After revolutionising the last-mile cargo segment in the country with its successful product Ace, Tata Motors is all set for another breakthrough product called the Magic Iris. Targeted at semi and rural market, Magic Iris is the smallest offering from the company. The four-wheel passenger carrier version of Magic Iris will be out in the first half of the financial year 2010-11 (FY11). The company also has plans of a cargo version with a payload of 500 kg. The cargo version of Magic Iris is expected to hit the market six months after the launch of the passenger version. Magic Iris is expected to be priced around Rs 2-2.5 lakh.
Talking to FE, R Ramakrishnan, vice-president, sales and marketing (commercial vehicles), Tata Motors, said: ?We plan to launch a diesel variant first while plans of an electric, petrol and CNG Magic Iris are also on the cards.? He added that there has been a missing link in the rural market of a safe and comfortable four-wheeler passenger carrier and Magic Iris will fill it.
Further, he added that under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, the rural road infrastructure will be transformed and that will open up market for vehicles like Magic Iris.
Magic Iris?s passenger carrier version will have five-seating capacity and powered by a 611-cc rear engine (watercooled diesel engine), backed by a 10-litre fuel tank. Other than five-seating capacity, the company said it will have other higher options as well on the passenger carrier side.
The Magic Iris is capable of running at a top speed of about 55 km per hour and has a power of 11.3 PS (higher than small three-wheelers).
The product is first of its kind in the market considering that there is no small five-seater four-wheeler public transport vehicle in the rural market. Typically, a three-wheeler costs around Rs 1.75 lakh.
Another new product from Tata Motors is Venture, a multi purpose vehicle (MPV) from Ace platform. It is powered by a 1.4 litre turbo diesel engine. The Venture will have six, seven, eight and nine seating capacity options. Venture will also be launched in the first half of FY11.
With Magic Iris and Venture, Tata Motors will have one product at very level of the last-mile transport. On the cargo side, the company will have Iris cargo variant followed by Ace and Super Ace. The passenger carrier side will have Magic Iris, followed by Magic and Venture.