Tata Kite hatchback to make India debut in December; all you need to know about Maruti Celerio rival

Tata Motors' new hatchback Kite is gearing up to enter the Indian auto market this year. Kite is Tata's next offering under HorizoNext product strategy after Zest sedan and Bolt hatchback and carries high expectations.

Kite, the replacement of Tata's ageing Indica, is expected to make its grand entry into the market in December this year. Underpinning the Indica's X0 platform, the new Kite from the house of Tata is expected to get a fresh styling unlike other Tata offerings and is likely to feature a rich model. Tata Kite will be pinned to rival Maruti Celerio and the Hyundai Grand i10 in India.

Tata recently announced the arrival of the new Kite through a promotional video of the company, featuring the brand's new face -- Argentinean footballer and Spanish club Barcelona forward Lionel Messi. The video, 'Made of Great', also gave an early glimpse of the new Tata Kite. From the video, it appears that Kite -- the next Tata hatchback -- will get signature front grille with smoked head lamp and a fresh rear-end styling.

Tata has been tetsing its Kite for the past couple of months. Kite hatchback will also be getting a bigger sibling, Kite sedan, which will follow the launch of the small kite. The powerplant of Tata's global hatchback is likely to include a new 1.05-litre three-cylinder common-rail diesel motor that can churn out a power of 64.1bhp and 140Nm of torque and an all-new 1.2-litre petrol engine. The Kite is speculated to get e-clutch system similar to AMT that allows drivers to use manual transmission for the first gear without using the clutch.

The Kite is expected to get Harman infotainment system with a touchscreen display and steering mounted audio and call controls. Other features include height-adjustable driver seat, dual front airbags and ABS with EBD.

At this point of time, although the price details are sketchy, rumour has it that it will be around Rs 4 lakh.