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Old 4th February 2010, 14:29   #421
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What are Tata doing with the Aria. First it was scheduled to launch after the launch of Manza after Diwali, then at the auto expo, and now in April. I am sure that there is something amiss there... Maybe the scoop masters can help shed some more light!
It was announced as 2010 Q2. All other dates are speculations from outside. Tata cannot be made responsible for that.
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Old 4th February 2010, 17:11   #422
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Manorama Fast Track reports that the Aria is not going to be a monocoque; it retains the body on frame chassis.
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Old 4th February 2010, 23:51   #423
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May be, people won't mind the 14+ price, if the same TATA Aria is badged as 'Jaguar Aria'
Yes, you are absolutely right. If "Maruti A Star" is called "Toyota A Start" you will be willing to pay 50,000 more. If a "Samsung TV" is called "Sonvy TV" you will be paying 1000 more. That is called brand name/value or Good will.
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Old 5th February 2010, 00:13   #424
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14 lak way way way too high for a TATA !!!

First of all everyone knows Tata cars ain't that reliable. The first Aria will definitely have problems . It'll be like a testing round for Tata were customers would give feedback of their cars and Tata would work on sorting out the issues. But who would pay 14 laks to test their product. I hope there are no scape goats from T-bhp. Thing is, we can be patriotic and buy a Tata provided they prove to us it is really worth that much.For eg. I bought the Ford Endeavour and my cousin the Safari for 13 lak at the same time, but for me till date I haven't faced any problem unlike my cousin, whose had a lot of problems on his Safari like ignition and axle problems to name a few.That's reliability issues.
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Old 5th February 2010, 00:49   #425
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I am a little confused about the positioning of this vehicle. If there is a version with 2WD, its main competition is Innova. Given the Toyota's legendary reliability, Aria has to bring something extra to the table. At 12 lac on road, the 2WD version needs more features then Innova VX. Also there would be a bread and butter variant below that which would be priced below or alongside Innova GX. And then there is a top end with 6 airbags, TC, ABS, EBD, GPS variant.

The lower end versions would rob it of the luxury status. And I believe that most of the crossovers sold in India feed to the status of the image concious,so they might shy away.

Also, I read a statement from Mr Ravi Kant from TML. He seemed to believe that Grande did not sell because of overlap in pricing with Safari. Hence the price correction with the MK II. If TML believes in this philosophy, the pricing for Aria needs to be outside the Safari segment which carries it above Innova too.
Really confusing this.
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Old 5th February 2010, 15:24   #426
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yep kapss you are right about the positioning worry but I believe even with higher pricing they are trying the more for less philosophy.

They will probably initially not have a too basic version at all, so they probably start at the Innova V level and there would not be a variant priced below 10L they will price the top model probably higher than the Innova going upto 13.5L and hence be offering 4X4 at a substantial discount on the Endy, fortuner etc, yet have three rows of forward facing seats - a host of features that even the Endy and fortuner put together do not tick off, plus pricing close to innova and higher than Safari GX& VX
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Old 5th February 2010, 15:40   #427
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Originally Posted by stanjohn123 View Post
Thing is, we can be patriotic and buy a Tata provided they prove to us it is really worth that much.For eg. I bought the Ford Endeavour and my cousin the Safari for 13 lak at the same time, but for me till date I haven't faced any problem unlike my cousin, whose had a lot of problems on his Safari like ignition and axle problems to name a few.That's reliability issues.
There has to be a difference between a US car manufacturer and an Indian car manufacturer. Ford's technology, coming from a country which is much more technologically advanced than India, is always going to better than Tata. Even if the Indian car makers bring in improvements, the benchmark is continuously raised higher by the foreign manufacturers.
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Old 5th February 2010, 20:21   #428
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Even if individuals shy away from the Aria, i am sure that it will sell well as airport transfer vans. It has the potential to become a good taxi car, just like the Logan, and that by itself is a huge market! The fully loaded versions can be used by car rental companies as a premium van to ferry larger (more than 5) groups of people! As for reliability, i have always been a little negative about TATA, but after going through the forums i do believe that they have become a decent breed and will do better in the future. But yes, brand conscious Indians will still choose Innova over Aria. Time will tell.
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Old 5th February 2010, 21:03   #429
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They will probably initially not have a too basic version at all, so they probably start at the Innova V level and there would not be a variant priced below 10L
That might not be the best strategy. Lowering the price usually sends an impression that the car is not selling. Actually targeting such a huge segment from mid version Innovas to the Endy/Fortuner is a flawed strategy in itself as per conventional marketing wisdom. You just cant target both with the same vehicle. But then the Indian market is full of surprises.
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Old 6th February 2010, 12:48   #430
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Tata needs to come out with a Rs. 18 Lacs version with the following exra features -

- A footrest!
- Automatic transmission
- Twin sunroofs instead of those stupid roof mounted gloveboxes
- Xenon lamps for the high beam
- Electric seats for the driver and the passenger seats
- DVD screens on the back seats.

Then it would have been my perfect dream automobile.
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Old 9th February 2010, 20:02   #431
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Just read in Autocar that the 6 airbag version would not be coming to India and is only for export markets. Does not affect me directly since that was anyways unaffordable in my case, but this does not seem to be usual Tata practise. Even Nano Europa created specially for Europe/USA is suppossed to come to India.
Is this a mistake in AutoCar or Tata has decided that it cannot compete in the Fortuner/Endeavour segment?
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Old 21st February 2010, 15:57   #432
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A friend of mine who's relocating from the US is looking for a MUV in the 12-14 lakh categeory and i showed him the pics of the Aria. He was quite impressed, and actually went over to the showroom to ask the guys there if they have any info on the Aria and when advance booking is likely to start. The guys there say its releasing only in September..! This is in Nasik by the way. I thought it was coming in April..?
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Old 21st February 2010, 17:43   #433
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If people can buy the so called fortuner in hordes in 20 lakh barrier, despite complaints of poor brakes and lousy handling and equipment, Tata should be given a chance, at least, it has the guts to design a luxury 4X4 CUV on its own.
Besides, the 12-19 lakh segment is completely void and I think that if this time the product is genuinely good, it deserves to succeed. I like the clean simple lines of Masculine ARIA rather than the timid looking innova.

Its time that we should look at the product per se and not whats wearing on the nose. It took tata 5 years to design and develop this, so I hope that it will succeed. Kudos to tata for making an upscale approach.

Its true that the market is driven by what people need rather than what people want. And a very few cars really satisfy that WANT. but still, for those people, options should be there.

For example, once a friend of mine, working in T and T motors, MB dealership called me and asked for my feedback about the "new" S 500 and I simply lambasted at him for the company overprices the product and quips it with an outdated IDI v8 motor as compared to 7, A8 and XJ. I even told him that the XJ is something very different from the other crop of luxury sedans.

He felt pissed off and questioned about the service backup, resale etc, ad I told him, that MB has just become too common and I simply feel pissed off on seeing a C class here, there and everywhere. India, as a country also deserves VARIETY, not something that is common and mundane looking.

The safari, on the other hand, is well past its lifecycle and Tata needs to fully redesign it on the X2 chassis as a more rugged option rather than just giving it another nip and tuck to whats basically a 12 year old chassis.
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Old 21st February 2010, 19:39   #434
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Does anyone know when the Aria MPV will be available for sale?. If the price is between 9-12lacs the Aria has the potential to become a best seller in the market and also force Toyota to stop flogging the Innova to death. I hope.
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Old 21st February 2010, 20:24   #435
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+1 to that sidindica. i agree completely with you.

if a modified version of innova (fortuner)- basically a innova on stilts can have a waiting period of 6 months, why cant the competent aria with such a huge feature list at a much lesser price be considered?

Last edited by raj_5004 : 21st February 2010 at 20:25.
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