Tata Motors, known for keeping vehicle brand names under wraps till their launch, is learnt to have named the smaller variant of Tata Ace, with 0.5-tonne payload, as Ace Zip.

According to people in the know, ‘Zip’ is meant to connote speed and more capacity in a small space. It has been derived from the popular file format ‘Zip’ used in the information technology industry.

Tata Motors has been working for a while on developing a smaller variant of Tata Ace, the market leader in light commercial vehicles. Ace Zip is expected to take on existing small trucks with 0.5-tonne payload like Mahindra Gio, Force Motors’ Trump 15, and three-wheelers brands like Piaggio's Ape and Bajaj Auto’s GC Max in the domestic market.

The micro-truck is expected to be in the price range of Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 2 lakh, in line with existing products like Gio, Trump 15 and GC Max.

“Considering Tata Motors’ huge network for commercial vehicles and product skill set, the 0.5-tonne payload carrier will succeed in the Indian market,” Umesh Karne, auto analyst, Brics Securities said.

According to an industry estimate, the ultra-light commercial vehicles (ULCV) market would be around 1.5 lakh units per year and is expected to grow further with products coming from competitors like Daimler, Ashok Leyland and Nissan which too is entering the LCV business.