Tata Motors has no less than five premium models lined-up for launch beginning with the Harrier in 2019. Gearing up for these next-generation vehicles, the company is working on upgrading its sales outlets.
Unlike Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors doesn’t plan to roll out dedicated showrooms for its premium models. Instead, like Mahindra, it will upgrade existing outlets. On the sidelines of the Tiago NRG launch, Mayank Pareek, President, Tata Motors (PV unit), told IAB that the company has begun working on improving its showrooms.
“We have started a big project to upgrade our showrooms. From January you'll start seeing those,” Pareek said.
The upgraded showrooms will have a new layout and a new colour scheme, and more technologically advanced to strike a chord with young customers who come to expect digital interactivity. Expect dealer showrooms with a new experience of hospitality as well.
The Tata Harrier, the first production model embodying the IMPACT Design 2.0 design philosophy, arrives as the homegrown brand’s flagship model in early 2019. It rides on a modified version of Jaguar Land Rover’s D8 platform.
The Tata Harrier will employ FCA’s 140 PS 2.0-litre MultiJet II diesel engine. Transmission choices will include 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic, the latter sourced from Hyundai. An AWD option is unlikely, at least in the domestic market.
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The Tata Harrier’s prices will likely start around INR 12 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). A 7-seat version, codenamed Tata H7X, will follow in 2020, using the 170 PS version of the FCA 2.0-litre diesel engine.
