tata
Men walk inside a Tata Motors showroom on the outskirts of Agartala, capital of India's northeastern state of Tripura on 7 November 2012Reuters

Tata Motors' Kite hatchback is reportedly slated to launch in India in the second quarter of this year. 

Contrary to the previous rumours, a new report by IndianCarbikes, citing sources close to the development said that Tata is planning to launch its new hatchback offering codenamed kite in India in the second quarter of the year 2015. It was reported earlier that Tata Kite would be launched only in late 2015.

Tata Kite, the possible replacement of the company's fleet car Indica has been in the news for quite some time now. Auto enthusiasts in the country already have a pretty clear idea of what to expect from the new hatchback and the car was caught on camera numerous times.

Based on new Indica platform, Tata Kite is likely to be powered by the company's new 1.05-litre three-cylinder common-rail diesel motor, which can churn out a power of 64.1bhp and 14.27kgm of torque and all-new 1.2-litre petrol engine. The transmission is likely to be taken care by five speed manual gearboxes and we also hear that there could be an automated manual transmission (AMT). 

As for the features, the previous spy shots have indicated body-coloured rear-view mirrors and diamond-cut eight-wheel alloy wheels. Expected to get a price tag around ₹4 lakh, Tata Kite will be pitted against Maruti Celerio and Hyundai Grand i10 in India.

In yet another interesting development, the much awaited Bolt will hit Indian roads on 22 January. Under the hood, the petrol variant of the car packs 1.2-litre Revotron turbo-charged engine, which is tuned to generate 84bhp at 5,000rpm and a torque of 140Nm of 1,750-3,500rpm. The diesel model gets 1.3-litre Quadrajet diesel motor that can generate 73bhp and peak torque of 190Nm. Both the engines will come mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox.