A few months ago Tata Motors proudly launched the Tata Aria Adapterra with high fan fare and high prices. The luxurious Aria is actually well kitted out but it seems that the Indian consumer is unwilling to pay a high price for a Tata branded vehicle, something that is reflected in the small and dismal numbers that vehicle has been making. Tata has now decided to drop the Adapterra which is a four while drive system and offer the Aria with only its rear wheels being driven. Speculation is that prices maybe brought down in a big way, from Rs.60,000-Rs.1 Lakh. That may mean that some other advanced features may also be dropped. But that is still in the domain of speculation. The Aria was so priced to take on SUV’s such as the Fortuner and Endeavour while offering the driving comfort of a sedan and to prevent it from becoming a taxi vehicle a la Sumo. Whatever it was the strategy did not succeed and now Tata seems to be looking at other strategies to make the numbers happen.
Picture courtesy: Motoroids.com
