Tata Motors wins ET-ZigWheels' `Carmaker of the Year' award

It was Tata Motors much of the way in the roll of honours at the second ET-ZigWheels Car and Bike of the Year awards. The company bagged a host of awards, including the 2009 ET-ZigWheels car of the year award and the ZigWheels.com viewers choice car of the year, best design and best value for money car awards, in New Delhi on Friday.

The recently launched Tata Indigo Manza was also awarded the best entry-level sedan of the year award. Tata Motors also bagged the 2009 car maker of the year title for making the right moves and its resilience in testing times.

It was the time for honouring and celebrating the most striking accomplishments for the Indian automotive industry for the year 2009.

International car maker Mercedes-Benz E-Class was awarded the Prestige luxury sedan of the year, while the BMW Z4 Drive35i vroomed away with the CBU import of the year award.

The awards were given away by renowned members of the industry, including Jagdish Khattar, former Maruti chief executive and celebrated auto designer Dilip Chhabria of D C Design. The Times Group was represented by Dr Bhaskar Das, executive president, the Times Group, Ravi Dhariwal, CEO, BCCL and Adil Jal Darukhanawala, editor-in-chief, ZigWheels. The event also saw the launch of India's first ever coffee table book on Formula 1 Grand Prix racing and MotoGP, ZigWheels Grand Prix 2009.

Meanwhile, it seems the Nano is set to blaze a trail not only in India but in other parts of the world too and perhaps most notably in Africa, if Tata Africa Holdings Ltd managing director Raman Dhawan's assessment is anything to go by. In an interview in Lusaka, Zambia, Dhawan said, the Nano was definitely the future in Africa, according to a report in the Economic Times.