In passenger vehicles, the company's continued efforts have translated into successful product launches and concept unveils. Earlier launched Tata Nexon is already the winner of most of the awards and is also the safest compact SUV in its segment. It bagged the honour of becoming 1st engineered & made in India Car with 5-Star Global NCAP safety crash test rating. The Tata Nexon scored five stars for Adult Occupant Protection and three stars for Child Occupant Protection. This is a huge landmark for car safety in the country.
The recently launched Tata Harrier is premium mid-size sports utility vehicle is five-seater SUV. With this product, Tata Motors has rightfully entered the premium mid-size SUV segment. Just a week since its launch, the Tata Harrier has already bagged the award for 'Most Awaited Car of the Year 2019', at the Exhibit Auto Tech Awards. Tata Motors also added to its passenger vehicle family with the introduction of the Tata NRG. The Tata NRG gets SUV inspired styling and is positioned as 'Nepal's youngest compact utility vehicle'. The NRG is the company's take on the entry-level cross-hatch segment. At the 89th Geneva Motor show, Tata Motors unveiled four products which included a concept version of the small SUV H2X, the Altroz along with its electric version. The company also showcased a second SUV from its OMEGA platform.
Targeting the booming Indian e-commerce sector, Tata Motors, under the commercial vehicle segment, has developed trucking solutions, including vehicles that come with customised payloads and deck lengths. To meet the demands of the industry, these vehicles are equipped with advanced features such as OTP lock, CCTV cameras, load sensors, telematics system etc. The company showcased 13 fully built, ready-to-use vehicles at 'The e-Commerce Expo 2019' in Mumbai. Reiterating its commitment to the Swachh Bharat Mission, Tata Motors showcased its Integrated Waste Management Customised Solutions at the MUNICIPALIKA 2018 event from September 19-21, 2018 at the Bombay Exhibition Center.
With the launch of Nexon, we added two power-packed and performance-oriented engines to our powertrain family – the 1.2L turbocharged petrol engine from Revotron and the 1.5L Revotorq diesel engine. We have recently also rolled out the Turbotronn series of diesel engines of 3L, 3.3L and 5L capacities which have been developed for commercial vehicle applications. These new generation engines offer an unrivalled package of fuel efficiency, performance and refinement, and offer the latest technology available in the global automotive market. They have been indigenously designed and developed at Tata Motors' in-house facility in Pune (India) with technology partnerships with AVL, Bosch, Mahale and Honeywell.
With enhanced customer benefits, the Revotron and Revotorq engines sport the first-in-segment multi drive modes – eco, city and sport. The eco mode has been designed to offer a relaxed drive experience with better fuel economy. The city mode enables a perfect city drive ensuring optimum balance between power and torque. The sport mode permits superior throttle response and is ideal for a spirited drive experience.
The Turbotronn series is suitable for all types of commercial vehicle applications – from 7 Ton LCVs to 37 Ton multi axle vehicles. The USP of this next generation engine family is its best-in-class fuel economy, which ensures higher performance (flat torque curve and high low end torque), lower total cost of ownership, along with better reliability and durability. It also offers lower oil consumption and longer service intervals (40,000 km for 3.3L and up to 100,000 km for 5L). These engines incorporate several innovative features (such as off-set cylinders, top-down cooling, rear gear train, piezoelectric/solenoid central vertical injectors, cylinder block with bed plate for low NVH, centrifuge oil filter, VGT, etc.) and are design protected to meet future emission requirements (BS-6 and beyond).
Taking a step further in developing comfortable mass transportation solutions, Tata Motors has also launched Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) technology in its Starbus and Ultra brand of buses, ranging from 12m and 9m, developed especially for application in cities with heavy traffic. The Tata AMT buses are manual as well as automatic, and come with economy and power modes. In the power mode, automatic gear detection emphasises sufficient engine torque capability to maintain agility and drivability even in case of demanding duty cycles; the economy mode ensures optimal fuel consumption.
The AMT technology of the bus, coupled with a powerful new generation engine, automatically engages the vehicle's clutch and shifts the gear. It also considers the driver's operation, engine torque, and vehicle load and road inclination, resulting in an optimised gear shifting and hassle-free driving experience.
In 2019, Tata Motors played a lead role in proactively driving electric mobility in the country. To build a sustainable future for India, company has been working collaboratively on various electric and hybrid vehicle solutions. As the only OEM with an end-to-end extensive product portfolio across its passenger and commercial vehicles businesses, we intend to play a complimentary role in the smart cities of the future. From public transport to personal cars, from last mile connectivity to BRTS, from emergency response vehicles to commercial utility vehicles, from green and sustainable solutions to vehicles designed to amplify the thrill of the drive, we strive to carry a product portfolio to connect the aspirations and needs of our customers. To build on an enabling ecosystem of sustainable technology, the zero emission electric variant of vehicles defining the automotive landscape of the world, Tata Motors is also actively working on innovation by bringing ingenuity into the areas of vehicle engineering and development. Our keen eye for digitisation, connectivity, automation of operations and advanced regulations compliance is helping us deliver exciting innovations to our customers worldwide. On current product portfolio, the enhancements are offered through an approach of modular architecture strategy, enhanced Powertrain solution, connected vehicle features, light weighting, system efficiency improvement strategies etc.
In addition to this, the Company is looking at product rationalisation, product upgrade with enhanced features, focus on accelerated testing & validation for product competitiveness for TML engines and vehicles. This is targeted through base powertrain enhancement, application specific technology for exhaust after-treatment, customer value propositions such as best-in-class fuel efficiency, superior performance, better total low cost of ownership, increased service intervals, reduced downtime and turn-around time. Enhanced fuel efficiency and thereby reduction in carbon footprint is planned to be achieved through various powertrain as well as vehicle level technology interventions. Looking at short lead time for BS 6 implementation, simultaneous investments in product development & production facilities upgrade, BS 4 ramp down and BS 6 ramp up strategy throughout supply chain are ongoing with planned approach.
The Company has been always keeping close watch on dynamic changes in regulatory & customer requirement scenario. It was quick to respond to the market/legislative needs affecting powertrain with Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) for passenger cars (irrespective of fuel type including electric), Increased Axle Load (assessment & recertification of all affected models/variants), and Heavy Duty Fuel Economy (HDFE) for 12 Ton & above GVW diesel vehicles etc. Company is ensuring emission roadworthiness of entire vehicle portfolio by investing significantly in design & development efforts, associated capital equipment and in infrastructure over Bharat Stage VI program duration.
During Fiscal 2019, we filed 86 patent applications and 113 design applications. In respect of applications filed in earlier years, 104 patents have been granted and 37 designs registered. Both filing and grant details include national and international jurisdictions.
Product design quality and manufacturing quality is enhanced by implementing tools & processes like Dimensional Variation Analysis (DVA), while product design and manufacturing process simulations. To make information available to right stakeholders at right time, latest technology of BOTs based apps are deployed for multiple agencies, which help them to verify data and take decisions. Subjective analysis forms big part of testing and validations and require huge data collection through physical means for each vehicle product. To reduce physical testing cycles by building predictive models, Deep Learning (AI) based algorithms and apps are introduced into design process. Trained AI models help in synergy between physical & digital simulations and better co-relation. GPGPU (General Purpose graphics Processing Unit) based computing infrastructure is deployed for deep learning and machine learning.