TaMo unveils concept car on Nano platform, to rival Merc’s Smart in EU

While Tata Motors is still undecided on launch of Nano in Europe where it would be known as Europa, the carmaker plans to introduce a city car concept for the European market.

Tata Motors showcased Pixel, which is built on Nano platform, at the Geneva Motor Show.

Pixel is the first car to be jointly developed by the R&D centres of Tata Motors in the UK and Pune.
Since the car is still in the concept stage, where will it be manufactured is not yet decided, Debasis Ray, the company spokesperson said.

Concept cars are generally developed by original equipment manufacturers to showcase their engineering, designing and styling capabilities.

It is not necessary that a car will see the manufacturing stage. At times, the concept is scrapped if not feasible.

The conceptualisation of Pixel started almost a year ago. The car, a three-door, four-seater, is just over three metres in length and is equipped with a 1.2 litre three-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine positioned at the rear.

Ray did not disclose information about the powertrain, other technical specifications and the price of the car. The car is likely to be positioned above the Nano and will be sold in Europe with a Tata badge.

Pixel will compete with Mercedes Benz’s Smart, Ray said.

V G Ramakrishnan, senior director, Frost and Sullivan, said that the concept of micro-cars in Europe is becoming popular.

“In the next 3-4 years, this market will be of a reasonable size. It currently stands at 77,000 units annually and is projected to touch 3.75 lakh units in four years.”

According to Financial Times report, Tata Motors would produce the car in India and enter the European market “not before 2013”. However, the Ray did not specify any time line for the launch. He said the company so far had no plans of launching Pixel in the Indian market.

Prakash Diwan, head - institutional business, Networth Stock Broking, said the essential difference between the Nano and Pixel will be the price.

“I think Pixel will be priced higher in order to meet the European standards. As the car will be one of the lowest priced cars available in the European markets, Pixel will have a strong appeal distinctively due to its design and size. Tata Motors has globally proven that they can develop such cars and this will give an added benefit to the Tatas,” he said.

“Europeans are also against sports utility vehicles due to the green revolution factor. Hence, a car in this segment will have an advantage. However, I think the launch slated is too long. And if they plan to have Europa and Pixel together, Pixel will definitely cannibalise Europa’s market,” Diwan said.

Rakesh Batra, auto partner at Ernst &Young, said, “Europe is a significant market for small cars unlike America. The demand for such cars is more and there are lot of choices available. Launch of Pixel is apt for European market. However, with their India experience with Nano, the company should stick to better technology to meet the quality standards required for European market.”

Tata Motors is also testing some electric vehicles based on its Indica Vista model in the UK. The company had also planned to bring the Nano to Europe in 2011 and had showcased Europa in 2009 but the launch date of the car is uncertain.