The easiest way for an automotive manufacturer to reduce overall costs is to have a whole host of products on the same platform. Volkswagen has been doing this for years and their latest platform, the MQB is testament to the sheer number of cars you can make on each platform. Taking a long overdue page out of the playbook of a host of international automakers, Tata Motors has decided to consolidate all its future product offerings to only two platforms. Comparatively, Tata Motors currently has six platforms between the range of SUVs and hatchbacks it makes today. Tata Motors also launched a new sub-brand named TAMO, which will look at future mobility solutions.
The first of these two new platforms will be named the AMP or Advanced Modular Platform. The new AMP is a scalable platform which means it can underpin a whole range of body styles. The platform will feature a standard hatchback, a crossover, a sedan, a MPV and of course, a largish SUV. The scalable platform will account for changes in length and wheelbase, height, and track width or overall width to account for the different types of body styles that will be mounted. The platform is a monocoque design and almost 70 percent of the internal structure will be identical amongst the different types of cars that it will underpin.
The new platforms will have only about 100 suppliers that will be a mix of current or new ones and will be chosen fresh through a new vetting process. The new platforms will be future ready and will support the conventional range of petrol (turbo and non-turbo) engines, turbo diesel engines and hybrid or full electric powerplants. The new platforms will launch in 2018 with the first car based on the AMP most likely to be a premium hatchback that will take on the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Baleno and the Hyundai i20. A new sedan that will take on the likes of the Honda City, the new Hyundai Verna and the Volkswagen Vento will follow the premium hatchback.
The second platform should be a larger platform to support the bigger SUVs like the future Safari/Sumo replacement and the premium SUV that Tata Motors has in the works. It is important to note that the likes of the Tata Nexon or the Tata Kite5 that will be launched later this year will still be based on the Bolt platform and the Tiago platform respectively and not the new platforms. The new platforms will overlap the current platforms for a few years with the older platforms eventually phased out by 2022.
