8.8 per cent of the total passenger car market and 21 per cent in its category with sales of 54,480 cars in 1999-2000. In April this year, the company sold 5,143 cars, and expects to maintain the up-trend. To keep in line with its expected rise in sales, particularly that of Indica 2000, the company is expanding its dealer network to 75 from the present 57.