This crossover could be Tata’s way back into SA.

Indian and Chinese car companies have had mixed fortunes in South Africa.

Haval has transformed into a substantive local brand despite the challenges, and with South Africans buying down, Chery is also keen to reengage with the local market.

After an unhappy departure, Tata’s passenger car division is also strategizing for a return – especially considering Mahindra’s success.

Forget about the memory of awful Indicas and Indigos. The new Tata passenger vehicle range will trend towards compact crossovers – and we’ve now seen the first image of exactly such a vehicle, from Tata.

It is called the Punch and is an evolution of the Indian company’s HBX Concept. What size is it? Tata hasn’t confirmed dimensions, but the HBX Concept was 3.84m long and served as the base for this new Punch.

Tata is effectively going after the Suzuki Ignisand the Mahindra KUV100 with its Punch.

Engines? The standard configuration for this segment is a three-cylinder and the expectation is that Tata will equip the Punch with 1.2-litre triples, both naturally aspirated and turbocharged.

These engines are already in service with the Altroz, where a naturally-aspirated 1.2-litre is good for 63 kW and 113 Nm, with the turbo version boosting 81 kW and 140 Nm.

The only gearbox that Tata has available with its 1.2-litre engines, is a five-speed manual.

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