Tata Zest to be built in Fiat's Ranjangaon factory

The Tata-Fiat joint venture was dissolved in 2013, which led to a semi resurgence for the Fiat brand in India with the launch of a few new products. The Tata dealers now dealt solely with Tata Motors products only leading to a host of new dealers appointed for the Fiat brand. That said, the joint venture, apart from joint sales platform also had a lot to do with technology and production base sharing, an aspect that will continue unhindered into the future. In terms of technology, the biggest input from Fiat to Tata is the 1.3-litre Multijet engine, or as Tata calls it, the Quadrajet and the gearboxes that go with them. In terms of production facility sharing, the Ranjangaon plant, home to Fiat India will also be where the new Tata Zest will be made.

Even today, some of the Tata Vista production, especially the 90PS diesel version, was made at the Ranjangaon facility alongside the Tata Manza. The production facility, shared with the Linea and the Punto will continue to make the Tata Manza, depending on consumer interest which has waned drastically in the last few months. The Tata Zest, essentially a re-skinned and compact version of the Manza shares many components with the same and hence will be built on the same line as the Manza.

The Tata Bolt on the other hand will be built at Tata’s Pimpri-Chinchwad plant alongside the Tata Vista and the now aging Tata Indica. The Tata Bolt and Zest will both receive the 1.3-litre, Quadrajet, turbocharged diesel engine with either 75PS or 90PS and the all-new 1.2-litre, Revotron, turbocharged petrol engine making 85PS. This new engine is also capable of handling multiple fuel options like CNG and LPG. The new 1.2-litre turbocharged Revotron engine’s turbocharger features advanced technology like a water cooling system working in tandem with the intercooler. The new turbo also features a low inertia turbo blades and bearings which let the turbo spool quicker thus making power delivery across the rev-range possible.