How Tiago's runaway success gave Tata Motors the much-needed second wind

It has been more than a year since Tata Tiago was launched in India, way back in April 2016. Since then, the hatchback has been on a roll, chugging ahead on right gears. Tiago was Tata's first model to embody the novel impact design philosophy in the domestic market.

Secondly, the hatchback is the innovation that gave the home-grown automaker a fresh lease of life in the passenger car segment that had taken a turn for the worse. Having tasted success with Tiago, Tata has wasted no time in adding the Hexa and Tigor to its passenger vehicle line-up.

Soon, the Nexon compact SUV will be arriving, with Tata keen to take the game to the next level. Even as the success of Tiago continues to inspire Tata as a company in its quest to leave an indelible mark on Indian roads, the alluring hatchback has given its maker another reason to smile.

In August 2017, Tiago recorded its best sales yet with over 7,000 units in a single month. The model has now deservedly earned the 'best-selling' tag by going past long-running models like Safari and Indica.

In the domestic market, it has maintained consistency clocking more than 4,000 sales a month, a figure that puts it well ahead of the rest of Tata models which sell only 1,500 units monthly. Tiago hatchback now accounts for nearly 38 percent of Tata Motors' total monthly sales in the country.

The next big thing in Tata's plans is the Nexon. The model will be Tata's first ever offering in the compact SUV segment and is expected to keep the Tiago's newfound momentum going.

Tata Tiago

Pitted against Maruti Suzuki's Alto, Renault Kwid and Hyundai Grand i10, the Tiago packs a 1.2-litre three-cylinder Revotron petrol and a 1.05-litre three-cylinder Revotorq diesel engine. The petrol variant of the Tiago churns out 83.8 bhp of power at 6,000 rpm and 114 Nm of torque at 3,500rpm, while the diesel mill produces 69 bhp of power at 4,000 rpm and 140 Nm of torque at 1,800-3,000 rpm. Both the engines come mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. The hatchback is also available in the AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) avatar.