Tata will launch the new Bolt hatchback by early 2015 to rival the Hyundai Elite i20, Maruti Suzuki Swift, Volkswagen Polo etc.
News reports now suggest that the Bolt will not feature an AMT gearbox mated to a diesel engine. Except for the AMT, the Bolt will feature plenty of segment first features.
If Tata would have launched the Bolt with a diesel and an AMT, it would have been the first diesel engined hatchback to be offered mated to an automatic transmission in the hatchback space. Currently, AMT is used by only the Maruti Alto K10 and Maruti Celerio in the hatchback space.
Another reason for not offering a diesel AMT right from the start is due to the shortage of these gearboxes from Magneti Marelli. The Zest already suffers from long waiting period and the company did not want the same to be the case with the Bolt.
At least for the first couple of months, the Bolt will continue with only a manual transmission on both, petrol and diesel engines.