Tata to make its presence felt in Australia
Auto giant Tata Motors has announced its entry into the Australian motor market with an agreement with a third party local distributor M/s Fusion Automotive Pty Ltd. The deal gives Fusion Automotive marketing and distribution rights of Tata's Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) within Australia. The first range of commercial vehicles will go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2013.
"We are very pleased to announce our entry in Australia and this marks an important milestone in the continued expansion of our global footprint," said Karl Slym, MD, Tata Motors.
The Xenon pickup will be the first Tata vehicle to be introduced in Australia
The Xenon pickup will be the first Tata vehicle to be introduced in Australia. It will cater to the Australian market's demand for utility vehicles and pickups which is the third largest segment 'down under'. The 4x2 and 4x4 'Xenon Ute' models, with single-cab and dual-cab variants will be made available and all models will be powered by a 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine producing 140PS of power and 320Nm of torque.
"The vehicle range, starting with light commercials, will be competitively priced and will offer a greater level of value than what is available in the current market. There is no tougher place on earth to test vehicles than on some of the toughest and most demanding roads across India, and we believe that gives us a competitive advantage with the range of Tata Motors products," said Darren Bowler, MD, Fusion Automotive.
Fusion Automotive plans to appoint dealers across Australia with the estimated size of the dealer network being at 13 by the end of the year. There are further plans that Fusion Automotive will be expanding the network across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia over the next 12 months to about 25 dealers.
