Tata's Fastest-Selling SUV Has A Range Rover Connection
Sales data from February 2026 shows an interesting development. The Tata Harrier has emerged as India’s fastest-selling SUV, on an year-on-year (YoY) basis. It posted a YoY growth of 125%. Did you know that this SUV has a Range Rover connection? We’ll talk about it in detail, further down in this article.
Data reveals that Tata Motors sold 3096 units of the Harrier in February 2026. In January, 3711 units of the SUV were sold. However, just 1376 Harriers were sold in February 2025. This translates to an year-on-year growth of 125%.
The Harrier family has grown in the recent years. The SUV was once available only with a diesel engine. A new petrol engine- the 1.5L direct injection turbocharged petrol- has now been added to the lineup, and there’s the EV on sale as well. Deliveries of petrol-powered Harrier began in January this year, while the EV started reaching owners in July last year. The February numbers are thus inclusive of the petrol, diesel and EV numbers.
Things were different in February last year. Tata Motors launched the Harrier.EV in June 2025. The EV rose to instant acceptance. In the first month of commencing deliveries, it took the Harrier numbers to 2216 units. In June last year, Tata could only sell 1259 units of the Harrier in India, indicating a 76% increase in acceptance. This clearly shows the effect of the electric SUV on total numbers.
Tata Motors owns Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the company that sells Range Rovers. The Harrier is based on the Omega platform, which has its roots in the JLR’s D8 platform.
This architecture used to underpin smaller Range Rover models like the first-generation Evoque (L538) and the Land Rover Discovery Sport. It doesn’t however, form the base for larger, more luxurious models like the full-size Range Rover or the Sport. Those models use D7a or aluminium-based platforms.
Tata Motors took the D8 platform and re-engineered it heavily for use on the Harrier and Safari. The reworked version was given the name Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced (OMEGA). The carmaker was very vocal about the Harrier’s Land Rover roots when it was first launched in 2019.
Even though it is a derivative of the D8 architecture, the OMEGA Arc is not as capable, especially when it comes to off-roading abilities. Most notably, the Harrier and Safari are both front wheel drive models and lack the complex yet capable All Wheel Drive (AWD) hardware.
The next generation of Harrier and Safari, which are currently codenamed Taurus and Leo, are expected to move to a new platform and will thus come with AWD tech.
Staying true to its D8-roots, the OMEGA platform offers high torsional rigidity, good balance of ride and handling, well-tuned suspension setup that uses Hydra bushes, and has a strong focus on safety and crashworthiness.
That said, components like engines, transmission and electronics differ sharply between the Harrier’s platform and the Land Rover D8. Tata Motors has also had a heavy focus on cost-optimisation- logical considering the segment that the Harrier and Safari belong to.
The Harrier.EV is based on the Acti.EV+ platform, which is essentially a heavily re-engineered version of the OMEGA platform. The extent of rework is so massive that Tata Motors managed to integrate a dual-motor-based AWD setup into it, without major compromises.