Indian carmaker Tata to switch Zica car name after Zika virus spread
Name switch of Tata’s strenuously promoted ‘zippy car’ – Zica – comes too late for Auto Expo in Fresh Delhi
The Zica . the spread of the Zika virus posed an awkward homohphone problem for Tata’s marketing team. Photograph: Tata
Indian carmaker Tata to switch Zica car name after Zika virus spread
Name switch of Tata’s strongly promoted ‘zippy car’ – Zica – comes too late for Auto Expo in Fresh Delhi
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Tuesday two February two thousand sixteen 12.06 GMT Last modified on Tuesday two February two thousand sixteen 12.16 GMT
The Indian carmaker Tata Motors has determined to switch the name of its intensely promoted fresh car, the Zica, to avoid association with alarm about the spread of the Zika virus.
Tata announced it would choose a fresh name for the car a day after the World Health Organisation announced Zika a global emergency. Tata has not yet exposed what the name will be.
The switch comes too late for the launch of the car at the Auto Expo in Fresh Delhi on Wednesday, where it will still carry the Zica label. Tata had chosen the name as an abbreviation of “zippy car”.
But the explosive spread of the Zika virus, which has been linked to the birth defect microcephaly, posed an awkward homophone problem for Tata’s marketing team. The scale of the spread of the Zika virus only became apparent after Tata launched a big marketing campaign for the Zica, including adverts featuring footage of footballer Lionel Messi.
In a statement announcing the rebranding, Tata said: “Empathising with the hardships being caused by the latest Zika virus outbreak across many countries, Tata Motors, as a socially responsible company, has determined to rebrand the car.”
It added: “The company is determined to place it in the market addressing all relevant needs of the target audience.”
The fresh name for the Zica will be announced within a few weeks, it said.
Last week, WHO said the Zika virus was spreading at an explosive rate and was present in more than twenty countries. It estimated that up to four million people across the Americas would be infected with the virus in the next year.
WHO is worried the virus will spread beyond the Americas. India, where the closely related dengue fever is a common problem, is particularly susceptible to mosquito-borne viruses.
