[RaghuVis]

OH My!! What Troubling times for TATA Motors ahead!
With Bolt doing numbers in 3 digits, this was the much needed push for them. A re-branding pushes launch by at least 2 quarters for a normal scenario. With Tata, this might be even more considering the pace at which they are famous to work with.

Hope they terminate the team who came up with Zica. The virus was named Zica much before Kite changed to Zica.


But to be fair, A brave decision from TATA to get into things swiftly and take up this exercise. KITE name is much better any day than ZICA. As someone said, ZICA rhymes with INDICA so this might be a good thing for them in the long run

[GTO]

The more I think about it, the more I feel it was a knee-jerk reaction from Tata Motors. I don't think dropping the Zica name was necessary due to the Zika virus. For one, everyone already knows the Zica as....well, Zica. It's not going to change.

Then, we've had so many other unsuitable / controversial car names that were worse off, yet the models went on to enjoy success. Creta (so many jokes on that), Laura (even more jokes), Duster (as in a cloth used for dusting furniture), Dzire (seriously, what kind of name is that)...the list goes on.

[Ponbaarathi]

Apart from further delay in launch, Rebranding means marketing and advertising from the beginning, which will lead to increase in price

[safari_lover]

Originally Posted by GTO

The more I think about it, the more I feel it was a knee-jerk reaction from Tata Motors. I don't think dropping the Zica name was necessary due to the Zika virus. For one, everyone already knows the Zica as....well, Zica. It's not going to change.

Power of the, so called, social media; a noisy minority dictating terms!

With the visible clamor for the name KITE, I wouldn't be surprised if the new name is that. The URL http://www.tatakite.com seems to redirect to tatamotors.com, so they have the domain in place.

[carwatcher]

I was postponing since last few days about posting something about potential risk of negative publicity from Zika virus on Tata Zica and just saw in the News that TML has decided to rechristen it.
I would say it is a reasonably good move because it will surely impact the overseas sales of Tata especially when they are going through a crucial phase and have spent top dollars on Messi and they have a very good product in hand.
I am sure like many BHPians blamed the image of Nano as the cheapest car for its failure, we will be having few posts coming in highlighting the mistake if Tata don't change the name.

Now Tata deliberately launched Vista as Indica Vista and Manza as Indigo Manza and later made them Vista and Manza but the damage had already been done. This time Tata is made to change the name but hopefully no damage is done to the prospects of Zica by the virus Zika. As mentioned in the TBhp official review Zica means Bad Luck in Portugese so that name seems to have striked.

To me Kite sounded better than Zica.

[raka1987]

Luck favours the brave. The kind of effort Tata is putting in their cars is an honest attempt. I am glad this issue is highlighted and addressed before the car launch. IMO they just got lucky. And kite is a better choice than zica anyday. The only loss is of branding. When compared to the future of tata motors against branding loss, I think later is peanuts to the former.

Don't be disheartened Tata. Way to go. Cheers!!

[jpcoolguy]

This may be a blessing in disguise for TATA motors - think if this had happened after the launch. Atleast now, they should advertise the car heavily now and make its new name reach the masses.

OT: Please learn from M&M on how to market the cars - sorry SUVs .

Just curious to know, whether the T-BHP review thread title will be updated once TATA re-christened the car?

[mobydick1983]

I think Tata can try to salvage this situation where the launch of their car is getting delayed by 1. Launching the amt version of Zica at the official launch itself originally soon after and 2. Ensuring enough number of cars reach each of their dealers by the time bookings start so that a few cars are on the road in the beginning itself giving much needed visibility and recall along with the associated aggressive marketing that's surely bound to happen.

[gaurav_3000ad]

It's good that tata are rechristening the zica.

The namesake virus notwithstanding atleast they will now hopefully have a name which isn't pronounced by a 100 people in a 100 different ways - "zaika", "zeeka", "zica", "jeeka" and so on.

[dheepak10]

Heard on today's morning news that TATA has released an official statement saying that they'll be renaming Zica.
The new name is not yet announced. This would require a lot of rebranding effort from their side and might push the launch further by a couple of weeks.

[Gannu_1]

Tata Motors today announced that it has decided to rename its soon-to-be launched hatchback. The car’s acronym was “ZICA”, derived from “Zippy Car”. Empathizing with the hardships being caused by the recent “Zika” virus outbreak across many countries, Tata Motors, as a socially responsible company, has decided to re-brand the car.

The new car is backed by Tata Motors’ “Made of Great” campaign, with the motto, “What drives us from within is what makes us great”. Tata Motors is committed to doing what is right for its customers; the car, which has been designed for young people, has already received enthusiastic reviews from informed commentators, and the company is determined to place it in the market addressing all relevant needs of the target audience.

The new car will be showcased publicly for the first time at the Auto Expo 2016, in New Delhi (Greater Noida) from February 3 – 9, 2016. While it carries the ‘Zica’ label for the duration of the event, the new name will be announced after a few weeks, ensuring all necessary consumer/ branding and regulatory aspects are addressed, and the launch will take place thereafter.

Tata Motors - Press Statement

[Ajay_the_Don]

Tata Motors on Tuesday decided to postpone the launch and bookings for its upcoming hatchback Zica as the company began to scout for a new name amid global worry over the outbreak of a similar-sounding Zika virus. Bookings, which were to start from Wednesday, will now open later as the company withdrew the cars from dealerships at the last minute.


The company told dealers that the unveiling of the new vehicle should be withheld in lieu of the impending change in the name. The launch at the Auto Expo at Greater Noida, however, will be held as scheduled on Wednesday. "We have the cars ready at dealerships, and would have started the display and bookings from Wednesday. However, the company has instructed us to defer this," dealer sources told TOI.

Dealers have received a letter from company VP (sales), S N Burman, saying Tata Motors will change the name of the vehicle as it is a socially-responsible company and will not associate with a name that has gained notoriety across the world as a virus.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...w/50828108.cms

[//M]

Tata Motors Zica, Kite 5, Hexa and Nexon unveil - live streaming from 12:20 IST.

Here's the link: Tata Motors

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by GTO

The more I think about it, the more I feel it was a knee-jerk reaction from Tata Motors. I don't think dropping the Zica name was necessary due to the Zika virus. For one, everyone already knows the Zica as....well, Zica. It's not going to change.

They should have let it remain as Zica in India at leastto avoid disrupting its launch. They could call it something else for export.

Depending on the popularity, during the next facelift/ relaunch rename the car

[harry10]

Originally Posted by ajmat

They should have let it remain as Zica in India at leastto avoid disrupting its launch. They could call it something else for export.

Depending on the popularity, during the next facelift/ relaunch rename the car

They could have been a bit more proactive and renamed it Sway as they already have rights for it. And for the sedan version they could rename it Kite or whatever they wish to as they had lots of time to launch it. But, they shouldn't have delayed Zica launch which has already been delayed so much.