Tata Motors to launch luxury AC coach for inter-city operation

Hyderabad, Mar 9: Tata Motors, the country's largest automotive maker in terms of sales will be launching its Divo, a luxury AC coach meant for intercity long-distance operations in the first quarter of the next fiscal, a top official said today.

Ashish Tandon, head (marketing - buses), Tata Motors, said the variant will compete with Volvo and Mercedes.

"As of now, five Divos are under trail run on the Indian roads. With Divo, we will directly compete with Volvo and Mercedes on the basis of an international product at an Indian price. So, you can make out that we will be 10 per cent lesser expensive than our competitors," he said.

Divo has been styled by the company's fully owned subsidary Hispano Corracera, a Spanish bodybuilding company, and is BS-III compliant powered with a 285-horse power Cummins engine, Tandon said on the sidelines of the Bus and Special Vehicles Expo (BSVE)-2011, a four-day event organised by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and the Confederation of India Industry (CII).

Tandon said Divo is positioned in a niche segment and the company is expecting to sell 300 units per year.

"The total size of this market is 500 units a year. We are aiming at 300 units ... 100 this year and 300 from the next," he said, adding the company currently enjoyed 50 per cent share of the 70,000-unit per year Indian bus market and expected to increase the share with the new launches.

Meanwhile, Volvo's hybrid vehicle roll out is likely to be delayed, according to Akash Passey, Managing Director of Volvo Buses India Private Limited. Passey said that the launch of their hybrid bus in India is likely to take few more years.

"We will launch it (hybrid bus) in India as and when we feel that the market is ready. It will take a few years for the market to move to the next level," he added.

PTI