Tata's locally developed diesel engines

First series will be launched commercially in the next one or two years

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Tata Motors, which unveiled the Revotron 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine-powered Zest sedan and Bolt hatchback on Monday, is working on a new range of indigenously developed diesel engines.

Tim Leverton, president and head (engineering research centre), Tata Motors, said: “As with our range of petrol engines, we are working on developing diesel engines in-house. We will launch it at a future date.”

While Leverton declined to divulge further, company sources said the first of the locally-made diesel engines will be launched in one or two years.

At present, the Mumbai-based company sources a 1.3-litre diesel engine and two petrol engines from Fiat.

According to company sources, the 1.2-litre turbo-charged petrol engine (in the Revotron range), showcased in January this year, is the first in a series of petrol engines lined up for launch in a variety of new as well as existing models in the coming months.

Girish Wagh, vice-president for passenger vehicles, product planning and programme management, said: “The petrol engine in the Bolt and the Zest has been developed in three years as against the norm of four-to-five years. We will launch more gasoline options under the Revotron range. We have always been strong in diesel, but with the Revotron range, we are trying to address the petrol vehicle market to bring our sales of that fuel option in line with industry levels. Alongside, we will also bring in our line of indigenously developed diesel engines.”

Currently, 45 per cent of passenger vehicle sales happen in petrol. But with the price differential between diesel and petrol models reducing, the company is trying to shift focus to petrol engines. Leverton informed the company is largely looking at offering more power in smaller engines like 1.2-litre at par with those seen on bigger engines like the 1.6-litre using the turbo-charge technology.

The new range of petrol engines under the Revotron  brand have been developed in cooperation with AVL of Austria, Bosch-Mahle and Honeywell. Engineers at the company's UK-based premium subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover, have also worked with Tata engineers based in Pune in the development of the Revotron range. The Revotron series will include three-cylinder and four-cylinder engines, with different power settings.