Tata Motors, which had two years earlier objected to the creation of quadricycles as a new vehicle category, citing low safety standards, now seems to be toeing a very different line. The automaker, India’s largest by revenues, is quietly developing under ‘project Bravo’ its own quadricycle with a new petrol engine, Business Standard has learnt.

A launch date has not yet been fixed but industry sources say this quadricycle could be based on Tata’s Iris light commercial vehicle platform and hit the roads around 2018. Such a timeline could make Tata one of the last entrants in a category where Bajaj already has a lead with the RE60.

Chennai-based truck and bus maker Ashok Leyland has not given up on its maiden car venture, for which it piggy-backed on Japanese giant Nissan, despite extremely poor sales.

The multi-seater van Stile saw sales of just 311 units in the April-January period, which has more than halved compared to the same period previous year that witnessed sales 694 units.

Tata Motors is planning to launch new variants of its small commercial vehicle (SCV) Ace Zip incorporating more features aimed at providing additional power and load as also covering new application areas.

The company is undertaking some technological upgrades such as hub reduction, higher ground clearance as also new fuel options like CNG. It is also planning an electric version of its micro truck Tata Ace Zip, launched in May 2011. The company celebrated 100,000th roll-out of the small truck last week at its Dharwad plant.

Tata Motors on Tuesday reported a marginal increase in global sales, including Jaguar Land Rover, at 80,499 units in January.

The company had sold 80,163 units in the same month last year. In the passenger vehicles category, the global sales last month were at 49,821 units as against 50,042 units in January 2014, Tata Motors said in a statement.

Tata Motors’ Q3FY15 consolidated operating performance (after adjusting for one-off provisions/incentives) was marginally below our expectations. JLR’s sales realisation was above expectations by 4% but its Ebitda margin (after normalising the impact of annual incentives received in Q3) was 52bps lower than our expectations. Overall, JLR’s absolute Ebitda (earnings before interest taxes and amortisation) was in line with our expectations.

The Rs 2,122-crore stand-alone net loss by Tata Motors in the recently concluded quarter was the highest reported by the company. The figure, though including a one-time charge linked to the disputed Singur land, was its ninth quarterly operational loss.

The poor performance at home extends beyond two years. Capacity utilisation at its factories is lower than the competition’s. The company's monthly passenger and commercial vehicle sales are lower than in 2010.

Struggling Indian operations and slowing sales of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) weighed on the consolidated performance of Tata Motors, India’s biggest automobile manufacturer, with the company’s net profit for the December 2014 quarter missing estimates by a huge margin. Though a few one-offs impacted profits during the quarter, profits at the operating and net levels would have been lower than Street expectations.

Homegrown auto major Tata Motors’ Rs 7,500 crore rights issue is credit positive as it will reduce its debt and fund business growth, according to ratings agency Moody’s.

Tata Motors today reported a 5.19% increase in total sales at 42,582 units in January, as against 40,481 units in the same month last year.

Domestic sales of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles grew by 5.35% at 38,621 units as compared to 36,657 units in January 2014, Tata Motors said in a BSE filing.

Mumbai, Jan. 29: Tata Motors today unveiled its plans for the domestic and overseas markets.

The company expects a capital outlay of Rs 4,000 crore for the Indian business and $5.3-5.6 billion for Jaguar Land Rover over the next 2-3 years.

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