The Q501 and Q502 premium SUVs are being developed with the assistance of Jaguar Land Rover that will be launched in 2017 and will employ a Fiat sourced 2.0-litre MultiJet diesel engine.
Tata Motors and Fiat had joined hands last decade and although things did not work out as they expected, the companies are set to further collaborate. While Tata and Fiat have parted ways at the dealership and marketing level, they continue to be in a JV in manufacturing as the Ranjangaon facility produces both Fiat and Tata cars (the Zest is made here). Now the two firms are further extending their partnership with the development of the 2.0-litre Multijet diesel engine locally. Currently the Ranjangaon plant churns out the 1.3-litre Multijet diesel engine which is used by Tata Motors in a slew of its cars.
The 2.0-litre Multijet diesel engine is crucial for both Tata and Fiat as the oil burner will be used by the Italian firm in an upcoming Jeep model which will be locally produced. The same mill will also power two upcoming Tata SUVs which have been codenamed Q501 and Q502. The Q501 is a 5-seater while the Q502 is a 7-seater, both these cars are likely to replace the Safari and Aria respectively. The vehicles are under development with assistance from Jaguar Land Rover and will be sold in India as well as globally. Sales volumes of 50,000 units is being targeted per year for these SUVs which will go on sale in 2017.
Local production of the 2.0-litre Multijet diesel engine will lead to heavy cost advantages, helping both Fiat and Tata price their upcoming vehicles very aggressively. The 2.0-litre Multijet diesel engine already powers a range of cars for Fiat Chrysler including the recently unveiled Cherokee which is also India bound and was recently imported to the country for R&D. This motor is offered in two states of tune, the 9-speed automatic belting out 170 HP while the 6-speed manual generating 140 HP, the torque output is 350 Nm. The upcoming Tata SUVs are likely to use an old Land Rover platform, possibly that of the soon to be discontinued Freelander 2.
Source – Business Standard
