Tata’s Latest Product In Uganda Is The Force Gurkha Pickup?!
This is one of the more unique collaborations among many for Tata…
Picture this: you saved up for years and now want to finally bring home your very own brawny and old-school Force Gurkha. Or maybe it's the pickup version if you fancy one. But if you live in Uganda, you actually have to go to a Tata dealership to do that!
Yes, this is not a joke, and Tata actually does retail the Gurkha through its own dealership network in various African countries! Let’s see how this arrangement works:
Force Products Inside Tata Showrooms?
Simply put, Tata Africa International plays the role of being the official distributor and retailer of Force products in various countries such as Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria and Malawi.
Since Force Motors itself does not operate in these markets, this collaboration with Tata helps it maintain a wider presence, while also adding to the numbers of the latter. Do note that arrangements of this kind are not specific to African nations either, and we have previously seen such collaborations in India, such as Aston Martin cars, which are sold via the official distributor (Select Cars).
The African Lineup
What is even more interesting is that these African markets also get an elusive pickup truck version of the Gurkha, besides the standard 3-door and 5-door versions that we get back home.
Force has been spied testing these for a while now, but given the lack of popularity of the body style, we may never see that specific version of the Gurkha in India.
Beyond this, Force continues to maintain a small but steady presence in the commercial vehicles sector in some of these nations, exporting products like the Urbania and Traveller, which have gained repute for being affordable to acquire and having lower running costs than the competition.
About The Force Gurkha
The Gurkha stands tall as one of the only purpose-built off-road focused SUVs in our market. Its styling, reminiscent of the first-generation Mercedes-Benz G-Class, employs a classic boxy silhouette, round headlamps, tailgate-mounted spare wheel and a tall stance that screams old-school.
In terms of features, there’s not a lot of gadgetry inside, with main highlights being a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a digital instrument cluster, manual AC, tilt and telescopic adjustment for the steering wheel and LED headlamps.
Safety features too have been kept to a bare minimum with dual airbags, ABS with EBD, and a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) forming the major part of the list.
Under the hood, the Gurkha is powered by a 2.6-litre diesel engine mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. A four-wheel drive setup is standard, as you would expect, with a low range function and three individual differential locks, too. Here are the detailed specifications of the Gurkha:
| Engine |
2.6-litre diesel |
| Power |
140 PS |
| Torque |
320 Nm |
| Transmission |
5-speed MT |
| Drivetrain |
Four-wheel drive |
MT- Manual Transmission
Price Rivals
In India, the Gurkha is available with 3-door and 5-door body styles, with prices ranging from Rs 16.31 lakh for the former to Rs 17.63 lakh for the latter (ex-showroom). The Gurkha practically has no direct rival, but it can be an alternative to the Maruti Jimny, Mahindra Thar and Mahindra Thar Roxx.