The Sumo MUV was one of the most important products for Tata Motors, and went on to live for 25 years before being axed last year
Tata Motors originally launched the Sumo MUV in the Indian market around the mid-1990s, and the car went quickly gained popularity in the country, and the homegrown manufacturer managed to sell over 1 lakh units of the car in just 3 years.
The people mover lived on for a pretty long time, until being silently discontinued last year, after 25 years of service in the country. The car had become outdated and did not comply with the latest safety and crash norms defined by the government, hence Tata decided against upgrading it for good.
However, many of us millennials today have childhood memories associated with the car. Hence, we have compiled a list of 5 interesting facts about the Tata Sumo to help you take a trip down the memory lane, take a read –
1. Name
The Tata Sumo got its name from a former Managing Director of the company, Mr. Sumant Moolgaokar. The first two syllables of his first and last name were combined to name the MUV.
2. Origin
As mentioned earlier, the Tata Sumo was launched back in 1994 as a ten-seater rear-wheel drive MUV. The Sumo was based on the Tata X2 body-on-frame platform, same as the Telcoline pickup truck. The rear-wheel-drive version was reserved for civilians, while an all-wheel-drive variant was also available, which was only offered to fleet as well as the Indian Army.
3. Indian Army
Just like the Tata Safari Storme, the Sumo also served the Indian Army for a certain period of time because of its robust body, an all-wheel-drive system as well as its practicality due to the multiple seating layout. Not only the Indian Army, but the Tata Sumo has also been a pretty popular choice as an ambulance in the country.
4. Updates over the years
Over its lifespan, the Tata Sumo received many facelifts, and all models received a unique name to differentiate from the predecessor. The first facelift was called the Sumo Spacio, which was introduced in 2000. The second update was named Sumo Victa, which served from 2004 – 2011. The last version to be sold in the Indian market was the Sumo Gold, which was launched in 2012, and discontinued in 2019.
5. Successor
While the MUV was updated regularly, it received a rightful successor only in 2008, which was launched as the ‘Tata Sumo Grande’, with completely new bodywork and a new 2.2-litre Dicor diesel engine.
However, the Sumo’s success in the country convinced Tata to sell the regular Sumo Victa (later Sumo Gold) alongside the Sumo Grande. The older Sumo was so successful, that Tata ended up renaming the Sumo Grande to Movus in 2014 to avoid confusion with the first-gen model. The said model was taken off the shelves in 2016 and production of Sumo Gold is stopped last year as well. The new-gen Sumo is expected to come in the next 2-3 years.