Update 20 September: Tata Motors spokesperson has clarified to International Business Times, India that the company has no plans to discontinue the Bolt hatchback.
Original story: Tata Motors launched Bolt hatchback in January 2015. After the initial excitement that saw healthy sales, Bolt's market fizzled out soon. Following poor response rumours were rife that Tata Motors will limit sales of Bolt to fleet market. The emerging reports indicate that Tata Motors is planning to pull the plug on Bolt soon.
Apart from slow sales, company feels that the price of Bolt is too high to survive in the segment, reports NDTV Auto. Tata Motors only sold a little over 17,000 units of Bolt since its launch in 2015.
Bolt is powered by a 1.2-litre Revotron turbo-charged petrol engine, which is tuned to generate 84bhp at 5,000rpm and a torque of 140Nm of 1,750-3,500rpm.
The diesel mill packs 1.3-litre Quadrajet motor that can generate 73bhp and peak torque of 190Nm. Both the engines come mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox.
Previous reports says that Tata Motors also dropped production of Bolt Sport, the performance version of the hatchback which was showcased at Auto Expo 2016. Instead of Bolt, Tata Motors will be working on Tiago's new version.
Tiago has been continuing stellar performance for the company with sales over 4,000 units per month. Launched in April, the starting price of Rs 3.20 lakh is the USP of Tiago.
The turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol motor developed for Bolt Sport will power the upcoming Tiago Plus hot hatch. The engine is expected to churn out 120bhp.
