Tata News

When General Motors shut down Holden in 2020, it was clear that one of the biggest factors was the expense and complexity of building right-hand-drive vehicles for a relatively small market.

Australia is a diverse country - especially on the road. 

When news came through that the Lincoln Navigator, a large American luxury SUV, would soon be available in Australia, we started thinking… what other foreign badges could we see on local roads?In the case of the Lincoln, the 336kW/691Nm SUV is imported and converted to right-hand-drive by International Motor Cars, the same mob that remanufactures the Cadillac Escalade and Dodge Challenger for Australia.This practice is a costly affair, with the Lincoln Navigator Black Label expected to check in from $274,900 plus on-road costs. For context, the same model in left-hand-drive guise costs $US97,135 ($A$153,961) in the States.Despite the high price, the business case may very well stack up, as a particular group of buyers seem willing to pay a premium for the exclusivity that only a vehicle like this can deliver.Could other car brands make it in Australia's competitive market? These are the ones we'd like to see Down Under.Acura was established in the United States in 1986, and currently offers a range of sedans and SUVs, as well as the resurrected NSX sports car. Its TLX performance sedan is available with a 216kW V6 engine matched with a torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system, variable valve timing (i-VTEC) and a nine-speed automatic transmission. The Acura RDX crossover SUV could also be a good fit for Australia, with its premium looks and technology loaded cabin.While the Honda MDX seven-seater was discontinued for Australia in 2007, the nameplate lives on with Acura. Pitched as a premium three-row offering, the Acura MDX plays against the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE.Renault’s budget subsidiary Dacia could also have a place in Australia, as the Romanian carmaker plans to launch “Europe’s most affordable all-electric vehicle” in 2021.Renault has also expressed interest in importing the Dacia Duster-based Oroch dual-cab pick-up.Since its release in 2010, the Duster has been a smash hit overseas, selling in more than 100 countries with a number of engine and drivetrain configurations. The Duster even found a home at the Vatican as the latest Popemobile.With its quirky looks and proven reliability, the Duster could be positioned as a cheaper alternative to the Nissan Qashqai and Mitsubishi ASX, and a pick-up version would certainly garner interest in local showrooms.Volkswagen subsidiary SEAT (pronounced say-art) sold vehicles in Australia from 1995 to 1999, albeit with limited success. It is unlikely that SEAT will make a return to local shores as similar VW sub-brand Skoda is considered the more viable subsidiary.Earlier this year, SEAT revealed its fourth-generation Leon small car, which is based on the same platform as the upcoming Volkswagen Golf 8, and comes in both hatch and wagon body styles.The Leon sports a sleek exterior design and a minimalist cabin, and notably, is available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain.Its stylish SUVs, such as the Tarraco and Ateca, have also proven popualr in the past.You would be excused for not knowing much about this brand, but in fact Hongqi is China's oldest passenger car manufacturer.The uptake of Chinese cars has been slow in Australia, but with rapid technological improvements in recent years, brands like Haval, MG and LDV have found success on Aussie roads.While the afformentioned carmakers focus on the budget side of the market, Hongqi produces high-end luxury vehicles. As it happens, the Hongqi L5 luxury sedan is credited as the most expensive Chinese-made car ever released.The long and low L5 is often used to chauffeur high-ranking government officials, and is powered by either a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 or a 6.0-litre naturally aspirated V12.Other models in the Hongqi range are based on well-known nameplates, like the Mazda6-based H5 sedan, and the Audi Q5-based HS7 midsize SUV.French hypercar specialist Bugatti may not have a local sales agent, but in this world, money talks.Bugatti's latest model, the Chiron, starts at a base price of around $US3,800,000 ($A5,900,000), and that number gets significantly larger as you add import duties, taxes and freight costs.The Chiron does not comply with Australian design rules, although it's possible that a limited number of units could be brought in as special interest vehicles.Using an 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 engine, delivering 1119kW and 1600Nm, the Chiron is easily one of the fastest production cars in the world, if not the fastest.With a number of once-popular compact cars being discontinued in Australia, like the Honda Jazz and Hyundai Accent, and others moving more upmarket, there could be an opportunity for a new type of budget-oriented city car.Indian company Tata Motor Cars builds a range of sleek and efficient vehicles in right-hand-drive, but few would pass Australia's much stricter safety standards.But there is hope, as Tata's Altroz hatchback managed to achieve a five star Global NCAP safety rating ahead of its launch this year.Tata has plans for at least two new electrified models as well as a new Gravitas seven-seat SUV to rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500.

SUVs and hybrids were the flavour of the month at last week's Delhi Auto Expo, India's big biennial event.

Tata is known for making cheap, rudimentary cars – including the Nano, the cheapest car in production today. However, some help from Land Rover will bring a premium modern feeling to Tata's upcoming SUV.The Indian company, which bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford eight years ago, will use the current generation Freelander's platform to develop a new family SUV, primarily for the Indian domestic market. The new SUV will compete with Japanese, Korean and European rivals, meaning Tata has set the bar for quality and refinement very high.With a new Freelander replacement due in 2015, possibly named Discovery Sport, the Tata SUV would use the outgoing model's architecture. This means that development costs for the platform will have already been amortised, and tooling would be readily available to be shipped to India, reducing Tata's development costs.But despite the age of the architecture, Tata could benefit from a 5 star safety rated platform to produce what could be its most modern and safe family car yet. While the Tata may share many components with the outgoing baby Landy, it's likely the Tata will look and feel very different, as it will be specifically developed to suit Indian conditions.The project is called the Tata Q5 for now, and is expected to feature 7 seats, placing the Tata SUV in competition of the likes of the Hyundai Santa Fe and Toyota Fortuner in India, as well as 5 seater compact SUVs. Tata is also likely to take advantage of some of Land Rover's ruggedness and capability to deliver a robust off roader for all terrain conditions.The combination of a low cost, relatively modern structure, rugged capability and a premium feel should generate plenty of demand – particularly in India and other developing countries. Tata's ambition to become a truly global company and its presence in Australia means there is a small chance we will see the SUV in our local market. If so, the Tata could become Australia's cheapest 7 seater SUV, and become a credible alternative in the family SUV segment. 

An Indian-made ute has scored just two stars out of a possible five for crash safety, joining two Chinese-made Great Wall utes that received the same "poor" rating four years ago. The result has concerned the nation’s peak safety body given that more cars are due to be imported from developing countries in the coming years."With the demise of local vehicle manufacturing on the horizon, we are sure to see a range of new models hitting our shores from emerging markets," said Lauchlan McIntosh, the chairman of the Australasian New Car Assessment Program.ANCAP is a not-for-profit independent body funded primarily by roads and traffic authorities and motoring services bodies in each state and territory. "ANCAP will keep on top of these and ensure motorists are being offered the safest cars possible," said Mr McIntosh.The Tata Xenon ute, which went on sale last October, is the fourth vehicle to earn such a low safety score in the past five years. The only vehicle to score lower than a two-star rating in that time is the Malaysian-made Proton Jumbuck ute, which scored just one star when it was tested in 2010.ANCAP said the Tata ute "performed fairly well" in the frontal offset crash test but was penalised for its lack of stability control, which can prevent a skid in corners and deemed to be the next life-saver after the invention of the seatbelt.Stability control technology has been compulsory on passenger cars sold in Australia for the past two years, but is yet to be mandated for commercial vehicles. ANCAP also noted the Tata Xenon lacks side and curtain airbags; the majority of new utes on sale now come with at least six airbags as standard.The managing director of Tata Motors Australia, Darren Bowler, said: "We’re confident the safety score will improve with the arrival of updated models with stability control in the coming months. If you look at the occupant protection score in isolation, the Xenon ute already performs better than many established brands."Just 100 Tata Xenon utes have been sold in Australia since October last year. An updated range with stability control is due mid-year. The Tata ute line-up starts at $20,990 drive-away but the model tested was a dual-cab ute that costs $23,490 drive-away and has a rear-view camera as standard to help boost its safety score.ANCAP crash tests are done at a higher speed than the Federal Government requirements, but have become the default standard internationally and are credited with the dramatic improvements in car safety over the past 10 years. The occupant protection score is measured after crashing a car at 64km/h. To test the structural integrity of the vehicle and to mirror a head-on crash, 40 per cent of the frontal area (on the driver’s side) strikes the barrier.Five-star safety utes, offset crash-test scoresFord Ranger ute 15.72 out of 16 -- October 2011Mazda BT-50 ute 15.72 out of 16 – December 2011Holden Colorado ute 15.09 out of 16 -- July 2012Isuzu D-Max ute 13.58 out of 16 – November 2013Toyota HiLux ute 12.86 out of 16 -- November 2013Four-star safety utesNissan Navara ute 10.56 out of 16 -- February 2012Mitsubishi Triton ute 9.08 out of 16 -- February 2010Two-star safety utesTata Xenon ute 11.27 out of 16 -- March 2014Great Wall V240 ute 2.36 out of 16 -- June 2009One-star safety uteProton Jumbuck ute 1.0 out of 16 -- February 2010This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling

FIVE of the top-selling cars in India, including the Tata Nano -- billed as the world's cheapest car -- have failed their first independent crash tests, fuelling fresh safety fears in a country where road deaths are the highest in the world.The Nano, Ford's Figo, Hyundai's i10, Volkswagen's Polo and Maruti Suzuki all scored zero out of five in a test conducted by the New Car Assessment Program. The tests, which simulated a head-on collision at 64km/h, indicated that drivers of each of the cars would suffer life-threatening injuries.The Nano, which starts at 145,000 rupees ($2650), was shown to be particularly unsafe, the report said. "It's worrying to see levels of safety that are 20 years behind the five-star standards now common in Europe and North America," said Max Mosley, head of NCAP Global.The five models represent 20 per cent of the more than 2.7 million new cars sold every year in India, where 133,938 people were killed in road traffic accidents in 2011, equivalent to about 10 per cent of the total across the world. The number of deaths has increased from 118,000 in 2008.Ford and VW equip their new cars with airbags and other safety equipment in Europe, the US and other markets where they have to do so, but not in India, where they are not required by law and where customers demand prices are kept as low as possible."Indian cars are not safe and they are often poorly maintained," said Harman Singh Sadhu, president of Arrive Safe, a road safety campaign group in Chandigarh. The rising death toll is blamed on chaotic and poorly designed roads, low levels of driver training and a growing drink-driving problem. Only 27 per cent of Indian drivers wear seat belts. 

Vehicle giant Tata has rolled out the Xenon ute with pricing of $22,990 driveway as the starting point for its six models

Tata will launch its six-variant Xenon range into local showrooms in October.

The new challenger in the bargain-basement end of the ute market has heralded its arrival with a high-riding concept pick-up styled by the head of design at Holden Special Vehicles.The new Australian distributor of Tata pick-ups has unveiled a one-off show car ahead of the brand’s showroom debut next month. The Tata “Tuff Truck” is not likely to make it into production but some of the locally-designed accessories may become a reality.Tata vehicles are distributed by a company owned by the Walkinshaw family, who also happen to represent Holden Special Vehicles, which is where the design services of Julian Quincey came in. The same person who styled the new HSV GTS had a hand in the added extras on this Tata Xenon ute.“We wanted to create a concept car that reflected Australians’ love of the outdoors and the ruggedness of our landscape,” said Darren Bowler, the managing director of Tata distributor Fusion Automotive.“By engaging Julian Quincey and the Walkinshaw Automotive engineering and design teams in the development of the concept vehicle we have been able to leverage over 25 years in vehicle design and styling to produce a concept vehicle.”Quincey said: “I think the humble crew-cab ute has already become an object of desire in its own right and we wanted to show how well the Xenon design works when carefully visually developed to suit the local market.”The Tata brand will return to Australia next month but the vehicle it is most famous for — the tiny Nano city runabout, at $2800 the cheapest car in the world — will not be among the models for sale. Tata will relaunch with a new range of utes called the Xenon later this year before adding passenger cars next year. Prices and model details of the ute are not yet announced but the company said the range “will offer a greater level of value than what is currently available in the market”. The prices of Chinese utes start at $17,990.Tata vehicles have been sold on and off in Australia since 1996 after a Queensland distributor began importing them mainly for farm use.  There are an estimated 2500 Tata heavy-duty pick-ups on Australian roads already. But there are many more Indian-made cars on Australian roads, albeit with foreign badges. More than 20,000 Indian-made Hyundai i20 hatchbacks and more than 14,000 Indian-made Suzuki Alto small cars have been sold in Australia since 2009.But other, Indian-branded vehicles have not been so successful. Australian sales of the Mahindra range of utes and SUVs have been so weak the distributor is yet to report them to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.The original Mahindra ute scored a poor two stars out of five in independent crash tests and was later upgraded to three stars following engineering changes. The Mahindra SUV launched with a four-star rating at a time when most vehicles are awarded five stars. There is as yet no star-rating for crash safety on the new Tata ute range.However, the new distributor for Tata vehicles in Australia believes the origin of the vehicles will be a competitive advantage. “There is no tougher place on earth to test vehicles than on the tough and demanding roads of India,” said the newly-appointed distributor of Tata vehicles in Australia, Darren Bowler, of Fusion Automotive.Tata Motors — India’s largest automobile company — acquired Jaguar and Land Rover from the Ford Motor Company in June 2008, in the grip of the Global Financial Crisis. The acquisition gave Tata access to Jaguar and Land Rover designers and engineers but Tata is yet to release an all-new model with their input. The Tata Xenon ute was released in 2009 and is also sold in South Africa, Brazil, Thailand, the Middle East, Italy and Turkey.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling