The upcoming Tata H2X SUV - often referred to as the Tata Hornbill too - will be made at the company's more modern manufacturing facility in Sanand, Gujarat. This is in line with a larger strategy that will see production eventually being split across just two platforms. "Sanand is going to be a dedicated Alfa architecture plant for the lower-end of the product portfolio. We currently also produce the Tiago and Tigor - which will undergo a mid-cycle enhancement, so there we still have some time - and then we will see how this is going to translate" said Guenter Butschek, CEO, Tata Motors while speaking to carandbike in Geneva. So while the X0 platform based Tiago and Tigor will likely continue till about 2022-23, they too will eventually move to the next generation model lines on the Alfa platform.
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The Tata H2X SUV concept is based on the Alfa platform
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So, while the larger cars made on the Omega platform will be made at the Pune plant, the lower end of the portfolio - based on the Alfa platform - will be made exclusively at Sanand. Butschek also said, "Sanand is not designed to produce Harriers for example. Sanand is designed to actually produce vehicles up to four metres roughly. And to actually bring - with a high degree of commonality on the architecture - additional models into Sanand, is going to give me more than enough utilisation of the capacity." The first Omega product - the Tata Harrier - has already begun production at Pune. It will soon be joined by its 7-seater alter-ego - shown as the Buzzard at Geneva. But for now even the Tata Altroz premium hatchback - which is also an Alfa architecture product - will be made in Pune.
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The Tata Tigor And Tiago are currently produced at the company's plant in Sanand, Gujarat
The company will remain in a transition phase for the next 2-3 years while its products consolidate across just the two platforms. Rajendra Petkar, CTO, Tata Motors says, "It will eventually pan out to be like that. Because we cannot be spreading in every plant with two architectures. But suffice to say all our plants will support modularisation even on the manufacturing side." And this is also true since there will likely be a much larger number of models based on Alfa rather than Omega.
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So the more premium and bigger Alfa-based cars will then have to be split between Pune and Ranjangaon - where Tata has a manufacturing joint venture with FCA. The Ranjangaon plant is where Tata currently makes only the Nexon which is built on Tata's old X1 platform but is expected to also eventually move across to the Alfa family in its second generation a few years down the line.
