Tata Motors had showcased an exquisite range of concept cars and production-ready vehicles at the 2020 Auto Expo in February. One of the major highlights of the Tata Pavilion was the HBX Concept, which was termed as a micro-SUV. Being presented in a pre-production avatar at the biennial event held last month, it will rival the likes of Maruti Ignis and Mahindra KUV100. Tata HBX will be launched in the Indian market by FY 2021 as confirmed by the company. Earlier, it was scheduled to hit the roads in second half of 2020 but the original plan has been moved forward due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Being the second Tata car to be based on the new ALFA architecture after the Altroz, Tata HBX has been designed with several SUV-ish elements such as an upright stance, rugged front fascia and big wheel arches. The HBX will be the entry-level SUV in the company's product portfolio while being positioned below the Nexon sub 4-meter SUV. The cabin too will be more or less identical to the concept model with several premium features such as partially digital instrument cluster, automatic climate control and a large touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto & Apple CarPlay. With the launch of HBX and 7-seater Gravitas, the company will have a presence in every segment of SUVs in the Indian market.
Mechanically, Tata HBX will be launched only with a petrol engine. The company has no plans to introduce diesel variants, though it is indeed working on an all-electric version of the micro-SUV. There are rumors that Tata HBX might debut Tata's 1.2L direct-injection turbocharged petrol engine in the top-end variants which will be more powerful. Though, the entry-level variants will be equipped with the naturally-aspirated version of the same 1.2L petrol engine which we have already seen with the Tiago, Tigor & Altroz. The transmission options are expected to be a 5-speed manual and an AMT unit. Tata HBX price is expected to be in range of Rs 4.50-7.50 Lakhs (Ex. Showroom) in the country.