Tata sells 5,000 mini trucks in Sri Lanka
The Economic Times — December 3, 2007

Tata Motors on Monday said it has sold 5000 vehicles of its Tata Ace mini-truck in Sri Lanka.

"The demand for the sub-one tonne mini truck developed by the Tata's had picked up ever since the vehicle was launched last year with sales touching 5,000 vehicles in November," Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO) which is the sole distributor for Tata vehicles in Sri Lanka said in a statement.

Sri Lanka was the first country outside India where the Tata Ace was launched after successfully competing domestically with the prevalent three-wheeler goods carriers in India from other automakers. This Tata Ace mini-truck was launched in India in May 2005.

"Sold under the brand name of 'DIMO Batta' diesel mini-truck in Sri Lanka, the Tata Motors product has come a long way in increasing its market share in the Island Nation market," the distributing company said.

It said the mini-truck became one of the most successful stories of re-branding in the automobile history of Sri Lanka.

"The single most amazing feature of all is its unparallelled fuel efficiency of 20 km per litre, while adhering to Bharat-Stage-2 emission standards," DIMO said.

The reason of its fuel economy is the Batta's compact engine (700cc) and the vehicle weighing a mere 805kg.

The Batta also meets all Indian safety norms including frontal crash, roof crush and rear wall strength, it said.

Tata Motors, with a revenue of 8.21 billion dollars during 2006-07, is world's fifth largest medium and heavy truck manufacturer and the second largest heavy bus manufacturer, a statement of Tata Motors said.

Tata cars, buses and trucks are being marketed in several countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia and South America, it said.