Stalled plans by Fiat and Tata Motors to jointly build off-road capable vehicles at the former's factory at Córdoba in Argentina have reopened and are reaching a advanced stage. Tata Motors' Sumo (bottom) and Safari SUVs (top) are being lined up to be built it South America.

Stalled plans by Fiat and Tata Motors to jointly build off-road capable vehicles destined for the Latin American markets at the former's factory at Córdoba in Argentina have reopened and are reaching a advanced stage. Tata Motors' Sumo and Safari SUV model ranges are now being lined up to be built in South America.

Fiat and Tata Motors already have a year-and-a-half old wide ranging 50:50 joint venture in India. Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, with revenues of US$8.8 billion in 2007-08. Through subsidiaries and associate companies, Tata Motors has operations in the UK, South Korea, Thailand and Spain. Among them is Jaguar Land Rover. With over 4 million Tata vehicles plying in India, Tata Motors is the country’s market leader in commercial vehicles and among the top three in passenger vehicles. It is also the world's fourth largest truck manufacturer and the second largest bus manufacturer.

Fiat and Tata previously explored proposals to build a Tata pick-up at Córdoba which would have been jointly badged with two body styles; however the plans were shelved after Fiat's engineers were unhappy with the quality and suitability of the vehicle for the local markets. The economic downturn has seen global car manufacturers turning their focus towards Latin America as the market provides some healthy opportunities, including good potential growth levels and high manufacturing standards.

Now plans for joint Fiat-Tata vehicles for Latin America have re-emerged. Last week Tata Motors' passenger car business unit president Rajeev Dube was reported by India's The Economics Times as saying that: "I can only confirm that something is on at the global level with Fiat. The Latin American market has a lot of potential for SUVs but it’s too early to reveal the exact plans." Tata Motors MD Ravi Kant had earlier announced plans to jointly develop some products with Fiat for some markets, added The Economic Times. Reports suggest that initial Fiat-Tata JV production in Latin America will take place at the Córdoba factory, which currently builds the Fiat Siena sedan, but that a new facility is being planned for the future. However both the Safari and Sumo are not very advanced vehicles, they first reached the market in India more than 10 years old and feature unimpressive engines. With the two vehicles falling short of rivals on the Latin American markets it is unclear yet how they will fulfil Fiat Latin America's criteria.

Tata Motors also has ambitious plans to bring its new Nano to Latin America, as well as South East Asia and Africa within the next four years. Production deadlines have repeated stalled since it was unveiled more than a year ago, but last week it announced that the Nano will be launched at a function in Mumbai, India, on March 23, 2009. The cars will be on display at Tata Motors dealerships from the first week of April 2009. Bookings will commence from the second week of April 2009.

Also last week Tata Motors announced an extra version of its Safari DICOR 2.2 range in India with the addition of a new Gx variant. The Safari is expected to be one of the models planned for production in South America. The current Safari DICOR range comprises three variants: Lx, Ex and Vx. The Gx, with several high end comfort and safety features, has been positioned below Vx, the top end variant. The new variant offers enhanced value to the Safari customer at an attractive price point below the top end variant.