Tata Harrier beats Jeep Compass, becomes second best-selling SUV in March

Derived from Land Rover's Legendary D8 Platform, Tata Harrier is giving a tough competition to main rival Jeep Compass and other SUVs including XUV 500 and Hyundai's Creta. The SUV is stated to have outsold Jeep Compass for the second consecutive month and its sales momentum is expected to continue in upcoming months. Tata Motors launched the vehicle aggressively as part of its turnaround strategy and the same appears to be paying off well. With 26 per cent YoY sales growth in 2018, the domestic automaker is set to make a strong impact in 2019, as the company has began the year by introducing this long-awaited Harrier on January 23. 

Tata Harrier's the first vehicle based on OMEGA (Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced) architecture derived from Land Rover’s D8, and is addressing the popularity of the SUVs and crossovers in the accessible space, said a GaadiWaadi report, adding that it has also brought forth the brand’s Impact Design 2.0 philosophy. The Harrier in January 2019 retailed merely 422 units, and the numbers grew up to 1,449 units in the second month of the year, according to Tata, which stated that 10,000 orders were still waiting to get delivered in the middle of March.

Harrier managed to outsmart Jeep Compass in sales last month, just as in February, by a sizeable margin of 1,051 units. With 2,492 unit sales in March 2019, the Tata Harrier emerged as the second most sold premium vehicle in the country after Toyota Innova Crysta that clocked close to 7,000 units, GaadiWaadi said.

According to AutoPunditz data putforth on average ex-showroom premium car sales above Rs 15 Lakh, in March 2019 Toyota Innova Crysta sold 6,984 units, Tata Harrier 2,492, Honda Civic 2,291, Toyota Fortuner 1,976, Mahindra XUV500 1,916, and Jeep Compass 1,441 units. 

According to Tata Motors' website, the key features of the Tata Harrier are:

1. Harrier comes with monocoque construction with optimized torsional and bending stiffness for exemplary driving dynamics.
2. Harrier showcases efficiently designed crumple zones for absolute safety.
3. Extensive use of advanced high strength steel and tailor welded blanks for high strength & reduced weight.
4. Harrier has auxiliary isolation panels for quiet and refined in-cabin experience.
5. The Tata SUV is built on advanced 90%+ automated manufacturing line for robust built quality and reliability.
6. Isolated sub-frame design minimises the noise and loads caused by severe impacts such as speed humps.
7. Harrier is tested for over 2.2 mn kilometres on torturous terrains.

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Tata Motors is reportedly preparing to enter the B2 hatchback segment with the Altroz in the second half of the year, besides increasing its volumes. Notably, the company is also on its way to unveil the seven-seater Harrier in late 2019.