Rumour: Tata Motors developing Alto rival codenamed Pelican

Tata Motors is rumoured to be working on a new hatchback to take on India's best-selling car, the Maruti Suzuki Alto. The new car, codenamed Pelican, is being developed on the X302 platform, which is an upgraded version of the Nano platform.

The Pelican will be slightly larger than the Nano and will be positioned between it and the upcoming Kite hatchback, which is expected to replace the ageing Indica. It is expected to be powered by two engines - a 1.0-litre petrol and an 800 cc diesel. The diesel could be the cheapest diesel car on sale in India and is also likely to be exported.

The Pelican will be built at Tata Motors' Sanand facility. This plant, which has a capacity of 2,50,000 units per annum, was constructed specially for the Nano. However, the car has not been selling in the desired numbers and the plant is being under-utilised, rolling out just 1,300 Nanos a month. Tata is looking to sell around 2,500 units of the Pelican every month.

Source: Business Standard

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