T ata Engineering have set the last quarter of calendar 2002 as the tentative launch period for the Sedan. There is a lot riding on the Sedan, possibly even more than what did on the Indica. I quantify this by the fact that the Indica gave the company a reason to be admired, by competitors and consumers alike. With the Sedan it can emerge as a force to be reckoned with, provided all the above mentioned details are spot-on at launch, with a sticker tag that emulates the strategy of the Indica when it was launched.

There exists a large vacuum for a three-box car in the Rs 5-6 lakh range and if Tata Engineering can deliver the value they are noted for, expect the Sedan to kill a flock of birds with a single stone. The last four to five months have seen a major change in attitude and aspiration among car buyers for the Indica. This feelgood factor Tata Engineering will need to keep going and build upon till the Sedan's launch and beyond. Nothing succeeds like success and the company is pulling out all the stops to ensure that for the first time in its history it will have a product which is bug-free from Job One.

It is one helluva task but all the indications from Pimpri suggest this could happen. Not for nothing is MG Rover looking at Tata Engineering and the Indica to give it that entry level saviour it lacks in its model line-up. So if it can work for a car maker in the world's most discerning auto market, Tata Engineering can surely work the same magic for India as well!