Speculation: Tata Indigo Marina could become a panel van

Stationwagons have never really sold well in India, although these class of cars are extremely popular in many developed markets given their spaciousness and versatility. In India though, they have never really found favor with the car buyer with models right from the ancient Ambassador Porter to the most recent Tata Indigo Marina being slow sellers. In between, we had the Tata Estate, Rover Montego Fiat Weekend, the Chevrolet Corsa Swing, the Maruti Suzuki Baleno Altura and the Skoda Octavia Combi, all failing to pass muster at the hustings, leading to their makers quickly discontinuing them.

A speculative render of the Tata Indigo Marina Panel Van

The Tata Indigo Marina though has done better than every other station wagon in India, with a bulk of its sales coming from the taxi market, as the car brought acres of space in the interiors with a frugal turbo diesel engine to power it, along with the cheap-as-chips maintenance costs that most Tata mass market cars come with. Now our roving eye in the sky, EarthFusion, has latched on to an interesting story about Tata Motors planning a panel van version of the Indigo Marina. With the Indian car market rapidly maturing, entrepreneurs might want a car like panel van for transporting goods in the city.

It is this segment that the Indigo Marina panel van could be positioned at. EarthFusion has even come with with a couple of renders on how the Indigo Marina panel van could look like. The car is expected to be a two seater with the driver’s cabin retained as it is. The passenger seats and the boot though will be converted for goods use. In line with this the windows at the middle and rear of the car will be replaced by steel panels, giving the Indigo Marina panel van its moniker. The Tata Indigo Marina panel van is expected to be launched along with the Indica XL.

A speculative render of the Tata Indigo Marina Panel Van

Expect a turbo diesel engine under the hood and lower spec interiors on the Indigo Marina panel van, to keep costs to a bare minimum. Such a product from Tata Motors could be a good alternative to the likes of the Maruti Eeco, which doesn’t come with a diesel engine option. This is where the Indigo Marina panel van can step in and fulfil this void, while offering a wider loading area for transporting goods.