Tata Tiago prices could be hiked soon

It had been a long time coming but when it finally did, the Tata Tiago swept everyone off the floor; especially with its aggressive pricing at Rs 3.2 lakh for the petrol and Rs 4.18 lakh (all prices ex-showroom Delhi) for the diesel. To the disappointment of future buyers though, recent developments suggest that the new hatchback could be in for a price hike soon.

“Holding to this price is difficult,” Tata Motors’ sales and network (passenger vehicles) vice-president SN Barman said at the Kolkata launch of Tiago on Monday. But he declined to comment on how long the introductory prices would continue.

Tata Motors had launched the Tiago earlier this month after a couple of hiccups, including an analogy with the name of a deadly virus. Nonetheless, the hatchback, with its fresh design language and larger appeal is set to spell the dawn of a new tomorrow for the Indian manufacturer. 

“We have now launched ‘Tiago’; there will be three more launches in the next 12-18 months. We hope our market share will improve with the launches of four new cars,” Barman said.

The company also looks to expand its dealership footprint in the tier I and II cities of India that have emerged as budding markets for car sales. Barman informed that the number of dealerships could be ramped up to 1,200 within the next three years.

As for the Tiago, it is available in the petrol form with a 1.2-litre 3-cylinder engine that makes 85PS of peak power and 114Nm of peak torque, while the diesel avatar is propelled by a 1.0-litre turbocharged 3-cylinder engine that makes 70PS of peak power and 140Nm of peak torque. The new Tiago gets a five speed manual gearbox while the AMT option could be available soon as well.

The car will be offered in five trims and Tata claims ARAI fuel efficiency figure of 23.84kmpl for petrol variant and 27.28kmpl for the diesel version. The new Tiago will go up against cars like the Hyundai Grand i10 and the Maruti Suzuki Celerio in the segment.