Tata Motors has for the first time confirmed the launch of new five-seater and seven-seater SUVs. The former will rival the likes of the Hyundai Creta and Renault Captur, while the latter will be aimed squarely at the Jeep Compass.
While the report does not reveal the codenames for the two products, they are the Tata Q501 and Tata Q502 SUVs that have been under development for a couple of years now. The launch of the new SUVs will be held during the 2018-19 fiscal.
Both upcoming Tata SUVs are underpinned by the Land Rover Discovery Sport's L550 platform. It explains why the SUVs are road testing wearing the Discovery Sport's skin. However, the platform sharing will be restricted to the structure and floor plan. Tata intends to leverage its partnership with FCA India to source the 2.0 L Multijet II diesel engine for the two new SUVs.
A report from May 2017 claims Tata Motors has placed an order for 70,000 units of the 2.0 L Multijet II engine. Currently, this engine is manufactured at the Ranjangaon facility and does duty on the Jeep Compass. A 140 hp version of the engine would power the 5-seater SUV, while the bigger 7-seater will have the engine producing 170 hp, specifications that mirror the 2017 Mahindra Scorpio and 2017 Mahindra XUV500.
The report adds that Tata Motors is targeting a price of around 13 lakhs for the 5 seat Hyundai Creta rival. Its bigger sibling that will take on the Jeep Compass will cost around 15 lakhs.
[source - Autocar India]
