Tata Motors launches new variants

GOOD TO GO: Ratan Tata poses next to the new Direct Injection Common Rail version Indica vehicle. (Pic: AP)

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New Delhi: Tata Motors Ltd, India's top vehicle maker, on Wednesday launched a range of new passenger vehicles it hopes will help it gain a larger share of an increasingly competitive market.

Tata Motors, which will be unveiling its new 'People's Car' priced at about $2,500 on Thursday, will sell the new generation Indica, the latest version of its best-selling hatchback, from the latter part of 2008, Chairman Ratan Tata said at an auto show.

"Ten years after it was first launched, we have a car that has a respectable market share, is very visible on the roads in India and some roads elsewhere," Tata said at the unveiling of the new Indica.

Though a booming domestic economy and stricter emissions and safety rules have boosted demand for vehicles in India, growing competition, higher interest rates and rising raw material costs have weighed on car makers such as Tata Motors.

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Tata Motors, India's number three car maker, also launched a compact variant of its Indigo sedan, and a new variant of its Sumo multi-utility. The company will also launch the Xenon XT, a pick-up truck, later in the year.

The new Indica is fitted with a 1.3 litre diesel engine and a 1.2 petrol engine, which will be made at a new Tata-Fiat joint venture plant in western India. It will be offered at a higher price that the present Indica range.

The new Indigo, which goes on sale later this month, will also come in petrol and diesel variants. Shares in the company eased nearly 0.5 percent at 770.45 rupees in a Mumbai market that ended flat.