The Tata Ace Zip is a micro-truck launched in May 2010 by

Tata Motors Tata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company, headquartered in Mumbai, India, which is part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses. Formerly known as Tata Eng ...

in India. It is in competition with the prevalent three-wheeled goods carriers from

Bajaj Auto Bajaj Auto Limited () is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company based in Pune. It manufactures motorcycles, scooters and auto rickshaws. Bajaj Auto is a part of the Bajaj Group. It was founded by Jamnalal Bajaj (1889–1942) ...

Piaggio Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo ...

, Mahindra and

Force Motors Force Motors Ltd, is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company, based in Pune, India and the flagship company of the Dr. Abhay Firodia Group. From 1958 until 2005, the company was known as Bajaj Tempo Motors because it originat ...

History

After the run away success of

Tata Ace Tata Ace are models of mini trucks manufactured by Tata Motors. It was launched in 2005. History In December 2000, Girish Wagh was given a brief by Ravi Kant (Indian executive), Ravi Kant to create a novel lightweight truck line that would add ...

and Tata Super Ace,

decided to launch a truck, the Tata Ace Zip, that would be smaller than the Ace and at the price point of the three-wheeled cargo

auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...

s. It was to be a simple design with truck-like aggregates and was to replace the anachronistic three-wheeled cargo auto rickshaws in the Indian market.

Launch and reaction

Tata Motors launched the Ace Zip micro-truck in May 2010 for just under Rs 200,000. The new vehicle was positively received by the users with good initial sales figures. The Tata Ace Zip is produced in the Pantnagar plant of Tata Motors.

New segment

The Tata Ace Zip is marketed as a micro truck in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Priced around at Rs 190,000, the company aims to convert three-wheeler users to four-wheelers. One of the ideas that prompted the launch of this vehicle was to develop more opportunities of self-employment in the country. Moreover, there was a need for an efficient last mile vehicle, Tata sought to find the gap in the market and released the Ace Zip. The 611 cc engine delivers a power of 11.3 hp at 3000 rpm and a torque of 3.16

kgf KGF or ''kgf'' may refer to: *Keratinocyte growth factor *King George's Fields, UK, recreation grounds *Kolar Gold Fields *The IATA code for Sary-Arka Airport, Karaganda, Kazakhstan * ''K.G.F'' (film series), Indian Kannada-language film series * ...

⋅m at 1600–1800 rpm, giving tough competition to Piaggio's mini truck (three-wheeler). It has a permissible loading capacity of 600 kg. It also has a modern cabin compared to its three-wheeler rivals. It is best suited for use by villagers in carrying goods over short distances. A passenger carrier on same platform, the Tata Magic Iris, has also been launched.http://www.tatamotors.com/media/press-releases.php?id=667 archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203045654/http://www.tatamotors.com/media/press-releases.php?id=667

Manufacturing locations

The mini truck is now produced at the facility in

Pantnagar Pantnagar is a town and a university campus in Udham Singh Nagar district, Uttarakhand. Nainital, Kashipur, Rudrapur and Kiccha, Haldwani are the major cities surrounding Pantnagar. The town is home to the first agricultural university of I ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

and at

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

References

External links

Tata Ace zip website
2010s cars Cars introduced in 2010 Pickup trucks Ace Zip {{Truck-stub