It’s been almost 20 years since Tata Motors had launched the Indica way back in the year 1998. This was followed by the launch of the sedan version – the Indigo. This 2-decade old journey has now come to an end as both the Tata Indica and Tata Indigo have been phased out.
Tata Motors has officially discontinued both the Indica and Indigo eCS but will continue to provide spare parts and aftersales service support to the existing owners. The company will now be focusing on new products as per the ever-changing market demands.
The Tata Indica was styled by the Italian design house I.DE.A Institute with inputs from Tata Motors’ in-house design team. The hatchback was India’s first truly indigenous car which offered more of everything, be it space, performance or mileage. It was also marketed with the “More Car Per Car” tagline.
The original Indica did have a few issues which were sorted out when the Indica V2 model was launched. This was followed by various other variants such as the Indica V2 Xeta Petrol and Indicab which was targeted at the taxi market.
Tata Motors had high hopes for the Indica platform. It was also marketed in Europe, where it was badge engineered and sold in Great Britain by MG Rover Group as the CityRover hatchback. The company had also showcased a race-ready concept called the Indica Silhouette.
As for the Indigo, the first generation of the sedan which was launched in the year 2002. Tata Motors even launched several variants based on the Indigo, including the Indigo Marina station-wagon, a limo like Indigo XL and the Indigo CS, a compact-sedan which created a new segment for sub-4m sedans in India.
Currently, the Tata Tiago and the Tata Tigor are the company’s flag bearer in the compact hatchback and sedan segment respectively. Both these models which are based on Tata Motors’ new IMPACT design language have had an overwhelming response.
