Competition in the hatchback segment is only bound to be stronger when two renowned Indian car-maker namely - Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki are competing against each other in the segment. Maruti's popular Celerio has been enjoying much attention in this segment owing to its innovative AMT technology, whereas Tata Motors has not been far behind with its much anticipated launches of Zest sedan and Bolt hatchback this year. Fresh reports have also been pouring in that Tata may launch a fresh new hatchback named Kite sometime next year that shall be positioned in straight line of competition with Maruti Suzuki's popular Celerio.
Tata Kite is expected to be powered by new sub-1000cc engine that shall be positioned between Indica and Nano hatchbacks. A person close to the development process said, “The company is looking at the vast potential as its current models like Indica cannot serve the small car market and Nano has not achieved the desired results. Kite would be placed in between the Nano and the Indica.”
Internal sources from Tata have indicated that the new vehicle shall be manufactured at Sanand facility located in Gujarat. The plant has the capacity of rolling out about 2,50,000 units annually, but owing low demand the company is currently not able to utilize the complete capacity of the Sanand facility. Industry insiders are of the opinion that 1,50,000 units of the new vehicle can be rolled out from Sanand unit, hence optimizing the manufacturing capacity at Sanand.
Prior to the launch of Bolt and Zest in India, Tata has been on a mass scale hiring mode to gain a strong network in terms of sales, service network and marketing. Along with dealers assistance, Tata Motors has stated to hire about 3,000 - 3,500 sales force in next six months. Coming back to Kite hatchback, when company spokesperson was further questioned on the developments, the only response received was that company does not comment on its future products.
Source: ET
