Auto Expo 2010 : Tata Motors and Jaguar & Land Rover

Tata Motors and Jaguar & Land Rover

One place where you could see a lot of promise was the Tata Motors and Jaguar & Land Rover pavilion. We have been hearing about the Indica EV for sometime now and it felt nice to see the car in the flesh. There's a lot of work going on at Tata Motors in the alternative energy space, especially with the Indica and the Nano in the passenger vehicles space. The launch of the Indica EV in Norway and Denmark this year is significant for the company and one can hope that if ever India is ready for electric cars, so will Tata Motors be.

Then, there was the Tata concept sedan 'Prima' designed with Pininfarina. This is a very good looking car with twin exhausts and has a lot of potential for production. This car can also strengthen the company's position in the sedan space which is now lack lustre despite the Tata Manza and Indigo.

In many ways, Jaguar, owned by Tata Motors, has redefined the luxury car segment with the launch of the all new XJ. It is clearly the best looking car in the segment dominated by the BMW 7 series, Mercedes S class and the Audi A8. The Jaguar XJ was premiered globally in London in July 2009 and deliveries will begin later this year. In an effort to strengthen its position in the SUV space, Tata Motors has also launched the 'Aria', a cross-over between multi-utility and a sports utility vehicle. Tata Motors' current line up in the space includes Safari and Sumo Grande. The Aria is expected to be launched in the second quarter of 2010.