TRUE to its promise of bringing cleaner vehicles into the country, Pilipinas Taj Autogroup Inc., the exclusive local distributor of Tata passenger and commercial vehicles, pulled its latest Euro 4 workhorses in its stables during the seventh Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) in Pasay City.
Tata displayed their hottest offerings in the market, which are: the Tata Super Ace Mint in the small commercial vehicle segment category (SCV), while the Tata SFC 407 and the Tata Ultra in the light commercial vehicles category (LCV).
“This is the kind of commitment that Tata Motors brings. We’ve been here since 2013 and we understand what the future is all about,” shared Rudrarup Maitra, Head of International Business Commercial Vehicles of Tata Motors.
“By this time, we now know how to better serve the Philippine market. From a small lineup of vehicles to a commercial one and now to a full range of models, we’re taking steps everyday to expand our portfolio,” he added.
According to him, the launch of these new commercial models was an important milestone for their branch as they bring their Euro 4 commercial vehicles into our shores.
“We are very excited on the new progress of Tata on how we can customize and communicate our brand across the country,” Maitra doled out during the press conference with the media.
He further enthused that: “PIMS 2018 is a great platform for us to showcase our new technologies. With the showcase of our new Euro 4 range of highly versatile products such as Tata Super Ace Mint, Tata SFC 407 and Tata Ultra 814 which can be customized for various business applications, we assure our stakeholders that we are well placed to catch up with trends in the market and cater to the evolving needs of the Filipino customers.”
“These three new products being launched will come in 10 to 12 business applications,” he said of their fresh vehicles.
To begin with, the new Tata Super Ace Mint—a multipurpose small truck with a one-ton payload, is powered by a Euro 4-compliant 1.4-liter DiCoR turbo diesel engine that generates 70 hp at 4,000 rpm and 140 N-m of torque at 1,800 to 3,000 rpm.
On the other hand, the new Tata SFC 407—which tips the scales with a gross vehicle weight of 4,450 kilogram, is ran by a Euro 4-compliant 3.0-liter DiCoR turbo diesel engine. It can produce 84 hp at 2,800 rpm and is fit for various business applications with its multiple available body types such as passenger van, drop side load, aluminum van and refrigerator van.
Finally, their Tata Ultra 814 sports a 3.0-liter Euro 4 DiCoR turbo diesel engine that delivers 138 hp at 3,000 rpm with torque of 360 N-m at 1,700 to 2,300 rpm. Being 8,750 kilograms heavy, this specific beast of burden is positioned as a six-wheeler Business Utility Vehicle. The Ultra can be customized into special body applications, such as dump truck, wing van, refrigerated van, boom crane, self-loader. It also sets a new benchmark in features with first-in-class offering, such as tubeless tires, ECR 29 crash test cabin, standard ABS and HVAC.
“It’s our job to keep on innovating and creating new and exciting products, to lower cost of ownership, to expand our reach and bring the products closer to the Filipino with our various dealer networks,” said Maitra.
Hence, at present, Pilipinas Taj Autogroup has already stretched to a total of 11 dealers nationwide, which include areas in: Cainta, along Marcos Highway and Quezon Avenue, Pampanga, Tarlac, Cebu, Bohol Davao and Cagayan de Oro.
Tata also plans to further broaden its reach by next year with soon-to-open Bulacan, Cavite and Bacolod dealerships.
Image credits: Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes