Tata-Chery Might Join Hands To Develop Hyundai Creta Rival
Tata is reported to put a hold on the Tata Blackbird SUV.
India has become a hot destination for the global car manufacturers. MG Motor recently kick started its India innings with the Hector, and Kia Motors is ready to launch the Seltos compact SUV. Chery Automobile Co. will be the new entrant to join the bandwagon. The China-based carmaker is planning to tap the Indian market in collaboration with Tata Motors. Both companies will foray into the compact SUV space that’s currently dominated by the Hyundai Creta.
According to Autocar, the home-grown carmaker has put a hold on development process of the Tata Blackbird SUV (the Creta challenger). Tata’s Alfa and Omega platforms, which will underpin the brand’s future models, aren’t compatible for a mid-size SUV with dimensions between 4.2m – 4.3m.
While the downsizing the Omega platform (sourced from Land Rover) isn’t feasible from the engineering aspect and proves too expensive, the Alfa platform doesn’t support larger wheel diameter. The latter one has been designed for the small, FWD (front-wheel-drive) vehicles. For a mid-size SUV, the company needs an architecture that has minimum wheel diameter of 700mm. Read – Tata Harrier Dual Tone Price & Details
Therefore, Tata Motors will share the platform with Chery that has multiple mid-size SUVs in its global product lineup. Both carmakers will also share suspension and powertrains that will be economical and help them price their vehicles competitively. Rumour has it that Tata might bring in the re-badged Chery Tiggo 5X to challenge the Hyundai Creta in India. The Tiggo 5X SUV measures 4358mm in length, 1830mm in width and 1670mm in height with a wheelbase of 2630mm.
