India’s biggest carmaker Tata Motors said
Tuesday it would rename its new Zica hatchback as global alarm grows over an
outbreak of the identical-sounding Zika virus.
Tata Motors has in
recent weeks been heavily promoting the small Zica — whose name stands for
“zippy car” — with a marketing campaign starring Barcelona footballer Lionel
Messi.
But its launch
comes at an unfortunate time, with the mosquito-borne Zika virus spreading
rapidly through Latin America, where it has been blamed for a surge in
brain-damaged babies.
“Empathising with
the hardships being caused by the recent ‘Zika’ virus outbreak across many
countries, Tata Motors, as a socially responsible company, has decided to
rebrand the car,” the company said in a statement.
The car, aimed at
young people, is due to go on public show at India’s Auto Expo 2016 which opens
in New Delhi this week.
“While it carries
the ‘Zica’ label for the duration of the event, the new name will be announced
after a few weeks, ensuring all necessary consumer/branding and regulatory
aspects are addressed, and the launch will take place thereafter,” the
statement said.
The World Health
Organization on Monday declared an international health emergency over the Zika
virus, which has spread to more than 20 countries and territories.
It said the disease
was “strongly suspected” to be linked to a large number of babies born with
microcephaly, or abnormally small heads.
Brazil has warned pregnant
women to stay away from the Olympics, which open in August in Rio de Janeiro.
The Aedes aegypti
mosquito, which carries Zika and the dengue and chikungunya viruses, is also
widely prevalent in India.
Zika was first
detected in a Ugandan forest of the same name in 1947, but it was considered a
relatively mild disease until the current outbreak was declared in Latin
America last year.
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