Tata Motors has commenced 'in-factory' trials of its upcoming small car, widely referred to as the Rs 1 lakh (Rs 100,000) car.
The company has five prototypes ready and these are being tested currently at the Pune facility, Ravi Kant, managing director, told mediapersons on Thursday.
"We have frozen the styling of the car and the schedule for its commercial launch is being maintained," he said, adding that the car will be launched in two years time. Calling the Rs 1 lakh price tag as figment of media's imagination, Ravi Kant said the company nevertheless considers the price point as a serious one.
"It will be impossible to offer the product at that price, as the costs of almost all inputs have increased significantly over the last couple of years before which the plan for the car was announced," Ravi Kant said.
Though the company is considering different variants of the car, the engine will be standardised, he said. Ravi Kant denied reports in a section of the media that the car will run on engine made by Fiat with which Tata Motors have planned a joint venture. "The engine has been designed by Tata Motors and the styling has been done jointly by international design houses and company engineers," he added.
Tata Motors has started identifying the vendors for various components and has also started placing orders with them, he said.
Ravi Kant said the joint venture between Tata Motors will be formalised in two months whereupon the Fiat facility at Ranjangaon near Pune will be revived. The joint venture will manufacture cars as well as power trains for the Indian market, he informed.
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