Tata Nexon Witnesses Order Backlog Of Up To Two Months

Avishek Banerjee Oct 03, 2017

Tata Motors, which saw a lukewarm response to its products launched in the previous fiscal like Bolt, Hexa, Zest, etc., has finally hit the jackpot with its recently released Nexon compact SUV. If dealer sources are to be believed, the new is now commanding a waiting period of up to 6-8 weeks cutting across all trims and variants. With prices starting at Rs. 5.85 lakh for petrol and Rs. 6.85 lakh for the diesel variant, it is pitted against Maruti Suzuki Brezza, Ford EcoSport, Mahindra TUV 300, and Hyundai's upcoming Carlino-based model (by 2018/19). It has also been learnt from reliable sources (though not confirmed) that the Mumbai-based company is anticipating 10,000 bookings within the first month of its launch.

The official spokesperson of Tata Motors, when earlier contacted by BW Businessworld, on sales projections, maintained, "Being an Indian company, we are very proud of our R&D efforts and class-defining engineering which has all been done locally. We have design centres across London, Italy and India which combined to produce the next-gen design of Nexon. We don't get into projections and forward-looking market-sensitive information. Therefore, we will not be able to offer comments on that."

Powered by a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine and a 1.5-litre diesel engine, the Tata Nexon has been able to stir things up in the sub-4 metre crossover segment with its radically different design coupled by killer price points. While the petrol version delivers a mileage of 17kmpl, the diesel version offers a fuel efficiency of 21.5 km/l. It is currently offered in four trims- XE, XM, XT, and XZ+-and in five colours i.e. Vermont Red, Moroccan Blue, Seattle Silver, Glasgow Gray, and Calgary White.

Puneet Gupta, associate director, I.H.S Markit, a sales forecasting and research firm, said "Tata Nexon a 'make or break product' for Tata Motors. With the Tigor and Hexa not been so overwhelming, the Indian automaker now has all its hopes pinned on the Nexon in a segment where its absence has been rather pronounced. Tata Nexon can turnaround the fortunes of the company. This new launch in the hottest segment i.e. Compact SUV has been catching the eyes of the customers. The product is truly exceptional and scores high on design and features. Further aggressive pricing by the company is the icing on the cake. Its nearest competitor Maruti Suzuki's Vitara Brezza may get a tough fight going ahead. Tata Nexon clearly stood as a winner and may also eat the market share of few best selling hatchbacks and sedans like Dzire, Baleno, i20, etc."

It was reported last week Tata Nexon is offered with a 1.2-litre 3-cylinder turbocharged Revotron petrol engine or the 1.5-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged Revotorq diesel engine. The 1198cc petrol engine delivers 110PS of maximum power at 5000 rpm and a peak torque of 170Nm@1750-4000rpm. The diesel engine, on the other hand, churns out 110PS at 3750 rpm, along with a peak torque of 260Nm@ 1500-2700rpm. Both the engines are mated to a 6-speed Manual Transmission and are available in three drive modes i.e. Eco, City, and Sport. There is also a lot of buzzes that the company is actively working on an Automatic transmission (AMT for Diesel/CVT for petrol) in the next few quarters.