Asia Bizz: India’s Tata Motors made waves with the Tata Nano passenger car, and the company has done it again with the launch of the Magic IRIS (a small four-wheeled passenger carrier) and the Ace Zip (a micro truck). The vehicles are set to be priced at around Rs 1.95 lakh and Rs 1.90 lakh (ex-showroom, Thane), respectively.
Tata Magic Iris
In a statement made on Wednesday, Mr. P M Telang, the Tata Motors MD (India Operations) said that the launch of the two new vehicles ‘comprehensively address the burgeoning need of public transportation and goods movement‘.
The main reason for the launch of the Magic IRIS is to provide an alternative to the three-wheeler auto rickshaws, and to make this option available to rickshaw owners the company has also submitted applications for permits to several state governments in India, which will possibly enable auto-rickshaws to upgrade to the newly launched vehicle.
The Magic IRIS comes with a powerful 611 cc water cooled engine,with 11 HP power, in addition to 31 Nm torque. It also features 12†radial tyres, and a one year warranty. It is available in four colours – ruby red, arctic white, jet black and school yellow.
Tata Ace Zip (Photo Credit : Tata Motors)
The Tata Ace Zip also comes powered by a water-cooled engine, but it happens to be the only 600-kg micro truck to be equipped with this feature. It also delivers an output of 11hp and has a torque of 31 Nm.
Tata Motors stated that it aims at rolling out 100,000 units of these vehicles every year and it will be in direct competition with the current market players, namely Piaggio , Mahindra, and Force Motors.
