In its second bid in four months to get back the lost market share and consumer connect, Tata Motors on Thursday launched premium hatchback Bolt in both petrol and diesel variants.
Powered by 1.2-litre petrol engine, Bolt comes at a starting price of Rs 4.65 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai) while the 1.3 litre diesel-powered variant starts at Rs 5.75 lakh.
The diesel engine claims a mileage of 22.9 kmpl and the petrol 15.6 kmpl.
Last August, the company launched its first new model in four years — the sedan Zest with automatic transmission. Since the launch, the company has sold more than 15,000 units and has an order backlog of about six months, it said today.
Launching the Bolt, positioned as the first multi-drive option car in the country as it offers drive selector mode (sporting, fuel efficient and city modes) Tata Motors passenger car division president Mayank Pareek described it as a “great offering” from the company’s stable.
Pareek said that the car has got 1,500 bookings prior to the launch, 10,000 registrations for test-drives and 50,000 total registrations.
Not to repeat the Zest fiasco, Pareek said the car will be available across the country from today across 450 dealers. The company had faced delivery issues when it had launched the entry level sedan, Zest, leading to heavy order backlog.
Pareek, who joined the company three months ago from the market leader Maruti, said the company this time has ensured that the car is available for any customer and to ensure better sales experience it has hired and trained as many as 1,265 personnel for assisting customers.
The 1.2 liter engine, in both petrol and diesel options, offers more space and comes from its Pimpri, Pune plant. The Zest is being manufactured at the company’s Ranjangaon plant.
“Our hatchback marketshare is about 4-4.5 percent and with BOLT, we are confident to cross double digit in the next three months,” Tata Motors passenger vehicles sales head (south & east) Ashesh Dhar said.
The Bolt is the latest car from the company under its Horizonext umbrella.
Pareek said the company’s design centres in Pune, England and Italy were involved in designing the Bolt.
“Tata Motors expects the sporty hatchback Bolt to strengthen its presence in the hatchback market, one of the most popular segments constituting around over 40 percent of the volume,” he said at the launch function.
“Designed and engineered by our teams across India, Britain and Italy, it’s the next leap under our Horizonext strategy,” he said.
The HorizonNext strategy, launched by its late MD Karl Slym, who committed suicide last year, involves intense product focus, world-class manufacturing quality, enriched purchase experience and consistent service quality.
PTI