The Hindu : New Delhi News : Maruti, Tata at it again over small car

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 26, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Maruti, Tata at it again over small car

New Delhi: Stung by Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata's accusation that competitors were fuelling a controversy over its small-car project at Singur in West Bengal, Maruti has dared the Tata Group to name the competitor.

"I don't know which competitor he is talking about. Since he knows, he should name the competitor," Maruti Udyog Managing Director and CEO Jagdish Khattar said.

Asked about Tata's comments last month to a private television channel that he suspected that competitors had a hand in the controversy, Mr. Khattar said, "We don't do these things. We believe in healthy competition."

This is not the first time that the two major car makers are involved in public sparring over the small car, also known as the Rs.1 lakh car scheduled for roll-out in 2008.

Last year, Osamu Suzuki, chief executive of Suzuki Motor Corp had ridiculed the Tata project, saying it was not feasible and could only be a cheap product.

Mr. Suzuki had said that with the advent of the planned stricter safety and environment norms, producing such low-cost cars was not possible unless the government made some exceptions.

The Tatas had then maintained that they would roll out a good product within the projected price.

Mr. Ratan Tata said his `people's car' would not be a cheap three-wheeler with an additional wheel, but would be a family car, which could seat four to five passengers. Mr. Tata said that the group would not abandon West Bengal for the project. — PTI

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