Tata SUV will use the Land Rover platform
The new Tata SUV will be based on the Land Rover Freelander.
Tata is known for making cheap, rudimentary cars, including the Nano, the cheapest car in production today. However, some help from Land Rover will give the new Tata SUV a premium modern feel.
The Indian company, which bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford eight years ago, will use the current-generation Freelander platform to develop a new family SUV, primarily for the Indian domestic market. The new SUV will compete against Japanese, Korean and European rivals, meaning that Tata has set the bar very high for quality and sophistication.
С a new replacement for the Freelander is due in 2015, possibly called the Discovery Sport., the Tata SUV will use the architecture of the previous model. This means that platform development costs will already be amortized and tools will be readily available to ship to India, reducing Tata's development costs.
But despite the age of the architecture, Tata could benefit from a 5-star safety-rated platform to produce what could be its most modern and safest family car. While the Tata may share many components with the outgoing baby Landy, it is likely that the Tata will look and feel very different as it will be specifically designed for Indian conditions.
For now, the project is called the Tata Q5 and is expected to have 7 seats, putting the Tata SUV in competition with similar vehicles. Hyundai Santa Fe and Toyota Fortuner in India, as well as 5 seater compact SUVs. Tata is also likely to take some advantage of Land Rover's ruggedness and ability to build a rugged SUV for all terrains.
The combination of low cost, relatively modern design, solid features and premium feel should generate strong demand, especially in India and other developing countries. Tata's ambition to be a truly global company and its presence in Australia means there's little chance we'll see an SUV in our local market. If so, the Tata could be the cheapest 7-seat SUV in Australia and a solid alternative in the family SUV segment.
