Tata Motors discontinues its performance sub-brand, JTP
Tata Motors has pulled the plug on the JTP sub-brand, citing slow business for the industry as a whole, as well as the change in emissions regulations, and the reduced demand brought on by the pandemic. A foretelling of the official announcement came in the fact that the Tiago and Tigor JTP were not updated to BSVI norms previously, as well as reports of trouble within the JTP division earlier in the year.
For the uninitiated, in 2017 Tata Motors set up JT Special Vehicles, a 50:50 JV with Jayem Automotives, led by motorsport engineer Jayem Anand, towards engineering performance-oriented variants of Tata vehicles. The result of which came in the form of the JTP twins in 2018. Both, the compact sedan and hatchback, were equipped with the 1.2-litre turbocharged 3-cylinder motor from the Nexon, making 114PS, a healthy 29PS jump over the regular variants of the cars. With tweaks to the styling, interiors and suspension setup, the JTP brand came as good news for the enthusiast looking for a fun car on a budget, and you can read our review here. Priced very competitively against similar turbo-petrol rivals, such as the Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS, it's unfortunate demand for the JTP cars never really took off.
Tata Motors will buy out the remaining stake in the JV, with JTSV becoming a wholly owned subsidiary, to provide service to the existing owners of the Tiago and Tigor JTP.