Tata Motors has launched Sierra with a starting price of Rs 11.49 lakh (ex-showroom), and introduced two new 1.5-litre petrol powertrains: a naturally aspirated (NA) unit and a turbocharged engine. The Sierra retains the familiar 1.5-litre diesel unit shared with the Nexon and Curvv, and the company predicts that these oil-burner variants will account for 40 per cent of the model’s sales.
- Diesel variants account for 50 percent of initial customer enquiries.
- The NA 1.5-litre engine is expected to be the primary volume driver.
Tata Sierra petrol: diesel sales expectation
1.5-litre turbo-petrol is expected to account for 20 percent of Sierra sales
In an interview with Autocar India, Tata Motors’ CCO, Vivek Srivatsa, outlined the expected sales mix for the brand’s first mid-size SUV. The volume driver is expected to be the new 1.5-litre, 106hp, NA petrol engine, which powers the entry and mid-level trims. Conversely, Srivatsa notes that the 160hp, 1.5-litre turbo-petrol motor will be more niche, accounting for roughly 20 percent of total despatches. Together, these petrol variants are expected to account for 60 percent, while the 118hp diesel variants will share the bulk of dispatches with the NA variants, adds Srivatsa.
However, early market interest suggests a different story. Srivatsa revealed that diesel variants currently account for 50 percent of initial enquiries. “The Sierra diesel models will continue to surprise us,” he added.
Parallel expectations were set for the Creta facelift
Initial bookings for petrol were 10 percent more than the diesel variants
A similar trend was recoded by Sierra’s direct rival, the Hyundai Creta. During the Creta facelift launch in early 2024, Hyundai reported that 55 percent of its 25,000 initial bookings were for petrol variants, leaving 45 percent for diesel. At the time, Hyundai India COO Tarun Garg estimated that Creta’s reintroduced turbo-petrol engine variants – the 1.4-litre unit was replaced with a 160hp 1.5-litre motor – would eventually cannibalize about five percent of diesel volumes.
