Speculation: Tata Motors building a stripped down, cut price Aria Crossover minus all the electronic gadgetry

A week ago, we carried a story questioning whether the Tata Aria is the biggest flop in Tata’s relatively short span of passenger car making. Truth be told, the Aria Crossover, being the flagship vehicle of Tata’s passenger vehicle range has had a big dollop of investment going into it, right from development to marketing costs. The results though, have been far from exemplary. Even as the Aria continues to sink to new lows in terms of monthly numbers amidst difficult selling conditions across the Indian car industry, Tata Motors, its spirit unfazed is working on ways to revive the Aria brand.

2012 Tata Aria Crossover

Our roving eye in the sky, EarthFusion, has returned with a juicy nugget about the Aria. Tata Motors is said to be working on cut price model of the Aria, shorn of much of the electronic gadgetry to pare down the price of the crossover to more competitive levels. Currently, even the base version of the Aria, which is the 4X2 version, comes with ABS and EBD as standard piece of kit. While we’re unsure of whether the Aria, in cut price guise will dump these essential bit, a price of about INR 9.5 lakhs for the Aria devoid of expensive electronics is said to be the target.

At that price, the Aria will adhere to Tata Motors’ time tested formula of offering cars at stonking value. Such a cut price Aria, while steering away from the flagship credentials of the brand, will attract a new crop of buyers, the cabbie segment who would probably take to the crossover like fish to water given the acres of comfortable space that the crossover offers in its innards. Also, Tata Motors is a regular fixture in the taxi market with many of its car models being big sellers due to their value pricing and inexpensive maintenance costs.

: 2012 Tata Aria Crossover Rear

: 2012 Tata Aria Crossover Side Profile

: 2012 Tata Aria Crossover

If indeed the cut price Aria does see the light of the day, we don’t see why the Aria can’t give the likes of the Innova and the Xylo a run for their monies. For now though, you’d be advised to take this story with a fistful of salt as we;re yet to get official confirmation about the cut price Aria from the horse’s mouth. However, like many of ICB’s “speculations” have proved to be over the short span of our existence, this is one story that might very well turn out to be bang-on-the-money, just as EarthFusion would love to call it.