Rover-Tata Motors car prices being slashed

Wednesday, 22 December 2004, 20:30 IST
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LONDON: British car major MG Rover is slashing the price and improving the specification of the small car, CityRover, produced in collaboration with India's Tata Motors. The move is part of the 2005 sales campaign. The car MG Rover has been importing from Tata Motors since November 2003 has not met earlier expectations and has sold only 6,000 units this year against a target of 20,000-plus. CityRover replaced the Rover 100 and its predecessor, the Metro, in MG Rover's line-up but has been savaged by the motoring press for its perceived poor build quality and lack of sophistication in an increasingly competitive market. In Britain, the basic price of the 2005 CityRover Solo will be cut from 6,495 pounds to 5,995 pounds and the car will come with antilock brakes, power-assisted steering and driver's airbag. Rod Ramsay, MG Rover group managing director of sales and marketing, said: "This is excellent news for both our UK and European dealers as they need a city car to increase our market penetration which will boost our efforts to raise overall sales next year. "Our model line-up will be significantly more competitive with the enhanced CityRover we are planning to introduce during 2005." Divyendu Kumar, head of international business at Tata Motors, told the media: "CityRover supplies remain a priority for Tata Motors and the company continues to be committed to the overall success of the CityRover project." MG Rover engineers have been to India to work with Tata to improve the car, which is to be launched in the European market next year. "Responding to the tough environment of the small car market, particularly in the UK, the appeal and competitiveness of CityRover has been significantly enhanced," the company said. Both companies reaffirmed their commitment to making the car a success following speculation that the joint venture had an uncertain future.
Source: IANS
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