Tata Motors launched its new generation sedan, Indigo Manza, here on Wednesday.

The car is priced at Rs 4.95 lakh for the base petrol version and Rs 6.85 lakh for the top-end diesel option (ex-showroom Mumbai).

It will be available nationwide through Tata Motors’ 224 dealerships and 493 sales points from Friday.

The Manza will compete with the Swift DZire, the Accent, the Ikon and the Logan in the entry mid-size segment.

The car debuts six years after the Indigo range was first launched. Tata Motors has sold nearly 2.75 lakh units of Indigo so far.

“The Indigo Manza is a contemporary sedan on a new car platform that has the potential to emerge as a class leader,” said Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Motors, in a statement.

The Manza is built on the same platform as the new generation Indica Vista.

Mr Rajiv Dube, President, Passenger Car Business Unit, said the company had invested Rs 2,000 crore to develop the platform.

The car is being produced at the Tata-Fiat plant at Ranjangaon near Pune.

As the entry-level midsize sedan range of Tata Motors, the Indigo family does sales of 3,000 units a month, which is expected to increase with the Manza, he said. The Manza range will replace the base version of the Indigo, which has been in the market since 2003. However, Indigo CS (compact sedan) and the station-wagon Marina will still be retailed.

The company officials did not give any projections on Manza sales.

“We have enough capacity at our plants in Ranjangaon, Pune and Pantnagar. However, there will be constraints in the initial months since we are ramping up production,” said Mr Dube.

On the Nano, he said Tata Motors would increase production with each month. It sold nearly 7,500 units in the last three months and this could increase to 3,000 units a month.

“We will see volumes going up by 20 per cent in October,” Mr Dube said. Trial production at the Sanand plant in Gujarat would begin in December-January.

He added that the Indicruz, the crossover between sedan and SUV, will be launched in 2010. Officials said it will be on a new SUV platform and be pitched against the Honda CR-V.