Tata Brand Re-Launched in Spain With New Vista

MADRID – Nijuler Automocion, the new local importer for India’s Tata, hits its mark, re-launching the brand here on schedule with the first model in its portfolio, the Vista hatchback.

“It is the first step of a deep change in the image that the Spanish motorists have regarding the Tata cars,” Nijuler CEO Juan Ballesteros says.

The Vista will be the main course in Nijuler’s plan to sell 1,000 Tata vehicles in its first 12 months at the distribution helm.

Nijuler’s strategy is to draw buyers with the Vista’s low starting price, €7,960 ($10,472), 3-year warranty and “very complete” standard equipment buyers typically pay extra for on such competitive cars as the Dacia Sandero, says spokesman Luis Villamil.

With Spanish banks in financial turmoil, financing remains a problem for car buyers, so Nijuler has crafted a deal with Banco Cetelem, part of the BNP Paribas group in France, to provide loans to both Tata buyers and its dealers.

For retailers, Cetelem will offer to finance inventory, as well as service and aftermarket activity. Car buyers will be enticed with a €1,000 ($1,300) incentive and loans of up to eight years, says Ricardo Minguez, an accounts director at Cetelem.

The 5-door Vista is powered by a 75-hp 1.4L 4-cyl. with multipoint injection. The engine is an offshoot of the one Fiat offers in its Punto model. At 149.6 ins. (380.0 cm) in overall length, the Vista straddles the A- and B-segments.

“This is an advantage for a customer that was thinking of a car from the A-segment and who can find in the Vista a model bigger than many of the models of that segment,” Villamil says.

But the strongest point of the Vista is its standard equipment. The car comes with air conditioning; an air-filtration system; power windows and locks; remote keyfob; power steering with height-adjustable wheel; spare tire/wheel; radio with CD player and USB connection; Bluetooth and more.